Meeting of the Zemsky Sobor in 1613. It was at this Council that a new tsar, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, was elected. The Zemsky Sobor was a council of representatives of different social strata of Muscovite Russia. It was convened to discuss the most important political, economic and social issues. In total, from 1549 to 1653, 6 Councils were held. Historians argue about which estates took part in these councils. Some, like, for example, R. Belyaev, admit that even peasants were there. Others (B. Romanov) are sure that the entrance to the Cathedral was open only to boyars and nobles. The above miniature is taken from the manuscript “Election to the kingdom of M.F. Romanov" in 1673. Modern historians believe that its author greatly idealized what actually happened at the Council. |
In February 1613, Russian history took another turn. Was it a continuation of the old path or a new road? Perhaps both. A new ruler appeared in a state somewhere on the outskirts of Europe, a sickly seventeen-year-old young man, raised by child-loving aunts in cramped rooms with low ceilings, poorly educated not only by Western European, but even by Muscovite standards, dependent on an imperious mother and an experienced politician, father. And this young man was to become the founder of the dynasty, his descendants were to rule a huge empire ... But it is unlikely that any of his contemporaries in Muscovy or outside it, looking at the young Mikhail Fedorovich (1596-1645), would dare to predict brilliant prospects for him.
Once it seemed to us that Russian history is not too mysterious. School and university textbooks convinced us of this. But now we know that there are enough mysterious moments in Russian history. Mysteries also surrounded Michael, the ancestor of a dynasty that was destined to become as great, peculiar and tragic as, for example, the Ptolemaic Lagid dynasty in Hellenistic Egypt (4th-1st centuries BC).
And the first mystery was the very origin of the family to which young Mikhail Fedorovich belonged. By the time of his accession, this family had, in fact, three nicknames: Koshkins, Zakharyins, Romanovs ... They should have reminded of a certain Roman Zakharyin Koshkin (d. 1543), who was not a great commander or statesman, he even lived not for a very long time, and did not see a sudden triumph of its kind. But what was this triumph? And this was the legal marriage of Roman's daughter Anastasia (c. 1530-1560) with Ivan Vasilyevich, who had barely left his adolescence, who went down in history under the name of Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584). The girl Anastasia became his first wife and therefore the most legitimate in the eyes of the church, and it was the church that oversaw, as they say, the ideological climate of Muscovy, a distant state that turned precisely during the reign of Ivan the Terrible from a principality into a kingdom! Thus, the family of Roman Koshkin turned out to be related to the first Russian queen. This relationship was very useful to them, because nothing but this relationship, the family was not remarkable. It didn't stand out for its notoriety.
 Ipatiev Trinity Monastery. Kostroma. It was founded in 1330 by the Tatar Murza Cheta, the founder of the Godunov family, who converted to Orthodoxy (at one time their tomb was located in the monastery). During the Time of Troubles, sixteen-year-old Mikhail Romanov and his mother, nun Martha, hid here from the Poles. It was here that on March 14, 1613, the Moscow embassy arrived, bringing the decision of the Zemsky Sobor to elect Mikhail. In the Trinity Church of the monastery, the ambassadors announced the will of the people to Mikhail. After six hours of persuasion, Mikhail agreed. Photo: Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorsky from the archives of the Library of Congress |
It was only later, in hindsight, that the origin of the first representative of the family of Andrei Kobyla (d. 1351) from the ruler of the Prussians Vidvung was invented! In fact, nothing is known about this Andrei Kobyl, it is only possible to assume that he had a boyar rank during the reign of the Grand Duke of Moscow Simeon the Proud (1317-1353), the son of Ivan Kalita (1283-1341), Andrei Kobyla is mentioned among those who traveled for the bride Simeon...
But why was it necessary to invent origin precisely from a foreign ruler? It is easy for anyone who is interested in Russian history to notice that all the rulers of Russia-Muscovy-Russia were, in fact, “Westerners”, they sought, one way or another, to establish relations with Western Europe. Why, the first ruling dynasty, the Rurikoviches, was of Western European origin. And the Romanovs who replaced the Rurikoviches were "Westernizers" to an even greater extent, not by their real origin, but by conviction. And this is not because they chose this very “Western” path of development after much deliberation, but simply because there was no other way for them. They initially had to rely on an alliance with European monarchs, since everyone at home knew that the Romanovs were “thin”, and after all, both the Rurikovichs, and the Gediminoviches, and the descendants of noble Mongolian families were still alive in Muscovy. And to secure oneself from possible claims one should have allied relations with Western Europe, dynastic marriages. But all this was yet to come.
It should be noted that the course to the West was carried out even before the Romanovs. Reforming the army, Ivan the Terrible relied on hired troops, musketeers and pikemen. And Boris Godunov (1552-1605) sent his subjects to England to study, and tried to arrange a "European" marriage for his daughter. There is nothing to say about False Dmitry (d. 1606). He already called himself emperor and invited the Moscow boyars to wash their hands before eating. How it ended for him, we know. And who would have thought that already in the presence of the grandson of the fragile Mikhail Fedorovich, the boyars would not only wash their hands, but even shave off their beards! ..
 Metropolitan Filaret. Filaret was a secular person by nature. He was never interested in church matters. He was much more interested in politics. And he was a good politician.In principle, he was not opposed to the Polish prince Vladislav taking the Moscow throne. But for this he had to accept Orthodoxy. When the Zemsky Sobor chose Filaret's son, Mikhail Romanov, as king, the metropolitan became, in fact, his co-ruler. He took the title of "Great Sovereign" and returned to himself, against all church rules, his patronymic, becoming Filaret Nikitich.Reproduction from the site Art-catalog |
However, under Boris Godunov, the descendants of Roman Koshkin could not count on any brilliant future. The family was disgraced. They did not please Tsar Boris with a precedent! After all, he himself actually justified his rights to the throne by kinship with Tsar Fedor (1557-1598), the son of Ivan the Terrible. Godunov's sister, Irina (d. 1633), was Fyodor's wife. But after all, the daughter of Roman Koshkin was the wife of the very first Grand Duke of Moscow, who was officially married to the kingdom. And Fedor Ivanovich was Anastasia Romanovna's son ... In other words, the Koshkins-Romanovs could well declare that they had no less, but, on the contrary, more rights to the throne than Boris Godunov! And Godunov took action - subjected them to serious disgrace. Fyodor Nikitich and his wife Xenia were tonsured and subsequently became known in history as the Elder Martha (d. 1631) and Patriarch Filaret (d. 1633). Little Misha and his sister Tatyana remained in the care of their aunts ...
What happened next? Some historians, supporters of the version of the Moscow origin of False Dmitry, even believe that the cunning Romanovs managed to organize an intrigue and, for a start, push Grigory Otrepyev, “their own man,” as they say, to the throne. But this version breaks on the stones of elementary logic. The impostor could in no way be Grigory Otrepyev, who, in turn, really was “from the court” of the Romanovs. Moscow was not a big city, and a person who was too well known to many (namely, Otrepiev was such) would not have risked appearing there under the guise of the son of Ivan the Terrible. Probably, the impostor was a Pole or, at worst, an Italian. Declaring him a runaway monk from the boyar court, the Moscow rulers subsequently tried to simply discredit him, in which they succeeded!
However, Otrepiev could not be the son of Ivan the Terrible either. Thanks to Boris Godunov, who "dressed up" a thorough investigation into the death of the boy Dmitry (1582-1591). The surviving papers ingenuously paint such a true and vivid picture of an epileptic disease that there is no doubt: this boy would not have lived long, he suffered from severe seizures, and his personality had already begun to degrade ...
But the former Fyodor Nikitich Romanov, already Filaret, did not seem to be interested in the origin of False Dmitry. The Romanovs managed to swear allegiance to him, thanks to which they were returned from exile.
Then the real leapfrog of Romanov's oaths began. They swore allegiance to the second Dmitry (d. 1610), nicknamed the “Tushinsky thief”, swore allegiance to Vasily Shuisky (1553-1612), finally swore allegiance to another applicant approved by the Muscovite aristocracy - the young Polish prince Vladislav (1595-1648). Filaret himself went to Poland. And stayed there for quite some time. Later - again! - a version was invented about his "Polish captivity". But why take him prisoner, he was on the side of the Polish party! ..
While Filaret settled complex relations with the Poles, his son was elected Tsar of Moscow. Filaret then managed to come to an agreement with the Polish "colleagues", and so far there have been no protests from their side.
Scientists argue why, nevertheless, Michael found himself in the kingdom. Various hypotheses are put forward. Historians who lived during the reign of the Romanovs were forced, like Nikolai Kostomarov (1817-1885), to write that no one, they say, was dearer to the Russian people than the Romanovs, who suffered from Boris Godunov, who wanted to live according to the old canons. All this is not supported by the surviving documentary evidence. The Romanovs did not at all intend to live according to some kind of antiquity, but continued the pro-Western course of Boris Godunov and Ivan the Terrible ... Soviet historians could afford to be not so naive and therefore assumed that the boyars chose Mikhail, considering him weak-willed and wanting to rule themselves. But they could not consider his father powerless, and his mother was clearly not distinguished by weakness of will.
 The election of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom in Russian culture has become a symbol of the complete unity of the people and power - an exceptional event in the history of Russia. The Russian intelligentsia idealized it (as did the author of this picture, Grigory Ugryumov) and took it as confirmation of the possibility of reviving the principle of catholicity in Russian society, that is, universal love and brotherhood. As you know, the intelligentsia was deceived. Unfortunately, she did not know who, in fact, placed the Cap of Monomakh on the young tsar.Reproduction from the site Art-catalog |
But that's not all. Who chose Michael? The textbooks say - Zemsky Sobor. And what this zemstvo cathedral was like is not clear to this day. Did it look like a democratic Mongolian kurultai, or was it reduced to the conspiracy of a small group of nobility? And what nobility (some boyars we had several ranks)? Incidentally, such individuals as Prince Ivan Golitsyn (d. 1672), who was related by blood to the Rurikovichs, claimed the throne. What happened there anyway? Light is shed by a document discovered in the mid-1970s called The Tale of the Zemsky Sobor of 1613. And this is the picture that emerges: Moscow is actually blocked by Cossack detachments, the houses of the applicants are surrounded. The Cossacks strongly lobby for the election of young Mikhail Romanov! That's why he was ... chosen!
Let's try to figure out who was called the Cossacks in the XVII century. They were a kind of condottieri, free armed seekers of fortune. They were hired first in one army, then in another, then to Pozharsky, then to the Polish hetman Zholkevsky (1547-1620) ... I must say that the Romanovs did not fulfill their promises and did not give the Cossacks the territories that were discussed. This became the reason for serious Cossack uprisings, of which the most famous are the movements of Razin (c. 1630-1671) and Pugachev (1740/42-1775). The latter, by the way, promised to finally fulfill the promise and “grant” the Cossacks to the “eternal and free possession” of the Don “with all green meadows, with all dark forests” ...
So the Romanovs got power. But he still had to keep her. But the situation was not so simple. It was necessary to destroy the most important contenders, that is, in the first place, Marina Mnishek (c. 1588 - c. 1614) and her son, little Ivan, who was barely four years old. Marina's claims were based on the fact that she was officially crowned, "anointed to the kingdom", and her son was formally Rurikovich, the grandson of Ivan the Terrible! It was formally, of course, and not in fact, but in this case, this “formality” mattered ... However, Marina and her son were captured and executed. The first important act of the new king was the decree on the public execution of a four-year-old child. It was already something new in the world practice!
Usually objectionable child applicants were quietly suffocated with a pillow in some dark dungeon. But Michael could not afford this, he reasonably feared the appearance of an impostor later, "miraculously saved." (By the way, such an impostor, a certain Ivan Luba, subsequently appeared anyway, but his case, of course, did not burn out.) Therefore, the execution of the boy was public. Russian documents were fixed simply: hung up! But foreign sources say otherwise. The Dutchman Elias Gerkman published in 1625 eyewitness accounts of the public hanging of a small crying child ... It turned out that the first Romanov executed the last Rurikovich from the branch descended from Alexander Nevsky (1220-1263). And three hundred years later, history turned into a tragic zigzag - an execution in distant Siberia, where the Romanovs would exile their political opponents, a boy, the last representative of the ruling branch, for three hundred years in a row ...
But the Romanovs at the very beginning of their reign were not in the mood for sentimentality. We can assume that the order for the public execution of little Ivan was actually given not by Mikhail, but by his imperious mother, the old woman Martha. She also selects the first bride for her son, a girl from the family of her Khlopov relatives. Young Mary is given a solemn new name - Anastasia, once again reminding everyone of her relationship with the first queen in Russian history. To become relatives of the new queen was, of course, prestigious and profitable this time. A tight knot of all sorts of intrigues is twisted. And just then Filaret returns to his homeland. The prospect of Mikhail's Russian marriage is discarded.
An experienced politician, Filaret is looking for allies in the West. Where? Of course, where the Rurikovichs come from, where Boris Godunov was looking for a groom for his daughter, in Denmark. However, the Danish king Christian IV (1577-1648) refuses the hand of his niece. The Swedish king Gustavus Adolf (1594-1632) also refuses, does not want to give up Princess Catherine. Europe does not recognize the newborn Romanov dynasty.
Filaret decides for the time being to be content with the local nobility and celebrates his son's wedding with Princess Maria Dolgorukova. But soon the young wife of Michael dies (1625). What caused the death of this Rurikovna is not known. But it is known that several more times the Dolgorukovs-Dolgorukies will try with the help of their women to get close to the Romanov throne, but these attempts will not succeed either for the bride of Peter II (1715-1730) or for the favorites of Alexander II (1818-1881). Finally, ambitions are temporarily abandoned, and the humble noblewoman Evdokia Streshneva (d. 1645) becomes Mikhail's wife. She bore him a dozen children, but only three daughters and a son survived, the future Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1629-1676).
After a short time, the Romanovs came back to have an oath of allegiance to Vladislav. He grew up and did not want to recognize the king of a man who was formally his subject. In 1632, a war began that cost Muscovy the Smolensk and Chernigov-Seversk lands. But in 1634, King Vladislav nevertheless renounced his claims to the Moscow throne and recognized Mikhail as king.
The last years of the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich were overshadowed by a severe internal political conflict. The documents brought us information about a certain conspiracy, the exposure of which led to a long court case and repression. The queen fell ill, two princes died one after the other. Finally, another attempt to establish close relations with Europe failed. Mikhail Fedorovich wanted to marry his eldest daughter Irina (1627-1679) to a European. This time, the tsar agreed even to the illegitimate royal son of the Danish king Christian IV - Voldemar (1622-1697). This twenty-year-old youth bore the title of Count of Schleswig-Holstein. But the wedding did not take place. The Church, continuing to play the role of a "monopolist" in the sphere of ideology, did not want the marriage of the princess with a non-Orthodox prince. The church was a force, owned land and serfs. The prince, in turn, was unwilling to concede and unwilling to change his faith. The conflict dragged on. The young man actually found himself in Muscovite captivity. He was released and released to his homeland only after the accession of Alexei Mikhailovich.
In 1645, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich died. It is unlikely that the king died satisfied, because he left his young son to the mercy of fate, as they say. But this very fate was favorable to the Romanov dynasty for almost three hundred years, and already the great grandson Peter brilliantly continued the policy of his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and led his state to the path of greatness ...
Partner news
Zemsky Sobor 1613. Election of Mikhail Romanov as Tsar. Cathedral embassy to him. The feat of Ivan Susanin
Immediately after the cleansing of Moscow, the provisional government of princes Pozharsky and Trubetskoy sent letters to the cities with an invitation to send elected representatives to Moscow, ten people from the city, for the "sovereign's defrauding." By January 1613, representatives from 50 cities had gathered in Moscow and, together with Moscow people, formed an electoral [zemstvo] sobor. First of all, they discussed the issue of foreign candidates for kings. They rejected Vladislav, whose election brought so much grief to Russia. They also rejected the Swedish prince Philip, who was elected by the Novgorodians to the "Novgorod state" under pressure from the Swedish troops, who then occupied Novgorod. They finally made a general decision not to elect a "king from the infidels", but to elect their own "from the great Moscow families." When they began to determine which of their own could be elevated to the royal throne, the voices were divided. Everyone named a candidate they liked, and for a long time they could not agree on anyone. It turned out, however, that not only at the cathedral, but also in the city of Moscow, among the Zemstvo people and among the Cossacks, who were then many in Moscow, the young son of Metropolitan Filaret was especially successful. His name was called already in 1610, when it was about the election of Vladislav; and now in favor of Mikhail Fedorovich, written and oral statements from the townspeople and Cossacks were received at the meetings of the cathedral. On February 7, 1613, the cathedral for the first time decided to opt for Michael. But out of caution, they decided to postpone the matter for two weeks, and at that time to send to the nearest cities to find out if Tsar Michael would be there, and, in addition, to summon to Moscow those of the boyars who were not at the cathedral. By February 21, good news came from the cities and the boyars gathered from their estates, and on February 21 Mikhail Fedorovich was solemnly proclaimed king and both the members of the cathedral and all of Moscow took the oath to him.
Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov in his youth
The new tsar, however, was not in Moscow. In 1612, he sat with his mother, nun Marfa Ivanovna, in the Kremlin siege, and then, freed, he left through Yaroslavl to Kostroma, to his villages. There he was in danger from a wandering Polish or Cossack detachment, of which there were many in Russia after the fall of Tushin. Mikhail Fedorovich was saved by a peasant from his village of Domnina, Ivan Susanin. Having informed his boyar of the danger, he himself led the enemies into the forests and died there with them, instead of showing them the way to the boyar estate. Then Mikhail Fedorovich took refuge in the strong Ipatiev Monastery near Kostroma, where he lived with his mother until the moment when an embassy from the Zemsky Sobor came to the monastery with an offer of the throne. Mikhail Fedorovich renounced the kingdom for a long time; his mother also did not want to bless her son to the throne, fearing that the Russian people "fell heartless" and could destroy young Mikhail, like the former tsars, Fyodor Borisovich,
History of Russia from Rurik to Putin. People. Events. Dates Anisimov Evgeniy Viktorovich
The election of Mikhail Romanov as tsar and his first steps
The Zemsky Sobor, convened in January 1613 (it was attended by representatives from 50 cities and the clergy), immediately decided: do not elect a non-Christian to the throne. Many worthy people claimed the throne. However, 16-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was chosen from all of them, who at that moment was not even in Moscow. On the other hand, the former Tushins and Cossacks advocated for him especially zealously and even aggressively. The last participants of the Zemsky Sobor were afraid - everyone knew the irrepressible power of the Cossack freemen. Another candidate for king, one of the leaders of the Home Guard, Prince D.T. Trubetskoy, tried to please the Cossacks and win their support. He arranged plentiful feasts, but received nothing but ridicule from them in return. The Cossacks, who boldly walked around Moscow in armed crowds, looked at Mikhail as the son of the “Tushino Patriarch” Filaret, who was close to them, believing that he would be obedient to their leaders. However, Mikhail suited many others as well - Russian society craved peace, certainty and mercy. Everyone remembered that Mikhail came from a family revered for the kindness of the first wife of Ivan the Terrible, Anastasia - "Dove".
The decision to elect Mikhail was made by the zemstvo on February 7, and on February 21, 1613, after a solemn procession through the Kremlin and a prayer service in the Assumption Cathedral, Mikhail was officially elected to the kingdom. For Trubetskoy, the victory of Mikhail's party was a terrible blow. According to a contemporary, he turned black with grief and fell ill for 3 months. Still - the crown for Trubetskoy was lost forever. The cathedral sent a deputation to Kostroma, to Mikhail. Sent on behalf of the whole earth, they called the young man to the kingdom.
By the time the deputation arrived in Kostroma, Mikhail and his mother, nun Marfa, lived in the Ipatiev Monastery. This ancient monastery was founded in 1330, when the noble Tatar Chet camped near Kostroma. At night, the Mother of God appeared to him. Chet immediately converted to Orthodoxy, and on the site of the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God he founded a monastery, called Ipatiev Trinity. This Tatar Chet, who became Zakhar in Orthodoxy, was the ancestor of Boris Godunov. It was here on April 14, 1613 that the Moscow delegation met with Martha and her son Mikhail.
A member of the embassy, Avraamiy Palitsyn, said that the tsar’s mother did not agree to let her son go to the kingdom for a long time, and she can be understood: although the country was in a terrible situation, Martha, knowing the fate of Michael’s predecessors, was very worried about the future of her unintelligent 16-year-old son. But the deputation implored Marfa Ivanovna so fervently that she finally gave her consent. And on May 2, 1613, Mikhail Fedorovich entered Moscow, and on July 11 he was married to the kingdom.
The young king at first did not rule independently. Everything was decided for him by the Boyar Duma, behind his back were relatives who received prominent places at court; the role of the mother, the “Great old woman” Martha, a strong-willed and stern woman, was also great. She became abbess of the Kremlin Ascension Monastery. Everyone was waiting for the return of the tsar's father, Patriarch Filaret, who was languishing in Polish captivity. But this did not happen soon.
This text is an introductory piece. From the book History of Russia from Rurik to Putin. People. Events. Dates authorThe Seven Boyars, the election of Vladislav as Tsar After Shuisky was overthrown and tonsured a monk, an interregnum began in Russia. False Dmitry II was not recognized in Moscow, but people were afraid to choose a new tsar from among themselves. No one wanted to listen to Patriarch Hermogenes,
author§ 7. THE REIGN OF MIKHAIL ROMANOV Overcoming the consequences of the Time of Troubles. Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich inherited the heavy legacy of the Time of Troubles. He was young and inexperienced. The tsar's mother, the "great old woman" Martha, and uncle Ivan Nikitich Romanov came to the rescue. They took over the main
From the book History of Russia. XVII-XVIII centuries. 7th grade author Kiselev Alexander Fedotovich§ 7. THE REIGN OF MIKHAIL ROMANOV Overcoming the consequences of the Time of Troubles. Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich inherited the heavy legacy of the Time of Troubles. He was young and inexperienced. The tsar's mother, the "great old woman" Martha, and uncle Ivan Nikitich Romanov came to the rescue. They took over the main
From the book History of Russia. XVII-XVIII centuries. 7th grade author Chernikova Tatyana Vasilievna§ 7-8. The reign of Mikhail Romanov 1. CENTRAL AND LOCAL ADMINISTRATIONCentral administration. The consequences of the Troubles for the country were terrible. Everywhere lay burned, deserted cities and villages. To restore normal life, Russia needed an order that
From the book World History. Volume 3. New history by Yeager OscarCHAPTER ONE General position of Germany in 1517 Indulgences. Luther's First Steps. The election of the emperor. The first diet under Charles V, in Worms. Luther at the Diet and the Edict of Worms. 1517 - 1521. The position of Europe around 1500. Representative of the highest secular rank in the Christian world, Roman
From the book Moscow Kingdom author Vernadsky Georgy Vladimirovich5. The victory of the national army and the election of Mikhail Romanov to the throne (1612-1613) I The fact that Zemstvo detachments from the cities of the Volga region and Northern Russia refused to besiege the Poles in Moscow did not mean that they abandoned the cause of national resistance. Rather, they have lost faith in
From the book Great Russian Historians about the Time of Troubles author Klyuchevsky Vasily OsipovichTHE LIBERATION OF MOSCOW AND THE ELECTION OF MIKHAIL ROMANOV The beginning of a new, salvific movement came from the same invigorating source that inspired the Russian masses, rising to fight against their foreign enemies. From her deep faith in Divine Providence and in
author Platonov Sergey Fyodorovich§ 74. Election of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov as tsar Zemsky Sobor 1613. Election of Mikhail Romanov as tsar. Cathedral embassy to him. The feat of Ivan SusaninImmediately after the cleansing of Moscow, the provisional government of Princes Pozharsky and Trubetskoy sent letters to the cities with
From the book Textbook of Russian History author Platonov Sergey Fyodorovich§ 76. The beginning of the reign of Mikhail Romanov Taking on the difficult task of calming the state, Tsar Michael, due to his youth (17 years), sickness and softness of mind, could not do without guidance and help. Therefore, a circle of close courtiers gathered around him,
From the book The Fall of the Kingdom: Historical Narrative author Skrynnikov Ruslan GrigorievichChapter 10 Accession of Mikhail Romanov In the summer of 1612, King Sigismund III completed preparations for a new campaign in Russia. He intended to defeat the forces of the Zemstvo militia near Moscow and seat Tsar Vladislav, elected by the Zemsky Sobor, on the throne. In the days of preparation for the campaign
author Anisimov Evgeny Viktorovich1598 Election of Boris Godunov as Tsar Tsar Fyodor died on January 6, 1598 childless. The people loved the blessed king so much that at the funeral, because of weeping and wailing, funeral singing was not heard. The absence of brothers and children from the deceased led to the fact that the royal scepter passed to him
From the book Chronology of Russian History. Russia and the world author Anisimov Evgeny Viktorovich1613, February 21 Election of Mikhail Romanov to the throne The Zemsky Sobor, convened in January 1613 (it was attended by representatives from 50 cities and the clergy) immediately decided: do not elect a Gentile to the throne. Many worthy people claimed the throne. However, from all selected
From the book Pre-Petrine Russia. historical portraits. author Fedorova Olga PetrovnaBeginning of the reign of Mikhail Romanov In January 1613, at the Zemsky Sobor, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the son of Metropolitan Filaret, was elected tsar. The cathedral was crowded and represented a wide range of the Russian population: nobles, townspeople, clergy, even peasants. Although,
From the book National Unity Day: a biography of the holiday author Eskin Yuri MoiseevichThe wedding of Mikhail Romanov to the kingdom It remained to wait for the arrival in the capital of Tsar Mikhail Romanov, elected at the Cathedral. It was not easy for the new autocrat to do this for the prosaic reason of the spring thaw. Therefore, the expectation of the king dragged on for another month and a half.
From the book Russian history in faces author Fortunatov Vladimir Valentinovich3.1.5. The election of Mikhail Romanov to the kingdom: a popular choice or "for lack of fish and cancer - fish"? On July 11, 1613, on the eve of the name day of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, his wedding to the kingdom took place. Metropolitan Ephraim of Kazan served as a priest. Patriarch Filaret, former boyar Fyodor
From the book Russian History author Platonov Sergey FyodorovichElection of Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov Elected people gathered in Moscow in January 1613. From Moscow they asked the cities to send the best, strong and reasonable people for the royal choice. Cities, by the way, had to think not only about the election of the king, but also how to build
Immediately after Moscow was liberated from the Poles, it was decided to proceed with the election of the tsar. Letters were sent throughout the cities with an invitation to send elected people to Moscow to accomplish a great deed.
When the elected people gathered, meetings began. First of all, it was decided to choose a "natural Russian sovereign, and not a foreign and non-infidel prince." In addition, they considered it possible to choose from the boyar families only the one that was not involved in the last troubles. As a result, it turned out that the tsar could only be elected from the family of the Romanov boyars, who, by kinship, were closest to the former royal family.
February 21, 1613, the week of Orthodoxy, elected for the last time gathered for a meeting to submit written opinions - and all unanimously pointed to the young Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov as a "natural sovereign." Then the higher clergy and the boyars went up to Lobnoye Mesto and asked the people who had gathered on Red Square: “Whom do you want to be king?” In response to this, the entire square resounded with loud cries: “Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov will be the tsar-sovereign of the Muscovite state and the entire Russian state!”
Immediately after that, a prayer service was served in the Assumption Cathedral and many years were proclaimed to the newly elected tsar, and then all the elected, boyars and people took the oath to him. Letters were sent to all cities with a notice of the election of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom. The young tsar was at that time in Kostroma and an embassy was sent to him from all the Russian land - "to invite him to the kingdom."
Upon arrival in Kostroma on March 13, 1613, the embassy went to the Ipatiev Monastery, where sixteen-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich lived with his mother, nun Marfa. After a prayer service in the cathedral church, the embassy presented the elected tsar with a letter from all the Russian land and invited him to go to Moscow to take the throne. However, young Mikhail and his mother refused. Nun Marfa, on behalf of her son, said that he “has no idea of being a sovereign, that he is not yet in his perfect years, and the people of the Muscovite state have become exhausted - they swore faithful service to the former sovereigns and betrayed all of them.” In support of her words, she recalled the betrayal of Godunov and the removal of Shuisky from the throne. “Besides,” added nun Martha, “the entire Moscow state has been devastated by the Polish and Lithuanian people, the royal treasures and treasury have been plundered, so that the tsar has nothing to favor service people and fight against enemies.”
To this, the ambassadors replied that the former sovereigns - both Boris Godunov and Vasily Shuisky - “came to the throne at their own will,” and the current king was chosen by the whole Earth to reign “not at his own will, but at the will of God.” At the same time, the ambassadors added that “all the people of the Muscovite state have now been punished and have come into union,” and with tears they prayed to Mikhail Fedorovich and nun Marfa so that the young tsar “does not remove the will of God from himself if he does not want God to exact the final destruction and ruin of the entire state.
Then Mikhail Fedorovich and his mother said that "they rely on the righteous, incomprehensible fate of God in everything." The mother blessed her son, and Mikhail Fedorovich accepted the royal staff from the archbishop. Shortly thereafter, the young tsar went to Moscow, where he was married to the kingdom on June 11, 1613.
The end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries became in Russian history a period of socio-political, economic and dynastic crisis, which was called the Time of Troubles. The beginning of the Time of Troubles was laid by the catastrophic famine of 1601-1603. The sharp deterioration in the situation of all segments of the population led to mass unrest under the slogan of overthrowing Tsar Boris Godunov and transferring the throne to the "legitimate" sovereign, as well as the appearance of impostors of False Dmitry I and False Dmitry II as a result of the dynastic crisis.
"Seven Boyars" - the government formed in Moscow after the overthrow of Tsar Vasily Shuisky in July 1610, concluded an agreement on the election of the Polish prince Vladislav to the Russian throne and in September 1610 let the Polish army into the capital.
Since 1611, patriotic sentiments began to grow in Russia. The First Militia, formed against the Poles, failed to drive the foreigners out of Moscow. And in Pskov, a new impostor False Dmitry III showed up. In the autumn of 1611, at the initiative of Kuzma Minin, the formation of the Second Militia began in Nizhny Novgorod, headed by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. In August 1612, it approached Moscow and liberated it in the fall. The leadership of the Zemstvo militia began preparations for the electoral Zemsky Sobor.
At the beginning of 1613, elected representatives of "the whole earth" began to gather in Moscow. It was the first indisputably all-class Zemsky Sobor with the participation of townspeople and even rural representatives. The number of "soviet people" gathered in Moscow exceeded 800 people representing at least 58 cities.
The Zemsky Sobor began its work on January 16 (January 6, according to the old style), 1613. Representatives of "all the land" annulled the decision of the previous council on the election of Prince Vladislav to the Russian throne and decided: "Foreign princes and Tatar princes should not be invited to the Russian throne."
Council meetings took place in an atmosphere of fierce rivalry between various political groups that had taken shape in Russian society during the Time of Troubles and sought to strengthen their position by electing their pretender to the royal throne. The participants of the council put forward more than ten pretenders to the throne. In various sources, Fyodor Mstislavsky, Ivan Vorotynsky, Fyodor Sheremetev, Dmitry Trubetskoy, Dmitry Mamstrukovich and Ivan Borisovich Cherkassky, Ivan Golitsyn, Ivan Nikitich and Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, Pyotr Pronsky and Dmitry Pozharsky are named among the candidates.
The data of the "Report extract on the estates and estates of 1613", which recorded land grants made immediately after the election of the king, make it possible to identify the most active members of the "Romanov" circle. The candidacy of Mikhail Fedorovich in 1613 was supported not by the influential clan of the Romanov boyars, but by a circle spontaneously formed during the work of the Zemsky Sobor, made up of minor persons of the previously crushed boyar groups.
The decisive role, according to a number of historians, in the election of Mikhail Romanov to the kingdom was played by the Cossacks, who during this period become an influential social force. Among the service people and the Cossacks, a movement arose, the center of which was the Moscow courtyard of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, and its active inspirer was Avraamy Palitsyn, the cellar of this monastery, a person very influential among both the militias and Muscovites. At meetings with the participation of cellar Avraamy, it was decided to proclaim 16-year-old Mikhail Fedorovich, the son of Metropolitan Philaret of Rostov, captured by the Poles.
The main argument of Mikhail Romanov's supporters boiled down to the fact that, unlike elected tsars, he was elected not by people, but by God, since he comes from a noble royal root. Not kinship with Rurik, but proximity and kinship with the dynasty of Ivan IV gave the right to occupy his throne.
Many boyars joined the Romanov party, he was supported by the highest Orthodox clergy - the Consecrated Cathedral.
The election took place on February 17 (February 7, old style), 1613, but the official announcement was postponed until March 3 (February 21, old style), so that during this time it would become clear how the people would accept the new king.
Letters were sent to the cities and counties of the country with the news of the election of the king and the oath of allegiance to the new dynasty.
On March 23 (March 13, according to other sources, March 14, according to the old style), 1613, the ambassadors of the Council arrived in Kostroma. In the Ipatiev Monastery, where Mikhail was with his mother, he was informed of his election to the throne.
