Materials for Russian iconography. Sobral D.A. Rovinsky. I volume (1) - History of arts. Sofia princess: biography and years of reign

Princess Sofya Alekseevna was one of the most extraordinary women in Russian history, possessed not only various talents, but also a strong and decisive character, a daring and sharp mind, which prompted this woman to seize power and for some time become the autocratic ruler of a huge state ...

Fate judged that this woman had a younger brother - not just outstanding, but brilliant. The only genius ever born in the Romanov dynasty. And had she been born at a different time - a little later, during the heyday of the Russian "kingdom of women" - and she could have become a great ruler, like Catherine II.

Had she been born a little earlier, and then, perhaps, she would also have become a great ruler, a reformer queen ... She could even “cut a window to Europe”, for she was no less interested in everything European than her younger brother Peter! But it is unlikely that a woman would have had enough strength and cruelty " Rise up Russia».

Perhaps Sophia would have carried out her reforms more gently, more carefully ... And she would have succeeded to a lesser extent than the decisive and uncompromising Peter. But history does not know the subjunctive mood. Sophia was born when she was born. And she failed to become a great ruler.

What or who is to blame? Unfortunate time, growing up Peter or Sophia herself did something wrong? Most likely all at once. Coincidence.

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya

From the first marriage of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with Maria Ilinichnaya Miloslavskaya, thirteen children were born. The sixth in the order of birth was the daughter Sophia - she was born on September 5, 1658.

Maria Miloslavskaya was prolific, but there was some kind of flaw in her: all her children were born frail, the girls were ugly, and the boys were all weak-minded. Of the thirteen children, five died in infancy and childhood. And the most unviable were the boys. Two of the sons who did reach adulthood - Fedor and John - also died young.

Perhaps, of all the children of Alexei Mikhailovich from Maria Miloslavskaya, Princess Sophia was the only healthy and talented child. Other girls - Martha, Ekaterina, Maria, Feodosia, Evdokia - could not compare with her. They were the most common "terem" young ladies: lazy, submissive, hungry for sweets and easily resigned to the fate of a recluse.

But Sophia from the earliest years showed intelligence, curiosity and liveliness unusual for a female in the pre-Petrine era. By the way, Sophia mastered the letter quickly, so that Simeon of Polotsk, assigned as a mentor to her brother Fedor, heir to the throne, was often more pleased with her than her brothers.

The same Polotsky also taught her astrology - little Sophia was very interested in the movement of the heavenly bodies and their influence on the fate of earthly creatures ... But everything that she learned - secretly from her father and courtiers - she had to bury all the knowledge and skills in the monastery, intended for her from birth .

Novodevichy Convent.

Historian Mikhail Semenovsky, researcher of the life of the co-ruler Princess Sofya Alekseevna, wrote:

“Not only the table and birthday cakes, but often there was no way out for mass on the day of the angel Sophia. Without a doubt, the same thing happened on the birthdays and name days of other princesses. From the reign of Fyodor, birthday cakes and tables cease altogether ...All these small details are important for us in the sense that they show the insignificance of the role that was given to the princesses from the earliest years.

Birthdays were celebrated without any celebrations and festivities, and there was nothing to rejoice about: with the birth of a daughter, only a new nun was added, fate, age-old custom, doomed to a solitary, quiet life away from everything that is so sweet in life, from sorrows and joys, social life .

No monastery could be more modest and pious than the royal chambers. In deep solitude, partly in prayer and fasting, partly in needlework and in innocent fun with hay girls, the daughters of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich spent their days. An outsider's gaze never penetrated into their mansions: only the patriarch and close relatives of the queen could have access to them.

The doctors themselves were invited only in case of a serious illness, but they were not supposed to see the faces of the sick princess. Thus was the semi-Asiatic custom, which played the role of court etiquette, strict.

Palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in Kolomenskoye.

The princesses went out into the church by hidden passages, stood in a place where they were not visible to anyone. If, however, they went to monasteries outside the palace for prayer and to the surrounding palace villages, which happened, however, rarely, then they went out in chariots and sobs, covered everywhere with taffeta-covered windows.

There was not a single holiday or celebration at the court, to which the princesses would appear. Only the burial of a mother or father called them out of the tower: they followed the coffin in impenetrable covers. The people knew them only by the name proclaimed in the churches, at the longevity of the royal house, also by the generous alms that they ordered to distribute to the poor.

None of them experienced the joys of love, and they all died celibate, mostly in advanced years. The custom forbade the princesses to marry their subjects, and many circumstances prevented them from marrying them as foreign princes, especially the difference in religion.

Thus, the hermits of the world from infancy, inaccessible to any hopes or desires that came out of the circle of everyday life, not at all unfamiliar with either family or public life, much less state life, the princesses got bogged down in their inaccessible rooms».

When Sophia was eleven years old, her mother, Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, died in childbirth, giving birth to another girl. Father, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, immediately married again - to the young and pretty Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. Which May 30, 1672 gave birth to him a healthy boy, Peter.

Election of Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina as the bride of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1670. Engraving by Elvale. Early 1840s.

The first-born son was followed by two more daughters - Natalya and Feodora. The children from Naryshkina, as luck would have it, were beautiful, healthy, lively and smart: the boy is just fire, and the girls did not lag behind him.

And they whispered in the towers that Alexei Mikhailovich would certainly want to appoint his healthy youngest son Peter, and not the ailing Fyodor and Ivan, as the heir!

Even then, Sophia hated her young stepmother. For the fact that Natalya Kirillovna was beautiful - black-haired and slender, with a radiant brow and heavy black braids, with a clear look and a warm smile, with a wonderful blush and a melodious voice - this is exactly what her contemporaries remember ...

While Sophia was short and stout, almost without a neck, with a wide puffy face, yellowish skin and small, cold and piercing eyes. It is clear that she simply could not treat her stepmother kindly! She also hated her because she was loved - not only by her elderly husband, but by the whole environment.

Sophia was favored only by Simeon Polotsky, who appreciated her intelligence and abilities. Even his own father was against Sophia improving in the sciences, and wanted to send her to a monastery as soon as possible. But she especially hated Natalya Kirillovna because her children were born so glorious: especially her son Petrush - so good, reasonable and lively that his father could give him power, to the detriment of her, Sofya, brothers!

In 1776, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich died and Fyodor Alekseevich ascended the throne. Weak, tormented by headaches and stomach pains, he was almost weary of power ... In 1681, his first wife, Avdotya Grushetskaya, gave birth to his son Ilya - and died in childbirth. The boy lived only a few days. Fedor was advised to immediately take another wife, and he married Marfa Apraksina - but he could not even deprive her of her virginity, because he was already hopelessly ill.

A.Antropov. Portrait of Queen Sophia.

And Sophia, meanwhile, had already spent twenty-three years of her life in seclusion: in reading religious books, in embroidering, in conversations with nannies and sisters, in memorizing prayers, many tales and songs, from which the light of another life, a living life, poured into her seclusion. adorned with love, adorned with adventure.

And perhaps, Sophia dreamed of beautiful princes, and of traveling to the Thirtieth Kingdom - if only to get away from here, from boredom and stuffiness, from boring embroidery. The carpet of her work, which she presented to her father Alexei Mikhailovich, and the gospel transcribed by her hand have been preserved.

According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Sophia wrote verses-reflections and even plays, which she and her sisters and girlfriends staged in their rooms. Now it seems strange, but in fact, entertainment of this kind was very popular among hermits - only there were no spectators at these home performances, except perhaps mothers and nannies.

At various times, her daughters-in-law, Fyodor's wife, Avdotya Grushetskaya and Marfa Apraksina, took part in these performances. Moreover, Sophia's sister, Princess Maria Alekseevna, stupidly and cruelly played a joke on Apraksina, thrusting a live cockroach into her collar - from which the unfortunate woman retained a panic fear of these insects until the end of her life.

And when Sophia came of age, became an adult girl, she had to spend more and more time in the chambers intended for her in the monastery ... She was in no hurry to take vows, although she understood the inevitability of this. But from the age of nineteen, she lived almost all the time in a monastery.

Sophia decided to get out of prison when her brother Fedor, who did not rule for long after the death of his father, was on his deathbed. It was already clear that Fedor would not leave heirs and Ivan would have to rule after him - with co-rulers, of course, because Ivan could not rule on his own due to his infancy and dementia.

Of course, another option was possible that the healthy and intelligent Peter would become king - but with him, due to his infancy, there should also be a co-ruler. But Sophia did not want to allow the Naryshkins, led by a hated stepmother, to power. And she decided to take action.

Muscovy in 1689

De la Neuville, usually called a “traveler”, but in fact a French intelligence officer sent to Russia under the guise of a Polish messenger, with a secret assignment to find out about the negotiations between the Russian court and the Swedish one, left the interesting Notes on Muscovy in 1689.

In addition to swearing at the “Russian barbarians” who do not know foreign languages ​​and do not recognize Catholicism, they also contain very interesting information about the political life of Russia at the end of the seventeenth century, about court intrigues and observations of prominent historical figures of that time. Neville personally knew Vasily Golitsyn and saw Sophia. How objective de Neuville is in his notes is unknown, but other equally detailed documents simply do not exist.

De Neuville wrote about Sophia:

“Showing her brother, the king, the most sincere, cordial love, the most tender friendship, Sophia pretended or truly, but complained about the custom that dooms her to separation from her brother, deprives her of the opportunity to see his bright eyes and look after him like a friend whose health is invaluable to her.

Every minute she sent to find out about the health of the afflicted, about the course of his illness, did not miss the slightest opportunity to convey to the king her tender love for him and the despair to which she indulges, not being able to be near him everywhere and surround her with her worries. Having skillfully prepared the minds of the courtiers in this way, she left the monastery with the sole, apparently, purpose of seeing the dying man.

The first step has been taken. She remained at her brother's bed. She took over all the cares about him, without her knowledge no one approached him, she gave him medicines and comforted him. This clever princess well calculated how and how one can acquire Fyodor's love, friendship and gratitude.

In fact, she not only won the love of her brother, but also aroused the respect of each of the nobles, surprised them with her mind, her knowledge, flattered their pride, and tied the simple people with her piety and generosity. Both of them were devoted to her, loved and respected Sophia and were annoyed that the custom forbade her to appear in public. The ambitious princess was not slow to fulfill both them and her sincere desire, she left the monastery».

Fedor III Alekseevich (1661-1682), Tsar of Russia from 1676. According to the engraving by I. Shtenglin c. 1760s from a portrait by I. I. Belsky.

In the last months of her brother's life, Sophia took such power over him that all the orders of Tsar Fyodor were written according to her will and almost under her dictation. In particular, she insisted that faithful friends and advisers of Natalia Kirillovna, Artamon Sergeevich Matveev and his son Andrei, be sent from Moscow.

The unfortunate Natalya Kirillovna was worn out with fear for her loved ones and, above all, for her children. In general, she already tried not to let Petrusha out of the chambers. Her fear was especially intensified when suddenly, having been ill for only a day and "tormented by her stomach", her youngest daughter, four-year-old Theodora, died. Natalya Kirillovna believed that it was Sofya who had poisoned the girl, that Sofya wanted to poison all her children!

Well, the assumption was not far from the truth. Sophia really dreamed of somehow lime Peter. But it is unlikely that she had a hand in the death of Theodora: the girl did not pose a threat to her.

At that time, Sophia had other concerns. In particular, how to avoid condemnation for voluntarily leaving the monastery. To do this, she persuaded both the sisters and the aunts to also leave the monastery and begin to appear in public at least in the church. Thus, possible detractors and champions of ancient morality would have to condemn not only Princess Sophia, but almost a dozen princesses of different ages!

De Neuville was right when he wrote about her: “This princess, with ambition and a thirst for power, impatient, ardent, carried away, with firmness and courage combined a vast and enterprising mind.”

But then the inevitable happened: Tsar Fedor died. On the day of his funeral, at a meeting of the Sovereign Duma, Patriarch Joachim delivered a speech in which he spoke about the abdication of John in favor of his younger brother, Peter. It is unlikely that the renunciation actually took place - Ivan was not capable of real decision-making. Most likely, this decision was made for him by the supporters of Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. The patriarch immediately went to the chambers of Naryshkina and blessed the young sovereign.

Sophia couldn't let that happen. Through her supporter Prince Ivan Andreevich Khovansky - who, by the way, hoped to marry her son to one of Sophia's younger sisters and thus intermarry with the Romanovs - Sophia raised the archers to rebel, telling them the false news about the alleged murder of Tsarevich Ivan.

N. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky. "Streletsky rebellion"

Popular indignation was fueled by the free distribution of "green wine" - and ended with the fact that crowds of angry drunken archers burst into the Kremlin. Natalya Kirillovna led both heirs to the Red Porch: the sixteen-year-old feeble-minded Ivan was shaking and crying in horror, the ten-year-old Peter looked calmly, but it was then that he had a nervous tic - a twitching of the corner of his mouth - by which, many years later, those close to him determined that the sovereign was angry or dissatisfied .

However, even when they saw both princes alive, the archers did not calm down. They were out for blood. The first to be killed was Prince Dolgoruky, who tried to keep the archers out of the Red Porch to the princes. He was torn to pieces. Ivan, at the sight of blood, trembled in a fit. Peter clung to the fence with his hands and looked without looking away. He remembered for the rest of his life how it was ...

But this was not enough for Sophia. She tried to use the anger of the archers as fully as possible - and through Khovansky dictated to them the names of those who must certainly be sacrificed to her future power: Ivan Naryshkin, brother of Natalya Kirillovna, and Artamon Matveev, her faithful adviser ...

Peter saw how his mother sobbed, clinging to the clothes of his brother, who was leaving for reprisal to the archers with an icon in his hands. How she lay at the feet of Matveev - asking for forgiveness for who knows what ... Both of them voluntarily went out to the angry crowd - and were torn to pieces. Peter saw them die. Is it any wonder how cruelly he later dealt with the archers? Could they expect mercy from him?

A.I. Korzukhin "The rebellion of the archers in 1682. The archers are dragging Ivan Naryshkin out of the palace, while Peter consoles his mother, Princess Sophia watches with satisfaction.

In the end, the archers were calmed down by Khovansky, offering to enthrone both brothers at once, but to rule for them due to the dementia of the elder and the infancy of the younger, the wise princess Sophia. However, she did not remain a princess for long and soon ordered her name to be written next to the names of Ivan and Peter, and from now on she was called "the great empress, the noble queen Sophia."

In gratitude for what she had done, Sophia ordered ten rubles each to be given to the archers - a significant amount for that time.

Sophia sent Natalya Kirillovna with her children - Peter and Natalya - from Moscow to the village of Preobrazhenskoye. She left Ivan with her - to his great chagrin. Ivan loved his beautiful and affectionate stepmother, he loved his cheerful brother, who never offended him, the wretched one. But Ivan was afraid of Sofya - her constant gloom and cold look seemed frightening.

But Sophia's brother's feelings were indifferent. She needed him by her side - as a guarantee of the legitimacy of her power, so that she could present Ivan to the people at any moment.

So Sophia ascended the throne on the spears of the archers. Thus, with the shed blood of innocents, the era of her reign began. And it ended the same way: with blood...

Andrei Artamonovich Matveev, the son of the boyar Matveev, torn to pieces by archers, described Sophia as follows:

“Princess Sophia was full of arrogance and cunning. By the power-hungry indulgence of majesty, her princess of piety, her indomitable intention forced her to rise to the royal dignity, according to the ancient example of the Eastern Greek emperor Theodosius, in which his sister Pulcheria ruled more than that same Caesar under his name, which the history of the Greek kingdom more accurately declares, so also the said lust for power vigilantly aroused Sofya Alekseevna to rule with the scepter of the autocrat.

And the great Russian historian N. M. Karamzin also joined the accusers of Sophia:

“This is not the place to describe the character of Sophia, who is one of the greatest women produced by Russia. Let's just say that she was worthy of being called the sister of Peter the Great in her mind, the properties of her soul, but, blinded by lust for power, she wanted to command alone, to reign alone, and imposed on the historian a sad duty to be her accuser.

But during her reign, of course, contemporaries competed in praises of Sophia, and what compliments did not make her mind, spiritual qualities and even appearance ...

Because of this, some later authors wondered if Sophia was really ugly? However, one lifetime engraving portrait has been preserved, which Sophia herself found quite similar to herself and which the artist V. I. Surikov took as a basis for his famous painting.

During this era of the reign and general glorification of Sophia, the Patriarch of Tsaregradsky himself wrote to her in 1686:

“Rarely is a good man himself adorned with the four main virtues: warm faith, reason, wisdom, chastity, you possess them all. You show warm faith with deeds, you showed your mind in a memorable contest, with wisdom you preside both in name and in deed itself, like the second Martha, and you preserve virginity following the example of five chaste virgins, with them you will enter into the joy of the bridegroom.

As for virginity, the patriarch was mistaken here. Sophia has not been a virgin for a very long time. Her first lover was Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn.

He was born in 1633, received a brilliant and unusual upbringing and education for his time, knew Greek, Latin and German. De Neuville in his Notes on Muscovy in 1689 wrote about his meeting with Vasily Golitsyn:

“When I came to an audience with him, I thought that I had come to some Italian duke, everything shone in Golitsyn’s house with splendor and taste. In continuation of the conversation in Latin, he asked me about the war between the emperor and his allies and the French king, about the English revolution and other European events. He offered me various varieties of wine and vodka, but he did not drink anything himself.

There is no doubt that Golitsyn is the most educated, polite, most magnificent of all Moscow dignitaries. He speaks Latin well, is extremely fond of foreigners ... all his pleasures lie in intelligent conversation. He despises those of noble birth and, consequently, those who are stupid in mind, he leads people out of low rank, but fit both in ability and in devotion to him.

Knowing thoroughly three foreign languages, he is now studying French. Rather a great politician and armchair man than a warrior, Golitsyn shone like a bright star among his compatriots, stupid, cruel, beggars and cowards, entirely slaves.

"The Royal Great Seal and the State Great Ambassadorial Affairs Saver, close boyar and governor of Novgorod Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn with an award medal."

On the portrait of V.V. Golitsyn is depicted with the text of "eternal peace" between Russia and the Commonwealth, signed with his active participation, and with the "sovereign's gold" on his chest - a military award received for commanding the 1687 campaign against the Crimean Khanate.

It is clear that Vasily Golitsyn, who knows foreign languages, is interested in everything foreign, and even has a penchant for the Catholic Church, could not help but like the French envoy. But for Sofya, already an overripe girl, endowed with a mind and a rich imagination, Golitsyn seemed much more attractive than most of his contemporaries: gloomy bearded men, bathed in luxury, but barely able to write their own name ...

Looking at us from the portrait is a blond, prone to fullness, with a thin and cunning face, bearing traces of former beauty, with a beard and mustache trimmed in the European manner. Golitsyn was 48 years old when his affair with Sophia began. He was married. His first marriage with Fedosya Dolgorukova was fruitless, and he exiled his wife to a monastery, and took another - young, very beautiful Evdokia Streshneva.

Golitsyn loved his second wife, she brought him a rich dowry and children - two sons and two daughters - and even at the time when his relationship with Sophia was born, his wife remained sweet and desirable for him. But alas: Vasily Golitsyn was a born politician and preferred a relationship with an ugly and unpleasant, but smart, and most importantly, a princess in power, over fidelity to his meek, beautiful wife.

Sophia adored, simply idolized Vasily Golitsyn. She made him her first adviser and her first minister, for the sake of him she forgot her own pride and her own power-hungry aspirations, practically putting the state into his hands. In separation, Sophia wrote desperate letters to Golitsyn, full of tenderness and passion:

“My light, father, my hope, hello for many years! My joy, the light of my eyes! I can't believe, my heart, to see you, my light. Great would that day be for me when you, my soul, will come to me. If it were possible for me, I would put you before me in a single day ... "

Ruler Sophia.

As their romance developed, Sophia soon wished to get Golitsyn as her lawful husband. But his wife was young, healthy and did not intend to die. And then Sophia began to demand that Golitsyn force his wife to take a haircut in the monastery. He resisted this for a long time, because he still loved his wife, not Sophia ... But in the end he agreed and told his wife about the princess's demand.

The meek woman submitted unquestioningly and departed for the monastery. True, she did not have time to take the tonsure and she had to accompany her husband and children into exile when Sophia's power collapsed and Peter ascended the throne.

De Neuville, by the way, believed that Sophia had children from Golitsyn, brought up by "faithful people" - children whom she allegedly was going to recognize after she legalized her marriage with Golitsyn. Doubtful. It would be too great a risk to give birth to an unmarried princess, who, moreover, had so many enemies at court!

Most likely, if there were pregnancies, Sophia “corroded the fetus”, like many, many hermits who dared to violate chastity and were afraid of severe punishment for this.

Although, however ... If she had the courage to try to stand at the head of the state, if she hatched plans to reunite the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, if she almost achieved the opportunity to marry her loved one - why couldn’t she have the courage to give birth to children from him and pass them on to trusted people? Moreover, Sophia had even more trusted people than enemies.

Another lover of Sophia was the archer Fyodor Leontievich Shaklovity. He was almost the same age as her, also handsome, like Golitsyn, but of a different type - tall, wiry, black-haired and swarthy, like a gypsy, with "mad" eyes and sharp white teeth - just like a wolf! - at least, such a portrait is made up of the memoirs of contemporaries.

Shaklovity Sofya put in command of the archers when, on her orders, her former assistant Prince Khovansky (the one thanks to whom she ascended the throne) and his son Andrei, who claimed to become the husband of her sister Catherine, were executed.

She no longer needed Khovansky and was even dangerous, because he was a supporter of the Old Believers, and Sophia planned to go even further than her father along the path of renewing the church and unite the Orthodox Church with the Catholic Church. And she liked Shaklovity even then - but they were not yet lovers. But he was faithful to her and had great authority among the archers.

Makovsky A.E. "Portrait of Princess Sophia".

Fyodor Shaklovity became Sophia's lover when Vasily Golitsyn left Moscow to lead the Russian army during the Crimean campaigns of 1687 and 1689. These campaigns benefited the Russian allies by temporarily holding down the forces of the Crimean Khan, but ended unsuccessfully for Russia. And for the authority of Golitsyn - it is completely deplorable.

As a commander, he turned out to be incompetent and practically destroyed the army, failing not only to meet with the enemy, but even to provide people and horses with food and water, which caused an epidemic of dysentery in the army, which claimed hundreds of lives.

In the meantime, Fyodor Shaklovity did not waste time in Moscow and seduced Sophia with shameless flattery and ever new manifestations of supposedly uncontrollable passion. It is even possible that Shaklovity loved Sophia.

Golitsyn - he respected and appreciated her as an outstanding personality, but Shaklovity could love her ... Despite even her outward unattractiveness. In any case, when the time came to prove his loyalty to her by deed, he proved like no one else ...

Sophia eventually gave in and brought Shaklovity closer to her, who quite quickly mastered the role of a courtier and shared the cares of Prince Vasily in support of the royal ambitions of the regent. By order of Shaklovity, in the winter of 1689, another panegyric to Sophia was created and published, stating that the Lord granted power and strength to the tsars Ivan and Peter and their sister princess equally, but Wisdom was given only to Sofya Alekseevna.

On his instructions, large engravings were created with the coronation portrait of Sophia - in royal attire, with a scepter and an orb in her hands. As mentioned above, Sophia liked the portraits. The artist must have flattered her ... But how ugly this woman was if she liked herself in this terrible engraving!

The news of Golitsyn's military failures reached Moscow, and a murmur arose among the people. Golitsyn was returning, and Sofya was ashamed of her betrayal. She rejected Shaklovity and again opened her arms to her first lover. Met him tenderly, like a winner. And she was very angry with young Peter, who refused to greet Golitsyn upon his return from the Crimea. Peter believed that Golitsyn only ruined people in vain, irritated the Tatars and exposed the Russian borders.

In general, brother Petrusha, even in his Preobrazhensky, remained a source of constant anxiety for Sophia. Some of his amusing shelves were worth something! While he was small, he really made fun of the regiments, he was friends with foreigners, and as he grew up, his personal, well-trained in Western style army was no match for the archers! - for him it became a reliable protection, and for Sophia - a threat.

V.P.Vereshchagin. The history of the Russian State in the images of its Sovereign Rulers.

As Peter grew older, he had more and more supporters - and Sophia had more and more opponents. It was considered indecent that under an adult tsar, Russia was ruled by a woman. Popular unrest began. During one of them, Sophia decided to follow the historical example of Ivan the Terrible and “scared” the people with her immediate abdication.

She expected that the rebels would fall on their faces and beg her to stay... And she did not expect at all that the leaders of the rebellious crowd would say to her on behalf of the people: “Enough, madam, it’s time for you to go to the monastery, it’s enough to stir up the kingdom, it would be great for us to have tsars-sovereigns, but without you it won’t be empty". It was then that Sophia decided to eliminate Peter at all costs.

De Neuville interpreted the plans of Sophia and Golitsyn as follows:

“The difficulty was only to force Golitsyn to approve the murder of both tsars, which she finally decided, seeing only in this an opportunity to retain power for herself, her future husband and children.

But this prince, a more subtle politician than a lover, presented to her the whole horror of this plan, convincing her that its execution would undoubtedly bring on them the wrath and hatred of everyone and everyone ...

Golitsyn proposed to Sophia a more reasonable and, obviously, more correct way, which consisted in marrying Tsar Ivan and, in view of his impotence, to find a lover for his wife, to which the latter would agree for the good of the state, in order to give him heirs.

When Ivan later has a son, Tsar Peter, naturally, will lose all his friends and adherents, the princess is married to Golitsyn, and in order to make their marriage even more pleasant for the whole world, Sylvester, a monk of the Greek religion, but by birth a Pole, will be elected as patriarch who would immediately offer an embassy to Rome to unite the Latin and Greek churches, which, if it happened, would bring universal approval and respect to the princess. Then Tsar Peter could be forced to cut his hair, or, if this fails, then it would be possible to get rid of him in a way even more true and not so hateful as suggested by Sophia.

Tsar Peter I in childhood.

When this is done, it will be necessary to conduct the matter in such a way that Ivan openly acknowledges the bad behavior of his wife, declaring that he is not the father of her children. Evidence for all this would be easy to find in view of the measures they took to ensure that she did not have children. Then a divorce will follow, and after the conclusion of the queen in a monastery, the king marries a second time, but, of course, he will not have children.

By such a harmless means, without fear of punishment from above, they will rule the state throughout the life of Ivan, and after his death they will become heirs due to the suppression of the male race in the royal family.

The princess, seeing in this plan a benefit for herself, very willingly approved all these assumptions and left Golitsyn to fulfill them. It never occurred to her that Golitsyn had his own further plans, that, hoping to outlive Sophia, he had no doubt that after the annexation of the Muscovites to the Roman Church by him, the Pope would appoint his legitimate son as the heir to the throne instead of those children whom he survived with the princess.

Golitsyn began to deal with the marriage of Ivan, and since Moscow tsars never marry foreign princesses, it was ordered that all beautiful Russian girls be presented to the court ... It turned out to be easy to choose a girl who would be most convenient for their intentions, after she entered into marriage with Ivan, she was given an Italian surgeon as lovers, from whom she soon gave birth. But, unfortunately, the child turned out to be a female ... "

Ivan was married to Praskovya Saltykova, who had five daughters from him. Who actually was the father of these girls - whether Ivan himself or really some Italian surgeon - is not known for certain. One of the daughters of Praskovia Saltykova subsequently went down in history under the name of the Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna.

Natalya Kirillovna also decided to hurry with her son's marriage and found a bride for the seventeen-year-old Peter - the twenty-year-old beauty Avdotya Lopukhina. The wedding was played in January 1689, and although Avdotya was not sweet to Peter, already in the spring of 1689 the first signs of her pregnancy appeared - to the great displeasure of Sophia, who was afraid that Peter would have a son.

Lopukhina Evdokia Fedorovna (1670-1731), the last Russian empress, the first wife of Peter I. Born Avdotya Illarionovna Lopukhina.

Sophia decided to abandon the complex and cunning plan proposed by Golitsyn, and agreed to what she herself had long dreamed of and what Shaklovity had offered her: to kill Peter. But even among the archers there were supporters of the young king. On the night of August 8, 1689, they reported to Peter about the impending murder, and it was as if the archers, led by Shaklovity, had already set out from Moscow.

Further, as the historical chronicles say, Peter in one shirt jumped on a horse and galloped to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, followed by his faithful friend and associate Aleksashka Menshikov with royal trousers and a camisole in his hands, persuading the king to stop to at least cover his shame. You can’t blame Peter for cowardice - after all, he saw how it happens when archers rebel!

Having galloped to the monastery, the young king, barely taking a breath, ordered his wife and mother to be brought here. They, too, were picked up in the middle of the night and taken to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery in a bouncing treadmill. Avdotya Lopukhina was so frightened of everything that was happening that the next morning she had a miscarriage. But she was worried in vain: her husband and herself were no longer in danger, because the archery regiments, one after another, went over to the side of Peter.

Frightened by what was happening, Sophia sent the patriarch to Peter, so that he would reconcile his brother and sister. But the patriarch remained close to Peter and did not return to Moscow. Then Sofya herself had to go and, reluctantly, fall at her brother's feet, for strength was now on his side. Peter accepted it. And he demanded that Sophia immediately retire to the Novodevichy Convent to live, and also gave him Shaklovity and other conspirators.

Sophia refused - but soon Fyodor Shaklovity was captured. He was tortured, demanding that he confess that it was Sophia who had incited him to kill Peter, but even in the midst of the most terrible torment, Shaklovity whitewashed his beloved princess and took all the blame on himself. Shaklovity and two other conspirators were executed.

Peter returned to Moscow as a winner. As a sign of obedience to the tsar's will, chopping blocks with stuck axes lined up along the road, on which archers lay prone. But at that time, Peter forgave everyone. Everyone, except for my sister - she was forcibly imprisoned in a monastery. True, they didn’t force me to get a haircut then. But she no longer had the right to live outside the monastery.

Imprisonment of Princess Sophia in the Novodevichy Convent in 1689. Miniature from the manuscript of the 1st half. 18th century "History of Peter I", Op. P. Krekshina.

Joyful was the meeting on the Red Porch of two brothers: Peter and Ivan. Ivan rushed to Peter, staggering with joy, and Peter embraced him. This happened in public and caused tears of emotion in the crowds present.

Vasily Golitsyn would have been arrested along with his whole family, but for him Peter was beaten with his forehead by his brother Boris Golitsyn, one of the young tsar's faithful companions. He begged to spare his brother, not to execute, not to disgrace the entire Golitsyn family ... Meanwhile, in the days of his glory, Vasily treated Boris without the slightest sympathy, did not hide his contempt for the "drunkard and ignoramus." And now here's a drunkard and an ignoramus saved his life.

Vasily Golitsyn was deprived of the boyars, ranks, titles, property - but not princely dignity, Peter made this concession for the sake of Boris Golitsyn - and exiled with his family to the North, to the Arkhangelsk Territory ... Pinezhsky Volok became his final place of residence.

In September 1689, when Golitsyn had just arrived at the place of exile, Sophia was able to find a way to send him a letter written by her own hand and 360 chervonets. In a letter, she promised him speedy freedom. They found out about the letter - and they began to guard Sophia in the monastery even more severely. But - they did not save ...

Avdotya Lopukhina was a healthy woman, and the miscarriage she experienced did not cause much damage to her body. Already in the autumn of 1689, she became pregnant again, and this time her pregnancy went well and she gave birth to her son Alexei - to the delight of her husband and all subjects. After she gave birth to Peter two more boys, Alexander and Paul, but both of them died in infancy.

Peter was a regular guest of the German Quarter and already then began his affair with the lovely blonde Anna Mons and friendship with Franz Lefort. In 1693, Peter arrived in Arkhangelsk and began the construction of ships and carried out now naval "amusing battles".

In 1694, Natalya Kirillovna died and Peter bitterly mourned the death of his mother. Ivan died in the winter of 1696. In early April of the same year, Peter's fleet was launched. At the end of May, the siege of Azov began and two months later the fortress fell.

And Sophia was waiting for the right moment when she could strike again and regain her crown!

Princess Sofya Alekseevna in the Novodevichy Convent. Painting by Ilya Repin.

In March 1697, Peter went to Amsterdam with an embassy, ​​studied, worked at a shipyard, then traveled again, visited London, Vienna, was preparing to go to Venice ... When suddenly a messenger arrived from Moscow with a message that the archers had rebelled again and demanded back to the kingdom Sophia: they say, it’s better to have a tsarina who is sitting in Moscow than a tsar who travels no one knows where!

Peter immediately went to Russia. On the way, he was met by a new messenger, who said that the archers were stopped and defeated by Shein, that they were not allowed to reach Moscow.

Peter returned to the capital on August 25, 1698. The very next day, he resolutely set about reforms: he issued a decree on wearing a German dress, began to cut the beards of the boyars, removed his disgusted wife Avdotya Lopukhina to the Suzdal Monastery and ordered her to be tonsured under the name of nun Elena, sent his eight-year-old son Alexei abroad for education, and most importantly, he began a search in the case of the Streltsy rebellion.

One hundred and thirty people had already been executed by Shein by that time, and one thousand eight hundred and forty-five people had been arrested. Of these, one hundred and nine fled, and the rest were in for a terrible fate: they were all tortured, demanding to confess that Sophia was at the head of the rebellion, that they rebelled not of their own free will, but of her malicious intent. In the end, many could not stand it and the truth surfaced. “Anonymous letters” also surfaced, composed and written by Sophia with her own hand.

Next, Peter began to find out how anonymous letters ended up outside the walls of the monastery. Women close to Sophia were tortured. According to a number of historians, Sophia herself was tortured. The picture of the conspiracy became clear, and Peter proceeded to the executions. On September 30, gallows and chopping blocks were placed in the White City. They hanged two hundred and one archers, cut off the heads of another two hundred. Peter himself also chopped off heads, and demanded from his faithful companions that they also chop.

V.I. Surikov "Morning of the Streltsy Execution".

Sophia was forcibly tonsured under the name of Susanna.
All winter long, the corpses of three archers hung at the windows of her cell, in whose ossified hands her “anonymous letters” were placed.
Princess Sophia, nun Susanna, died at the Novodevichy Convent on July 3, 1704, at the age of forty-eight.

Vasily Golitsyn survived her by ten years and died in exile in 1714. His eldest son, Alexei Vasilievich, lost his mind in exile from longing and idleness. His grandson, Mikhail Alekseevich, who was only two years old at the time of his departure for exile, returned, traveled a lot, married an Italian, was forcibly separated from her by order of Anna Ioannovna - and also went crazy, and became a jester at the court of this cruel queen , and was married to the joker Buzheninova, for which the famous Ice House was built! How bizarre fate shuffles its cards ...

Tsar Peter went down in history as Peter the Great. He died in January 1725, having caught a cold during a flood in the city of St. Petersburg built by him. According to one legend, Tsar Peter jumped into the water to save a drowning soldier. According to another, he simply worked on a par with everyone waist-deep in icy water, saving the dying ships.

Compilation of material based on the book: Elena Prokofieva. "Love and power. Under the weight of Monomakh's cap. The wise Princess Sophia"

In the second century, during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, a pious widow named Sophia lived in Rome. Sophia raised her daughters in love for Christ and gave them names in honor of the main Christian virtues - Faith, Hope and Love.

In those years, the Roman state severely persecuted believers in Christ, and the widow and her daughters did not hide their faith. The rumor about their family reached the emperor, and he ordered them to be brought to him. Understanding where and why they were being taken, the mother and daughters fervently prayed to the Lord, asking him to give them strength not to be afraid of the coming torment. And when the saints appeared before the emperor, all those present were amazed by their calmness - as if they had come to a bright celebration, and not to torture.

The pagan king called on the daughters of Sophia in turn and insistently demanded that a sacrifice be made to the goddess. And although the daughters were very young (Vera was 12, Nadezhda - 10 and Lyubov - 9 years old), they remained adamant. Then the emperor ordered that Sophia's daughters be subjected to cruel tortures, after which they were killed. Another terrible torture awaited Sophia: she had to look at the suffering and execution of her daughters. But the mother did not show the emotions expected by the executioners, she encouraged her daughters so that they patiently accepted their torment.

To prolong the mother's mental suffering, the emperor allowed her to take the bodies of her daughters. Sophia put their remains in an ark and buried them outside the city in a high place. For three days Saint Sophia, without leaving, sat at the grave of her daughters, and then she died. Believers buried her body in the same place.

The relics of Saint Sophia and her daughters have been buried in Alsace since 777, in the church of Eschot (France).

Other famous saints named Sophia:

Martyr Sophia of Egypt

Martyr Sophia was beheaded after being tortured for confessing Jesus Christ in the 3rd century. the ruler of Egypt, Claudius. Her relics were transferred by Constantine the Great to Tsargrad.

Righteous Sophia Slutskaya

Holy Righteous Sophia, Princess, and then Princess of Slutskaya, came from an ancient family of Olelkovichs, who reigned in the city of Slutsk, one of the oldest cities in North-Western Russia. The princess was born on May 1, 1585. Her husband was the prince of Nesvizh Janusz Radzivilla, a Catholic by religion. The main condition of their wedding on the part of the bride was her preservation of the Orthodox faith. Already married, she became famous as a defender of the Orthodox faith in the conditions of the church union with Rome, declared in the Western Russian lands, and the brutal persecution of the Orthodox population that followed.

Saint Sophia of Suzdal (in the world Grand Duchess Solomonia)

The Monk Sophia, before monasticism - Solomonia, was the Grand Duchess, the daughter of the boyar Yuri Konstantinovich Saburov. In 1505, she was married to the heir to the throne, the future Grand Duke Vasily Ioannovich. Their marriage was not happy, as Solomonia proved to be barren. After 20 years of marriage, in order to have an heir, Vasily Ivanovich decided to enter into a second marriage (with Elena Glinskaya, who bore him a son, the future Ivan the Terrible) and ordered Solomonia to be tonsured as a nun. She was forcibly tonsured with the name Sophia and sent into custody in the Suzdal Intercession Monastery. Becoming a nun, the saint overcame resentment in herself and devoted herself entirely to God.

Martyr Sophia (Seliverstova)

Born in 1871 in the Saratov province in a peasant family. After the death of her mother, the ten-year-old girl was sent to an orphanage that existed at the women's community, and then was converted into a monastery. Sophia lived there until the age of twenty, and then left for St. Petersburg, began to study drawing and at the same time work as a servant. At the age of 27, Sofia became a novice at the Strastnoy Monastery in Moscow and taught the nuns how to draw. In the 1920s, the monastery was closed, and Sophia and three nuns lived for about ten years in the basement on Tikhvinskaya Street. In November 1937, the NKVD officers arrested the nuns. They also wanted to arrest Sofia, but she was not at home at that time. On February 22, 1938, she was also arrested. The next day, Sophia was interrogated, two days later she was sentenced to death for "counter-revolutionary agitation", and three days later she was shot. Sofia Seliverstova was buried in a common unknown grave at the Butovo training ground near Moscow. In 2001, she was canonized as a Holy New Martyr of Russia.

1. It is interesting that in the Russian tradition the name Sophia, meaning "wisdom", remained without translation, but the names of her daughters Pistis (Vera), Elpis (Hope) and Agape (Love) have taken root in our Russian translation.

2. Martyr Sophia of Rome is the most revered saint of the other owners of this name. In honor of Sophia and her daughters, many churches were built in all Christian countries. However, sometimes Saint Sophia is confused with Sophia the Wisdom of God, in honor of which many Orthodox churches were built and which means God's Wisdom and Power itself, and not a specific saint.

3. The name Sophia was considered a traditional princely name. That was the name of several women from the Romanov dynasty, among them princesses Sofya Mikhailovna and Sofya Alekseevna.

4. Many spouses of Russian rulers had to change their name upon marriage: in tsarist times - for reasons of euphony, during the empire - during the transition from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy.
So, for example, the name of Sophia was given to the Grand Duchess of Moscow Sophia Palaiologos, the daughter of Thomas Palaiologos, the brother of the last emperor of Byzantium, who from birth bore the name Zoya.

The name "Sofia" was an integral part of the Protestant names of Empresses Catherine II, Maria, wife of Emperor Paul I and Mary, wife of Emperor Alexander III, but none of them was left during the transition to Orthodoxy.

The daughter of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Sofya Romanova was born on September 27, 1657. She was the sixth child in the royal family. Her mother, Maria Miloslavskaya, was the first wife of Alexei and was the mother of Tsars Fedor III and Ivan V. By the will of circumstances, Sophia Romanova, like her brothers, became the ruler - the first since the time of Princess Olga in the 10th century.

Personality

Sofya Alekseevna's tutor was the theologian Simeon Polotsky, one of the most educated people in Russia of that era. Therefore, it is not surprising that contemporaries considered the princess a bright and intelligent person.

In the Muscovite state, a tradition developed according to which the daughters of monarchs led an extremely closed lifestyle. Very often, princesses did not marry at all. Marriage with compatriots (even with a boyar) was considered inappropriate, and marriage with representatives of European dynasties was also impossible due to religious differences. Sofya Alekseevna also did not have a spouse. But, having become a political figure, she violated the established domestic tradition of ousting women of royal blood from the public field.

Dynastic crisis

Alexei Mikhailovich had many children, but almost all of them were in poor health. The king survived two older sons. Dying in 1676, the crown bearer made his third son, Fedor, who became Fedor III, his heir. This young man was also sickly. He died in 1682 at the age of 20.

The departure from the life of the young king gave rise to a dynastic crisis. There was a question about the heir. It was then that Sofia Romanova appeared on the political scene. Fedor, in addition to several sisters, had two younger brothers: Ivan and Peter. Since the king died childless, power should have been transferred to one of them.

Ivan was older, but his fragile health raised many questions. The younger, Peter, on the contrary, was distinguished by energy, good health and a non-childish mind. In addition, the princes were the children of various wives of Alexei. Ivan's mother was Maria Miloslavskaya, Peter's mother was Natalya Naryshkina. Behind the backs of the heirs, their relatives from boyar families acted.

Regent

Oddly enough, Sofia Romanova turned out to be a compromise figure for the Moscow elite, whose biography shows that she had a strong will and was capable of public administration. In 1682, when Fedor III died, a riot of archers took place in the capital - the soldiers who formed the basis of the regular Russian army of that time.

The army, instigated by the Miloslavskys, opposed Peter's candidacy. The archers accused the Naryshkins of killing Ivan and attacked the royal palace. Many boyars who stood on the side of Peter died, including his "guardian" Artamon Matveev. As a result of this armed intervention, the warring aristocrats agreed that both brothers would rule jointly.

But even this compromise did not cancel their infancy. Then the boyars decided that Sofia Romanova would be the best regent. The biography of the daughter of Alexei Mikhailovich suited all representatives of the Moscow elite, and in June 1682 she became empress with her younger brothers.

Sophia's right hand

Russia at the end of the 17th century faced several serious internal and external problems. They accompanied the entire reign of Sophia. Romanova had considerable powers, but made decisions based on the advice of her favorite. The closest adviser to the princess was the boyar and diplomat Prince Vasily Golitsyn. Officially, he held the position of head (similar to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

"12 articles"

Sophia inherited the problem of the Orthodox religious schism from her father. Under Tsar Alexei and Patriarch Nikon, a church reform was carried out. Changing some of the traditional dogmas and rituals led to unprecedented resistance from society. People who did not want to accept innovations were accused of heresy.

Sofya Alekseevna Romanova, whose reign was a logical continuation of her father's, supported the former repressive policy against the schismatics. In 1685, the princess adopted the so-called "12 Articles". In this law, punishments were systematized in relation to the Old Believers. Executions, torture, imprisonment in the walls of monasteries, confiscation of property were allowed.

The adoption of the "12 Articles" led to an exodus of schismatics from Moscow and other large cities of the Russian state. The historian, like many other researchers, believed that this law became one of the most severe in the history of the national state punitive policy. It is curious that in that year, Louis XIV, simultaneously with Sophia, canceled the Edict of Nantes in France, refusing toleration towards Protestants.

Eternal peace with Poland

Even under Alexei Mikhailovich, Russia was at war with Poland. The armed conflict ended in 1667, but many territorial disputes were never completed. Sofya Alekseevna Romanova took up the solution of this diplomatic problem. The regent years came at a time when both countries were interested in settling longstanding differences. Against this background, the ambassadors of the Commonwealth arrived in Moscow.

The bone of contention remained the Hetmanate - the lands of the Cossacks in Ukraine. Controversy flared up around this region. After lengthy negotiations in 1686, the Eternal Peace was nevertheless concluded. According to it, Poland recognized Kyiv, all of Zaporozhye, Chernigov, Starodub and Smolensk for Russia. In exchange for this, Moscow paid 146,000 rubles and agreed to participate in a joint European war against Turkey, which threatened the Commonwealth from the south. Warsaw retained Volhynia and Galicia, and also guaranteed the observance of the rights of its Orthodox subjects.

Crimean campaigns

A direct consequence of the Eternal Peace with Poland was the organization by Russia of those directed against the Ottoman Empire and its vassal, the Crimean Khan. There were two campaigns in total. Both were headed by Vasily Golitsyn. The appointment of the commander-in-chief was supported by Sofia Romanova. The brief biography of the diplomat seemed to the princess the most suitable.

In 1687, a 100,000-strong Russian army set off. set fire to the steppe, significantly complicating the life of the army. As a result, Golitsyn's main army was defeated. However, the detachment of commander Grigory Kosagov, operating on the right flank, captured Ochakovo and defeated the Budzhak horde.

The second Crimean campaign began in 1689. Golitsyn reached Perekop, but did not take it and turned back. The prince motivated his decision to retreat by the lack of fresh water. As a result, the Crimean campaigns did not bring Russia any tangible benefits. Nevertheless, it was they who raised the prestige of Moscow in the eyes of Western Europe, for which Turkey was the main enemy, threatening the peace and order of the entire Christian civilization.

Relations with China

Sophia's diplomacy concerned not only European capitals, but also the far eastern borders of the country. Throughout the 17th century, Russian colonists (primarily Cossacks) followed east until they finally reached the Chinese border. For a long time, relations with the Qing Empire were not regulated by any document.

The main trouble was that the two states did not officially agree on their borders, which is why conflicts constantly arose in adjacent areas. The Russians, who were looking for lands suitable for agriculture, settled in the Amur region, which, moreover, abounded in furs. However, this region was in the zone of influence of the Qing Empire. The apogee of disputes with the colonists was the siege by the Chinese of the Russian outpost Albazin in 1685.

To regulate relations with the eastern neighbor, an embassy was sent to Transbaikalia, which was organized by Sofya Alekseevna Romanova. The results of the reign of the princess were generally positive, but it was the episode with China that became an unpleasant touch in the history of the regency. The Qing Empire achieved the signing of an agreement that was extremely unfavorable for Moscow. Russia lost its Far Eastern regions, the Amur region, as well as the Albazin fortress. The border with China was drawn along the banks. The corresponding document was signed in Nerchinsk and became known as the Nerchinsk Treaty. Its operation ceased only in the middle of the 19th century.

Loss of power

The established order of Sophia's regency could not be eternal. Peter gradually grew up, and sooner or later his sister would have to give him power. The second brother, weak-willed Ivan, despite his high status, did not play any independent role. According to the traditions of that time, Peter finally became an adult after he married the daughter of the boyar Evdokia Lopukhina. However, Sofya Alekseevna Romanova, whose brief biography shows her as a power-hungry woman, was in no hurry to cede her dominant position to her younger brother.

For several years of the regency, the princess surrounded herself with loyal people. The military leaders, including those from among the archers, received their positions thanks to Sophia and supported only her claims. Peter continued to live in the village of Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow, and his relationship with the Kremlin became increasingly hostile.

The only force on which the future emperor could rely was his amusing troops. These regiments were formed over several years. At first, the prince only had fun with military games, but gradually his army became a formidable force. In August 1689, supporters informed Peter that an assassination attempt was being prepared on him. The young man took refuge in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Gradually, thanks to decrees and letters, he lured the archers to his side, and Sophia remained isolated in Moscow.

Life in the monastery

In September 1689, the tsar's sister was deposed and sent to the Novodevichy Convent. Within the walls of the monastery, she lived surrounded by guards. In 1698, in Moscow, in the absence of the tsar, the outbreak was suppressed. The investigation concluded that the conspirators were going to put Sophia on the throne. Her relationship with her brother had not been warm before, and now Peter ordered her sister to be tonsured as a nun. Sophia Romanova, whose portrait photos clearly show her grave condition in captivity, died on July 14, 1704 in the Novodevichy Convent.

Hello, friends!

This article will provide a historical portrait of Sofya Alekseevna. By the way, I recommend bookmarking this site so that you don’t miss anything interesting 🙂

Sofia Alekseevna - historical portrait

Regency years: 1682-1689

1. power struggle

To begin with, we need to understand what the situation has developed around the empty throne in the country after the death of Fedor Alekseevich. The eldest of the brothers, 15-year-old Ivan V, was weak and sickly, and it was very difficult to even imagine him as a king. Another heir, a healthy and active 10-year-old Peter, the son of Alexei Mikhailovich's second wife, was too small to rule the state. By and large, the most adequate of the Romanovs at that time was Ivan's sister Sophia, but she had no rights to the throne.

Of course, such a difficult case laid the foundation for popular unrest, rumors began to spread, the royal family began to intrigue each other ... The clever and cunning Sophia took the situation into her own hands.

At that time, problems arose with the archers: in connection with the appearance of regiments of the new system, the role of the archers fell, they often began to delay their salaries or were not paid at all. The discontent and aggression of the Streltsy troops grew, and Sophia directed their negative energy in the direction she needed.

In 1682, the archers organized a riot on Red Square, at their request, Ivan became the first tsar, the second - Peter, under the regency of Sophia. For such a unique situation of the joint reign of the young princes with the regent, an unusual double throne was created with a small window through which the juvenile rulers received advice from their sisters and close associates on how to behave during palace ceremonies.

1. Crimean campaigns

After obtaining the right to participate in public affairs, Sophia was mainly involved in foreign policy.

In 1686, the "Eternal Peace" was concluded with Poland on the obligations of Russia to oppose the Crimea and Turkey. But both Crimean campaigns, organized by Sophia's favorite V.V. Golitsyn, were unsuccessful. For the first time in 1687, the army, having not reached the Crimea, returned due to the burning of the steppe by the Tatars: in the devastated area there was not enough water and food for the troops. During the second campaign, Golitsyn managed to reach Perekop, but the army did not have enough forces to enter the territory of the Crimea.

1. Development of the education system

In 1687, on the initiative of her teacher Simeon Polotsky, Sophia established the first higher educational institution in Russia - the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, which later formed the Imperial Moscow University, now the Moscow State University.

Results of activity:

Although the Crimean campaigns were not successful, they helped to strengthen the international prestige of Russia and testified to a change in the balance of power in the Black Sea region. The foundation of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy marked the beginning of higher education in Russia.

© Anastasia Prikhodchenko 2015

This woman was credited with many important state deeds. Why is Sophia Paleolog so distinguished? Interesting facts about her, as well as biographical information are collected in this article.

Cardinal's Proposal

In February 1469, the ambassador of Cardinal Vissarion arrived in Moscow. He handed over a letter to the Grand Duke with a proposal to marry Sophia, the daughter of Theodore I, Despot of Morea. By the way, this letter also said that Sophia Paleolog (real name - Zoya, they decided to replace it with an Orthodox one for diplomatic reasons) had already refused two crowned suitors who were wooing her. They were the Duke of Milan and the French king. The fact is that Sophia did not want to marry a Catholic.

Sophia Palaiologos (of course, her photo cannot be found, but the portraits are presented in the article), according to the ideas of that distant time, she was no longer young. However, she was still quite attractive. She had expressive, amazingly beautiful eyes, as well as matte delicate skin, which was considered in Rus' a sign of excellent health. In addition, the bride was distinguished by her article and a sharp mind.

Who is Sofia Fominichna Paleolog?

Sofia Fominichna is the niece of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last emperor of Byzantium. Since 1472, she was the wife of Ivan III Vasilyevich. Her father was Thomas Palaiologos, who fled to Rome with his family after the Turks captured Constantinople. Sophia Paleolog lived after the death of her father in the care of the great pope. For a number of reasons, he wished to marry her to Ivan III, who was widowed in 1467. He answered yes.

Sofia Paleolog gave birth to a son in 1479, who later became Vasily III Ivanovich. In addition, she achieved the announcement of Vasily the Grand Duke, whose place was to be taken by Dmitry, the grandson of Ivan III, who was crowned king. Ivan III used his marriage to Sophia to strengthen Rus' in the international arena.

Icon "Blessed Sky" and the image of Michael III

Sophia Paleolog, Grand Duchess of Moscow, brought several Orthodox icons. It is believed that among them was a rare image of the Mother of God. She was in the Kremlin Archangel Cathedral. However, according to another legend, the relic was transported from Constantinople to Smolensk, and when the latter was captured by Lithuania, Sofya Vitovtovna, the princess, was blessed with this icon for marriage when she married Vasily I, the Moscow prince. The image, which is now in the cathedral, is a list from an ancient icon, made at the end of the 17th century by order (pictured below). Muscovites, according to tradition, brought lamp oil and water to this icon. It was believed that they were filled with healing properties, because the image had healing power. This icon today is one of the most revered in our country.

In the Archangel Cathedral, after the wedding of Ivan III, an image of Michael III, the Byzantine emperor, who was the ancestor of the Palaiologos dynasty, also appeared. Thus, it was argued that Moscow is the successor of the Byzantine Empire, and the sovereigns of Rus' are the heirs of the Byzantine emperors.

The birth of the long-awaited heir

After Sophia Paleolog, the second wife of Ivan III, married him in the Assumption Cathedral and became his wife, she began to think about how to gain influence and become a real queen. Paleolog understood that for this it was necessary to present the prince with a gift that only she could do: to give birth to a son who would become the heir to the throne. To the chagrin of Sophia, the firstborn was a daughter who died almost immediately after birth. A year later, a girl was born again, who also died suddenly. Sophia Palaiologos cried, prayed to God to give her an heir, handed out handfuls of alms to the poor, donated to churches. After some time, the Mother of God heard her prayers - Sophia Paleolog became pregnant again.

Her biography was finally marked by a long-awaited event. It took place on March 25, 1479 at 8 pm, as stated in one of the Moscow chronicles. A son was born. He was named Vasily Pariysky. The boy was baptized by Vasiyan, Archbishop of Rostov, in the Sergius Monastery.

What did Sophia bring with her?

Sophia managed to inspire what was dear to her, and what was appreciated and understood in Moscow. She brought with her the customs and traditions of the Byzantine court, pride in her own lineage, and annoyance at having to marry a Mongol-Tatar tributary. It is unlikely that Sophia liked the simplicity of the situation in Moscow, as well as the unceremonious relations that prevailed at that time at court. Ivan III himself was forced to listen to reproachful speeches from obstinate boyars. However, in the capital, even without it, many had a desire to change the old order, which did not correspond to the position of the Moscow sovereign. And the wife of Ivan III with the Greeks brought by her, who saw both Roman and Byzantine life, could give the Russians valuable instructions on what models and how to implement the changes desired by everyone.

Sophia's influence

The prince's wife cannot be denied influence on the behind-the-scenes life of the court and its decorative setting. She skillfully built personal relationships, she was excellent at court intrigues. However, Paleolog could only respond to political ones with suggestions that echoed the vague and secret thoughts of Ivan III. Especially clear was the idea that by her marriage the princess was making the rulers of Moscow the successors of the emperors of Byzantium, with the interests of the Orthodox East holding on to the latter. Therefore, Sophia Paleolog in the capital of the Russian state was valued mainly as a Byzantine princess, and not as a Grand Duchess of Moscow. She herself understood this. How she used the right to receive foreign embassies in Moscow. Therefore, her marriage to Ivan was a kind of political demonstration. It was announced to the whole world that the heiress of the Byzantine house, which had fallen shortly before, transferred its sovereign rights to Moscow, which became the new Constantinople. Here she shares these rights with her husband.

Reconstruction of the Kremlin, the overthrow of the Tatar yoke

Ivan, sensing his new position in the international arena, found the old Kremlin environment ugly and cramped. From Italy, following the princess, the masters were discharged. They built the Assumption Cathedral (St. Basil's Cathedral) on the site of the wooden choirs, as well as a new stone palace. In the Kremlin at that time, a strict and complex ceremonial began to start up at the court, imparting arrogance and stiffness to Moscow life. Just as in his own palace, Ivan III began to act in external relations with a more solemn step. Especially when the Tatar yoke without a fight, as if by itself, fell off the shoulders. And it weighed almost two centuries over the entire north-eastern Russia (from 1238 to 1480). A new language, more solemn, appears at this time in government papers, especially diplomatic ones. There is a lot of terminology.

The role of Sophia in overthrowing the Tatar yoke

Paleolog in Moscow was not loved for the influence it exerted on the Grand Duke, as well as for the changes in the life of Moscow - "great disorders" (in the words of the boyar Bersen-Beklemishev). Sophia interfered not only in internal, but also in foreign affairs. She demanded that Ivan III refuse to pay tribute to the Horde Khan and finally free himself from his power. Skillful advice Paleolog, as evidenced by V.O. Klyuchevsky, always met the intentions of her husband. Therefore, he refused to pay tribute. Ivan III trampled on the khan's charter in Zamoskovreche, in the Horde courtyard. Later, the Transfiguration Church was built on this site. However, even then the people "spoke" of Paleologus. Before Ivan III went to the great in 1480, he sent his wife and children to Beloozero. For this, the subjects attributed to the sovereign the intention to quit power in the event that he takes Moscow and flees with his wife.

"Duma" and a change in the treatment of subordinates

Ivan III, freed from the yoke, finally felt like a sovereign sovereign. Palace etiquette through the efforts of Sophia began to resemble Byzantine. The prince gave his wife a "gift": Ivan III allowed Paleolog to gather his own "thought" from the members of the retinue and arrange "diplomatic receptions" in his half. The princess received foreign ambassadors and conversed politely with them. This was an unprecedented innovation for Rus'. The treatment at the court of the sovereign also changed.

Sophia Palaiologos brought sovereign rights to her husband, as well as the right to the Byzantine throne, as noted by F.I. Uspensky, a historian who studied this period. The boyars had to reckon with this. Ivan III used to love disputes and objections, but under Sophia, he radically changed the treatment of his courtiers. Ivan began to hold himself impregnable, easily fell into anger, often imposed disgrace, demanded special respect for himself. Rumor also attributed all these misfortunes to the influence of Sophia Paleolog.

Fight for the throne

She was also accused of violating the throne. Enemies in 1497 told the prince that Sophia Paleologus planned to poison his grandson in order to put her own son on the throne, that fortune-tellers preparing a poisonous potion were secretly visiting her, that Vasily himself was participating in this conspiracy. Ivan III took the side of his grandson in this matter. He ordered the soothsayers to be drowned in the Moscow River, arrested Vasily, and removed his wife from him, defiantly executing several members of the Paleolog "thought". In 1498, Ivan III married Dmitry in the Assumption Cathedral as heir to the throne.

However, Sophia had in her blood the ability to court intrigues. She accused Elena Voloshanka of heresy and was able to bring about her downfall. The Grand Duke placed his grandson and daughter-in-law in disgrace and named Vasily in 1500 as the legitimate heir to the throne.

Sophia Paleolog: role in history

The marriage of Sophia Paleolog and Ivan III, of course, strengthened the Muscovite state. He contributed to its transformation into the Third Rome. Sofia Paleolog lived for over 30 years in Russia, having given birth to 12 children to her husband. However, she never managed to fully understand a foreign country, its laws and traditions. Even in official chronicles there are records condemning her behavior in some situations that are difficult for the country.

Sofia attracted architects and other cultural figures, as well as doctors, to the Russian capital. The creations of Italian architects have made Moscow not inferior in majesty and beauty to the capitals of Europe. This helped to strengthen the prestige of the Moscow sovereign, emphasized the continuity of the Russian capital to the Second Rome.

Sophia's death

Sophia died in Moscow on August 7, 1503. She was buried in the Ascension Convent of the Moscow Kremlin. In December 1994, in connection with the transfer of the remains of the royal and princely wives to the Archangel Cathedral, S. A. Nikitin restored her sculptural portrait based on the preserved skull of Sophia (pictured above). Now we can at least roughly imagine what Sophia Paleolog looked like. Interesting facts and biographical information about her are numerous. We tried to select the most important when compiling this article.