The daughter of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Sofya Romanov was born on September 27, 1657. She was the sixth child in a 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 Sofya Romanova, as well as her brothers, became the ruler - the first since the time of Princess Olga in the X century.
Personality
The teacher of Sophia Alekseevna was the theologian Simeon of Polotsk - one of the most educated people of Russia of that era. Therefore, it is not surprising that contemporaries considered the princess a bright and intelligent person.
In the Moscow state, a tradition has developed according to which the daughters of the monarchs led an extremely closed way of life. Very often princesses did not get married at all. A marriage with compatriots (even with a boyar) was considered inappropriate, and a wedding with representatives of European dynasties was also impossible due to religious differences. Sofya Alekseevna also did not have a spouse. But, becoming a political figure, she violated the prevailing domestic tradition of ousting women of royal blood from the public field.
Dynastic crisis
Aleksei Mikhailovich had many children, but almost all of them were notable for poor health. The king survived two eldest sons. Dying in 1676, the crown-bearer made his heir to the third offspring, Fedor, who became Fedor III. This young man was also painful. He died in 1682 at the age of 20.
The departure from the life of the young king created a dynastic crisis. The question arose about the heir. It was then that Sofia Romanova appeared on the political stage. Fedor, in addition to several sisters, had two younger brothers: Ivan and Peter. Since the king was dying childless, power should be 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, well-being and a non-childish mind. In addition, the princes were children of different wives of Alexei. The mother of Ivan was Maria Miloslavskaya, the mother of Peter was Natalia Naryshkina. Behind the heirs, their relatives from boyar families acted.
Regent
Oddly enough, Sofya Romanova turned out to be a compromise figure for the Moscow elite, whose biography shows that she was distinguished by a strong will and was capable of government. In 1682, when Fedor III died, a revolt of archers - soldiers, who formed the basis of the regular Russian army of that time, occurred in the capital.
The army, instigated by the Miloslavskys, opposed the candidacy of Peter. Sagittarius accused the Naryshkins of killing Ivan and attacked the royal palace. Killed many of the boyars who stood on the side of Peter, including his "guardian" Artamon Matveev. As a result of this armed intervention, the warring aristocrats agreed that both brothers would rule together.
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 a sovereign with her younger brothers.
Sophia's right hand
Before the end of the 17th century, Russia faced several serious internal and external problems. They accompanied the entire reign of Sophia. Romanova had significant authority, 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 served as head of the Ambassadorial Order (an analogue of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
“12 articles”
The legacy of the father of Sophia inherited the problem of Orthodox religious schism. Under Tsar Alexei and Patriarch Nikon, church reform was carried out. A change in some traditional dogmas and rites led to unprecedented resistance from society. People who did not want to innovate were accused of heresy.
Sofya Alekseevna Romanova, whose reign was a logical continuation of her father’s reign, supported the former repressive policy against schismatics. In 1685, the princess adopted the so-called “12 articles”. In this law, punishments against Old Believers were systematized. Executions were allowed, torture, imprisonment in the walls of monasteries, confiscation of property.
The adoption of "12 articles" led to the mass exodus of schismatics from Moscow and other major cities of the Russian state. The historian Lev Gumilyov, like many other researchers, believed that this law became one of the most severe in the history of domestic state punitive policy. It is curious that in that year, Louis XIV simultaneously with Sofia revoked the Edict of Nantes in France, renouncing religious tolerance 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 to this diplomatic problem. The years of the regent’s rule came at a time when both countries were interested in resolving long-standing disagreements. Against this background, ambassadors of the Commonwealth arrived in Moscow.
Hetmanism remained the apple of discord - the land of the Cossacks in Ukraine. Around this region and controversy erupted. After lengthy negotiations in 1686, the Eternal Peace was nevertheless concluded. According to it, Poland recognized for Russia Kiev, the entire left-bank Ukraine, Zaporozhye, Chernihiv, Starodub and Smolensk. In exchange for this, Moscow paid 146 thousand rubles and gave its consent to participate in the joint European war against Turkey, which threatened the Commonwealth from the south. Warsaw retained Volyn 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 the Crimean campaigns directed against the Ottoman Empire and its vassal of 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. A brief biography of the diplomat seemed to the princess the most suitable.
In 1687, the 100,000th Russian army hit the road. Crimean Tatars set fire to the steppe, significantly complicating the life of the army. As a result, the main army of Golitsyn was defeated. However, the detachment of the military leader Grigory Kosagov, acting on the right flank, captured Ochakov 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 a lack of fresh water. As a result, the Crimean campaigns did not bring Russia any tangible benefits. Nevertheless, it was they who increased the prestige of Moscow in the eyes of Western Europe, for which Turkey was the main adversary, threatening the peace and order of the whole 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, finally, they 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 formally agree on their borders, which is why conflicts were constantly emerging in adjacent areas. The Russians, who were looking for land suitable for farming, settled in the Amur region, which also abounded with fur. 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 settle relations with its eastern neighbor, an embassy set off in Transbaikalia, 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 disadvantageous 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 of the Argun River. The corresponding document was signed in Nerchinsk and became known as the Nerchensky Treaty. Its action ceased only in the middle of the XIX century.
Loss of power
The current order of Sophia’s regency could not be eternal. Peter gradually grew, and sooner or later his sister would have to give him power. The second brother, the weak-willed Ivan, did not play any independent role despite his high status. 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 give up her dominant position to her younger brother.
For several years of regency, the princess surrounded herself with faithful people. Warlords, including from the number of archers, got their posts thanks to Sophia and supported only her claims. Peter continued to live in the village of Preobrazhensky, near Moscow, and his relations with the Kremlin became increasingly hostile.
The only power the future emperor could lean on 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 attempt was being made on him. The young man took refuge in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Gradually, thanks to decrees and letters, he lured archers to his side, and Sofia remained in isolation in Moscow.
Life in the monastery
In September 1689, the king’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, a streltsy revolt broke out. The rebellion was suppressed. The investigation concluded that the conspirators were going to put Sophia on the throne. Her relationship with her brother was not even warm, and now Peter even ordered to cut his sister's nun. Sofya Romanova, whose portrait portraits clearly show her imprisonment, died on July 14, 1704 in the Novodevichy Convent.