What was the name of Peter's sister 1? What role did she play in history? And how did this woman come to power?
In May 1682, a streltsy revolt took place. Its members, instigated by the Miloslavskys, demanded the accession of the sister of the future reformer. The boyars, fearing a second pogrom, agreed. So the sister of Peter 1 took on the shoulders of the government. And after the Russian queen was undeservedly forgotten by the people and historians.
Historical portrait
The half-sister of Peter 1 was the daughter of Alexei Mikhailovich and Maria Miloslavskaya. She was the sixth child among sixteen children in the family. She was born on September 17, 1657 in Moscow.
What was the name of the elder sister of Peter 1? At baptism, the baby was given the traditional princely name - Sophia. She became the namesake of her early dead aunt.
She was an educated student of Polotsky. Energetic, strong-willed, ambitious. Sophia, the sister of Peter 1, did not want to sit at embroidery in a tower. She wanted to rule. However, when her dream came true, she realized how dangerous and unstable her position was. The woman at the helm of the Russian government has not stood since the time of Elena Glinsky. The sister of Peter 1, Sophia, became the ruler solely due to the infancy of her brothers. For seven years, the dynastic conflict leading to the Streltsy rebellion was muted. He again became aggravated in 1689, and then Peter’s sister was not the one who won.
Streletsky riot
What is this event? What role did it play in history? The rebels in Russia have always been punished cruelly. And not only in Russia. A tragic fate awaited those who supported them.
The history of the reign of the sister of Peter 1 is inextricably linked with the archers and their pogroms. Therefore, it is necessary to tell in more detail about the rebellion that occurred in 1682. It has another historical name - Khovanshchina.
In Russia, archers were the first regular army. Their foreign counterpart is the musketeers. The riot, of course, did not occur spontaneously. Sagittarius was dissatisfied with the methods of Fedor Alekseevich. And the government, in turn, distrusted the archers. The treasury was empty, salaries to the archers were paid with delays. This was the main reason for the discontent. Nevertheless, the streltsy commanders were not constrained: they abused their position, forced subordinates to perform work on their estates. The riot that they staged in the Kremlin was triggered by a fear of losing privileges. Of course, not only archers took part in his organization.
Dynasty war
By 1682, the struggle between the Miloslavskys and the Naryshkins reached its zenith. After the death of Fedor Alekseevich , a struggle for power began between the two boyar clans. There were two applicants - Ivan and Peter. The first was very ill, and no matter how much the Miloslavsky wanted his accession, even they understood that he would soon die. And then the son of Natalia Naryshkina will be in power.
Young Peter I was proclaimed king on April 27, 1682. Such a turn of events, of course, was not beneficial for Miloslavsky. They lost all power prospects with the accession of Peter 1. The sister of the young king, who by that time was 25 years old, took advantage of the discontent of the archery commanders in time. She changed the situation in her favor, while finding support from the Miloslavsky, princes Golitsyn and Khovansky.
The boyars began to foment discontent among the archers. Cases of disobedience to bosses have become more frequent. Some commanders tried to restore discipline, for which they paid with their lives. According to the then tradition, they were pulled to the bell tower and dropped to the ground.
On the day of the uprising, the Miloslavskys spread the rumor that the Naryshkins strangled Tsarevich Ivan. Sagittarius immediately went to the Kremlin, where they easily removed the guard. Natalya Naryshkina, in order to calm the rebels, went out on the porch with Peter and his brother. But this did not stop the archers. The riot began, during which Matveyev - one of the supporters of the Naryshkins, died. Sagittarius killed several boyars, including two brothers Natalia Kirillovna. Her father was tonsured a monk and sent away from Moscow.
Khovanshchina
Sagittarius settled in the Kremlin for a long time. They understood that if they left the walls of the fortress and their dubious power would collapse. This period in history is called the Khovanshchina - by the name of one of the leaders of the rebels. However, the prince was executed by the imperial capitals in September.
Having lost their leader, the archers were worried and began to send petitions to Sofya Alekseevna, the sister of Peter 1. And to prove their loyalty, they sent Ivan Khovansky, the son of his recent leader, to exile. Sophia forgave the rebels, who instilled fear in Moscow for four months. As a sign of forgiveness, I confined myself to the execution of only one rebel - Alexei Yudin. Natalya Kirillovna with her son left for Preobrazhenskoe. In the biography of the sister of Peter the Great, Sophia, the Streltsy revolt, as we see, played a decisive role. There was an opportunity to reign, but not for long. Only seven years old. Let us consider in more detail this small historical period.
Sagittarius and Queen Sophia
Sister Peter 1 ascended the throne in some way thanks to the archers. It is not surprising that at first she in every possible way pleased those who helped her gain power. In honor of the Streletsky “heroism”, a memorial pillar of stone was erected at the Kremlin. Participants in the riot were honored with cash awards.
Time has passed. Streletsky rebellion has gone down in history. Sophia, the sister of Peter the Great, less and less liked the former rebels, who imagined that they were fools. She tried to push the shooting heroes into the shadows. Many were in disgrace, but there was no particular bloodshed. And soon the ruler had enemies, the pressure of which she, despite her determination and stiffness, barely survived.
Old Believers
Sophia’s power was weak. The Old Believers demanded a debate about faith with the bishops and the patriarch. The situation in the state during the reign of Sister Peter was not stable. The mob demanded a nationwide discussion. Sophia insisted on holding a dispute in the Pomegranate House, and her demand, of course, was satisfied. However, a civilized dispute did not work out. One of the leaders of the Old Believers attacked the archbishop with his fists at the beginning of the discussion. A fight ensued, which, however, only provoked the debaters.
The Queen of the Old Believers did not like the speech. She, offended and annoyed, defended Polotsky and her father. And once she suddenly said: "It's time to leave the kingdom." Sofya Alekseevna was sure that pleas for return would follow, all sorts of persuasions, but nothing of the kind. The Old Believers believed that she had ruled enough, and that was two months after the riot, and it would be time for her to go to the monastery. Sophia in a nun was in no hurry. She returned, took her rightful place on the throne and got involved in a fierce argument about faith.
Nikita Pustosvyat
Let us digress from the main topic and say a few words about this person. Nikita Pustosvyat was a famous Suzdal priest. It is known that he once filed a complaint against Archbishop Stephen, after which he was removed from the place. Nikita was not even saved by a petition sent to the sovereign. Pustosvyat was excommunicated, imprisoned. What happened to him until 1682 is not known for certain.
After the Streltsy revolt, Khovansky showed favor to Nikita Pustosvyat. The debate in the Pomegranate House did not have a definite result. However, leaving the Kremlin, Nikita Pustosvyat and his supporters proclaimed their victory. Sophia ordered to seize him the next morning. On the same day he was executed.
Tense position
The holiest were executed, and calmer from this in Moscow did not. Sophia and her associates left for Kolomenskoye. The queen did not even appear in the Assumption Cathedral for a service that took place on the first of September. It was an unprecedented event for those times. There has been nothing like this since the time of Ivan Kalita.
The queen in Kolomenskoye received a delegation of archers, met with Khovansky. He assured Sofya Alekseevna of his impeccable devotion. However, the queen, of course, did not believe in the archers, nor their leader. In addition, Khovansky used to pray according to the old rite. The tsarina heard rumors that the prince directed all the actions of the archers, they said that he had long dreamed of a Monomakh hat.
The Romanov family in fear began to rush around Belokamennaya. First, the Romanovs went to Vorobyevo, then to Pavlovsk. There was a queen in the Savvin-Storozhevsky monastery. In the monastery, behind thick and high walls, one could sit out for some time in relative calm. Once Sofya Alekseevna sent out decrees about the upcoming campaign and the appearance of all the military in Vozdvizhenskoe. This act was perceived as a declaration of war by Prince Khovansky.
The death of Khovansky
Golitsyn fortified the monastery, in which the tsarina and her entourage were, convened foreigners in Russian service. But everything was resolved much faster than Sofia Alekseevna had expected. Khovansky was lured from Moscow, captured and executed on the way without further ado.
Sagittarius, learning about the death of Khovansky, was at a loss. It is worth saying that in those days both the boyars and the military often had to change their position. Their lives were in the hands of the sovereign. And sometimes it was not known who would be on the throne tomorrow. So the archers had to rush from one leader to another.
Left without a leader, the archers immediately repented before the queen. Sofya Alekseevna pretended to forgive, and appointed a new head - Fyodor Shaklovity. By the way, many suspected this man of inadmissible communication with Peter's sister. The memorial pillar erected in honor of the archers was demolished. The queen returned to the Kremlin. Life has returned to normal.
University opening
As mentioned above, the sister of Peter I was especially educated. She demonstrated her enlightenment and thirst for science in 1685, adopting Sylvester Medvedev's project on opening a university. He was the confessor of Sophia, was distinguished by an unprecedented learning. In addition, in his spare time he was engaged in writing.
However, Patriarch Joachim, a follower of conservative views, did not accept Medvedev's idea. Upon learning of the plan to create some dubious institution, he suspected Sylvester in heresy. They decided to establish something more modest, namely the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Languages, logic, philosophy and other disciplines were taught here. In this institution, a century later, the brilliant son of Pomor from the village, which is now called Lomonosovo, received his first knowledge.
Peter
Sophia's brother, meanwhile, was growing up, getting stronger, gaining royal ambitions. By the end of the eighties, the ruler became more and more nervous. Sofya Alekseevna did her best to strengthen the power of the Miloslavskys. So, brother Ivan married the girl Saltykova. But the Naryshkins were not inactive. In 1689, the wedding of Peter and Evdokia Lopukhina took place . Confrontation Miloslavsky came to an end.
The reign of the elder sister of Peter 1 Sophia ended in 1689. The brother invited her to go to the Svyatoduhovskiy monastery, to which she agreed. She had no strong supporters by that time. Sophia spent the last years in the Novodevichy Convent. She died in 1704.