What was the name of the sister of Peter 1? What role did she play in history? And how did this woman come to power?
In May 1682 there was a riot of archers. Its participants, incited 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 shouldered the burden 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 aunt who died early.
She was an educated student of Polotsky. Energetic, strong-willed, ambitious. Sophia, the sister of Peter 1, did not want to sit at the embroidering in the tower. She wanted to rule. However, when her dream came true, she realizedhow dangerous and precarious her position is. A woman has not stood at the helm of Russian power since the time of Elena Glinskaya. The sister of Peter 1, Sophia, became the ruler solely due to the infancy of the brothers. For seven years, the dynastic conflict that led to the Streltsy rebellion was muted. It escalated again in 1689, and then the winner was not the sister of Peter 1 at all.
Sagittarius riot
What event is this? What role has it played in history? Rebels in Russia have always been punished severely. 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 riot 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 rebellion, of course, did not occur spontaneously. Sagittarius were dissatisfied with the methods of government of Fedor Alekseevich. And the authorities, in turn, treated the archers with distrust. The treasury was empty, the salaries of the archers were paid with delays. This was the main reason for the dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, the archery commanders were not constrained: they abused their position, forced their subordinates to do work on their own estates. The revolt they staged in the Kremlin was provoked by the fear of losing privileges. Of course, not only archers took part in its organization.
War of the Dynasties
By 1682 the struggle betweenMiloslavsky and Naryshkin reached its climax. After the death of Fyodor Alekseevich, a struggle for power began between these two boyar families. There were two contenders - Ivan and Peter. The first was very ill, and no matter how much the Miloslavskys wanted him to reign, even they understood that he would soon die. And then the son of Natalia Naryshkina will be in power.
Young Peter I was proclaimed tsar on April 27, 1682. Miloslavsky, of course, did not like this turn of events. They lost all power prospects with the accession of Peter 1. The sister of the infant 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 Miloslavskys, princes Golitsyn and Khovansky.
Boyars began to incite discontent among the archers. Cases of disobedience to superiors became more frequent. Some commanders tried to restore discipline, for which they paid with their lives. According to the then tradition, they were pulled out onto the bell tower and thrown to the ground.
On the day of the uprising, the Miloslavskys spread a rumor that the Naryshkins had strangled Tsarevich Ivan. The archers immediately went to the Kremlin, where they easily eliminated the guards. Natalya Naryshkina, in order to calm the rebels, went out onto the porch with Peter and his brother. But this did not stop the archers. A riot began, during which Matveev, one of the supporters of the Naryshkins, died. Streltsy killed several boyars, including two brothers of Natalya Kirillovna. Her father was tonsured a monk and sent away from Moscow.
Khovanshchina
Sagittarius for a long timesettled in the Kremlin. They understood that as soon as they left the walls of the fortress, their dubious power would collapse. This period in history is called Khovanshchina - after the name of one of the leaders of the rebels. However, the prince was executed by the royal stolniks already in September.
Having lost their leader, the archers became worried and began to send petitions to Sofya Alekseevna, the sister of Peter 1. And to prove their loy alty, they sent Ivan Khovansky, the son of their recent leader, into exile. Sophia forgave the rebels who had terrorized Moscow for four months. As a sign of forgiveness, she limited herself to the execution of just one rebel - Alexei Yudin. Natalya Kirillovna and her son left for Preobrazhenskoye. In the biography of the sister of Peter 1 Sophia, the Streltsy rebellion, as we see, played a decisive role. There was an opportunity to reign, but not for long. Just seven years old. Let's take a closer look at this small historical period.
Sagittarius and Queen Sophia
The sister of Peter 1 ascended the throne in some way thanks to the archers. It is not surprising that at first she catered in every possible way to those who helped her gain power. In honor of the streltsy "heroism", a memorial stone pillar was erected near the Kremlin. Riot participants were awarded cash prizes.
Time has passed. The Streltsy rebellion has gone down in history. Sophia, the sister of Peter 1, liked the former rebels less and less, who imagined who knows what about themselves. She tried to push the Streltsy heroes into the shadows. Many were in disgrace, but there was no much bloodshed. And soon the ruler had enemies, pressurewhich she, despite her determination and toughness, barely endured.
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, on the other hand, insisted on holding a debate in the Pomegranate Chamber, and her demand, of course, was granted. However, there was no civilized dispute. One of the leaders of the Old Believers attacked the archbishop with his fists already at the beginning of the discussion. A fight ensued, which, however, only provoked the disputants.
The Queen didn't like the words of the Old Believers. She, offended and irritated, defended Polotsky and her father. And one day she suddenly said: "It's time to leave the kingdom." Sofya Alekseevna was sure that pleas for her return would follow, all sorts of persuasions, but nothing of the sort. The Old Believers believed that she had dominated enough, and it was two months after the riot, and it was time for her to go to the monastery. Sophia was in no hurry to become a nun. She returned, took her rightful place on the throne and got involved in a fierce dispute about faith.
Nikita Pustosvyat
Let's 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 dismissed from his post. Nikita was not even saved by a petition sent to the sovereign. Pustosvyat was excommunicated from the church, imprisoned. What happened to him before 1682, for certainunknown.
After the Streltsy rebellion, Khovansky showed favor to Nikita Pustosvyat. The debate that took place in the Pomegranate Chamber did not have a definite result. However, after leaving the Kremlin, Nikita Pustosvyat and his supporters proclaimed their victory. Sophia ordered to seize him the very next morning. On the same day he was executed.
Tense situation
Pustosvyat was executed, but this did not make Moscow any calmer. Sophia and her entourage left for Kolomenskoye. The queen did not even appear at the Assumption Cathedral for the service, which took place on the first of September. It was an unprecedented event for those times. Nothing like this has happened since 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 either the archers or their leader. In addition, Khovansky used to pray according to the old rite. Rumors reached the queen that all the actions of the archers were directed by the prince, it was rumored that he had long dreamed of the Monomakh's hat.
The Romanov family began to rush around Belokamennaya in fear. First, the Romanovs went to Vorobyevo, then to Pavlovskoye. The queen also visited the Savvin-Storozhevsky monastery. In the monastery, behind thick and high walls, one could spend some time in relative calm. Once Sofya Alekseevna sent out decrees about the upcoming campaign and the appearance of all the military in Vozdvizhenskoye. This act was perceived as a declaration of war on Prince Khovansky.
Death of Khovansky
Golitsyn fortified the monastery in which the queen and her entourage were, summoned foreigners who were in the Russian service. But everything was resolved much faster than Sofya Alekseevna expected. Khovansky was lured out of Moscow, captured on the way and executed without further ado.
Sagittarius, having learned about the death of Khovansky, were confused. 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 an inadmissible relationship 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.
Opening of the university
As mentioned above, the sister of Peter I was especially educated. She demonstrated her enlightenment and craving for science in 1685 by accepting Sylvester Medvedev's project to open a university. He was Sophia's confessor, distinguished by unprecedented learning. In addition, in his spare time he was engaged in writing.
However, Patriarch Joachim, an adherent of conservative views, did not accept Medvedev's idea. Having learned about the plan to create some dubious institution, he suspected Sylvester of heresy. We decided to establish something more modest, namely the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Heretaught languages, logic, philosophy and other disciplines. In this institution, a century later, the brilliant son of a Pomor from the village, which is now called Lomonosovo, received his first knowledge.
Peter
Meanwhile, Sophia's brother was growing up, getting stronger, gaining royal ambitions. By the end of the eighties, the ruler became more and more nervous. Sofya Alekseevna tried in every possible way to strengthen the power of the Miloslavskys. So, she married her brother Ivan to the girl S altykova. But the Naryshkins were not idle either. In 1689, the wedding of Peter and Evdokia Lopukhina took place. The confrontation between the Miloslavskys was coming to an end.
The reign of Peter the Great's elder sister Sophia ended in 1689. Her brother invited her to go to the Holy Spirit Monastery, to which she agreed. By that time, she had no strong supporters. Sophia spent her last years in the Novodevichy Convent. She died in 1704.
