Romanovs Dynasty

After the victory in the civil war the Territorial Army had Russian throne at their disposal. In 1613 Zemsky Sobor appointed Mikhail Romanov, a 16-year-old grand nephew of Ivan the Terrible’s first wife Anastasia Romanova, a new Russian Tzar. The power in Russia was restored in the form of autocratic monarchy.

In 1645 Alexey, 16, the son of Mikhail Romanov ascended the throne. Under Alexey the territorial integrity of Russia was restored, although a part of Russian territory still belonged to Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden. In the same period serfdom was officially accepted in central Russia. As a result the country saw a number of revolts. In 1662 the so-called “Copper Riot” took place in Moscow in 1670 – 1671 the country witnessed Stepan Razin rebellion. Another important development of the 17th century was the division of Russian Orthodox Church. Tzar Alexey Mikhailovich died in 1676. His successor was Fyodor, his elder son, who died in the 6 years’ time. His two brothers, Ivan and Peter, simultaneously became the next Russian tzars. Since they were too small, Sophia, their clever and powerful elder sister, ruled the country.