Russian tsars. Russian tsars Was there Rurik

It is officially believed that the word “king” comes from the ancient Roman Ceasar, and the kings are called kings only because all the emperors in Rome were called Caesars, starting with Gaius Julius Caesar, whose name eventually became a household name. However, in Russian, a completely different word came from the Roman Ceasar - the word "caesar". That's how, through [k], this name was read in those ancient times. The word “king” comes from the ancient word “Dzar”, it meant the red glow of hot metal, and in this meaning it turned into the word “heat”, as well as dawn, and in this meaning both dawn and glow come from the word “dzar” , and even lightning.
Remember the golden man dug up in 1969 in the Issyk mound? Judging by his attire, this was a dzar, and, in scales like the heat of grief, he really was a clear example of a glowing man.
Around that time, about the same people, whose representative was buried in the Issyk mound, had a queen Zarina. She was called Zarina in Persian, and in her native language, which can be conditionally called Scythian, she was called Dzarnya.
The names Zarina and Zara are still popular in the Caucasus. There is also his male counterpart Zaur.
In the modern Ossetian language, which is considered a descendant of the Scythian, the word zærinæ means gold, and in Sanskrit, in which "dz" turned into "x", gold as हिरण्य (hiranya).
The word Ceasar is related to the word "mower" and he was named so for the reason that his mother's stomach was cut by the very scythe, as a result of which Caesar was born.
Tsars in Russia were traditionally called foreign rulers - first the Byzantine basileus, to whom the Hellenized version of the name of Caesar, which sounded like καῖσαρ, had not been applied for a long time, and then to the Horde khans.
After dominance in our territory passed from the Horde to Moscow, the Moscow grand dukes began to be unofficially called tsars - first Ivan III, and then Vasily III. However, only Ivan IV, later nicknamed the Terrible, appropriated this title officially, since, in addition to the Moscow principality, he already owned two recent kingdoms - Kazan and Astrakhan. From then until 1721, when Russia became an empire, the royal title became the main title of the Russian monarch.

appearance

kings	Period of government	Notes
Simeon II Bekbulatovich		He was appointed by Ivan the Terrible, but after some time he was also dismissed.
Fedor I Ivanovich		The last representative of the Rurik dynasty. He was so religious that he considered marital relations sinful, as a result of which he died childless.
Irina Fyodorovna Godunova		After the death of her husband, she was proclaimed queen, but did not accept the throne and went to the monastery.
Boris Fyodorovich Godunov		The first king of the Godunov dynasty
Fedor II Borisovich Godunov		The last king of the Godunov dynasty. Together with his mother, he was strangled by archers who went over to the side of False Dmitry I.
False Dmitry I		According to the generally accepted version, Yuri Bogdanovich Otrepyev, according to some historians, was Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich who really survived the assassination attempt.
Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky		Representative of the princely Shuisky family from the Suzdal branch of the Rurikovich. In September 1610, he was extradited to the Polish hetman Zholkiewski and died in Polish captivity on September 12, 1612.
Vladislav I Sigismundovich Vase		He was called to the kingdom by the Seven Boyars, but he actually never entered the reign of Russia and was not in Russia. On his behalf, Prince Mstislavsky exercised power.
Mikhail I Fedorovich		The first king of the Romanov dynasty. The actual ruler until 1633 was his father, Patriarch Filaret.
Alexei I Mikhailovich
Fedor III Alekseevich		He died at the age of 20, leaving no heirs.
Ivan V Alekseevich		From April 27, 1682, he ruled jointly with Peter I. Until September 1689, Princess Sofya Alekseevna actually ruled the country. All the time he was considered seriously ill, which did not stop him from marrying and having eight children. One of the daughters, Anna Ioannovna, later became the empress.
Peter I the Great		On October 22, 1721, the post of head of state became known as the All-Russian Emperor. Cm.:
Catherine I
Peter II		The son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich executed by Peter.
Anna Ioannovna		Daughter of Ivan V Alekseevich.
Ivan VI Antonovich		Great-grandson of Ivan V. He ascended the throne at the age of two months. The regents under him were Ernst Johann Biron, and from November 7, 1740 - his mother Anna Leopoldovna.
Peter III		Grandson of Peter I and Catherine I, son of Princess Anna Petrovna and Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich.
Catherine II the Great		Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst, wife of Peter III. She became empress by overthrowing and killing her husband.

Mikhail Fedorovich(1596-1645), tsar since 1613. Son of Fyodor (in the monasticism Filaret) Nikitich Romanov. Elected by the Zemsky Sobor. Granted control of the country to his father - Patriarch Filaret (until 1633), then the boyars.

Alexey Mikhailovich(1629-1676), tsar since 1645. Son of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. During the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, the central power was strengthened and serfdom took shape (Council Code of 1649); reunited with the Russian state Ukraine (1654); returned Smolensk, Seversk land, etc.; uprisings in Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov (1648, 1650, 1662) and the Peasant War under the leadership of S. T. Razin were suppressed; There was a split in the Russian Church.

Wives: Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya (1625-1669), among her children Princess Sophia, future tsars Fedor and Ivan V, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina (1651-1694) - mother of Peter I.

Fedor Alekseevich(1661-1682), tsar since 1676. Son of Alexei Mikhailovich from his first marriage with M. I. Miloslavskaya. Under him, various groups of boyars ruled. Household taxation was introduced, localism was abolished in 1682; the unification of Left-bank Ukraine with Russia was finally fixed.

Ivan V Alekseevich(1666-1696), tsar since 1682. Son of Alexei Mikhailovich from his first marriage with M. I. Miloslavskaya. Sickly and incapable of state activity, he was proclaimed tsar together with his younger brother Peter I; until 1689, sister Sophia ruled for them, after her overthrow - Peter I.

Peter I Alekseevich (the Great)(1672-1725), tsar from 1682 (reigned from 1689), the first Russian emperor (from 1721). The youngest son of Alexei Mikhailovich is from his second marriage with N. K. Naryshkina. He carried out public administration reforms (the Senate, boards, bodies of higher state control and political investigation were created; the church was subordinate to the state; the country was divided into provinces; a new capital, St. Petersburg, was built). He pursued a policy of mercantilism in the field of industry and trade (the creation of manufactories, metallurgical, mining and other plants, shipyards, marinas, canals). He led the army in the Azov campaigns of 1695-1696, the Northern War of 1700-1721, the Prut campaign of 1711, the Persian campaign of 1722-1723, etc.; he commanded troops during the capture of Noteburg (1702), in the battles at Lesnaya (1708) and near Poltava (1709). He supervised the construction of the fleet and the creation of a regular army. Contributed to the strengthening of the economic and political position of the nobility. At the initiative of Peter I, many educational institutions, the Academy of Sciences were opened, a civil alphabet was adopted, etc. The reforms of Peter I were carried out by cruel means, by extreme exertion of material and human forces, oppression of the masses (head tax, etc.), which entailed uprisings (Streletskoye 1698, Astrakhan 1705-1706, Bulavinskoye 1707-1709, etc.), mercilessly suppressed by the government. Being the creator of a powerful absolutist state, he achieved recognition for Russia by the countries of Western Europe of the authority of a great power.

Wives: Evdokia Fedorovna Lopukhina, mother of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich; Marta Skavronskaya, later Catherine I Alekseevna.

Ekaterina I Alekseevna(Marta Skavronskaya) (1684-1727), empress from 1725. The second wife of Peter I. She was enthroned by the guards, headed by A. D. Menshikov, who became the de facto ruler of the state. Under it, the Supreme Privy Council was created.

Peter II Alekseevich(1715-1730), Emperor from 1727. Son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich. In fact, AD Mentikov ruled the state under him, then the Dolgorukovs. He announced the cancellation of a number of transformations carried out by Peter 1.

Anna Ivanovna(1693-1740), Empress from 1730. Daughter of Ivan V Alekseevich, Duchess of Courland from 1710. She was enthroned by the Supreme Privy Council. E. I. Biron was the actual ruler under her.

Ivan VI Antonovich(1740-1764), emperor in 1740-1741. Great-grandson of Ivan V Alekseevich, son of Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick. E. I. Biron ruled for the baby, then mother Anna Leopoldovna. Overthrown by the guard, imprisoned; killed when V. Ya. Mirovich tried to free him.

Elizaveta Petrovna(1709-1761/62), empress since 1741. Daughter of Peter I from marriage with Catherine I. Enthroned by the guards. She contributed to the elimination of the dominance of foreigners in the government, nominated talented and energetic representatives from among the Russian nobility to government posts. The actual leader of domestic policy under Elizabeth Petrovna was P. I. Shuvalov, whose activities are associated with the abolition of internal customs and the organization of foreign trade; rearmament of the army, improvement of its organizational structure and management system. During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, the orders and bodies created under Peter I were restored. The establishment of Moscow University (1755) and the Academy of Arts (1757) on the initiative of M.V. Lomonosov contributed to the rise of Russian science and culture. The privileges of the nobility were strengthened and expanded at the expense of the serfs (distribution of land and serfs, a decree of 1760 on the right to exile peasants to Siberia, etc.). Peasant protests against serfdom were brutally suppressed. The foreign policy of Elizaveta Petrovna, skillfully directed by Chancellor A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, was subordinated to the task of fighting against the aggressive aspirations of the Prussian king Frederick II.

Peter III Fedorovich(1728-1762), Russian emperor since 1761. German prince Karl Peter Ulrich, son of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich and Anna, the eldest daughter of Peter I and Catherine I. From 1742 in Russia. In 1761 he made peace with Prussia, which nullified the results of the victories of Russian troops in the Seven Years' War. Introduced German orders in the army. Overthrown in a coup organized by his wife Catherine, killed.

Ekaterina II Alekseevna(Great) (1729-1796), Russian empress from 1762. German princess Sophia Frederick Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst. She came to power, overthrowing with the help of the guards of Peter III, her husband. She formalized the class privileges of the nobles. Under Catherine II, the Russian absolutist state significantly strengthened, the oppression of the peasants intensified, and the Peasant War took place under the leadership of E. I. Pugachev (1773-1775). The Northern Black Sea region, the Crimea, the North Caucasus, were annexed for the Western Ukrainian, Belarusian and Lithuanian lands (in three sections of the Commonwealth). She pursued a policy of enlightened absolutism. From the late 80's - early 90's. actively participated in the struggle against the French Revolution; pursued freethinking in Russia.

Pavel I Petrovich(1754-1801), emperor since 1796. Son of Peter III and Catherine II. Introduced a military-police regime in the state, Prussian orders in the army; restricted the privileges of the nobility. He opposed revolutionary France, but in 1800 he made an alliance with Bonaparte. Killed by conspirators and nobles.

Alexander I Pavlovich(1777-1825), emperor since 1801. The eldest son of Paul 1. At the beginning of his reign, he carried out moderate-liberal reforms developed by the Unofficial Committee and M. M. Speransky. In foreign policy, he maneuvered between Great Britain and France. In 1805-1807 he participated in anti-French coalitions. In 1807-1812 he temporarily became close to France. He waged successful wars with Turkey (1806-1S12) and Sweden (1808-1809). Under Alexander I, East Georgia (1801), Finland (1809), Bessarabia (1812), Azerbaijan (1813), and the former Duchy of Warsaw (1815) were annexed to Russia. After the Patriotic War of 1812, in 1813-1814 he headed the anti-French coalition of European powers. He was one of the leaders of the Vienna Congress of 1814-1815 and the organizers of the Holy Alliance.

Nikolay 1 Pavlovich(1796-1855), emperor since 1825. Third son of Emperor Paul I. Honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1826). Ascended the throne after the sudden death of Alexander I. Suppressed the Decembrist uprising. Under Nicholas I, the centralization of the bureaucratic alparaga was strengthened, the Third Department was created, the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire was drawn up, and new censorship charters were introduced (1826, 1828). The theory of official nationality gained currency. The Polish uprising of 1830-1831, the revolution in Hungary of 1848-1849 were suppressed. An important aspect of foreign policy was the return to the principles of the Holy Alliance. During the reign of Nicholas I, Russia participated in the Caucasian War of 1817-1864, the Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828, the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829, and the Crimean War of 1853-1856.

Alexander II Nikolaevich(1818-1881), emperor since 1855. The eldest son of Nicholas I. He carried out the abolition of serfdom and then carried out a number of other bourgeois reforms (zemstvo, judicial, military, etc.) that contributed to the development of capitalism. After the Polish uprising of 1863-1864, he switched to a reactionary internal political course. Since the end of the 70s. increased repression against the revolutionaries. In the reign of Alexander II, the accession to Russia of the Caucasus (1864), Kazakhstan (1865), most of Central Asia (1865-1881) was completed. A number of attempts were made on the life of Alexander II (1866, 1867, 1879, 1880); killed by the people.

Alexander III Alexandrovich(1845-1894), emperor since 1881. Second son of Alexander II. In the 1st half of the 80s. in the conditions of the growth of capitalist relations, he carried out the abolition of the poll tax, lowered the redemption payments. Since the 2nd half of the 80s. carried out counter-reforms. Suppressed the revolutionary-democratic and workers' movement, strengthened the role of the police and administrative arbitrariness. In the reign of Alexander III, the annexation of Central Asia to Russia (1885) was basically completed, the Russian-French alliance was concluded (1891 -1893).

Nicholas II Alexandrovich(1868-1918), the last Russian emperor (1894-1917). Eldest son of Alexander III. His reign coincided with the rapid development of capitalism. Under Nicholas II, Russia was defeated in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which was one of the reasons for the revolution of 1905-1907, during which the Manifesto was adopted on October 17, 1905, which allowed the creation of political parties and established the State Duma; Stolypin agrarian reform began to be carried out. In 1907 Russia became a member of the Entente, in which it entered World War I. From August 1915 he was commander in chief. During the February Revolution of 1917 he abdicated. Shot with his family in Yekaterinburg.

Russian history provides answers to many questions, but there are even more secrets in it. Particularly interesting are the riddles that the autocrats left behind. They knew how to keep secrets.

Was it Rurik?

This main Russian question, along with "Who is to blame?" and "What to do?" A question that is unlikely to ever be answered.

The personality of Rurik (d. 879) to this day causes a lot of controversy, up to the denial of his existence. For many, the famous Varangian is nothing more than a semi-mythical figure. This is understandable. In the historiography of the 19th-20th centuries, the Norman theory was criticized, since the idea of ​​the inability of the Slavs to create their own state was unbearable to domestic science.
Modern historians are more loyal to the Norman theory. So, Academician Boris Rybakov hypothesizes that in one of the raids on the Slavic lands, Rurik's squad captured Novgorod, although another historian, Igor Froyanov, supports the peaceful version of the "calling of the Varangians" to reign.

The problem is that the image of Rurik lacks specifics. According to some sources, he could be the Danish Viking Rorik of Jutland, according to others, the Swede Eirik Emundarson, who raided the lands of the Balts.

There is also a Slavic version of the origin of Rurik. His name is associated with the word "Rerek" (or "Rarog"), which in the Slavic Obodrite tribe meant a falcon. And, indeed, during the excavations of the early settlements of the Rurik dynasty, many images of this bird were found.

Secret Seal of Ivan III

The double-headed eagle in Russia first appeared on the state seal of Grand Duke Ivan III in 1497. Historians almost categorically claim that the eagle in Russia appeared with the light hand of Sophia Paleolog, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor and wife of Ivan III.

But why the Grand Duke decided to use the eagle only two decades later, no one explains. Interestingly, it was at the same time in Western Europe that the double-headed eagle became fashionable among alchemists. The authors of alchemical works put the eagle on their books as a sign of quality.

The double-headed eagle meant that the author received the Philosopher's Stone, capable of turning metals into gold. The fact that Ivan III gathered around him foreign architects, engineers, doctors, who probably practiced then fashionable alchemy, indirectly proves that the tsar had an idea about the essence of the “feathered” symbol.

The death of the son of Ivan the Terrible

Moscow is the capital of Russia, the Volga flows into the Caspian Sea, and Ivan the Terrible killed his son. The main piece of evidence is Repin's painting... Seriously, Ivan Vasilyevich's murder of his heir is a highly controversial fact. So, in 1963, the tombs of Ivan the Terrible and his son were opened in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Studies have made it possible to assert that Tsarevich John was poisoned. The content of poison in his remains is many times higher than the permissible norm. Interestingly, the same poison was found in the bones of Ivan Vasilyevich. Scientists have concluded that the royal family had been the victim of poisoners for several decades.

Ivan the Terrible did not kill his son. This version was adhered to, for example, by the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Konstantin Pobedonostsev. Seeing the famous painting by Repin at the exhibition, he was indignant and wrote to Emperor Alexander III: "You cannot call the painting historical, since this moment ... is purely fantastic." The version of the murder was based on the stories of the papal legate Antonio Possevino, who can hardly be called a disinterested person.

Dmitry with the prefix "false"

We have already come to terms with the fact that False Dmitry I is a fugitive monk Grishka Otrepyev. The idea that “it was easier to save than to fake Demetrius” was expressed by the famous Russian historian Nikolai Kostomarov. And indeed, it looks very surreal that at first Dmitry (with the prefix “false”) was recognized by his own mother, princes, boyars in front of all honest people, and after a while, everyone suddenly saw the light.

The pathological situation is added by the fact that the prince himself was completely convinced of his naturalness, as contemporaries wrote about. Either this is schizophrenia, or he had reasons. Checking the "originality" of Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich, at least today, is not possible. Therefore, we are waiting for the invention of the time machine and, just in case, we keep a fig in our pocket - about the Pretender.

And the king is not real!

Many Russian boyars were in this belief after the return of Peter I from a 15-month tour of Europe. And the point here was not only in the new royal "outfit". Particularly attentive persons found inconsistencies of a physiological nature: firstly, the king grew up significantly, and, secondly, his facial features changed, and, thirdly, his leg size became much smaller.

Rumors spread throughout Muscovy about the substitution of the sovereign. According to one version, Peter was "put into the wall", and instead of him they sent an impostor with a similar face to Russia. According to another - "the king in the Germans was laid in a barrel and put into the sea." Fuel to the fire was added by the fact that Peter, who returned from Europe, began a large-scale destruction of "old Russian antiquities." Interestingly, there were versions that the tsar was replaced in infancy: “The sovereign is not of Russian breed, and not Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich’s son; taken in infancy from a German settlement, from a foreign exchange. The queen gave birth to a princess, and instead of the princess they took Evo, sovereign, and gave the princess instead of Evo.

Pavel I Saltykov

Emperors Paul I unwittingly continued the tradition of generating rumors around the Romanov dynasty. Immediately after the birth of the heir, rumors spread around the court, and then throughout Russia, that the real father of Paul I was not Peter III, but the first favorite of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, Count Sergei Vasilyevich Saltykov. This was indirectly confirmed by Catherine II, who in her memoirs recalled how Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, so that the dynasty would not die out, ordered the wife of her heir to give birth to a child, regardless of who his genetic father would be. There is also a folk legend about the birth of Paul I: according to her, Catherine gave birth to a dead child from Peter, and he was replaced by a certain "Chukhonian" boy.

His Majesty Fyodor Kuzmich

The “tabloid” theme of Paul I was continued by his son, Alexander I. Firstly, he became a direct participant in the murder of his father. Well, secondly, and this is the main legend, Alexander left the royal throne, falsifying his own death, and went to wander around Russia under the name of Fyodor Kuzmich.

There are several indirect confirmations of this legend. So, the witnesses concluded that on his deathbed, Alexander was categorically not like himself. In addition, for unclear reasons, Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, the wife of the Tsar, did not participate in the mourning ceremony. The famous Russian lawyer Anatoly Koni conducted a thorough comparative study of the handwriting of the emperor and Fyodor Kuzmich and came to the conclusion that "the letters of the emperor and the notes of the wanderer were written by the same person."