by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

• Unofficial Royalty: Russian Titles and Patronymics

Born in Moscow on March 19, 1629, Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia (Aleksey Mikhailovich) was the fourth of the ten children of Michael I, Tsar of All Russia and his second wife Eudoxia Lukyanovna Streshnev.

Alexei had nine siblings but only three sisters reached adulthood:

• Tsarevna Irina (1627 – 1679), unmarried, engaged to marry Valdemar Christian, Count of Schleswig-Holstein who refused to convert to Russian Orthodoxy so no marriage took place
• Tsarevna Pelagia (1628 – 1629)
• Tsarevna Anna (1630 – 1692), unmarried
• Tsarevna Marfa (1631 – 1632)
• Tsarevich Ivan (1633 – 1639)
• Tsarevna Sophia (1634 – 1636)
• Tsarevna Tatiana (1636 – 1706), unmarried
• Tsarevna Eudoxia (born and died 1637)
• Tsarevich Vasili (born and died 1639)

Until he was five years old, Alexei stayed in the terem, the separate living quarters for women. During the 17th century, it was customary for noble and royal women to be confined in separate quarters and to be prevented from socializing with men outside their immediate family. In addition, when in public, women were shielded in closed carriages or heavily concealing clothing. At the age of five, Alexei began his education with his tutor Boris Ivanovich Morozov.  Morozov taught Alexei how to read and write and oversaw his education in the liturgy and rituals of the Russian Orthodox Church. At that time, princes traditionally received only a cursory education but under Morozov, Alexei received a formal education unlike that of any other Moscow prince. He studied foreign languages, science, military strategies, and tactics. His education helped blaze the trail for his son Peter the Great’s Western education and the reforms of his reign.

Alexei’s father died on July 12, 1645, and the sixteen-year-old became the second Tsar of All Russia from the Romanov dynasty. With his accession to the throne, the young Alexei had to deal with many issues that concerned Russian life in the 17th century. Not yet prepared to resolve these kinds of issues, he initially listened to the opinion of his tutor Morozov but soon he began to take an independent part in the affairs of government.

In 1647, a bride-show, a custom of Byzantine emperors and Russian tsars used to choose a wife from among the most beautiful maidens of the country, was arranged for Alexei, who had become Tsar of All Russia two years earlier upon the death of his father Michael I, the first ruler of the Romanov dynasty. Nearly two hundred girls were brought to see Alexei. His choice fell upon Euphemia Feodorovna Vsevolozhskaya, the daughter of a statesman and wealthy landowner. However, the proposed wedding was prevented by Morozov, Alexei’s tutor and advisor, who had great power at court. Morozov wanted to be related to the tsar and had a scheme to marry Alexei to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, a daughter of Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky who was a supporter of Morozov, while Morozov then married Maria’s eldest sister Anna. Morozov bribed a hairdresser who pulled Euphemia Feodorovna’s hair so hard that she fainted. Then a bribed court physician diagnosed Euphemia Feodorovna with epilepsy. Her father was accused of concealing the disease, the betrothal was annulled, and the whole Vsevolozhsky family was sent into exile.

Morozov then introduced Alexei to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, who was beautiful and declared healthy by the court physicians. The wedding took place on January 16, 1648, in Moscow. Ten days later, Boris Ivanovich Morozov married the new Tsaritsa’s sister Anna Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, strengthening his position at court.

Alexei and his first wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya had thirteen children. None of their daughters married. They lived in seclusion in the terem with their sisters and aunts.

• Tsarevich Dmitri Alexeievich (1648–1649); died in infancy
• Tsarevna Yevdokia Alekseevna (1650–1712)
• Tsarevna Marfa Alexeievna (1652–1707)
• Tsarevich Alexei Alexeievich (1654–1670); died unmarried, aged 15
• Tsarevna Anna Alexeievna (1655–1659); died in infancy
• Tsarevna Sofia Alexeievna (1657–1704), Regent of Russia (1682–89) for her two younger brothers Ivan V and Peter I; unmarried
• Tsarevna Ekaterina Alexeievna (1658–1718)
• Tsarevna Maria Alexeievna (1660–1723)
• Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia (1661–1682); succeeded his father; married (1) Agaphia Simeonovna Gruszewska, no surviving children (2) Marfa Matveievna Apraksina, no children
• Tsarevna Feodosia Alexeievna (1662–1713)
• Tsarevich Simeon Alexeievich (1665–1669); died in infancy
• Ivan V, Tsar of All Russia (1666–1696); was co-ruler along with his younger half-brother Peter I; married Praskovia Saltykova, had five daughters including Anna, Empress of All Russia
• Tsarevna Yevdokia Alexeevna (1669–1669)

Alexei’s government increased the suppression of peasants and increased tax burdens, which led to city uprisings in Moscow, Tomsk, Pskov, and Novgorod. In 1648, the people of Moscow rebelled against a new tax on salt. The Salt Riot was an early challenge to the reign of Alexei I, eventually resulting in the temporary exile of Alexei’s advisor Boris Morozov who later regained some of his power. In 1649, as a result of the city uprisings, the Sobornoye Ulozheniye, a legal code that consolidated Russia’s slaves and free peasants into a new hereditary serf class, was established. In addition, travel between towns without an internal passport was prohibited and the Russian nobility agreed to serve in the army but were granted the exclusive privilege of owning serfs.

By 1651, the 22-year-old Alexei no longer needed a “parental” advisor as Morozov had been. He needed an advisor who was also a friend and he found this in Nikon, at that time Metropolitan (Bishop) of Novgorod. In 1646, Nikon had come to Moscow to pay homage to the young tsar. Alexei, who was very pious, was impressed with Nikon and appointed him archimandrite (prior) of the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow traditionally associated with the House of Romanov. In 1652, began Nikon was elected Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. He then began to exert a direct influence on state affairs, particularly in foreign relations. Although Nikon did advise Alexei, his more important role was that of a colleague and friend to him. This relationship was positive for a while but eventually soured.

Nikon and Alexei’s different views regarding the relationship between church and state caused a dispute that affected their relationship. In addition, Nikon introduced many reforms in the Russian Orthodox Church which eventually led to a lasting schism known as Raskol, the splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church into an official church and the Old Believers. In 1666, Alexei convened the Great Moscow Synod to address the problems caused by Nikon. The synod agreed to formally depose Nikon. He was to be known as the monk Nikon and was sent to a monastery in northern Russia.

During his reign, Alexei continued the reform of the army which started during his father’s reign. New regiments were created using the organizational system of Western Europe: Cavalry, Soldiers, Dragoons, and Hussars. To fulfill the military reform goals, a large number of European military specialists were hired for service. Two major wars were fought during Alexei’s reign: the Russo-Polish War (1654-67) which ended with significant Russian territorial gains and marked the beginning of the rise of Russia as a great power in Eastern Europe, and the Russo-Swedish War (1656–58) which was unsuccessful.

In 1669, Alexei’s wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya died due to childbirth complications following the birth of her thirteenth child who also died. The death of Alexei’s heir 15-year-old Tsarevich Alexei in January 1670, so soon after his wife’s death, was especially difficult for Alexei because his only surviving sons were the future Tsars, Feodor III, who was disabled by an unknown disease which left him disfigured and partially paralyzed, and Ivan V, who had serious physical and mental disabilities.

Nineteen-year-old Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, daughter of Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin and his wife Anna Leontyevna Leontyeva, was picked as Alexei’s second wife during a bride-show. On February 1, 1671, the couple was married in Moscow. Alexei hoped his second marriage would give him a healthy son, and it did, Peter the Great.

Alexei and his second wife Nataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina had three children:

• Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia (1672–1725), married (1) Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina, had three sons including Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia (2) Martha Skavronskaya (Catherine I, Empress of All Russia), had eleven children, only two daughters survived childhood Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna (mother of Peter III, Emperor of All Russia) and Elizabeth, Empress of All Russia
• Tsarevna Natalya Alexeievna (1673–1716), unmarried, a playwright and founder of the first public theater in Russia
• Tsarevna Fyodora Alexeievna (1674–1677)

On February 8, 1676, five years after marrying Natalya Kiillovna, Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia died of a heart attack at the age of 46. He was buried in the Cathedral of the Archangel in the Moscow Kremlin.

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Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

• Tsardom of Russia/Russian Empire Index
• Romanov Births, Marriages and Deaths
• Romanov Burial Sites
• Romanovs Killed During the Russian Revolution
• Romanovs Who Survived the Russian Revolution

Works Cited

• De.wikipedia.org. (2017). Alexei I. (Russland). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_I._(Russland) [Accessed 9 Dec. 2017].
• En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Alexis of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_of_Russia [Accessed 9 Dec. 2017].
• Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
• Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Алексей Михайлович. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%9C%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87 [Accessed 9 Dec. 2017].