The Triumph and Fall of Princess Sophia Alekseevna
Sofia Alekseevna on the engraving by A. Bloteling
Ruler of Russia
What kind of ruler did Sophia become? In a nutshell – progressive and liberal (in the true and positive sense of the word). Industry developed, in particular, the production of velvet, brocade and satin, which had previously been imported from abroad, was established.
Foreign specialists were invited to train Russian craftsmen. It was under Sophia, and not under Peter I, that the first students were sent to study at European universities (even earlier, Boris Godunov sent 5 people to study abroad, but due to the Time of Troubles that began in Russia, none of them returned). The famous Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy was created on the basis of the typographic school of the Zaikonospassky Monastery. Moreover, Sophia was going to (but did not have time to do so) open a school for girls in Moscow.
The construction of private houses in Moscow was encouraged, not wooden ones, but stone ones (about 300 of these were built). The first in stories Russian embassy. During the reign of Sophia, concessions were made to the townspeople and the search for runaway peasants was limited. Punishments for some crimes were softened. For example, the death penalty for obscene words was abolished, and women who killed their husbands were no longer buried alive. On the other hand, the fight against corruption crimes and the tyranny of provincial authorities was intensified.
The army continued to be reorganized according to European models, which, by the way, the Naryshkins who came to power "forgot" after Sophia was removed from power. In 1689, during V. Golitsyn's second campaign to Crimea, the Russian army numbered 112 thousand people, of which 80 thousand were soldiers of foreign regiments. And in 1695, under Peter I, there were only 14 thousand of such people in the army out of 120 thousand soldiers.
In 1700, the Russian army that moved toward Narva had four regiments trained and organized according to European models: the Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky Guards, the Lefortovo and Butyrsky (there were 33 regiments in total). And already in 1717, Prince Ya. F. Dolgoruky directly reproached Peter at one of the feasts that his father, Alexei Mikhailovich, "showed the way" but "the senseless destroyed all his institutions." That is, apparently, in 1717 the Russian army had not yet returned to the state of 1689.
The fact is that, having removed Sophia from power, 17-year-old Peter I did not change his way of life – he continued to drill “amusing” troops and build “toy” ships. The country was ruled by temporary workers of the Naryshkin clan, which was headed by the Tsar’s mother Natalya Kirillovna, L.K. Naryshkin and B.A. Golitsyn. Only after the death of his mother in 1694, Peter removed his new “guardians” from power (in fact, carried out a new coup d’etat) and began to actively engage in state affairs. During these five years, the absolutely incompetent Naryshkin temporary workers destroyed, if not everything, then a great deal.
Sophia's great foreign policy success was the conclusion of two treaties. Firstly, in April 1688, the "Eternal Peace" was concluded with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, according to which the Poles recognized the Russian affiliation of Smolensk, Kyiv, Left-bank Ukraine and the Seversk land. Secondly, in 1689, the very important Treaty of Nerchinsk was signed with China, which for the first time defined the border of Russia with this state.
But there were also failures, in particular, two Crimean campaigns of Vasily Golitsyn, which were organized according to the conditions of the "Eternal Peace" with Poland. Yes, these campaigns were not an adventure of a favorite who wanted military glory, but a heavy duty, a high price for an extremely favorable peace treaty, thanks to which it was possible to return the original Russian lands.
The Russian army set out on the first of these in 1687, but the Tatars set the steppe on fire, and the campaign had to be interrupted halfway. However, the Crimean troops were unable to support the Turks in their war with Austria.
The campaign of 1689 was organized much better, and the Russian army reached Perekop in good order, which, by the way, made a great impression in Europe, where the Wild Field was considered impassable for regular troops.
Vasily Golitsyn in an engraving from the late 17th century
They failed to take Perekop, but the Russian army also returned to Moscow in an organized manner, albeit with large non-combat losses (typical for all armies of those years). The Crimean Tatars were again unable to help the Turks, and one of the indirect results of the 1689 campaign was the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the war against Austria, their loss of Belgrade, Hungary and Transylvania, and the deposition of Sultan Mehmed IV.
In the Russian capital, the second campaign of Golitsyn's army was not appreciated. There were rumors that the Crimean Tatars bribed the commander by giving him two barrels of gold. Since Golitsyn did not look very rich, this tale was slightly adjusted: the Tatar coins allegedly turned out to be counterfeit.
However, it should be noted that both the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate were still very strong, and even 22 years later, in 1711, during the Prut campaign, the recent triumphant of the Battle of Poltava, Peter I, almost fell into Turkish captivity. And therefore, Golitsyn's failures can in no way be considered catastrophic. However, Golitsyn's enemies did not fail to use them against the prince, simultaneously striking at Sophia.
The Fall of the Ruler
Meanwhile, both tsars got married, and this was a clear sign to Sophia, because, according to ancient tradition, they could now be considered adults. Ivan Alekseevich was the first to marry, back in 1684, and his wife was Praskovya Feodorovna Saltykova. However, as we remember, Ivan Alekseevich had no time for political ambitions due to his illnesses.
Much more cause for concern was the marriage of 16-year-old Peter I and 19-year-old Evdokia Feodorovna Lopukhina – this marriage took place in January 1689. It is curious that this girl was given the name Praskovia at baptism, but for some reason she was “renamed” at the wedding. She was even deprived of her patronymic Illarionovna, being called Feodorovna – in honor of the Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God – a sacred relic of the Romanov dynasty.
Peter I and E.F. Lopukhina. Miniature from "The Book of Love is a Sign of Honest Marriage". Historical Museum, Moscow
Feodorovskaya Icon of the Mother of God, 12th century, Kostroma Epiphany-Anastasia Monastery
The already mentioned Boris Kurakin, who was married to the sister of the new queen, left the following description of her:
“And there was a princess with a fair face, only an average mind and disposition not similar to her husband, which is why she lost all her happiness and ruined her entire family ... True, at first the love between them, Tsar Peter and his wife, was fair, but only lasted only a year ... But then it stopped. "
The mother, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, chose a wife for her son. And she suddenly began to hate her daughter-in-law – according to Kurakin, "I wanted to see her in disagreement with her husband more than in love".
Of previous article We remember that Sophia was preparing for her coronation, which was scheduled for September 1, 1689. However, here is what happened on the night of August 7-8, 1689 – as described by N. Kostomarov:
"In the royal chambers "at the top" a secret letter appeared, warning the princess that on the night of August 7-8 the "amusing" tsar would come from Preobrazhenskoye to kill Tsar Ivan Alekseevich and all his sisters. Shaklovity called four hundred riflemen with loaded guns to the Kremlin on the evening of August 7, and stationed three hundred at Lubyanka. His henchmen began to incite the riflemen that they had to kill the "she-bear", the old queen, and "if the son starts to stand up for his mother, then he will have nothing to lose."
But:
"Larion Elizaryev, a five-hundred-man Strelets Stremenny Regiment, and seven other Strelets made a plan to warn Peter. Two of his comrades went at night to Preobrazhenskoye to inform the Tsar that something evil was being planned against him."
Having received this news, Peter fell into a state of panic. He apparently did not rely on his toy army, because, having abandoned his mother and pregnant wife, he jumped on his horse in his shirt and rushed to the well-fortified Trinity-Sergius Monastery, where, having put on a traditional caftan, he began to diligently portray a "truly Russian and Orthodox sovereign."
Having received this news, Peter fell into a state of panic. He apparently did not rely on his toy army, because, having abandoned his mother and pregnant wife, he jumped on his horse in his shirt and rushed to the well-fortified Trinity-Sergius Monastery, where, having put on a traditional caftan, he began to diligently portray a "truly Russian and Orthodox sovereign."
Peter's relatives, accompanied by the "amusing" and some of the Streltsy, unpursued by anyone, calmly arrived at the monastery the next day. It was this shameful flight of the future emperor that provoked a chain of events that soon led to Sophia's downfall. The confrontation entered an open phase, and two irreconcilable camps formed - Sophia's in the Kremlin and Peter's in the Lavra.
For the ruler, her brother's flight was a complete surprise. She tried to reconcile with him and even asked the patriarch to become a mediator in the negotiations, but he, having agreed, did not return to Moscow - he remained in the Lavra, which led to despondency among the people of Sophia's entourage.
Peter quickly grew bolder behind the impregnable walls of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. He wrote to his brother Ivan:
“It is shameful, sir, at our mature age, for such a shameful person to rule the state past us.”
And he tried to persuade him "our state will be calmed and pleased soon".
On August 27, Peter (or rather, the people who ruled him at the time) demanded that all the Streltsy colonels, as well as the "elected" ones - 10 people from each regiment - appear before him. Sophia, on the contrary, forbade them to leave Moscow. The punishment for disobedience on both sides was the same - death.
Every day Sophia lost supporters. In September, she was betrayed by the commander of foreign mercenaries, Scotsman Patrick Gordon. Franz Lefort, who had been favored by Vasily Golitsyn, also left with him – a future friend and even mentor of Peter I. The brother of Sophia’s favorite, the former uncle (tutor) of this tsar Boris Golitsyn, also ended up on Peter’s side. Moreover, Vasily Golitsyn himself lost his nerve and simply left for his estate Medvedkovo near Moscow.
In despair, Sophia herself went to her brother, hoping to come to an agreement with him in person, but in the village of Vozdvizhenskoye (approximately 50 km from Moscow) she was ordered to turn back. After this, an order came to arrest Sophia's most loyal supporter, Fyodor Shaklovity, the Moscow Streltsy seized him and took him "in irons" to the Lavra. Shaklovity was cruelly tortured and soon executed.
K. Lebedev. "Farewell of Princess Sophia to Shaklovity"
After this, even Vasily Golitsyn came to Trinity, but was not accepted by Peter. The former first nobleman of the state was sent into exile with his family - first to the Erensky town, then to the Pustozersky prison, and finally to Pinega, where he died in 1714 at the age of 71. He outlived Sophia by 10 years. And in 1719, Daniel Defoe's book "The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe" was published. In one of its episodes, the main character met an unnamed Prince Golitsyn in Tobolsk in the winter of 1703-1704 and offered him to escape from exile. The prince refused, but sent his son with Robinson, whom he took abroad through Arkhangelsk under the guise of his manager.
Vasily Golitsyn's grandson Mikhail was allowed to return to St. Petersburg after his death, and was soon sent to Paris to study. Nothing foreshadowed trouble, but in 1729, after the death of his first wife, he went abroad, where he converted to Catholicism and got married. In 1732, Empress Anna Ioannovna learned of this, and she ordered the marriage to be annulled, and Golitsyn himself was ordered to take a place among the palace jesters. Some believe that he received his nickname "Kvasnik" because he was ordered to serve guests with kvass, others - because of his drunkenness (you know the old meaning of the word "kvasit" that has survived to this day). It was him who the Empress married in 1740 to the jester A. Buzheninova, arranging their wedding in the famous "Ice House".
Narzho. Woodcut "The Facade of the Ice House and the Procession of the Jester's Wedding of Mikhail Golitsyn and the Kalmyk Buzheninova". 1740.
After the death of the empress, all the jesters "received their resignation", but the marriage of Mikhail Golitsyn and Avdotya Buzheninova remained in force. She gave birth to two sons, one of whom left no offspring, but the other, Andrei, became the founder of the senior branch of the princes Golitsyn.
But let's return to the heroine of the article. Sophia was ordered to go to the Putivl Holy Spirit Monastery, and the princess, abandoned by everyone, was forced to submit to her brother. And then she was transferred to the Novodevichy Monastery.
The imprisonment of Princess Sophia in the Novodevichy Convent in 1689. Miniature from the manuscript by P. Krekshin “History of Peter I”, first half of the XNUMXth century.
I. Repin. Grand Duchess Sophia in the Novodevichy Convent
But the princess was not oppressed too much. She was allowed to have servants, as a member of the royal family, and food was sent from the Kremlin. But she was strictly forbidden to leave the monastery and receive any visitors. At the same time, Sophia was not required to take the veil and become a nun - in the monastery she was under house arrest. She was not even allowed to attend the funeral of her brother Ivan, who died on January 29 (February 8), 1696.
For a still young and active woman, being within four walls in an information vacuum was real torture. To occupy herself, she copied church books and wrote a lot herself. Karamzin claimed:
"The princess could have compared herself with the best writers of all times, if enlightened taste had guided her imagination."
What can be said about Sophia's "taste" and "imagination"? first article We remember how Karamzin complained about his duty to be the accuser of this princess.
In 1698, a new rebellion broke out in Russia, in which the Streltsy of four regiments took part – up to 2200 people, according to some sources, the rebels planned to return Sophia to power – however, this testimony was obtained under torture. The Streltsy were defeated at the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery (near Istra). The Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky, Lefortovo and Butyrsky regiments participated in the suppression of the rebellion.
Peter I was abroad at the time, but upon learning of the new Streltsy rebellion, he quickly cut short his trip and returned to Moscow. The uprising had long since been suppressed by A. Shein and F. Romodanovsky, who could in no way be accused of even the slightest manifestation of humanism: 130 people were hanged, 140 people were whipped, branded and sent into exile, 1965 people were exiled to distant cities. Romodanovsky then personally beheaded four rebels. Nevertheless, Peter ordered a new investigation, which resulted in the execution of more than a thousand people.
They looked with particular passion for traces of Sophia's participation in the conspiracy, tortured her maids, and Peter did not hesitate to interrogate his sister personally. In order to exert psychological pressure on her, three archers were hanged under the windows of the former ruler's cell. Testimony against this princess was obtained under torture, but direct evidence could not be found. It is said that Peter was ready to execute his sister, but Franz Lefort dissuaded him, hinting at the famous "Law of Fatih", saying that only the Turks "stain their hands in the blood of their brothers", "and a Christian sovereign must have merciful feelings".
Nevertheless, Sophia was forcibly tonsured into the "ryasophor": she became a nun and received a new name - Susanna. Now the regime of her imprisonment became truly prison. Shortly before her death, the princess took the schema - the highest degree of asceticism with the vows of non-acquisitiveness (renunciation of property), chastity and obedience. After this, she returned to her former name.
Sophia lived only 47 years and died in July 1704, and was buried in the Smolensk Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent.
The grave of Sophia Alekseevna, photograph from 1908.
However, there were rumors among the people that the princess had actually fled the monastery with 12 faithful archers and taken refuge among the Old Believers on the Volga. And as an alternative grave of this princess, they say the burial place of "schema nun Praskovia" surrounded by 12 unmarked graves in the Old Believer hermitage of Sharpan, founded in 1657 on the Kerzhenets River (on the territory of the Semenovsky District of today's Nizhny Novgorod Region).
Information