Alexei Mikhailovich^[a] (Russian:Алексей Михайлович,^[b]IPA:[ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejmʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ]; 19 March [O.S. 9 March] 1629 – 8 February [O.S. 29 January] 1676), also known asAlexis,^[1] wasTsar of all Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676.^[2]

Alexis
Portrait of Alexis by an unknown Russian artist,c. 1670 – c. 1680
Tsar of all Russia
Reign	23 July [O.S. 13 July] 1645 – 8 February [O.S. 29 January] 1676
Coronation	28 September 1645
Predecessor	Michael
Successor	Feodor III
Born	(1629-03-19)19 March 1629 Moscow, Russia
Died	8 February 1676(1676-02-08) (aged 46) Moscow, Russia
Burial	Cathedral of the Archangel
Spouse	Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya ​ ​ (m. 1648; died 1669)​ Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina ​ ​ (m. 1671)​
Issue among others...	Tsarevich Dmitri Alexeevich Tsarevna Yevdokia Alekseevna Tsarevna Marfa Alekseyevna Tsarevich Alexei Alexeyevich Sofia Alexeevna, Regent of Russia Tsarevna Ekaterina Alexeevna Tsarevna Maria Alexeevna Fyodor III Tsarevna Feodosia Alexeyevna Tsarevich Simeon Alexeyevich Ivan V Peter I Tsarevna Natalya Alexeevna
Names Alexei Mikhailovich
House	Romanov
Father	Michael of Russia
Mother	Eudoxia Streshneva
Religion	Russian Orthodox

He was the first tsar to sign laws on his own authority and his council passed theSobornoye Ulozheniye of 1649, which strengthened the bonds between autocracy and the lower nobility.^[3]

In religious matters, he sided closely withPatriarch Nikon during theschism in the Russian Orthodox Church which saw unpopular liturgical reforms.^[2][3]

While finding success in foreign affairs, his reign saw several wars withIran,Poland (from whomleft-bank Ukraine andSmolensk were annexed) andSweden, as well as internal instabilities such as theSalt Riot in Moscow and theCossack revolt ofStenka Razin in southern Russia. At the time of his death, Russia spanned almost 8.1 million km² (3.1 million sq mi).

Alexis was born inMoscow on 19 March [O.S. 9 March] 1629^[2] toTsar Michael andEudoxia Streshneva.^[4] At the age of sixteen, he acceded to the throne after his father's death on 12 July 1645. In August, the Tsar'smother died, and following a pilgrimage toSergiyev Posad he was crowned on 28 September in theDormition Cathedral.^[5] He was committed to the care of his tutorBoris Morozov, a shrewdboyar open to Western ideas.^[6]

Morozov pursued a peaceful foreign policy, securing a truce with thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and carefully avoiding complications with theOttoman Empire. His domestic policy aimed at limiting the privileges of foreign traders and abolishing useless and expensive court offices. On 17 January 1648, Morozov procured the marriage of the tsar withMaria Miloslavskaya, himself marrying her sister Anna ten days later;^[6] both were daughters ofIlya Danilovich Miloslavsky.

Alexis empowered Morozov to conduct reforms to reduce social tensions; however, his measure of tripling the tax burden (arrears for the two years preceding 1648 was demanded) caused heightened popular discontent.^[3] Morozov was regarded as a corrupt, self-seeking boyar and was accused of sorcery andwitchcraft. In May 1648 Muscovites rose against his faction in theSalt Riot, and the young Tsar was compelled to dismiss them and exile Morozov to theKirillo-Belozersky Monastery. Four months later, Morozov secretly returned to Moscow to regain some of his power.^[7]

The popular discontent demonstrated by the riot was partially responsible for Alexis' 1649 issuance of a new legal code, theSobornoye Ulozheniye.^[2]

In 1648, using the experience of creating regiments of the foreign system during the reign of his father, Alexis began reforming the army.

The main direction of the reform was the mass creation ofNew Order Regiments:Reiters, Soldiers,Dragoons andHussars.^[8] These regiments formed the backbone of the new army of Tsar Alexis. To fulfill the reform goals, a large number of European military specialists were hired for service. This became possible because of the end of theThirty Years' War, which created a colossal surplus of military professionals in Europe.^[9]

Throughout his reign, Alexis faced rebellions across Russia. After resolving the 1648Salt Riot Alexis faced rebellions in 1650 in the cities ofPskov and GreatNovgorod. Alexis put down the Novgorod rebellion quickly, but was unable to subdue Pskov, and was forced to promise the city amnesty in return for surrender. TheMetropolitanNikon distinguished himself at Great Novgorod and in 1651 became the Tsar's chief minister.^[7]

By the 1660s, Alexis's wars with Poland and Sweden had put an increasing strain on the Russian economy and public finances. In response, Alexis's government had begun minting large numbers of copper coins in 1654 to increase government revenue but this led to a devaluation of the ruble and a severe financial crisis. As a result, angry Moscow residents revolted in the 1662Copper Riot, which was put down violently.^[7]

In 1669, theCossacks along theDon in southern Russia erupted in rebellion. The rebellion was led byStenka Razin, a disaffectedDon Cossack who had captured the Russian terminus ofAstrakhan. From 1670 to 1671, Razin seized multiple towns along theVolga river. The turning point in his campaign was his failed siege ofSimbirsk in October 1670. Razin was finally captured on theDon in April 1671, and wasdrawn and quartered in Moscow.^[7]

In 1651,Safavid troops attacked Russian fortifications in theNorth Caucasus. The main issue involved the expansion of a Russian garrison on theKoy Su river, as well as the construction of several new fortresses, in particular the one built on the Iranian side of theTerek river.^[10][11] The successful Safavid offensive resulted in the destruction of the Russian fortress and its garrison being expelled.^[10][11] In 1653, Alexis, initially thinking about sending theZaporozhian Cossacks, eventually decided to send an embassy to Persia for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. In August 1653 courtier Prince Ivan Lobanov-Rostov and steward Ivan Komynin traveled fromAstrakhan toIsfahan. ShahAbbas II agreed to settle the conflict, stating that the conflict was initiated without his consent.

In 1653, the weakness and disorder of Poland, which had just emerged from theKhmelnytsky Uprising, encouraged Alexis to attempt to annex the oldRus' lands. On 1 October 1653 anational assembly met at Moscow to sanction the war and find the means of carrying it out, and in April 1654 the army was blessed byNikon, who had been electedpatriarch in 1652.^[6]

Thecampaign of 1654 was an uninterrupted triumph, and scores of towns, including the important fortress ofSmolensk, fell into the hands of the Russians.^[6] UkrainianHetmanBogdan Khmelnitsky appealed to Tsar Alexis for protection from the Poles, and theTreaty of Pereyaslav brought about Russian dominance of theCossack Hetmanate inleft-bank Ukraine.

In the summer of 1655, a sudden invasion byCharles X of Sweden briefly swept the Polish state out of existence, in what became known as theDeluge. The Russians, unopposed, quickly appropriated nearly everything that was not already occupied by the Swedes. When the Poles offered to negotiate, the whole grand duchy ofLithuania was the least of the demands made by Alexis. However, Alexis and the king ofSweden quarrelled over the apportionment of the spoils, and at the end of May 1656, with encouragement by theHabsburgemperor and the other enemies of Sweden, Alexisdeclared war on Sweden.^[6]

Great things were expected by Russia of the Swedish war, but nothing came of it.Dorpat was taken, but countless multitudes of men were lost in vain beforeRiga. In the meantime, Poland had so far recovered herself as to become a much more dangerous foe than Sweden, and, as it was impossible to wage war with both simultaneously, the tsar resolved to rid himself of the Swedes first. In thePeace of Kardis (2 July 1661), Russia retroceded all her conquests.^[6]

The Polish war dragged on for six years longer and was then concluded by theTruce of Andrusovo (11 February 1667), nominally for thirteen years, which proved the most durable of treaties. According to the truce,Polotsk and PolishLivonia were restored to Poland, but the more important cities ofSmolensk andKiev remained in the hands of Russia together with the whole eastern bank of theDnieper river. This truce was the achievement ofAfanasy Ordin-Nashchokin, the first Russian chancellor and diplomat in the modern sense, who after the disgrace of Nikon became the tsar's first minister until 1670, when he was superseded by the equally ableArtamon Matveyev, whose beneficent influence prevailed to the end of Alexis's reign.^[6]

WhenCharles I of England was beheaded by the Parliamentarians underOliver Cromwell in 1649, an outraged Alexis broke off diplomatic relations with England and accepted Royalist refugees in Moscow. He also banned all English merchants from his country (notably members of theMuscovy Company) and provided financial assistance to "the disconsolate widow of thatglorious martyr, King Charles I."^[12]

In 1653,Patriarch Nikon established a series of reforms that aimed to bring the practices of theRussian Orthodox Church into line with itsGreek counterpart. Most notably, the church began to mandate the use of three fingers instead of two in making thesign of the cross. This resulted in significant dissent among the church community. Nevertheless, Alexis continued to support Nikon until 1658, when Nikon abandoned his post due to a personal insult, leaving the seat of the patriarch vacant.^[13]

In 1666, the tsar convened theGreat Moscow Synod, which was attended by PatriarchMacarius III Ibn al-Za'im and PatriarchPaisius of Alexandria, in order to address the problems caused by Nikon. The synod agreed to formally depose Nikon, and also decided to excommunicate all who opposed the reforms of the church; those opponents broke away from the official Russian Orthodox Church to form theOld Believers movement.^[13]

Across Russia, Old Believers were harshly persecuted. One such old believer wasAvvakum "the leader of the old Believers". Avvakum "had his wife and children buried alive in front of him; he himself was just exiled".^[14]

Several old believers fled to the monastery of Solovki which had revolted in theSolovetsky Monastery uprising. The monastery would be besieged for seven years until 22 January 1676 which was a few days before Alexis's death on 8 February 1676.

According to theEncyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition:

It is the crowning merit of the Tsar Alexei that he discovered so many great men (likeFyodor Rtishchev, Ordin, Matveyev, the best of Peter's precursors) and suitably employed them. He was not a man of superior strength of character, or he would never have submitted to the dictation of Nikon. But, on the other hand, he was naturally, if timorously, progressive, or he would never have encouraged the great reforming boyar Matveyev. His last years, notwithstanding the terrible rebellion ofStenka Razin, were deservedly tranquil.^[6]

Alexis's letters were first published byPyotr Bartenev in 1856. They have earned him a place in the history ofRussian literature, as assessed byD. S. Mirsky:

A few private letters and an instruction to hisfalconers is all we have of him. But it is sufficient forSergey Platonov to proclaim him the most attractive of Russian monarchs. He acquired the monikerTishayshy, which means "most quiet" or "most peaceful". He received this moniker through the ways he behaved—he would be kind and friendly, but the sounds created from instruments would provoke him. Certain aspects ofRussian Orthodoxy, not its most purely spiritual, but its aesthetic and worldly aspects, found in him their most complete expression. The essence of Alexis's personality is a certain spiritualEpicureanism, manifested in an optimistic Christian faith, in a profound, but unfanatical, attachment to the traditions and ritual of the Church, in a desire to see everyone round him happy and at peace, and in a highly developed capacity to extract a quiet and mellow enjoyment from all things.^[15]

In 1666, his doctorSamuel Collins described Alexis (then aged 37) as having "a sanguine complexion with light brown hair, his beard uncut. He is tall and fat of a majestical deportment, severe in his anger, bountiful, charitable".^[16]

The full title of Alexis in 1667 was:^[17]

By the Grace of God, We, the Great Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince Alexei Mikhailovich, Autocrat of allGreat,Little andWhite Russia,Moscow,Kiev,Vladimir,Novgorod, Tsar ofKazan, Tsar ofAstrakhan, Tsar ofSiberia, Sovereign ofPskov and Grand Prince ofTver,Yugorsk,Perm,Vyatka, Bulgar and others, Sovereign and Grand Prince ofNovgorod of the Lower Land,Chernigov,Ryazan,Rostov,Yaroslavl,Beloozero,Udoria,Obdoria,Kondia, and Ruler of all theNorthern Countries, the Sovereign of theIverian Lands, theKartlian and Georgian Tsars and theKabardian Lands, the Cherkasy and Mountainous Princes and many other States and Lands of the East and West, and the North from Father and Grandfather, and Heir, and Sovereign, and Possessor.

Alexis's first marriage toMiloslavskaya was harmonious and felicitous. They had thirteen children (five sons and eight daughters) in twenty-one years of marriage, and she died only weeks after her thirteenth childbirth. Four sons survived her (Alexei, Fyodor, Semyon and Ivan), but within six months of her death two of these were dead, including Alexei, the 15-year-old heir to the throne. The couple's children were:

• Dmitri Alexeevich (1648–1649); crown prince; died in infancy
• Yevdokia Alekseevna (1650–1712)
• Marfa Alekseyevna (1652–1707)
• Alexei Alexeevich (1654–1670); crown prince; died unwed aged 15
• Anna Alexeevna (23 January 1655– 8 May 1659); died in infancy
• Sofia Alexeevna (1657–1704), regent of Russia (1682–89) for her two younger brothers;^[18] never married
• Ekaterina Alexeevna (1658–1718)
• Maria Alexeevna (1660–1723)
• Fyodor III (1661–1682); succeeded his father asTsar of Russia;^[19] died childless
• Feodosia Alexeyevna (1662–1713)
• Simeon Alexeyevich (1665–1669); died in infancy
• Ivan V (1666–1696); was co-ruler along with his younger half-brother Peter,^[20] father ofEmpress Anna
• Yevdokia Alexeevna (1669–1669)

Alexis remarried on 1 February 1671 toNatalya Kirillovna Naryshkina (1 September 1651 – 4 February 1694). She had been brought up in the house ofArtamon Matveyev, whose wife was the Scottish-descended MaryHamilton. Their children were:

• Peter I (1672–1725), later known as "Peter the Great",Tsar and firstEmperor of Russia
• Natalya Alexeevna (1673–1716)
• Fyodora Alexeevna (1674–1678)

• Family tree of Russian monarchs

• Matthee, Rudolph P. (1999).The Politics of Trade in Safavid Iran: Silk for Silver, 1600-1730. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0521641319.
• Matthee, Rudi (2012).Persia in Crisis: Safavid Decline and the Fall of Isfahan. I.B.Tauris.ISBN 978-1845117450.
• Grigory Kotoshikhin'sOn Russia during the reign of Alexey Mikhailovich (1665) is a key source on domestic life of the tsar and his court.
• Yury Krizhanich's treatises from the 1660s are also very informative.
• Longworth, Philip (1984).Alexis, Tsar of All the Russias. Franklin Watts.ISBN 978-0531097700.

• Romanovs: The first film. Michael I, Alexis I – Historical reconstruction "The Romanovs". StarMedia. Babich-Design(Russia, 2013)