Sofya Alekseevna

The early years

Tsarevna Sofya Alekseevna was born in the family of Alexei Mikhailovich and his first wife, Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, and was the sixth child and fourth daughter among sixteen children of Alexei Mikhailovich . She received the traditional princely name " Sophia ", her aunt who died early was also called Tsarevna Sofya Mikhailovna .

The Streletsky Riot of 1682 and the rise to power

April 27 ( May 7 ), 1682, after 6 years of reign, the sickly Tsar Fedor III Alekseevich died. The question arose of who should inherit the throne: the older, painful Ivan according to the custom, or the young Peter. With the support of Patriarch Joachim , the Naryshkins and their supporters on April 27 ( May 7 ), 1682, enthroned Peter. In fact, the Naryshkin clan came to power and Artamon Matveyev called from exile, declared the "great guardian". It was difficult for the supporters of Ivan Alekseevich to support their aspirant, who could not reign because of his extremely poor health. The organizers of the palace coup actually announced the version of the hand-delivered “scepter” of the dying Fedor Alekseevich to his younger brother Peter, but no reliable evidence was presented to that.

The Miloslavskys , relatives of Tsarevich Ivan and Tsarevna Sophia by their mother, saw in the proclamation of Peter the Tsar as infringement of their interests. Sagittarius , which in Moscow was more than 20 thousand, have long been discontent and wayward; and, apparently, incited by the Miloslavskys, on May 15 ( May 25 ), 1682, they spoke openly: shouting that the Naryshkins had strangled Tsarevich Ivan and moved to the Kremlin. Natalya Kirillovna, hoping to reassure the rebels, together with the patriarch and the boyars led Peter and her brother to the Red Porch . However, the uprising did not end. In the early hours, the boyars Artamon Matveev and Mikhail Dolgorukov were killed, then other supporters of Tsarina Natalya, including her two brothers Naryshkina.

On May 26, the electives from the Streltsy regiments appeared in the palace and demanded that the elder Ivan be recognized as the first king, and the younger Peter - the second. Fearing a repetition of the pogrom, the boyars agreed, and Patriarch Joachim immediately performed a solemn prayer service in the Assumption Cathedral on the health of two named kings; and on June 25 he crowned them with the kingdom.

On May 29, streltsy insisted that Tsarevna Sofya Alekseevna take over the government due to the infancy of her brothers. Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, together with her son Peter, the second tsar, should have retired from the courtyard to the palace near Moscow in the village of Preobrazhensky .

Regency

Sophia ruled, relying on her favorite Vasily Golitsyn . De la Neuville and Kurakin give later rumors that between Sophia and Golitsyn there was a carnal connection. However, evidence of her reign does not confirm this. “Diplomats did not see anything in their relationship except Sophia’s good will for the prince, and did not find in them an indispensable erotic connotation” ^[4] .

The princess continued the fight against “schism” already at the legislative level, adopting “12 articles” in 1685, on the basis of which thousands of people accused of “schism” were executed.

Voltaire spoke of her: “She had a lot of intelligence, composed poetry, wrote and spoke well, combined a lot of talents with a pleasant appearance; they were marred only by her ambition . ”

Under Sofya, the Eternal World, favorable to Russia, was concluded with Poland , the disadvantageous Nerchinsky treaty with China (the first Russian-Chinese treaty, valid until 1858 ). In 1687 and 1689, under the leadership of Vasily Golitsyn , campaigns were undertaken against the Crimean Tatars , but they did not bring much benefit, although they strengthened Russia's authority in the eyes of the Holy League allies . On July 21, 1687, the Russian embassy arrived in Paris , sent by the regent to Louis XIV with a proposal to join the Holy League against the Turkish Sultan - at that time the French ally ^[5] .

Deposition

May 30, 1689 Peter I turned 17 years old. By this time, at the insistence of his mother, Tsarina Natalia Kirillovna , he married Evdokia Lopukhina , and, according to the customs of that time, he entered the age of majority. Senior Tsar Ivan was also married. Thus, there were no formal grounds for the regency of Sophia Alekseevna (the infancy of the kings), but she continued to hold the reins of power in her hands. Peter made attempts to insist on his rights, but to no avail: the streltsy chiefs and dignitaries, who received their posts from the hands of Sophia, still carried out only her orders.

Between the Kremlin (the residence of Sophia) and the court of Peter in Preobrazhensky , an atmosphere of hostility and mistrust was established. Each of the parties suspected the nasty of the intention to resolve the confrontation by force, bloody way.

On the night of August 7-8, several streltsy arrived in Preobrazhenskoye and informed the Tsar about the impending assassination attempt on him. Peter was very scared and on horseback, accompanied by several bodyguards, immediately rode off to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery . The next morning, Tsarina Natalya and Tsarina Evdokia went there, accompanied by all the amusing troops , which by that time constituted an impressive military force capable of withstanding a prolonged siege in the Trinity walls.

In Moscow, the news of the Tsar’s flight from Preobrazhensky made a stunning impression: everyone understood that the feud had begun, which threatened with great bloodshed. Sophia urged Patriarch Joachim to go to Trinity in order to persuade Peter to negotiate, but the patriarch did not return to Moscow and declared Peter the full autocrat.

On August 27, a royal decree signed by Peter came from Trinity, demanding all the Streltsy colonels to appear at the disposal of the Tsar, accompanied by elected Streltsy, 10 people from each regiment, for non-execution - the death penalty. Sophia, for her part, forbade the archers to leave Moscow, also under pain of death.

Some streltsy chiefs and privates began to go to the Trinity. Sophia felt that time was working against her, and decided to personally agree with her younger brother, for which she went to Trinity accompanied by a small guard, but in the village of Vozdvizhenskoye she was detained by a streltsy outfit, and the stolnik I. Buturlin sent to meet her, and then the boyar, prince Troekurov announced to her that the king would not accept her, and if she tried to continue her journey to the Trinity, force would be applied to her. Sophia returned to Moscow with nothing.

Sophia became widely aware of this failure, and the flight of the boyars, clerks, and archers from Moscow increased. In Trinity, they were met favorably by Prince Boris Golitsyn - the former uncle ^{[6] of the} tsar, who at that time became the main adviser to Peter, and the manager at his headquarters. To the newly arrived high-ranking dignitaries and streltsy leaders he personally brought a cup and thanked the king for his faithful service on behalf of the king. Ordinary archers also handed out vodka and awards.

Peter led the exemplary life of the Moscow Tsar in Trinity: he attended all divine services, spent the rest of his time in councils with members of the boyar thought and in conversations with church hierarchs, rested only with his family, wore a Russian dress, did not accept Germans , which was strikingly different from the way of life which he led in Preobrazhensky and which was disapproved by most of all layers of Russian society - noisy and scandalous feasts and fun, classes with amusing, in which he often acted as a junior officer, and even a number of his visit, frequent visits to Kukuy , and, in particular, the fact that the tsar and the Germans kept themselves as equals, while even the most noble and dignified Russians, turning to him, according to etiquette should call themselves slaves and servants .

Meanwhile, Sophia’s power was steadily raining: in early September, hired foreign infantry, the most combat-ready part of the Russian army, went to Trinity, led by General P. Gordon . There she swore an oath to the king, who had personally come forward to meet. The highest dignitary of the Sofia government, “the royal regal press and the state great ambassadorial preserver” , Vasily Golitsyn left for his Medvedkovo estate near Moscow, and withdrew from the political struggle. The ruler was actively supported only by the head of the Streltsy order, Fyodor Shaklovity , who by all means tried to keep the streltsy in Moscow.

A new decree came from the tsar - to seize (arrest) Shaklovity and deliver to Trinity in glands (in chains) for investigation (investigation) in the case of the attempt on the king, and all those who support Shaklovity will share his fate. The archers who remained in Moscow demanded that Sophia be extradited by Shaklovity. At first she refused, but was forced to yield. Shaklovity was taken to the Trinity, under torture he confessed and was beheaded. One of the last appeared in Trinity, Prince Vasily Golitsyn, where he was not allowed to the king, and was exiled with his family to Pinega , in the Arkhangelsk Territory.

The ruler did not have any followers who were ready to risk her head for her interests, and when Peter demanded that Sophia retire to the Svyatoduhovsky monastery in Putivl , she had to obey. Soon, Peter decided that it was not safe to keep her in the distance, and transferred him to the Novodevichy Convent . In the monastery, a guard was assigned to her.

Monastery Life, Death

During the Streltsy uprising of 1698, the archers, according to investigators, intended to call her to the kingdom. After the suppression of the rebellion, Sophia was tonsured a nun named Susanna.

Died on July 3 (14), 1704 , before dying, she cut her hair in the great schema , taking herself the old name, Sofia. She was buried in the Smolensk Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow . In the Old Believers' monastery Sharpan there is a burial place of the shrine-monger Praskovya (“ tsaritsyna grave ”) surrounded by 12 nameless graves. The Old Believers consider this Praskovya to be Princess Sophia, who allegedly fled from the Novodevichy Convent with 12 archers ^[7] .

Personal life and character

At the age of 10, the famous court poet and theologian Simeon of Polotsk took up the education of Princess Sophia Alekseevna ^[8] . As a result, already at a young age, Sophia was distinguished by intelligence and education, which even her enemies noted ^[9] . Sylvester (Medvedev) attributed to her seven gifts of the spirit, seven virtues: wisdom, chastity, truthfulness, piety, generosity, generosity and a wonderful gift of speech ^[10] . Sophia was familiar with Latin, fluent in Polish ^[11] . Sofya Alekseevna possessed an extensive library, which mainly contained works of theological and religious nature. Some of her books with the handwritten signatures of the princess are still kept in the Novodevichy Convent ^[12] . Even as a young girl of 19 - 20 years old, she read in a draft version of the polemic religious treatise of Simeon of Polotsk “The Crown of Faith”, which she liked so much that she ordered her to make a special book version of the work ^{[13] [14]} , which shows how deeply she perceived theological issues despite his young age ^[15] . The carpet embroidered by Sophia, as well as the Gospel, which she rewritten with her own hand, was preserved in the Terem Palace ^[11] . However, not all historians recognize its authorship. In the XIX century, it was believed that Sophia herself wrote poetry and plays and was a talented playwright, but modern studies refute this, moreover, they show that when Sophia began to curtail theatrical life, which began to emerge under Alexei Mikhailovich , as part of the struggle against “moral damage ” ^[16] .

Contemporaries also noted her piety and godly fear ^[17] , transmitted to her from her father. I.E. Zabelin wrote that Princess Sophia “in the sense of her position in society, was a monastery, a fasting, a desert” ^[18] . According to British scholar Lindsay Hughes, Sophia’s life “most likely proceeded in front of the church’s altar and icons, and not on the stage, and her reading circle consisted of Psalms, the Gospel and worldly literature ... The walls of her rooms were decorated with icons and paintings written in biblical subjects ” ^[19] . Under Sofya, persecution of the Old Believers sharply intensified. At the Great Lent of 1685, the famous 12 articles were adopted against the Old Believers , as a result of which thousands of people were subjected to death, exile and torture ^[20] .

The controversial question remains about the personal life of Princess Sophia, in particular the presence of a love affair with Prince Vasily Golitsyn . Some authors deny the existence of such a relationship between them, indicating that Prince Golitsyn was married and had children, so, from the point of view of the morals of pre-Petrine Russia, such a relationship was categorically impossible ^[21]. However, according to other historians, several surviving letters of Princess Sophia show her deep feelings for Golitsyn ^[22] . Letters were written during the second Crimean campaign , in the spring of 1689. In them, Sofia wrote to Golitsyn about her gratitude to God for his deliverance from dangers and assured her of her constant sympathy. So, in one of the letters she writes:

“My light, brother Vasenka, hello my father for many years ... But to me, my light, I have no faith, that you are a returner to us, then I will understand faith, as I will see you, my light in my arms,”

- Letters from Princess Sophia to Prince Golitsyn

The only description of Sophia's appearance was left by her contemporary, the French diplomat Foix de la Neuville . According to him, " she is terribly fat, she has a head the size of a pot, facial hair, lupus on her legs, and she is at least 40 years old ." According to his testimonies: “ Her mind and virtues do not bear the imprint of the ugliness of her body at all, for as her waist is short, wide and rough, her mind is so thin, penetrating and skillful ” ^[23] .

In the early years of the co-government of Ivan and Peter, the name of Sofia Alekseevna was practically not mentioned in official documents ^[25] . The almost complete absence of the name of Sophia in official records management in the early years of the kingdom even allowed some researchers to argue that Sophia did not formally receive the regency in 1682, but the rules were informal, gradually concentrating power in their hands ^{[26] [27]} . Only in 1686, the name of Sophia began to be added to the names of the brothers in royal decrees ^[25] . Most likely, this was due to the fact that, according to ethical standards of that time, Sophia could not act publicly, but, despite this, according to researchers, from the first days of the reign, “her political influence was felt everywhere” ^[28] .

However, Sophia’s power was gradually strengthened, and court panegyrists began to glorify her. The written and oral praises of her wisdom and virtue gradually increased and reached a peak by 1686, when the Eternal Peace was concluded with Poland ^[29] . Poets and writers often identified Sophia with God's wisdom . Simeon of Polotsk dedicated to Sophia several of his poems, preserved in the dedications to the books donated to them by Sophia. In one of them he writes ^[14] :

In 1686, on behalf of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, the Likhud brothers read out a commendable speech by Sophia, beginning with the words: “ Here we are, Blessed Sovereign, God-chosen, honest Sophia Aleksievna .... You, O wise Sophia, the most valued Judith, the most holy Susanna , the most chaste Deborah , rejoice and have fun, as you have prepared for the crown in heaven not from stonework, precious corruptibles, and timeless ones, but from the grace of God, and the soul of God surrounding the divine throne. A crown has been arranged for you and the scepter be quick, and the fatherly Sophia has entered the scepters in wisdom and courage, you have approved ” ^[30] . Karion (Istomin) in his poetic panegyrics glorified Sophia the Wisdom as a building, creating force, prudent ruler ^[31] . Сильвестр (Медведев) в своей речи, обращенной к царевне говорит, что Софья “ есть дом солнечный, жилище солнца истинного Христа Господа ”, сравнивает её с Александром Великим , заявляя при этом, что она превосходит Александра в своём поиске совершенства, которое “ богом истинным ” воплощено в царевне ^[32] . Её профили печатали на монетах, её называли благочастивой, милосердной, премудрой и христолюбивой царевной, сравнивали с Пульхерией , Семирамидой , княгиней Ольгой и с « Елисавеф Британской » ^{[33] [34]} .

В последние годы правления Софьи проявляется явное желание её окружения устроить царевне “помазанье на царство” с тем чтобы сделать её самодержавной правительницей, равной по статусу её братьям. С этой целью рассылались послы в стрелецкие полки, иностранные дворы и к Вселенским патриархам ^{[34] [35] [36] [37]} . С 8 января 1686 года имя Софьи Алексеевны стало включаться в царский титул, её официально начали именовать самодержицей ^{[38] [39]} . Стали появляться золотые монеты с изображением Софьи , были созданы портреты царевны в полном царском облачении со скипетром и державой в руках на фоне двуглавого орла ^[40] . Под портретом печатался полный царский титул и стихи о её добродетелях, которыми царевна „ царство аки седми столпы укрепила ” ^[41] . Портреты правительницы стали распространяться при помощи специальных политических плакатов. К лету 1689 г. несколько сот плакатов с портретом Софьи были распространены по Москве и посланы за рубеж ^[36] . Сочинялись поддельные акты о «всенародном и единогласном» избрании Софьи правительницей России в мае 1682 г. ^[36] .

Однако, общество всё же было не готово принять самодержавную женщину-правительницу. По словам И. Е. Забелина, чтобы осуществить задуманное, Софье была необходима « прямая, открытая и притом богатырская, т. е. петровская борьба с тем же обществом; борьба, не допускавшая никаких сделок, никаких колебаний, уступок, никаких мирных переговоров ». Он считает, что Софье хватило бы сил выдержать подобную борьбу, однако у неё не хватало веры в необходимость такой борьбы, она была не способна « отступить от заветного постнического идеала » и стремилась отстоять « лишь свою личную свободу », действуя при этом « по византийским образцам » ^[18] .

После воцарения Петра I образ Софьи подвергся резкой негативизации и оставался таковым на протяжении большей части XVIII века. Все последующие русские авторы описывали правление Софьи Алексеевны исключительно в отрицательных тонах. Их мнение разделяли иностранцы. В своих произведениях они описывали Софью как коварную интриганку, ослеплённую честолюбием и жаждой власти, повергшую государство в хаос и смуту ^[42] . Однако к концу XVIII века негативный образ Софьи Алексеевны начал постепенно пересматриваться. Так, Екатерина II в одном из своих сочинений писала, что Софье ” не была отдана должная справедливость ”. По её словам “ она [Софья] в течение нескольких лет руководила делами государства со всей проницательностью, какой только возможно желать. Глядя на дела, прошедшие через её руки, нельзя не признать, что она была весьма способна царствовать ” ^[43] . В свою очередь Карамзин считал, что Софья “ есть одна из великих женщин, произведенных Россиею ” и замечал что “ по уму и свойствам души своей [она] достойна была называться сестрою Петра Великого ” ^[44] . Н. Г. Устрялов называл Софью “русской Пульхерией ”, отмечая при этом такие черты её характера как властолюбие и жестокость ^[45] . С. М. Соловьев называл Софью “ примером исторической женщины, освободившейся из терема, но не вынесшей из него нравственных сдержек и не нашедшей их в обществе ” ^[46] . По словам Е. Ф. Шмурло “ Софья первая пробила брешь в той стене, за которой, замурованные, сидели наши прабабушки; она первая вывела их из терема, указав путь, идя по которому русская женщина стала теперь, по широте и глубине своего образования, по интенсивности своих духовных стремлений, одной из первых женщин мира ” ^[13] .

• Иван Лажечников. « Последний Новик ». Исторический роман о вымышленном сыне Софьи и Голицына
• Аполлон Майков. « Стрелецкое сказание о царевне Софье Алексеевне ». 1867
• Е. П. Карнович. «На высоте и на доле: Царевна Софья Алексеевна» (1879)
• А. Н. Толстой. «Петр Первый» (1934)
• Марина Цветаева « Петру», «Есть подвиги.По селам стих... » (1920)
• Н. М. Молева, «Государыня — правительница Софья» (2000)
• Р. Р. Гордин, «Игра судьбы» (2001)
• Т. Т. Наполова, «Царица-мачеха» (2006)
• В. С. Соловьёв, «Царь-девица» (1878)

Кинематограф

• Наталья Бондарчук — « Юность Петра » (1980).
• Ванесса Редгрейв « Пётр Великий », (1986).
• Александра Черкасова — « Раскол », (2011).
• Ирина Жерякова — «Романовы. Фильм Второй» ( 2013 ).

In Russian

• Belyaevsky chronicler // Russia under Tsarevna Sofya and Peter I: Notes of Russian people / Comp. and ed. A.P. Bogdanov . - M .: Sovremennik , 1990 .-- S. 27 - 44. - 448 p. - ISBN 5-270-00708-8 . (per.)
• Vasilenko N.P. Sofia Alekseevna // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Kostomarov N.I. History of Russia in the biographies of its most important figures. Ch. 13. Princess Sophia
• Solovyov S. M. The history of Russia since ancient times. T. 14, ch. I, II.
• Lavrov A.S. Regency of Princess Sophia Alekseevna. A service society and the struggle for power at the top of the Russian state in 1682–1689. - M .: Archaeographic Center, 1999. - 304 p. - 1,000 copies. - ISBN 5-88253-035-0 . (per.)
• Pomyalovsky M. Sofia Alekseevna // Russian Biographical Dictionary : in 25 volumes. - SPb. - M. , 1896-1918.
• Sedov P.V. Sunset of the Moscow kingdom. The royal court of the late XVII century. - SPb., 2006.
• Bogdanov A.P. Engraving as a source on the history of political struggle in Russia during the regency of Sofya Alekseevna (questions of origin) // Materials of the XV All-Union Scientific Student Conference "Student and Scientific and Technical Progress." Series "History". - Novosibirsk, 1977 .-- S. 39-48.
• Description of the former riot in 1682. From the manuscript // Collection of various notes and essays that serve to deliver complete information about the life and deeds of the Emperor Peter the Great. Published by the works and the dependency of Fedor Tumansky. - Part 1. - St. Petersburg: Shnor, 1787. - S. 111—229.
• Hughes L. Tsarevna Sophia / Lindsay Hughes / Per. from English and scientific. Editing: Ph.D. S.V. Lobachev; Reviewers: Doctor of Historical Sciences, prof. S. A. Kozlov, Doctor of History, Senior Researcher A.P. Pavlov. - SPb. : Grand, 2001 .-- 416 p. - 4000 copies. - ISBN 5-9204-0003-X . (in per.)
• Naumov V.P. Tsarevna Sofya. - M .: Young Guard , 2015. - 368, [32] p. - (The life of wonderful people : ser. Biogr .; issue 1730 (1530)). - 3000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-235-03820-2 . (in per.)

In foreign languages

• Hughes, L. Sophia, Regent of Russia 1657-1704. New Haven and London, 1990.
• Boskovska, N. Die russische Frau im 17. Jahrhundert. Köln, 1998.