Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya (Romanova) Great Russian queen, who became the first wife of Alexei Romanov.

She was a representative of the Miloslavsky family of nobles, who did not have high-profile titles or titles. Maria became the sovereign's wife at the age of twenty-two and lived in a happy marriage for two decades, giving her husband thirteen heirs during this time.

The story of Queen Mary's birth, marriage

Miloslavskaya was born on April 1 (11), 1624 in Moscow, into a poor noble family. Her grandfather Danila Ivanovich was a governor, and her father Ilya Danilovich was a steward. The status of the Miloslavskys began to change dramatically after the wedding of Mary, which took place on January 16, 1648.

Miloslavskaya's marriage was not without court intrigue, popular in those days. The fact is that the young monarch gave preference to another person. Alas, no king can marry for love! The chosen one was the daughter of the landowner Vsevolozhsky, but the engagement was prevented by the tutor and mentor of the young tsar, boyar B.I. Morozov, who had enormous power at court.

The role of Morozov in the fate of Maria Miloslavskaya

During the grand entrance, the bride fainted, as a result of which rumors immediately spread about the girl’s serious illness. Her father was declared guilty of concealing this fact and subjected to torture, after which the entire Vsevolozhsky family was deported to Siberia. This begs the question, what does Morozov have to do with it?

It was just that a power-hungry boyar pursued the goal of becoming related to the tsar. He presents Maria Miloslavskaya, beautiful and healthy, to the sovereign. Ten days after the royal wedding, Morozov marries the newlywed's sister, Anna. It should be noted that the young queen was absolutely not involved in the insidious plans of her future relative.

Life in the royal chambers

Maria Ilyinichna was distinguished by a meek disposition, modest character, and was very pious. Greed and greed were alien to this woman; the queen was engaged in charity work and generously gave gifts to people from her close circle.

In 1654, when the royal campaign was underway, Miloslavskaya contributed to the opening of hospitals in Russian cities, where assistance was provided to the sick and wounded, and on the way to church, the young queen did not skimp on alms to the poor and generously rewarded her children for the labors of their nurses.

Unfortunately, Mary gave birth to weak and sick sons. Only three princes reached adulthood: Alexey, Fyodor and Ivan, but they also left this world quite young. However, her three children went down in history as rulers of the state: (1682 - 1689, regent under Ivan V) Feodor III (Tsar from 1676) Ivan V (Tsar from 1682 to 1696) Maria Miloslavskaya was a real Russian woman, a loving wife and caring mother .

Her life was cut short on March 3, 1669 as a result of difficult childbirth. Alexey Romanov sincerely mourned the death of his wife, burying her with all honors in the Ascension Cathedral of the Ascension Nunnery of the Moscow Kremlin.

I. THE YOUNG YEARS OF TSAR ALEXEY MIKHAILOVICH

(continuation)

Boyar intrigue against the royal bride Vsevolozhskaya. – Marriage to Maria Miloslavskaya.

Queen Maria of Miloslavskaya on the Kiya Cross icon

In 1647, the eighteen-year-old king wished to get married. According to custom, many girls were gathered to Moscow; The most beautiful of them were chosen and presented to the sovereign. He especially liked the daughter of the nobleman Raf Vsevolozhsky, who was therefore taken to the palace and placed with the royal sisters until the wedding. But here the same thing happened again that once happened to the girl Khlopova under Mikhail Fedorovich. The court boyars, who had their own daughters, of course, were jealous of the happiness of the humble girl, and, according to a Russian contemporary, they intoxicated her so much that she fell ill. According to another piece of news, Vsevolozhskaya, having learned about her choice, fainted from intense joyful excitement; according to the third, the bride fainted before the wedding because the palace servants, bribed by Boris Morozov, tied her hair too tightly. Be that as it may, the bride was accused of falling ill.

However, the immoderate and selfish use of his omnipotent position soon led Morozov to the brink of death.

About the choice and fate of Vsevolozhskaya. Letters from Swedish attorney Ferber. (Berkh. II. 43 and 44). Collins ("Read O.I. and D." 1846. 1. Chapter XX) talks about the intrigue of Morozov, who ordered his hair to be tied tightly. Kotoshikhin (5 pages) reports about the boyars who were drunk with poison, and does not mention Morozov. But one can hardly doubt the participation of the latter; Otherwise, this whole intrigue would not have gone so unpunished for its main culprits, although some kind of investigation was carried out on this matter. But this investigation ended in the most pitiful way: some Misha Ivanov, a peasant of Nikita Ivanovich Romanov, was accused of witchcraft and slander “in the Rafov case of Vsevolzhsky,” and for that he was exiled “under a strong authority” to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. (Top "Fedor Alekseevich". II. "Addition to the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich". 182 –153). In 1651 we met Raf Vsevolozhsky as governor of Verkhoturye. (Acts Ist. III. No. 48). And in May of the following 1652 we read a decree to the governor of Verkhoturye Izmailov to turn back Vsevolozhsky, who was sent to Yaransk, from the road and send him with his wife and daughter to Tobolsk. (Ibid. No. 59). But in July of the same year we already read an order to the Kasimov governor Litvinov about the supervision of the widow of Raf Vsevolozhsky, exiled from Tyumen to the Kasimov village, with her son and daughter, the former bride of the sovereign (S.G.G. and D. III. No. 155).

According to Kotoshikhin (5), Alexey Mikhailovich allegedly accidentally saw Miloslavsky’s two daughters in the church; after which he ordered one of them to be taken to his place at Verkh, where “he looked at that maiden and loved it, and named her princess, and in obedience gave her over to his sisters, and put a royal robe on her, and placed faithful and God-fearing wives with her to protect her, until the hour of marriage has arrived." But one can guess that it was not by chance that the sovereign saw Miloslavsky’s daughters, but that the matter was set up and directed by B.I. Morozov. Olearius (chapter XV) directly says that Miloslavsky, through great obsequiousness, gained the favor of Morozov and that this latter decided in advance to become related to the tsar; Therefore, he praised the beauty of the Miloslavsky sisters and aroused the desire to see them. Then they were invited to visit the princesses, the royal sisters, and it was then that Alexei chose the eldest, 22-year-old Marya Ilyinichna. Kotoshikhin, mistakenly pointing to the younger one, reports how preparations were made for the wedding, how the boyars, duma people and generally court officials and their wives were assigned who should occupy what place or position at the wedding celebration. Who actually held what rank at the wedding and during the three-day feasts, see Palace. Resolution III. 78 – 86. Here we learn that Ivan Nikitita Romanova’s wife, Ulyana Osipovna, and the wife of Prince Bor were still alive. Mich. Lykova Anastasia Nikitichna, grand-aunt of the sovereign. They were among the queen's chambermaids along with her mother Katerina Feodorovna. Two letters about the marriage of the Tsar with Marya Ilyinichna, about prayer for them and commemoration at the litanies in the Act. Exp. IV. No. 23. That at the insistence of confessor Stephen, at the royal wedding, “blasphemy, demonic games, cold, sniffling songs and trumpet singing of goats” were eliminated, and spiritual songs were arranged, for this see the life of Gregory Neronov, compiled after his death.” (“Brotherly Word” ". 1875. Book 2. Page 272). About the marriage of B. I. Morozov with Anna Miloslavskaya Collins, Olearius, Chronographs in Popov's Izbornik, Chronicle of the Rebellions (357). And the wife of Gleb I. Morozov was Avdotya Alekseevna, daughter Prince Alexei Yuryevich Sitsky. (Mentioned article by Zertsalov in "Reader O.I. and D." 1890. III. 236). Gleb's second wife was Feodosia Pronyevna Sokovnina, a famous schismatic. About the embassy and departure of the steward I. D. Miloslavsky “across the sea to the Galan land”, with clerk Baibakov in 1647 on two Dutch “dangerous” (war) ships in “Letop. Dvin." 27. He was instructed to hire iron masters there for a weapons factory, as well as to hire captains experienced in soldier training and about 20 soldiers, “kind, the most learned.” About this embassy, see also Gamel’s “Description of the Tula Plant.” 44. Collins speaks about the role of the whip in the marital practice of B.I. Morozov. He also has a hint of her infidelity: on Morozov’s suspicion of a short acquaintance with his house, the Englishman William Barnsley was exiled to Siberia. ("Ch. O.I. and D." 1846. Ch. XX).

Portrait of Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.

The life of Queen Maria Ilyinichna (1624 -1669) was, as it were, an example for all the queens of the Romanov dynasty of the second half of the 17th century. Maria became the wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich thanks to a very unsightly intrigue, to which she personally had nothing to do. It all started on July 12, 1645, when Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich died.

On that day, his son, sixteen-year-old Alexei Mikhailovich, took the Russian throne. The young sovereign's deceased father was replaced by his tutor, or, as they said then, “uncle,” boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov. It was a very long tradition to assign mentors to the sons of sovereigns. But, perhaps, there has never been such an influential “uncle” politician in history and, most importantly, such an obedient sovereign to his “uncle.” The first years of his reign, Tsar Alexei almost did not delve into state affairs. The ruler of the state, both in formal positions and in essence, was B.I. Morozov.

In such a difficult situation, preparations began for the wedding of the eighteen-year-old Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

Grigory SEDOV (1836-1886). The choice of a bride by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

According to tradition, at the beginning of 1647, 200 girls from boyar and noble families were brought to Moscow from all over the state. A special commission selected the six most beautiful girls who were presented to the king. Alexey was captivated by the charms of Euphemia, the daughter of the Kasimov landowner Fyodor Vsevolozhsky. Well, the Russian Tsar had a rare chance to marry for love. But Alexei Mikhailovich did not take advantage of this chance; “Uncle”, Boris Ivanovich Morozov, did not want a noblewoman from a family not under his control to become queen. After all, it would be necessary to share power with the relatives of the young queen.

Morozov weaved a cunning intrigue, hoping to kill two birds with one stone: marry Alexei to the girl of his choice and become related to the Tsar-pupil. Well, Boris Ivanovich did not miss! First he dismissed Euphemia. The former court physician, the Englishman Samuel Collins, who spoke with eyewitnesses of the events, writes that Euphemia, during the ceremonial exit, already dressed in the queen’s ceremonial clothes, suddenly fainted. Immediately a rumor spread that the girl was suffering from epilepsy (that is, epilepsy). But the cause of fainting was a severe headache due to the fact that the women who combed Euphemia’s hair “tied the hair on her head very tightly.” According to Russian custom, the bride's braid was undone, her hair was combed and tied into a knot. The custom of changing a girl's hairstyle to a woman's hairstyle upon marriage existed among many nations. Perhaps Euphemia felt bad simply because she was not used to her new hairstyle. But contemporaries had a strong belief that this could not have happened without the order of B.I. Morozova. Alexey, in love, obviously did not show strength of character and believed the slander coming from the teacher, his minions and the gloating parents of the rejected bride candidates. However, not only did they defame a physically healthy girl. Her father was accused of concealing his daughter's illness and was tortured. The entire Vsevolozhsky family was exiled to Siberia. True, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich assigned his would-be bride a good allowance.

Then B.I. Morozov presented Tsar Alexei with his candidacy for a bride - twenty-two-year-old Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.

The secretary of the Holstein embassy, Adam Olearius, noted in his work that the father of the tsar’s bride, Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky, visited the thresholds of Morozov’s house and “diligently looked after” the tsar’s educator. And Morozov, “for the sake of his obsequiousness,” fell in love with him very much. Miloslavsky had two beautiful daughters of marriageable age. Having no sons, Ilya Danilovich wanted to find a profitable place for his daughters. The smart Morozov came up with a plan that formed the basis for the final phase of the intrigue. He decided to marry one of his sisters to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and marry the other himself (fortunately, he was a widower). One fine day, both sisters were brought to meet the king’s sisters. Alexey Mikhailovich saw them and, as Olearius writes, fell in love with the eldest, Maria. She was declared the sovereign's bride.

Konstantin MAKOVSKY (1839 - 1915). Boyar wedding feast in the 17th century.

The wedding took place on January 16, 1648. And ten days later, Boris Ivanovich Morozov married the sister of the young queen, Anna Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna was beautiful and, as S. Collins floridly wrote, adorned with “precious diamonds of modesty, hard work and piety.” At the wedding, Tsar Alexei ordered there to be “no seats,” that is, he forbade keeping local accounts. This measure was relevant because Queen Mary’s relatives did not shine in high ranks, but due to their current relationship with the ruling house they had to occupy high places during the wedding ceremony and at the banquet table.

Marya Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya is kind, beautiful, and did not say a word against her crowned husband.

But that will come a little later. In the meantime, instructing his daughter for marriage, Miloslavsky admonished: “Give birth as many times as possible, this is the only way you will bind your husband to you.” And although Marya Ilyinichna at first pretty much frayed her father’s nerves (she couldn’t get pregnant for more than a year after the wedding).

Queen Maria had her own mansions in the Kremlin. In one of her country residences, in the village of Kolomenskoye, she also had her own tower, the facade of which was painted and gilded in 1668. Of course, Maria Ilyinichna also had special premises in the “travel” royal palaces (in the village of Khoroshevo). The king sat on gilded chairs during official receptions. The benches in the rooms were upholstered with cloth. The windows at Ritsina’s “soap house” (bath) were also finished with cloth. Moreover, Maria Ilyinichna not only traditionally visited the bathhouse. But she also had a wooden bathtub. The icon cases in which the icons were placed were covered with red velvet, and the “worship” benches were upholstered with cloth. Under the queen’s “place”, when she was in the church, two carpets were laid: “golden” and “colored and gold”, both about three meters long. In 1653, in the Mirror Row, the queen was bought a crystal mirror in a wooden frame upholstered in green velvet. Several combs were used simultaneously to comb hair. Queen Maria had her own library. In 1666, some of her “amusing” books were re-bound, and in 1668 she ordered two handwritten books of the lives of saints “in person” to be made according to the old model.

Vyacheslav SHVARTS (1838-1869). The Tsarina's spring train on pilgrimage under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

Both ceremonial and ordinary trips of Maria Ilyinichna were serviced by appropriate crews. Thus, it is known that winter sleighs were upholstered inside with red velvet, “golden” satin, the seats and floor were covered with red cloth and morocco. In 1667, two new wooden “crawlers” were made for the queen: one carved and the other smooth. The outside was gilded and painted with different colors. The inside was upholstered on one with red velvet and the other with red cloth. Red satin and silver braid were used for interior decoration.

How did Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna dress? With the help of documents we can lift the veil of some “secrecy”. So in January - August 1649, three “fur coats” were sewn and made for her (the top was made of silk fabrics - red, red with gold patterns and gold with multi-colored patterns - one had lace sewn on and pearls strung), “ three "sables", five "telogreys" (on top, multi-colored silk fabrics (for example, made from linen) were not subject to such detailed accounting.

Konstantin MAKOVSKY (1839 - 1915). Hawthorn at the window.

Meek, modest and good-natured, Maria Ilyinichna surrounded her husband and children with her main concerns. She devoted much less time to other activities. It is known that Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich loved to travel to his country residences (he was especially fond of the village of Izmailovo), visiting nearby monasteries and churches (and could stand for hours during church services). Whenever possible, Queen Mary accompanied him. The Emperor was also a passionate hunter, especially with birds of prey. Under him, the court services in charge of falconry and hound hunting experienced a real flourishing. However, it is unlikely that Maria Ilyinichna participated in the “field leisure” of the tsar-husband. This was not accepted in Russia at that time, and it had its own good reasons.

These compelling reasons were that Mary gave birth eleven times during her twenty years of marriage. The first-born was Tsarevich Dmitry (1648). Following him were born: princesses Evdokia (1650), Martha (1652), Tsarevich Alexei (1654), princesses Sophia (1657), Ekaterina (1658), Maria (1660), Tsarevich Fyodor (1661), Princess Fedosya (1662) and princes Simeon (1665) and Ivan (1666). Due to health conditions, the offspring of Maria Ilyinichna were strictly divided into two parts: weak and sickly princes, strong and healthy princesses. That is why only three princes lived to adulthood - Alexei, Fyodor and Ivan. Two - Dmitry and Simeon - died as children. At the same time, Tsarevich Alexei died at the age of sixteen (while his father, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was still alive), Tsarevich Fyodor (the future Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich) lived twenty-one years, and Tsarevich Ivan (the future Tsar Ivan V) ended his earthly journey at the age of thirty. All six of Mary's daughters not only lived to adulthood, but also saw the 18th century. Princess Sophia (ruler of the country in 1682-1689) lived the shortest - 47 years. Next in life expectancy are the following princesses: Fedosya (51 years), Martha (55 years), Catherine (60 years), Evdokia (62 years) and Maria (63 years).

Close people and relatives gradually passed away. Back in the winter of 1662, B.I. died. Morozov, and in 1667 - his widow and sister of Tsarina A.I. Morozova. Moreover, the entire enormous fortune of the Morozovs, according to the will, passed to the treasury. Maria Ilyinichna lost her father in 1668. Her turn came on March 3, 1669. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich sincerely worried about the death of his wife.

The obligatory actions, which were supposed to look like a memorial for the deceased, are striking in their scale. Thus, the sovereign not only ordered the distribution of alms to “prison inmates and convicts,” but also ordered the release of those who were sued in civil cases. Moreover, their debt was paid by the treasury. Huge distributions of alms and funeral treats were also intended for Streltsy widows and orphans, the poor, and not only in Moscow, but also in the provinces.

Queen Maria, an exemplary wife and mother, did not live very long - less than forty-four years. She truly was a woman in the highest sense of the word, unconditionally giving priority to her family, its joys and sorrows.

Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna gave birth to 13 children:

Dmitry (1648-1649), died as an infant

#queen #history #history of Russia

Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya (1625-1669) - the first wife of the Tsar, mother of Feodor III, Ivan V and Princess Sofia Alekseevna.

Maria was born in 1625. She was not of a very ancient family, and therefore it was pure chance that helped her take the throne. Before her, the tsar had a bride - the daughter of the nobleman Fyodor Vsevolozhsky. When it was announced that the king had chosen her, she fainted.

Some researchers believe that the boyars close to the royal court, who had their own daughters, were involved in Vsevolozhskaya’s illness, and they hoped to give them to the king instead of Vsevolozhskaya. Meanwhile, the wise boyar Morozov found another bride for the king. Boris Ivanovich Morozov was the tutor of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from a young age and had a great influence on him. When Alexey Mikhailovich was just born, Boris Ivanovich was already thirty-nine years old, and he well understood the important role women play in government affairs. Morozov helped his young pupil choose the smart and beautiful Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya as his wife, and he himself married her sister Anna Ilyinichna. So the Miloslavsky sisters related the tsar to his teacher, making them brothers-in-law.

And at the royal court, two boyar families immediately rose to prominence - the Miloslavskys and the Morozovs, the rivalry between which did not stop for many years. But at first, when the boyar Ilya Miloslavsky became the son-in-law of both the Tsar and Boris Morozov, they were friendly and gained great power in the state.

The Miloslavskys' ancestors did not belong to the ancient Rurik family, but came from Lithuanians. Maria's father, Ilya Danilovich, received the rank of boyar and became a large landowner only when she became queen. Other relatives of Maria Ilyinichna also received lands and ranks.

During the royal campaign of 1654, Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna allocated funds for the construction of hospitals for the sick and disabled in the cities. Fyodor Mikhailovich Rtishchev, a highly moral and very wise man, helped the queen in her charity. At this time, two opposing currents arose in society - one pushed the country back to antiquity, the other carried it forward, but innovations were not always understandable to the common man. Rtishchev, like the tsarina, was on the side of the reform movement, but carried within himself the best qualities and honored the precepts of ancient Russian life.

In Moscow, the queen opened a special shelter, into which she ordered to collect the drunks lying on the streets. They were kept in the infirmary until they sobered up and were cured.

An almshouse was set up for the incurable, elderly and poor. Maria Ilyinichna encouraged Rtishchev, who spent a lot of money on ransoming Russian prisoners from the Tatars, and also helped foreign prisoners living in Russia and prisoners who were in prison for debt.

The good deeds of the queen were continued by her children. Tsar Feodor in 1681, at a church council, proposed to the patriarch and bishops to establish shelters and almshouses similar to those in Moscow in all cities of Russia. The Council accepted this proposal. Princess Sophia contributed to raising the issue of church-state charity. Then all the helpless and old were placed in state custody in two almshouses set up for this purpose, and homeless healthy people were assigned to public works.

Maria Ilyinichna was worried about her loved ones and in connection with the Tsar’s monetary reform. Resourceful financiers decided to make up for the shortage of means of payment for military expenses by issuing copper money. In the Moscow state in the 17th century, like in most Western states, there was silver money. In 1656, by decree, the exchange rate of copper money was equal to that of silver. For two whole years, copper money circulated along with silver coins. It was a bold and, at first, effective solution to state problems. But the laws of the market inevitably made themselves felt. People began to hide silver money, and food products were not sold with copper money. In this regard, prices jumped sharply: one silver ruble was equal to twelve copper coins.

The Tsar and his advisers forbade raising bread prices, but no one paid attention to these decrees.

An angry crowd came to the palace and demanded the extradition and punishment of the Tsarina's father Ilya Miloslavsky, boyar Rtishchev and other boyars and merchants. The king came out to the people and promised to punish the guilty. The crowd retreated, and when the second wave of dissatisfied people surged, Boris Morozov and Ilya Miloslavsky carried out military reprisals. The crowd was beaten by the royal troops, and the queen was unable to help anyone. Perhaps the true reasons for what was happening were hidden from her. The next day, July 26, 1662, 18 gallows were placed along the streets of Moscow, and the uprising was called the “Copper Riot.”

The Peasant War of 1670-1671 was brewing, but Maria Ilyinichna did not live to see it. She died in March 1669. In her marriage to Alexei Mikhailovich, Maria Miloslavskaya had thirteen children.

During the Razin rebellion, Ivan Bogdanovich Miloslavsky was the governor of Simbirsk, which in September-October 1670 was besieged by rebel troops led by Razin. Miloslavsky and Baryatinsky led the suppression of the uprising and dealt with the rebels.

Under Fyodor Alekseevich, a prominent role in the government was played by the boyar Ivan Mikhailovich Miloslavsky, who frantically pursued the Naryshkin family, realizing that with the accession of Peter I the Miloslavsky family would inevitably fade away. It was him who Peter I considered the head of the Miloslavskys, who constantly raised the archers to revolt. Historians believe that it was his remains that Peter I ordered to be dug up and placed on Red Square, so that during the mass execution of the leaders of the last Streltsy revolt, their blood would flow onto his ashes.

With the accession of Peter I in April 1682, the Miloslavskys were removed from business for a short time. Their influence was restored as a result of the uprising of 1682, when Ivan V Alekseevich was elected “first” tsar, and Tsarevna Sofya Alekseevna headed the government. After the fall of Princess Sophia in 1689, the Miloslavskys were finally removed from power. The Miloslavsky family ended its existence at the end of the 18th century.

100 majestic empresses, queens, princesses

Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna, née Miloslavskaya

Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna, née Miloslavskaya (April 1 (11), 1624, Moscow - March 3 (13, 1669, Moscow) - queen, 1st wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, mother of Feodor III, Ivan V and Princess Sofia Alekseevna.

She belonged to the noble family of the Miloslavskys, who came out of Poland in the 14th century. Daughter of steward Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky, a supporter of Boris Morozov.

Wedding

In 1647, according to a tradition that began from the time of Ivan ΙΙΙ, when his wife Sophia Paleologus resumed the ancient Byzantine custom, a review of brides from Russian beauties was arranged for the Russian Tsar to choose a wife. Almost two hundred girls were brought to Alexey for the viewing. He chose Evfemia Fedorovna Vsevolozhskaya, the daughter of a Kasimov landowner. The king sent her a scarf and a ring as a sign of betrothal.

Grigory Sedov. “The choice of a bride by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.”

The choice of a bride by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Konstantin MAKOVSKY

However, according to Olearius, the wedding was upset by the boyar Boris Morozov, the royal educator, who had great power at court. He wanted to become related to the tsar by marrying Alexei Mikhailovich to one of the Miloslavsky sisters, Maria, and taking another as his wife, Anna. Morozov bribed the hairdresser, and during the ceremony of naming the royal bride, he pulled the girl’s hair so tightly that she fainted. The doctor, bribed by Morozov, saw in this signs of epilepsy. The bride’s father was accused of concealing the illness and with his entire family was sent into exile in Tyumen. (A similar incident happened with Alexei’s father: Maria Khlopova, whom he had chosen at the review, was also “plagued by intrigue” and exiled).

Boyaryshna The first meeting of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya (Choice of the Tsar’s Bride).

Mikhail Nesterov

Boyar Morozov introduced the Tsar to another bride - Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. According to Grigory Kotoshikhin, the king himself noticed her in the church and ordered her to be taken to the palace where “he looked at the girl and fell in love and named her princess and, in obedience, betrayed her to his sisters until the hour of marriage arrived.” The girl was beautiful, the doctors declared her healthy. The wedding took place two days after the announcement, on January 16, 1648 in Moscow. At the insistence of the royal confessor, they were not allowed to attend. “blasphemy, demonic games, cold, sniffling songs and trumpet blaring”, and spiritual songs were performed - this was in line with the royal decrees of 1648, when for several months all amusements, games, celebrations and jokes were prohibited throughout the country due to the religious jealousy of Patriarch Joseph.

Yakov Kazanets. Saint Alexis the Man of God and Venerable Mary of Egypt. Spring 1648 The icon was painted for the wedding of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna

10 days after this wedding, Morozov married the queen’s sister.

Married life

Tower of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Karl RABUS

Maria Ilyinichna, who was 5 years older than her husband, gave birth to 13 children to Alexei Mikhailovich.

During the Salt Riot of 1648, which took place shortly after the wedding, the tsar and his wife were in Kolomenskoye. Despite the fact that the mob demanded the extradition of Morozov, the latter’s calculation turned out to be correct, and the tsar did not extradite his brother-in-law.

Ernest Lissner Salt Riot

In 1654 and 1660 she received the Georgian Queen Elena Leonovna in the Golden Chamber. In 1654, when a pestilence was raging in Moscow, Maria Ilyinichna with her children and the entire court found refuge in the Kalyazin Monastery; Patriarch Nikon was there with her; “The queen and her court were housed in the fraternal building built in 1641, which from that time received the name royal, and Patriarch Nikon was housed in the rector’s building, which since then received the name patriarchal. The next year, 1655, Queen Maria, in memory of her stay in the Kalyazin Monastery, petitioned him for the degree of archimandry.”

Portrait of Patriarch Nikon with clergy

(D. Wuchters(?), 1660-1665)

Trinity Makariev Monastery

Charity and church life

She was distinguished by her charity work. During the royal campaign of 1654, Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna allocated funds for the construction of hospitals for the sick and disabled in the cities. Fyodor Mikhailovich Rtishchev helped the queen in her charitable activities.

Emergence of Queen Maria Ilyinishna Miloslavskaya from the Red Porch of the Tsarina's Chambers of the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery

Sergey KIRILLOV

Exit of Queen Maria Ilyinichna from the church, Andrei RYABUSHKIN

Exit of the Queen, Drawing from Meyerberg's Album

The ceremonial entrance of Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna into the church. Drawing from Meyerberg's Album. XVII century

She considered St. to be her heavenly patroness. Mary of Egypt, whose cult became more important during her life. The only church of St. Mary in Moscow in the 17th century was the church on Sretenka. “Since 1648, the celebration of April 1 in honor of St. Mary in the Sretensky Monastery takes on the character of a state holiday, which brings together boyars, metropolitans, and the patriarch comes with a solemn exit from the Kremlin. In 1668, Patriarch Joasaph II congratulated the queen at the Sretensky monastery: “On March 31st, the holy patriarch went to the Sretensky monastery, which is on Ustretenka, for vespers and a prayer service for the feast of the Venerable Mary of Egypt and for the name day of the Empress Queen and Grand Duchess Marya Ilyinichna, and at the monastery and while walking along the road, 3 rubles were distributed to the poor and poor.” In 1651-1652, Alexey Mikhailovich and Maria Ilyinichna invested the icon “Saints Alexy, the Man of God, and Mary of Egypt” into the Sretensky Monastery for the local row of the cathedral iconostasis. The so-called Mariinsky Bell, made for the Church of St. Mary of Egypt in 1668, is also associated with Queen Maria Ilyinichna. The solemn veneration of Saint Mary of Egypt in the Sretensky Monastery as the patroness of the royal family of the Romanov-Miloslavskys continued after the death of Maria Ilyinichna (in 1669) until the death of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich on January 29, 1696. The so-called Mariinsky bell, made for the Church of St. Mary of Egypt in 1668, is also associated with Queen Maria Ilyinichna.”

"Mary of Egypt"

(painting by Jose Ribera)

Death

She died on March 3 (13), 1669, on the Day of Glorification of the Volokolamsk Icon of the Mother of God. “The Empress died of puerperal fever five days after a difficult birth, in which the Tsarina was delivered of her eighth Crowned daughter Evdokia Alekseevna the Younger (1669-1669), who, unfortunately, lived only two days and died on February 28 (March 10), 1669.” . By this time, 10 of her 13 children remained alive; Tsarevich Simeon died three months later, and Tsarevich Alexei died a few months later.

Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya

6 days after her death, the king turned 40 years old, 21 of which he spent in marriage. After 23 months and nine days, he remarried Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina.

Election of Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina as the bride of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. 1670. Elval Engraving. Early 1840s (Lambin N.P. History of Peter the Great. - St. Petersburg: Printing house of F.I. Elsner, 1844. P. 32.)

Maria Miloslavskaya is buried in the Ascension Cathedral of the Ascension Convent of the Moscow Kremlin. Her tomb was the second to the right of the southern gate. “Within three years after her death, the sovereign donated to the monastery two printed books of conversations of St. John Chrysostom with an inscription on them and placed a velvet cover over the tombstone of the Grand Duchess, and also donated a gilded silver dish to the monastery” [unauthorized source?][source not specified 1544 days]. After its destruction in 1929, her remains were transferred to the basement of the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Ascension Cathedral (1588), early drawing. XIX century

Transfer of the remains of the Grand Duchesses and Queens before the destruction of the Ascension Monastery. 1929

The Emperor ordered the magpie to commemorate the queen in the temple, which at that time was called the New Church of the Savior, which is at the Trinity Gate of the Kremlin.

The legend of miracles from the icons of the Mother of God in the Dormition nunnery of Alexandrova Sloboda mentions the miraculous appearances of the late Empress Maria Ilyinichna, the patroness of this monastery, to the nuns:

A certain girl named Mavra from the Alexandrov settlement came and beat Father Cornelius with her forehead, coming to the monastery for 5 years, so that she would be accepted into the holy monastery and included in the chosen flock. Father Cornelius, seeing her tears and diligent petition, accepted her. She is still alive, but Father Cornelius placed an angelic image on her. She lived 11 years in the monastery, in hard labor and monastic services. Because of this devilish obsession, out of their foolishness they swear a great oath, cursing their life. And at that hour hit her on the ground, and she remained in that fierce illness for a year. Seeing myself so much suffering, I began to pray with tears to God and the Most Holy Theotokos with great faith and with a contrite heart. Therefore, in a vision he sees the blessed Empress Maria Ilyichna with two angels, standing in the middle of the meal. The nun, trembling, stands. The missus said to her: “Elderness, come closer to me.” She said: “I do not dare, my lady, to approach you, since we have been commanded by our mentor not to approach your royal majesty.” The queen said to her: “Come closer to me, do not be afraid.” She came and fell at her honest feet, and began to pray with tears. The blessed queen and grand duchess Maria Ilyichna said to her: “Stop.” She, rising from the ground, asked for forgiveness. The blessed queen spoke to her in a great voice: “Elderwoman! Why are you so sweary? Stop swearing and you will be healed of your illness.” I again saw a vision of Elder Maria, holding in her hand the icon of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and in the other hand - the icon of the Kazan Mother of God. Then a voice came from the image of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, saying to her: “Stop swearing, Mary, and you will be healthy from your illness.” And so invisible

Children

Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna gave birth to 13 children:

Dmitry (1648-1649), died as an infant

Dmitry Alekseevich, son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich

Solntsev, Fedor Grigorievich

Evdokia (1650-1712), unmarried.

Museum "Novodevichy Convent". A measured icon with the image of St. Venerable Evdokia - belonged to Princess Evdokia Alekseevna.

Martha (1652-1707), unmarried, took monastic vows at the age of 46.

Marfa Alekseevna

Antiquities of the Russian State

Solntsev, Fedor Grigorievich

Marfa Alekseevna (1652-1707) - princess, monastically Margarita, second daughter of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and his first wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, sister of Tsars Fedor III and Ivan and V Alekseevich and half-sister of Tsar Peter I.

Alexey (1654—1670), died at 16 years old.