The meaning of Fedor Yurievich Romodanovsky in a brief biographical encyclopedia. Romodanovsky Prince Fedor Yurievich

The Romodanovskys, a branch of the Starodub Rurikovichs, became famous in the 17th–18th centuries. Under Peter I and Catherine I, three representatives of this family took turns ruling Moscow. The most famous of them is the formidable Prince Caesar Fyodor Yuryevich - an extremely controversial and mysterious personality. Occupying a prominent place in the clownish games of the young Peter I with the power hierarchy and traditional old Moscow rituals, he was not at all a funny and obedient tool of the reformer tsar, but played the sinister role of the punishing sword of the state.

The ancestor of the Starodub princes was the son of Vsevolod the Big Nest, Prince Ivan Vsevolodovich (d. about 1247), who received a small inheritance centered in Starodub on the Klyazma (Starodub Ryapolovsky). The rulers of this small principality almost immediately dropped out of the succession to the grand princely throne and were content with their lot. The great-grandson of the founder, Prince Fyodor Ivanovich Starodubsky the Blessed, was killed in the Horde in 1330 and was later revered as a locally revered saint.

From the second half of the 14th century. The Starodub princes fall into the orbit of Moscow's influence. The son of Fyodor Ivanovich, Prince Ivan Fedorovich, tried to resist the will of the Grand Duke of Moscow, but in 1363 he was expelled from his inheritance. Together with an exile like himself, Prince Dmitry Galitsky, Ivan Fedorovich went to Prince Andrei Konstantinovich of Nizhny Novgorod and probably became his serving prince.

Serving princes were called in the Moscow state of the 14th - first half of the 16th centuries. princes, descendants of appanages, who retained part of their ownership rights in certain territories (most often, their ancestral appanages). These rights were the right to court, the right to distribute land, and the maintenance of their military squads. At the same time, the serving princes were called “servants” because they carried military service to the Grand Duke. This is a very rare relationship in Russia based on the principle of classical feudalism: overlord - vassal. After all, most of the Grand Duke’s military servants enjoyed extremely limited rights on their lands. In the second half of the 16th century. In connection with the strengthening of the power of the Moscow sovereigns, the corporation of service people ceased to exist.

The younger brother and successor of Ivan Fedorovich, Prince Andrei, no longer tried to resist Dmitry of Moscow. In 1380, along with other appanage princes, he fought with the Tatars on the Kulikovo Field, commanding troops in the left-hand regiment. Previously, the nephew of Prince Andrei Fedorovich, Prince Semyon Dmitrievich, nicknamed Nettle, died in the grand ducal service. He commanded a military detachment on the borders of the Moscow principality and in 1368 was killed in the Kholkhle volost in a battle with the army of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd, who was advancing on Moscow.

The grandson of Andrei Fedorovich, Prince Vasily Fedorovich, bore the nickname Romodanovsky - from one of the villages of the Starodubsky inheritance - Romodanov. The origin of this name is curious. Most likely, its basis is the Turkic proper name Ramadan - Ramadan, which, in turn, comes from the Arabic name of the same name for the ninth month of the year. This month marks the most important Muslim fast and the holiday of Ramadan. Therefore, often a child born at this time was named after the name of the month.

Romodanovo became the center of the small estate of the Romodanovskys; other villages gave names to the surnames of their relatives - the famous Pozharskys (village Pozhar), Ryapolovskys (Ryapolovo), Lyalovskys (Lyalovo) and others. The first generation of Starodub princes, maintaining estates in Starodub Ryapolovsky, could no longer be content with vegetating on their tiny lot. The sons of Prince Vasily Fedorovich acted far from their ancestral lands. The eldest of them, Prince Vasily Vasilyevich, served as a boyar for one of the appanage princes of the Moscow house of Prince Mikhail Andreevich Vereisky and Beloozersky. His brothers - Ivan Telelyash (Likhach), Semyon, Yuri and Boris Vasilyevich - led the regiments of the Grand Duke of Moscow into battle. And Prince Fyodor Vasilyevich chose to serve the appanage - Semyon Ivanovich Kaluga, the son of Ivan III.

The era in which the first Romodanovskys lived and acted (second half of the 15th - early 16th centuries) was a time of formation and strengthening of a unified Russian state. Under the banners of Moscow, united Rus' waged wars with Lithuania, Livonian Order, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Crimean and Kazan Khanates. Every year, the governors of Ivan III fought with numerous enemies of their sovereign and the Fatherland - Lithuanians, Germans, Swedes, Tatars. Military labors, blood and courage of service people gave birth to the greatness and power of Russia. The activities of the Romodanovskys were also noted for their glorious military service.

The Romodanovskys were not ordinary service people - they were part of the “sovereign court” - the top of the service class, from which personnel were formed to lead troops, manage cities and regions in peacetime, carry out diplomatic assignments, and conduct court on behalf of the Grand Duke.

Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Romodanovsky, after the death of Mikhail Vereisky in 1486, went into the service of Ivan III. In 1490 he was ambassador to the Crimea, in 1492 - the second commander of the regiment of the right hand in the campaign to the “North”, i.e. to the Chernigov-Seversk land. In 1496, he was the second commander of the leading regiment and took part in the campaign against the Swedes in Finland. Earlier, in 1495, with the title of boyar, Prince Vasily accompanied him to Lithuania Grand Duchess Elena Ivanovna, daughter of Ivan III, married to the Grand Duke of Lithuania Alexander Kazimirovich. In 1498 he again traveled to Lithuania, but this time as an envoy, and in September of the same year he led the advanced regiment in the campaign against Kazan.

The sovereign fell from grace in 1499, probably related to the palace struggle between the heirs of Ivan III - grandson Dmitry and son Vasily, and accompanied by the disgrace of the largest nobles, boyars and princes Ivan Patrikeev and Semyon Ryapolovsky (a relative of Romodanovsky), and did not weigh heavily on Vasily Vasilyevich for long. Around 1499–1500 he traveled to Lithuania to protest against Elena Ivanovna’s forced conversion to Catholicism. In 1501, 1502 and 1507 was a commander in the campaigns against Lithuania. In 1509, the already very elderly Prince Vasily Vasilyevich was left in Moscow during the campaign of Grand Duke Vasily III against Novgorod. At this time he is mentioned with the rank of okolnichy.

In his old age, Prince Vasily Vasilyevich retired to the Moscow Epiphany Monastery and became a monk with the name Vassian. Monastic acts testify to the high position of Elder Vassian Romodanovsky - in the deed of sale of the monastery for the village in the Volotsk district, his name is mentioned immediately after the name of Abbot Gennady. Probably, Vassian was one of the “cathedral” elders who took part in the management of the monastery, together with the abbot.

Prince Ivan Vasilyevich Telelyash did not lag behind his brother. In 1485 he was a commander in the campaign against Kazan. In 1487, also during the campaign against Kazan, he was a commander in the ship’s army. This campaign marked the beginning of the Russian protectorate over Kazan. According to the chronicle, the governors “took the city, and captured the king, and planted him in Vologda with his queens, and in Kazan, he planted his brother Menshago as king, and there was great silence in those countries from the Tatars.” Until 1505, the Kazan people did not undertake military expeditions against the Russians.

In 1507–1516 Prince Ivan Vasilyevich was the governor of one of the “thirds” of Moscow - its parts, which previously belonged to one of the appanage princes of Moscow. Such an appointment testified to the trust of the sovereign. Around 1514/1515 he received the boyarhood, and at the end of his life, following the example of his brother, he retired to the Epiphany Monastery.

The spiritual letter (will) of Prince Ivan Vasilyevich, dated 1521/1522, has been preserved. Spiritual I. V. Romodanovsky is an extremely interesting document that provides rare information about the private life of this prominent representative of the ruling class of the Russian state.

Prince Ivan Vasilyevich met the end of his life as a lonely man. As is clear from the spiritual, his wife Agrafena, sons Dmitry and Andrey, daughter Maria and granddaughter Ekaterina died during the life of the head of the family. Of the entire family, only his daughter-in-law Aksinya, the widow of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich, who came from the old Moscow boyar family of the Zakharyins-Yuryevs, survived the old prince. The death of children and the suppression of his family, undoubtedly, was a deep drama for Prince Ivan Vasilyevich.

The lonely old man was not pleased with the vast and rich lands, honey apiaries, fishing grounds, herds of horses, rich weapons, which he lovingly collected and bought for his descendants. A former daring governor and efficient administrator, Prince Ivan retired from the world and settled in a monastery. For some reason, he did not take monastic vows and lived in the monastery as a layman. The prince had his own “elders”; he maintained extensive cells with supplies - the habit of comfort and luxury did not leave Romodanovsky even in the sad decline of a complex and difficult life.

The old prince divided the rich real and movable property between his daughter-in-law Aksinya, brother Boris and his sons and other nephews, the sons of his late brothers. Boris Vasilyevich at this time was languishing in Lithuanian captivity, but Ivan Vasilyevich hoped for the safe return of his brother.

In his ancestral Starodub, Ryapolovsky Prince Ivan Vasilyevich owned four villages - Tatarovo (Togarovo), Shustovo, Nikolskoye and Petrovskoye. In addition, he bought two more properties - the Moscow region villages of Churilovo and Lobkovo in Kamensky Stan and the villages of Pokrovskoye (Knyazhe) and Onichkino in Kolomensky district. Only in the Starodub estates of Prince Ivan there were more than 6,000 acres of arable land, villages, hundreds of acres of forests, fishing grounds, and on-board “honey fields” (places for honey production) were “pulled” to the villages.

Over 1000 kopecks of hay were planted in the meadows of Tatarov alone. In Tatarov, Shustov and Petrovsky there were churches, and at Tatarov and Petrovsky there were two patrimonial “monasteries” of St. Ivan and St. Nicholas. In Moscow, the prince owned four courtyards - in the parish of the Church of St. Nicholas in Gnezdniki (modern Gnezdnikovsky lanes - between Tverskaya and Nikitskaya), behind the Yauza and across the Neglinnaya River, in the parish of the Church of St. Demetrius (at the beginning of Vozdvizhenka), the fate and location of another of the courtyards unclear, part of the document is missing here.

According to the division, Tatarovo passed to brother Boris and his sons, the village of Shustovo to nephews Peter and Vasily Semenovich, and the village of Nikolskoye to nephews Ivan and Mikhail Yuryevich. Princess Aksinya received the village of Petrovskoye and part of the lands and lands that “pulled” to Tatarov. Kolomna (very extensive - more than 2000 acres of arable land) and Moscow region estates were also transferred to Aksinya. The testator “ordered” her to resolve issues regarding the division of part of his movable property and take care of the “order” of his soul. Aksinya was entrusted with distributing grain reserves, herds of horses and “all kinds of livestock” from Starodub estates to local peasants and beggars, managing the horses of a stable near Moscow, releasing slaves, selling personal property from the monastery cell and the testator’s cages and distributing it to the poor.

Prince Ivan Vasilyevich, according to custom, released most of his slaves and dependent people. Usually these people were hired as slaves to the new owner. However, the prince “gave” 145 families of servants, housekeepers and “business” people (artisans) to his daughter-in-law. There were fishermen, tailors, furriers, grooms, groomers, housekeepers (clerks), beekeepers and even a clerk. “And those who are not needed, he will release those people into the settlement,” writes Prince Ivan Vasilyevich.

However, the position of Princess Aksinya, a branch as lonely as Ivan Vasilyevich himself - a childless widow - cannot be called enviable. If she got married, she lost all the property received under her father-in-law's will. It passed to the Epiphany Monastery (Kolomna and Moscow region estates) or to the nephews of Romodanovsky (the village of Petrovskoye). The same orders were in effect in the event of the death of the princess. Thus, she owned her lands and other property “up to her belly” and did not have the right to dispose of them independently.

In general, the orders of Prince Ivan Vasilyevich quite clearly reflect his desire to preserve hereditary estates within the clan - all Starodub lands sooner or later passed to the prince’s nephews, and the estates he bought - after the death of his daughter-in-law, were supposed to go to the monastery for the “remembrance of the soul” of Romodanovsky and his family.

A significant section of Romodanovsky’s spiritual work is devoted to concerns about the posthumous “disposition” of one’s soul and the souls of his deceased wife, sons, daughter and granddaughter.

According to the will of Prince Ivan Vasilyevich, after the death of his daughter-in-law, lands in Kolomna and Moscow districts were transferred to the Epiphany Monastery, the total value of which was 163 rubles (at prices of the 1490s). In addition, during his lifetime, Prince Ivan gave 100 rubles to the monastery and ordered in his will that his heirs annually give 11 pounds of honey and 50 “layers” (measure of weight) of fish to the monastery. Two richly decorated icons of the prince also moved to the monastery - the Image of the Most Pure One and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker. For this contribution, the monastery should have commemorated Prince Ivan Vasilyevich and his family, as well as his “whole family” and especially the ancestor Prince Fyodor Ivanovich, killed in the Horde in 1330. His memory was celebrated on June 22, and he himself is named in the documents “ to the faithful." Such a rich contribution undoubtedly made it possible to count on “eternal” commemoration “as long as the monastery stands.”

Distributions were determined by the testator to other monasteries, churches and simply to the poor. So, Prince Ivan Vasilyevich, out of 300 rubles that Grigory Andreevich Kolychev owed him, ordered to take 200 from him and distribute them “to churches and the poor.” The total amount of distributions for the funeral of the soul and monetary dowries to relatives, which the testator calmly disposed of (not counting the value of property - grain harvest, horses, clothing, weapons, etc.) was very significant - 750 rubles.

The old prince disposed of his “junk”—personal belongings—as follows. He awarded his eldest nephew, Prince Mikhail Vasilyevich Kozl, whom his uncle did not like for some reason, a silver cross and 30 rubles - “but he doesn’t care about my fatherland.” The nephews - Vasily, Fedor and Ivan Fedorovich - received 10 rubles each, in addition, each received armor and a helmet. Nephew Ivan Yuryevich received more than others - 15 rubles, five horses, four saddles, two saadaks (a rich set of weapons - a bow and arrows), two sabers, a marten fur coat and an opashen (a wide caftan with short sleeves) made of expensive fabric. His brother Mikhail received 10 rubles of money and a horse. The wives of the brothers, Boris and Yuri, received 50 and 100 rubles, respectively. Obviously, the division was not entirely fair, but it is unlikely that the relatives allowed themselves to grumble at the dying orders of the imperious and powerful prince.

Finally, it should be said about one more remarkable feature from the life of Prince Ivan Vasilyevich. Not being a monk, he nevertheless lived on the territory of the monastery, owned his own “cell” and “cells”, and even had some elders with him. The prince's home in the Epiphany Monastery was far from ascetic. On the monastery land there was a vestibule with stairs that belonged to him, a dining room, another room, a povalusha (sleeping room), a glacier for storing food, a cellar, a granary (a chamber where bread was stored), and a cookhouse. Thus, behind the monastery fence there was a whole farm, similar to a rich city estate, which was the personal property of the prince. This was possible due to the peculiarity of the monastic charter of the Epiphany Monastery - it was a special habitation, and not a communal one. Unlike, for example, the Trinity-Sergius and Joseph-Volokolamsk monasteries, in the Epiphany monks were allowed to own their own property. Half of the prince’s buildings went to the monastery, the other to his elders: Leonty “with his comrades.”

Concluding the story about the fate of Prince Ivan Vasilyevich, it should be said that his daughter-in-law Aksinya carried out the orders of her father-in-law. In her spiritual charter (1542–1543), she transfers the Kolomna and Moscow lands to the Epiphany Monastery, and the village of Petrovskoye in Starodub to Prince Mikhail Yuryevich Romodanovsky.

The third of the brothers, Prince Semyon Vasilyevich, worked more in the diplomatic service. In 1495 and 1498–1499. was ambassador to Crimea, and in 1502 the second commander of a guard regiment on a campaign from Novgorod to Lithuania.

The younger, Prince Boris Vasilyevich, was a commander in a campaign against the Swedes in 1495, and in 1514, in an unsuccessful battle with the Lithuanians near Orsha for the Russian troops, he was captured, where he died.

Together with Boris, his son, Prince Pyotr Borisovich Sharap, was captured, but he subsequently returned to Russia and in 1550 was mentioned as a boyar’s son on Starodub, his family estate. In 1559 he was one of the governors in Kazan.

The prominent military service of the first generation of Romodanovskys failed to significantly advance this family. Of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the founder, only princes Anton Mikhailovich and Fyodor Borisovich stand out. Prince Anton Mikhailovich participated in the ceremony of the first wedding of Ivan IV, and in 1550 he was enlisted in the Moscow nobility (under Article 3). In 1562 he was ambassador to Denmark. In 1564, among others, the governor was sent in pursuit of Khan Devlet-Girey, who had ravaged the Ryazan land. In 1574–1576 - governor in Vasilsursk, and in 1579 - in Serpukhov. Prince Fyodor Borisovich, the son of the Lithuanian captive Boris Vasilyevich, began his military career as a voivode in 1537. He took part in the unsuccessful Kazan campaign of 1549, and after the construction of Sviyazhsk he was left there to “grow” as the third voivode. Subsequently, he received the rank of boyar, but did not show himself to be anything special.

At the end of the 16th century. The Romodanovskys gradually faded into secondary roles. At the beginning of the oprichnina, like many other descendants of the appanage princes of North-Eastern Rus', the Romodanovskys fell into disgrace, were deprived of their ancestral estates and exiled to Kazan “to live.” Princes Ivan Borisovich, Nikita Ivanovich and Afanasy Andreevich Nagaev Romodanovsky ended up in Kazan exile. This fate was shared by other descendants of the Starodub princes - the Strigins-Ryapolovskys, Pozharskys, Gagarins, Kovrovs, Krivoborskys, as well as several hundred princes of Yaroslavl, Rostov, Obolensky and untitled nobles and boyar children.

The Kazan exile of 1565 solved two important problems for Ivan the Terrible. Firstly, the vast, albeit scattered, estates of the disgraced in the central districts of the country came into the possession of the tsar. Secondly, the exiles were among the first Russian settlers in the newly acquired region, and thus the problem of Russification of the Kazan land was solved.

Prince Andrei Kurbsky repeatedly accused the tsar of seeking to seize other people's lands and wealth. This was certainly true. The land wealth of one of the seven sons of Prince Vasily Fedorovich Romodanovsky - Prince Ivan Telelyash - was discussed in detail above.

On the confiscated lands, the king could imprison those people whose loyalty he did not doubt. Benefited by the tyrant, they would serve him better than the local ancient landowners. By depriving the descendants of appanage princes of their old estates, Ivan the Terrible broke the centuries-old ties between the peasantry and the ancient estates. The princes were deprived not only of their security, but also of the remnants of their former sense of independence and self-sufficiency, turning into powerless slaves of the tsar.

Romodanovo was also among the lands confiscated by Ivan the Terrible. It is mentioned in the spiritual charter (will) of Ivan the Terrible as a royal possession. The neighboring eight villages (including the above-mentioned Tatarovo and Nikolskoye), which belonged to various representatives of the Romodanovsky family, also passed to the tsar.

Contemporaries of the events, the Germans I. Taube and E. Kruse, testify to the hardships to which the Kazan exiles were subjected: “Representatives of noble families were mercilessly expelled from the ancient estates inherited from their forefathers, so that they could not and did not have the right to take with them even movable property and nothing at all from their estates... They were transferred to new places where estates were assigned to them. Their wives and children were also exiled and had to walk to their husbands and fathers, feeding on alms along the way. This is tyranny he (the king. – S. Sh.) put on such an appearance that these unfortunate people had seriously offended him.”

Subsequently, the king forgave some of the disgraced people and even returned their ancestral lands to them, while giving others new lands. However, the former feeling of a hereditary owner among the majority of former Kazan exiles was repulsed forever. After all, they even received their ancestral lands back from the hands of the sovereign, who now had every right to take them back.

The further fate of the family is connected with the sons of Prince Pyotr Borisovich Romodanovsky the Lesser, the youngest son of Boris Vasilyevich. Princes Grigory and Ivan Petrovich began military service in the 1580s. It was a time of peace and quiet, especially in comparison with the turbulent Grozny reign. On the throne sat the “meek” and “quiet” Fyodor Ivanovich, more devoted to prayers and pilgrimages than to state affairs. The management of the country was firmly in the hands of the tsar’s insightful and far-sighted brother-in-law, Boris Fedorovich Godunov. Gifted with the abilities of a statesman and a subtle politician, Godunov in the first years after the death of Ivan the Terrible managed to eliminate his political opponents and take the position of ruler under the weak-willed and apathetic Tsar Fedor. In governing the state under Tsar Fedor, Boris Godunov managed to achieve great success - both in domestic and foreign policy. Strengthening international prestige, the fight against the southern threat, an active foreign policy in the north and the attack on Siberia required equally powerful tension popular forces, as in previous eras. The service class continued to bear all the burdens of numerous wars and clashes with the enemies of the Fatherland.

For the first time, Prince Grigory Petrovich was mentioned in the ranks in 1583 as a “collector” of military men for the campaign against the Swedes, and Prince Ivan Petrovich - in 1588 as the second governor in Odoev, in the regiments collected in case of an invasion of the Tatars. From this time on, the long military service of both began: command of regiments in the “Crimean Ukraine” (in Mikhailov, Dedilov, Orel, Krapivna, Tula, Livny, Serpukhov), participation in the Russian-Swedish War, parochial clashes with other governors - this is the main outline the brothers' activities in the 1580s - early 1600s.

In 1590, during the Swedish War, both brothers were appointed to command military detachments during the assault on Narva. Prince Gregory was instructed to go on an attack with ladders to the corner tower, and Prince Ivan - to the middle tower. The attack took place on February 19, but the fortress survived. Both brothers were wounded in the battle.

Localism occupied a significant place in the brothers’ careers.

During his career, Prince Grigory Petrovich Romodanovsky served 21 times. The first time - in 1589, the last - already with the rank of boyar - in 1622. Among his opponents were famous figures of that time - the boyar Prince D.I. Khvorostinin (according to Fletcher, “an old and experienced warrior”, played a decisive role role in the defeat of Devlet-Girey near Moscow in 1572), okolnichy Pyotr Fedorovich Basmanov (favorite of Boris Godunov and False Dmitry I, killed during the May uprising of 1606), boyar Prince Yuri Yansheevich Suleshov (about him, see the essay about the Suleshovs ), boyar Ivan Nikitich Romanov (uncle of the future Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich), Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky (cognate of Romodanovsky, head of the Second Militia). The decisions of the majority of local courts regarding clashes between G.P. Romodanovsky and his “colleagues” are unknown; of those that are known, he lost most of them, but still stubbornly continued to demand “defense” in his offense and claim that he had the right to be above such and such. The youngest of the brothers, Prince Ivan, served the same amount (22 times) during his shorter service.

Such high activity in local clashes was not at all due to the quarrelsome nature of both brothers. Having dropped out of the upper layer of the “sovereign court” as a result of the Kazan exile under Ivan the Terrible, the Romodanovskys made their way to the top, trying to restore their lost positions. Looking ahead, let's say that they succeeded, largely thanks to the activities of Grigory and Ivan Petrovich. Representatives of other families themselves made their way to the top and were not going to let the Romodanovskys, descendants of a once influential, but who lost their position in the middle of the 16th century, get ahead of themselves. kind. The “savior of the Fatherland,” Prince D. M. Pozharsky, a relative of the Romodanovskys, faced a similar problem. His father and grandfather did not serve on the “Moscow list” at all, so Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich had a hard time in local affairs. In 1602, in a dispute with Prince B. M. Lykov, not being able to rely on the merits of his direct ancestors, he cited in his favor the “cases” of the services of his relatives - the Romodanovskys, Tatevs and Khilkovs.

And although later (1622) G.P. Romodanovsky himself entered into a dispute with Pozharsky, in clashes with other clans they remembered their common origin.

External calm and prosperity of the 1580s–1590s. was deceptive. The deep contradictions and crises generated by the tyranny of Ivan the Terrible were latently growing and were waiting in the wings to break out into rampant anarchy, a Russian revolt, “senseless and merciless,” threatening to destroy the Russian state itself. The difficult legacy of the Grozny reign was not only socio-economic decline, but also a dynastic crisis. The heir to Ivan the Terrible, Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, was in poor health; He did not have any healthy children from his marriage to Irina Godunova. With the death of the tsar's only daughter, Theodosia (1594), hopes for the continuation of the royal family through Fedor faded. The tsar’s youngest son, Tsarevich Dmitry, remained, sent by Godunov to his “destiny” in Uglich (actually exiled). At the time of the death of Ivan the Terrible, the prince was only two years old, but Godunov and other participants in the palace struggle for power feared that the Nagiye (brothers of the prince’s mother) might use his rights to the throne and gain the upper hand. Time passed. Tsar Fedor was quietly fading away. Godunov ruled the country and cherished the idea of ​​supreme power in the event of the death of the childless tsar. The Uglich exile posed a great danger to the ruler. His accession threatened Godunov with the loss of not only his influence, but also his head.

On May 15, 1591, in Uglich, under mysterious circumstances, Tsarevich Dmitry died from a knife wound. The official conclusion of the investigative commission about the death of the prince as a result of an accident while playing knife did not calm the agitated minds. The accusation against Godunov of organizing the murder spread widely among the people, and no measures taken by the ruler to save his reputation were successful. At the same time, the death of Tsarevich Dmitry cleared the way for Godunov to the throne. On January 6, 1598, Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich died. At the Electoral Council of 1598, Boris Godunov was elected tsar and received the royal crown. For a while, everything calmed down and went on as before, but a terrible disaster - famine - lit the flame of civil war. The time of difficult trials for Russia has begun - the Time of Troubles.

In 1602, a man appeared in Lithuania, declaring himself the miraculously saved Tsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich. The government of Boris Godunov quickly carried out a search and established the true name of the impostor - Yuri Bogdanovich Otrepyev, monk Gregory, a former monk of the Moscow Chudov Monastery, previously a military slave of the Romanov boyars. However, all Godunov’s attempts to resist the impostor intrigue were in vain. False Dmitry I (as the first Russian impostor is usually called) managed to gather an army, and in 1604 he invaded Russian territory.

The sudden death of Boris Godunov decided the outcome of the confrontation. There was a mutiny in the royal army, and it went over to the side of the impostor. In June 1605, False Dmitry I entered Moscow and took the throne. The reign of the impostor was short-lived - with his disregard for Russian customs, he quickly turned almost all classes of the state against himself. In May 1606, the conspiracy, which had matured among the boyars, was crowned with success - False Dmitry I was killed, and the head of the conspirators, the boyar Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky, sat on the throne, whose rights were based on his origin. The Shuiskys were the second oldest branch of the Rurikovichs, after the Moscow princes. Only two services of the Romodanovskys under False Dmitry I are known. On April 13, 1606, Prince G. P. Romodanovsky “said boyars” to the handsome Prince B. M. Lykov, and on May 8, at the ill-fated wedding of the impostor with Marina Mnishek, Prince I. P. Romodanovsky was among the participants in the wedding “train”.

The accession of the new sovereign did not calm the country. The cities of “southern Ukraine” rose up against the boyar tsar, raising banners in once again“Miraculously” saved “Dmitry”. True, no one has yet seen the true tsar, but Prince G.P. Shakhovskoy (one of I.P. Romodanovsky’s opponents in local disputes), having settled in Putivl, wrote letters on behalf of “Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich” and sealed them with a seal stolen in the time of the May riots of 1606. Soon, Ivan Bolotnikov, a talented and energetic military leader, came from military serfs, like False Dmitry I, at the head of the forces hostile to Shuisky.

Vasily Shuisky moved forces loyal to him against the rebels. Already in the summer of 1606, an army led by Prince Yu. N. Trubetskoy was sent to Severshchina. The guard regiment was headed by Prince G.P. Romodanovsky, who by that time had been promoted to okolnichy. In the battles with Bolotnikov, Trubetskoy’s army was defeated. Its cause was the desertion of military men. The governors retreated to Orel and began to wait for reinforcements. On September 22, on the Ugra River, the tsar’s army defeated Bolotnikov, but retreated again - this time to Moscow - due to the uprising of neighboring cities.

In the defense of Moscow from Bolotnikov and the subsequent siege of the rebels in Kaluga, the Romodanovskys are not mentioned. Taking advantage of the governor's oversight, Bolotnikov in May 1607 moved to Tula, which was much better fortified than Kaluga. At that time, Bolotnikov’s ally, “Tsarevich Peter,” a new impostor who appeared among the Terek Cossacks, had already settled in Tula. Tsar Vasily launched a general offensive and besieged Tula. As part of a large army, Prince Grigory Petrovich also acted as the second governor in the advanced regiment to Tula. In October 1607, Tula capitulated, the rebel leaders - Bolotnikov and False Peter - were executed, Shakhovsky was spared and exiled to Lake Kubenskoye.

While Prince Grigory Petrovich was fighting against Bolotnikov and False Peter, his brother, Prince Ivan, found his death on the other outskirts of the state. In 1607 he was sent as ambassador to Persia and died on the way back. Sources report different versions of his death. According to one of them, Romodanovsky was killed by the Kalmyks, according to another, he was executed by the False Peter in Tsaritsyn, and finally, according to the third, the most probable, he died at the hands of another self-proclaimed “prince” - Ivan August - in Astrakhan. Under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Prince I.P. Romodanovsky’s nephew, Prince Grigory Grigorievich, added his surname with the family nickname Starodubsky. This seemed indecent to the Tsar, and he forbade Prince Gregory to write to Romodanovsky-Starodubsky. To this he filed a petition: “Your, great sovereign, has been sent a letter, it is written so that in the future I will not write to Starodubsky. Before your decree, I will not write, but before that I wrote for this: you, the great sovereign, know that we are the princes of Starodub, and my ancestors, my father and uncle, were written as Starodub-Romodanovsky (this is not entirely true. - S. Sh.), yes, my uncle Prince Ivan Petrovich in Astrakhan for you, the great sovereigns, suffered from the thief falsely named Augustus, by your sovereign mercy he was written into a book, and, declaring his suffering, on the cathedral resurrection he was commemorated by Starodubsky-Romodanovsky. Have mercy, don’t tell me to take away our old honor.” The Emperor heeded the petition.

The turmoil grew. In place of Bolotnikov and False Peter, False Dmitry II appeared from Lithuania. Poles, Lithuanians, Cossacks, Russians, and Tatars stood under his banner. The fire of the civil war spread from the outskirts to the central part of the state. In the summer of 1608, False Dmitry II, having defeated the royal governors, set up camp in the village of Tushino near Moscow (hence the nickname Tushino Thief given to him by his contemporaries).

In the battles with Tushinsky Thief, Prince G.P. Romodanovsky led the advanced regiment. The fighting took place on the outskirts of Moscow, on the Khodynka and Presnya rivers. Having encountered stubborn resistance from the tsarist troops, the impostor decided to blockade Moscow and sent military detachments to the north and northeast in order to deprive Vasily Shuisky of the support of the regions loyal to him. The Lithuanian hetman Jan-Peter Sapieha was sent to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. The tsar sent an army against Sapieha led by his brother, Prince Ivan Shuisky. The advanced regiment, as before, was headed by Grigory Romodanovsky. The troops converged near the village of Vozdvizhensky, 10 versts from Trinity. During the battle, the governor of the guard regiment, Fyodor Golovin, faltered, and the tsar’s troops were defeated. The chronicle notes that in the battle, Prince Grigory Romodanovsky “showed a lot of bravery and courage.” Prince Andrei Grigorievich died in battle, fighting next to his father. Prince Grigory Petrovich himself was wounded. The governors retreated to Moscow.

In the defense of Moscow from the Tushins in the winter of 1608 - spring of 1609, Prince Grigory Petrovich defended the Petrovsky Gate. In 1609 we see Romodanovsky as a governor in Kashira. The surroundings were uneasy. Kolomna was besieged by the Tushins, and the robber Salkov ruled the Kolomenskaya and Vladimirskaya roads. But from the north, Prince M.V. Skopin-Shuisky was already coming to the aid of Moscow with Swedish help, and boyar F.I. Sheremetev was rising along the Volga with troops loyal to the Tsar. In March 1610, Skopin-Shuisky liberated Moscow from the Tushino blockade. The Tushino camp collapsed, and the impostor fled to Kaluga. The triumph of the tsar was premature, soon Skopin-Shuisky unexpectedly dies, and trust in Tsar Vasily, who was suspected of poisoning his relative for fear of losing the throne, falls sharply. The Polish king Sigismund III invaded Russia from the west, and False Dmitry II became active in Kaluga.

At this time, a rebellion broke out in Kolomna. Despite the resistance of the governor, the city was handed over to False Dmitry II. The flames of rebellion spread to Kashira. The chronicle notes that Prince Romodanovsky did not want to swear allegiance to the “thief”, and was almost killed by the townspeople. Realizing that there was no point in resisting any longer, the governor swore allegiance to the impostor. As a prisoner, Prince Romodanovsky was sent to False Dmitry II to confess.

It is not known how Romodanovsky managed to leave the camp of False Dmitry II, but in 1611 he was in Moscow. By this time, Tsar Vasily Shuisky was deposed, and the boyar government in Moscow (Semiboyarshchina), fearing the capture of the city by the troops of False Dmitry II, entered into an agreement with the Poles to call the Polish prince Vladislav to the throne. The boyars allowed the Polish army led by Hetman Stanislav Zholkiewski into the city. This did not bring peace to the country. At the end of 1610, False Dmitry II was killed near Kaluga. His commanders scattered throughout the country, killing and robbing civilians. Hetman Sapega tried to capture Moscow, but withdrew and moved to Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. The boyar government sent Prince Grigory Romodanovsky and other governors in pursuit of him from Moscow, but Sapieha defeated the Russian troops.

The power of the Polish administration, headed by the royal governor A. Gonsevsky, was established in Moscow. Romodanovsky belonged to those who considered it necessary to cooperate with the Poles. In the joint Russian-Polish government, he held court between the Poles and Russians “in small matters.” Meanwhile, a movement against the invaders was rising in the country. In January 1611, the First Militia led by P.P. Lyapunov began to gather in Ryazan, setting itself the goal of liberating the capital from the Poles. The first militia disintegrated, failing to take Moscow, but it was replaced by the Second Militia from Nizhny Novgorod, led by Prince D. Pozharsky and K. Minin. In August 1612, the Second Militia besieged Moscow. Soon the Poles held only Kitai-Gorod and the Kremlin, and on October 22 they were driven out of Kitai-Gorod. The position of the Polish garrison and other Kremlin “inmates” was terrible: “...and of course my reserves are depleted, I eat all sorts of nasty and unclean things, and I secretly beat myself, and I eat each other, and I’m weak from hunger, I’m frozen from the hunger of many...” Most likely , G.P. Romodanovsky, like other participants in the Russian-Polish government, suffered all the horrors of the siege.

On October 26, the Poles capitulated. An Electoral Council met in Moscow, at which on February 21, 1613, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was proclaimed Tsar. Tsar Mikhail's election certificate bears Romodanovsky's signature. Under the new tsar, Romodanovsky took one of the prominent places. In 1615 he was sent to a congress with the Crimean ambassadors, and the following year he was granted a boyar status. During Prince Vladislav's campaign against Moscow in 1618, Romodanovsky was among the governors who led the defense of the city. In 1623–1626 he was in charge in Veliky Novgorod, negotiated with the Swedes, using the title of “Governor of Bryansk”.

Prince Grigory Petrovich died in 1628. Patriarch Filaret held the funeral service for the old governor in the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord on Tverskaya Street.

Prince Grigory Petrovich was the father of eight sons: Andrei (killed 1608), Vasily the Bolshoi, Ivan the Bolshoi, Peter, Vasily the Lesser (d. 1671), Fyodor (d. 1689), Ivan the Lesser and Gregory (killed 1682). Three of them (Vasily Menshoi, Fyodor and Gregory) made a prominent career and reached the rank of boyars, the rest served as stewards and governors. The most famous of the sons of Prince Grigory Petrovich is Prince Grigory Grigorievich, who inherited his father’s military courage.

The service of Prince Grigory Grigorievich Romodanovsky is closely connected with the intensification of Russian foreign policy under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. As a result of Polish and Swedish intervention during the Time of Troubles, Russia lost a significant part of its western territories. Under Tsar Michael's successor, the state strengthened, but the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, on the contrary, was torn apart by internal contradictions and weakened. Since the 1620s The state was rocked by Cossack revolts. The Cossacks, who defended the southern borders of the kingdom from the Tatars and Turks, starting from the end of the 16th century, were oppressed by local magnates who sought to reduce the Cossacks to the level of the serf peasantry. Persecuted and Orthodox faith Cossacks Desperate to reach a compromise, the Cossacks rebelled in 1648, led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Moscow closely followed the course of events, but was in no hurry to intervene in the war.

Only in 1653, after intense requests from the Cossacks “to accept them under the sovereign’s great hand,” did the tsar convene Zemsky Sobor, at which it was decided to accept “Bogdan Khmelnitsky and the entire Zaporozhye Army with their cities and lands” into Russian citizenship. An embassy headed by boyar V.V. Buturlin was sent to Ukraine to swear in new subjects. The steward, Prince Grigory Grigorievich Romodanovsky, was also part of the embassy to the Pereyaslav Rada. This was his first service. From the very beginning of his career, Romodanovsky’s fate was linked to Russia’s struggle for Ukraine.

The following year the war began. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich himself came out against the enemy at the head of the army. In the “tsar’s regiment”, among the hundreds of heads (junior officers), princes Fyodor and Grigory Romodanovsky are mentioned. In August of the same year, Prince Gregory, as part of the detachment of Prince F. F. Kurakin, took part in the campaign against Dubrovna. This was the first combat operation young head, and we can assume that he has proven himself to be a good warrior. From that time on, the name of Prince Grigory Romodanovsky was constantly mentioned in reports on campaigns and battles.

On March 1, 1655, together with boyar Buturlin, Romodanovsky was sent to Bila Tserkva to join the army of Khmelnitsky. The campaign was successful, the governors captured several cities, deeply invaded Galicia, and besieged Lviv. On September 18, Prince Romodanovsky, commanding a separate detachment, defeated the Polish hetman Stanislav Pototsky and captured Slonygorodok. For the victory over the hetman, Romodanovsky was granted okolnichy, invited to the “sovereign table”, and received as a reward a cup, a fur coat and an “addition” to his salary.

In 1656–1657 Romodanovsky served as a governor in Belgorod. Belgorod was a fortress on the southern outskirts of the Moscow state, the center of an entire military district - the Belgorod category. This appointment was very responsible. However, even more important “services” awaited Prince Grigory Grigorievich ahead.

After the death of B. Khmelnitsky, the Cossacks elected him to succeed Ivan Vygovsky. This choice was made without the knowledge of Moscow and greatly upset the Tsar. Wanting to instill due respect in the Cossacks and ensure control over the situation in Ukraine, the tsar sent a representative embassy to Vygovsky, headed by one of the most prominent governors, Prince A.N. Trubetskoy. The embassy was supported by significant military forces, commanded by Prince G. G. Romodanovsky and V. B. Sheremetev. Romodanovsky entered Ukraine and occupied Pereyaslavl and Piryatin. Vygovsky, unable to resist, was forced to come to Romodanovsky for negotiations. The hetman reconciled himself and even agreed to the installation of Moscow governors in Ukrainian cities.

Vygovsky's humility was false. In 1658, he betrayed Russia and concluded the Peace of Gadyach with Poland, recognizing the power of the king over himself. The regiments led by princes F.F. Kurakin and G.G. Romodanovsky again set out on a campaign against Ukraine. They restored the tsar's power over Left Bank Ukraine, which provided almost no support to the rebellious hetman. The few attempts by Vygovsky’s supporters to resist the Russian troops were easily suppressed by Romodanovsky.

The following year, the prince captured and burned the Borzna fortress, then, uniting with Kurakin, defeated Vygovsky near Nezhin. The hetman fled to Poland, and Bogdan Khmelnytsky’s son, Yuri, was elected in his place. During the confirmation of the new hetman, Grigory Romodanovsky was with his regiments in Pereyaslavl.

The meeting of the victorious governor in Moscow was solemn. In January 1660, the tsar himself met Romodanovsky’s regiments outside the Kaluga Gate and granted the governor “his hand.” This unprecedented display of royal mercy was recognition of the prince’s outstanding merits in the conquest of Ukraine. Rich rewards - a fur coat on gold satin, a cup, additions to the salary (80 rubles and 600 efimki (gold coins) "for the estate" - awaited the prince in Moscow. However, he was unable to rest from military labors; three days later he rode to Belgorod, again accepting the position of the local governor. Ukraine began to seethe again, and new campaigns awaited Romodanovsky.

This time Yuri Khmelnitsky betrayed Moscow. They entered into an alliance with him Crimean Tatars. Romodanovsky limited himself to a defensive strategy - this was the order of Moscow. Meanwhile, Russian supporters gained the upper hand in Ukraine. Khmelnitsky was expelled, but in the summer of 1662 he returned with a new army and besieged Pereyaslavl. Prince Grigory Grigorievich, in alliance with Hetman Samko, loyal to Moscow, opposed the traitor.

Russian troops, in a fierce battle, captured the fortified camp of Yuri Khmelnitsky near Kanev and completely defeated his regiments. The most unlucky hetman miraculously managed to avoid captivity. Romodanovsky retreated beyond the Dnieper, leaving the Cossacks to figure out for themselves who they wanted to see as their hetman.

The fratricidal war in Ukraine continued. In the summer of 1663, the hetman's mace was accepted by the Koshevoy of the Zaporozhye army, Ivan Bryukhovetsky. His power extended only to Left Bank Ukraine. On the Right Bank, Pavel Teterya, who was supported by the Polish king and the Crimean Khan, was considered hetman. King John Casimir invaded Ukraine, but could not hold out and in January 1664 moved north against Russian forces. Romodanovsky approached Glukhov to meet him. The battle lasted all day, and the king decided to retreat. Moscow regiments pursued the Polish army. Romodanovsky covered the crossing of the royal troops across the Desna with cannon fire. Jan Casimir retreated with heavy losses.

Romodanovsky returned to the leadership of the Belgorod discharge. In 1665 he was made a boyar and spent the next three years in Moscow. In 1667, the Treaty of Andrusovo was concluded with Poland, which assigned vast Western Russian and Belarusian territories to the Moscow state. Left Bank Ukraine was recognized as the domain of the Tsar, while Right Bank Ukraine with Kiev was recognized as the domain of the King.

Bryukhovetsky, having lost hope of Moscow’s help in the fight against the new hetman of Right Bank Ukraine Petro Doroshenko, turned to the Turkish Sultan. News began to reach Moscow that Bryukhovetsky intended to transfer to Turkish citizenship. In January 1668, the hetman began to expel Moscow governors from Ukrainian cities. Prince Grigory Grigorievich was again called up to the regiments. In March he was already in Belgorod. Meanwhile, Bryukhovetsky was killed, and Doroshenko declared himself hetman of both parts of Ukraine. He sent Demyan Mnogohreshny as hetman to the Left Bank.

In September 1668, Romodanovsky liberated Nizhyn and Chernigov from the siege, where Moscow governors were defending themselves. Mnogohreshny entered into negotiations with the governor and expressed a desire to serve Russia. In January 1669, in Glukhov, in the courtyard of the boyar and governor Prince Grigory Romodanovsky, Mnogoreshny was elected hetman of Left Bank Ukraine. Temporary calm was achieved. A new unrest began in 1672. The Cossack elders accused the hetman of secret relations with Doroshenko and a desire to go over to the side of the Sultan. Mnogohreshny was arrested and sent to Moscow. To resolve the issue of a new hetman at the Rada, boyar Romodanovsky and governor Ivan Ivanovich Rzhevsky arrived in Konotop.

It is likely that Romodanovsky had a decisive influence on the choice of the new hetman. This was the General Judge Ivan Samoilovich. A war with powerful Turkey was approaching, and the boyar sought to establish a loyal and strong ally in Ukraine. As shown further development events, the hetman was not mistaken.

Turkish influence was increasingly felt in Ukrainian affairs. In 1672

Doroshenko accepted Turkish citizenship. Ottoman Empire turned against Poland. A huge Turkish army invaded the southern borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and defeated the Poles. The Turks took Kamenets. The king was forced to yield to Podolia. Now the threat looms over Left Bank Ukraine. The Moscow government tried to do without war, but Romodanovsky’s army was kept on the Dnieper. The governor was ordered to negotiate with Doroshenko, trying to win him over to his side, but not to cross to the right bank.

The war began in 1674. Russian regiments and Samoilovich’s Cossacks defeated Doroshenko, captured his capital - Chigirin and other cities. But in front of the Turkish-Tatar army, Romodanovsky and Samoilovich retreated beyond the Dnieper and fortified themselves. This year's fighting was a prelude to future battles for Chigirin.

In the summer of 1676, obeying the royal order, Romodanovsky set out in the direction of Chigirin. At the beginning of the campaign, out of 52 thousand warriors listed in the “attack,” there were only 32 thousand. Individual detachments joined the army as they moved. Doroshenko surrendered to the mercy of the winner and arrived in Moscow, where he was forgiven. The long struggle for Ukraine was coming to an end. Now both parts of Ukraine were under the rule of the new Moscow sovereign, Fyodor Alekseevich. Chigirin, the key strategic center of the Right Bank, was of particular importance. However, this conquest had yet to be maintained.

In June 1677, the Turkish army of Ibrahim Pasha, uniting with the Crimean horde of Selim-Girey, moved from the Dniester to Chigirin. According to various sources, the size of the combined army ranges from 200 to 100 thousand people. Major General Afanasy Fedorovich Traurnicht with the Streltsy regiments was urgently sent to Chigirin. He ordered to fortify the city and place troops along the walls of the fortress. The Streltsy-Cossack army defending Chigirin numbered 10 thousand people. Ibrahim Pasha believed that the mere appearance of his huge army would frighten the Chigirin garrison so much that it would immediately surrender. Yuri Khmelnitsky was also in the Turkish army, sending out calls to the Cossacks demanding submission to the Sultan.

Chigirin showed decisive resistance to the Turks. Assaults and bombings in the first weeks of the siege killed a thousand of the defenders. On the night of August 26-27, the 80,000-strong army of Romodanovsky and Samoilovich, under the cover of artillery, crossed the Dnieper and immediately entered the battle. The continuous battle continued until August 29. The Turks and Tatars tried to throw the Russian-Cossack army into the Dnieper, but could not withstand the onslaught and fled themselves. For five miles Romodanovsky pursued the enemy. On the same day, Ibrahim Pasha retreated from Chigirin, abandoning the siege weapons. Soon the Turks left Ukraine. The victory was brilliant. The Turks lost about 20 thousand people, Romodanovsky’s army - two and a half thousand. The Battle of the Dnieper was one of the pinnacles of the military leadership of Prince Grigory Romodanovsky.

Having restored the Chigirin fortifications, Romodanovsky’s army also left Right Bank Ukraine. Russian government took a defensive position, waiting to see what lesson Muhammad IV would learn from the Chigirin defeat of his army.

The Sultan was angry. He imprisoned Ibrahim Pasha, deprived him of the throne and exiled Selim Girey. Türkiye was preparing for a new war. The Grand Vizier Mustafa Pasha stood at the head of an army of one hundred thousand. Another fifty thousand were brought with him by the new Crimean Khan Murad-Girey.

Moscow realized the inevitability new war and took the necessary measures. About 75 thousand people were concentrated under the command of Romodanovsky. These were the best units of the Russian army - Reitar, dragoon and soldier regiments of the “foreign system”, organized and armed on the principle of European armies, selected “orders” of the Moscow archers. Under the command of Hetman Samoilovich there were 50 thousand Cossacks, including militias. Chigirin's garrison was strengthened, the total number of which was 12 thousand people, mostly Cossacks, but there were also archers, soldiers and dragoons. Voivode Ivan Rzhevsky and Colonel Patrick Gordon, a Swedish native, were placed at the head of the defense.

Gordon left a detailed diary of Chigirin's defense (he speaks of himself in the third person). According to Gordon's diary, the Turks arrived near Chigirin on July 9, and the next day began fighting. Let's refer to this document:

“On the 10th, at dawn, the Turks began firing from two batteries, connected by them just opposite the middle of the crown wall, and from a third, arranged opposite the city near the hill and equipped with cannons. They fired non-stop, aiming straight at the loopholes and parapet... The garrison also fired heavily at the besiegers with rifles and cannons, but the Russian gunners were not skilled enough. At about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Landels from Gordon's dragoon regiment was killed by a fragment of a bomb that fell on a rampart 40 fathoms from him; he was a serviceable and gallant warrior. About two hours after this, Stanislav Borovets, a lieutenant of Gordon's dragoon regiment, was killed on the rampart by a cannonball. Gordon himself was shell-shocked left hand between the shoulder and elbow a piece of wood, broken off by a cannonball... On this day, 27 soldiers and several officers were killed and about 40 people were wounded, mostly by grenades and wood chips; 278 cannonballs and 88 bombs hit the city and castle...

On the night of the 11th, the Turks set up 3 more batteries; one of which with 5 cannons, and the other with 2, were aimed at the city; the third, on which there were 3 cartauns, directly on the outgoing corner of the middle bolt; the Turks fired heavily all day and made several breaks in the parapet; at night Gordon ordered them to be filled. The Turks smashed the carriages of two cannons, blew up one cannon and destroyed several loopholes... The Janissaries fired from their trenches into the loopholes so successfully that not a single Russian could look out without being in danger of being killed. On this day, 18 people were killed and 25 were wounded in the castle. 468 cannonballs and 246 bombs hit the city and castle...”

The next day, the besieged made a sortie: “Gordon promised each of his soldiers who captured a banner or a prisoner 5 rubles. from your own pocket; however, he knew in advance that he was risking little. So, 3000 people were ordered to make a sortie from different places at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. They reached the trenches, drove the Turks into them after brave resistance and inflicted a severe defeat on them. Two banners were also captured, which, however, were so torn by the Russians and Cossacks (since everyone wanted to bring them) that it was impossible to decide who owned the promised reward. Meanwhile, the Turks made a sortie from their trenches located near the hill and forced the Russians to hastily retreat, and the Russians killed 2 rifle captains and 11 privates, and wounded 27 people ... "

Day after day, under shelling, in sorties, rebuilding destroyed fortifications and repelling Turkish attacks Chigirin was being defended. The garrison gradually melted away. On August 3, the governor of the city, Ivan Rzhevsky, was killed by a bomb, and Gordon - by then repeatedly wounded - took over the main command. On August 11, the Turks broke into the city and captured it; the besiegers retreated to Chigirinsky Castle. Gordon notes that the military spirit of Chigirin’s defenders was weakening, under a hail of cannonballs and bombs, losing their comrades every day, they hoped for ambulance main forces, but did not receive it. “The Russian soldiers,” Gordon writes, “have completely lost courage after the fruitless sorties of the last few days, while the Turks, on the contrary, have become much more emboldened.”

What was boyar Romodanovsky doing at this time? Why did the desperate calls of the Chigirin garrison for help remain unanswered? The army of Romodanovsky and Samoilovich crossed the Dnieper on July 12 and fortified itself on the right bank. However, the Turkish army was so large that it could conduct military operations both near Chigirin and along the entire front of Romodanovsky’s army. In the battle with the Crimean-Turkish army, the boyar managed to win. But on July 15, Turkish and Crimean cavalry again appeared in front of the Russian camp. The commander-in-chief did not take decisive action. The reason for this was the royal order not to advance until reinforcements arrived - Prince Kaspulat of Cherkassy with Kalmyks and serving Tatars. Romodanovsky waited, and meanwhile Chigirin’s position became more complicated. Finally, on July 28, Cherkassky arrived at the Russian camp, and two days later the commander-in-chief went on the offensive. In a fierce battle, the Russians captured Strelnikov Mountain, the dominant terrain on which Turkish artillery stood, preventing the Russians from approaching Chigirin. The decisive role in the battle was played by “elected” soldier regiments under the command of Haggai Shepelev and Matvey Kravkov. Having taken Strelnikov Mountain, the Russians immediately installed their guns on it and inflicted significant damage with their fire on the Turks, who were retreating in disarray across the Tyasmin River. About eight thousand Turks died under Russian artillery fire and in a stampede at the crossing.

On August 4, Romodanovsky set up camp two miles from Chigirin. By this time, he already had an order, if further defense was impossible, to withdraw troops from Chigirin, destroying the city fortifications. The commander-in-chief considered it risky to engage in a general battle - the terrain conditions were too unfavorable. He continued to hope for the resilience of Chigirin’s defenders and sent another six thousand archers and Cossacks to the city. However, the city's defenses were broken through by numerous Turkish mines and mines. Romodanovsky sent more and more detachments to Chigirin, but this could no longer change the situation. I had to think not about Chigirin, but about saving the entire army, and the commander-in-chief gave the order to leave the city. Fiercely resisting, the defenders gradually left Chigirin; for many, the retreat turned into a stampede - they broke through the Turkish offensive and swam across Tyasmin. In total, about 600 people died during the retreat from Chigirin.

Gordon managed to burn some of the supplies and set lit fuses in the musket loopholes. Whether the Russians managed to place mines in the powder magazine or whether it exploded in a general fire or from negligence is unclear, but the Turks who burst into the castle literally flew into the air from a huge explosion. Four thousand people died. Mustafa Pasha received burning ruins instead of a city. “Thus Chigirin was protected and lost; he was abandoned, but not conquered,” writes Gordon.

Having gathered the defenders of Chigirin, the Russian army strengthened itself with convoys and moved towards the Dnieper. The situation that arose before Chigirin left was repeated. Russian regiments set up a fortified camp on the right bank and fought constant battles with the Turks and Tatars. On August 19, Romodanovsky launched an offensive, but, having reached the Turkish camp and not having the strength to storm, the Russians retreated. The troops were preparing for a new battle, but unexpectedly the next day the Turks withdrew from their positions and retreated, leaving the destroyed Chigirin. The reason for this was undoubtedly the significant losses of the attackers. Mustafa Pasha lost from thirty to sixty thousand people. Russian losses were an order of magnitude smaller - just over three thousand killed and five thousand wounded. The defense of Chigirin claimed the lives of three hundred and thirty people (according to official sources; Gordon writes about one thousand three hundred dead). Thus, Romodanovsky retained a combat-ready and powerful army, while the Turks, tired of the war, could no longer conduct active hostilities. In fact, the campaign of 1678 was won by Romodanovsky, but Chigirin’s surrender was still negatively perceived in Russia.

Romodanovsky beat his brow about his resignation from service in Kursk “for many of his bloody necessary (painful. - S. Sh.) services". The old governor also asked to replace his son, Prince Mikhail Grigorievich. The governor was recalled to Moscow.

Could Romodanovsky continue to defend Chigirin? Was there any point in this difficult struggle? Even in an order to Prince Grigory Grigorievich at the beginning of the war, the tsar provided for the possibility of Chigirin’s surrender. This act, at the height of the war, had an important symbolic meaning, having already lost strategic ones. The Russian government understood that Mustafa Pasha could not stop without taking Chigirin. Fearing the fate of his predecessor, the Turkish commander-in-chief will fight for the city to the last soldier. Having conceded Chigirin, Romodanovsky tightly covered Ukraine, preventing the Turks from attacking Kyiv and other cities. Thus, the surrender of Chigirin was a concession necessary in order to move on to peace negotiations, and at the same time did not have decisive strategic significance.

Romodanovsky's ill-wishers, not knowing about these circumstances, spread rumors about the betrayal of the old governor. The fact is that back in 1668, in the battle with Doroshenko, the eldest son of Prince Grigory Grigorievich, Andrei, was captured by the Tatars. Allegedly, in exchange for the life of his son, the commander-in-chief ordered Chigirin to be left behind. The above circumstances of Chigirin’s surrender justify Romodanovsky.

After his resignation from command of the Belgorod discharge, Prince G. G. Romodanovsky did not receive important appointments. He participated in palace ceremonies and was probably busy organizing his vast estates, which he had simply never gotten around to before.

In the 17th century The Romodanovskys successfully restored their land wealth, lost during the oprichnina years, and became one of the large landowners. In 1627, all representatives of the clan owned 18 estates with 525 households; in 1646 - 30 estates, 769 households and 2545 souls; in 1678 - 35 estates, 1848 households and 8695 souls. In addition, a certain number of lands belonged to them under local law and were gradually transferred to the estate.

In addition to lands, Prince G. G. Romodanovsky owned courtyards in Moscow: on Tverskaya, near the Church of the Transfiguration, and on Dmitrovka, near St. George's Monastery. His country yard was located outside the Petrovsky Gate.

The death of Prince Grigory Grigorievich Romodanovsky was terrible. In 1682, Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich died. Romodanovsky, along with other boyars, “spent day and night” at the tomb of the late sovereign. Meanwhile, in the palace there was a struggle for power between the relatives of the wives of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich - the Miloslavskys and the Naryshkins. The former nominated Tsarevich Ivan as their candidate for the throne, the latter nominated Tsarevich Peter. Prince Grigory Grigorievich and his sons also sided with the Naryshkins. The Naryshkins temporarily gained the upper hand, and then the Miloslavskys, led by the intelligent and power-hungry princess Sofya Alekseevna and the skilled intriguer boyar Ivan Mikhailovich Miloslavsky, provoked an uprising of the Moscow archers.

The Streltsy, shouting that the Naryshkins were attempting to kill the princes and seize the throne, burst into the Kremlin and began to beat up representatives of this family. Many other boyars, hated by the Streltsy, also died. The archers remembered the hardships of the Chigirin campaigns for Prince Grigory Grigorievich, he was seized from the patriarch and, accusing him of treason, he was stabbed to death with a protazan in the Kremlin, opposite the Ambassadorial Prikaz. Later, the archers in a petition addressed to Tsars Ivan and Pyotr Alekseevich explained the murder of Romodanovsky by the fact that he allegedly “being in your sovereign services with your sovereign service people as a governor, the city of Chigirin was given to the Turk and Crimean people with your state treasury and service people, forgetting the fear of God and the kiss of the cross and your sovereign mercy towards you..."

The son of Prince Gregory, Andrei, also fell into the hands of the archers, but his killers spared him, remembering the prince’s long-term suffering in Crimean captivity. He was captured by the Crimeans in 1668, and returned to Russia only in 1681. Probably, the long captivity undermined the health of Prince Andrei Grigorievich - he died in 1686.

The outstanding Russian historian S. M. Solovyov gives the following description of G. G. Romodanovsky: “Prince Gregory, as they say, was distinguished by ferocity of character and physical strength, he was more a soldier than a leader; surpassed everyone in military ardor, tireless activity, speed and lion-like courage; in Little Russia... he gained the favor of the residents.” The memory of Romodanovsky in Ukraine lasted for a long time - the people called the road he paved from Putivl to Chigirin “Romodan” two centuries later.

The youngest son of Prince G. G. Romodanovsky, Mikhail, was mentioned in 1669 with the rank of steward. For many years he was a faithful companion of his father, fighting in Ukraine against the enemies of Moscow, the Tatars and Turks. In 1678, Prince Mikhail Grigorievich received the rank of boyar.

In the struggle between the Miloslavskys and the Naryshkins, the Romodanovskys, as mentioned above, took the side of the latter. After the Streltsy uprising, a formal dual power of both kings, Ivan and Peter, was established in the country. However, the power really belonged to Princess Sophia. Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina with her son Peter and a narrow circle of associates retired to Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow. Prince Andrei Grigorievich Romodanovsky remained among the supporters of the Naryshkin court until his death in 1686. In 1682, Prince Mikhail Grigorievich was appointed head of the Robbery Prikaz, and in 1685–1687. was in the voivodeship in Pskov. Perhaps it was no coincidence that the ruler sought to remove this authoritative supporter of young Peter from Moscow. Upon returning from the voivodeship, Prince M. G. Romodanovsky was appointed head of the Vladimir court order (1688).

The power of Sophia fell in 1689, and control passed to the Naryshkins. Young Peter at that time did not attach much importance to state affairs; he was fascinated by military “fun,” his first experiences of sailing on the Yauza and Lake Pleshcheyevo, and feasts in the Inozemnaya Settlement with friends. One of the first appointments of the new government was the sending of Prince M. G. Romodanovsky to the voivodeship in Kyiv. Well acquainted with Ukrainian affairs, he became the “sovereign eye” in Ukraine, keeping an eye on Hetman I. S. Mazepa. Even then, denunciations were sent to the governor against the hetman, but Mazepa managed to justify himself and convince Romodanovsky and the Moscow authorities of his loyalty.

In 1692, Mikhail Grigorievich returned to Moscow. He spent four years in Moscow, and in 1696 he received a new assignment - to go to Velikiye Luki on the Polish border, where to join the regiments of the Novgorod nobles. Streltsy regiments “not borrowing from Moscow” were sent to him from near Azov. The archers were tired of long service; after the capture of the Turkish fortress of Azov, they intended to rest in Moscow, but ended up again in service, on the other outskirts of the state. The Sagittarius showed disobedience - “out of hunger”, they fled to Moscow “to fight” and, having received a salary, calmed down, but not for long.

The archers were given so little salary and supplies that they often had to beg for alms. For this, many of the archers were punished by the batogs.

In March 1698, 175 archers again fled from service to Moscow. They complained about their plight to the head of the Streletsky Prikaz, boyar Prince I.B. Troekurov. A whole crowd of Streltsy gathered at the boyar’s house in Georgievsky Lane, and only after they were given their salaries, with the help of soldiers, were the authorities able to drive the Streltsy out of Moscow to their place of service. However, this was only the beginning of the Streltsy offensive. In May 1698, four regiments were transferred from Luk to Toropets. The Sagittarius hoped that they would be returned to Moscow, but this did not happen; the government decided to separate the shelves according to different cities. In addition, a decree was issued punishing the archers who fled to Moscow in March. But when the commander, Prince M. G. Romodanovsky, tried to arrest the fugitives, a riot began in the regiments. The archers repulsed their comrades, refused to obey their commanders, and at the council decided to march with the whole army to Moscow.

By this time, the tsar had already been abroad for more than a year as part of the Great Embassy. Rumors spread throughout Moscow that he had died “overseas.” Most of the streltsy moving to Moscow had no political intentions. Tired of life on the march, they wanted to rest and meet with their wives and children, but among the instigators of the revolt were those who sought to repeat the events of the Streltsy rebellion of 1682. They wanted to kill the boyars, generals, soldiers and foreigners, and kill Peter when he returned from -abroad, and Tsarevich Alexei, free Princess Sophia from the Novodevichy Convent and elevate her to the throne. During the search, it was possible to establish that Sophia, from her captivity, conducted some kind of correspondence with the leaders of the rebellion, but its content remained unknown.

The Boyar Duma sent 3,700 people, mainly soldiers of the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments, against the rebels led by Generalissimo and boyar A.S. Shein and Lieutenant General P.I. Gordon. Shein defeated the archers near the Resurrection Monastery (New Jerusalem) on the Istra River. The rebels were brought to Moscow, and a search began. Subsequently, Peter was angry with the leaders of the search for the fact that they, as it seemed to him, carried out the search “hastily”, without identifying the roots of the rebellion and its connection with the Tsar’s longtime enemy, sister Sophia. According to the verdict of the Boyar Duma, 122 people were executed, 140 were whipped, and 1,987 people were exiled.

On the evening of August 25, 1698, the Tsar arrived in Moscow. After the news of the mutiny of the Streltsy, he hastily interrupted his journey and set off from Vienna to Moscow, without stopping even overnight for the first three days. Soon a new search began, which amazed Muscovites, already accustomed to the sight of executions and torture in city squares, with its scale and bloodiness.

Peter was interested, first of all, in the political roots of the conspiracy. The Streltsy began to be taken to Moscow, and the executioners began working hard in the Preobrazhensky Prikaz. The king himself led the investigation. During the questioning, although it was not possible to obtain convincing evidence of Princess Sophia’s involvement in the uprising, it was at least established that the princess was popular among the archers as a likely candidate for the throne.

New executions began in September. On the very first day of the executions, Peter I personally cut off the heads of five archers. The king not only cut off the heads himself, but also forced his courtiers and officers to do the same. M. G. Romodanovsky was ordered to behead four archers - one each from the regiment entrusted to him. Others were wheeled on Red Square. Most of the archers were hanged. They were hanged not only on gallows, but also on the battlements of the walls of the White City (then a gloomy saying was born: “as a battlement is like an archer”). Three archers were hanged under the windows of Princess Sophia’s cell in the Novodevichy Convent. In total, more than a thousand people were executed.

The horrors of the massacres of the archers subsided, and the tsar went to Voronezh to set up a shipyard for the construction of ships (spring 1699). The idea of ​​​​creating a Russian fleet fascinated Peter for a long time. In 1697–1698 By his decree, “kumpanships” were created - associations of wealthy servicemen and merchants to build ships at their own expense. Prince M. G. Romodanovsky also took part in the “kumpanism”; the “Borkolon ship” was built with his money. We don’t know what the reason was, but during Peter’s Voronezh trip, Romodanovsky somehow caused the tsar’s “anger and disgrace” and was exiled under guard to his village on the Klyazma.

After returning from Voronezh, the tsar again became interested in investigating the Streltsy rebellion. For the “search”, Prince Mikhail Grigorievich was brought to Moscow and confrontations between the boyar and the archers were held. The “search” did not bring any trouble to the prince; he managed to exonerate himself from accusations of aiding the archers. The Tsar involved Romodanovsky in drawing up a new set of laws - the Code, and with the beginning of the Northern War we again see Prince Mikhail Grigorievich in the ranks.

In 1703 he was awarded for the Sumy campaign, in 1705–1707. headed the Provisional Order, which was in charge of supplying the army, and in 1711 he gathered noble troops in Putivl in connection with the resumption of the war with Turkey.

In 1712, Romodanovsky was appointed Moscow governor. According to the decree on the formation of provinces (1709), the Moscow province included a huge territory of Central Russia - 39 cities with counties - Vladimir, Suzdal, Kolomna, Serpukhov, Kaluga, Mozhaisk and others. Some of them were located more than 300 miles from the capital. Such an appointment was extremely responsible and difficult, especially in wartime.

In his new position, Prince Mikhail Grigorievich came into conflict with the Senate.

He reported on the oppression and insults “perpetrated by gentlemen senators,” but Peter I did not support the governor. During Romodanovsky's administration of Moscow, the May fire of 1712 fell, after which the prince had to rebuild the capital and pass a decree on paving the streets. Soon, on January 30, 1713, Prince Mikhail Grigorievich died.

Prince M. G. Romodanovsky was not one of the tsar’s close associates, but for some time he was his own man in the company of Peter’s drinking buddies. He was a member of the so-called All-Joking Cathedral and bore the playful nickname given to him by Peter I of “Eminence Tinsel” (from his name).

Another representative of the family, Prince Fyodor Yuryevich, is much more famous for his activities under Peter I. He was the great-grandson of Grigory Petrovich and, therefore, the second cousin of Prince Mikhail Grigorievich. Prince Fedor's father, Yuri Ivanovich, served as a governor and steward. In 1654, he was in the sovereign’s regiment on the Polish campaign, and fought against the Poles in other years. In 1658, the prince was sent to Patriarch Nikon with a reprimand from Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Then he was a governor in Mogilev and Kazan, and led the Pushkarsky order (1667–1671). In 1668 he received the boyars. Prince Yuri Ivanovich was a large landowner. In six counties he owned 406 households.

The Austrian ambassador A. Meyerberg (Meyern), who was in Russia in 1661–1663, reports that Prince Yuri Romodanovsky, being a relative of the tsar on his mother’s side, enjoyed the special trust of Alexei Mikhailovich.

“With this prince,” notes the Austrian, “distinguished by the strength of his light wit rather than judgment, and almost the same age as the Tsar, Alexei often talks in a friendly way, having laid aside the stern importance of his Majesty. This hitherto prudent favorite does not spread a large sail to the wind of the royal favor towards himself, but modestly accepts it as a small one, so that this wind does not sweep him into the open sea of ​​envy, however, he does not always adhere to the low sands of the vastness...” Let’s leave the review on Meyerberg’s conscience about mental abilities Prince Yuri Ivanovich. However, his testimony that Yu. I. Romodanovsky enjoyed the tsar’s special favor is also confirmed by P. Gordon, who calls him the tsar’s favorite in the Diary.

However, while receiving signs of trust and affection, Prince Yuri Ivanovich had to experience manifestations of the tsar’s anger - Alexei Mikhailovich was quick-tempered, although easy-going. There is a known case when foreign officers serving under Romodanovsky’s command offended traders at the market. The Tsar summoned Prince Yuri and reprimanded him, and when he began to justify himself, the Tsar “in a fit of anger, pulled him so hard by the beard that he suffered seriously.” However, such excesses did not violate the royal trust in the prince. Probably, the special relationship that developed between their sons went back to the favor of Prince Yuri Ivanovich with Tsar Alexei.

Prince Fyodor Yuryevich (c. 1640–1717) began his service among the “Moscow nobles” under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. By 1682, he was the room (or close) steward of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich. For some reason, he did not receive responsible appointments under Tsars Alexei Mikhailovich and Fyodor Alekseevich, or they were so insignificant that we know nothing about them.

After the death of Fyodor, on June 16, 1682, he was “granted” to the sleeping bags of Tsar Peter. Thus, the prince entered Peter’s inner circle during the stay of Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna and the young Tsar in Preobrazhenskoye. Then their rapprochement began, despite the fact that Romodanovsky was more than thirty years older than Peter I.

In the military fun of the young king in the early 1690s. Prince Fyodor Yurievich occupied a prominent place. In 1691, Prince Fyodor Yuryevich commanded an army consisting of “amusing” and soldier regiments, reiters and dragoons. He was given the rank of "Generalissimo" with the name "Frederick". The enemy army – the Streltsy regiments – was also commanded by “Generalissimo” Ivan Ivanovich Buturlin. The maneuvers ended with the capture of Buturlin, the capture of the convoy and banners, and then a joint feast of the victors and the vanquished and a fireworks display.

In May–August 1694, Romodanovsky took part in the Arkhangelsk campaign. Peter I, making fun of the prince, wrote that he was “a very brave man for war, and even more so for the water route,” and appointed him to the post of admiral. Romodanovsky was neither a warrior—nothing is known about his military exploits—let alone a sailor. Upon returning from the Arkhangelsk campaign, according to the meeting ceremony drawn up by Peter I, the courtiers met in Mytishchi not the tsar, but Romodanovsky, as the commander-in-chief. Probably already then, following the buffoonish positions of generalissimo and admiral, Peter I began to honor Romodanovsky as a buffoonish “sovereign,” but he finally formalized this game later.

After sailing the White Sea, Peter I organized new large-scale military maneuvers. An earthen town was built near the village of Kozhukhovo (near the Simonov Monastery), in which the “Polish king” I. I. Buturlin sat under siege with the archers. “Generalissimo” Romodanovsky acted at the head of a significant military detachment - more than seven thousand people - the amusing Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky and Butyrsky regiments, noble cavalry and reitar. Among the artillerymen was the bombardier of the Preobrazhensky regiment Pyotr Alekseev, i.e. the Tsar himself.

In violation of the maneuver plan, Romodanovsky’s army too quickly stormed the earthen town. The besiegers flooded the town “with water from a copper pipe” and took it. The “Polish king” sat down in the wagon train, but was defeated and captured - “they took him himself, tied his hands back, and with all his neighbors, and brought him to the tent of Prince Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky.” Bombardier Pyotr Alekseev also distinguished himself in the Kozhukhov campaign - he captured a Streltsy colonel.

At the end of the maneuvers, as a contemporary, Duma nobleman I. A. Zhelyabuzhsky, reports in his diary, “Prince Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky was given the new title of sovereign.” Probably, it was in the autumn of 1694 that the beginning of the title of Romodanovsky as “prince-Caesar”, “sovereign” and “cesar” by Peter I and all members of his “company” and the giving of external honors to him as a sovereign dates back to the autumn of 1694. In his letters, Peter I called Romodanovsky nothing more than “Sir” or “Konig” and reported to him in his actions. The victories of Russian weapons, according to Peter's letters to Romodanovsky, seemed to be victories of an army subject to the Caesar-prince. “...It is known to you, sovereign, that the Lord God has blessed your sovereign’s weapons: before yesterday, with the prayer and happiness of your sovereign, the Azov people, seeing the final cramped conditions, surrendered...” wrote Peter I from the second Azov campaign after the capture of the fortress. Peter signed his letters to Prince Caesar like this: “Your Majesty’s lowest subject Piter.” Romodanovsky responded by calling the tsar: “Mr. Captain Pyotr Alekseevich” or “Mr. Bombardier Pyotr Alekseevich.”

The game of “prince Caesar” also had external manifestations. Upon returning from Azov and other campaigns, the regiments were presented to Prince Caesar. He hosted the parade and awarded the winners. Peter I himself petitioned Romodanovsky for his promotion to the ranks. After the Battle of Poltava, he turned to Field Marshal B.P. Sheremetev with a request to recommend “to our sovereigns (both) about my service...”. The “sovereigns”, i.e. Romodanovsky and I.I. Buturlin, did not force themselves to beg and promoted Peter to the rank of rear admiral, and according to the land hierarchy - lieutenant general. In response, the king thanked Prince Caesar in the following way: “And although I have not yet deserved so much, it is precisely for the sake of your sole benevolence that this has been granted to me, for which I pray to the Lord of strength, so that I may earn such mercy from you in the future.” In 1712, Romodanovsky promoted the tsar to full general, but Peter delayed this decree, believing that, as a result of the unfortunate Prut campaign, he as a military leader did not deserve such a promotion. Only a year later, after another victory of Russian arms, in which the tsar had a direct participation, Peter renewed his petition for his production. On August 12, 1713, he wrote to Catherine I: “At this point, I announce that on the 6th day of this month, Mr. Admiral announced to me the favor of our sovereign - the rank of full general, for which I congratulate you, as the lady general.”

This part of the “game of prince-Caesar” seems to be an important pedagogical measure of the king in relation to his subjects. Like others, he received promotions and awards not according to his rank as a king, but for real military merits. Moreover, these merits were also assessed not by Peter I himself, but by a third party.

In addition to the title in letters and the order of rank, honors to the prince-Caesar were also emphasized by the ceremony. The king disdained the manifestations of etiquette among his associates, encouraging democratic treatment (of course, in moderation). In relation to Prince Caesar, Peter, on the contrary, showed outward signs of respect - he took off his hat, entered Romodanovsky’s courtyard only on foot, leaving the carriage outside the gate, and did not sit next to the carriage in the carriage, but sat in front. Once, as Peter I’s turner A.K. Nartov testifies, the tsar forgot to take off his hat and received a reprimand from Romodanovsky. He invited the king to his place and, without getting up from his chair, scolded him: “What arrogance, what pride! Pyotr Mikhailov no longer takes off his hat to the Tsar.”

Moreover, Peter’s associates were forced to give similar honors to Romodanovsky. Prince Caesar used his power in the spirit characteristic of that rough time. Being a big drinker, he forced his guests to get drunk too. In the entryway of his house on Nikitskaya Street, a trained bear with a glass of vodka greeted the visitor. Those who refused to drink were torn by the bear...

Historians have drawn attention to the similarity of the “game of prince-Caesar” of Peter I and Romodanovsky with a strange episode from the time of Ivan the Terrible - the “reigning” of Simeon Bekbulatovich. In 1575, the tsar unexpectedly gave up the throne to the baptized Tatar khan Simeon Bekbulatovich. To his name, Grozny sent humble petitions, calling himself “Prince Ivan of Moscow.” Simeon sat on the throne, and Ivan the Terrible sat on a bench among the boyars. True, Simeon did not use the royal title, but was called “Grand Duke.” A year later, Ivan the Terrible just as unexpectedly removed Simeon from the throne and gave him Tver as his inheritance. We still do not have a logical explanation for this act of Ivan the Terrible. There is evidence that the tsar was afraid of the magi’s prediction that this year would happen “the death of the Moscow Tsar,” and made it so that the Tsar did not exist at all. Another version says that Grozny “tempted” people, testing their trustworthiness. There is a certain similarity between the situation - Simeon Bekbulatovich, by his descent from the khans of the Golden Horde, was a descendant of the supreme overlords of the Moscow princes, and Romodanovsky, in addition to his descent from Rurik, was also a relative of the king (his son was married to the sister of Queen Praskovya Fedorovna Saltykova, Ivan’s wife V Alekseevich). However, apart from the pedagogical significance of “playing Prince Caesar,” the real benefits of this innovation are not noticeable. It seems that Peter, who hated the whole old-Moscow way of life, thus ridiculed the “old times” with its complex ceremonial. Thus, the playful “game of the Tsar” with Romodanovsky was similar to the playful and indecent “game of the Patriarch” and “The Most Drunken Council,” which Peter I played with his old teacher N.M. Zotov and other close associates.

However, Romodanovsky was not only a clownish “generalissimo”, “admiral” and “prince Caesar” - he carried out many important and responsible assignments, and above all, he headed the entire detective and punitive service until his death. Back in 1686, Romodanovsky became the head (judge) of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz, a special institution that over time became the main instrument of the punitive policy of Peter I. Romodanovsky was in charge of the search for all criminal and political crimes, which occupied a significant place in government activities Petra. The harsh destruction of the old foundations caused indignation in various layers of society, it was expressed both in condemnatory speeches and in real anti-government actions - the conspiracy of I. E. Tsykler and A. P. Sokovnin in 1697 to kill Peter I, the Streltsy uprising of 1698 .and others. Criminal crimes have also become widespread - murder, robbery, embezzlement, bribery. Prince Caesar fought all this with an iron fist. There was no replacement for him in the position of head of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz.

Let's take a look at the intensity of search and punitive measures, according to the above-mentioned “Diary” of I. A. Zhelyabuzhsky:

“On the 24th day of January (1695) in the Amusement Palace, the boyar Pyotr Avraamovich Lopukhin, nicknamed Lapka, was tortured in a great state affair and on the 25th day of January, in the night, he died...

On the 5th day of March, clerk Kirila Frolov was whipped by the Local Order before the Discharge for buying gold from the clerk Gleb Afanasyev without bail. Yes, right before the Discharge, the discharge clerk Gleb Afanasyev was beaten with a whip for stealing gold, those that had the opportunity to be given by decree of the great sovereigns to the military men for the last Crimean campaign...

On the 4th day of June, the governor from Belaya Oska Starchenko sent to the Streletsky Prikaz, and he, Oska, was questioned, and during the questioning he spoke about many of his comrades. And by decree of the great sovereign, he, Oska, was sent from the Streletsky Prikaz to Preobrazhensky, tortured and hanged on a wanted list, and with his comrades...

Fyodor Lagovshchikov, the Tula governor, was beaten with batogs instead of a whip.

Prince Savin Gorchakov in Preobrazhenskoye is beaten with whips instead of a whip.

On the 19th day of December 205 (1696) on Saturday in Preobrazhenskoye, former Colonel Alexey Lavrentyev’s son Obukhov was punished; he was mercilessly beaten on a goat for the fact that in previous years his archers in Baturyn stole the hetman’s money and were tortured, and from torture they spoke in him, Alexei, that they gave that stolen money to him..."

And so, day after day, and year after year, Romodanovsky served in the Preobrazhensky Prikaz. The search activities of that time were particularly cruel - torture, often not only of the accused, but also of informers (to verify the veracity of testimony) was a common means of legal proceedings. In addition, the Russian system of punishment, unlike the Western European one, was distinguished by the rarer use of the death penalty, but the more frequent and widespread use of corporal punishment - whipping, batogs, lashes, branding, cutting off the nose and ears, cutting off hands... With such everyday activities, a person gradually lost his human appearance - hence the cruelty and inflexibility of Romodanovsky and his desire for a glass. Peter himself pointed out to Prince Caesar that he was drinking “out of fear.” However, the king could not even think about another service for Prince Caesar.

Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky (c. 1640 - September 17 (September 28) 1717) - prince, Russian statesman. Close associate of Peter I from the mid-1680s. In 1686-1717, the head of the Preobrazhensky order of investigative cases, in addition, led the Siberian and Apothecary orders. The first in Russia to formally receive from the hands of the sovereign the highest rank that stood outside the system officer ranks- Generalissimo 1694 (amusing troops?).

Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky came from an old family of princes of Starodub, who, in turn, descended from Rurik through Vsevolod the Big Nest and his son Ivan Vsevolodovich, who received from his brother, Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, the inheritance of Starodub. The great-great-grandson of this Prince Ivan, Prince Fyodor Andreevich Starodubsky, had a son, Prince Vasily Romodanovsky. The Velvet Book records: The fifth son of Prince Fyodor, Prince Andreev's son Starodubsky, Prince Vasily Fedorovich Romodanovsky (it is not entirely clear where the surname Romodanovsky came from) had children.

Thus, Prince Vasily Fedorovich Starodubsky, a direct descendant of Rurik, who lived in the second half of the 15th century, was the first to be called and spelled Romodanovsky. Fyodor Yuryevich's father was first a steward, and later a boyar. From an early age, Prince Fedor, being the son of a close associate of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, was at court. When the birth of Pyotr Alekseevich was celebrated in 1672, Prince Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky was the first to be shown among the ten nobles invited to his home table in the Faceted Chamber. In the boyar book at this time he is written as a nearby steward.

The sharp rise of Romodanovsky occurs in the first years of the independent reign of Peter I. The prince supported the young tsar in the fight against his sister Sophia; It was he who was entrusted with the supervision of the princess imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent. Having stood at the head of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz, Romodanovsky participated in all of Peter’s undertakings, starting with his “amusing campaigns.” A sign of the tsar’s trust in Romodanovsky was that, when setting off on the Azov campaign, he left him in his place in Moscow with the hitherto unprecedented title of Prince Caesar:

An indicative point is Peter’s extensive correspondence with the prince, in which the tsar mentions all the most important issues of domestic and foreign policy, not being afraid to ask Romodanov’s advice and addresses his letters to “Sovereign Prince Fyodor Yuryevich.” Romodanovsky, like Field Marshal Count Boris Sheremetev, had the right to enter the office of Peter I at any time without a report.

Fyodor Yurievich Romodanovsky played a decisive role in suppressing the Streletsky revolt of 1698. In 1701, after a severe fire that devastated Moscow, Prince Fyodor Yuryevich was engaged in rebuilding the capital entrusted to him.

In private life, Fyodor Yuryevich lived the way of life of an ancient boyar, loved and respected old morals and adhered to ancient customs; He was hospitable, but demanded special respect from everyone. In society, everyone stood in front of him. “No one dared to enter his yard - the Emperor himself left his one-wheeled carriage at his gate.” The house of Prince Romodanovsky was located in Moscow, on Mokhovaya, near the Kamenny Bridge; on the pillars it had an image of the family coat of arms of the Romodanovsky princes: a black winged dragon in a golden field.

The closest executor of Peter's plans, Fyodor Yuryevich, did not always approve of his actions: for example, he did not welcome Peter's marriage to Catherine. This is explained by the fact that his daughter Fedosya Fedorovna was the wife of Tsarevich Alexei’s uncle, brother of the first wife Evdokia Fedorovna.

Since Romodanovsky’s son Ivan was married to Anastasia Fedorovna Saltykova, the sister of the wife of Tsar Ivan V, Fyodor Yuryevich was a close relative of Peter I; Ivan's daughter - Golovkina Ekaterina Ivanovna.

Another son of Fyodor Yuryevich was Ivan Fedorovich, who inherited the title of Prince Caesar and became the last male representative of the Romodanovsky family.

Prince Romodanovsky died at an old age, on September 17, 1717; buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Perhaps the only contemporary who left a subjective review of the character and activities of Prince Romodanovsky was B.I. Kurakin, who mentioned him in his “Historia about Tsar Peter Alekseevich and those close to him”:

This prince was of a particular nature; looking like a monster; an evil tyrant in character; great desirer of good to anyone; drunk all day; but His Majesty was faithful in a way that no one else was.

We will also mention the power of him, Romodanovsky, which belongs to the search, betrayal, arguments, before anyone of any quality and person of the female or male sex came, he could take anyone into the search, arrest, and search, and on the search accomplish.

Prince "Caesar" Fedor Yurievich Romodanovsky(c. 1640 - September 17 (28), 1717) - Russian statesman who actually led the Russian kingdom during the absence of Peter I in the capital. In 1686-1717, the head of the Preobrazhensky order of investigative cases, in addition, led the Siberian and Apothecary orders. Generalissimo of the Amusing Troops (1694). Owner of the Ropsha manor.

Origin

A representative of the most noble Romodanovsky family in the XXIII generation from Rurik. Fyodor Yuryevich's father, Prince Yuri Ivanovich Romodanovsky, was first a steward, and later a boyar. From an early age, Prince Fedor, being the son of a close associate of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, was at court. When the birth of Pyotr Alekseevich was celebrated in 1672, Prince Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky was the first to be shown among the ten nobles invited to his home table in the Faceted Chamber. In the boyar book at this time he is written as a nearby steward.

The sharp rise of Romodanovsky occurs in the first years of the independent reign of Peter I. The prince supported the young tsar in the fight against his sister Sophia; It was he who was entrusted with the supervision of the princess imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent. Having stood at the head of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz, Romodanovsky participated in all of Peter’s undertakings, starting with his “amusing campaigns.” A sign of the tsar’s trust in Romodanovsky was that, when setting off on the Azov campaign, he left him in his place in Moscow with the hitherto unprecedented title of Prince Caesar:

An indicative point is Peter’s extensive correspondence with the prince, in which the tsar mentions all the most important issues of domestic and foreign policy, not being afraid to ask Romodanov’s advice and addresses his letters to “Sovereign Prince Fyodor Yuryevich.” Romodanovsky, like Field Marshal Count Boris Sheremetev, had the right to enter the office of Peter I at any time without a report.

Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky played a decisive role in suppressing the Streletsky revolt of 1698, which occurred in the absence of Peter I, who was in Europe with the Grand Embassy. In 1701, after a severe fire that devastated Moscow, Prince Fyodor Yuryevich was engaged in rebuilding the capital entrusted to him.

In private life, Fyodor Yuryevich lived the way of life of an ancient boyar, loved and respected old morals and adhered to ancient customs; He was hospitable, but demanded special respect from everyone. In society, everyone stood in front of him. “No one dared to enter his yard - the Emperor himself left his one-wheeled carriage at his gate.” The house of Prince Romodanovsky was located in Moscow, on Mokhovaya, near the Kamenny Bridge

The closest executor of Peter's plans, Fyodor Yuryevich, did not always approve of his actions: for example, he did not welcome Peter's marriage to Catherine. (This is explained by the fact that his daughter Fedosya was the wife of Tsarevich Alexei’s uncle, brother of Tsar Peter’s first wife Evdokia Fedorovna). Prince Romodanovsky died at an old age, on September 17, 1717; buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Evidence from contemporaries

Perhaps the only contemporary who left a subjective review of the character and activities of Prince Romodanovsky was B.I. Kurakin, who mentioned him in his “Historia about Tsar Peter Alekseevich and those close to him”:

This prince was of a particular nature; looking like a monster; an evil tyrant in character; great desirer of good to anyone; drunk all day; but His Majesty was faithful in a way that no one else was.<...>We will also mention the power of him, Romodanovsky, which belongs to the search, betrayal, arguments, before anyone of any quality and person of the female or male sex came, he could take anyone into the search, arrest, and search, and on the search accomplish.

Family

The origin of Prince Romodanovsky's wife, Evdokia Vasilievna, is unknown. In marriage he had three children:

• Ivan (d. 1730), actual Privy Councilor (1725), Governor-General of Moscow (1727); after the death of his father, like him, he began to be called “Prince Caesar.” Married to Anastasia Saltykova (d. 1736), sister of Tsarina Praskovya Fedorovna. The last Prince Romodanovsky was, therefore, a brother-in-law of Tsar Ivan V. Of his offspring, he left only his daughter Catherine.
• Irina, wife of a lieutenant commander navy Vasily Vasilyevich Sheremetev.
• Fedosya, wife of Abram Lopukhin, brother of Tsarina Evdokia Fedorovna, executed on charges of conspiracy in 1718.

Artistic image

The image of the prince appears in A. N. Tolstoy’s novel “Peter I”, where Romodanovsky is described as a loyal associate of the tsar, tough, merciless, ready to take any measures to preserve Peter’s power. In modern literature, the image of the prince is found in the novel “The Ninth Savior” by Anatoly Brusnikin.

The following actors played Romodanovsky in films:

• Roman Filippov (“Youth of Peter”, “At the Beginning of Glorious Deeds”, 1980)
• Igor Butchko (“Young Russia”, 1981-1982)
• Omar Sharif (“Peter the Great”, 1986)
• Sergey Shakurov (“Peter the First. Testament”, 2011)

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The similarity is undeniable

The first in the photo is Prince “Caesar” Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky (c. 1640 - September 17 (September 28) 1717) - a Russian statesman who actually led the Russian kingdom during the absence of Peter I in the capital. In 1686-1717, the head of the Preobrazhensky order of investigative cases, in addition, led the Siberian and Apothecary orders. Owner of the Ropsha manor.

The second in the photo is Konstantin Olegovich Romodanovsky (born October 31, 1956, Moscow) - head of the Federal Migration Service. Born into a family of doctors.
In 1980 he graduated from the Moscow Medical Institute. Worked as a junior researcher at the Research Institute of Forensic Medicine.
In 1982 he entered the higher courses of the KGB of the USSR in Minsk.
Since 1983 - in the Fifth Directorate of the KGB of the USSR. Since 1992 - in the Internal Security Directorate of the FSB of Russia. In 2000-2001 - First Deputy Head of the Internal Security Directorate of the FSB of Russia.
From 2001 to 2004, he headed the Main Directorate for Security of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. In 2005, he was appointed director of the Federal Migration Service, has the special rank of colonel general of police, but since June 9, 2011 he has headed the FMS as a civilian. Since August 2012 - Head of the Federal Migration Service of Russia. In 2013, he was awarded the rank of federal minister.

A very dark story with Peter. A king who did not live in his country for YEARS and still retained power. Here our people can’t escape to Crimea or Sochi for a week, there’s a coup. Let's see how Khrushchev or Gorbachov were removed. Power DOES NOT TOLERATE EMPTINITY. There is no such thing in nature that you leave power for TWO (!!) years and nothing.

You can’t even leave your company for a couple of weeks - it will be completely plundered.
Most likely Peter1 is not who he claims to be. This is a figurehead. The power in his person was seized by pirates (London).
This is what the wiki writes about Romodanovsky, a representative of the most noble Romodanovsky family in the XXIII generation from Rurik.

It seems that the pirates played on the contradictions between the Horde (Genghisids) and the old Rurik family. That is, we see the same phenomena as in the so-called civil war, Workers' and Peasants' Army you say? Or maybe a war between two clans? part 2
Briefly speaking: "the bar is swearing, the slaves' forelocks are cracking"

I found good material on this topic based on a tattoo from my reader.
Thus, Russia managed to be under the Europeans for only about 200 years. After which the Genghisids, in a military coup (the so-called Great Revolution), recaptured the Horde from the Europeans. But the position and sympathies of the author are on the side of the Ordyntsev. I don’t know whether it’s for the money or whether he’s a sincere Spartak fan. But at the end of the article there is a very interesting hypothesis.
“And the “tie” is hidden here (Ivan F. son of Fyodor Yu.): “...Prince Ivan Fedorovich was married to Anastasia Feodorovna Saltykova (d. September 2, 1736), my own sister Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna, wife of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich.""

It is because of her that I decided to present this article to your consideration:

Original taken from masterdl c Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky - Peter’s closest steward.

I think that the rotten tradition of replacing kings began with him.

For, otherwise, it is impossible to explain the miraculous absence of two years from the throne, and then the return of the tsar, who was recognized as such only by Romodanovsky himself and the rogue Menshikov (the only member of the delegation who returned alive), it is impossible.

And they returned (“back”) the king to the throne, because a reason was found that the conspirators had not suspected before...

And where now in the canonical history textbook, written by Himself for the education of the future slaves of the empire, will they write Peter the Great under Caesar, the one who is no longer “the creeper”? When I could no longer write without a pipe - so shameful illnesses overcame me... I lived more and more as a guest of the governor of Ingermanland - thief Menshikov.
After all, he was the “Great Peter” who reassembled the scattered...from what? Where did the huge Tartaria and its people, the Tartars, go? They seem to have come to their senses with the murky topic of the Horde (“yoke”), but with the “times of Peter the Great,” without a hint, they didn’t?

And Nikolai Zlobin prompted me to this idea with his simple question to the “red devil” (Prokhanov): Why are you all boasting about the past? And there is nothing but a hearth painted in charcoal by Papa Carlo on canvas.

And there was also a remark from Boldyrev, who was from the first composition of Yabloko, - they say, if “condemns” are heard throughout the entire vertical of power, it means that the tsar’s slaves were ordered to speak like that...

Oh, just, wow, the “federal slaves” in the regions were announced today that their numbers would be reduced, but they didn’t know how to work, don’t want to, and never will. This means that we either need to uncover captured “parabellums” and dig ditches for multi-layer organic fertilizers...or unseal the places of atonement for sins - concentration camps.
Judging by the confiscation reforms of the tsar, the trend has emerged as quite “formidable” - heads will be cut off, the property of the boyars will be taken away for the benefit of the treasury.
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From the public part:
"

(about 1640-1717), prince, statesman, associate of Peter I and the de facto ruler of the country in his absence. He headed the Preobrazhensky Order.

Romodanovsky Fedor Yurievich(about 1640-1717, St. Petersburg) - statesman, prince. A close associate of Peter I from the mid-1680s, a participant in his amusements and military amusements. The young tsar appropriated it to Romodanovsky. the magnificent title of “Generalissimo of the Amusing Troops”, personally deprived him of his beard and ancient Russian caftan. From 1686 until his death, Romodanovsky headed the Preobrazhensky Prikaz, which was in charge of the fight against political crimes. He enjoyed the unlimited trust of Peter I and possessed enormous power. In 1697, Peter I, going abroad, ordered Romodanovsky: “Rule Moscow, and all the boyars and judges follow him, Romodanovsky, and come to everyone and advise him whenever he wants.” He showed devotion to Peter I, extraordinary abilities as an administrator and exceptional cruelty during the investigation, terrifying his contemporaries with his very name. After the death of Romodanovsky, who was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, which, according to the plan of Peter I, was to become the pantheon of the capital, his son Ivan Fedorovich Romodanovsky was appointed in his place.

Romodanovsky Fedor Yurievich[about 1640-17(28).9.1717], prince, Russian statesman. From the mid-1680s. close associate of Peter I, participated in the military amusements and exercises of the young tsar. In 1686-1717 headed the Preobrazhensky order. Infinitely devoted to Peter I, Romodanovsky enjoyed the unlimited trust of the tsar and possessed enormous power, especially after the exclusive right of investigation in cases of state and political crimes was transferred to his jurisdiction in 1697. During the frequent absences of Peter I from Moscow in 1695-1696. (Azov campaigns) and in 1697-1698. (Grand Embassy) Romodanovsky was actually the ruler of the country. During the investigation he was distinguished by exceptional cruelty.

Literature:

1. Bogoslovsky M. M., Peter the Great. Materials for biography, vol. 1-5. M., 1940-48;


2. Golikova N. B., Political processes under Peter I. Based on materials from the Preobrazhensky Prikaz, M., 1957.

Romodanovsky (Fedor Yurievich) - prince. At first he was a nearby steward and managed the Preobrazhensky Prikaz. Respecting him for his proven loyalty and love of truth, the king Peter chose him as commander of the amusing and regular army, and after the Kozhukhov campaign he began to call him generalissimo and gave him military honors. Going on a trip abroad in 1697, Peter the Great entrusted Romodanovsky with the administration of the state, giving him the title of Prince Caesar and His Majesty. During this trip, the Streletsky riot arose, a strict investigation of which was entrusted to Romodanovsky. He also had to supervise Sofya Alekseevna. In addition to the Preobrazhensky order, Romodanovsky also managed the Siberian and Aptekarsky orders and during the war supervised the casting of cannons and mortars, the manufacture of bombs and other military shells. In his home life he was distinguished by an unusually strict disposition and adhered to old Russian customs. Married to Praskovya Fedorovna Saltykova, Romodanovsky was a close relative of Peter I, who in his letters to him usually wrote: “Min Her Kenig! Your letter is from the state..." and at the end: "Your Majesty's lowest subject Piter." After his death, his son, Prince Ivan (died in 1730), was elevated by Peter I to the dignity of Prince Caesar. In 1725, Catherine I granted Romodanovsky and his closest servants full-time state councilors, and Peter II in 1727 appointed him governor-general in Moscow; He stayed in this rank for only two years and retired."

And the “tie” is hidden here (Ivan F. son of Fyodor Yu.): “...Prince Ivan Fedorovich was married to Anastasia Feodorovna Saltykova (d. September 2, 1736), the sister of Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna, king's wife

After the death of the Russian Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich in 1682, his stepmother, the Dowager Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, nominated her son Peter to the throne. This event, by coincidence, did not coincide with the best of times - discontent was brewing in the Streltsy troops, which did not bode well.

At the end of the 18th century, the Streltsy reigned in real tyranny: exorbitantly hard work, corporal punishment, and on top of that the Streltsy long time did not receive a salary, which was not too much anyway. The boyars dissatisfied with the Naryshkins and her other opponents decided to take advantage of this. By hook or by crook, they managed to turn the archers against the future king and his mother. The main role here was played by the rumors they spread that allegedly on the instructions of the Naryshkins, Peter’s half-brother, the son from Alexei Mikhailovich’s first marriage to Maria Ilinichnaya Miloslavskaya, the feeble-minded Ivan, was killed.

On May 15, 1682, the Streltsy troops marched in an organized formation through the whole of Moscow and headed to the royal palace. The demand of the confused archers was to show them Tsarevich Ivan alive and unharmed.

"Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna shows Ivan V to the archers"
(N.D. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky, 1862)

When this was done and the conflict seemed to be settled, Prince Mikhail Dolgorukov added fuel to the fire. He began to use a whip to drive away the archers who were already ready to flare up. It was then that they remembered humiliation, corporal punishment and other insults. The uncontrollable crowd instantly grabbed hold of Dolgorukov and chopped him into small pieces. And boyar blood flowed. And although order was soon restored after the Streltsy unrest, the danger of new conspiracies still remained. For ill-wishers, the young king was still object No. 1.

It was at this time that he began his ascent into Russian history little-known Prince Fyodor Romodanovsky.

Romodanovsky's first position at court was that of a sleeper - the night guard of young Peter.
And for this in the future, Peter I generously thanked him. Fyodor Yuryevich was appointed head of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz - the future secret police of Russia. From that moment on, the prince began to enjoy not only enormous power, but also the unlimited trust of the king. When going to Europe or on military campaigns, Peter invariably left him to reign for himself.
According to military regulations, the prince had the status of generalissimo, and all military ranks were subordinate to him. You could really rely on Romodanovsky. This is how one of his contemporaries spoke of him: “... he looks like a monster, the disposition of an evil tyrant... but he is faithful to His Majesty like no other.”

Romodanovsky received the right to deal with all political and state criminals. Despite his high position, he spent most of his time in the so-called torture huts, looking for sedition. In those days, both children and adults were frightened by the name of the prince, and the Preobrazhensky order, headed by him, terrified not only criminals, but also all residents of Russia.

Even Peter himself more than once reproached Romodanovsky for cruelty. So in a letter dated December 22, 1697, he wrote to him from Amsterdam: “Beast! How long have you been burning people? And the wounded from you have come here...”

Romodanovsky especially distinguished himself during the suppression of the new Streltsy revolt that occurred in the summer of 1698. This time the reason was the command’s decision to send some of the archers to guard the western borders of Russia. True, this was just an excuse. If 16 years ago they came out to prevent Peter from coming to power, this time their true goal was his overthrow. Their ideological inspiration was the Tsar's half-sister Sophia, who set out to regain power.

So, in June 1698, in accordance with the order, the armed archers left the capital and headed to a new duty station. However, after a while they spat on all orders and turned towards Moscow. At the New Jerusalem Monastery, troops under the command of Romodanovsky and commanders Shein and Gordon were already waiting for deserters. The archers rushed to their heels, but the outnumbered and much better trained government troops quickly surrounded them and disarmed them. Romodanovsky, right at the scene of the fight, within a few hours, managed to carry out both the investigation and the trial. The result of such unprecedented actions was the execution of 57 ringleaders. All of them were suspended on rather original gallows - on cart shafts.

The Tsar was not in Moscow at that moment, and Romodanovsky was “acting”. When Peter returned to the capital, he ordered the investigation to be resumed. He decided to start it by interrogating the main instigator - his sister. His assistant and right hand, naturally, was Romodanovsky.
Despite the fact that the interrogation lasted many hours, Sophia completely denied her participation in the riot. I must say that terrible torture, which the rest of the riot participants were subjected to, were not applied to the princess. Peter simply renounced his sister, ordered her to be tonsured as a nun and left in a monastery for the rest of her life.
Princess Sophia died in the monastery under the name of nun Susanna in 1704.

"Princess Sophia in the Novodevichy Convent"
(I.E. Repin, 1879)

A terrible fate awaited the surviving archers. Additional torture chambers were equipped for them. Moreover, torture was used in any case - the accused confessed or denied his guilt. Since this was a real conveyor belt of death, torture was not varied. First, the prisoner, with his hands tied behind his back, was pulled up on the rack, then they began to torture him with hot metal tongs. Those who continued to persist were hung by their ribs on a metal hook. True, there were very few of them - most of the archers already at the beginning of the execution admitted that they intended to overthrow the tsar in conspiracy with Princess Sophia. All of them inevitably faced a death sentence.

It was a mass execution, and it consisted of several stages.
Each execution looked unusually ominous.

"Morning of the Streltsy Execution"
(V.I. Surikov, 1881)

Its first stage took place on September 30, 1698. On this day, the prisoners were taken to Red Square, where 200 Streltsy heads were cut off at Lobnoye Mesto in front of a large crowd of people. However, there were not enough wooden blocks for such a massive execution, and Romodanovsky ordered the use of ordinary long logs. Several dozen people were beheaded at once in a conveyor belt fashion.
The executioners on this day were not only professional masters of the scaffold - the heads of the archers were cut off by the tsar himself, as well as his right hand- Romodanovsky. True, unlike regular executioners, the heads of the condemned did not always fly off after the first blow of their axes.
What can I say? In the end, an executioner is also a profession, and Tsar Peter and Romonanovsky are executioners at heart, but they still did not have enough practice in this. How can one not recall the famous quatrain of V. Vishnevsky:

"The executioner knows no rest,
But still, damn it
Working outdoors
Working with people..."

The execution continued on October 11. This time two long thick logs were used, on each of which the heads of 25 people rested. Like last time, both the Tsar and Romodanovsky took part in the execution. Tired of swinging an ax, the king turned to the crowd with a request to replace him. And they were found...

Soon several barrels of vodka were rolled out onto Red Square, and the execution turned into a real orgy. Intoxicated spectators approached the blood-stained logs and took up heavy axes. They no longer cared whose heads fell at their feet. After this, Peter approached them and joyfully presented one or another gift. This whole nightmare lasted for almost a week.

The third stage of the bloody drama took place in February 1699. It differed from the previous ones in that heads were no longer chopped off here. The rebels were simply hanged on the walls of the Novodevichy Convent.
The execution this time had another great significance: Princess Sophia was kept within the walls of this monastery. The sight of two hundred hanged men, whose corpses hung on the walls of the monastery until the beginning of spring, spoke for itself.

The chief executioner of Peter I, Fyodor Romodanovsky, who in his bloodiness probably surpassed the famous executioner of Ivan the Terrible, Malyuta Skuratov, is for some reason much less known as a mass murderer than the actual head of the oprichnina.
Why?
And in all likelihood because in our historiography and in the public historical consciousness the role of the first Russian Tsar and the first Russian Emperor. Ivan IV, unfortunately, is perceived for the most part as a bloody tyrant and villain. Whereas Peter I is like the greatest reformer.
But is this really so? Or again, are the notorious “double standards” at work here?

Prince Caesar Fyodor Romodanovsky was the head of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz until his death in 1717. He died at the age of 77, quite respectable for that time. But he was replaced in this post by his son, Ivan Fedorovich, who continued the work of his father (the Preobrazhensky order was abolished only in 1726, but continued its activities under other names - the Preobrazhensky Office, the Office of Secret and Investigative Affairs, etc.).

Thank you for your attention.
Sergey Vorobiev.