First Romanov Czar of Russia Is Crowned
On February 21, 1613, Michael Romanov was crowned as the first czar of the Romanov dynasty, marking a significant turning point in Russian history. His ascension came after a tumultuous period known as the Time of Troubles, which followed the death of Ivan the Terrible in 1584. The subsequent power struggles, civil unrest, and foreign intervention led to a chaotic environment where various factions vied for control, resulting in the temporary installation of the False Dmitry by Poland and Lithuania. This era of instability saw the collapse of civil governance and widespread anarchy until 1612, when Prince Pozharsky's army liberated Moscow from foreign occupation. The following Zemsky Sobor, a gathering of nobles and church officials, ultimately elected Michael Romanov to lead the nation. His coronation not only ended years of turmoil but also initiated a dynasty that would govern Russia for over 300 years, concluding with the Russian Revolution in 1917. Michael Romanov's reign laid the foundation for the future expansion and modernization of the Russian state.
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First Romanov Czar of Russia Is Crowned
First Romanov Czar of Russia Is Crowned
On February 21, 1613, Michael Romanov was crowned czar of Russia, ending a long period of civil strife and initiating a dynasty that would rule for more than 300 years.
The Time of Troubles, as this long period of strife was called, began with the death of Ivan the Terrible, who had been grand duke of Muscovy from 1533 to 1547 and czar of Russia from 1547 to 1584, during which time he expanded the territory of the empire. However, when Ivan died in 1584 his weak and sickly son Fyodor I inherited the throne. He lacked his father's ferocious ability and the empire fell into disorder. An advisor and nobleman named Boris Godunov became the de facto ruler of Russia and then, after Fyodor died childless, made himself czar. Since Godunov had no serious dynastic claim to the throne, he was open to challenge, and challengers arose: a bloody struggle for power ensued.
After Godunov died in 1605, the neighboring states of Poland and Lithuania seized the opportunity to manipulate the succession in Russia. A weak and compliant ruler would serve their interests best, since they both feared further Russian expansion, so they combined forces to install Dmitry I, or the False Dmitry, as czar. The boyars, Russian nobles, rebelled and killed Dmitry. For the next several years various parties contended for the throne, with constant warfare between and among the boyars, peasants fearful of boyar power, and armies from Poland and Sweden seeking to take advantage of the situation. Civil government collapsed, and there was anarchy throughout the land.
Finally, in 1612 an army under Prince Pozharsky liberated Moscow from the Polish army. He summoned a Zemsky Sobor—an assembly of nobles, high church officials, and representatives from cities across Russia. They elected Michael Romanov, great-nephew of Ivan the Terrible's wife Anastasia Romanovna, to be czar. Crowned on February 21, 1613, Michael Romanov became the first of the Romanov dynasty, which would rule Russia until the Revolution of 1917.