Where did the Romanov family come from? Genealogical tree of the Romanov dynasty with photos and dates of reign

Appendix 3. Genealogical tree of the genus

The Romanovs are a large family of rulers and tsars of Russia, an old boyar family. The family tree of the Romanov dynasty goes back to the 16th century. Numerous descendants of this famous family live today and continue the ancient family.

House of Romanov 4th century

At the beginning of the 17th century, a celebration was celebrated dedicated to the accession to the throne of Moscow by Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. The crowning of the kingdom, which took place in the Kremlin in 1613, marked the beginning of a new dynasty of kings.

The family tree of the Romanovs gave Russia many great rulers. The family chronicle dates back to 1596.

Origin of the surname

The Romanovs are an inaccurate historical surname. The first known representative of the family was the boyar Andrei Kobyla back in the days of the ruling prince Ivan Kalita. The descendants of the Mare were called Koshkins, then Zakharyins. It was Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin who was officially recognized as the founder of the dynasty. His daughter Anastasia married Tsar Ivan the Terrible, they had a son, Fedor, who, in honor of his grandfather, took the surname Romanov and began to be called Fedor Romanov. Thus was born the famous surname.

The family tree of the Romanovs grows from the Zakharyins, but historians do not know from what places they came to Muscovy. Some experts believe that the family was Novgorod natives, others argue that the family comes from Prussia.

Their descendants became the most famous royal dynasty in the world. A large family is called the "House of the Romanovs". The family tree is extensive and huge, it has branches in almost all the kingdoms of the world.

In 1856 they acquired an official coat of arms. In the sign of the Romanovs, a vulture is represented, which holds a fabulous blade and a tarch in its paws, the edges were decorated with cut-off heads of lions.

Ascension to the throne

In the 16th century, the boyars Zakharyins acquired a new position, having become related to Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Now all relatives could hope for the throne. The chance to seize the throne turned out pretty soon. After the interruption of the Rurik dynasty, the decision to take the throne was taken up by the Zakharyins.

Fyodor Ioannovich, who, as mentioned earlier, took the surname Romanov in honor of his grandfather, was the most likely contender for the throne. However, Boris Godunov prevented him from ascending the throne, forcing him to take tonsure. But this did not stop the smart and enterprising Fyodor Romanov. He accepted the rank of patriarch (called Filaret) and through intrigues elevated his son Mikhail Fedorovich to the throne. The 400-year-old era of the Romanovs began.

Chronology of the reign of direct representatives of the genus

• 1613-1645 - the years of the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov;
• 1645-1676 - the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov;
• 1676-1682 - autocracy of Fedor Alekseevich Romanov;
• 1682-1696 - formally in power, John Alekseevich, was co-ruler of his younger brother Peter Alekseevich (Peter I), but did not play any political role,
• 1682-1725 - the Romanov family tree was continued by the great and authoritarian ruler Peter Alekseevich, better known in history as Peter I. In 1721 he established the title of emperor, since then Russia has become known as the Russian Empire.

In 1725, Empress Catherine I ascended the throne as the wife of Peter I. After her death, a direct descendant of the Romanov dynasty, Pyotr Alekseevich Romanov, the grandson of Peter I (1727-1730), again came to power.

• 1730-1740 - Anna Ioannovna Romanova, niece of Peter I, ruled the Russian Empire;
• 1740-1741 - formally, Ioann Antonovich Romanov, great-grandson of Ioann Alekseevich Romanov, was in power;
• 1741-1762 - as a result of a palace coup, Elizabeth Petrovna Romanova, daughter of Peter I, came to power;
• 1762 - Pyotr Fedorovich Romanov (Peter III), nephew of Empress Elizabeth, grandson of Peter I, rules for half a year.

Further history

1. 1762-1796 - after the overthrow of her husband Peter III, Catherine II rules the empire
2. 1796-1801 - Pavel Petrovich Romanov, son of Peter I and Catherine II, came to power. Officially, Paul I belongs to the Romanov family, but historians are still fiercely arguing about his origin. Many consider him an illegitimate son. If we assume this, then in fact the family tree of the Romanov dynasty ended with Peter III. Further rulers may not have been blood descendants of the dynasty.

After the death of Peter I, the Russian throne was often occupied by women representing the Romanov dynasty. The family tree became more branched, as the descendants of kings from other states were chosen as husbands. Already Paul I established the law, according to which only a blood successor of the male sex has the right to become king. And since that time, women have not been married to the kingdom.

• 1801-1825 - reign of Emperor Alexander Pavlovich Romanov (Alexander I);
• 1825-1855 - reign of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich Romanov (Nicholas I);
• 1855-1881 - Sovereign Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov (Alexander II) rules;
• 1881-1894 - the years of the reign of Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov (Alexander III);
• 1894-1917 - the autocracy of Nikolai Aleksandrovich Romanov (Nicholas II), together with his family, was shot by the Bolsheviks. The imperial genealogical tree of the Romanovs was destroyed, and together with it the monarchy in Rus' collapsed.

How did the dynasty end?

In July 1917, the entire royal family, including children, Nikolai, his wife, was executed. Shot and the only successor, the heir to Nicholas. All relatives hiding in different places were identified and exterminated. Only those Romanovs who were outside of Russia survived.

Nicholas II, who acquired the name "Bloody" because of the thousands killed during the revolutions, became the last emperor to represent the Romanov dynasty. The genealogical tree of the descendants of Peter I was interrupted. Outside of Russia, the descendants of the Romanovs from other branches continue to live.

Board results

During the 3 centuries of the reign of the dynasty, many bloodsheds and uprisings took place. Nevertheless, the Romanov family, whose genealogical tree covered half of Europe with a shadow, benefited Russia:

• complete distance from feudalism;
• the family increased the financial, political, military power of the Russian Empire;
• the country was transformed into a large and powerful State, which became on an equal footing with the developed European states.

The House of Romanov celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2013. The day when Mikhail Romanov was proclaimed tsar remained in the distant past. For 304 years, the descendants of the Romanov family ruled Russia.

For a long time it was believed that with the execution of the imperial family of Nicholas II, the entire royal dynasty was finished. But even today the descendants of the Romanovs live, the Imperial House exists to this day. The dynasty is gradually returning to Russia, to its cultural and social life.

Who belongs to the dynasty

The Romanov clan originates in the 16th century, with Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin. He had five children, who gave rise to numerous offspring that have survived to this day. But the fact is that most of the descendants no longer bear this surname, that is, they were born on the maternal side. Representatives of the dynasty are considered only the descendants of the Romanov family in the male line, who bear an old surname.

Boys in the family were born less often, and many were childless. Because of this, the royal family was almost interrupted. The branch was revived by Paul I. All the living descendants of the Romanovs are the heirs of Emperor Pavel Petrovich,

Branching family tree

Paul I had 12 children, two of them illegitimate. Their ten legitimate children are four sons:

• Alexander I, who ascended the Russian throne in 1801, did not leave behind legitimate heirs to the throne.
• Konstantin. He was married twice, but the marriages were childless. Had three who were not recognized as descendants of the Romanovs.
• Nicholas I, All-Russian Emperor since 1825. He had three daughters and four sons from his marriage to the Prussian princess Frederica Louise Charlotte, in Orthodoxy Anna Feodorovna.
• Michael was married with five daughters.

Thus, only the sons of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I continued the Romanov dynasty. So all the remaining descendants of the Romanovs are his great-great-great-grandchildren.

Continuation of the dynasty

Sons of Nicholas I: Alexander, Constantine, Nicholas and Michael. They all left behind offspring. Their lines are informally called:

• Alexandrovichi - the line went from Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov. Now live the direct descendants of the Romanovs-Ilyinskys Dmitry Pavlovich and Mikhail Pavlovich. Unfortunately, they are both childless, and with their passing away, this line will be stopped.
• Konstantinovichi - the line originates from Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov. The last direct descendant of the Romanovs in the male line died in 1992, and the branch was cut short.
• Nikolaevichi - descended from Romanov Nikolai Nikolaevich. To this day, a direct descendant of this branch, Dmitry Romanovich, lives and lives. He has no heirs, so the line is fading.
• The Mikhailovichi are the heirs of Mikhail Nikolaevich Romanov. It is to this branch that the rest of the Romanov-men who live today belong. This gives hope to the Romanov family for survival.

Where are the descendants of the Romanovs today

Many researchers were interested in whether the descendants of the Romanovs remained? Yes, this great family has male and female heirs. Some branches have already been interrupted, other lines will soon fade away, but the royal family still has hope for survival.

But where do the descendants of the Romanovs live? They are dispersed throughout the planet. Most of them do not know the Russian language and have never been to the homeland of their ancestors. Some people have different last names. Many got acquainted with Russia exclusively through books or reports from television news channels. And yet, some of them visit their historical homeland, they do charity work here and consider themselves Russians at heart.

When asked if there were descendants of the Romanovs, one can answer that today there are only about thirty known offspring of the royal family living in the world today. Of these, only two can be considered purebred, because their parents entered into marriages according to the laws of the dynasty. It is these two who can consider themselves full representatives of the Imperial House. In 1992, they were issued Russian passports to replace the refugee passports they used to live abroad until that time. Funds received as sponsorship from Russia allow family members to pay visits to their homeland.

It is not known how many people live in the world who have "Romanov" blood in their veins, but they do not belong to the family, as they came from the female line or from extramarital affairs. Nevertheless, genetically they also belong to an ancient family.

Head of the Imperial House

Prince Romanov Dmitry Romanovich became the Head of the House of Romanov after the death of Nikolai Romanovich, his elder brother.

Great-great-grandson of Nicholas I, great-grandson of Prince Nicholas Nikolaevich, son of Prince Roman Petrovich and Countess Praskovia Sheremetyeva. He was born in France on May 17, 1926.

Since 1936 he lived with his parents in Italy, later - in Egypt. In Alexandria, he worked at the Ford automobile plant: he worked as a mechanic, he sold cars. Upon returning to sunny Italy, he worked as a secretary in a shipping company.

I visited Russia for the first time back in 1953 as a tourist. When he got married in Denmark with his first wife, Johanna von Kaufmann, he settled in Copenhagen and worked there for more than 30 years in a bank.

All numerous members of the royal family call him the Head of the House, only the Kirillovich branch believes that he does not have legal rights to the throne due to the fact that his father was born in an unequal marriage (Kirillovichi, the heirs of Alexander II - this is Princess Maria Vladimirovna, who herself claims to the title of head of the Imperial House, and her son Georgy Mikhailovich, who claims the title of crown prince).

Dmitry Romanovich's old hobby is orders and medals from different countries. He has a large collection of awards, about which he writes a book.

The second time he was married in the Russian city of Kostroma with Dorrit Reventrow, a Danish translator, in July 1993. He has no children, therefore, when another last direct descendant of the Romanovs goes into the world, the branch of the Nikolaevichs will be cut short.

Legitimate members of the house, the fading branch of Alexandrovich

Today, such true representatives of the royal family are alive (in the male line from legal marriages, direct descendants of Paul I and Nicholas II, who bear the royal surname, the title of prince and belong to the Alexandrovich line):

• Romanov-Ilyinsky Dmitry Pavlovich, born in 1954 - the direct heir of Alexander II in the male line, lives in the USA, has 3 daughters, all married and changed their last names.
• Romanov-Ilyinsky Mikhail Pavlovich, born in 1959 - the half-brother of Prince Dmitry Pavlovich, also lives in the USA, has a daughter.

If the direct descendants of the Romanovs do not become fathers of sons, then the Alexandrovich line will be interrupted.

Direct descendants, princes and possible successors of the Romanov family - the most prolific branch of Mikhailovich

• Alexey Andreevich, born in 1953 - a direct descendant of Nicholas I, married, no children, lives in the USA.
• Petr Andreevich, born in 1961 - also a purebred Romanov, married, childless, lives in the USA.
• Andrei Andreevich, born in 1963 - legally belongs to the Romanov family, has a daughter from his second marriage, lives in the USA.
• Rostislav Rostislavovich, born in 1985 - the direct successor of the clan, not yet married, lives in the USA.
• Nikita Rostislavovich, born in 1987 - a legitimate descendant, not yet married, lives in the UK.
• Nicholas-Christopher Nikolaevich, born in 1968, is a direct descendant of Nicholas I, lives in the USA, has 2 daughters.
• Daniel Nikolaevich, born in 1972 - a legal member of the Romanov family, married, lives in the USA, has a daughter and a son.
• Daniil Danilovich, born in 2009 - the youngest legitimate descendant of the royal family in the male line, lives with his parents in the United States.

As can be seen from the family tree, only the branch of Mikhailovich gives hope for the continuation of the royal family - the direct heirs of Mikhail Nikolaevich Romanov, the youngest son of Nicholas I.

Descendants of the Romanov family who cannot inherit the royal family, and controversial applicants for membership of the Imperial House

• Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, born in 1953 - Her Imperial Highness, who claims the title of Head of the Russian Imperial House, is the legitimate heiress of Alexander II, belongs to the Alexandrovich line. Until 1985, she was married to Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia, from whom in 1981 she gave birth to her only son George. At birth, he was given the patronymic Mikhailovich and the surname Romanov.
• Georgy Mikhailovich, born in 1981 - the son of Princess Romanova Maria Vladimirovna and the Prince of Prussia, claims the title of Tsarevich, however, most representatives of the Romanov family rightly do not recognize his rights, since he is not a descendant in the direct male line, namely, the right of inheritance is transferred through the male line. His birth is a joyful event in the Prussian palace.
• Princess Elena Sergeevna Romanova (by her husband Nirot), born in 1929, lives in France, one of the last representatives of the Romanov family, belongs to the Alexandrovich line.
• born in 1961 - the legal heir of Alexander II, now lives in Switzerland. His grandfather George was an illegitimate son from the Emperor's relationship with Princess Dolgorukova. After the relationship was legalized, all the children of Dolgorukova were recognized as legitimate from Alexander II, but the Yuryevsky received the surname. Therefore, de jure, George (Hans-Georg) does not belong to the Romanov family, although de facto he is the last descendant of the Romanov dynasty in the male line of the Alexandrovichs.
• Princess Tatyana Mikhailovna, born in 1986 - belongs to the house of the Romanovs along the line of Mikhailovich, but as soon as he gets married and changes his surname, he will lose all rights. Lives in Paris.
• Princess Alexandra Rostislavovna, born in 1983 - also a hereditary descendant of the Mikhailovich branch, not married, lives in the USA.
• Princess Karline Nikolaevna, born in 2000 - is the legal representative of the Imperial House in the line of Mikhailovich, unmarried, lives in the USA,
• Princess Chelly Nikolaevna, born in 2003 - a direct descendant of the royal family, not married, a US citizen.
• Princess Madison Danilovna, born in 2007 - on the line of Mikhailovich, a legal family member, lives in the USA.

Unification of the Romanov family

All other Romanovs are children of morganatic marriages, and therefore cannot belong to the Russian Imperial House. All of them are united by the so-called "Association of the Romanov family", which was headed in 1989 by Nikolai Romanovich and performed this duty until his death, in September 2014.

The biographies of the most prominent representatives of the Romanov dynasty of the 20th century are described below.

Romanov Nikolay Romanovich

Great-great-grandson of Nicholas I. Watercolor painter.

Saw the light on September 26, 1922 near the French city of Antibes. There he spent his childhood. In 1936 he moved to Italy with his parents. In this country, in 1941, directly from Mussolini, he received an offer to become the king of Montenegro, which he refused. Later he lived in Egypt, then again in Italy, in Switzerland, where he married Countess Svevadella Garaldeschi, then returned to Italy again, where in 1993 he took citizenship.

"Association" headed in 1989. On his initiative, in Paris in 1992, a congress of the Romanov-men was convened, at which a decision was made to create the Russian Relief Fund. In his opinion, Russia should be a federal republic, where the central government is strong, the powers of which are strictly limited.

He has three daughters. Natalia, Elizaveta and Tatyana started families with Italians.

Vladimir Kirillovich

Born on August 17, 1917 in Finland, in exile with Sovereign Kirill Vladimirovich. He was raised as a truly Russian person. He was fluent in Russian, many European languages, knew the history of Russia perfectly, was a well-educated erudite person and felt true pride that he belongs to Russia.

At twenty, the last direct descendant of the Romanovs in the male line became the Head of the Dynasty. It was enough for him to enter into an unequal marriage, and by the 21st century there would no longer be legitimate members of the imperial family.

But he met Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhranskaya, daughter of the Head of the Georgian Royal House, who became his legal wife in 1948. In this marriage, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna was born in Madrid.

For several decades he was the Head of the Russian Imperial House and, by his own decree, announced the right of his daughter, born in a legal marriage, to inherit the throne.

In May 1992 he was buried in St. Petersburg in the presence of many family members.

Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna

The only daughter of Prince Vladimir Kirillovich, a member of the Imperial House in exile, and Leonida Georgievna, daughter of the Head of the Georgian Royal House, Prince George Alexandrovich Bagration-Mukhransky. Born legally on December 23, 1953. Her parents provided her with a good upbringing and an excellent education. At the age of 16, she swore allegiance to Russia and its peoples.

After graduating from Oxford University, she received a degree in philology. He is fluent in Russian, many European and Arabic languages. She has worked in administrative positions in France and Spain.

The imperial family owns a modest apartment in Madrid. The house in France was sold due to the inability to maintain it. The family maintains an average standard of living - by the standards of Europe. Has Russian citizenship.

Upon reaching the age of majority in 1969, according to the dynastic act issued by Prince Vladimir Kirillovich, she was proclaimed guardian of the throne. In 1976, she married Prince Franz Wilhelm of Prussia. With the adoption of Orthodoxy, he received the title of Prince Mikhail Pavlovich. The current pretender to the Russian throne, Prince Georgy Mikhailovich, was born from this marriage.

Tsesarevich Georgy Mikhailovich

He claims to be the heir to the title of His Imperial Highness the Sovereign.

The only son of Princess Maria Vladimirovna and the Prince of Prussia, born in marriage on March 13, 1981 in Madrid. A direct descendant of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, Russian Emperor Alexander II, Queen Victoria of England.

He graduated from school in Saint-Briac, then continued his studies in Paris at the College of St. Stanislaus. Lives in Madrid since 1988. He considers French to be his native language, he is fluent in Spanish and English, he knows Russian a little worse. He first saw Russia in 1992, when he accompanied the body of his grandfather, Prince Vladimir Kirillovich, together with his family to the burial place. His independent visit to the Motherland took place in 2006. He worked in the European Parliament, the European Commission. Single.

In the House's anniversary year, it established a cancer research fund.

Andrey Andreevich Romanov

Great-great-grandson of Nicholas I, great-grandson of Alexander III. Born in London on January 21, 1923. Now lives in the United States, California, in Marin County. He knows the Russian language perfectly, because always and everyone in his family spoke Russian.

Graduated from London Imperial Service College. During World War II, he served on a warship of the British Navy as a sailor. It was then, escorting cargo ships to Murmansk, that he visited Russia for the first time.

He has been an American citizen since 1954. In America, he was engaged in agriculture: farming, agronomy, agricultural technology. I studied sociology. He worked for a shipping company.

Among his hobbies are painting and graphics. Creates works in a "childish" manner, as well as color drawings on plastic, which is later heat-treated.

He is in his third marriage. From the first marriage he has a son Alexei, from the second two: Peter and Andrey.

It is believed that neither he nor his sons have rights to the throne, but how candidates can be considered by the Zemsky Sobor on a par with other descendants.

Mikhail Andreevich Romanov

The great-great-grandson of Nicholas I, the great-grandson of Prince Mikhail Nikolaevich, was born in Versailles on July 15, 1920. Graduated from the Royal College of Windsor, London Institute of Aeronautical Engineers.

He served in the Second World War in Sydney in the Volunteer Air Force Reserve of the British Navy. He was demobilized in 1945 to Australia. There he remained to live, being engaged in the aviation industry.

He was an active member of the Maltese Order of the Orthodox Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, even elected protector and Grand Prior of the Order. He was part of the Australians for Constitutional Monarchy movement.

He was married three times: in February 1953 to Jill Murphy, in July 1954 to Shirley Crammond, in July 1993 to Julia Crespi. All marriages are unequal and childless.

He passed away in September 2008 in Sydney.

Romanov Nikita Nikitich

Great-great-grandson of Nicholas I. Born in London on May 13, 1923. Childhood passed in the UK, then in France.

He served in the British Army. In 1949 he moved to the USA. He received a master's degree in history from Berkeley University in 1960. He earned his living and studying by himself, working as a furniture upholsterer.

At Stanford University, and later at San Francisco, he taught history. He wrote and published a book about Ivan the Terrible (co-author - Pierre Payne).

His wife is Janet (Anna Mikhailovna - in Orthodoxy) Shonvald. Son Fedor committed suicide in 2007.

He repeatedly visited Russia, visited the estate of his business Ai-Todor in the Crimea. For the last forty years he lived in New York until he died in May 2007.

Brothers Dmitry Pavlovich and Mikhail Pavlovich Romanov-Ilyinsky (sometimes under the surname Romanovsky-Ilyinsky)

Dmitry Pavlovich, born in 1954, and Mikhail Pavlovich, born in 1960

Dmitry Pavlovich is married to Martha Mary McDowell, born in 1952, has 3 daughters: Katrina, Victoria, Lela.

Mikhail Pavlovich was married three times. First marriage to Marsha Mary Lowe, second to Paula Gay Mair and third to Lisa Mary Schiesler. In the third marriage, a daughter, Alexis, was born.

Currently, the descendants of the Romanov dynasty live in the United States, they recognize the legitimacy of the rights of members of the Imperial House to the Russian throne. Princess Maria Vladimirovna recognized their right to be called princes. Dmitry Romanovsky-Ilyinsky is recognized by her as the senior representative of the male gender of all the descendants of the Romanovs, regardless of what marriages they have.

Finally

For about a hundred years there has been no monarchy in Russia. But to this day, someone breaks spears, arguing about which of the living descendants of the royal family has the legal right to the Russian throne. Some still strongly demand the return of the monarchy. And although this issue is not easy, since laws and decrees relating to issues of succession to the throne are interpreted in different ways, disputes will continue. But they can be described by one Russian saying: the descendants of the Romanovs, whose photos are presented in the article, "share the skin of an unkilled bear."

February 21, 1613 at the Great Moscow Cathedral was sacked, that is acquired The founder of the new Royal Dynasty was the young boyar Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov. Spiritual difference between the volitional "collective" election majority and unanimous gaining the rightful Heir to the Throne through the conciliar test of God's will is very significant, although in historiographic literature it is customary to talk about the "election" of the Tsar by the Council. But the conciliar documents themselves testify only to a unanimous, unanimous appeal- the acquisition of a new Sovereign and Dynasty. The same documents call Tsar Michael the chosen one of God and not only a personal chosen one, but also according to the dignity of His Kind, chosen by God.

According to genealogical legends, the Russian boyar clan of the Romanovs originates from the voivode of the princely family Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla, who came from Veliky Novgorod around the 1330s to serve at the Court of Grand Duke John Danilovich Kalita. In some genealogical records, Andrei Kobyla is indicated as having arrived "from Prus", that is, from Prussia, or "from German". All these characteristics - from Lithuania, from Prussia or from the Germans do not contradict each other - they mean the same lands on the southeastern coast of the Varangian (Baltic) Sea.

Ancient Prussia - a vast region on the southeastern coast of the Baltic, in the first quarter of the XIII century was conquered by the German Teutonic Order and forcibly Germanized. But part of the lands of East Prussia at the same time was in the possession of the Principality of Lithuania, whose statehood, in turn, was based on the ancient Russian cultural tradition: until the first third of the 16th century, the written language of Lithuania was the Old Russian language, which was used for chronicling, legal and commercial office work.

These lands have been inhabited since ancient times by Japhetic Slavic and Baltic tribes, who lived in close cultural interaction. The surviving fragments of the Old Prussian language indicate its closeness, on the one hand, to the Slavic language, and, on the other hand, to the Baltic dialects, which then included the unwritten Lithuanian language.

Since ancient times, there has been a Prussian street in Veliky Novgorod. Located at the Zagorodsky End, it originated from the Pokrovsky Gates of the Novgorod Detinets (the central part of the Kremlin), and this was a place of settlement not for visiting foreigners, but for native Orthodox Novgorodians. The first mention of Prusskaya Street in the history of Novgorod dates back to 1218, when during the rebellion of the Trade Side and the Nerevsky End, Lyudin End and the inhabitants of Prusskaya Street supported the mayor Tverdislav. The name of the street is found in the Novgorod Chronicle and under 1230. But archaeological research indicates that long before 1218, a street already existed on this site as an urban structure, possibly with the same name, because the mention of 1218 does not refer to the foundation or name of this Prusskaya street. It’s just that the oldest reference to it that has come down to us belongs to this year. Another mention in the Novgorod chronicle dates back to 1230 - in connection with the temple of the Twelve Apostles on Propastekh, near which the Novgorodians who were dying of hunger in 1230 were buried en masse. It is also significant that the year 1218 testifies to the compact settlement of Orthodox Prussian Slavs in Novgorod even before the start of the capture of East Prussia in 1225 by the Teutonic Order.

Many noble primordially Novgorod families had their origin "from Prus". For example, the Prussian governor of Slavic origin, Mikhail Prushanin, was famous, who arrived in Veliky Novgorod with his retinue at the beginning of the 13th century and then served as Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky. According to some legends, Mikhail Prushanin participated in the famous Battle of the Neva (1240), according to others, his son was a participant in the battle.

Mikhail Prushanin was the ancestor of the Russian noble and boyar families Shestov, Morozov, Saltykov. The mother of Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich Xenia Ioannovna - the Great Nun Martha, was the daughter of Ivan Vasilyevich Shestov.

According to family tradition, Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla was one of the sons of the Prussian prince Divon Aleksa (the Bear), a direct descendant of the Prussian Tsar Videvut, whose life time is attributed to the 4th century AD.

Prince Divon received Holy Baptism in Veliky Novgorod with the name John. The famous Novgorodian, the hero of the Battle of the Neva, Gavrila Aleksich († 1241), according to legend, was the brother of Prince Divon-John, perhaps not a brother, but a cousin or second cousin. Gavrilo Aleksich also became the ancestor of many noble Russian families - the Pushkins, Akinfovs, Chelyadins, Khromykh-Davydovs, Buturlins, Sviblovs, Kamenskys, Kuritsyns, Zamytskys, Chulkovs and others.

Their common ancestor, the Prussian Tsar Videvut with his brother Prince Bruten, arrived along the Vistula or Neman on the coast of the Baltic and founded under their command an ancient Kingdom, which they apparently named Prussia after their ancestor Prus.

The name "Prusius" occurs repeatedly in the famous dynasty of the Thracian Kings, who reigned from the 5th to the 1st century BC. in Bithynia (Asia Minor) and in the Balkans. And in the name of the Prince brutus hen, brother of King Videvut, the name "Prus" also sounds remotely. In Latin, "Prussia" is written as "Borussia" (Borussia) or as "Prutenia" (Prutenia). In turn, "The Tale of St. Spiridon-Sava" and "The Tale of the Princes of Vladimir" indicate the origin of the Grand Duke Rurik of Novgorod from Prince Prus, the brother of Emperor Augustus. Roman history does not know such a sibling of Octavian Augustus, but the kinship, say, the legal relationship of the Emperor Augustus himself or his predecessor, First Consul Julius Caesar, with one of the descendants of the Bithynian Kings, who bore the name Prusius, could well have been, which was reported to us news from ancient Russian tradition. This indicates that, according to such genealogical legends, both the ancestors of the Grand Duke Rurik of Novgorod and the ancestors of the boyar Andrei Ivanovich Kobyly could have a common ancestor of royal origin.

Similar legends about the same and common roots in antiquity can be traced for most of the Royal European Dynasties, they are well known to specialists in the August genealogies. It is impossible to prove the documentary historical authenticity of such legends on the basis of strict written sources. But at the same time, history is not mathematics or classical physics, although it operates in the vast majority of historical material with fairly accurate chronological data and documented facts. Pointing to the understandable fragility of such genealogical traditions, which were recorded in writing only in the XIV-XVIII centuries, genuine historical science should not immediately reject them. On the contrary, it must testify to them and carefully preserve what the tribal memory of our ancestors has preserved and passed from mouth to mouth for many, many centuries, otherwise what is called "scientifically" will be rejected. human memory.

The very fact that Andrei Ioannovich Kobyla, who arrived from Veliky Novgorod in Moscow at the Court of the Moscow Grand Dukes John Kalita and Simeon Ioannovich the Proud, was boyar, indicates that this person at that time was famous for his nobility and nobility of origin. The boyar rank was the highest state rank in the hierarchy of that time, then at the same time, under the Grand Duke, the number of boyars rarely exceeded 5-6 people, such a high rank would simply not have been assigned to some obscure upstart in those days. Only really noble person the boyar Andrey Kobyla could have been sent in 1347 by the matchmaker of the Grand Duke of Vladimir and Moscow Simeon Ioannovich Proud to the Court of Prince Vsevolod Alexandrovich of Tver for his bride, Princess Maria Alexandrovna. Moreover, that marriage contract was associated with the most important diplomatic mission, as a result of which Prince Vsevolod Alexandrovich of Tverskoy had to abandon the khan's label on the Tver inheritance and return to the reign in the hill near Tver, transferring the reign of Tver to Prince Vasily Mikhailovich Kashinsky. Such difficult questions of dynastic marriages and change of destinies could not be entrusted to people of the ignoble, who were not versed in the intricacies of grand ducal diplomacy.

The very concept of “knowing” does not at all mean being widely known, as many now believe. The ancient Russian concept of “to know” denotes the bearers of special, hereditary knowledge about the wisdom of the Supreme Power, knowledge that was not taught anywhere, but was transmitted only from older generations to the younger from generation to generation. Noble people were the descendants of the bearers of the Supreme Power. Know - the keepers of the most ancient power traditions, representatives of noble families themselves were a living tradition, a living tradition, which, due to the secret nature of that knowledge, was not recorded in detail in writing, but this special knowledge was highly valued by others, put noble people in a special position in ancient society.

The ancient Prussians, under the leadership of Tsar Videvut and Prince Bruten, developed the cult of the sacred white horse, known to the Baltic Slavs from ancient times, and the cult of the sacred oak in the village of Romov, whose name may indicate the archaic memory of Apennine Rome (Roma). The symbolism of these cults was displayed on the coat of arms of Prussia, which depicted Videvut themselves with Bruten, and a white horse, and an oak tree. According to Moscow genealogies, it is known that A.I. Kobyla had five sons - Semyon Zherebets, Alexander Yolka, Vasily Ivantey, Gavriil Gavsha and Fedor Koshka. In addition, the noble Novgorod families of the Sukhovo-Kobylins and Kobylins are known, the origin of which the Novgorod and Tver genealogies associate with A.I. Kobyla.

Semyon Zherebets became the ancestor of Russian noble families - Zherebtsovs, Lodygins, Konovnitsyns, Kokorevs, Obraztsovs. The Kolychevs, Neplyuevs and Boborykins originate from Alexander Yolka. From Fedor Koshka - Koshkins, Romanovs, Sheremetevs, Yakovlevs, Golyatievs, Bezzubtsevs and others.

"Horse" themes in the nicknames Mare, Stallion, in surnames - Kobylins, Zherebtsovs, Konovnitsyns, toponym - Mare Settlement near Lake Peipsi not far from the site of the Battle of the Ice (1242), which, by the way, in 1556 was given by Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible to feed one from the Sukhovo-Kobylins, but according to written sources known with this name since the middle of the 15th century (the city of Kobyla) - all this may indicate the ancestral memory of the "totem" white horse of the Prussian Tsar Videvut. And the sacred oak from Romov is present on almost all the coats of arms of the above-mentioned noble families, originating from Andrei Kobyla.

Fedor Andreevich Koshka († 1407) was also a Moscow boyar; during the campaign of Grand Duke Dimitri Ioannovich to Kulikovo Field in 1380, the boyar Fedor Andreevich Koshka-Kobylin was entrusted with guarding Moscow. His eldest son Ivan Fedorovich Koshkin-Kobylin († 1427) was also very close to the Grand Duke Dimitry Donskoy (he is mentioned in this capacity in the will of Prince Dimitri), and then became a boyar under the Grand Duke Vasily I Dmitrievich († 1425) and even then young Grand Duke Vasily II Vasilyevich (1415-1462). His younger son Zakhary Ivanovich Koshkin-Kobylin († 1461) also held a high boyar position at the Court of Grand Duke Vasily II Vasilyevich.

At the same time, it should be noted that the boyar rank was never literally hereditary, although it was assigned only to the most noble people of the state, the boyar rank was necessarily earned by personal exploits and services to the Sovereign, although family ties along female lines were of no small importance. The service from generation to generation of the descendants of the boyar Andrei Kobyla to the Moscow Sovereigns in such high ranks meant the presence of high personal merits among representatives of this noble family. Unfortunately, no information has been preserved about the spouses of these four generations of statesmen, starting from Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla to Zakhary Ivanovich Koshkin. But there is no doubt that some of these marriages were concluded with representatives of the highest Moscow aristocracy, most of whom at that time were either direct, albeit distant descendants of the Grand Duke Rurik, or their closest relatives. It is this that can additionally explain the stability of the boyar status of the Kobylin-Koshkin family, when the degree of “competition” with direct Rurikovich could be mitigated precisely by family ties.

Under Grand Duke John III Vasilievich, Yuri Zakharyevich Zakharyin-Koshkin († 1504) became governor, participated in standing on the Ugra in 1480, in the campaign against Veliky Novgorod (1480) and Kazan in 1485, from 1488 he became the Grand Duke's Governor in Veliky Novgorod , where he eradicated the heresy of the Judaizers, and received the boyar rank in 1493. The wife of Yuri Zakharyevich Koshkin was the daughter of the Grand Duke's boyar Ivan Borisovich Tuchkov. I.B. Tuchkov was not a representative of the Moscow aristocracy, but came from a Novgorod boyar family and entered the service of the Grand Duke of Moscow, John III Vasilyevich. In 1477, already as a grand-ducal boyar, he carried out an important military-diplomatic mission to annex Veliky Novgorod to Moscow. Apparently, these "Novgorod" family ties can explain why the Moscow governor Yuri Zakharyevich Zakharyin-Koshkin in 1488 became governor in Novgorod. The boyar Yuri Zakharyevich had six sons, the names of five of them are Ivan, Grigory, Vasily, Mikhail, Roman and daughter Anna. Mikhail Yuryevich (†1538) served as a boyar title in 1521, Grigory Yuryevich (†1558) became a boyar in 1543.

Apparently, the youngest of the brothers - Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin-Yuryev († 1543) rose "only" to the rank of okolnichik and governor. But the rank of roundabout - the second after the boyar - was extremely high in the old Russian hierarchy, the number of roundabouts in the government of the Grand Duke usually did not exceed three or four. The very fact that his brothers were boyars testifies to the preservation of the high status of the family in this generation. Roman Yuryevich is mentioned in the categories of 1533 and 1538, he was married twice, the second of the wives was named Uliana (†1579), presumably nee Karpova, children: Dolmat (†1545), Daniil (†1571), Nikita, Anna, Anastasia. Daniil Romanovich Zakharin-Yuriev became a boyar in 1548.

Anna Romanovna married Prince Vasily Andreevich Sitsky (†1578) from the Yaroslavl branch of the Rurikovich. And the youngest daughter, the beautiful Anastasia Romanovna (†1560), became in 1547 the first Russian Tsarina - the wife of the young Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible. She gave birth to the Sovereign of six children, three Tsareviches - Demetrius, John and Theodore, and three daughters - Anna, Maria and Evdokia, Tsarevich Dimitri was negligently drowned in infancy, and three Daughters of the Russian Tsaritsa did not survive infancy.

Perhaps the most famous boyar from the direct descendants of Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla was his great-great-great-great-grandson Nikita Romanovich Zakharyin-Yuriev († 1586; before his death he took monastic vows with the name Nifont). He was one of the closest associates, advisers to Tsar John and educator of Tsarevichs John and Theodore. He became a roundabout in 1558, a boyar in 1562. The fame of the nobility of character and valor of Nikita Romanovich was so wide that the people composed songs about him that were sung centuries later.

Nikita Romanovich was married twice. His first wife was Varvara Ivanovna, née Khovrina († 1552). Khovrins came from the ancient Crimean Goth princely family of Gavras (in Tatar: Khovra). From his first marriage, Nikita Romanovich had two daughters - Anna Nikitichna († 1585), who married Prince Ivan Fedorovich Troekurov (from the Rurikovichi) and Evfimiya († 1602), married to a close relative of Prince Ivan Vasilyevich Sitsky.

After the death of Varvara Ivanovna in 1552, Nikita Romanovich married a second time to Evdokia Alexandrovna, nee Princess Humpback-Shuiskaya from the Rurik Family, from the Monomakhoviches through the line of the Suzdal Princes. Eleven more children of Nikita Romanovich are known from this marriage - the elder Fedor (in monasticism Filaret; †1633), Martha (†1610) - the wife of the Kabardian prince Boris Keibulatovich Chekrassky, Leo (†1595), Mikhail (†1602), Alexander (†1602 ), Nikifor († 1601), Ivan, nicknamed Kasha († 1640), Ulyana († 1565), Irina († 1639) - the wife of the roundabout Ivan Ivanovich Godunov († 1610), Anastasia († 1655) - the wife of the equestrian Boris Mikhailovich Lykov -Obolensky (†1646) and, finally, Vasily (†1602).

The eldest son of Nikita Romanovich Fyodor, who was born around 1554, became a boyar in the government of his cousin - Tsar Theodore Ioannovich - immediately after his father's death in 1586. Shortly before this, around 1585, Fyodor Nikitich married Xenia Ivanovna, nee Shestova from the Kostroma nobles, whose father Ivan Vasilievich Shestov was called in 1550 among the Tsar's Thousand to serve in Moscow. Let me remind you that the Shestovs traced their genealogy to the Novgorod boyar and governor of the early 13th century, Mikhail Prushanin. Fyodor Nikitich and Xenia Ivanovna had six children, four of whom died in infancy: Tatyana (†1612) - the wife of Prince Ivan Mikhailovich Katyrev-Rostovsky (†about 1640), Boris (†1592), Nikita (†1593), Mikhail ( †1645), Leo (†1597), Ivan (†1599).

In the tsarist service, the boyar Fedor Nikitich was successful, but far from being in the first positions: from 1586 he was governor of Nizhny Novgorod, in 1590 he participated in a victorious campaign against Sweden, then in 1593-1594. he was a governor in Pskov, negotiated with the ambassador of Emperor Rudolf - Varkoch, in 1596 he was the governor of the Tsar's regiment of the right hand, from the 1590s several local cases came down to us concerning the boyar Feodor Nikitich Romanov, indicating his rather influential position among Moscow boyars, some of his younger brothers were members of the expanded composition of the Sovereign Duma.

Before his death, boyar Nikita Romanovich bequeathed to Boris Fedorovich Godunov the care of his children, and according to well-known documents, the guardianship of the royal brother-in-law and the first boyar - in fact the ruler of Russia B.F. Godunov about Nikitich was quite sincere, and the Romanovs themselves considered themselves faithful allies of B.F. Godunov, family ties also contributed to this - Irina Nikitichna was the wife of I.I. Godunov. The sudden death of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich on January 7, 1598 did not change this situation in the relationship between B.F. Godunov and the Romanovs. Although the eldest son of the brother-in-law King John, cousin Tsar Theodore, the boyar Fyodor Nikitich had a certain advantage, if not closer, then more significant relationship over the brother-in-law of Tsar Theodore and brother Tsarina Irina Feodorovna († 1603) by the first boyar Boris Godunov, at the Great Moscow Cathedral in January-March 1598, the question of other contenders for the Royal Throne, except for the first boyar and ruler B.F. Godunov, was not even raised. There is no information about the nomination of other applicants and clear unofficial evidence of the same period.

There are no such indications even in diplomatic reports from Russia for January-March 1598, in which foreign ambassadors tried to reflect any rumors about palace political intrigues. However, for the Western European legal consciousness of that time, the advantage of the rights of Fyodor Nikitich Romanov to the Tsar's Throne over the similar rights of B.F. Godunov was incomprehensible. They could rather see pretenders among the direct Rurikovichs, primarily the princes Shuisky, or they wanted to look for military reasons for interfering in the internal politics of Russia to impose pretenders from the Dynasties of Europe, than to compare the rights to the Throne of B.F. Godunov and F.N. Romanov.

One of the reports from the Polish ambassador in January or early February 1598 even contained a “forecast” that B.F. 1591, and put his man on the Throne under the guise of the son of Tsar John. This enigmatic intrigue, developed by the Poles in a completely different vein by 1604, indicates that at the end of February 1598, foreigners could not even foresee the real decision of the Great Moscow Council.

The decisive factor in the question of the acceptance of the Throne, obviously, was the position of St. Job, Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', who believed that the brother of the Queen, in whose hands since 1586 were all the main reins of government of the state, who proved himself an experienced and courageous politician, a large-scale organizer The Russian land in urban planning, military, tax and economic affairs, like no other, was able to carry the heavy Royal Cross. Of course, His Holiness the Patriarch was well aware that the twelfth honored boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov also had some hereditary advantages, but his merits in state building since 1584 were immeasurably less than B. F. Godunov’s contribution to the prosperity of Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church, who did a lot to establish the Patriarchate in Rus'. It is possible that such a firm position of the Patriarch, which led to the fact that other contenders for the Throne were not even discussed at the Council in advance, in the next two years the spiritual and political compromise will turn into a difficult state problem.

At the Council of 1598, for the first time in the history of Russia, a terrible oath of allegiance to Tsar Boris and His Heirs was taken. It must be that His Holiness the Patriarch, who was directly involved in the drafting of the text of the Sobor oath and the formidable spiritual prohibitions that were imposed on possible violators of this oath, was sure that believing Russian people would not violate such a Sobor oath. However, the secret opponents of the new Tsar, and possibly the opponents of peace itself in our Fatherland, who did not dare to raise their voice at the Council against the position of the Patriarch and the candidacy of B.F. CONSPIRACY. As a sign for such an obvious conspiracy or insidious hoax, the villains chose the Nikitich Romanovs, and first of all, the eldest of them, the boyar Fyodor Nikitich, as the heir to the Throne, closer to the Russian customs of the ladder right than Tsar Boris. Who was the main organizer of this conspiracy or its imitation, historians can only speculate, direct documents related to his investigation have not been preserved. Only one thing is clear, that the Romanovs themselves did not in any way belong to the initiators or organizers of the conspiracy, but they were nevertheless insidiously informed of this secret act, which drew them into the circle of those involved, into the circle of the guilty.

Instead of his closest associates and relatives, Tsar Boris saw in the Romanovs the main danger to himself and, more importantly, the main danger to peace in the Russian State. He was fully aware of what now, after the terrible Sobor oath of 1598, its violation threatens Russia and the Russian People. In order to rule out the very idea of ​​boyar Fyodor Nikitich Romanov claiming the Throne, he ordered his relative and his wife to be forcibly tonsured into monasticism and exiled the monk Filaret to the Antoniev-Siysky Monastery in the Russian North. And the rest of the Nikitichi Romanovs - Mikhail, Alexander, Nikifor, Ivan, Vasily were taken into custody and sent into exile, where they were kept in the most severe conditions, from which they died in 1601-1602. Only Ivan Nikitich survived. He was kept on a chain in the same pit with Vasily Nikitich. The death of the brothers caused the conditions of Ivan Nikitich's exile to be softened.

After the villainous ritual slaughter of the young Tsar Feodor Borisovich Godunov and his own Wedding in the Kingdom, False Dmitry I in 1605 returned all the surviving Romanovs and their relatives from exile, and the remains of the dead were also brought to Moscow and buried in the tomb of the Romanov boyars in the Novospassky Monastery. Monk Filaret (Fyodor Nikitich Romanov) was ordained a priestly monk and soon consecrated as Metropolitan of Rostov. And Ivan Nikitich Romanov was given the boyar rank. The young Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was returned under the care of the Mother - the Great Nun Martha. The Romanovs, who suffered so much from the previous reign, accepted the benefits of the impostor, but did not show him any subservience during the whole time of the false reign that lasted less than a year. Tsar Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky, installed by the local Moscow Council in 1606, contributed to the election of a new Patriarch, Metropolitan Hermogenes of Kazan, who treated Metropolitan Philaret of Rostov with great respect, but Metropolitan Filaret did not arrive at the Moscow Penitential Council in early 1607 with the participation of Patriarch Job deposed by False Dmitry .

In 1608, treacherous Cossack and Polish-Lithuanian gangs besieged Rostov the Great, and although Metropolitan Filaret tried to organize a defense, the traitors to Russia opened the gates of the Metropolitan Court, St. Philaret was captured and in a humiliating form was taken near Moscow to the Tushino camp of False Dmitry II. However, this impostor decided to honor his "relative" and even "elevated" St. Philaret to the "patriarch". Metropolitan Filaret did not recognize false orders, but he performed divine services in Tushino. In 1610, Metropolitan Philaret (Romanov) was recaptured from the Tushins and after the overthrow of Tsar Vasily Shuisky during the Seven Boyars, he became the closest associate of His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes. In 1611, Metropolitan Filaret was sent by the Moscow government at the head of a large embassy to Smolensk for negotiations with the Polish King Sigismund III. The entire embassy was captured by the Poles, in which Metropolitan Filaret stayed until 1619 - until the Deulino truce.

In the short period of the "seven boyars" the son of Metropolitan Filaret, young Mikhail Feodorovich, was elevated to the rank of boyar. The Poles, who captured Moscow and the Kremlin in 1611, kept Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov and his Mother under house arrest, from which he was released only on October 22, 1612, and after that, together with Mother, he left for his Kostroma estate Domnino.

Thus, none of the Romanovs influenced the decision of the Great Moscow Council on February 21, 1613. More precisely - a participant in the cathedral, brother of the Metropolitan and uncle of Mikhail Feodorovich - Ivan Nikitich Romanov was initially even against the nomination of his nephew as one of the candidates, saying: “... Mikhailo Fedorovich is still young ...» According to the researchers, at the very beginning of the Council, Ivan Nikitich supported the candidacy of the Swedish Prince Carl Philip. But when the Cossacks and representatives of the Home Guard began to reject any representatives of foreign dynasties, and the Don Cossacks and Russian provincial nobles nominated the young boyar Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov as the main candidate, naturally, my uncle agreed with this unanimous point of view.

The Great Council of 1613 took a terrible oath of allegiance inverted To Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich and his probable offspring. The new oath practically word for word, letter for letter, repeated the text of the Cathedral Oath of 1598, but this time the strength of this council decision was enough for three centuries and four years.

This excursion into the realm of ancient legends and genealogies is necessary in order to better understand the way of thinking of our ancestors, who, in the conciliar debate in February 1613, found out which of the possible contenders for the All-Russian Throne should take on themselves and their descendants the Royal Cross. The exceptional nobility of the origin of the Romanov family in this decision was of paramount importance.

Illustrations:

1. Crowning the kingdom of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov

2. The legendary coat of arms of the Prussians (from the chronicle of Johannes Melman, 1548) Arma Prutenorums - Shield (coat of arms) of Prussia