Alexei Mikhailovich
1629-1676
CZAR 1645-1676
Born on March 19, 1629, Alexei Mikhailovich was consecrated Czar on July
16, 1645, after the death of his father. One of the most educated men of his time, he
wrote and edited many important decrees and documents. He was known as "Tishaishii" (most quiet
one) because of his meek, devout nature. His rule, however, was characterized by active internal and
external policies. A collection of laws, The Code of the Assembly, was passed on his personal authority
in 1649. He supported Nikon, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, in ecclesiastical reforms. His
greatest foreign policy achievements were the unification of Russia and Ukraine and preventing an
incursion by Crimean Tartars into central regions of the country.
He was married twice: from 1648 to 1669 to Maria Il'inishna Miloslavskaya (1626-69) and from
1671 to 1676 to Natalia Kirillovna Naryshkina (1651-94). He had 21 children from both marriages.
He died on January 30, 1676, and was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin.
Biography and image from The Florida International Museum WWW exhibit
"The Treasures of the Czars"
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