In 1634 he was elevated to the boyar and appointed "uncle" to Tsarevich Alexei Mikhailovich. Mikhail Fedorovich entrusted his son with his care even at his death. Since then, M., in the words of the chronicler, "stayed in the royal house relentlessly, leaving his house and belongings and every will and peace." He became even closer to the young tsar when he married A.I. Miloslavskaya, sister of the queen. Contemporaries indicate that the very marriage of Alexei Mikhailovich with M.I. Miloslavskaya took place according to the plan of M., who had in advance intended to become related with the tsar and for the sake of this allegedly tried to upset the proposed marriage of the tsar with his first bride from the Vsevolzhsky family. Until the end of his life M. remained the closest and most influential person at the royal court, successfully defending his position against the hostile party of boyars N.I. Romanov and Ya.K. Cherkassky. Contemporaries and foreigners recognize him as a great mind and experience in public affairs ; some of them (for example, Olearius) also note his interest in Western enlightenment. It is suggested that he was able to instill this interest in his pupil. Abuses in management, which were one of the reasons for the popular revolt of 1648, remain a dark spot in M.'s memory. At this time M. was the head of several important orders (the Big Treasury, the Streletsky Prikaz and the New Cheti). How much he was personally guilty of abuses is impossible to establish; but his patronage was enjoyed by knowingly unscrupulous people, and therefore popular indignation was directed against him. The tsar was forced to promise the people to remove his favorite, and M. was exiled from Moscow to the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery. All this did not in the least change the attitude of Alexei Mikhailovich to M. In his own handwritten letters, the tsar punishes the abbot of the monastery "to protect Boris Ivanovich from any evil", and very soon returns him to Moscow, using the petition about this from the Moscow archers, the idea of \u200b\u200bwhich was inspired by him "from above ". Upon his return, M. did not occupy an official position in the internal government, probably because the tsar wanted in this way to fulfill his promise to the people; but M. was with the tsar all the time, invariably accompanying him in his "near campaigns" in the villages and monasteries near Moscow. According to Meyerberg, when his disordered health did not allow him to come to court, the tsar often visited him secretly and consulted with him about the most important matters. During the tsar's military campaigns, M. each time received the highest military appointment - as a courtyard commander of the right hand. When he died, in 1662, the tsar "personally gave his last debt to the deceased in the church, along with others" (Meyerberg) and distributed large sums to monasteries for his commemoration. According to Collins, M. after the Moscow revolt "became more indulgent towards the people, and died, seeing the successful action of his advice, loved by the sovereign and mourned by the people, except for the nobility." - M. was one of the largest landowners of his time. According to Zabelin's assumption, he began his service as not a particularly sufficient nobleman; in 1628 he already had 500 dessiatines of local land, and this salary was increased when he was appointed uncle to Alexei Mikhailovich. Subsequently, he was granted the richest Nizhny Novgorod villages Lyskovo and Murashkino, in which there were up to 17 thousand dessiatines. In the year of M.'s death, there were up to 8 thousand households in his possessions, or, according to Zabelin's calculations, up to 80 thousand dessiatines. The surviving documents on the management of the Morozov estates are drawn by M. as an exemplary owner - administrator and are a precious source for studying the economic life of Moscow Rus. - See Yakubov "Russia and Sweden in the 17th century" (reports of Pommering); Zabelin "The Big Boyar in his Estate" ("Bulletin of Europe", 1871 - 1872, January).

The Morozovs were not only a strong and noble boyar family, they were in common with the Romanovs. The first wife of Gleb Ivanovich Morozov was from the family of the Sitsky princes, and the aunt of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich was married to her great-uncle, and this was considered at that time a close relationship. It was Avdotya Sitskaya-Morozova who was planted as a mother at the wedding of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

Boris Ivanovich Morozov was born at the end of the 16th century. By the time the new Romanov dynasty came to power, he was a young steward and, together with his brother Gleb, signed the certificate of election of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich.

Both Morozovs were sleeping bags of the young tsar, which means they were very close, "room" people. Therefore, it was Boris Ivanovich who was appointed the tutor of the long-awaited heir to the throne - Tsarevich Alexei Mikhailovich, who turned 4 years old. In this activity, Morozov's personality was manifested as clearly as possible. He treated his task with such responsibility and love that Alexei Mikhailovich considered him his second father all his life.

Boris Ivanovich believed that the future tsar should have a versatile education. When teaching literacy, Western engravings and Russian popular prints were used. They depicted "heavenly flights" (ie the movement of the luminaries), cities, animal world, hunting, ancient heroes and gods. Boris Ivanovich ordered German outfits to the tsarevich, which was the highest achievement of Russian fashion at that time.

The future tsar studied Russian history on the basis of the huge obverse collection — chronicles with many miniatures.

The pupil of boyar Morozov, Aleksey Mikhailovich, knew a lot, wrote in a good literary style. But most importantly, his personality was not suppressed by etiquette and complex court duties. The tsar's letters to loved ones are written in a lively, direct language.

Morozov, according to the memoirs of his contemporaries, regretted his lack of education.

Apparently, he was sufficiently educated and literate, it was. in all likelihood about knowledge foreign languages... It is unlikely that the boyar read European books freely, but he had an interesting and varied library. Part of it has been preserved in the collection of the Pharmaceutical Order (now in the Library of the Academy of Sciences). Boris Ivanovich had publications published in Paris, Cologne, Venice. These are the works of the church fathers, historical works and the book of the famous physician Galen. A handwritten collection with translations into Russian of works on ancient history has survived, the translations are dedicated to Boris Ivanovich Morozov.

Morozov was open to all contacts with foreigners. A lively and touching story of the secretary of the Holstein embassy has been published about how Morozov saw off German diplomats who had already sailed on boats from Moscow. “Boris Ivanovich Morozov came up, delivered various expensive drinks and had his trumpeters with him. He asked the ambassadors to stick a little so that he could treat them to parting. The ambassadors, however, refused, since Before that, he gave some of us great pleasure on falconry, then we gave him a silver drinking device. After that, in a special little boat, he rode alongside us for a long time, ordering his trumpeters to play merrily, and ours answered them. After a while, he even got into our boat and drank with our nobles until the morning, after which he, with tears in his eyes, full of love and wine, said goodbye to us. "

Hunting was the strongest passion of Boris Ivanovich Morozov. He kept falcons and hunting dogs and a whole staff of hunting servants. Boyarin arranged hunts, which were both secular and diplomatic receptions, in 1635 he hosted the Holstein embassy, \u200b\u200bwhich showed European methods of dealing with falcons.

Hunting farms were then owned by many noble people. They wrote out the gyrfalcons and falcons, trained them, arranged crowded bird hunts. In winter, we went to the wolf and "bear fun".

Morozov so accustomed his pupil to this fun that Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich went hunting five days after his wedding. The king not only watched the persecution of the beast, but he himself walked with a spear. There is a legend that during the hunt the king was attacked by a huge bear, but Saint Sava Storozhevsky saved him.

In 1645, Aleksey Mikhailovich awarded the boyar hunter Ivan Lukin for “looking for wild bears”. In January 1646, he hunted bears twice in Pavlovskoye, and between hunts he was on a pilgrimage in the Savvino-Storozhevsky monastery.

Even more than the persecution of the "red beast", the tsar loved falconry. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was so carried away by this fun that with him and with his participation a whole manual was compiled - "The commander of the falconer way", which describes the ceremony of initiation into falconers. The tsar had the names of his favorite birds of prey in a special booklet. Sokolniki Morozov were personally known to the tsar and were often distinguished by them.

In the fall of 1645, during a hunt near Moscow, the falcon was caught by Morozov's falconer, Clementin Vasiliev, and was awarded an expensive English cloth. Morozov's hunters have received similar royal gifts more than once.

The study of falcons and gyrfalcons was the greatest art. In 1657 it happened that the tsar had no birds with him. Morozov sent for his falcons, and together they watched their departure. The falcons were not yet ready for the hunt, "their callout was not finished." Alexey Mikhailovich described in great detail all the features of the study of these birds.

Many letters from Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich on the topic of hunting have survived. The living language of these letters is not in the least outdated, and we can appreciate the passion and excitement of the young tsar. In one of the letters, he describes in detail, with great knowledge of the matter, the feats of a bird worn by Semyon Shiryaev, the falconer of boyar Morozov: “The wildcat flies so immensely well, so he drove and besieged two nests of pintails at one end and two nests chirping, so in the other drove, so one pintail duck flew away, so it crumples on the neck, so she threw ten and went into the water, and he infected her so that the intestines were out, so she swam a little and ran to the shore, and the falcon sat on it ".

Alexei Mikhailovich became king at a very young age. There is a historical legend that, dying, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich entrusted his heir to boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov. A month after the death of his father, the sixteen-year-old king lost his mother. In this difficult situation, the desire of Alexei Mikhailovich to place all power in safe hands is quite understandable.

By this time, a situation had developed in Russia that required indispensable changes. First of all, this concerned the organization of cities, the tax system and the central government. It was these problems that the government of Boyar Morozov was called upon to solve.

In January 1646, the young Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich replaced almost the entire Russian government. He placed close people at the head of the most important orders. Boris Ivanovich Morozov began to manage several orders simultaneously. Among them were the Order of the Big Treasury (the main financial institution of the country). Foreign and Streletsky orders. In addition, Morozov also controlled the order of the New Quarter, which held the state monopoly on the drinking business.

Thus, the tsar's educator was placed in the hands of the foundations of state policy - money, the army, hired foreign specialists, including the commanders of new regular regiments.

Under the leadership of Morozov, the Pharmaceutical Order was also given, which was one of the most important in the system of governing bodies of that time, despite its narrowly technical purpose. The order supervised doctors and pharmacies, invited specialists from abroad, trained its own personnel, and was responsible for medical assistance in the troops. But its main function was to take care of the health of the tsar and his family. Therefore, under the Romanovs, the people closest to the royal family were appointed to the post of head of the Pharmaceutical Order.

Morozov took up government reforms with the same economic acumen with which he ruled his estates. His main task was to put in order the finances of the state, which were in a deplorable state. Initially, measures were taken to reduce the cost of maintaining the administration.

He carried out a purge of the state apparatus, dismissed many heads of orders and put in their place close people. Some of the palace and patriarchal servants were disbanded, and the salaries of the rest were reduced.

The same was done in local government bodies. Even in the army, the salaries of foreign officers, archers and gunners were cut.

These seemingly reasonable measures led to the opposite result. Numerous petitioners were left to the mercy of the clerks and clerks, who sharply increased their levies.

Big problems had accumulated by this time in the life of cities. The urban population was heterogeneous. Almost half of the inhabitants of the cities were listed in the settlements of monasteries and nobility, exempt from taxes. Morozov began a census of cities so that all citizens would pay state taxes evenly. Naturally, both the owners and the inhabitants of the settlements joined the ranks of the sharp opponents of the Morozov government.

The innovations also affected the trading people. Taxes were raised for foreign merchants.

In addition, numerous direct taxes have been replaced by a tax on salt. And this reform was the last straw in the bowl of indignation of the inhabitants of the capital and many Russian cities.

It would seem that replacing several taxes with one would have to ease the tax burden, but at the same time a monopoly on salt was introduced. Salt has risen in price, and since salted fish was an indispensable product on every Russian table, then the price went up too. Open use of tobacco was allowed, for which noses were cut recently. The tobacco trade was also declared a state monopoly.

Morozov's reforms were undoubtedly caused by the demands of the times. They have largely fulfilled their tasks. The state treasury was replenished, which made it possible to prepare the army for a long Russian-Polish war. Also a push was given further development cities and trade by leveling the tax burden In the future, many of Morozov's undertakings were continued.

Morozov's reforms sparked violent protests in Moscow among the merchant people and the general population. In January 1647, the tsar married Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. The bride was chosen by Boris Ivanovich Morozov, who soon married her sister. Thus, boyar Morozov became a close relative of the young royal family. Immediately after his wedding, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich abolished the salt tax, but the Morozov government remained in power. Moreover, it was supplemented by the Miloslavskys, relatives of the new queen, who were not skillful administrators, but zealously rushed to accumulate wealth. They introduced new taxes and restrictions on trade, a government yard was invented for measuring fabrics with the eagle's mark, which cost ten times more than the usual one. No complaints reached the king.

All this led to violent events in Moscow, which were supported in many cities of Russia. Traditionally, these unrest are called the "salt riot".

Events unfolded at the end of May 1648, when the tsar was returning from Trinity.

The crowd stopped him and began to complain about Morozov and his entourage, who were known for their special bribery.

The young tsar talked with the people and, probably, it would not have come to an open revolt, but Morozov's servants rushed to beat the people with whips on the heads.

The Swedish resident wrote to the king about the beginning of events in Moscow: “16 people from among the petitioners were sent to prison. Then the others wanted to beat the wife of His Imperial Majesty with their foreheads ..., Morozov followed her, the petition was not accepted and those who asked were dispersed by the archers. Extremely outraged by this, the people grabbed stones and sticks and began to throw them at the archers. At this unexpected confusion, the spouse of his tsarist majesty asked Morozov why such confusion and indignation was happening, why the people dared to do such things, and what should be done in this case to calm down the indignant. Morozov replied that it was a flagrant crime and audacity, that the fellows should be hanged in crowds. "

The next day, a huge crowd of Muscovites entered the Kremlin and, when the tsar left the porch, began to complain to him about the oppression. After the service, the rebels broke into the Kremlin, and there were so many of them that the rifle regiments could not hold back the onslaught. And the archers themselves, closely associated with the city dwellers, did not want to stop the rebels.

The king himself went out on the porch and tried to persuade the people. According to the same Swedish resident, the archers did not obey Morozov's order and did not shoot at the crowd.

The author of one of the most authoritative books on Moscow affairs in the mid-17th century, Adam Olearius, conveyed the course of events in the following way: “When the boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov came out on the upper porch and began to admonish the people in the name of his tsarist majesty, ... in response there were shouts:“ Why, we need you too! " To save himself from the personally threatening danger, Morozov had to leave soon. After that, the mob attacked Morozov's house, the magnificent palace located in the Kremlin, smashed the gates and doors, hacked everything, smashed and pilfered what was found here.

True, they found Morozov's wife in the house, but did not inflict any bodily harm on her, but said only: “Don't you be a sister grand duchess, we would chop you into small pieces. "

The rebels plundered the palace, but, as the Swedish author wrote, “they broke into chests and chests and threw them out the window, while precious robes were torn to shreds, money and other household utensils were thrown out into the street to show what their prey was not so attracted to as revenge on the enemy. " Some Muscovites climbed into wine cellars, in which many were burned down when a fire started in the boyar's yard.

The insurgents ravaged the houses of several boyars and beat them with sticks to the clerk, whose name was associated with the salt tax. The rebels again broke into the Kremlin and demanded that the hated boyars be handed over for reprisals. In the palace, they decided to sacrifice other boyars. Two chiefs of orders were issued to the rebels and torn apart in front of the Kremlin towers.

But the people stubbornly demanded the issuance of the tsar's favorite. The tsar's relatives treated the archers who guarded the Kremlin and Moscow merchants with wine and honey, clergymen consulted the embittered people. The king one day came out to the people and promised justice, benefits, the destruction of monopolies and mercy.

With tears in his eyes, he asked for mercy on his teacher. According to an anonymous Swedish author, the tsar sent the patriarch to the people for negotiations three times. Finally, he himself "went out to the people with a naked head and with tears in his eyes begged and for God's sake asked them to calm down and spare Morozov for doing great services to his father."

In the end, Aleksey Mikhailovich promised to dismiss Morozov from all state affairs. Taking advantage of the lull, Morozov was secretly taken from Moscow to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. Following him, the king sent to the monastic authorities emotional letters... In them, he called the boyar his father, educator, friend, his second nature. The letters are full of fears for Morozov's safety. Nowhere is it so clear what the boyar meant to his pupil, as in these letters to the monastery. He demanded that the monastic authorities carefully guard Morozov, threatened with disgrace for an oversight and promised for all the good that the boyar would see in the Kirillov Monastery, welcome them so that "from conception of the world, such mercy has not been seen."

At the end of August, Alexei Mikhailovich considered that in the cities, and especially in Moscow, the people had calmed down, and that it was not dangerous for Morozov to move closer to the capital.

He wrote to the archimandrite of the Kirillov Monastery: "As this letter comes to you, notify my friend and instead of my own father, boyar Boris Ivanovich Morozov, that it is time for him, my teacher, to go to his Tver village." And when Boris Ivanovich comes to me and what he says about you, therefore my mercy will be with you. And you will release the boyar with great honor, with those who are taken care of, and tell them to take care of his health firmly. "

Morozov left for his Tver patrimony, and from there soon - to the village of Pavlovskoye. In October, he was already in the capital for the baptism of the royal firstborn.

The government of Alexei Mikhailovich hastily began to prepare a new set of laws. This was the famous “Cathedral Code” that survived a century and a half. It was drawn up by a special commission, but the final decision was made for each chapter by the tsar and Morozov. Since then, without holding any administrative position, except for a member of the Boyar Duma, Morozov was the personal, closest adviser to the tsar.

In 1654, when the young tsar decided to lead his army to the Polish war himself, Morozov was appointed governor of the tsarist regiment. Of course, he did not deal with military issues, but his place as a close adviser was officially confirmed.

Morozov maintained this position until his death. In the last years of his life, he was seriously ill. Patriarch Nikon, living in the New Jerusalem monastery under construction, offered to bury the boyar in this "Russian Palestine." But Morozov was buried in the Kremlin Miracle Monastery.

In the last year of his life (1661), he ordered a huge silver chandelier for the Assumption Kremlin Cathedral, which was regarded as a new "wonder of the world." Later, Emperor Paul exclaimed, looking at the contribution of Morozov: "This is a real forest." The chandelier was irretrievably lost during the French occupation of Moscow in 1812.

MOROZOV Boris Ivanovich (baptized Ilya) [c. 1590, according to another version, approx. 1600 - 1 (11) .11.1661, Moscow; buried in the Chudov Monastery], rus. state activist, close boyar (1645). From the old Moscow boyar family Morozov... The beginning of M.'s career was promoted by his relative, the boyar V.P. Morozov. Stolnik, was among the persons who signed the Approved Charter 1613 on the election Mikhail Fedorovich to the kingdom. Soon, together with his brother G. I. Morozov, the tsar's mother, Eldress Martha, was taken to the palace as a room steward. In 1618, during the campaign of the prince Vladislav (the future Polish king Vladislav IV) against the Russian state, he was in a siege "seat" in Moscow. Participated in Russian-Persian. (1628) and Russian-Swedish. (1631) negotiations. Judge of the Tsar's workshop chamber (1633). Enjoyed the location of the patriarch Filareta... Since 1633 educator ("uncle") of the tsarevich, the future tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (apparently, he developed a program for the education and training of the prince, including in academic plan geography, astronomy, fortification, engineering and military affairs). Until the end of his life, he remained for him, on his own. in the words of the king, "a friend instead of his own father." In 1634 M. became a boyar, bypassing the rank of roundabout. After the wedding to the kingdom of Alexei Mikhailovich (1645), M. gradually concentrated in his hands the meaning. power, becoming the de facto head of government. Supervised orders - the Great Treasury, Streletsky, Inozem, Pharmaceutical, New quarter (1646–48). In 1646, by a collective petition of the nobles and children of the boyars for " strong people»Conducted an investigation into abuses in orders, as a result of which he increased his influence on the state. cases, facilitating the appointment of people close to him by the clerical judges, patronized their arbitrariness (for example, the head of the Zemsky Prikaz L.S.Plescheev from the clan Pleshcheev). Supervised the implementation of financial reforms in the country in order to overcome the budget deficit. According to the plan developed with the participation of M., new indirect taxes were introduced (including on salt in 1646–47), the state was established. monopoly on the sale of tobacco (1646), abolished English tax incentives. Moscow company, which led to an increase in the influence of the Netherlands. merchants (1646), the salary of servicemen was reduced (some of them were not paid), in a number of cities, white settlements, exempted from paying taxes, were liquidated, etc. M. initiated the creation of orders - the Dragoon system (1646) and the Barrel, in charge of the production of muskets (1646/47). Promoted the marriage of Alexei Mikhailovich and Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, at their wedding he sat "in the father's place"; soon married the queen's sister Anna (1648). The reforms carried out under the leadership of M. provoked in Moscow Salt Riot 1648... During the riot, M. survived thanks to the intercession of the tsar (he asked the boyars to kill him better than M.), then, in exchange for guarantees of personal security, he gave up power and left under the protection of a convoy to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. In the autumn of the same year, the tsar returned to Moscow to participate in the celebrations on the occasion of the birth of Tsarevich Dmitry Alekseevich.

He was a member of a narrow circle of close Duma members. Contributor of compilation Cathedral Code 1649 (his signature under the code is the first among the signatures of the boyars), perhaps, it was on M.'s initiative that when the indefinite search for fugitive peasants was introduced, the mechanism for its implementation was not provided. In 1651–53, during the so-called. Liberation war of the Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples 1648–54, repeatedly received from hetman B.M. Khmelnitsky letters with a request to petition the tsar for the provision of the Zaporozhye army Rus. military. help. Together with the boyars V.V. Buturlin, I. D. Miloslavsky and G.G. Pushkin from the clan Pushkin advisor to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich when discussing the text March Articles 1654... 1st courtyard voivode during Russian-Polish. wars of 1654–67 during the capture of Smolensk (1654) and Vilna (1655). Instead of Alexei Mikhailovich, he took a "donkey" under the patriarch on Palm Sunday Nikon (1658) and Metropolitan Pitirim of Sarsk and Podonsk (1659).

One of the largest in the country (along with the boyar N.I. Romanov from the Romanov) landowners and soul owners (330 settlements in 19 counties, over 27.4 thousand male souls). According to A. Meyerberg, possessed the same "thirst for gold as usual thirst for drinking." Has successfully dealt with a variety of farms. activities. He bought state-owned, usually empty, land, populated them by enticing peasants from other landowners, then Poles captured during the Russian-Polish period. wars of 1654–67; also used hired labor. He supplied food for the army, etc. Established marketable production of bread, as well as potash (the village of Murashkino, Nizhny Novgorod district, now the village of Bolshoye Murashkino, Nizhny Novgorod region), yuft, wine, etc., led an extensive external (Ch. with the Netherlands and England) and internal (including the treasury) trade. In the 1650s. organized iron works in the village. Pavlovskoe of the Moscow district (now the settlement of Pavlovskaya Sloboda of the Istra district of the Moscow region) and in the village (now the city) Lyskovo, where he also built distilleries and breweries. He credited representatives of the aristocracy (princes I.P.Baryatinsky, F.F.Kurakin, F.S.Shakhovsky, etc.), Russian. and foreign merchants, wealthy peasants, etc.

Collected a library, which contained books on religion, philosophy, military. business, medicine, history, including the works of Rome. historians and thinkers (Tacitus, Cicero, etc.). At his own expense he built the Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village. Pavlovskoe (consecrated in 1663).

Carier start

Boris Ivanovich Morozov (baptized Ilya), who was born at the end of the 16th century, came from the family of old Moscow aristocrats, rather battered by the reign of Ivan the Fourth. Even before the Troubles, the Morozovs became related to the Romanovs. Subsequently, this served them a good service: at the Zemsky Sobor in 1613, young Morozov was among those who signed the letter on the election of Mikhail Fedorovich to the kingdom, and it is from here that the future oligarch begins his ascent. Soon Boris and his brother Gleb, thanks to the support of their hero-uncle militia Vasily Morozov) received the position of stewards who were present at the meal of the sovereign. The brothers were almost peers of Tsar Michael, so they quickly found a common language with him, joined the number of the nearest courtiers and even managed to settle in the palace. At the dawn of his career, Boris lived relatively modestly: his total wealth with Gleb was about 400 hectares of land. However, in 1618, after unsuccessful attempt Poles again to seize Moscow, Morozov "for siege sitting" was granted another 300 hectares. Boris Ivanovich took an active part in the Russian-Persian and Russian-Swedish negotiations, and in 1633 he became a judge of the Workshop Chamber. It is known that he enjoyed the favor of the sovereign's spiritual father, Patriarch Filaret. In 1634, Boyar Morozov was appointed tutor to the heir to the throne, Alexei.

On Olympus

Boris took care of the education of his ward: Alexei carefully studied the basics of religion, grammar, history, got an idea of \u200b\u200bthe natural sciences. Ultimately, the newly-minted ruler not only acquired a broad outlook, but also elevated Morozov to the pinnacle of power. The further rapprochement of the tsar with the mentor was facilitated by the marriage of Boris Ivanovich to the tsarina's sister. Under Alexei, Morozov possessed colossal powers, at the same time headed the Streletsky, Inozem, Aptekarsky orders, the order of the Big Treasury and New quarter - in fact, he was simultaneously the minister of defense, health and economy. The state apparatus, which was run by Morozov, was distinguished by incredible corruption, the tsarist educator openly patronized all friends and acquaintances. Moreover, he became the author of a number of new taxes, which earned the indignation of the population. At the initiative of Boris, a law was developed on the indefinite search for fugitive peasants (however, the boyar did not provide for ways to implement it). Nevertheless, Morozov significantly cut spending on the maintenance of civil servants, carried out an effective reform of the army and local government. In 1648-1654, during the uprising of Ukrainians and Belarusians against Poland, he repeatedly received letters from Bohdan Khmelnytsky with requests for help. In the Russian-Polish war of 1654-1667, Morozov was the first voivode and even took part in the capture of Smolensk and Vilna (although he never lived to see the end of hostilities). In those years, the state of Morozov reached its peak: the sovereign's associate owned 330 settlements in 19 districts - a total of 55,000 serfs; Plus, he collected an excellent library containing the works of ancient Greek and Roman authors: Tacitus, Cicero and others.

Blue-blooded entrepreneur

Boris Morozov can rightfully be called the first Russian businessman. The Austrian diplomat Meyerberg argued that the king's right hand had the same "thirst for gold as usual thirst for drinking." For the first time, Morozov took up business in 1632, when, together with his brother, he supplied bread for the needs of the Russian army (then there was another war with polish crown). In general, the grain trade for Boris as a feudal lord was of particular interest, but the boyar was not limited to it. Morozov traded in wine and vodka, and he sold most of the products to his own peasants in taverns, and sent the surplus outside the estate. Boris Ivanovich also became the ancestor of the domestic chemical industry: for the first time he was able to organize the mass production of potash - a substance that is used in soap making, glass and fabrics, leather dressing; Morozov potash was considered the best in the entire state. Boris saw an urgent need for the development of metallurgy: in the Zvenigorod district, he organized a small factory where the captured Poles worked. In addition, Morozov created brick enterprises and was engaged in fishing. Boris's sphere of activity was not limited to Russia; he was one of the largest exporters of the Muscovy. After the death of the boyar, it turned out that he did not hesitate to lend money at a high percentage: in other years, his profit from usury was 85,000 rubles. Of course, Morozov periodically covered business expenses at the expense of state funds, which could not but affect the well-being of the country.

Popular anger

The 17th century is called "rebellious" for a reason. The extraordinary number of social and economic problems that fell on the heads of commoners could not but lead to shocks. It is surprising that the population did not reproach Alexei Mikhailovich for the troubles that had come: for him the tsar remained God's anointed, sinless and kind-hearted. In this situation, the most logical thing would be to accuse the chief sovereign's advisor - Morozov, which the people did not fail to do. The last straw was the government's attempt to introduce a tax on salt - thus Boris Ivanovich wanted to replace several other taxes. In 1648, the famous Salt Riot began, during which an angry mob broke into the Kremlin. Only the tsar's promise to exile Morozov quieted the rebels, and after a while Boris was imprisoned in the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery. In exile, the negligent boyar did not stay long, four months - Alexei's sympathies for his teacher still prevailed, - and the next year Morozov returned to the capital to develop a code of laws - the Cathedral Code.

Death of the cardinal

Boris Morozov died in 1661 from numerous ailments that tormented him for about twenty years. The king personally accompanied the deceased to last way... Boris had no children, and therefore the entire inheritance went to Gleb, who, however, also died soon after. The joint state of the Morozovs passed to the son of Gleb, but in fact he was possessed by the noblewoman Theodosia Morozova, the famous Old Believer, captured in the picture

Morozov Boris Ivanovich

M Orozov, Boris Ivanovich - boyar. A peer of the king, M. was taken in 1615 "to live" in the palace. In 1634 he was elevated to the boyar and appointed "uncle" to the tsarevich. Mikhail Fedorovich entrusted his son with his care even at his death. Since then, M., in the words of the chronicler, "stayed in the royal house relentlessly, leaving his house and belongings and every will and peace." He became even closer to the young tsar when he married A.I. Miloslavskaya, sister of the queen. Contemporaries point out that the very marriage of Alexei Mikhailovich with took place according to the plan of M., who in advance had in mind to become related with the tsar and, for the sake of this, allegedly tried to upset the proposed marriage of the tsar with his first bride from the Vsevolzhsky family. Until the end of his life, M. remained the closest and most influential person at the royal court, successfully defending his position against the hostile party of boyars N.I. Romanov and Ya.K. Cherkassky. Contemporaries and foreigners recognize him as having great intelligence and experience in state affairs; some of them (for example, Olearius) also note his interest in Western enlightenment. It is suggested that he was able to instill this interest in his pupil. Abuses in management, which were one of the reasons for the popular revolt of 1648, remain a dark spot in M.'s memory. At this time, M. was the head of several important orders (the Big Treasury, the Streletsky Prikaz and the New Cheti). How much he was personally guilty of abuses is impossible to establish; but his patronage was enjoyed by knowingly unscrupulous people, and therefore popular indignation was directed against him. The tsar was forced to promise the people to remove his favorite, and M. was exiled from Moscow to the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery. All this did not in the least change the attitude of Alexei Mikhailovich to M. In his own handwritten letters, the tsar punishes the abbot of the monastery "to protect Boris Ivanovich from any bad", and very soon returns him to Moscow, using the petition about this from Moscow archers, the idea of \u200b\u200bwhich was inspired by him "from above ". Upon his return, M. did not occupy an official position in the internal government, probably because the tsar wanted in this way to fulfill his promise to the people; but M. was with the tsar all the time, invariably accompanying him in his "near campaigns" in the villages and monasteries near Moscow. According to Meyerberg, when his disordered health did not allow him to come to court, the tsar often visited him secretly and consulted with him about the most important matters. During the tsar's military campaigns, M. each time received the highest military appointment - as a courtyard commander of the right hand. When he died, in 1662, the tsar "personally gave his last debt to the deceased in the church, along with others" (Meyerberg) and distributed large sums to monasteries for his commemoration. According to Collins, M. after the Moscow riot "became more indulgent towards the people, and died, seeing the successful action of his advice, loved by the sovereign and mourned by the people, except for the nobility." - M. was one of the largest landowners of his time. Presumably, he began his service as not a particularly good nobleman; in 1628 he already had 500 dessiatines of local land, and this salary was increased when he was appointed uncle to Alexei Mikhailovich. Subsequently, he was granted the richest Nizhny Novgorod villages Lyskovo and Murashkino, in which there were up to 17 thousand dessiatines. In the year of M.'s death, there were up to 8 thousand households in his possessions, or, according to Zabelin's calculations, up to 80 thousand dessiatines. The surviving documents on the management of the Morozov estates portray M. as an exemplary owner - administrator and are a precious source for studying the economic life of Muscovite Rus. - See "Russia and Sweden in the 17th century" (reports of Pommering); Zabelin "The Big Boyar in his Estate" ("Bulletin of Europe", 1871 - 1872, January).

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