The royal family of Rurikovich. History of the Rurikids and their family tree. Genealogy of the Rurikovichs of the period of feudal fragmentation

Of which there are almost twenty tribes of rulers of Rus', they descend from Rurik. This historical character was born presumably between 806 and 808 in the city of Rerik (Raroga). In 808, when Rurik was 1-2 years old, the domain of his father, Godolub, was seized by the Danish king Gottfried, and the future Russian prince became half an orphan. Together with his mother Umila, he found himself in a foreign land. And his childhood is not mentioned anywhere. It is assumed that he spent them in Slavic lands. There is information that in 826 he arrived at the court of the Frankish king, where he received an allotment of land “beyond the Elbe”, in fact the land of his murdered father, but as a vassal of the Frankish ruler. During the same period, Rurik is believed to have been baptized. Later, after being deprived of these plots, Rurik joined the Varangian squad and fought in Europe, not at all as an exemplary Christian.

Prince Gostomysl saw the future dynasty in a dream

The Rurikovichs, whose family tree, as legend says, was seen in a dream by Rurik’s grandfather (Umila’s father), made a decisive contribution to the development of Rus' and Russian state, since they ruled from 862 to 1598. The prophetic dream of the old Gostomysl, the ruler of Novgorod, showed precisely that from “the womb of his daughter a wonderful tree will sprout that will feed the people in his lands.” This was another “plus” in favor of inviting Rurik with his strong squad at a time when civil strife was observed in the Novgorod lands, and the people suffered from attacks from outside tribes.

The foreign origin of Rurik may be disputed

Thus, it can be argued that the family tree of the Rurik dynasty began not with foreigners, but with a person who by blood belonged to the Novgorod nobility, who long years fought in other countries, had his own squad and the age allowed to lead the people. At the time of Rurik’s invitation to Novgorod in 862, he was about 50 years old - quite a respectable age at that time.

Was the tree based on Norway?

How did the Rurikovich family tree form further? The image shown in the review gives a complete picture of this. After the death of the first ruler of Rus' from this dynasty (the Book of Veles testifies that there were rulers in the Russian lands before him), power passed to his son Igor. However, due to the young age of the new ruler, his guardian, which is allowed, was Oleg (“Prophetic”), who was the brother of Rurik’s wife, Efanda. The latter was a relative of the kings of Norway.

Princess Olga was co-ruler of Rus' under her son Svyatoslav

Rurik's only son, Igor, born in 877 and killed by the Drevlyans in 945, is known for pacifying the tribes subordinate to him, going on a campaign against Italy (together with the Greek fleet), trying to take Constantinople with a flotilla of ten thousand ships, and was the first military commander Rus', which he encountered in battle and fled from in horror. His wife, Princess Olga, who married Igor from Pskov (or Pleskov, which may indicate the Bulgarian city of Pliskuvot), brutally took revenge on the Drevlyan tribes that killed her husband, and became the ruler of Rus' while Igor’s son Svyatoslav was growing up. However, after her son came of age, Olga also remained a ruler, since Svyatoslav was mainly engaged in military campaigns and remained in history as a great commander and conqueror.

Family tree of the Rurik dynasty, in addition to the main one ruling line, there were many branches that became famous for unseemly deeds. For example, Svyatoslav's son, Yaropolk, fought against his brother Oleg, who was killed in battle. His own son from the Byzantine princess, Svyatopolk the Accursed, was something like the biblical Cain, since he killed the sons of Vladimir (another son of Svyatoslav) - Boris and Gleb, who were his brothers by his adoptive father. Another son of Vladimir, Yaroslav the Wise, dealt with Svyatopolk himself and became the prince of Kyiv.

Bloody feuds and marriages with all of Europe

We can safely say that the family tree of the Rurikovichs is partially “saturated” with bloody events. The diagram shows that the reigning ruler from his presumably second marriage with Ingigerda (daughter of the Swedish king) had many children, including six sons who were rulers of various Russian appanages and married foreign princesses (Greek, Polish). And three daughters who became queens of Hungary, Sweden and France also by marriage. In addition, Yaroslav is credited with having a seventh son from his first wife, who was taken into Polish captivity from Kyiv (Anna, son Ilya), as well as a daughter, Agatha, who presumably could have been the wife of the heir to the throne of England, Edward (the Exile).

Perhaps the distance of the sisters and interstate marriages somewhat reduced the struggle for power in this generation of Rurikovichs, since most of the time of the reign of Yaroslav's son Izyaslav in Kyiv was accompanied by a peaceful division of his power with the brothers Vsevolod and Svyatoslav (the Yaroslavovich triumvirate). However, this ruler of Rus' also died in battle against his own nephews. And the father of the next famous ruler of the Russian state, Vladimir Monomakh, was Vsevolod, married to the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomakh the Ninth.

In the Rurik family there were rulers with fourteen children!

The Rurik family tree with dates shows us that this outstanding dynasty was continued for many years to come by the descendants of Vladimir Monomakh, while the genealogies of the remaining grandchildren of Yaroslav the Wise ceased in the next hundred to one hundred and fifty years. Prince Vladimir had, as historians believe, twelve children from two wives, the first of whom was an English princess in exile, and the second, presumably a Greek. Of this numerous offspring, those who reigned in Kyiv were: Mstislav (until 1125), Yaropolk, Vyacheslav and Yuri Vladimirovich (Dolgoruky). The latter was also distinguished by his fertility and gave birth to fourteen children from two wives, including Vsevolod the Third (Big Nest), so nicknamed, again, for the large number of offspring - eight sons and four daughters.

What outstanding Rurikovichs do we know? The family tree, extending further from Vsevolod the Big Nest, contains such eminent surnames as Alexander Nevsky (grandson of Vsevolod, son of Yaroslav the Second), Michael the Second Saint (canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church due to the incorruptibility of the relics of the murdered prince), John Kalita, who gave birth to John the Meek, who, in turn, gave birth to Dmitry Donskoy.

Formidable representatives of the dynasty

The Rurikovichs, whose family tree ceased to exist at the end of the 16th century (1598), included in their ranks the great Tsar John the Fourth, the Terrible. This ruler strengthened autocratic power and significantly expanded the territory of Rus' by annexing the Volga region, Pyatigorsk, Siberian, Kazan and Astrakhan kingdoms. He had eight wives, who bore him five sons and three daughters, including his successor on the throne, Theodore (the Blessed). This son of John was, as expected, weak in health and, possibly, in mind. He was more interested in prayers, the ringing of bells, and the tales of jesters than in power. Therefore, during his reign, power belonged to his brother-in-law, Boris Godunov. And subsequently, after the death of Fedor, they completely switched to this statesman.

Was the first of the reigning Romanov family a relative of the last Rurikovich?

The family tree of the Rurikovichs and the Romanovs, however, has some points of contact, despite the fact that the only daughter of Fyodor the Blessed died at the age of 9 months, around 1592-1594. Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the first of the new dynasty, was crowned in 1613 by the Zemsky Sobor, and came from the family of boyar Fyodor Romanov (later Patriarch Filaret) and noblewoman Ksenia Shestova. He was a cousin’s nephew (to the Blessed One), so we can say that the Romanov dynasty to some extent continues the Rurik dynasty.

All Rurikovichs were descendants of previously independent princes, descended from two sons of Yaroslav the Wise: the third son Svyatoslav (Svyatoslavichs with branches) and the fourth son - Vsevolod (Vsevolodovichi, who are better known through the line of his eldest son as Monomakhovichi). This explains the tough and lengthy political struggle in the 30-40s of the 12th century. it was between the Svyatoslavichs and Monomashichs for the grand-ducal table after the death of Mstislav the Great. The eldest of the sons of Svyatoslav Yaroslavich, Yaroslav, became the ancestor of the Ryazan princes. Of these, as part of the Russian boyars of the 16th-17th centuries. only the descendants of the appanage princes of the Ryazan land remained - the Pronsky princes. Some editions of genealogical books consider the Eletsky princes of Ryazan to be descendants, others trace them from another son of Svyatoslav, Oleg, who reigned in the Chernigov lands. The families of the Chernigov princes trace their origins to the three sons of Mikhail Vsevolodovich (great-great-grandson of Oleg Svyatoslavich) - Semyon, Yuri, Mstislav. Prince Semyon Mikhailovich of Glukhov became the ancestor of the princes Vorotynsky and Odoevsky. Tarussky Prince Yuri Mikhailovich - Mezetsky, Baryatinsky, Obolensky. Karachaevsky Mstislav Mikhailovich-Mosalsky, Zvenigorodsky. Of the Obolensky princes, many princely families later emerged, among which the most famous are the Shcherbatovs, Repnins, Serebryans, and Dolgorukovs.
More births occurred from Vsevolod Yaroslavovich and his son, Vladimir Monomakh. The descendants of Monomakh's eldest son, Mstislav the Great, the last great prince of Kievan Rus, were numerous Smolensk princes, of whom the Vyazemsky and Kropotkin families are the most famous. Another branch of the Monomashichs came from Yuri Dolgoruky and his son, Vsevolod the Big Nest. His eldest son, Konstantin Vsevolodovich, bequeathed to his sons: Vasilka - Rostov and Beloozero, Vsevolod - Yaroslavl. From Vasilko Konstantinovich’s eldest son, Boris, descend the Rostov princes (the most famous of them are the Shchepin, Katyrev, and Buinosov families). From the second son of Vasilko Konstantinovich, Gleb, came the families of the Belozersk princes, among whom were the princes of Ukhtomsky, Shelespansky, Vadbolsky, and Beloselsky. The only heir of the Yaroslavl prince Vsevolod Konstantinovich, Vasily, had no sons. His daughter Maria married Prince Fyodor Rostislavich from the family of Smolensk princes and brought the Yaroslavl principality as a dowry, in which a change of dynasties (different branches of the Monomashichs) thus took place.
Another son of Vsevolod the Big Nest, Yaroslav, became the founder of several princely dynasties. From his eldest son Alexander Nevsky, through his son Daniil Alexandrovich, came the dynasty of Moscow princes, who then became the central link in the unification process. The brothers of Alexander Nevsky, Andrei Suzdalsky and Yaroslav Tverskoy, became the founders of these princely families. Of the Sudal princes, the most famous are the Shuisky princes, who gave Russia early XVII V. king. Tver princes throughout the 14th century. waged a fierce struggle with representatives of the Moscow house for the grand-ducal table, with the help of the Horde physically exterminating their opponents. As a result, the Moscow princes became the ruling dynasty and had no family formations. The Tver branch was cut short after the flight of its last Grand Duke, Mikhail Borisovich, to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1485) and the inclusion of these lands into the national territory. The Russian boyars included the descendants of the appanage princes of the Tver land - the Mikulinsky, Telyatevsky, Kholmsky princes. The youngest son of Vsevolod the Big Nest, Ivan, received Starodub Ryapolovsky (east of the capital Vladimir) as an inheritance. Of the descendants of this branch, the most famous are the Pozharsky, Romodanovsky and Paletsky families.
Gediminovichi. Another group of princely families were the Gediminovichs - the descendants of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gedimin, who ruled in 1316-1341. Gedimin pursued an active policy of conquest and was the first to call himself “King of the Lithuanians and Russians.” Territorial expansion continued under his sons, Olgerd was especially active (Algirdas, 1345-77). In the XIII-XIV centuries. the lands of the future Belarus and Ukraine were conquered by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, and here the sovereignty of the hereditary lines of the Rurikovichs was lost. Under Olgerd, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania included the Chernigov-Seversk, Kyiv, Podolsk, Volyn, and Smolensk lands. The Gediminovich family was quite branched, its descendants were on thrones in different principalities, and one of the grandsons, Jagiello Olgerdovich, after the signing of the Union of Krevo in 1385, became the founder of the Polish royal Jagiellon dynasty. The descendants of Gediminas, who settled in reigns in lands that were previously part of Kievan Rus, or who switched to Moscow service in the process of forming the state territory of Russia, are called Russian Gediminovichs. Most of them come from two sons of Gediminas - Narimant and Olgerd. One of their branches descended from the eldest grandson of Gediminas, Patrikey Narimantovich. Under Vasily I at the beginning of the 15th century. Patrikey’s two sons, Fyodor and Yuri, transferred to Moscow service. The son of Fyodor is Vasily on the estates on the river. Khovanke received the nickname Khovansky and became the founder of this princely family. Prominent political figures Vasily and Ivan Yuryevich were called Patrikeevs. The sons of Vasily Yuryevich were Ivan Bulgak and Daniil Shchenya - the ancestors of the princes Bulgakov and Shchenyatev. The Bulgakovs, in turn, were divided into Golitsyns and Kurakins - from the sons of Ivan Bulgak, Mikhail Golitsa and Andrei Kuraki. Another branch of the Gediminovichs in Rus' traced their origins to the son of Gedimin Evnutius. His distant descendant Fyodor Mikhailovich Mstislavsky left for Rus' in 1526. The Trubetskoys and Belskys traced their origins to the famous Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd. The great-grandson of Dmitry Olgerdovich Trubetskoy (in the city of Trubchevsk) Ivan Yuryevich and his nephews Andrei, Ivan and Fyodor Ivanovich in 1500 transferred to Russian citizenship along with their small principality. The grandson of Dmitry Olgerdovich’s brother, Vladimir Belsky, Fyodor Ivanovich went to Russian service in 1482. All Gediminovichs took high official and political positions in Rus' and played a noticeable role in the history of the country.
The origin of the princely families of Rurikovich and Gediminovich is more clearly depicted in the diagrams. (Table 1, 2, 3)

Table 1. Scheme of the origin of the main princely families of the Rurikovichs

Table 2. Rurikovich

Table 3. Scheme of the origin of the main princely families of the Russian Gediminovichs

The saying “all men are brothers” has a genealogical basis. The point is not only that we are all distant descendants of the biblical Adam. In the light of the topic under consideration, another ancestor stands out, whose descendants made up a significant layer in social structure feudal Russia. This is Rurik, the conditional ancestor of the “natural” Russian princes. Although he had never been to Kyiv, much less to Vladimir and Moscow, everyone who occupied before late XVI centuries, the grand princely tables considered themselves his descendants, justifying their political and land rights. With the increase in offspring, new princely branches appeared from real ancestors, and to distinguish them from each other (including from the standpoint of family possessions and priority rights to it), first family nicknames and then surnames appeared.
Two main stages can be distinguished. The first is the formation of princely branches, assigning names to them ending in -ich, -ovich (X-XIII centuries, ancient and appanage Rus'). It is not known what they called themselves, but in the chronicles they are named Monomashichi (Monomakhovichi), Olgovichi (Olegovichi), etc. In the first patronymic (from the name-nickname of the ancestor) names of the princely branches, belonging to the princely family was emphasized, and the seniority of the branch was determined by the name of the ancestor, which, first of all, with the ladder (sequential) right of inheritance determined the sovereign rights. A significant reason for the absence of toponymic surnames among the appanage princes of the pre-Moscow period was that they passed by seniority from appanage to appanage. Surnames derived from the name of the locality appear after the liquidation of the next right of inheritance. In this case, the bearers of toponymic surnames were, as a rule, from among the service princes, and less often from the Old Moscow boyars. In this case, the suffix –sky, -skoy was used: Volynsky, Shuisky, Shakhovskoy, etc. At the same time, surnames often did not reflect former sovereign rights, but simply the area from which their bearers moved to the Moscow service, especially among the “expatriates” - Cherkasy, Meshchersky, Sibirsky, etc.
The second stage falls on the period of formation of the Russian centralized state. There is a proliferation of princely branches and the formation of new families, each of which is assigned its own nickname, at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. turning into a surname. The specific hierarchy is replaced by localism - a system of official correspondence of clans in relation to each other and the monarch. Surnames appear at this stage, as if out of official (hierarchical) necessity, and are assigned to the offspring, outwardly emphasizing membership in a clan that occupied a certain social niche. V.B. Korbin believes that in Russia the formation of princely surnames is directly related to the emergence of the category of “service” princes (XV century). Already in the Moscow service, these princely families gave off branches, each of which was assigned not only land holdings, but also surnames, as a rule, patronymic. Thus, from the Starodub princes, the Khilkovs and Tatevs stood out; from Yaroslavl - Troyekurov, Ushaty; from Obolensky - Nogotkovy, Striginy, Kashiny (for more details, see Table 1).
In the 16th century, the process of forming surnames among the boyars was actively underway. A well-known example is the evolution of the nickname of the family, which gave rise to a new royal dynasty at the beginning of the 17th century. The five sons of Andrei Kobyla became the founders of 17 famous families in Russia, each of which had its own surname. The Romanovs began to be called that way only from the middle of the 16th century. Their ancestors are the Kobylins, Koshkins, Zakharyins, and Yuryevs. But even during this period, the central government gave preference to surnames derived from personal nicknames. Sometimes territorial names were preserved as a kind of prefix. This is how double surnames appeared, with the first indicating the ancestor and being patronymic, the second reflecting the general clan affiliation, and, as a rule, toponymic: Zolotye-Obolensky, Shchepin-Obolensky, Tokmakov-Zvenigorodsky, Ryumin-Zvenigorodsky, Sosunov-Zasekin, etc. d. Double surnames reflected not only the incompleteness of the process of their formation, but also the peculiar policy of the great Moscow princes, aimed at interrupting clan territorial ties. It also mattered when and how the lands recognized the supremacy of Moscow. The Rostov, Obolensky, Zvenigorod and a number of other clans retained territorial names in their descendants, but Starodubsky was not allowed to be called by this family name even in the middle of the 17th century, as evidenced by the petition addressed to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from Grigory Romodanovsky, who represented the interests of the senior branch of this, once powerful, but disgraced kind. By the way, a possible reason for the ban on the part of the Romanovs could be that toponymic surnames indirectly reminded of the family seniority of the Rurikovichs. Officially, nobles were allowed to be called, in addition to their surname, by the name of their land holdings. Charter granted to the nobility (1785). However, by that time the surnames had already been established, the nature of land relations had fundamentally changed, and this tradition, popular in Europe, did not take hold in Russia. Of those that existed in late XIX centuries of the families of Russian “natural” princes Karnovich E.P. There are 14, whose surnames were formed from the names of estates: Mosalsky, Yeletsky, Zvenigorod, Rostov, Vyazemsky, Baryatinsky, Obolensky, Shekhonsky, Prozorovsky, Vadbolsky, Shelespansky, Ukhtomsky, Beloselsky, Volkonsky.
Below are the main princely families of the Rurikovichs and the Russian branch of the Gediminovichs with the branches formed from them with surnames assigned to them (Tables 4, 5).

Table 4. Rurikovich. Monomashichi

Table 5. Gediminovichi

Milevich S.V. - Methodological guide for studying the genealogy course. Odessa, 2000.

There were Rurikovichs for sure, but was there a Rurik... Most likely he was, but his personality still raises many more questions than answers.

The Tale of Bygone Years tells about the calling of Rurik by the Eastern Slavs. According to the Tale, this happened in 862 (although the calendar in Rus' in those years was different, and the year in fact was not 862). Some researchers. and this can be seen in particular from the diagram below, Rurik is called the founder of the dynasty, but its foundation is considered only from his son Igor. Probably, during his lifetime, Rurik did not have time to recognize himself as the founder of a dynasty, because he was busy with other things. But the descendants, after some reflection, decided to call themselves a dynasty.

Three main hypotheses regarding the origin have been formed.

• The first - the Norman theory - claims that Rurik with his brothers and retinue were Vikings. Among the Scandinavian peoples at that time, as proven by research, the name Rurik really existed (meaning “illustrious and noble man”). True, with a specific candidate, information about which is also available in other historical stories or documents, problems. There is no clear identification with anyone: for example, the noble Danish Viking of the 9th century, Rorik of Jutland, or a certain Eirik Emundarson from Sweden, who raided the Baltic lands, is described.
• The second, Slavic version, where Rurik is shown as a representative of the princely family of the Obodrites from the West Slavic lands. There is information that one of the Slavic tribes living on the territory of historical Prussia was then called Varangians. Rurik is a variant of the Western Slavic “Rerek, Rarog” - not a personal name, but the name of the Obodrit princely family, meaning “falcon”. Supporters of this version believe that the coat of arms of the Rurikovichs was precisely a symbolized image of a falcon.
• The third theory believes that Rurik really did not exist at all - the founder of the Rurik dynasty emerged from the local Slavic population during the struggle for power, and two hundred years later his descendants, in order to ennoble their origins, ordered the author of The Tale of Bygone Years a propaganda story about the Varangian Rurik.

Over the years, the princely dynasty of Rurikovich was fragmented into many branches. Not many European dynasties can compare with it in the ramifications and large number of offspring. But this was the very policy of this ruling group; they did not set out to sit firmly in the capital; on the contrary, they sent their offspring to all corners of the country.

The branching of the Rurikovichs begins in the generation of Prince Vladimir (some call him the Saint, and some the Bloody), and first of all the line of the princes of Polotsk, the descendants of Izyaslav Vladimirovich, separates.

Very briefly about some of the Rurikovichs

After the death of Rurik, power passed to Saint Oleg, who became the guardian of Rurik’s young son, Igor. Prophetic Oleg united the scattered Russian principalities into one state. He glorified himself with intelligence and belligerence, with a large army he went down the Dnieper, took Smolensk, Lyubech, Kyiv and made the latter his capital city. Askold and Dir were killed, and Oleg showed little Igor to the clearings:

“Here is the son of Rurik - your prince.”

As you know, according to legend, he died from a snake bite.

Further Igor grew up and became the Grand Duke of Kyiv. He contributed to the strengthening of statehood among Eastern Slavs, the extension of the power of the Kyiv prince to the East Slavic tribal associations between the Dniester and the Danube. But in the end he turned out to be a greedy ruler, for which he was killed by the Drevlyans.

Olga, Igor's wife, cruelly took revenge on the Drevlyans for the death of her husband and conquered them main city Korosten. She was distinguished by a rare intelligence and great abilities. In her declining years she accepted Christianity and was later canonized.

One of the most famous princesses in Rus'.

Svyatoslav. Known as one of the most prominent commanders from the Rurik family, for the most part he did not sit still, but was on military campaigns. His son Yaropolk considered responsible for the death of his brother Oleg, who tried to claim the Kiev throne.

But Yaropolk was also killed, and again by his brother, Vladimir.

The same one Vladimir that Rus' baptized. The Kiev Grand Duke Vladimir Svyatoslavovich was at first a fanatical pagan; he is also credited with such traits as vindictiveness and bloodthirstiness. At least he did not regret his brother and got rid of him in order to take the princely throne in Kyiv.

His son Yaroslav Vladimirovich, to whom history added the nickname “Wise,” was truly a wise and diplomatic ruler of the Old Russian state. The time of his reign was not only internecine feudal wars between close relatives, but also attempts to bring Kievan Rus to the world political arena, attempts to overcome feudal fragmentation, and the construction of new cities. The reign of Yaroslav the Wise is the development of Slavic culture, a kind of golden period of the Old Russian state.

Izyaslav - I- the eldest son of Yaroslav, after the death of his father he took the Kiev throne, but after an unsuccessful campaign against the Polovtsians, he was driven out by the people of Kiev, and his brother became the Grand Duke Svyatoslav. After the death of the latter, Izyaslav returned to Kyiv again.

Vsevolod - I could have been a useful ruler and a worthy representative of the Rurikovichs, but it didn’t work out. This prince was pious, truthful, loved education very much and knew five languages, but the Polovtsian raids, famine, pestilence and turmoil in the country did not favor his principality. He held onto the throne only thanks to his son Vladimir, nicknamed Monomakh.

Svyatopolk - II- the son of Izyaslav I, who inherited the Kiev throne after Vsevolod I, was distinguished by his lack of character and was unable to pacify the civil strife of the princes over the possession of cities. At the congress in Lyubich Pereslavl in 1097, the princes kissed the cross “to each one own his father’s land,” but soon Prince David Igorevich blinded Prince Vasilko.

The princes gathered again for a congress in the year 1100, and deprived David of Volhynia; at the suggestion of Vladimir Monomakh, they decided at the Dolob congress, in 1103, to undertake a joint campaign against the Polovtsians, the Russians defeated the Polovtsians on the Sal River (in 1111) and took a lot of cattle: cattle, sheep, horses, etc. The Polovtsian princes alone killed up to 20 people . The fame of this victory spread far among the Greeks, Hungarians and other Slavs.

Vladimir Monomakh. A widely known representative of the Rurik dynasty. Despite the seniority of the Svyatoslavichs, after the death of Svyatopolk II, Vladimir Monomakh was elected to the Kiev throne, who, according to the chronicle, “wanted good for the brethren and the whole Russian land.” He stood out for his great abilities, rare intelligence, courage and tirelessness. He was happy in his campaigns against the Polovtsians. He humbled the princes with his severity. The “teaching to children” he left behind is remarkable, in which he gives purely Christian moral teaching and a high example of the prince’s service to his homeland.

Mstislav - I. Resembling his father Monomakh, Monomakh's son, Mstislav I, lived in harmony with his brothers in mind and character, inspiring respect and fear in the rebellious princes. So, he expelled the Polovtsian princes who disobeyed him to Greece, and instead of them, he installed his son to rule in the city of Polotsk.

Yaropolk, Mstislav's brother, Yaropolk, son of Monomakh, decided to transfer the inheritance not to his brother Vyacheslav, but to his nephew. Thanks to the discord that arose from here, the Monomakhovichs lost the Kiev throne, which passed to the descendants of Oleg Svyatoslavovich - the Olegovichs.

Vsevolod - II. Having achieved a great reign, Vsevolod wanted to consolidate the Kiev throne in his family and handed it over to his brother Igor Olegovich. But not recognized by the people of Kiev and tonsured a monk, Igor was soon killed.

Izyaslav - II. The people of Kiev recognized Izyaslav II Mstislavovich, who vividly resembled his famous grandfather Monomakh with his intelligence, brilliant talents, courage and friendliness. With the accession of Izyaslav II to the grand-ducal throne, the rooted in ancient Rus' concept of seniority: In one family, a nephew could not be a Grand Duke during his uncle’s lifetime.

Yury Dolgoruky". Prince of Suzdal from 1125, Grand Duke of Kiev in 1149-1151, 1155-1157, founder of Moscow. Yuri was the sixth son of Prince Vladimir Monomakh. After the death of his father, he inherited the Rostov-Suzdal principality and immediately began to strengthen the borders of his inheritance, erecting fortresses on them. So, for example, under him the fortress of Ksyantin arose, as modern Tver was previously called. By his order, the following cities were founded: Dubna, Yuryev-Polsky, Dmitrov, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Zvenigorod, Gorodets. The first chronicle mention of Moscow in 1147 is also associated with the name of Yuri Dolgoruky.
The life of this prince is unusual and interesting. Younger son Vladimir Monomakh could not claim more than an appanage principality. He received the Rostov principality as his inheritance, which became prosperous under Yuri. Many settlements arose here. The tireless son of Monomakh received his nickname “Dolgoruky” for his ambitions, for constantly interfering in other people’s affairs and for his constant desire to seize other people’s lands.
Owning the Rostov-Suzdal land, Yuri always sought to expand the territory of his principality and often raided neighboring lands owned by his relatives. Most of all, he dreamed of capturing Kyiv. In 1125, Yuri moved the capital of the principality from Rostov to Suzdal, from where he made campaigns to the south, strengthening his squad with mercenary Polovtsian troops. He annexed the cities of Murom, Ryazan, and part of the lands along the banks of the Volga to the Rostov Principality.
The Suzdal prince occupied Kyiv three times, but he never managed to stay there for long. The struggle for the great reign with his nephew Izyaslav Mstislavich was long. Yuri entered Kyiv three times as Grand Duke, but only the third time did he remain so until the end of his days. The people of Kiev did not like Prince Yuri. This was explained by the fact that Yuri more than once resorted to the help of the Polovtsians and was almost always a troublemaker during periods of struggle for the throne. Yuri Dolgoruky was a “newcomer” for the people of Kiev, from the North. According to the chronicler, after the death of Yuri in 1157, the people of Kiev plundered his rich mansions and killed the Suzdal detachment that came with him.

Andrey Bogolyubsky. Having accepted the title of grand duke, Andrei Yuryevich transferred the throne to Vladimir on the Klyazma, and from then on Kyiv began to lose its primacy position. The stern and strict Andrei wanted to be autocratic, that is, to rule Russia without a council or squads. Andrei Bogolyubsky mercilessly pursued the disgruntled boyars, they plotted against Andrei's life and killed him.

Alexander Nevskiy". Grand Duke of Novgorod (1236-1251). Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky consistently pursued a policy aimed at strengthening the northwestern borders of Rus' and reconciliation with the Tatars.
While still the Prince of Novgorod (1236-1251), he showed himself to be an experienced commander and wise ruler. Thanks to the victories won in the “Battle of the Neva” (1240), in the “Battle of the Ice” (1242), as well as numerous forays against the Lithuanians, Alexander for a long time discouraged the Swedes, Germans and Lithuanians from taking possession of the northern Russian lands.
Alexander pursued the opposite policy towards the Mongol-Tatars. It was a policy of peace and cooperation, the purpose of which was to prevent a new invasion of Rus'. The prince often traveled to the Horde with rich gifts. He managed to achieve the release of Russian soldiers from the obligation to fight on the side of the Mongol-Tatars.

Yuri - III. Having married the sister of Khan Konchak, in Orthodoxy Agafya, Yuri acquired great strength and help from the Tatars who were related to him. But soon, thanks to the claims of Prince Dmitry, the son of Mikhail, who was tortured by Khan, he had to report to the horde. Here, at the first meeting with Dmitry, Yuri was killed by him, in revenge for the death of his father and for a violation of morality (marriage to a Tatar).

Dmitry - II. Dmitry Mikhailovich, nicknamed “formidable eyes”, for the murder of Yuri III, was executed by the khan for arbitrariness.

Alexander Tverskoy. The brother of Dmitry II, executed in the horde, Alexander Mikhailovich, was confirmed as khan on the grand-ducal throne. He was distinguished by his kindness and was loved by the people, but he ruined himself by allowing the Tver people to kill the hated Khan's ambassador Shchelkan. The Khan sent 50,000 Tatar troops against Alexander. Alexander fled from the khan's wrath to Pskov, and from there to Lithuania. Ten years later, Alexander of Tver returned and was forgiven by the khan. Not getting along, however, with the Prince of Moscow Ivan Kalita, Alexander
he was slandered by him in front of the khan, the khan summoned him to the horde and executed him.

John I Kalita. John I Danilovich, a cautious and cunning prince, nicknamed Kalita (money purse) for his frugality, devastated the Tver principality with the help of the Tatars, taking advantage of the opportunity of violence of the indignant Tver residents against the Tatars. He took upon himself the collection of tribute from all over Rus' for the Tatars and, greatly enriched by this, bought cities from appanage princes. In 1326, the metropolitanate from Vladimir, thanks to the efforts of Kalita, was transferred to Moscow, and here, according to Metropolitan Peter, the Assumption Cathedral was founded. Since then, Moscow, as the seat of the Metropolitan of All Rus', has acquired the significance of a Russian center.

John -II Ioannovich, a meek and peace-loving prince, followed in everything the advice of Metropolitan Alexei, who enjoyed great importance in the Horde. During this time, Moscow's relations with the Tatars improved significantly.

Vasily - I. Sharing the reign with his father, Vasily I ascended the throne as an experienced prince and, following the example of his predecessors, actively expanded the boundaries of the Moscow principality: He acquired Nizhny Novgorod and other cities. In 1395, Rus' was in danger of an invasion by Timur, the formidable Tatar khan. Between
Thus, Vasily did not pay tribute to the Tatars, but collected it into the grand ducal treasury. In 1408, the Tatar Murza Edigei attacked Moscow, but after receiving a ransom of 3,000 rubles, he lifted the siege from it. In the same year, after long disputes between Vasily I and the Lithuanian prince Vytautas, both cautious and cunning, the Ugra River was designated as the extreme border of Lithuanian possessions on the Russian side.

Vasily - II Dark. Yuri Dmitrievich Galitsky took advantage of Vasily II's youth, declaring his claims to seniority. But at the trial in the horde, the khan leaned in favor of Vasily, thanks to the efforts of the smart Moscow boyar Ivan Vsevolozhsky. The boyar hoped to marry his daughter to Vasily, but was disappointed in his hopes: Offended, he left Moscow to Yuri Dmitrievich and assisted him in taking possession of the grand-ducal throne, on which Yuri died in 1434, when Yuri’s son Vasily the Oblique decided to inherit his father’s power, then all the princes rebelled against him.

Vasily II took him prisoner and blinded him: Then Dmitry Shemyaka, brother of Vasily Kosoy, captured Vasily II by cunning, blinded him and took the Moscow throne. Soon, however, Shemyaka had to give the throne to Vasily II. During the reign of Vasily II, the Greek metropolitan Isidore accepted the Florentine Union (1439), for this Vasily II put Isidore in custody, and the Ryazan Bishop John was installed as metropolitan. Thus, from now on, Russian metropolitans are appointed by a council of Russian bishops. Behind last years Grand Duchy, the internal structure of the Grand Duchy was the subject of the main concerns of Vasily II.

John - III. Accepted by his father as a co-ruler, John III Vasilyevich ascended the grand-ducal throne as the full owner of Rus'. He first severely punished the Novgorodians who had decided to become Lithuanian subjects, and in 1478, “for a new offense,” he finally subjugated them. Novgorodians lost their veche and
self-government, and the Novgorod mayor Maria and the veche bell were sent to John’s camp.

In 1485, after the final conquest of other appanages more or less dependent on the Moscow principality, John finally annexed the Tver principality to Moscow. By this time, the Tatars were divided into three independent hordes: Golden, Kazan and Crimean. They were at enmity with each other and were no longer afraid of the Russians. In official history it is believed that it was John III in 1480, having entered into an alliance with the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey, tore apart the Khan's basma, ordered the Khan's ambassadors to be taken to execution, and then overthrew the Tatar yoke without bloodshed.

Vasily - III. The son of John III from his marriage to Sophia, Palaeologus Vasily III, was distinguished by his pride and inaccessibility, punishing the descendants of appanage princes and boyars under his control who dared to contradict him. He is “the last collector of the Russian land.”
Having annexed the last appanages (Pskov, the northern principality), he completely destroyed the appanage system. He fought twice with Lithuania, following the teachings of the Lithuanian nobleman Mikhail Glinsky, who entered his service, and finally, in 1514, he took Smolensk from the Lithuanians. The war with Kazan and Crimea was difficult for Vasily, but ended in the punishment of Kazan: Trade was diverted from there to the Makaryev fair, which was later moved to Nizhny. Vasily divorced his wife Solomonia and married Princess Elena Glinskaya, which further aroused the boyars who were dissatisfied with him against him. From this marriage Vasily had a son, John.

Elena Glinskaya. Appointed ruler of the state by Vasily III, the mother of three-year-old John Elena Glinskaya immediately took drastic measures against the boyars dissatisfied with her. She made peace with Lithuania and decided to fight the Crimean Tatars, who boldly attacked Russian possessions, but in the midst of preparations for a desperate struggle she died suddenly.

John - IV the Terrible. Left at the age of 8 in the hands of the boyars, the intelligent and talented Ivan Vasilyevich grew up amid the struggle of parties over the rule of the state, among violence, secret murders and incessant exile. Having himself often suffered oppression from the boyars, he learned to hate them, and the cruelty, riotousness and violence that surrounded him
rudeness contributed to the hardening of his heart.

In 1552, Ivan conquered Kazan, which dominated the entire Volga region, and in 1556 the kingdom of Astrakhan was annexed to the Moscow state. The desire to establish himself on the shores of the Baltic Sea forced John to start the Livonian War, which brought him into conflict with Poland and Sweden. The war started quite successfully, but ended with the most unfavorable truce for John with Poland and Sweden: John not only did not establish himself on the shores of the Baltic, but also lost the coast of the Gulf of Finland. The sad era of “searches,” disgrace and executions began. John left Moscow, went with his entourage to the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda and here surrounded himself with guardsmen, whom John contrasted with the rest of the land, the zemshchina.

The ruling Romanov dynasty gave the country many brilliant kings and emperors. It is interesting that this surname does not belong to all of its representatives; noblemen Koshkins, Kobylins, Miloslavskys, Naryshkins met in the family. The family tree of the Romanov dynasty shows us that the history of this family dates back to 1596.

Family tree of the Romanov dynasty: the beginning

The founder of the family is the son of boyar Fyodor Romanov and noblewoman Ksenia Ivanovna, Mikhail Fedorovich. The first king of the dynasty. He was a cousin of the last emperor from the Moscow branch of the Rurikovich family - Fyodor the First Ioannovich. On February 7, 1613, he was elected to reign. On July 21 of the same year, the ceremony for reign was performed. It was this moment that marked the beginning of the reign of the great Romanov dynasty.

At the beginning of 1917, the Romanov dynasty consisted of 32 male representatives, 13 of whom were killed by the Bolsheviks in 1918-19. Those who escaped this settled in Western Europe (mainly France) and the USA. In the 1920s and 30s, a significant part of the dynasty continued to hope for the collapse of Soviet power in Russia and the restoration of the monarchy.

1. The Council recognized that the right to exercise Supreme power in Russia belongs to the dynasty of the House of Romanov.
2. The Council considered it necessary and consistent with the wishes of the population to head the national statehood by the Supreme Ruler from the members of the Dynasty, whom the members of the House of Romanov would point to.
3. The government was asked to enter into negotiations with representatives of the House of Romanov.

All current representatives of this family are descendants of the four sons of Nicholas I:

* Alexandrovichi, descendants of Alexander II. This branch has four living representatives - his great-great-granddaughter, Maria Vladimirovna, her son Georgy, and brothers Dmitry and Mikhail Pavlovich Romanov-Ilyinsky (the youngest of whom was born in 1961).
* Konstantinovichi, descendants of Konstantin Nikolaevich. In the male line, the branch was terminated in 1973 (with the death of Vsevolod, the son of John Konstantinovich).
* Nikolaevichs, descendants of Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder. The two living male representatives are brothers Nikolai and Dmitry Romanovich Romanov, the youngest of whom was born in 1926.
* Mikhailovichi, descendants of Mikhail Nikolaevich. All other living male Romanovs belong to this branch (see below), the youngest of them was born in 2009.

Only two of the male line descendants of the Romanovs remained on the territory of the USSR - the children of Alexander Iskander: (Natalia and Kirill (1915-1992) Androsov); the rest either left or died.

On December 22, 2011, the President of the unrecognized Transnistrian Moldavian Republic I.N. Smirnov signed the Decree “On the status of the Russian Imperial House in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.” According to this decree, on the territory of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, the Russian Imperial House is recognized as a unique historical institution without rights legal entity, taking part in the patriotic, spiritual and moral education of citizens of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, preserving the historical and cultural heritage and traditions of Pridnestrovian society. Back in 2009, Maria Vladimirovna Romanova was awarded the highest award of the PMR - the Order of the Republic. On June 9, 2011, for the first time since 1917, a representative of the House of Romanov was awarded a Russian state award: Prince Romanov, Dmitry Romanovich.

In total, as of May 2010, the Romanov clan consisted of 12 male representatives. Among them, only four (grandsons and great-grandson of Prince Rostislav Alexandrovich) are no older than forty years.

Outstanding personalities - the Romanov dynasty.

The family tree includes about 80 people. In this article we will not touch on everyone, but only on the reigning persons and their families.

Family tree of the Romanov dynasty

Mikhail Fedorovich and his wife Evdokia had one son, Alexey. He headed the throne from 1645 to 1676. Was married twice. The first wife was Maria Miloslavskaya, from this marriage the tsar had three children: Fyodor - the eldest son, Ivan the Fifth and daughter Sophia. From his marriage to Natalya Naryshkina, Mikhail had one son, Peter the Great, who later became a great reformer. Ivan married Praskovya Saltykova, from this marriage they had two daughters - Anna Ioannovna and Ekaterina. Peter had two marriages - with Evdokia Lopukhina and Catherine the First. From his first marriage, the tsar had a son, Alexei, who later married Sophia Charlotte. From this marriage Peter the Second was born.

Family tree of the Romanov dynasty: Peter the Great and Catherine the First

Three children were born from the marriage - Elizabeth, Anna and Peter. Anna married Karl Friedrich, and they had a son, Peter the Third, who married

Family tree of the Romanov dynasty: Miloslavsky branch Catherine II. She, in turn, took the crown from her husband. But Catherine had a son - Pavel I, who married Maria Fedorovna. From this marriage an emperor was born who later married Alexandra Feodorovna. From this marriage Alexander II was born. He had two marriages - with Maria Alexandrovna and Ekaterina Dolgorukova. The future heir to the throne - Alexander the Third - was born from his first marriage. He, in turn, married Maria Feodorovna. The son from this union became last emperor Russia: we are talking about Nicholas II.

Ivan the Fourth and Praskovya Saltykova had two daughters - Ekaterina and Anna. Catherine married Karl Leopold. From this marriage Anna Leopoldovna was born, who married Anton Ulrich. The couple had a son, known to us as Ivan the Fourth.

This is the Romanov family tree in a nutshell. The scheme includes all the wives and children of the rulers of the Russian Empire. Secondary relatives are not considered. Undoubtedly, the Romanovs are the brightest and strongest dynasty that ruled Russia.

24. Vasily Shuisky was not a descendant of Rurik in the direct royal line, so the last Rurikovich on the throne is still considered the son of Ivan the Terrible, Fyodor Ioannovich.

25. Ivan III’s adoption of the double-headed eagle as a heraldic sign is usually associated with the influence of his wife Sophia Paleologus, but this is not the only version of the origin of the coat of arms. Perhaps it was borrowed from the heraldry of the Habsburgs, or from the Golden Horde, who used a double-headed eagle on some coins. Today, the double-headed eagle appears on the coats of arms of six European states.

26. Among the modern “Rurikovichs” there is the now living “Emperor of Holy Rus' and Third Rome”, he has the “New Church of Holy Rus'”, “Cabinet of Ministers”, “ The State Duma", "Supreme Court", " Central bank", "Ambassadors Plenipotentiary", "National Guard".

27. Otto von Bismarck was a descendant of the Rurikovichs. His distant relative was Anna Yaroslavovna.

28. The first American president, George Washington, was also Rurikovich. Besides him, 20 more US presidents were descended from Rurik. Including father and son Bushi.

29. One of the last Rurikovichs, Ivan the Terrible, on his father’s side was descended from the Moscow branch of the dynasty, and on his mother’s side from the Tatar temnik Mamai.

30. Lady Diana was connected with Rurik through the Kyiv princess Dobronega, daughter of Vladimir the Saint, who married the Polish prince Casimir the Restorer.

31. Alexander Pushkin, if you look at his genealogy, is Rurikovich through his great-grandmother Sarah Rzhevskaya.

32. After the death of Fyodor Ioannovich, only his youngest - Moscow - branch was stopped. But the male offspring of other Rurikovichs (former appanage princes) by that time had already acquired surnames: Baryatinsky, Volkonsky, Gorchakov, Dolgorukov, Obolensky, Odoevsky, Repnin, Shuisky, Shcherbatov...

33. The Last Chancellor Russian Empire, the great Russian diplomat of the 19th century, friend of Pushkin and comrade of Bismarck, Alexander Gorchakov was born into an old noble family descended from the Yaroslavl Rurik princes.

34. 24 British Prime Ministers were Rurikovichs. Including Winston Churchill. Anna Yaroslavna was his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother.

35. One of the most cunning politicians of the 17th century, Cardine Richelieu, also had Russian roots - again through Anna Yaroslavna.

36. In 2007, the historian Murtazaliev argued that the Rurikovichs were Chechens. “The Rus were not just anyone, but Chechens. It turns out that Rurik and his squad, if they really are from the Varangian tribe of Rus, then they are purebred Chechens, moreover, from the royal family and speaking their native Chechen language.”

37. Alexander Dumas, who immortalized Richelieu, was also Rurikovich. His great-great-great-great...grandmother was Zbyslava Svyatopolkovna, the daughter of Grand Duke Svyatopolk Izyaslavich, who was married to the Polish king Boleslav Wrymouth.

38. The Prime Minister of Russia from March to July 1917 was Grigory Lvov, a representative of the Rurik branch descending from Prince Lev Danilovich, nicknamed Zubaty, a descendant of Rurik in the 18th generation.

39. Ivan IV was not the only “formidable” king in the Rurik dynasty. “Terrible” was also called his grandfather, Ivan III, who, in addition, also had the nicknames “justice” and “great”. As a result, Ivan III received the nickname “great”, and his grandson became “formidable”.

40. “Father of NASA” Wernher von Braun was also Rurikovich. His mother was Baroness Emmy, née von Quisthorn.