Tsar Mikhail Romanov: His Entry into Power

Introduction. As historical literature shows, the election of Tsar Mikhail Romanov at the Zemsky Sobor of 1613 occurred without broad support of boyars and nobles. The Cossacks played a decisive role in his election. This article is devoted to considering the issue of how Tsar Mikhail was able to establish himself in power. Methods and materials. The article is based on the use and comprehensive analysis of the sources, which show the process of approval of Tsar Mikhail Romanov in power. The article uses narrative and documentary sources, including new archival materials. The article contains a critical comparison of official and unofficial sources. The author of the article uses the principles of historicism and system analysis. The article considers the events of 1613 in their development and interrelations, and provides a comprehensive analysis of various political and socio-economic phenomena that contributed to Tsar Mikhail’s power strengthening. The article uses the methods of genealogical research and textual analysis of sources. Analysis. On March 14, 1613, Tsar Mikhail, after much persuasion, agreed to accept the throne in Kostroma, but he didn’t hurry to move to Moscow. He arrived in Moscow only on May 2, 1613. It was necessary to strengthen the authority of the royal power, to establish relations with social classes and, above all, with the ruling elite. The author of the article shows that Tsar Mikhail and his entourage coped very successfully with these problems during the march from Kostroma to Moscow. The control over the government, the initiative of operational assignments and solutions of land affairs gradually concentrated in the hands of the tsar. The author shows that Mikhail entered Moscow as an absolute sovereign and that there is no reason to talk about restricting his power in favor of the Boyar Duma and the Zemsky Sobor. During 1613-1618 the composition of the Duma and court ranks was intensively replenished by the Romanovs. Results. The author comes to the conclusion that during the first years of Mikhail Fedorovich’s reign the position of the House of Romanov in the state was significantly strengthened.