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RUSSIA - ALEXIS Ier MICHAILOVITCH

(1645-1676)

Alexis I is the only son of Tsar Michael Romanov. He is renowned for his "very great gentleness", was in fact a devout conservative, who left power in the hands of his parents (E. Miloslavsky, V. I. Morozov), of his favorites (A. Matveyev) or Patriarch Nikon. The long reign of Alexis (1645-1676) is far from being peaceful: inside, the corruption, the multiplication of the taxes and the depreciation of the coin cause many popular uprisings (1648, 1650, 1662); the most important is the one led by the Don Cossack Stenka Razin in 1670-1671. To appease these popular discontents, the government takes measures to improve the administration and justice: in 1649, it is the introduction of a new code of laws, Uloženee, which will remain in use until 1833; the population was divided into different groups totally closed to each other; serfdom became the rule of public law for the peasant and his family. The second half of the reign was marked by the ecclesiastical reform undertaken by Patriarch Nikon, with a view to harmonizing the ecclesiastical books and the ritual of the liturgy with those of the mother Church of Constantinople, and by the simultaneous proclamation of the superiority of Church over State. This reform met with opposition from traditionalist circles led by Archpriest Avvakum and ended with the schism (raskol) of the supporters of the old faith, called “old believers” (starovery). ARRIGNON, "ALEXIS I MIKHAÏLOVITCH (1629-1676) - Tsar of Russia (1645-1676)", Encyclopædia Universalis http://www. universalis. en/encyclopedia/alexis-ier-mikhailovitch/.