Speaker
Description
Tsar Alexei Mikhaelovich, the second tsar of the Romanov dynasty, ruled from 1645 to 1676. Though not as celebrated as his son Peter’s era of Westernization, Alexei’s reign marked the beginnings of the modernization of Russia in the following aspects: state centralization, the rule of law, foreign policy, elite culture, and theology. Alexei asserted state authority by putting down three major revolts and stabilizing the chaos that had reigned during the Time of Troubles. He also issued a standardized law code, the Ulozheniye, which structured Russian law for the next 200 years. Alexei also brought Russia closer to "great power" status by annexing Western Ukraine from Poland after a bitter thirteen-year war. Now subjects of the tsar, elites from Kiev brought Western tastes such as ballet to Russia’s gentry culture. Lastly, Alexei presided over a liturgical renovation in the Orthodox church that both divided and updated Russian worship. In light of all these fundamental developments in Russian society, it is clear that Alexei’s rule should no longer be viewed as the last gasp of traditionalism before Peter the Great, but rather as the foundation that Peter and his successors continued to build upon.
