Sophia Alekseyevna

Sophia Alekseyevna (Софья Алексеевна in Russian) (September 17(27), 1657 ? July 3(14), 1704), regent of Russia in 1682-1689, daughter of tsar Aleksey I of Russia and Maria Miloslavskaya.

After the death of her brother - tsar Feodor III of Russia (April 27, 1682) - Sophia was actively engaged in a fight against court politicians, because she had been against electing a 10-year old Peter the Great as a ruler of Russia. The Miloslavsky party took advantage of the Moscow Uprising of 1682 and seized power. Ivan V was proclaimed the "first" tsar (young Peter the Great being the second), and Sophia (on May 29) - their regent. She practically became the head of the government with support from Vasily Golitsyn, F.Shalkovitiy and others. In the fall of 1682, the government of Sophia Alekseyevna had to move to Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra, because the uprising had gotten out of hand. Its leaders had been conspiring to eliminate all of the royalty, boyars, and nobility and make Knyaz Ivan Khovansky ruler of Russia. Soon enough Sophia managed to suppress the Moscow Uprising with the help of the nobles' forces.

During her reign, Sophia made a few concessions to posads and loosened detention policies towards runaway peasants, which caused dissatifaction among the nobles. The most notorious highlights of her foreign policy were the Eternal Peace Treaty of 1686 with Poland, the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689 with China, and a war with Turkey and Crimean Khanate (see Crimean campaigns of 1687 and 1689).

By the end of the 1680s, Sophia was in a permanent state of conflict with Peter I, because she had always strived for absolute rule. In August of 1689, Peter I found out that Sophia had been conspiring against him. He quickly moved from the village of Preobrazhenskoye to Troitse-Sergiyev monastery (today's Sergiyev Posad). His loyal forces and supporters followed him there. They soon surrounded Moscow and arrested Sophia. She was incarcerated in Novodevichiy monastery. Her supporters were either executed or banished.

During the Streltsy Uprising of 1698, Sophia's supporters intended to reinstate her in power. However, the uprising was severely suppressed by Peter I, who made Sophia a nun of Novodevichiy monastery, where she died a few years later.