n.
Russian Sofya Alekseyevna
born Sept. 27, 1657, Moscow, Russia
died July 14, 1704, Moscow
Regent of Russia (168289).
Daughter of Tsar Alexis , she objected to the succession of her half brother Peter I (the Great) as tsar (1682) and instigated an uprising by the streltsy (household troops). She arranged to have her brother Ivan V proclaimed coruler with Peter and assumed the role of regent. With help from her chief adviser and lover, Vasily Golitsyn , she promoted the development of industry and concluded peace treaties with Poland (1686) and China (1689). After sponsoring two disastrous military campaigns against the Crimean Tatars (1687, 1689), she tried to regain her influence by inciting the streltsy to oust Peter and his advisers. She was instead overthrown by Peter in 1689 and forced to enter a convent.