Russian Aleksey Mikhaylovich
born March 9, 1629, Moscow, Russia
died Jan. 29, 1676, Moscow
Tsar of Russia (164576).
Son of Michael , the first Romanov monarch of Russia, Alexis acceded to the throne at age 16. He encouraged trade with the West, which brought an upsurge in foreign influences. During his reign the peasants were enserfed, the land assemblies fell into gradual disuse, the professional bureaucracy and regular army grew in importance, and patriarch Nikon 's reforms of the Russian Orthodox church were adopted. Though reportedly warmhearted and popular, Alexis was a weak ruler who sometimes entrusted matters of state to incompetent favourites.