Boris Morozov
Boris Ivanovich Morozov (
Борис Иванович Морозов in
Russian, 1590 - 1661), a
Muscovite statesman and
boyar who led the
Russian government during the early reign of
Tsar Alexis, whose tutor and brother-in-law he was.
During his long career at the
Kremlin court, Morozov supervised a number of government departments (called
prikazy) " Grand
Treasury,
Streltsy,
Pharmacy, and
Payroll. Aspiring to increase
treasury's
income, Morozov reduced salaries of state employees and introduced a high indirect
salt tax. These measures caused the
Salt Riot of
1648. The rebels demanded Morozov's handover, but the
tsar hid him in his
palace and then sent him in a fictitious
exile into the
Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. After four months, however, Morozov returned to
Moscow.
In
1649, Morozov took active part in preparing the
Sobornoye Ulozheniye, a legal code which would survive well into the 19th century. In the early
1650s, while maintaining a low profile, he was still in the charge of the
Muscovite government. He owned 55,000 peasants and a number of
mills,
distilleries,
factories that produced
iron,
bricks, and
salt. His sister-in-law,
Boyarynya Morozova, was involved in the
Old Believer movement.
