Alexis I of Russia

Alexis I enacted the Sobornoye Ulozheniye, a comprehensive legal code that consolidated Russian law and strengthened serfdom by making peasants permanently bound to the land. The code also centralized state authority and defined the rights of nobles, clergy, and townspeople.

Alexis I launched a war against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, initially capturing Smolensk and much of eastern Poland. The war, which included the Khmelnytsky Uprising and Swedish intervention, ended with the Truce of Andrusovo, gaining Russia left-bank Ukraine and Kiev.

Alexis I's government brutally suppressed the Copper Riot in Moscow, a protest against the devaluation of copper coins and economic hardship. Thousands of rioters were killed or executed, and the rebellion led to the withdrawal of copper currency, restoring silver coinage.

Alexis I supported the Great Moscow Synod, which condemned the Old Believers and their leader Avvakum for opposing Patriarch Nikon's liturgical reforms. The council excommunicated the dissenters, leading to a schism (Raskol) in the Russian Orthodox Church that persisted for centuries.