Boris Morozov

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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.

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