Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky (russian: Илья Данилович Милославский) (1594–1668) was a Russian

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were ...

and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

Biography

Ilya Miloslavsky was brought forward by the head of the Posolsky Prikaz

Ivan Gramotin Ivan Tarasyevich Gramotin () (died 1638) was a Russian diplomat and head of the '' Posolsky Prikaz'' ( foreign ministry). Ivan Gramotin was known to have been a very smart, well-read and eloquent person. He was one of the prominent figures durin ...

, who had been his uncle. Miloslavsky was soon sent to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

with a message from

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Alexei Mikhailovich Aleksey Mikhaylovich ( rus, Алексе́й Миха́йлович, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ; – ) was the Tsar of Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. While finding success in foreign affairs, his reign saw several wars ...

, who wanted to establish a cordial relationship with the Turkish

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

. In 1646, Miloslavsky went to

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

with orders to select

gunsmith A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds guns. The occupation differs from an armorer, who usually replaces only worn parts in standard firearms. Gunsmiths do modifications and changes to a firearm that may require a very ...

s for a Russian weapons factory and invite foreign officers and soldiers to serve in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. When Alexei Mikhailovich married his daughter

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, Miloslavsky, as the tsar's father-in-law, began to play a more visible role at the royal court. During the Polish campaigns of 1654–1655, he was appointed court voyevoda. In 1656–1662, Miloslavsky was in charge of the Streltsy Prikaz,

Treasury Prikaz A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in ...

Inozemsky Prikaz Inozemsky Prikaz (russian: Иноземский приказ, lit. Office for the Affairs of the Foreigners) was a central government agency in the 17th-century Russia, which dealt with the affairs of the foreigners, including those hired by the R ...

, and

Reiter Prikaz ''Reiter'' or ''Schwarze Reiter'' ("black riders", anglicized ''swart reiters'') were a type of cavalry in 16th to 17th century Central Europe including Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Tsardom of Russia, and others. ...

. His foreign contemporaries considered him a self-interested and dull-witted individual. According to an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n diplomat

Augustin Meyerberg Augustin may refer to: * Augustin (name), male name, variant of Augustine * Augustin (typography), English or 14-point type * Augustin, Brașov, a commune in Brașov County, Romania * Dacian fortress of Augustin, ruined Dacian fortified town in ...

(author of ''Journey to the Muscovy''), the tsar did not respect Miloslavsky, never called him his father-in-law, and even pulled him by the hair and hit him with his fist on several occasions. Miloslavsky and his family occupied the

Amusement Palace The Amusement Palace (russian: Потешный дворец, translit=Poteshny Dvorets) is located at the Kremlin’s western wall. It is situated between the Commandant and Trinity Towers. It was built in 1652 for Ilya Miloslavsky, who was the f ...

in the

Moscow Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...

until his death in 1668. Russian nobility Tsardom of Russia people 1594 births 1668 deaths {{russia-bio-stub