Feodor Mikhailovich Rtishchev (; April 16, 1625, Chekalinsky

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the R ...

– July 1, 1673,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

) was a

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

and an intimate friend of

Alexis I of Russia Alexei Mikhailovich (, ; – ), also known as Alexis, was Tsar of all Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. He was the second Russian tsar from the House of Romanov. He was the first tsar to sign laws on his own authority and his council ...

who was renowned for his piety and alms-deeds.Rtishchev in the ''Russian Biographical Dictionary''
/ref> He was the founder of the so-called Andreevsky School. It was the first educational institution in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, founded as a court circle during the reign of

Alexei Mikhailovich Alexei Mikhailovich (, ; – ), also known as Alexis, was Tsar of all Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. He was the second Russian tsar from the House of Romanov. He was the first tsar to sign laws on his own authority and his council ...

. As Rtischev eschewed publicity, the true extent of his influence on the

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

's policies has been disputed by

historians A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

. It is thought that it was Rtischev who instigated the revision of service-books which led to the Great Schism of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

. Some scholars also hold him responsible for the eventual downfall of

Patriarch Nikon Nikon (, ), born Nikita Minin (; 7 May 1605 – 17 August 1681) was the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' of the Russian Orthodox Church, serving officially from 1652 to 1666. He was renowned for his eloquence, energy, piety and close t ...

. During the great

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

Vologda Vologda (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as ...

(1650), Rtischev sold much of his property, including clothes and house utensils, in order to raise funds for the famine-stricken city. He took care for all the wounded in the Russo-Polish wars, notwithstanding their nationality, and established several alms-houses in

. Remembered as the earliest patron of Russian education, Rtischev founded one of the first schools in Moscow, where he invited Epiphanius Slavinetsky to instruct the students in

Greek language Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...

. Rtischev's school is considered as an institution that preceded the establishment of the Slavic Greek Latin Academy in Moscow and, thus, gave impetus to the emergence of higher education in Russia It is known that Rtischev survived several assassination attempts, and wrote a treatise on

falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...

.''Brockhaus and Efron Dictionary''
/ref> His biography was written by

Vasily Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky (; – ) was a leading Russian Empire, Russian Imperial historian of the late imperial period. He also addressed the contemporary Russian economy in his writings. Biography A village priest's son, Klyuchevsky studi ...

. Fyodor was a relative of Ustinia Bogdanovna Rtishcheva and her daughter

Eudoxia Lopukhina Tsarina Eudoxia Fyodorovna Lopukhina (9 August 1669 7 September 1731) was the first wife of Peter I the Great, and the last ethnic Russian and non-foreign wife of a Russian monarch. She was the mother of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and the ...

. Eudoxia was chosen by Natalia Naryshkina as the first

Tsarina Tsarina or tsaritsa (also spelled ''csarina'' or ''csaricsa'', ''tzarina'' or ''tzaritza'', or ''czarina'' or ''czaricza''; ; ; ) is the title of a female Autocracy, autocratic ruler (monarch) of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia, or the title of a t ...

for her son

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

due to her relation to Fyodor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rtischev, Fyodor 17th-century Russian nobility Russian philanthropists Russian Orthodox Christians from Russia 1625 births 1673 deaths 17th-century philanthropists