Boris Morozov

Boris Ivanovich Morozov was a Russian boyar and statesman who was chief minister (1645–48) under Tsar Alexis and influential in the government thereafter. He was also the second wealthiest Russian of his time.

Morozov was the brother-in-law of the Tsar Alexis (r.1645-1676) and was appointed to several key offices upon the impressionable tsar’s accession to the throne. He dismissed a number of officials and lowered the pay of others. Morozov also instituted state monopolies on tobacco and salt, which, in the case of the latter commodity, resulted in the quadrupling of the duty exacted. The salt monopoly proved so unpopular that it was abrogated in 1647, but still it was one of the reasons for rebellion against the Morozov’s government in June 1648. After that Morozov was officially exiled from Moscow, but he remained one of Alexis's behind-the-scenes advisers throughout the 1650s.

Morozov's vast estates totaled over 80,000 desiatinas (216,000 acres) with over 55,000 people in 9,100 households. This huge estates made him the second wealthiest Russian of his time, behind Nikita Ivanovich Romanov, Tsar Mikhail's uncle. He was also active in the potash business. His serfs would cut trees, burn them, and barrel the ashes for export.