Alexis (Aleksey Petrovich) (ulyiksyā' pētrô'vich) [key], 1690–1718, Russian czarevich; son of Peter I (Peter the Great) by his first wife, and father of Peter II. Opposing his father's anticlerical policy, Alexis renounced his right of succession and fled (1716) to Vienna. Peter, who feared that Alexis might win foreign backing, enticed him to return; he then had him arrested and tried for treason. Sentenced to death, Alexis died from the effects of torture shortly before his scheduled execution.
