 In 1834, despite the founding documents' requirements, Russia and the Ottoman Empire agreed to appoint the first two "hospodars" (instead of providing for their election), as a means to ensure both the monarchs' support for a moderate pace in reforms and their allegiance in front of conservative boyar opposition.The choices were Alexandru II Ghica (the stepbrother of the previous monarch, Grigore IV) as Prince of Wallachia and Mihail Sturdza (a distant cousin of Ioniță Sandu) as Prince of Moldavia.The two rulers (generally referred to as "Domnii regulamentare"—"statutory" or "regulated reigns"), closely observed by the Russian consuls and various Russian technical advisors, soon met a vocal and unified opposition in the Assemblies and elsewhere.