Russian Tsar Peter the Great. The reign and reforms of Peter the Great

Naryshkins- Russian noble family, to which the mother of Peter I, Natalya Kirillovna, belonged. Before her marriage to Alexei Mikhailovich, the clan was considered small-scale and did not hold high positions.

Its origin has not been precisely established. In the 17th century, the enemies of the Naryshkins, later supported by P.V. Dolgorukov, considered the surname to be a derivative of the word “yaryzhka”, that is, a minor servant in the police of that time or a domestic servant.

After Natalya Kirillovna’s marriage to the Tsar (1671), her ancestors were thought to have a noble origin - from the German tribe of Narists, mentioned by Tacitus in his treatise on the Germans. Since the city of Eger with the imperial palace was founded on the lands of this tribe, the Naryshkins adopted the coat of arms of this city as their family one.

Later, the Crimean Karaite was declared the ancestor of the Naryshkins Mordka Kurbat, who went to Moscow to serve Ivan III (1465) and was called Narysh by the Russians (Naryshko is a diminutive). This Narysh, by genealogy, was a okolnichy of Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich. A.A. Vasilchikov provides information about Naryshko’s son Zabele, whose Orthodox name is Fedor: he “was a governor in Ryazan and was granted the honor by the authorities.” Chernopyatov V.I. claims that "his son, Isaac Fedorovich, was a governor in Velikiye Luki." According to the official pedigree, Isak was the first to bear the surname Naryshkin. In later historical documents it was written (1576), “In Rylsk - the siege head Boris Naryshkin...”. Thus, starting from the 15th-16th centuries, the Naryshkin family, gradually growing, penetrated into all spheres of public administration in Rus'.

And according to oral tradition, the Naryshkin family considers themselves descendants of one of the noble Crimean Murzas, who at the end of the 14th century went into the service of the Moscow princes. From the history of N.M. Karamzina, V.O. Klyuchevsky follows that the Naryshkins, Crimean Karaites, appeared in Rus' at the end of the 14th century. The Lithuanian prince Vytautas, famous for his belligerence and aggressiveness, raided the Crimea, defeated the Tatars and, as a military indemnity, took several hundred Crimeans, among them the Karaites, to Lithuania in 1389. Among them was Karaite Naryshko, who occupied a very prominent place among the captives. The Karaites were settled in Trakai, and some of the men were taken into the prince’s personal guard. Vitovt's aggressiveness also manifested itself in relation to some Russian principalities, which created tense relations between the Moscow and Lithuanian principalities. To smooth them out, Prince Vitovt in 1391 gave his daughter Sophia in marriage to Moscow Prince Vasily Dmitrievich, the young heir of Dmitry Donskoy. The convoy with his daughter Sophia and her dowry arrived in Moscow under the protection of Karaite warriors, among whom was Naryshko. Naryshko is left for permanent settlement in Moscow to protect the young princess.

Subsequently, the descendants of Naryshko, having adopted Orthodoxy and the surname Naryshkin, became subjects of the Russian state. According to the famous historian-heraldist Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky, in 1552 historical documents list the warrior Ivan Ivanovich Naryshkin, who was killed in the Kazan campaign, leaving five sons orphans. Subsequently, they carried out very difficult service in the Russian border troops.

Academician M.S. Sarac notes the reason for the surprisingly good attitude of the entire Romanov family towards the Karaites. In his opinion, the emperors knew about the semi-Karaite origin of their great ancestor, whose memory was revered by everyone. The origin (mainly German roots) of themselves was deliberately or traditionally hushed up. According to historians, the Naryshkins undoubtedly came from the noble Karaite class, and when they were asked why they refused Russian titles, they answered that their family was more ancient than the Romanov family. Over four and a half centuries, the Naryshkins gave Russia numerous state, military, political figures, diplomats, scientists, writers, theater managers, creators of architectural styles, etc.

Isak Fedorovich had a son Gregory and three grandchildren: Semyon, Fedor And Yakim Grigorievich. The eldest son of the first of them - Ivan Semenovich(1528) received a letter of grant, and in 1544 he was recorded in the thousandth household register and was killed in the Kazan campaign (1552). His brother Dmitry Semenovich was a siege leader in Rylsk (1576). The sons of their second uncle did not express themselves in anything special, although there is no reason to doubt their existence due to the service of their sons, of whom the third son of the first was a commander in Luki the Great under Vasily Ivanovich; the only son of the second ( Grigory Vasilievich) was a governor in Sviyazhsk under Grozny (1558), and the third son signed as Maloyaroslavets ( Timofey Fedorovich) under a document of 1565. His son from Tsar Fedor (1587) received a charter for the Ryazan estates.

Particularly famous among them is the son of the Velikolutsk governor Boris Ivanovich Naryshkin, centurion in the Big Regiment of the army of Ivan the Terrible during the Livonian War (in 1516), where he was killed; and his brother (Ivan Ivanovich) fell near Krasnoye. Sons of Borisov ( Poluekt And Polycarp) received a charter for the estates from Shuisky for the Moscow siege, and their cousin brother (son of Ivan Ivanovich) 1.2. Petr Ivanovich fell under Aleksin;

1. It is believed that the Naryshkin family begins with Ivan Ivanovich Naryshkin and is divided into five branches (mid-16th century). The founders of each branch were the sons of Ivan Naryshkin: Poluekt, Peter, Filimon, Thomas, Ivan.

1.1.Half project(Poluecht) Ivanovich Naryshkin was listed as a tenant in the Torus tithe of 1622; in 1627 he owned 414 quarters in the field and was killed near Smolensk. This is the ancestor of the branch of the Naryshkin family, which became famous in our history for its property with the reigning house and has survived to our time.

His sons Kirill Poluektovich And Fedor Poluektovich traditionally served as a “choice according to Tarusa”. In 1655, the Naryshkin brothers found themselves in the capital. Here fate brought them together with a colonel of the Reitar regiment, a future boyar and the tsar's favorite, a childhood friend of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, a very influential, although unborn, man. Since 1658, the Naryshkins served as solicitors in Matveev’s Reiter regiment. In addition, one of the brothers was connected with Matveev and by family ties - Fedor Poluektovich Naryshkin was married to the niece of his commander’s wife. The acquaintance of the famous Matveev with the family of Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin, brother of Fyodor Poluektovich, turned the fate of his daughter Natalya, living in the provinces, upside down. Matveev invited his parents to let Natalya go to Moscow to his house to be raised. After some time, a young beautiful girl Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina became the queen of Russia and the mother of the future emperor Peter the Great.

1.1.1. Kirill Polievktovich(1623 - May 10 (April 30), 1691) - boyar, okolnichy, participant in the suppression of the uprising of Stepan Razin, father of Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna and grandfather of Peter the Great, in the first thirty-six years of his life he was content with an annual salary of 38 rubles in money and 850 rubles estates. He managed to visit military campaigns, the voivodship in the Terki fortress in the North Caucasus and Kazan.

Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin - participant in the Russian-Polish war of 1654-1667, in 1663 - captain in the regiment of “newly recruited reiters”, commanded by the boyar Artamon Sergeevich Matveev. Matveev's favor allowed Naryshkin to become the head of the Streltsy regiment (1666), and already at the end of the 1660s he was promoted to stolnik.

These are all the distinctions earned under the flattering patronage of A. Matveev’s friend and patron, earned by the father of the future queen until that memorable evening when the sovereign chose Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, the eldest daughter of his steward, who was born on August 22, 1651 from the marriage of K. P. Naryshkina with Anna Leontievna Leontieva(died June 2, 1706, outliving her daughter and husband).

In 1671, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who had previously favored Naryshkin, married his daughter, Natalya Kirillovna (1651-1694), for a second marriage. From that moment on, the rise of the Naryshkin family began: Kirill Poluektovich was granted a Duma nobleman in 1671, and in 1672 - a okolnichy and boyar (on the birthday of Tsarevich Peter). In 1673, he received the rank of butler to the queen and was appointed chief judge of the Grand Palace Order; During Alexei Mikhailovich’s frequent departures on pilgrimages, he remained “in charge of Moscow.” In 1673-1678, Kirill Poluektovich commanded a hussar regiment of the Novgorod category.

After the death of Alexei Mikhailovich, during the reign Fedor Alekseevich A sharp struggle broke out between the parties of the Naryshkins and the Miloslavskys (the family to which the mother of Tsar Fedor belonged). While the state was actually ruled by A.S. Matveev, the Naryshkins continued to remain in favor, but after the Miloslavskys achieved Matveev’s exile, the Naryshkins were gradually removed from the court, all of Kirill Poluektovich’s positions were taken away from him.

On April 27 (May 7), 1682, after 6 years of reign, the sickly Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich died. The question arose of who should inherit the throne: the older, sickly Ivan, according to custom, or the young Peter. Having secured the support of Patriarch Joachim, the Naryshkins and their supporters enthroned Peter on April 27 (May 7), 1682. In fact, the Naryshkin clan came to power and Artamon Matveev, summoned from exile, was declared the “great guardian.” It was difficult for supporters of Ivan Alekseevich to support their candidate, who could not reign due to extremely poor health. The organizers of the de facto palace coup announced a version of the hand-written transfer of the “scepter” by the dying Fyodor Alekseevich to his younger brother Peter, but no reliable evidence of this was presented.

The Miloslavskys, relatives of Tsarevich Ivan and Princess Sophia through their mother, saw in the proclamation of Peter as tsar an infringement of their interests. The Streltsy, of whom there were more than 20 thousand in Moscow, had long shown discontent and waywardness; and, apparently incited by the Miloslavskys, on May 15 (25), 1682, they came out openly: shouting that the Naryshkins had strangled Tsarevich Ivan, they moved towards the Kremlin. Natalya Kirillovna, hoping to calm the rioters, together with the patriarch and boyars, led Peter and his brother to the Red Porch. However, the uprising did not end. In the first hours, the boyars Artamon Matveev and Mikhail Dolgoruky were killed, then other supporters of Queen Natalia, including her two brothers Ivan and Afanasy Kirillovich.

On May 18, elected people from all orders beat their foreheads in order to tonsure the grandfather of Peter I, Kirill Poluektovich, as a monk; in the Chudov Monastery he was tonsured and with the name Cyprian sent to the Kirillov Monastery; On May 20 they beat them with their foreheads so that the rest of the Naryshkins would be exiled.

Having survived the horror of the Streltsy rebellion during the accession of his grandson, K.P. Naryshkin, with the achievement of independent rule by Peter I, received all the decent honors and died in 1691, 78 years old, in wealth and honors.

1.1.2. He outlived by 15 years his brother and peer in the service - Fedor Polievktovich, married to the niece of A. S. Matveev’s wife - Evdokia Petrovna Hamilton(daughters Peter Grigorievich, brother of Matveev's wife Evdokia Grigorievna).

Fyodor Polievktovich is a Duma nobleman, the uncle of Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna. Of low birth and without any family ties, he served with the rank of captain under the command of Reitar Colonel Artamon Matveev, a later famous boyar and favorite of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. in 1658-68 he was a lawyer for the Reitar system; in 1659 he took part in the battle of Konotop, where he was wounded. The marriage of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, the niece of Fyodor Poluektovich, served to elevate the entire Naryshkin family. On November 19, 1673 he was appointed governor of Kholmogory. The death of the Quiet Tsar and the removal from the court of Matveev and the Naryshkins, many of whom fell into disgrace, had a strong effect on Fyodor Poluektovich; he did not survive the disasters of his family and died in Kholmogory, in the voivodeship on December 15, 1676. He had three sons. His family ended during the time of Anna with a granddaughter.

1.1.1.1. Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina(August 22 (September 1) 1651 - January 25 (February 4) 1694) - Russian queen, second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, daughter of Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin, mother of Peter I.

Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina

Alexey Mikhailovich

Natalya Kirillovna was brought up in the Moscow house of the boyar Artamon Matveev, where, as it is believed, Alexei Mikhailovich saw her. Natalya Kirillovna was called to a review of brides gathered from all over the country and was married to the Tsar on January 22, 1671, when she was 19 years old.

Wedding of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Natalya Naryshkina. 17th century engraving

From this marriage two daughters and a son were born, two survived - son Peter - the future Tsar Peter I and daughter Natalya

After the death of Alexei Mikhailovich, an alarming time came for Natalya Kirillovna; she had to become the head of the Naryshkins, who unsuccessfully fought the Miloslavskys. Under Fyodor Alekseevich, Natalya Kirillovna lived with her son mainly in the villages of Kolomenskoye and Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow.

During the Streltsy riot in 1682, many of Natalya Kirillovna’s relatives were killed.

On May 26, elected officials from the rifle regiments came to the palace and demanded that the senior Ivan was recognized as the first tsar, and the younger Peter as the second. Fearing a repetition of the pogrom, the boyars agreed, and Patriarch Joachim immediately performed a solemn prayer service in the Assumption Cathedral for the health of the two named kings; and on June 25 he crowned them kings.

On May 29, the archers insisted that the princess Sofya Alekseevna took over control of the state due to the youth of her brothers. Sophia, who was actually the sovereign ruler and completely removed Natalya Kirillovna from governing the country. Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, together with her son Peter - the second Tsar - had to retire from the court to a palace near Moscow in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Friction between the royal “courts” in Moscow and Preobrazhenskoye did not stop.

Pieter van der Werff (1665-1722) Portrait of Peter the Great (1690s, State Hermitage)
1.1.1.1.1.Peter I the Great(Peter Alekseevich; May 30, 1672 - January 28, 1725) - the last Tsar of All Rus' from the Romanov dynasty (since 1682) and the first All-Russian Emperor (since 1721).

In 1689, at the insistence and direction of the Naryshkins and Natalya Kirillovna personally, Peter’s first marriage took place with Evdokia Lopukhina.

The disgraced position of the widow queen continued until the triumph of Peter over Sophia in 1689. But, having won this victory, the 17-year-old tsar prefers to deal mainly with the amusing army and the construction of an amusing fleet on Lake Pleshcheyevo, and leaves the entire burden of state concerns to the discretion of the mother, who, in turn, entrusts them to her relatives - the Naryshkins. In the sketches of “The History of Tsar Peter Alekseevich and those close to him, 1682-1694.” Prince B.I. Kurakin gives the following description of N.K. and her reign:

This princess was of a good temperament, virtuous, but was neither diligent nor skilled in business, nor had a light mind. For this reason, she handed over the rule of the entire state to her brother, boyar Lev Naryshkin, and other ministers... The reign of this queen Natalya Kirillovna was very dishonest, and the people were dissatisfied and offended. And at that time, unjust rule from the judges began, and great bribery, and state theft, which continues to this day with multiplication, and it is difficult to remove its plague.

Although during this period there were no noticeable traces of Natalya Kirillovna’s state activities, her influence on Peter was quite significant, as can be seen from their correspondence. With his absences and especially sea voyages, he often upset his loving mother. Natalya Kirillovna died at the age of 43 in 1694. After the death of his mother, Peter assumes full power

1.1.1.1.2. Princess Natalya Alekseevna(August 22, 1673—June 18, 1716) - beloved sister of Peter I, daughter of Alexei Mikhailovich and Natalya Naryshkina
She lost her father at the age of three, and was raised by her mother and her brother, apparently sharing all his “fun.” During the reign of Princess Sophia, the disgraced branch of the family lived in the village of Preobrazhenskoye in the summer and in Moscow in the winter.

I.N. Nikitin. Portrait of Princess Natalya Alekseevna (1673-1716) (No later than 1716, State Hermitage Museum)

On May 15, 1682, during the Streltsy riot in the princess’s mansion, apparently not searched, her grandfather Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin, her uncles Ivan, Lev, Martemyan and Feodor Kirillovich Naryshkin, several relatives who held the position of room steward, and Andrei Artamonovich managed to escape Matveev, son of Artamon Sergeevich.

Throughout her life, since childhood, she shared her brother’s passion for Western culture and supported him in his endeavors; in adolescence, she traveled with him to the German Settlement.

Nikitin, Ivan Nikitich (1690-1741) Portrait of Princess Natalya Alekseevna (1716, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)

With the fervor of a pure, beautiful soul, she loved everything that her brother liked. (N. G. Ustryalov)

“She became so close to everything that interested Peter that later, when he, already a tsar, won one victory or another, he hurried to please his sister with a handwritten letter or instructed F.A. Golovin and A.D. Menshikov to notify her about this and congratulate"

In 1698, after the queen Evdokia Lopukhina was tonsured by her husband into the monastery, the little prince was given to Princess Natalya in Preobrazhenskoye Alexey. Later, Peter will settle in her own house Marta Skavronskaya, where she will receive the name Catherine in baptism, and Tsarevich Alexei will become her godfather. At the court of Princess Natalya lived two sisters of Menshikov (Maria and Anna), with whom Natalya was on very good terms, Anisya Kirillovna Tolstaya, Varvara Mikhailovna Arsenyeva and her sister Daria, Menshikov’s wife. These court ladies formed Catherine’s company and “guard.”

I.N. Nikitin. Portrait of Princess Natalya Alekseevna (1673-1716) (No later than 1716, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg)

Since 1708, the princess has lived in St. Petersburg, on Krestovsky Island, but apparently not constantly, and visits Moscow. In 1713, Natalya Alekseevna’s house in St. Petersburg was located between the Church of the Mother of God of All Who Sorrow and the palace of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich. In 1715, together with her brother, she was the godmother of the future Peter II. They report on the friction that existed at the end of her life between the princess and the grown-up Tsarevich Alexei, who visited Queen Evdokia and allegedly accused Natalya of telling the king about this.

Unlike her older sisters, Natalya grew up during the reign of her brother, when attitudes towards women in society changed, however, like them, she remained unmarried; there is no information about any matrimonial plans of the king regarding his beloved sister.

She died at the age of 43 from catarrh (gastritis) of the stomach.

On the 18th of June, at 9 o'clock in the afternoon, your sister Her Highness the Empress Tsarevna Natalia Alekseevna, by the will of the Almighty, moved from this vain world into eternal blissful life. I am enclosing a doctor’s description of Her Highness’s illness; and just like you yourself, according to your wise reasoning, you deign to know that this is necessary; besides, we are all obliged, as Christians, to endure such sorrows, for this sake I humbly ask that you do not deign to continue this sorrow... Above all, my most merciful Sovereign and Father, please take care of your health; Please judge for yourself that sadness will not bring any mental or physical benefit, but will it harm your health, from which may Almighty God protect you, from whom I ask this with all my heart
— From a letter from A. Menshikov to Peter in Danzig

She was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra at the Lazarevskoye cemetery. A chapel was erected over her grave and Peter Petrovich, who was buried nearby, in the name of the Resurrection of St. Lazarus, from which the cemetery received its name. A few years later, their remains were transferred to the Church of the Annunciation, which stood there, and were reburied in the most honorable altar part. Over their graves, slabs called royal slabs were placed, and the Church of the Annunciation began to turn into the first royal tomb of St. Petersburg.

Even during the life of the princess, the first almshouse in St. Petersburg was set up in her house, where old and wretched women were accepted - on Voskresensky Avenue, so named after the Church of the Ascension of Christ that she built. The Smolensk-Kornilievskaya Church in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky was also built at the expense of the princess.

The library of Princess Natalia is part of the manuscript collections of the Library of the Academy of Sciences.

In 1706-1707 In Preobrazhenskoe, through the efforts of the princess and in her chambers, theatrical performances began. Plays were staged on modern themes, dramatizations of the lives of saints, and translated novels. By a special decree of the emperor, the troupe was given all the “equipment” from the “comedy temple”, previously located on Red Square in Moscow, “comedy and dance dress”, brought several years earlier by German theaters to Moscow, and in 1709 - their decorations and play texts. The actors were close associates and servants of the princess and her daughter-in-law, Queen Praskovya.

“With Peter the Great’s sister, Natalya Alekseevna, a new type appears - the type of artist, writer, herald of the female doctor of the future. And in the rapid development of the latter type in our days, one cannot help but recognize historical continuity.
(K. Waliszewski “The Kingdom of Women”)

In 1710, after moving to St. Petersburg, Natalya Alekseevna continued to work in this field, organizing a “comedy dance” for all “decently dressed people,” that is, the noble public. Plays have already been specially written for this theater, including by the princess herself, F. Zhurovsky.

Before Zabelin's research, the princess's activity in the theater was largely attributed to Princess Sophia, her sister. Her authorship is attributed to: “The Comedy of Saint Catherine”, “Chrysanthus and Darius”, “Caesar Otto”, “Saint Eudoxia”

In addition to Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, Kirill Polievktovich had five sons:

1.1.1.2. Ivan(born 1658, killed by archers on May 15, 1682) - boyar and armorer, married to the princess Praskovya Alexandrovna Lykova, who, being a widow, was the mother of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich;

Ivan Kirillovich Naryshkin

1.1.1.3. Afanasy Kirillovich he was killed with his brother by archers at the instigation of Princess Sofya Alekseevna;

1.1.1.4. Lev Kirillovich(1664-1705);

1.1.1.5. Martemyan Kirillovich was (1665-1697) also a boyar, married to the daughter of the last Tsarevich of Kasimov, Vasily Araslanovich, Evdokia Vasilievna(1691);

1.1.1.6. uncle of Tsar Peter I, Fedor Kirillovich(born 1666) died in 1691 very young in the rank of kravchiy. And his widow was given away by the Tsar-nephew to his beloved field marshal, Prince Anikita Ivanovich Repnin (she was born a princess Golitsyna, Praskovya Dmitrievna).

1.1.1.7. Finally, the younger sister of Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna - Evdokia Kirillovna(born 1667), died on August 9, 1689 as a girl from consumption, unable to bear the horror of the murder of her brothers by the archers.

The only descendants left are from Peter I’s beloved uncle, Lev Kirillovich. The senior line of the Naryshkins included Catherine II’s favorite joker Lev Naryshkin, his son Dmitry Lvovich and grandson Emmanuil Dmitrievich (born, perhaps, from his mother’s relationship with Alexander I). Representatives of this line did not reach the highest ranks in either the military or civil service, but in the imperial palace they were considered domestic people.

Childbirth and younger lines (from the younger brothers of Polievkt Ivanovich: 1.4. Thomas and 1.5. Ivan Ivanovich) also continue. While Boris's line ended with his childless grandson Vasily Polikarpovich, the governor of Vyatka, who lived to see the days of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich.

Some representatives of the clan are incorrectly called princes or counts in literature. In reality, the Naryshkins belonged to the untitled nobility, occupying a leading position among this group. This is due to the fact that the granting of princely titles before the reign of Paul I was of an exceptional nature, and the Naryshkins, due to their close relationship with the imperial family, considered accepting the title of count below their dignity and real position:

It is known that different sovereigns offered Naryshkin various titles, which they resolutely refused, citing the fact that they did not want to be lower than His Serene Highness Prince A.D. Menshikov.

During the 18th century, the colossal fortune of the Naryshkins was squandered. Only on the occasion of the marriage of Ekaterina Ivanovna Naryshkina with Kirill Razumovsky, a dowry of 44 thousand souls was given. This marriage included the Razumovskys among the richest people in Russia. Also, a considerable dowry was given to the cousins ​​of Peter I on the occasion of their marriages with State Chancellor A. M. Cherkassky, Cabinet Minister A. P. Volynsky, Princes F. I. Golitsyn, A. Yu. Trubetskoy and V. P. Golitsyn .

The Naryshkin family was included in the VI part of the genealogical book of the Moscow, Oryol, St. Petersburg, Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod provinces.

In Peter's time, the Naryshkins owned numerous estates on the territory of modern Moscow, including Fili, Kuntsevo, Sviblovo, Bratsevo, Cherkizovo, Petrovskoye and Trinity-Lykovo. The Vysokopetrovsky Monastery served as their tomb.

On March 27, 2012, in St. Petersburg, during restoration work in the Naryshkin mansion (29 Tchaikovsky St.; in 1875, the house was acquired by Prince Vasily Naryshkin, the house was rebuilt by the architect R. A. Gedike), the largest treasure in the history of St. Petersburg was found. In particular, it contained several large sets with the Naryshkins’ coat of arms. Since June 4, 2012, 300 of the most interesting objects have been exhibited in the Constantine Palace.

nicknamed the Great; the last Tsar of All Rus' (from 1682) and the first All-Russian Emperor (from 1721); representative of the Romanov dynasty, was proclaimed king at the age of 10

Brief biography

Peter I the Great(real name - Romanov Peter Alekseevich) - Russian Tsar, since 1721 - Emperor, an outstanding statesman, famous for a large number of cardinal reforms, commander - was born on June 9 (May 30, O.S.) in 1672 in Moscow; his father was Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, his mother was Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina.

The future emperor did not receive a systematic education, and although it is reported that his education began in 1677, in fact the boy was left largely to his own devices, spending most of his time with his peers in entertainment, in which he participated quite willingly. Until the age of 10, after the death of his father in 1676, Peter grew up under the supervision of Fyodor Alekseevich, his older brother. After his death, Ivan Alekseevich was supposed to become the heir to the throne, but the latter’s poor health contributed to the nomination of Peter to this post. Nevertheless, as a result of the Streltsy revolt, a political compromise was the enthronement of Peter and Ivan; Sofya Alekseevna, their elder sister, was appointed ruler.

During the period of Sophia's regency, Peter participated in government administration only formally, attending ceremonial events. Sophia, watching the grown-up Peter, who was seriously interested in military amusements, took measures to strengthen her power. In August 1689, Peter's supporters convened a noble militia, dealt with Sophia's main supporters, she herself was placed in a monastery, and after that power actually passed into the hands of Peter's party, Ivan remained only a nominal ruler.

Nevertheless, even after gaining real power, it was actually his mother and other close people who ruled instead of Peter. At first, after the death of Natalya Kirillovna in 1694, the state machine worked by inertia, so Peter, although he was forced to govern the country, entrusted this mission mainly to the ministers. He had become accustomed to detachment from affairs over many years of forced isolation from power.

At that time, Russia was very far from advanced European states in its socio-economic development. Peter's inquisitiveness, his ebullient energy, and keen interest in everything new allowed him to take on the most important issues in the life of the country, especially since life itself urgently pushed him towards this. The first victory in the biography of young Peter as a ruler was the second campaign against Azov in 1696, and this greatly contributed to the strengthening of his authority as a sovereign.

In 1697, Peter and his entourage went abroad, living in Holland, Saxony, England, Venice, Austria, where he became acquainted with the achievements of these countries in the field of technology, shipbuilding, as well as with the way of life of other countries of the continent, their political and social structure. The news of the Streltsy revolt that broke out in his homeland forced him to return to his homeland, where he suppressed the act of disobedience with extreme cruelty.

During his stay abroad, the tsar’s program in political life was formed. In the state, he saw the common good, which everyone, first of all, himself, had to serve, and set an example for others. Peter behaved in many ways unconventionally for a monarch, destroying his sacred image that had developed over the centuries, so a certain part of society was critical of him and his activities. Nevertheless, Peter I led the country along the path of radical reforms in all areas of life, from public administration to culture. They began with an order to shave their beards and wear clothes in a foreign style.

A number of reforms were undertaken in the public administration system. Thus, under Peter I, the Senate and collegiums were created; he subordinated the church to the state and introduced an administrative-territorial division of the country into provinces. In 1703, at the mouth of the Neva River, he founded the new Russian capital - St. Petersburg. They assigned a special mission to this city - it was to become a model city, a “paradise”. During the same period, instead of the boyar duma, a council of ministers appeared, and a lot of new institutions arose in St. Petersburg. When the Northern War ended, Russia received the status of an empire in 1721, and Peter was named “Great” and “Father of the Fatherland” by the Senate.

Much had changed in the economic system, since Peter was well aware of how deep the gulf was between the country he led and Europe. He took many measures to develop industry and trade, including foreign trade; under him, a large number of new industrial sectors, factories and factories, manufactories, shipyards, and marinas appeared. All this was created taking into account the adopted Western European experience.

Peter I was credited with creating a regular army and navy. The foreign policy pursued by him was extremely energetic; Peter the Great undertook many military campaigns. In particular, as a result of the Northern War (1700-1721), territories that Sweden had conquered earlier were annexed to Russia; after the war with Turkey, Russia received Azov.

During the reign of Peter, Russian culture was replenished with a large number of European elements. At this time, the Academy of Sciences was opened, many secular educational institutions were opened, and the first Russian newspaper appeared. Through the efforts of Peter, the career advancement of the noble class was made dependent on the level of their education. Under Peter I, the civil alphabet was adopted and New Year celebrations were introduced. A fundamentally new urban environment was being formed in St. Petersburg, starting with previously unbuilt architectural structures and ending with the forms of people’s pastime (in particular, Peter introduced the so-called assemblies by decree).

Peter I is credited with bringing Russia onto the international stage as a great power. The country has become a full-fledged participant in international relations, its foreign policy has become active and led to the strengthening of its authority in the world. For many, the Russian emperor himself turned into an exemplary reformer sovereign. For a long time, the management system he introduced and the principles of the territorial division of Russia were preserved; they laid the foundations of national culture. At the same time, Peter's reforms were contradictory, which created the preconditions for a crisis to brew. The ambiguity of the course he pursues is associated with violence as the main instrument of reform, the lack of changes in the social sphere, and the strengthening of the institution of serfdom.

Peter I the Great left behind an extensive manuscript heritage, numbering more than a dozen volumes; the emperor's relatives, acquaintances, his contemporaries, and biographers recorded many of the sovereign's statements that have survived to our time. On February 8 (January 28, O.S.), 1725, Peter I died in his brainchild, St. Petersburg. It is known that he suffered from a number of serious illnesses, which significantly brought his death closer.

Biography from Wikipedia

Representative of the Romanov dynasty. He was proclaimed king at the age of 10 and began to rule independently in 1689. Peter's formal co-ruler was his brother Ivan (until his death in 1696).

From a young age, showing interest in science and foreign lifestyles, Peter was the first of the Russian tsars to make a long trip to the countries of Western Europe. Upon returning from it, in 1698, Peter launched large-scale reforms of the Russian state and social structure. One of Peter’s main achievements was the solution to the task posed in the 16th century: the expansion of Russian territories in the Baltic region after the victory in the Great Northern War, which allowed him to accept the title of Russian Emperor in 1721.

In historical science and in public opinion from the end of the 18th century to the present day, there have been diametrically opposed assessments of both the personality of Peter I and his role in the history of Russia. In official Russian historiography, Peter was considered one of the most outstanding statesmen who determined the direction of Russia's development in the 18th century. However, many historians, including Nikolai Karamzin, Vasily Klyuchevsky, Pavel Milyukov and others, expressed sharply critical assessments.

Early years

Peter was born on the night of May 30 (June 9), 1672 (in 7180 according to the then-accepted calendar “from the creation of the world”):

“In the current year 180, Maya on the 30th day, for the prayers of the Holy Fathers, God forgave Our Queen and Grand Duchess Natalia Kirillovna, and gave birth to Us a son, the blessed Tsarevich and Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich of all Great and Little and White Russia, and his name day is June 29th.”

Complete collection of laws, volume I, p.886

The exact place of Peter's birth is unknown; Some historians indicated the Kremlin's Terem Palace as his birthplace, and according to folk tales, Peter was born in the village of Kolomenskoye, and Izmailovo was also indicated.

The father, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, had numerous offspring: Peter I was the 14th child, but the first from his second wife, Tsarina Natalya Naryshkina. June 29, St. Day Apostles Peter and Paul, the prince was baptized in the Miracle Monastery (according to other sources in the Church of Gregory of Neocaesarea, in Derbitsy), by Archpriest Andrei Savinov and named Peter. The reason why he received the name "Peter" is not clear, perhaps as a euphonic correspondence to the name of his older brother, since he was born on the same day as Fedor. It was not found among either the Romanovs or the Naryshkins. The last representative of the Moscow Rurik dynasty with that name was Pyotr Dmitrievich, who died in 1428.

After spending a year with the queen, he was given to nannies to raise. In the 4th year of Peter’s life, in 1676, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich died. The Tsarevich's guardian was his half-brother, godfather and new Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich. Peter received a poor education, and until the end of his life he wrote with errors, using a poor vocabulary. This was due to the fact that the then Patriarch of Moscow, Joachim, as part of the fight against “Latinization” and “foreign influence”, removed from the royal court the students of Simeon of Polotsk, who taught Peter’s older brothers, and insisted that less educated clerks would teach Peter. Nikita Zotov and Afanasy Nesterov. In addition, Peter did not have the opportunity to receive an education from any university graduate or from a high school teacher, since neither universities nor secondary schools existed in the Russian kingdom during Peter’s childhood, and among the classes of Russian society there were only clerks, clerks, the clergy, boyars and some merchants were taught to read and write. The clerks taught Peter to read and write from 1676 to 1680. Peter was later able to compensate for the shortcomings of his basic education with rich practical training.

The death of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and the accession of his eldest son Fyodor (from Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna, née Miloslavskaya) pushed Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna and her relatives, the Naryshkins, into the background. Queen Natalya was forced to go to the village of Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow.

Streletsky riot of 1682 and the rise to power of Sofia Alekseevna

On April 27 (May 7), 1682, after 6 years of reign, the sickly Tsar Fedor III Alekseevich died. The question arose of who should inherit the throne: the older, sickly Ivan, according to custom, or the young Peter. Having secured the support of Patriarch Joachim, the Naryshkins and their supporters enthroned Peter on the same day. In fact, the Naryshkin clan came to power and Artamon Matveev, summoned from exile, was declared the “great guardian.” It was difficult for supporters of Ivan Alekseevich to support their candidate, who could not reign due to extremely poor health. The organizers of the de facto palace coup announced a version of the hand-written transfer of the “scepter” by the dying Fyodor Alekseevich to his younger brother Peter, but no reliable evidence of this was presented.

The mutiny of the Streltsy in 1682. The Streltsy dragged Ivan Naryshkin out of the palace. While Peter I consoles his mother, Princess Sophia watches with satisfaction. Painting by A. I. Korzukhin, 1882

The Miloslavskys, relatives of Tsarevich Ivan and Princess Sophia through their mother, saw in the proclamation of Peter as tsar an infringement of their interests. The Streltsy, of whom there were more than 20 thousand in Moscow, had long shown discontent and waywardness; and, apparently incited by the Miloslavskys, on May 15 (25), 1682, they came out openly: shouting that the Naryshkins had strangled Tsarevich Ivan, they moved towards the Kremlin. Natalya Kirillovna, hoping to calm the rioters, together with the patriarch and boyars, led Peter and his brother to the Red Porch. However, the uprising did not end. In the first hours, the boyars Artamon Matveev and Mikhail Dolgoruky were killed, then other supporters of Queen Natalia, including her two Naryshkin brothers.

On May 26, elected officials from the Streltsy regiments came to the palace and demanded that the elder Ivan be recognized as the first tsar, and the younger Peter as the second. Fearing a repetition of the pogrom, the boyars agreed, and Patriarch Joachim immediately performed a solemn prayer service in the Assumption Cathedral for the health of the two named kings; and on June 25 he crowned them kings.

On May 29, the archers insisted that Princess Sofya Alekseevna take over control of the state due to the minor age of her brothers. Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna was supposed to, together with her son Peter - the second Tsar - retire from the court to a palace near Moscow in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. In the Kremlin Armory, a two-seat throne for young kings with a small window in the back was preserved, through which Princess Sophia and her entourage told them how to behave and what to say during palace ceremonies.

Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky amusing shelves

Peter spent all his free time away from the palace - in the villages of Vorobyovo and Preobrazhenskoye. Every year his interest in military affairs increased. Peter dressed and armed his “amusing” army, which consisted of peers from boyhood games. In 1685, his “amusing” men, dressed in foreign caftans, marched in regimental formation through Moscow from Preobrazhenskoye to the village of Vorobyovo to the beat of drums. Peter himself served as a drummer.

In 1686, 14-year-old Peter started artillery with his “amusing” ones. Gunsmith Fedor Sommer showed the king grenades and firearms. 16 guns were delivered from the Pushkarsky order. To control the heavy guns, the tsar took from the Stable Prikaz adult servants who were keen on military affairs, who were dressed in foreign-style uniforms and designated as amusing gunners. Sergei Bukhvostov was the first to put on a foreign uniform. Subsequently, Peter ordered a bronze bust of this the first Russian soldier, as he called Bukhvostov. The amusing regiment began to be called Preobrazhensky, after its quartering place - the village of Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow.

In Preobrazhenskoye, opposite the palace, on the banks of the Yauza, an “amusing town” was built. During the construction of the fortress, Peter himself worked actively, helping to cut logs and install cannons. The “Most Joking, Most Drunken and Extraordinary Council”, created by Peter, was also stationed here - a parody of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. The fortress itself was named Preshburg, probably after the famous at that time Austrian fortress of Presburg (now Bratislava - the capital of Slovakia), which he heard about from Captain Sommer. At the same time, in 1686, the first amusing ships appeared near Preshburg on the Yauza - a large shnyak and a plow with boats. During these years, Peter became interested in all the sciences that were related to military affairs. Under the leadership of the Dutchman Timmerman he studied arithmetic, geometry, and military sciences.

One day, walking with Timmerman through the village of Izmailovo, Peter entered the Linen Yard, in the barn of which he found an English boot. In 1688 he entrusted the Dutchman Carsten Brandt repair, arm and equip this boat, and then lower it to the Yauza River. However, the Yauza and Prosyanoy Pond turned out to be too small for the ship, so Peter went to Pereslavl-Zalessky, to Lake Pleshcheevo, where he founded the first shipyard for the construction of ships. There were already two “Amusing” regiments: Semenovsky, located in the village of Semenovskoye, was added to Preobrazhensky. Preshburg already looked like a real fortress. To command regiments and study military science, knowledgeable and experienced people were needed. But there were no such people among the Russian courtiers. This is how Peter appeared in the German settlement.

First marriage of Peter I

Peter and Evdokia Lopukhina. A drawing located at the beginning of the “Book of Love, a Sign in an Honest Marriage” by Karion Istomin, presented in 1689 as a wedding gift to Peter the Great.

The German settlement was the closest “neighbor” of the village of Preobrazhenskoye, and Peter had been looking at its life with curiosity for a long time. More and more foreigners at the court of Tsar Peter, such as Franz Timmerman And Karsten Brandt, came from the German settlement. All this imperceptibly led to the fact that the tsar became a frequent visitor to the settlement, where he soon turned out to be a big fan of relaxed foreign life. Peter lit a German pipe, began attending German parties with dancing and drinking, met Patrick Gordon, Franz Lefort - Peter's future associates, and started an affair with Anna Mons. Peter's mother strictly opposed this. In order to bring her 17-year-old son to reason, Natalya Kirillovna decided to marry him to Evdokia Lopukhina, the daughter of a okolnichy.

Peter did not contradict his mother, and on January 27 (February 6), 1689, the wedding of the “junior” king took place. However, less than a month later, Peter left his wife and went to Lake Pleshcheyevo for several days. From this marriage, Peter had two sons: the eldest, Alexei, was heir to the throne until 1718, the youngest, Alexander, died in infancy.

Accession of Peter I

Peter's activity greatly worried Princess Sophia, who understood that with the coming of age of her half-brother, she would have to give up power. At one time, supporters of the princess hatched a coronation plan, but Patriarch Joachim was categorically against it.

The campaigns against the Crimean Tatars, carried out in 1687 and 1689 by the princess’s favorite, Prince Vasily Golitsyn, were not very successful, but were presented as major and generously rewarded victories, which caused discontent among many.

On July 8 (18), 1689, on the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the first public conflict occurred between the mature Peter and the Ruler. On that day, according to custom, a religious procession was held from the Kremlin to the Kazan Cathedral. At the end of the mass, Peter approached his sister and announced that she should not dare to go along with the men in the procession. Sophia accepted the challenge: she took the image of the Most Holy Theotokos in her hands and went to get the crosses and banners. Unprepared for such an outcome, Peter left the move.

On August 7 (17), 1689, unexpectedly for everyone, a decisive event occurred. On this day, Princess Sophia ordered the chief of the archers, Fyodor Shaklovity, to send more of his people to the Kremlin, as if to escort them to the Donskoy Monastery on a pilgrimage. At the same time, a rumor spread about a letter with the news that Tsar Peter at night decided to occupy the Kremlin with his “amusing” regiments, kill the princess, Tsar Ivan’s brother, and seize power. Shaklovity gathered the Streltsy regiments to march in a “great assembly” to Preobrazhenskoye and beat all of Peter’s supporters for their intention to kill Princess Sophia. Then they sent three horsemen to observe what was happening in Preobrazhenskoe with the task of immediately reporting if Tsar Peter went anywhere alone or with regiments.

Peter's supporters among the archers sent two like-minded people to Preobrazhenskoye. After the report, Peter with a small retinue galloped in alarm to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. The consequence of the horrors of the Streltsy demonstrations was Peter's illness: with strong excitement, he began to have convulsive facial movements. On August 8, both queens, Natalya and Evdokia, arrived at the monastery, followed by “amusing” regiments with artillery. On August 16, a letter came from Peter, ordering commanders and 10 privates from all rifle regiments to be sent to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Princess Sophia strictly forbade the fulfillment of this command on pain of the death penalty, and a letter was sent to Tsar Peter informing him that there was no way to fulfill his request.

On August 27, a new letter from Tsar Peter arrived - all regiments should go to Trinity. Most of the troops obeyed the legitimate king, and Princess Sophia had to admit defeat. She herself went to the Trinity Monastery, but in the village of Vozdvizhenskoye she was met by Peter’s envoys with orders to return to Moscow. Soon Sophia was imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent under strict supervision.

On October 7, Fyodor Shaklovity was captured and then executed. The elder brother, Tsar Ivan (or John), met Peter at the Assumption Cathedral and actually gave him all power. Since 1689, he did not take part in the reign, although until his death on January 29 (February 8), 1696, he nominally continued to be a co-tsar.

After the overthrow of Princess Sophia, power passed into the hands of people who rallied around Queen Natalya Kirillovna. She tried to accustom her son to public administration, entrusting him with private affairs, which Peter found boring. The most important decisions (declaration of war, election of the Patriarch, etc.) were made without taking into account the opinion of the young king. This led to conflicts. For example, at the beginning of 1692, offended by the fact that, contrary to his will, the Moscow government refused to resume the war with the Ottoman Empire, the tsar did not want to return from Pereyaslavl to meet the Persian ambassador, and the top officials of Natalya Kirillovna’s government (L.K. Naryshkin with B.A. Golitsyn) were forced to personally go after him. On January 1 (11), 1692, at the behest of Peter I in Preobrazhenskoye, the “installation” of N.M. Zotov as “patriarch of all Yauza and all Kokui” became the tsar’s response to the installation of Patriarch Adrian, committed against his will. After the death of Natalya Kirillovna, the tsar did not displace the government of L.K. Naryshkin - B.A. Golitsyn, formed by his mother, but ensured that it strictly carried out his will.

The beginning of Russian expansion. 1690-1699

Azov campaigns. 1695, 1696

The priority of Peter I's activities in the first years of autocracy was the continuation of the war with the Ottoman Empire and Crimea. Peter I decided, instead of campaigning against the Crimea, undertaken during the reign of Princess Sophia, to strike at the Turkish fortress of Azov, located at the confluence of the Don River into the Sea of ​​Azov.

The first Azov campaign, which began in the spring of 1695, ended unsuccessfully in September of the same year due to the lack of a fleet and the unwillingness of the Russian army to operate far from supply bases. However, already in the fall of 1695, preparations for a new campaign began. The construction of a Russian rowing flotilla began in Voronezh. In a short time, a flotilla of different ships was built, led by the 36-gun ship Apostle Peter. In May 1696, a 40,000-strong Russian army under the command of Generalissimo Shein again besieged Azov, only this time the Russian flotilla blocked the fortress from the sea. Peter I took part in the siege with the rank of captain on a galley. Without waiting for the assault, on July 19 (29), 1696, the fortress surrendered. Thus, Russia's first access to the southern seas was opened.

The result of the Azov campaigns was the capture of the Azov fortress, the beginning of construction of the port of Taganrog, the possibility of an attack on the Crimean peninsula from the sea, which significantly secured the southern borders of Russia. However, Peter failed to gain access to the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait: he remained under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Russia did not yet have the forces for a war with Turkey, as well as a full-fledged navy.

To finance the construction of the fleet, new types of taxes were introduced: landowners were united into so-called kumpanstvos of 10 thousand households, each of which had to build a ship with their own money. At this time, the first signs of dissatisfaction with Peter's activities appear. The conspiracy of Tsikler, who was trying to organize a Streltsy uprising, was uncovered. In the summer of 1699, the first large Russian ship “Fortress” (46-gun) took the Russian ambassador to Constantinople for peace negotiations. The very existence of such a ship persuaded the Sultan to conclude peace in July 1700, which left the Azov fortress behind Russia.

During the construction of the fleet and the reorganization of the army, Peter was forced to rely on foreign specialists. Having completed the Azov campaigns, he decides to send young nobles to study abroad, and soon he himself sets off on his first trip to Europe.

Grand Embassy based on a contemporary engraving. Portrait of Peter I in the clothes of a Dutch sailor

Great Embassy 1697-1698

In March 1697, the Grand Embassy was sent to Western Europe through Livonia, the main purpose of which was to find allies against the Ottoman Empire. Admiral General Franz Lefort, General Fyodor Golovin, and Head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz Prokofy Voznitsyn were appointed great ambassadors plenipotentiary. In total, up to 250 people entered the embassy, ​​among whom, under the name of the sergeant of the Preobrazhensky Regiment Peter Mikhailov, was Tsar Peter I himself. For the first time, a Russian Tsar undertook a trip outside his state.

Peter visited Riga, Koenigsberg, Brandenburg, Holland, England, Austria, and a visit to Venice and the Pope was planned.

The embassy recruited several hundred shipbuilding specialists to Russia and purchased military and other equipment.

In addition to negotiations, Peter devoted a lot of time to studying shipbuilding, military affairs and other sciences. Peter worked as a carpenter at the shipyards of the East India Company, and with the participation of the Tsar, the ship “Peter and Paul” was built. In England, he visited a foundry, an arsenal, parliament, Oxford University, the Greenwich Observatory and the Mint, of which Isaac Newton was the keeper at that time. He was primarily interested in the technical achievements of Western countries, and not in the legal system. They say that having visited the Palace of Westminster, Peter saw there “legalists”, that is, barristers, in their robes and wigs. He asked: “What kind of people are these and what are they doing here?” They answered him: “These are all lawyers, Your Majesty.” “Legalists! - Peter was surprised. - What are they for? In my entire kingdom there are only two lawyers, and I plan to hang one of them when I return home.” True, having visited the English Parliament incognito, where the speeches of the deputies before King William III were translated for him, the Tsar said: “It’s fun to hear when the sons of the patronymic tell the king the obvious truth, this is something we should learn from the English.”

The Grand Embassy did not achieve its main goal: it was not possible to create a coalition against the Ottoman Empire due to the preparation of a number of European powers for the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714). However, thanks to this war, favorable conditions developed for Russia’s struggle for the Baltic. Thus, there was a reorientation of Russian foreign policy from the southern to the northern direction.

Return. Crucial years for Russia 1698-1700

The morning of the Streltsy execution. Hood. V. I. Surikov, 1881

In July 1698, the Grand Embassy was interrupted by news of a new Streltsy rebellion in Moscow, which was suppressed even before Peter’s arrival. Upon the tsar’s arrival in Moscow (August 25 (September 4)), a search and inquiry began, the result of which was the one-time execution of about 800 archers (except for those executed during the suppression of the riot), and subsequently several hundred more until the spring of 1699.

Princess Sophia was tonsured a nun under the name of Susanna and sent to the Novodevichy Convent, where she spent the rest of her life. The same fate befell Peter’s unloved wife, Evdokia Lopukhina, who was forcibly sent to the Suzdal monastery even despite the fact that Patriarch Adrian refused to tonsure her. Despite this, during the same period of time, Peter I discussed with the Patriarch the level of Russian education and argued about the need for broad and thorough education in Russia. The Patriarch fully supported the Tsar, and these reforms led to the creation of a new education system and the opening of the Academy of Sciences in 1724.

During his 15 months abroad, Peter saw a lot and learned a lot. After the return of the tsar on August 25 (September 4), 1698, his transformative activities began, first aimed at changing the external signs that distinguished the Old Slavic way of life from the Western European one. In the Preobrazhensky Palace, Peter suddenly began cutting off the beards of nobles, and already on August 29 (September 8), 1698, the famous decree “On wearing German dress, on shaving beards and mustaches, on schismatics walking in the attire specified for them” was issued, prohibiting from 1 ( 11) September wearing beards.

“I wish to transform the secular goats, that is, citizens, and the clergy, that is, monks and priests. The first, so that without beards they would resemble Europeans in kindness, and the others, so that they, although with beards, would teach parishioners Christian virtues in churches the way I have seen and heard pastors teaching in Germany.”

The new year 7208 according to the Russian-Byzantine calendar (“from the creation of the world”) became the 1700th year according to the Julian calendar. Peter also introduced the celebration of the New Year on January 1, and not on the day of the autumn equinox, as was previously celebrated. His special decree stated:

“Since people in Russia count the New Year differently, from now on, stop fooling people and count the New Year everywhere from the first of January. And as a sign of good beginnings and fun, congratulate each other on the New Year, wishing prosperity in business and in the family. In honor of the New Year, make decorations from fir trees, amuse children, and ride down the mountains on sleds. But adults shouldn’t commit drunkenness and massacres - there are enough other days for that.”

Creation of the Russian Empire. 1700-1724

Peter's military reforms

The Kozhukhov maneuvers (1694) showed Peter the advantage of the regiments of the “foreign system” over the archers. The Azov campaigns, in which four regular regiments took part (Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky, Lefortovo and Butyrsky regiments), finally convinced Peter of the low suitability of the troops of the old organization. Therefore, in 1698, the old army was disbanded, except for 4 regular regiments, which became the basis of the new army.

In preparation for the war with Sweden, Peter ordered in 1699 to carry out a general recruitment and begin training of recruits according to the model established by the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovtsy. At the same time, a large number of foreign officers were recruited. The war was supposed to begin with the siege of Narva, so the main attention was paid to organizing the infantry. There was simply not enough time to create all the necessary military structures. There were legends about the tsar's impatience - he was impatient to enter the war and test his army in action. Management, a combat support service, and a strong, well-equipped rear had yet to be created.

Northern War with Sweden (1700-1721)

After returning from the Great Embassy, ​​the tsar began to prepare for a war with Sweden for access to the Baltic Sea. In 1699, the Northern Alliance was created against the Swedish king Charles XII, which, in addition to Russia, included Denmark, Saxony and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, led by the Saxon elector and the Polish king Augustus II. The driving force behind the union was the desire of Augustus II to take Livonia from Sweden. For help, he promised Russia the return of lands that previously belonged to the Russians (Ingria and Karelia).

To enter the war, Russia needed to make peace with the Ottoman Empire. After reaching a truce with the Turkish Sultan for a period of 30 years, Russia declared war on August 19 (30), 1700, on Sweden under the pretext of revenge for the insult shown to Tsar Peter in Riga.

In turn, Charles XII's plan was to defeat his opponents one by one. Soon after the bombing of Copenhagen, Denmark left the war on August 8 (19), 1700, even before Russia entered it. Augustus II's attempts to capture Riga ended unsuccessfully. After this, Charles XII turned against Russia.

The beginning of the war for Peter was discouraging: the newly recruited army, handed over to the Saxon field marshal Duke de Croix, was defeated near Narva on November 19 (30), 1700. This defeat showed that everything had to start all over again.

Considering that Russia was sufficiently weakened, Charles XII went to Livonia to direct all his forces against Augustus II.

Assault on the Noteburg fortress on October 11 (22), 1702. Peter I is depicted in the center. A. E. Kotzebue, 1846

However, Peter, continuing the reforms of the army according to the European model, resumed hostilities. Already in the fall of 1702, the Russian army, in the presence of the tsar, captured the Noteburg fortress (renamed Shlisselburg), and in the spring of 1703, the Nyenschanz fortress at the mouth of the Neva. On May 10 (21), 1703, for the bold capture of two Swedish ships at the mouth of the Neva, Peter (then held the rank of captain of the Bombardier Company of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment) received the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, which he himself approved. Here, on May 16 (27), 1703, the construction of St. Petersburg began, and on the island of Kotlin the base of the Russian fleet was located - the Kronshlot fortress (later Kronstadt). The exit to the Baltic Sea was breached.

In 1704, after the capture of Dorpat and Narva, Russia gained a foothold in the Eastern Baltic. Peter I’s offer to make peace was refused.

After the deposition of Augustus II in 1706 and his replacement by the Polish king Stanislav Leszczynski, Charles XII began his fatal campaign against Russia. Having passed through the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the king did not dare to continue the attack on Smolensk. Having secured the support of the Little Russian hetman Ivan Mazepa, Charles moved his troops south for food reasons and with the intention of strengthening the army with Mazepa’s supporters. In the Battle of Lesnaya on September 28 (October 9), 1708, Peter personally led A.D. Menshikov’s corvolant and defeated Levengaupt’s Swedish corps, which was marching to join the army of Charles XII from Livonia. The Swedish army lost reinforcements and a convoy with military supplies. Peter later celebrated the anniversary of this battle as a turning point in the Northern War.

In the Battle of Poltava on June 27 (July 8), 1709, in which the army of Charles XII was completely defeated, Peter again commanded on the battlefield; Peter's hat was shot through. After the victory, he received the rank of first lieutenant general and schoutbenacht from the blue flag.

In 1710, Türkiye intervened in the war. After the defeat in the Prut campaign of 1711, Russia returned Azov to Turkey and destroyed Taganrog, but due to this it was possible to conclude another truce with the Turks.

Peter again focused on the war with the Swedes; in 1713, the Swedes were defeated in Pomerania and lost all their possessions in continental Europe. However, thanks to Sweden's dominance at sea, the Northern War dragged on. The Baltic Fleet was just being created by Russia, but managed to win its first victory in the Battle of Gangut in the summer of 1714. In 1716, Peter led a united fleet from Russia, England, Denmark and Holland, but due to disagreements in the Allied camp, it was not possible to organize an attack on Sweden. As the Russian Baltic Fleet strengthened, Sweden felt the danger of an invasion of its lands. In 1718, peace negotiations began, interrupted by the sudden death of Charles XII. The Swedish queen Ulrika Eleonora resumed the war, hoping for help from England. The devastating Russian landings on the Swedish coast in 1720 prompted Sweden to resume negotiations. On August 30 (September 10), 1721, the Peace of Nystad was concluded between Russia and Sweden, ending the 21-year war. Russia gained access to the Baltic Sea, annexed the territory of Ingria, part of Karelia, Estonia and Livonia. Russia became a great European power, in commemoration of which on October 22 (November 2), 1721, Peter, at the request of senators, accepted the title Father of the Fatherland, Emperor of All Russia, Peter the Great:

... we thought, from the example of the ancients, especially the Roman and Greek peoples, to take the boldness, on the day of the celebration and announcement of what they concluded in. V. through the labors of all Russia for a glorious and prosperous world, after reading its treatise in the church, according to our most submissive gratitude for the intercession of this peace, to bring our petition to you publicly, so that you deign to accept from us, as from your faithful subjects, in gratitude the title of Father of the Fatherland, Emperor of All Russia, Peter the Great, as usual from the Roman Senate for the noble deeds of emperors, such titles were publicly presented to them as a gift and signed on statutes for memory for eternal generations.

Russo-Turkish War 1710-1713

After the defeat in the Battle of Poltava, the Swedish king Charles XII took refuge in the possessions of the Ottoman Empire, the city of Bendery. Peter I concluded an agreement with Turkey on the expulsion of Charles XII from Turkish territory, but then the Swedish king was allowed to stay and create a threat to the southern border of Russia with the help of part of the Ukrainian Cossacks and Crimean Tatars. Seeking the expulsion of Charles XII, Peter I began to threaten war with Turkey, but in response, on November 20 (December 1), 1710, the Sultan himself declared war on Russia. The real cause of the war was the capture of Azov by Russian troops in 1696 and the appearance of the Russian fleet in the Sea of ​​Azov.

The war on Turkey's part was limited to the winter raid of the Crimean Tatars, vassals of the Ottoman Empire, on Ukraine. Russia waged a war on 3 fronts: troops made campaigns against the Tatars in the Crimea and Kuban, Peter I himself, relying on the help of the rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia, decided to make a deep campaign to the Danube, where he hoped to raise the Christian vassals of the Ottoman Empire to fight the Turks.

On March 6 (17), 1711, Peter I left Moscow for the troops with his faithful friend Ekaterina Alekseevna, whom he ordered to be considered his wife and queen (even before the official wedding, which took place in 1712). The army crossed the border of Moldova in June 1711, but already on July 20 (31), 1711, 190 thousand Turks and Crimean Tatars pressed the 38 thousand Russian army to the right bank of the Prut River, completely surrounding it. In a seemingly hopeless situation, Peter managed to conclude the Prut Peace Treaty with the Grand Vizier, according to which the army and the Tsar himself escaped capture, but in return Russia gave Azov to Turkey and lost access to the Sea of ​​Azov.

There had been no hostilities since August 1711, although during the process of agreeing on the final treaty, Turkey threatened several times to resume the war. Only in June 1713 was the Treaty of Adrianople concluded, which generally confirmed the terms of the Prut Agreement. Russia received the opportunity to continue the Northern War without a 2nd front, although it lost the gains of the Azov campaigns.

Russia's movement to the east

Russia's expansion to the east under Peter I did not stop. In 1716, Buchholz's expedition founded Omsk at the confluence of the Irtysh and Omi, and upstream the Irtysh: Ust-Kamenogorsk, Semipalatinsk and other fortresses. In 1716-1717, a detachment of Bekovich-Cherkassky was sent to Central Asia with the goal of persuading the Khiva Khan to become a citizen and to scout out the route to India. However, the Russian detachment was destroyed by the khan and the plan to conquer the Central Asian states was not implemented under his rule. During the reign of Peter I, Kamchatka was annexed to Russia. Peter planned an expedition across the Pacific Ocean to America (intending to establish Russian colonies there), but did not have time to carry out his plan.

Caspian campaign 1722-1723

Peter's largest foreign policy event after the Northern War was the Caspian (or Persian) campaign in 1722-1724. The conditions for the campaign were created as a result of Persian civil strife and the actual collapse of the once powerful state.

On July 18 (29), 1722, after the son of the Persian Shah Tokhmas Mirza asked for help, a 22,000-strong Russian detachment sailed from Astrakhan along the Caspian Sea. In August, Derbent surrendered, after which the Russians returned to Astrakhan due to problems with supplies. The following year, 1723, the western shore of the Caspian Sea with the fortresses of Baku, Rasht, and Astrabad was conquered. Further progress was stopped by the threat of the Ottoman Empire entering the war, which captured western and central Transcaucasia.

On September 12 (23), 1723, the Treaty of St. Petersburg was concluded with Persia, according to which the western and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea with the cities of Derbent and Baku and the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Astrabad were included in the Russian Empire. Russia and Persia also concluded a defensive alliance against Turkey, which, however, turned out to be ineffective.

According to the Treaty of Constantinople of June 12 (23), 1724, Turkey recognized all Russian acquisitions in the western part of the Caspian Sea and renounced further claims to Persia. The junction of the borders between Russia, Turkey and Persia was established at the confluence of the Araks and Kura rivers. Troubles continued in Persia, and Türkiye challenged the provisions of the Treaty of Constantinople before the border was clearly established.

It should be noted that soon after the death of Peter, these possessions were lost due to high losses of garrisons from disease, and, in the opinion of Tsarina Anna Ioannovna, the lack of prospects for the region.

Russian Empire under Peter I

Peter I. Mosaic. Typed by M. V. Lomonosov. 1754. Ust-Ruditskaya factory. Hermitage

After the victory in the Northern War and the conclusion of the Peace of Nystadt in September 1721, the Senate and Synod decided to present Peter with the title of Emperor of All Russia with the following wording: “ as usual, from the Roman Senate, for the noble deeds of emperors, such titles were publicly presented to them as a gift and signed on statutes for memory for eternal generations.»

On October 22 (November 2), 1721, Peter I accepted the title, not just an honorary one, but indicating a new role for Russia in international affairs. Prussia and Holland immediately recognized the new title of the Russian Tsar, Sweden in 1723, Turkey in 1739, England and Austria in 1742, France and Spain in 1745, and finally Poland in 1764.

Secretary of the Prussian embassy in Russia in 1717-1733, I.-G. Fokkerodt, at the request of Voltaire, who was working on the history of Peter's reign, wrote memoirs about Russia under Peter. Fokkerodt tried to estimate the population of the Russian Empire by the end of the reign of Peter I. According to his information, the number of people in the tax-paying class was 5 million 198 thousand people, from which the number of peasants and townspeople, including women, was estimated at approximately 10 million. Many souls were hidden by the landowners, The repeated audit increased the number of tax-paying souls to almost 6 million people. There were up to 500 thousand Russian nobles and families; officials up to 200 thousand and clergy with families up to 300 thousand souls.

The inhabitants of the conquered regions, who were not subject to universal taxes, were estimated to number from 500 to 600 thousand souls. Cossacks with families in Ukraine, on the Don and Yaik and in border cities were considered to number from 700 to 800 thousand souls. The number of Siberian peoples was unknown, but Fokkerodt put it up to a million people.

Thus, the population of the Russian Empire amounted to up to 15 million subjects and was second in Europe only to France (about 20 million).

According to the calculations of the Soviet historian Yaroslav Vodarsky, the number of men and male children increased from 1678 to 1719 from 5.6 to 7.8 million. Thus, if we take the number of women approximately equal to the number of men, the total population of Russia increased during this period from 11.2 to 15.6 million

Transformations of Peter I

All of Peter’s internal government activities can be conditionally divided into two periods: 1695-1715 and 1715-1725. The peculiarity of the first stage was haste and not always thought out, which was explained by the conduct of the Northern War. The reforms were aimed primarily at raising funds for the war, were carried out by force and often did not lead to the desired result. In addition to government reforms, at the first stage, extensive reforms were carried out with the aim of modernizing the way of life. In the second period, reforms were more systematic.

A number of historians, for example V. O. Klyuchevsky, pointed out that the reforms of Peter I were not something fundamentally new, but were only a continuation of those transformations that were carried out during the 17th century. Other historians (for example, Sergei Solovyov), on the contrary, emphasized the revolutionary nature of Peter’s transformations.

Peter carried out a reform of public administration, transformations in the army, a navy was created, and a reform of church government was carried out in the spirit of Caesaropapism, aimed at eliminating the church jurisdiction autonomous from the state and subordinating the Russian church hierarchy to the emperor. Financial reform was also carried out, and measures were taken to develop industry and trade.

After returning from the Great Embassy, ​​Peter I waged a struggle against the external manifestations of an “outdated” way of life (the most famous being the beard tax), but no less paid attention to introducing the nobility to education and secular Europeanized culture. Secular educational institutions began to appear, the first Russian newspaper was founded, and translations of many books into Russian appeared. Peter made success in service for the nobles dependent on education.

Peter was clearly aware of the need for enlightenment, and took a number of decisive measures to this end. On January 14 (25), 1701, a school of mathematical and navigational sciences was opened in Moscow. In 1701-1721, artillery, engineering and medical schools were opened in Moscow, an engineering school and a naval academy in St. Petersburg, and mining schools at the Olonets and Ural factories. In 1705, the first gymnasium in Russia was opened. The goals of mass education were to be served by digital schools created by decree of 1714 in provincial cities, designed to “ teach children of all ranks literacy, numbers and geometry" It was planned to create two such schools in each province, where education was to be free. Garrison schools were opened for soldiers' children, and a network of theological schools was created to train priests starting in 1721. In 1724, a draft regulation on the Academy of Sciences, the university and the gymnasium attached to it was signed.

Peter's decrees introduced compulsory education for nobles and clergy, but a similar measure for the urban population met fierce resistance and was cancelled. Peter's attempt to create an all-estate primary school failed (the creation of a network of schools ceased after his death; most of the digital schools under his successors were repurposed as estate schools for training the clergy), but nevertheless, during his reign the foundations were laid for the spread of education in Russia.

Peter created new printing houses, in which 1,312 book titles were printed between 1700 and 1725 (twice as many as in the entire previous history of Russian printing). Thanks to the rise of printing, paper consumption increased from 4-8 thousand sheets at the end of the 17th century to 50 thousand sheets in 1719. Changes took place in the Russian language, which included 4.5 thousand new words borrowed from European languages. In 1724, Peter approved the charter of the newly founded Academy of Sciences (opened a few months after his death).

Of particular importance was the construction of stone St. Petersburg, in which foreign architects took part and which was carried out according to the plan developed by the Tsar. He created a new urban environment with previously unfamiliar forms of life and pastime (theater, masquerades). The interior decoration of houses, the way of life, the composition of food, etc. changed. By a special decree of the tsar in 1718, assemblies were introduced, representing a new form of communication between people for Russia. At the assemblies, the nobles danced and communicated freely, unlike previous feasts and feasts.

The reforms carried out by Peter I affected not only politics, economics, but also art. Peter invited foreign artists to Russia and at the same time sent talented young people to study “art” abroad. In the second quarter of the 18th century. “Peter’s pensioners” began to return to Russia, bringing with them new artistic experience and acquired skills.

On December 30, 1701 (January 10, 1702), Peter issued a decree that ordered full names to be written in petitions and other documents instead of derogatory half-names (Ivashka, Senka, etc.), not to fall on your knees before the Tsar, and a hat in front of the house in winter in the cold. , in which the king is located, do not remove. He explained the need for these innovations in this way: “Less baseness, more zeal for service and loyalty to me and the state - this honor is characteristic of a king...”

Peter tried to change the position of women in Russian society. By special decrees (1700, 1702 and 1724) he prohibited forced marriage. It was prescribed that there should be at least a six-week period between betrothal and wedding, “so that the bride and groom can recognize each other.” If during this time, the decree said, “the groom does not want to take the bride, or the bride does not want to marry the groom,” no matter how the parents insist on it, “there will be freedom.” Since 1702, the bride herself (and not just her relatives) was given the formal right to dissolve the betrothal and upset the arranged marriage, and neither party had the right to “beat the forfeit.” Legislative regulations 1696-1704. on public celebrations, mandatory participation in celebrations and festivities was introduced for all Russians, including the “female sex.”

From the “old” in the structure of the nobility under Peter, the former enslavement of the service class through the personal service of each service person to the state remained unchanged. But in this enslavement its form has changed somewhat. They were now obliged to serve in the regular regiments and in the navy, as well as in the civil service in all those administrative and judicial institutions that were transformed from the old ones and arose again. The Decree on Single Inheritance of 1714 regulated the legal status of the nobility and secured the legal merger of such forms of land ownership as patrimony and estate.

From the reign of Peter I, peasants began to be divided into serf (landowner), monastic and state peasants. All three categories were recorded in the revision tales and subject to a poll tax. Since 1724, landowner peasants could leave their villages to earn money and for other needs only with the written permission of the master, certified by the zemstvo commissar and the colonel of the regiment that was stationed in the area. Thus, the landowner's power over the personality of the peasants received even more opportunities to strengthen, taking into its unaccountable disposal both the personality and property of the privately owned peasant. From now on, this new state of the rural worker receives the name “serf” or “revision” soul.

In general, Peter's reforms were aimed at strengthening the state and introducing the elite to European culture while simultaneously strengthening absolutism. During the reforms, the technical and economic lag of Russia from a number of other European countries was overcome, access to the Baltic Sea was won, and transformations were carried out in many spheres of life of Russian society. Gradually, a different system of values, worldview, and aesthetic ideas developed among the nobility, which was radically different from the values ​​and worldview of the majority of representatives of other classes. At the same time, the popular forces were extremely exhausted, the preconditions were created (Decree on Succession to the Throne) for a crisis of supreme power, which led to the “era of palace coups.”

Economic success

Having set himself the goal of equipping the economy with the best Western production technologies, Peter reorganized all sectors of the national economy. During the Great Embassy, ​​the tsar studied various aspects of European life, including technical ones. He learned the basics of the prevailing economic theory at that time - mercantilism. The mercantilists based their economic teaching on two principles: first, every nation, in order not to become poor, must produce everything it needs itself, without turning to the help of other people's labor, the labor of other peoples; secondly, in order to get rich, every nation must export manufactured products from its country as much as possible and import foreign products as little as possible.

Under Peter, the development of geological exploration began, thanks to which metal ore deposits were found in the Urals. In the Urals alone, no less than 27 metallurgical plants were built under Peter; gunpowder factories, sawmills, and glass factories were founded in Moscow, Tula, and St. Petersburg; In Astrakhan, Samara, Krasnoyarsk, the production of potash, sulfur, and saltpeter was established, and sailing, linen and cloth factories were created. This made it possible to begin a gradual phase-out of imports.

By the end of the reign of Peter I, there were already 233 factories, including more than 90 large manufactories built during his reign. The largest were shipyards (the St. Petersburg shipyard alone employed 3.5 thousand people), sailing manufactories and mining and metallurgical plants (9 Ural factories employed 25 thousand workers); there were a number of other enterprises employing from 500 to 1000 people. To supply the new capital, the first canals in Russia were dug.

The downside of reforms

Peter's reforms were achieved through violence against the population, its complete subordination to the will of the monarch, and the eradication of all dissent. Even Pushkin, who sincerely admired Peter, wrote that many of his decrees were “cruel, capricious and, it seems, written with a whip,” as if “snatched from an impatient, autocratic landowner.” Klyuchevsky points out that the triumph of the absolute monarchy, which sought to forcefully drag its subjects from the Middle Ages into modernity, contained a fundamental contradiction:

Peter's reform was a struggle between despotism and the people, against their inertia. He hoped, with the threat of power, to evoke initiative in an enslaved society and, through the slave-owning nobility, to introduce European science in Russia... he wanted the slave, while remaining a slave, to act consciously and freely.

Use of forced labor

The construction of St. Petersburg from 1704 to 1717 was mainly carried out by “working people” mobilized as part of natural labor service. They cut down forests, filled in swamps, built embankments, etc. In 1704, up to 40 thousand working people, mostly landowner serfs and state peasants, were called to St. Petersburg from various provinces. In 1707, many workers sent to St. Petersburg from the Belozersky region fled. Peter I ordered to take the family members of the fugitives - their fathers, mothers, wives, children “or whoever lives in their houses” and keep them in prison until the fugitives are found..

The factory workers of Peter the Great's time came from a wide variety of strata of the population: runaway serfs, vagabonds, beggars, even criminals - all of them, according to strict orders, were picked up and sent “to work” in the factories. Peter could not stand “walking” people who were not assigned to any business; he was ordered to seize them, not even sparing the monastic rank, and send them to factories. There were frequent cases when, in order to supply factories, and especially factories, with workers, villages and villages of peasants were assigned to factories and factories, as was still practiced in the 17th century. Those assigned to the factory worked for it and in it by order of the owner.

Repression

In November 1702, a decree was issued which stated: “From now on, in Moscow and in the Moscow court order, there will be people of any ranks, or from the cities, governors and clerks, and from the monasteries, authorities will be sent, and landowners and patrimonial owners will bring their people and peasants , and those people and peasants will learn to say after themselves “the sovereign’s word and deed,” and without questioning those people in the Moscow court order, they will be sent to the Preobrazhensky order to the steward of Prince Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky. And in the cities, governors and clerks send such people who learn to say “the sovereign’s word and deed” to Moscow without asking questions.”

In 1718, the Secret Chancellery was created to investigate the case of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, then other political matters of extreme importance were transferred to it. On August 18 (29), 1718, a decree was issued, which, under threat of death penalty, prohibited “writing while locked.” Those who failed to report this were also subject to the death penalty. This decree was aimed at combating anti-government “nominal letters”.

The decree of Peter I, issued in 1702, proclaimed religious tolerance one of the main state principles. “We must deal with opponents of the church with meekness and reason,” said Peter. “The Lord gave kings power over the nations, but Christ alone has power over the conscience of people.” But this decree was not applied to the Old Believers. In 1716, to facilitate their accounting, they were given the opportunity to live semi-legally on the condition that they pay “double all payments for this split.” At the same time, control and punishment of those who evaded registration and payment of double tax were strengthened. Those who did not confess and did not pay double tax were ordered to be fined, each time increasing the fine rate, and even sent to hard labor. For seduction into schism (any Old Believer worship service or performance of religious services was considered seduction), as before Peter I, the death penalty was imposed, which was confirmed in 1722. Old Believer priests were declared either schismatic teachers, if they were Old Believer mentors, or traitors to Orthodoxy, if they had previously been priests, and were punished for both. The schismatic monasteries and chapels were ruined. Through torture, whipping, tearing out nostrils, threats of executions and exile, Nizhny Novgorod Bishop Pitirim managed to return a considerable number of Old Believers to the bosom of the official church, but the majority of them soon “fell into schism” again. Deacon Alexander Pitirim, who led the Kerzhen Old Believers, forced him to renounce the Old Believers, shackling him and threatening him with beatings, as a result of which the deacon “feared from him, from the bishop, great torment, and exile, and the tearing of the nostrils, as inflicted on others.” When Alexander complained in a letter to Peter I about the actions of Pitirim, he was subjected to terrible torture and on May 21 (June 1), 1720, he was executed.

The adoption of the imperial title by Peter I, as the Old Believers believed, indicated that he was the Antichrist, since this emphasized the continuity of state power from Catholic Rome. The Antichrist essence of Peter, according to the Old Believers, was also evidenced by the calendar changes made during his reign and the population census he introduced for per capita wages.

Personality of Peter I

Appearance

Portrait of Peter I

Sculptural head made from a death mask (State Historical Museum)

Cast of the hand of Tsar Peter (State Historical Museum)

Peter's caftan and camisole allow one to imagine his elongated figure

Even as a child, Peter amazed people with the beauty and liveliness of his face and figure. Due to his height - 203 cm (6 ft 8 in) - he stood out a whole head in the crowd. At the same time, with such a large stature, he was not of a strong build - he wore size 39 shoes and size 48 clothes. Peter's hands were also small, and his shoulders were narrow for his height, the same thing, his head was also small compared to his body.

Those around were frightened by very strong convulsive twitching of the face, especially in moments of anger and emotional excitement. Contemporaries attributed these convulsive movements to childhood shock during the Streltsy riots or an attempt to poison Princess Sophia.

S. A. Kirillov. Peter the Great. (1982-1984).

During his trips abroad, Peter I frightened sophisticated aristocrats with his rude manner of communication and simplicity of morals. Elector Sophia of Hanover wrote about Peter as follows:

« The king is tall, has beautiful facial features and noble bearing; He has great mental agility, his answers are quick and correct. But with all the virtues that nature has endowed him with, it would be desirable for him to have less rudeness. This sovereign is very good and at the same time very bad; morally he is a full representative of his country. If he had received a better upbringing, he would have emerged as a perfect man, because he has many virtues and an extraordinary mind.».

Later, already in 1717, during Peter’s stay in Paris, the Duke of Saint-Simon wrote down his impression of Peter as follows:

« He was very tall, well-built, rather thin, with a roundish face, high forehead, and beautiful eyebrows; his nose is quite short, but not too short, and somewhat thick towards the end; the lips are quite large, the complexion is reddish and dark, beautiful black eyes, large, lively, penetrating, beautifully shaped; the look is majestic and welcoming when he watches himself and restrains himself, otherwise he is stern and wild, with convulsions on the face that are not repeated often, but distort both the eyes and the whole face, frightening everyone present. The spasm usually lasted one moment, and then his gaze became strange, as if confused, then everything immediately took on its normal appearance. His whole appearance showed intelligence, reflection and greatness and was not without charm».

Character

Peter I combined practical intelligence and dexterity, gaiety, and apparent straightforwardness with spontaneous impulses in the expression of both affection and anger, and sometimes with unbridled cruelty.

In his youth, Peter indulged in crazy drunken orgies with his comrades. In anger, he could beat those close to him. He chose “noble persons” and “old boyars” as victims of his evil jokes - as Prince Kurakin reports, “fat people were dragged through chairs where it was impossible to stand, many had their dresses torn off and left naked...”. The Most Jocular, Most Drunken and Extraordinary Council, created by him, was engaged in mockery of everything that was valued and revered in society as primordial everyday or moral and religious foundations. He personally acted as executioner during the execution of participants in the Streltsy uprising. The Danish envoy Just Yul testified that during the ceremonial entry into Moscow after the victory at Poltava, Peter, deathly pale, with an ugly face distorted by convulsions, making “terrible movements of his head, mouth, arms, shoulders, hands and feet,” galloped in a mad frenzy at a soldier who had made a mistake in some way and began to “mercilessly chop him with a sword.”

During the fighting on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on July 11 (22), 1705, Peter attended vespers in the Basilian monastery in Polotsk. After one of the Basilians called Josaphat Kuntsevich, who was oppressing the Orthodox population, a holy martyr, the king ordered the monks to be seized. The Basilians tried to resist and four of them were hacked to death. The next day, Peter ordered the hanging of a monk who was distinguished by his sermons directed against the Russians.

Family of Peter I

For the first time, Peter married at the age of 17, at the insistence of his mother, to Evdokia Lopukhina in 1689. A year later, Tsarevich Alexei was born to them, who was raised by his mother in concepts alien to Peter’s reform activities. The remaining children of Peter and Evdokia died soon after birth. In 1698, Evdokia Lopukhina became involved in the Streltsy revolt, the purpose of which was to elevate her son to the kingdom, and was exiled to a monastery.

Alexei Petrovich, the official heir to the Russian throne, condemned his father's reforms, and eventually fled to Vienna under the patronage of his wife's relative (Charlotte of Brunswick), Emperor Charles VI, where he sought support in the overthrow of Peter I. In 1717, the prince was persuaded to return home, where he was taken into custody. On June 24 (July 5), 1718, the Supreme Court, consisting of 127 people, sentenced Alexei to death, finding him guilty of treason. On June 26 (July 7), 1718, the prince, without waiting for the sentence to be carried out, died in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The true cause of Tsarevich Alexei's death has not yet been reliably established. From his marriage to Princess Charlotte of Brunswick, Tsarevich Alexei left a son, Peter Alekseevich (1715-1730), who became Emperor Peter II in 1727, and a daughter, Natalya Alekseevna (1714-1728).

In 1703, Peter I met 19-year-old Katerina, maiden name Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya (widow of the dragoon Johann Kruse), captured by Russian troops as booty during the capture of the Swedish fortress of Marienburg. Peter took a former maid from the Baltic peasants from Alexander Menshikov and made her his mistress. In 1704, Katerina gave birth to her first child, named Peter, and the following year, Paul (both died soon after). Even before her legal marriage to Peter, Katerina gave birth to daughters Anna (1708) and Elizabeth (1709). Elizabeth later became empress (reigned 1741-1761). Katerina alone could cope with the king in his fits of anger; she knew how to calm Peter’s attacks of convulsive headaches with affection and patient attention. The sound of Katerina's voice calmed Peter; then she

“she sat him down and took him, caressing him, by the head, which she lightly scratched. This had a magical effect on him; he fell asleep within a few minutes. So as not to disturb his sleep, she held his head on her chest, sitting motionless for two or three hours. After that, he woke up completely fresh and cheerful.”

The official wedding of Peter I with Ekaterina Alekseevna took place on February 19 (March 1), 1712, shortly after returning from the Prut campaign. In 1724 Peter crowned Catherine as empress and co-regent. Ekaterina Alekseevna bore her husband 11 children, but most of them died in childhood, except for Anna and Elizaveta.

After Peter's death in January 1725, Ekaterina Alekseevna, with the support of the serving nobility and guards regiments, became the first ruling Russian Empress Catherine I, but she did not rule for long and died in 1727, vacating the throne for Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich. The first wife of Peter the Great, Evdokia Lopukhina, outlived her lucky rival and died in 1731, having managed to see the reign of her grandson Peter Alekseevich.

Awards

• 1698 - Order of the Garter (England) - the order was awarded to Peter during the Great Embassy for diplomatic reasons, but Peter refused the award.
• 1703 - Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (Russia) - for the capture of two Swedish ships at the mouth of the Neva.
• 1712 - Order of the White Eagle (Rzeczpospolita) - in response to the awarding of the King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Augustus II with the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.
• 1713 - Order of the Elephant (Denmark) - for success in the Northern War.

Succession to the throne

In the last years of the reign of Peter the Great, the question of succession to the throne arose: who would take the throne after the death of the emperor. Tsarevich Pyotr Petrovich (1715-1719, son of Ekaterina Alekseevna), declared heir to the throne upon the abdication of Alexei Petrovich, died in childhood. The direct heir was the son of Tsarevich Alexei and Princess Charlotte, Pyotr Alekseevich. However, if you follow the custom and declare the son of the disgraced Alexei as the heir, then the hopes of opponents of the reforms to return to the old order were aroused, and on the other hand, fears arose among Peter’s comrades, who voted for the execution of Alexei.

On February 5 (16), 1722, Peter issued a Decree on Succession to the Throne (cancelled by Paul I 75 years later), in which he abolished the ancient custom of transferring the throne to direct descendants in the male line, but allowed the appointment of any worthy person as heir at the will of the monarch. The text of this important decree justified the need for this measure:

... why did they decide to make this charter, so that it would always be in the will of the ruling sovereign, whoever he wants, to determine the inheritance, and to the certain one, seeing what obscenity, he will cancel it, so that the children and descendants do not fall into such anger as is written above, having this bridle on you.

The decree was so unusual for Russian society that it had to be explained and consent was required from the subjects under oath. The schismatics were indignant: “He took a Swede for himself, and that queen will not give birth to children, and he made a decree to kiss the cross for the future sovereign, and they kiss the cross for the Swede. Of course, a Swede will reign.”

Peter Alekseevich was removed from the throne, but the question of succession to the throne remained open. Many believed that the throne would be taken by either Anna or Elizabeth, Peter’s daughters from his marriage to Ekaterina Alekseevna. But in 1724, Anna renounced any claims to the Russian throne after she became engaged to the Duke of Holstein, Karl Friedrich. If the throne had been taken by the youngest daughter Elizabeth, who was 15 years old (in 1724), then the Duke of Holstein would have ruled instead, who dreamed of returning the lands conquered by the Danes with the help of Russia.

Peter and his nieces, the daughters of his elder brother Ivan, were not satisfied: Anna of Courland, Ekaterina of Mecklenburg and Praskovya Ioannovna.

There was only one candidate left - Peter's wife, Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna. Peter needed a person who would continue the work he had started, his transformation. On May 7 (18), 1724, Peter crowned Catherine empress and co-ruler, but a short time later he suspected her of adultery (the Mons affair). The decree of 1722 violated the usual structure of succession to the throne, but Peter did not have time to appoint an heir before his death.

Death of Peter

I. N. Nikitin “Peter I”
on his deathbed"

In the last years of his reign, Peter was very ill (presumably from kidney stones complicated by uremia). In the summer of 1724, his illness intensified; in September he felt better, but after a while the attacks intensified. In October, Peter went to inspect the Ladoga Canal, contrary to the advice of his physician Blumentrost. From Olonets, Peter traveled to Staraya Russa and in November traveled by water to St. Petersburg. Near Lakhta, he had to stand waist-deep in water to save a boat with soldiers that had run aground. The attacks of the disease intensified, but Peter, not paying attention to them, continued to engage in government affairs. On January 17 (28), 1725, he had such a bad time that he ordered a camp church to be erected in the room next to his bedroom, and on January 22 (February 2) he confessed. The patient’s strength began to leave him; he no longer screamed, as before, from severe pain, but only moaned.

On January 27 (February 7), all those sentenced to death or hard labor (excluding murderers and those convicted of repeated robbery) were amnestied. That same day, at the end of the second hour, Peter demanded paper and began to write, but the pen fell out of his hands, and only two words could be made out from what was written: “Give everything...” The Tsar then ordered his daughter Anna Petrovna to be called so that she could write under his dictation, but when she arrived, Peter had already fallen into oblivion. The story about Peter’s words “Give up everything...” and the order to call Anna is known only from the notes of the Holstein Privy Councilor G. F. Bassevich; according to N.I. Pavlenko and V.P. Kozlov, it is a tendentious fiction aimed at hinting at the rights of Anna Petrovna, the wife of the Holstein Duke Karl Friedrich, to the Russian throne.

When it became obvious that the emperor was dying, the question arose as to who would take Peter's place. The Senate, the Synod and the generals - all institutions that did not have the formal right to control the fate of the throne, even before the death of Peter, gathered on the night of January 27 (February 7) to January 28 (February 8) to resolve the issue of Peter the Great's successor. Guards officers entered the meeting room, two guards regiments entered the square, and to the drumbeat of troops withdrawn by the party of Ekaterina Alekseevna and Menshikov, the Senate made a unanimous decision by 4 o'clock in the morning on January 28 (February 8). By decision of the Senate, the throne was inherited by Peter's wife, Ekaterina Alekseevna, who became the first Russian empress on January 28 (February 8), 1725 under the name Catherine I.

At the beginning of six o'clock in the morning on January 28 (February 8), 1725, Peter the Great died in terrible agony in his Winter Palace near the Winter Canal, according to the official version, from pneumonia. He was buried in the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. The autopsy showed the following: “a sharp narrowing in the posterior part of the urethra, hardening of the bladder neck and Antonov fire.” Death followed from inflammation of the bladder, which turned into gangrene due to urinary retention caused by narrowing of the urethra.

The famous court icon painter Simon Ushakov painted an image of the Life-Giving Trinity and the Apostle Peter on a cypress board. After the death of Peter I, this icon was installed above the imperial tombstone.

Performance evaluation and criticism

In a letter to the French ambassador to Russia, Louis XIV spoke of Peter as follows:

This sovereign reveals his aspirations by caring about preparation for military affairs and the discipline of his troops, about training and enlightening his people, about attracting foreign officers and all kinds of capable people. This course of action and the increase of power, which is the greatest in Europe, make him formidable to his neighbors and excite very thorough envy.

Moritz of Saxony called Peter the greatest man of his century.

Mikhail Lomonosov gave an enthusiastic description of Peter

Who can I compare the Great Sovereign with? I see in ancient times and in modern times Possessors called great. Indeed, they are great in front of others. However, they are small before Peter. ...Who will I liken our Hero to? I have often wondered what He is like who rules heaven, earth and sea with an omnipotent wave: His spirit breathes and waters flow, touches the mountains and they rise.

Voltaire wrote repeatedly about Peter. By the end of 1759 the first volume was published, and in April 1763 the second volume of “History of the Russian Empire under Peter the Great” was published. Voltaire defines the main value of Peter’s reforms as the progress that the Russians have achieved in 50 years; other nations cannot achieve this even in 500. Peter I, his reforms, and their significance became the object of dispute between Voltaire and Rousseau.

August Strindberg described Peter this way

The barbarian who civilized his Russia; he, who built cities, but did not want to live in them; he, who punished his wife with a whip and gave the woman wide freedom - his life was great, rich and useful in public terms, and in private terms such as it turned out.

N. M. Karamzin, recognizing this sovereign as the Great, severely criticizes Peter for his excessive passion for foreign things, his desire to make Russia the Netherlands. The sharp change in the “old” way of life and national traditions undertaken by the emperor, according to the historian, is not always justified. As a result, Russian educated people “became citizens of the world, but ceased to be, in some cases, citizens of Russia.”

Westerners positively assessed Peter's reforms, thanks to which Russia became a great power and joined European civilization.

S. M. Solovyov spoke about Peter in enthusiastic terms, attributing to him all the successes of Russia both in internal affairs and in foreign policy, and showed the organic nature and historical preparedness of the reforms:

The need to move onto a new road was realized; At the same time, the responsibilities were determined: the people got up and got ready to go; but they were waiting for someone; they were waiting for the leader; the leader appeared.

The historian believed that the emperor saw his main task in the internal transformation of Russia, and the Northern War with Sweden was only a means to this transformation. According to Solovyov:

The difference in views stemmed from the enormity of the deed accomplished by Peter and the duration of the influence of this deed. The more significant a phenomenon is, the more contradictory views and opinions it gives rise to, and the longer they talk about it, the longer they feel its influence.

V. O. Klyuchevsky gave a contradictory assessment of Peter’s transformations:

The reform (of Peter) itself came out of the urgent needs of the state and the people, instinctively felt by a powerful man with a sensitive mind and strong character, talents... The reform carried out by Peter the Great did not have as its direct goal to rebuild either the political, social, or moral order that had been established in this state, was not directed by the task of putting Russian life on Western European foundations that were unusual for it, introducing new borrowed principles into it, but was limited to the desire to arm the Russian state and people with ready-made Western European means, mental and material, and thereby put the state on a level with the position it had won in Europe... Started and led by the supreme power, the habitual leader of the people, it adopted the nature and methods of a violent coup, a kind of revolution. It was a revolution not in its goals and results, but only in its methods and the impression it made on the minds and nerves of its contemporaries

P. N. Milyukov, in his works, develops the idea that the reforms carried out by Peter spontaneously, from case to case, under the pressure of specific circumstances, without any logic or plan, were “reforms without a reformer.” He also mentions that only “at the cost of ruining the country, Russia was elevated to the rank of a European power.” According to Miliukov, during the reign of Peter, the population of Russia within the borders of 1695 decreased due to incessant wars.

S. F. Platonov was one of Peter’s apologists. In his book “Personality and Activity” he wrote the following:

People of all generations agreed on one thing in their assessments of Peter’s personality and activities: he was considered a force. Peter was the most prominent and influential figure of his time, the leader of the entire people. No one considered him an insignificant person who unconsciously used power or blindly walked along a random path.

In addition, Platonov pays a lot of attention to Peter’s personality, highlighting his positive qualities: energy, seriousness, natural intelligence and talents, the desire to figure everything out for himself.

N.I. Pavlenko believed that Peter’s transformations were a major step along the road to progress (albeit within the framework of feudalism). Outstanding Soviet historians largely agree with him: E.V. Tarle, N.N. Molchanov, V.I. Buganov, considering the reforms from the point of view of Marxist theory.

V. B. Kobrin argued that Peter did not change the most important thing in the country: serfdom. Feudal industry. Temporary improvements in the present doomed Russia to a crisis in the future.

According to R. Pipes, Kamensky, E.V. Anisimov, Peter’s reforms were extremely contradictory. Feudal methods and repression led to an overstrain of popular forces.

E.V. Anisimov believed that, despite the introduction of a number of innovations in all spheres of life of society and the state, the reforms led to the conservation of the autocratic serfdom system in Russia.

Publicist Ivan Solonevich gave an extremely negative assessment of Peter’s personality and the results of his reforms. In his opinion, the result of Peter’s activities was the gap between the ruling elite and the people, the denationalization of the former. He accused Peter himself of cruelty, incompetence, tyranny and cowardice.

L.N. Tolstoy accuses Peter of extreme cruelty.

Friedrich Engels in his work "Foreign Policy of Russian Tsarism" calls Peter “a truly great man”; the first who “fully appreciated the extremely favorable situation for Russia in Europe.”

In the historical literature there is a version about the decline in the population of Russia in the period 1700-1722.

Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences L.V. Milov wrote: “Peter I forced the Russian nobility to study. And this is his greatest achievement."

Memory

The praise of Peter, a very unpretentious man in private life, began almost immediately after his death and continued regardless of the change of political regimes in Russia. Peter became the object of reverent cult in St. Petersburg, which he founded, as well as throughout the Russian Empire.

In the 20th century, the cities of Petrograd, Petrodvorets, Petrokrepost, Petrozavodsk bore his name; Large geographical objects are also named after him - Peter I Island and Peter the Great Bay. In Russia and abroad they protect the so-called. houses of Peter I, where, according to legend, the monarch stayed. Monuments to Peter I have been erected in many cities, the most famous (and first) of which is the Bronze Horseman on Senate Square in St. Petersburg.

Peter I in essays and works of art

• A. N. Tolstoy. Historical novel “Peter I” (books 1-3, 1929-1945, unfinished)
• Tsar Peter the First, the story of the visit of the Solovetsky archipelago by Tsar Peter I (Romanov). Electronic encyclopedia "Solovki"
• V. Bergman. “The History of Peter the Great”, 1833 - article on the website “Pedagogy of a comprehensive school”
• E. Sherman. “The evolution of Peter’s myth in Russian literature” - article on the website “Network Literature”
• S. Mezin. The book “View from Europe: French authors of the 18th century about Peter I”
• B. Bashilov. “Robespierre is on the throne. Peter I and the historical results of the revolution he committed"
• K. Konichev. Narrative "Peter the Great in the North"
• D. S. Merezhkovsky. "Antichrist. Peter and Alexei", ​​a historical novel, the final one in the trilogy "Christ and Antichrist", 1903-1904.
• M. V. Lomonosov, “Peter the Great” (unfinished poem), 1760.
• A. S. Pushkin, “The History of Peter I” (unfinished historical work), 1835.
• A. S. Pushkin, “Arap of Peter the Great” (historical novel), 1837.

Film incarnations of Peter I

• Alexey Petrenko - “The Tale of How Tsar Peter Married an Arab”; historical melodrama, director Alexander Mitta, Mosfilm studio, 1976.
• Vladlen Davydov - “Tobacco Captain”; musical comedy television feature film, director Igor Usov, Lenfilm studio, 1972.
• Nikolai Simonov - “Peter the Great”; two-part historical feature film, director Vladimir Petrov, Lenfilm studio, 1937.
• Dmitry Zolotukhin - “Young Russia”; serial television feature film, director Ilya Gurin, M. Gorky Film Studio, 1981-1982.
• Pyotr Voinov - “Peter the Great” (another title is “The Life and Death of Peter the Great”) - silent feature short film, directors Kai Hansen and Vasily Goncharov, Pathé Brothers (Moscow representative office), Russian Empire, 1910
• Jan Niklas, Graham McGrath, Maximilian Schell - “Peter the Great”; television series, directors Marian Chomsky, Lawrence Schiller, USA, NBC channel, 1986).
• Alexander Lazarev - “Demidovs”; historical feature film, director Yaropolk Lapshin, Sverdlovsk Film Studio, 1983.
• Victor Stepanov - “Tsarevich Alexey”, historical feature film, director Vitaly Melnikov, Lenfilm, 1997
• Vyacheslav Dovzhenko - “Prayer for Hetman Mazepa” (Ukrainian “Prayer for Hetman Mazepa”), historical feature film, director Yuriy Ilyenko, Alexander Dovzhenko Film Studio, Ukraine, 2001.
• Andrey Sukhov - “Servant of the Sovereigns”; historical adventure film, director Oleg Ryaskov, film company “BNT Entertaiment”, 2007.

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History of the reign of Emperor Peter I

The personality of Peter the Great stands apart in Russian history, because everything that his contemporaries, successors and followers did did not stand next to the deep state transformations that this ruler was able to introduce into the historical memory of the people. As a result of the wise reign of Peter, Russia was able to become an empire, taking its place among the developed countries of Europe!

Childhood and youth of the future first emperor of Russia.

Pyotr Alekseevich was born in the summer of June 9, 1672 in the family of the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov. His mother was the tsar’s second wife, Natalya Naryshkina. At the age of four, he is left without a father, who died at the age of forty-seven.

Nikita Zotov, who was considered quite educated for the period of the then Russia, took on the upbringing and education of the young prince. It is also worth noting the fact that Peter was the youngest in the considerable family of Tsar Alexei, who had thirteen children. In 1682, a struggle between the boyar clans - the Naryshkins and the Miloslavskys, relatives of the first and second wives of the late tsar - began in the royal court.

The latter advocated that the sick Tsarevich Ivan act as the new ruler of the state. The other side, having secured the support of the patriarch, insisted that the healthy and active ten-year-old Peter should become the ruler of Russia. As a result, a compromise option was approved, according to which both princes became kings with a common regent - their elder sister Sophia.

As a teenager, the future ruler discovers a craving for the art of war. At his request and command, “amusing” regiments are created, which imitate real military operations and help shape the skills of a commander in Peter. Subsequently, the “amusing” regiments turn into the guard and personal support of Peter. Also, Peter is interested in shipbuilding, for this purpose a flotilla was created on the Yauza River.

Contemporaries note that at first Peter was not at all interested in politics and state affairs. He often traveled to the German Settlement, where the tsar met his future comrades-in-arms, General Gordon and Lefort. At the same time, the young ruler spent most of his time in Preobrazhenskoye and Semenovskoye villages. Amusing regiments were also formed there, which later turned into the first guards regiments - Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky.

The year 1689 was marked by a difference of opinion between Sophia and Peter, who demanded that her sister retire to a monastery, because both Ivan and Peter should have ruled independently by this time, since both had reached adulthood. From 1689 to 1696, both brothers were rulers until Ivan died.

Peter realized that the situation of modern Russia does not allow it to implement the foreign policy plans of the ruler. In addition, the country in that state could not develop internally. The most important step towards correcting the current situation was to gain access to the Black Sea, which would certainly give impetus to Russian industry and trade.

For this reason, Tsar Peter decides to continue the work that his sister started, intensifying the fight against Turkey within the Holy League. However, instead of the usual campaign for Russia in Crimea, the ruler throws forces under Azov to the south. And although it was not possible to take Azov this year, it was taken the next year after the necessary flotilla was built in Voronezh. At the same time, further participation in the Holy League of Russia gradually lost its meaning, because Europe was preparing forces for the War of the Spanish Succession. Because of this, the war with Turkey lost its relevance for the Austrian Habsburgs. In turn, Russia could not oppose the Ottomans without allies.

Azov campaigns of Peter I

One of the most pressing and key tasks facing the future emperor was the continuation of military operations against the Crimean Khanate. Russian troops made the first attempt to capture the Azov fortress in 1695, but the insufficient preparedness of the military company did not ultimately allow the siege to be successfully completed. One of the factors of failure was the lack of a full-fledged fleet by the Russian state. The result of the first siege of Azov was Peter's awareness of the need for a radical transformation of the Russian army and the creation of a fleet.

Before the second siege of the Azov fortress in 1696, the Russian army was more than doubled, the first full-fledged warships appeared, with the help of which the city was blocked from the sea. The result of the siege was the capture of the fortress by Russian troops and the founding of the first Russian fortress on the Sea of ​​Azov - Taganrog.

"Grand Embassy" to Western European countries

After the successful capture of the Azov fortress, Peter decides to travel through Western European countries in order to strengthen the allied relations of the European powers and the Russian state against the offensive of the Turks. In addition to the main goal, Peter sought to study the Western European way of life and learn about the achievements of technological progress.

Thus, from 1697 to 1698, Tsar Peter the Great traveled incognito throughout Europe as part of the Great Embassy, ​​taking the name of the bombardier Peter Mikhailov. During this period, the ruler personally met the monarchs of the richest and most developed countries in Europe. In addition, from this trip the king brings back extensive knowledge about shipbuilding, artillery, and navigation. After his audience with the Polish king Augustus II, the Russian Tsar gives the order to move the center of foreign policy activity from the south to the north and gain access to the Baltic Sea. Only Sweden stood in the way of Peter, which was at that time one of the most powerful Baltic states.

Going to Europe as part of the “Great Embassy” became one of the fateful decisions of Peter I. There he became acquainted with the achievements of Western European technical thought, gained an idea of ​​the way of life, and became acquainted with the basics of navigation and shipbuilding. Visits to local cultural attractions, theaters and museums, factories and schools laid the foundation for future Peter's reforms.

The era of Peter's transformations and economic reforms

Results of the reign of Peter I

Wanting to make Russia more developed in all respects, the tsar introduces government reforms, creating collegiums, the Senate, as well as bodies of higher state control. Also, Peter introduces Spiritual Regulations, subordinates the church to the state, builds a new capital, St. Petersburg, and divides the country into separate provinces.

Realizing that Russia was significantly behind the European powers in industrial development, the tsar used the experience brought from Europe in a variety of areas - in culture, trade and manufacturing.

The Russian sovereign forcibly forced merchants and nobles to obtain and develop the knowledge necessary for the country. The tsar's foreign policy was no less successful. He personally led military operations in the Azov campaigns, and also developed tactical and strategic operations for the Northern War, the Prut and Persian campaigns.

Tsar Peter the Great died on February 18, 1725 due to pneumonia received while rescuing fishermen.

Chronological table: “Reign of Peter I”

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   Peter the Great established.

Peter the Great was born on May 30 (June 9), 1672 in Moscow. In the biography of Peter 1, it is important to note that he was the youngest son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from his second marriage to Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. From the age of one he was raised by nannies. And after the death of his father, at the age of four, his half-brother and new Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich became Peter’s guardian.

From the age of 5, little Peter began to be taught the alphabet. The clerk N. M. Zotov gave him lessons. However, the future king received a weak education and was not literate.

Coming to power

In 1682, after the death of Fyodor Alekseevich, 10-year-old Peter and his brother Ivan were proclaimed kings. But in fact, their elder sister, Princess Sofya Alekseevna, took over the management.
At this time, Peter and his mother were forced to move away from the yard and move to the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Here Peter 1 developed an interest in military activities; he created “amusing” regiments, which later became the basis of the Russian army. He is interested in firearms and shipbuilding. He spends a lot of time in the German settlement, becomes a fan of European life, and makes friends.

In 1689, Sophia was removed from the throne, and power passed to Peter I, and the management of the country was entrusted to his mother and uncle L.K. Naryshkin.

Rule of the Tsar

Peter continued the war with Crimea and took the fortress of Azov. Further actions of Peter I were aimed at creating a powerful fleet. Peter I's foreign policy at that time was focused on finding allies in the war with the Ottoman Empire. For this purpose, Peter went to Europe.

At this time, the activities of Peter I consisted only of creating political unions. He studies shipbuilding, structure, and culture of other countries. Returned to Russia after news of the Streltsy mutiny. As a result of the trip, he wanted to change Russia, for which several innovations were made. For example, chronology according to the Julian calendar was introduced.

To develop trade, access to the Baltic Sea was required. So the next stage of the reign of Peter I was the war with Sweden. Having made peace with Turkey, he captured the fortress of Noteburg and Nyenschanz. In May 1703, construction of St. Petersburg began. Next year, Narva and Dorpat were taken. In June 1709, Sweden was defeated in the Battle of Poltava. Soon after the death of Charles XII, peace was concluded between Russia and Sweden. New lands were annexed to Russia, and access to the Baltic Sea was gained.

Reforming Russia

In October 1721, the title of emperor was adopted in the biography of Peter the Great.

Also during his reign, Kamchatka was annexed and the shores of the Caspian Sea were conquered.

Peter I carried out military reform several times. It mainly concerned the collection of money for the maintenance of the army and navy. It was carried out, in short, by force.

Further reforms of Peter I accelerated the technical and economic development of Russia. He carried out church reform, financial reform, transformations in industry, culture, and trade. In education, he also carried out a number of reforms aimed at mass education: he opened many schools for children and the first gymnasium in Russia (1705).

Death and legacy

Before his death, Peter I was very ill, but continued to rule the state. Peter the Great died on January 28 (February 8), 1725 from inflammation of the bladder. The throne passed to his wife, Empress Catherine I.

The strong personality of Peter I, who sought to change not only the state, but also the people, played a vital role in the history of Russia.

Cities were named after the Great Emperor after his death.

Monuments to Peter I were erected not only in Russia, but also in many European countries. One of the most famous is the Bronze Horseman in St. Petersburg.

The history of Russia is diverse and interesting. Peter 1 was able to have a huge influence on her. In his reform activities, he relied on the experience of Western countries, but acted based on the needs of Russia, while not having a specific system and program for reform. The first Russian emperor was able to lead the country out of the “troubled” times into the progressive European world, forced him to respect the power and reckon with it. Of course, he was a key figure in the formation of the state.

Politics and government

Let's take a brief look at the policies and reign of Peter 1. He was able to create all the necessary conditions for wide acquaintance with Western civilization, and the process of abandoning the old foundations was quite painful for Rus'. An important feature of the reforms was that they affected all social strata; this made the history of the reign of Peter 1 very different from the activities of his predecessors.

But in general, Peter’s policy was aimed at strengthening the country and introducing it to culture. True, he often acted from a position of strength, nevertheless, he was able to create a powerful country, headed by an emperor with absolute unlimited power.

Before Peter 1, Russia was far behind other countries economically and technically, but conquests and transformations in all spheres of life led to the strengthening, expansion of the borders of the empire and its development.

The policy of Peter 1 was to overcome the crisis of traditionalism through many reforms, as a result of which modernized Russia became one of the main participants in international political games. She actively lobbied for her interests. Her authority grew significantly, and Peter himself began to be considered an example of a great reformer.

He laid the foundations of Russian culture and created an effective management system that lasted for many years.

Many experts, studying Russian history, believe that carrying out reforms by forceful imposition was unacceptable, although the opinion is not denied that otherwise the country simply could not be raised, and the emperor must be tough. Despite the reconstruction, the country did not get rid of the serfdom system. On the contrary, the economy rested on it, the stable army consisted of peasants. This was the main contradiction in Peter’s reforms, and this is how the preconditions for a crisis in the future appeared.

Biography

Peter 1 (1672-1725) was the youngest son in the marriage of Romanov A.M. and Naryshkina N.K. Learning the alphabet began on March 12, 1677, when he was not yet five years old. Peter 1, whose biography was full of bright events since childhood, later became a great emperor.

The prince studied very willingly, loved different stories and reading books. When the queen found out about this, she ordered history books from the palace library to be given to him.

In 1676, Peter 1, whose biography at that time was marked by the death of his father, was left to be raised by his older brother. He was appointed heir, but due to poor health, ten-year-old Peter was proclaimed sovereign. The Miloslavskys did not want to come to terms with this, and therefore the Streletsky rebellion was provoked, after which both Peter and Ivan were on the throne.

Peter and his mother lived in Izmailovo, the ancestral estate of the Romanovs, or in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. The prince never received a church or secular education; he existed on his own. Energetic, very active, he often played out battles with his peers.

In the German settlement he met his first love and made many friends. The beginning of the reign of Peter 1 was marked by a revolt, which was organized by Sophia, trying to get rid of her brother. She did not want to give power into his hands. In 1689, the prince had to take refuge in the regiments and most of the court, and his sister Sophia was removed from the board and forcibly imprisoned in a monastery.

Peter 1 established himself on the throne. From that moment on, his biography became even more eventful both in his personal life and in state activities. He took part in campaigns against Turkey, traveled as a volunteer to Europe, where he took a course in artillery science, studied shipbuilding in England, and made many reforms in Russia. He was married twice and had 14 officially recognized children.

Personal life of Peter I

She became the tsar's first wife, with whom they married in 1689. The bride was chosen by the great sovereign’s mother, and he did not feel tenderness for her, but only hostility. In 1698, she was forcibly tonsured a nun. Personal life is a separate page of the book, in which the story of Peter 1 could be described. On his way he met Marta, a Livonian beauty who was captured by the Russians, and the sovereign, seeing her in Menshikov’s house, no longer wanted to part with her. After their wedding, she became Empress Catherine I.

Peter loved her very much, she bore him many children, but after learning about her betrayal, he decided not to bequeath the throne to his wife. The king had a difficult relationship with his son from his first marriage. The emperor died without leaving a will.

Hobbies of Peter I

Even as a child, the future great Tsar Peter 1 assembled “amusing” regiments from his peers and launched battles. In later life, it was these well-trained regiments that became the main guard. Peter was very inquisitive by nature, and therefore he was interested in many crafts and sciences. The fleet is another of his passions; he was seriously involved in shipbuilding. He mastered fencing, horse riding, pyrotechnics, and many other sciences.

Beginning of reign

The beginning of the reign of Peter 1 was a dual kingdom, as he shared power with his brother Ivan. After the deposition of his sister Sophia, Peter did not rule the state for the first time. Already at the age of 22, the young king turned his attention to the throne, and all his hobbies began to take on real shape for the country. His first Azov campaign was undertaken in 1695, and the second in the spring of 1696. Then the sovereign begins to build a fleet.

Appearance of Peter I

From infancy, Peter was a rather large baby. Even as a child, he was handsome in both face and figure, and among his peers he was taller than everyone else. In moments of excitement and anger, the king’s face twitched nervously, and this frightened those around him. Duke Saint-Simon gave his exact description: “Tsar Peter 1 is tall, well-built, a little thin. Round face and beautifully shaped eyebrows. The nose is a little short, but not conspicuous, large lips, dark skin. The king has beautifully shaped black eyes, lively and very penetrating. The look is very welcoming and majestic.”

era

The era of Peter 1 is of great interest, since this is the beginning of the growth and comprehensive development of Russia, its transformation into a great power. Thanks to the transformations of the monarch and his activities, over several decades, a system of administration and education was built, a regular army and navy were formed. Industrial enterprises grew, crafts and trades developed, and domestic and foreign trade improved. There was a constant provision of jobs for the country's population.

Culture in Russia under Peter I

Russia changed greatly when Peter ascended the throne. The reforms he carried out were of great importance for the country. Russia became stronger and constantly expanded its borders. It became a European state that other countries had to reckon with. Not only military affairs and trade developed, but there were also cultural achievements. The New Year began to count from January 1, a ban on beards appeared, the first Russian newspaper and foreign books in translation were published. Career growth without education has become impossible.

Having ascended the throne, the great emperor made many changes, and the history of the reign of Peter 1 is diverse and majestic. One of the most important decrees stated that the custom of transferring the throne to descendants only through the male line was abolished, and any heir could be appointed at the will of the king. The decree was very unusual, and it had to be justified and the consent of the subjects had to be obtained by forcing it to be sworn. But death did not give him the opportunity to bring it to life.

Etiquette in the time of Peter

Significant changes occurred during the time of Peter 1 in etiquette. The courtiers wore European clothes; a beard could only be preserved by paying a large fine. It has become fashionable to wear Western-style wigs. Women who had not previously been present at palace receptions now became obligatory guests at them, their education improved, since it was believed that a girl should be able to dance, know foreign languages ​​and play musical instruments.

Character of Peter I

The monarch's character was controversial. Peter is hot-tempered and at the same time cold-blooded, wasteful and stingy, tough and merciful, very demanding and often condescending, rude and at the same time gentle. This is how those who knew him describe him. But at the same time, the great emperor was an integral person, his life was completely devoted to serving the state, and it was to him that he devoted his life.

Peter 1 was very thrifty when he spent money on personal needs, but he did not skimp on the construction of his palaces and his beloved wife. The emperor believed that the easiest way to reduce vices was to reduce his needs, and he should set an example for his subjects. Here two of his incarnations are clearly visible: one - the great and powerful emperor, whose palace in Peterhof is not inferior to Versailles, the other - a thrifty owner, setting an example of economical life for his subjects. Stinginess and prudence were also evident to European residents.

Reforms

The beginning of the reign of Peter 1 was marked by many reforms, mainly related to military affairs, which were often carried out by force and did not always lead to the result he needed. But after 1715 they became more systematic. We touched upon reforms from the first years, which turned out to be ineffective in governing the country. If we consider the reign of Peter 1 briefly, we can highlight several important points. He organized the Near Office. Many collegiums were introduced, each responsible for its own area (taxes, foreign policy, trade, courts, etc.). has undergone radical changes. The position of fiscal officer was introduced to supervise employees. The reforms affected all aspects of life: military, church, financial, trade, autocratic. Thanks to a radical restructuring of all spheres of life, Russia began to be considered a great power, which is what Peter 1 sought.

Peter I: important years

If we consider important dates in the life and activities of the monarch, then Peter 1, whose years were marked by various events, was most active in some time periods:

The beginning of the reign of Peter 1 was from the very beginning built on the struggle for the state. It was not for nothing that they called him the Great. Dates of the reign of Peter 1: 1682-1725. Being strong-willed, decisive, talented, sparing neither effort nor time to achieve the goal, the tsar was strict with everyone, but first of all with himself. Often ruthless, but it was thanks to his energy, determination, assertiveness and some cruelty that Russia changed dramatically, becoming a Great Power. The era of Peter 1 changed the face of the state for many centuries. And the city he founded became the capital of the empire for 300 years. And now St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in Russia and proudly bears its name in honor of the great founder.