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Brief history of the reign of Peter I
Childhood of Peter I
The future great Emperor Peter the Great was born on May thirtieth, 1672 in the family of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and was the youngest child in the family. Peter's mother was Natalya Naryshkina, who played a huge role in shaping her son's political views.
In 1676, after the death of Tsar Alexei, power passed to Fedor, Peter’s half-brother. At the same time, Fedr himself insisted on Peter’s enhanced education, reproaching Naryshkina for being illiterate. A year later, Peter began to study hard. The future ruler of Russia had an educated clerk, Nikita Zotov, as a teacher, who was distinguished by his patience and kindness. He managed to get into the good graces of the restless prince, who did nothing but get into fights with noble and streltsy children, and also spent all his free time climbing through attics.
From childhood, Peter was interested in geography, military affairs and history. The tsar carried his love for books throughout his life, reading when he was already a ruler and wanting to create his own book on the history of the Russian state. Also, he himself was involved in compiling an alphabet that would be easier for ordinary people to remember.
Ascension to the throne of Peter I
In 1682, Tsar Fedor dies without having made a will, and after his death two candidates lay claim to the Russian throne - the sickly Ivan and the daredevil Peter the Great. Having secured the support of the clergy, the entourage of ten-year-old Peter elevates him to the throne. However, the relatives of Ivan Miloslavsky, pursuing the goal of placing Sophia or Ivan on the throne, are preparing a Streltsy revolt.
On May fifteenth, an uprising begins in Moscow. Ivan's relatives spread a rumor about the murder of the prince. Outraged by this, the archers move to the Kremlin, where they are met by Natalya Naryshkina along with Peter and Ivan. Even after being convinced of the lies of the Miloslavskys, the archers killed and robbed in the city for several more days, demanding the weak-minded Ivan as king. Afterwards, a truce was reached as a result of which both brothers were appointed rulers, but until they came of age, their sister Sophia was to rule the country.
Formation of the personality of Peter I
Having witnessed the cruelty and recklessness of the archers during the riot, Peter began to hate them, wanting to take revenge for his mother’s tears and the death of innocent people. During the reign of the regent, Peter and Natalya Naryshkina lived most of the time in Semenovskoye, Kolomenskoye and Preobrazhenskoye villages. He left them only to participate in ceremonial receptions in Moscow.
Peter's liveliness of mind, as well as natural curiosity and strength of character led him to become interested in military affairs. He even gathers “amusing regiments” in the villages, recruiting teenagers from both noble and peasant families. Over time, such fun turned into real military exercises, and the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments became quite an impressive military force, which, according to the records of contemporaries, was superior to the Streltsy. During the same period, Peter planned to create a Russian fleet.
He became acquainted with the basics of shipbuilding on the Yauza and Lake Pleshcheyeva. At the same time, foreigners who lived in the German settlement played a huge role in the strategic thinking of the prince. Many of them became Peter's faithful companions in the future.
At the age of seventeen, Peter the Great marries Evdokia Lopukhina, but a year later he becomes indifferent to his wife. At the same time, he is often seen with the daughter of a German merchant, Anna Mons.
Marriage and coming of age give Peter the Great the right to take the previously promised throne. However, Sophia does not like this at all and in the summer of 1689 she tries to provoke an uprising of the archers. The Tsarevich takes refuge with his mother in the Trinity - Sergeyev Lavra, where the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments arrive to help him. In addition, on the side of Peter’s entourage is Patriarch Joachim. Soon the rebellion was completely suppressed, and its participants were subjected to repression and execution. The regent Sophia herself is enlisted by Peter in the Novodevichy Convent, where she remains until the end of her days.
Brief description of the policies and reforms of Peter I
Soon Tsarevich Ivan dies and Peter becomes the sole ruler of Russia. However, he was in no hurry to study state affairs, entrusting them to his mother’s circle. After her death, the entire burden of power falls on Peter.
By that time, the king was completely obsessed with access to an ice-free sea. After the unsuccessful first Azov campaign, the ruler begins building a fleet, thanks to which he takes the Azov fortress. After this, Peter participates in the Northern War, victory in which gave the emperor access to the Baltic.
The domestic policy of Peter the Great is full of innovative ideas and transformations. During his reign, he carried out the following reforms:
- Social;
- Church;
- Medical;
- Educational;
- Administrative;
- Industrial;
- Financial, etc.
Peter the Great died in 1725 from pneumonia. After him, his wife Catherine the First began to rule Russia.
Results of Peter's activities 1. Brief description.
Video lecture: a brief history of the reign of Peter I
Biography of Peter I begins on June 9, 1672 in Moscow. He was the youngest son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from his second marriage to Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. Peter was the youngest of 13 children in the large family of Alexei Mikhailovich. From the age of one he was raised by nannies.
Before his death, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich blessed his eldest son Fedor, who was 14 years old at that time, to rule. After Fedor ascended the throne, Natalya Kirillovna decided to leave with her children to the village of Preobrazhenskoye.
Father
Alexey I Mikhailovich Romanov Mother
Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina Nikita Zotov took an active part in the upbringing of the young prince, but Peter was initially not interested in science and was not literate.
V. O. Klyuchevsky noted:
“More than once you can hear the opinion that Peter I was brought up not in the old way, but differently and more carefully than his father and older brothers were brought up. As soon as Peter began to remember himself, he was surrounded in his nursery by foreign things; everything he played reminded him of the German. Over the years, Petra's nursery becomes filled with military items. A whole arsenal of toy weapons appears in it. Thus, in Peter’s nursery, Moscow artillery was quite fully represented; we see many wooden arquebuses and cannons with horses.” Even foreign ambassadors brought toy and real weapons as gifts to the prince. “In his spare time, he loved to listen to different stories and look at books with kunsts (pictures).”
The revolt of 1682 and the rise to power of Princess Regent Sophia
The death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich in 1682 marked the beginning of an active confrontation between two clans of nobles - the Naryshkins (Peter's relatives on his mother's side) and the Miloslavskys (relatives of the first wife of Alexei Mikhailovich, defending the interests of Ivan). Each of the families tried to promote its own candidate, however, the boyar duma had to make the final decision and most of the boyars decided to make Peter king, since Ivan was a sickly child. On the day of Fyodor Alekseevich’s death, April 27, 1682, Peter was proclaimed tsar.
Not wanting to lose power, the Miloslavskys started a rumor that the Naryshkins had strangled Tsarevich Ivan Alekseevich. Under the sounds of the alarm, many archers burst into the Kremlin, breaking the defense of the few royal guards. However, to their confusion, Tsarina Natalya appeared towards them from the Red Porch along with the princes Ivan and Peter. Ivan answered the questions of the archers:
“No one is harassing me, and I have no one to complain about”
Tsarina Natalya goes to the archers to prove that Ivan V is alive and well. Painting by N. D. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky
The crowd, heated to the limit, was provoked by accusations of Prince Dolgorukov of treason and theft - the Streltsy killed several boyars, many from the Naryshkin clan and Streltsy chiefs. Having placed their own guards inside the Kremlin, the archers did not let anyone out or let anyone in, in fact taking the entire royal family hostage.
Realizing the high probability of revenge on the part of the Naryshkins, the archers submitted several petitions (in fact, these were more likely not requests, but an ultimatum) so that Ivan would also be appointed tsar (and the eldest one at that), and Sophia as the ruler-regent. In addition, they demanded to legitimize the riot and abandon the prosecution of its instigators, recognizing their actions as legitimate and protecting the interests of the state. The Patriarch and the Boyar Duma were forced to comply with the demands of the Streltsy, and on June 25, Ivan V and Peter I were crowned kings.
Princess Sophia watches with pleasure as the archers drag out Ivan Naryshkin, Tsarevich Peter calms his mother. Painting by A. I. Korzukhin, 1882
Princess Regent Sofya Alekseevna Romanova
Peter was seriously shocked by the events of 1682 described above; according to one version, the nervous convulsions distorting his face during excitement appeared soon after the experience. In addition, this revolt and the next one, in 1698, finally convinced the tsar of the need to disband the streltsy units.
Natalya Kirillovna considered that it was very unsafe to remain in the Kremlin completely captured by the Miloslavskys and decided to move to the country estate of Alexei Mikhailovich - the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Tsar Peter could live here under the supervision of faithful people, sometimes going to Moscow to participate in ceremonies obligatory for the royal person.
Funny shelves
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was very fond of falconry and other similar entertainments - after his death, a large farm and about 600 servants remained. These devoted and intelligent people did not remain idle - having arrived in Preobrazhenskoye, Natalya Kirillovna set the task of organizing a military school for her son.
The prince received his first “amusing” detachment in the fall of 1683. By the next year, the “amusing city” of Presburg had already been rebuilt in Preobrazhenskoye, next to the royal palace. Peter received military training along with other teenagers. He began his service marching ahead of the Preobrazhensky Regiment as a drummer, and eventually rose to the rank of bombardier.
One of the first candidates selected for the “amusing army” was Alexander Menshikov. He had to fulfill a special role: to become the bodyguard of the young king, his shadow. According to the testimony of contemporaries of those events, Menshikov even slept at Peter’s feet near his bed. Being almost constantly under the tsar, Menshikov became one of his main comrades-in-arms, especially his confidant in all the most important matters relating to the governance of the vast country. Alexander Menshikov received an excellent education and, like Peter I, received a certificate of shipbuilding training in Holland.
Menshikov A. D.
Personal life of young Peter I - first wife
The first wife of Peter I, Evdokia Lopukhina, was chosen by the mother of Peter I as his bride without coordinating this decision with Peter himself. The queen hoped that the Lopukhin family, although not considered particularly noble, but numerous, would strengthen the position of the young prince.
The wedding ceremony of Peter I and Lopukhina took place on February 6, 1689 in the church of the Transfiguration Palace. An additional factor in the need for marriage was the Russian custom of that time, according to which a married person was full-fledged and of full age, which gave Peter I the right to get rid of the princess-regent Sophia.
Evdokia Fedorovna Lopukhina
During the first three years of this marriage, two sons were born: the younger Alexander died in infancy, and the eldest Tsarevich Alexei, born in 1690, will be deprived of his life by order of Peter I himself somewhere in the dungeons of the Peter and Paul Fortress of St. Petersburg.
Accession of Peter I - removal of Sophia
The Second Crimean Campaign of 1689, led by Sophia's favorite, Prince Golitsyn, was unsuccessful. General dissatisfaction with her rule added to seventeen-year-old Peter's chances of returning the throne - his mother and her faithful people began preparations for Sophia's removal.
In the summer of 1689, Peter's mother called Peter from Pereslyavl to Moscow. At this turning point in his fate, Peter begins to show Sophia his own power. He sabotaged the religious procession planned for July of this year, forbidding Sophia to participate in it, and after she refused to obey, he left, thus causing a public scandal. At the end of July, he barely succumbed to persuasion to give awards to the participants of the Crimean campaign, but refused to accept them when they came to him with gratitude.
By the beginning of August, relations between brother and sister had reached such an intensity that the entire court expected open confrontation, but both sides did not show initiative, completely concentrating on defense.
Sophia's last attempt to retain power
It is unknown whether Sophia decided to openly oppose her brother, or whether she was frightened by rumors that Peter I with his amusing regiments was planning to arrive in Moscow to remove her sister from power - on August 7, the princess’s henchmen began to agitate the archers in favor of Sophia. The tsar's supporters, seeing such preparations, immediately informed him of the danger, and Peter, accompanied by three guides, galloped away from the village of Preobrazhenskoye to the monastery of the Trinity Lavra. Starting from August 8, the remaining Naryshkins and all of Peter’s supporters, as well as his amusing army, begin to gather at the monastery.
From the monastery, on behalf of Peter I, his mother and her associates put forward a demand to Sophia in a report on the reasons for the armament and agitation on August 7, as well as messengers from each of the rifle regiments. Having forbidden the archers to send elected officials, Sophia sent Patriarch Joachim to her brother for trial, but the patriarch, loyal to the prince, did not return back to the capital.
Peter I again sent a demand to the capital to send representatives from the townspeople and archers - they came to the Lavra despite Sophia’s ban. Realizing that the situation is developing in favor of her brother, the princess decides to go to him herself, but already on the road they convince her to return, warning that if she comes to Trinity, they will treat her “dishonestly.”
Joachim (Patriarch of Moscow)
After the massacre of people who were devoted to Sophia, Peter felt the need to clarify his relationship with his brother and wrote to him:
“Now, sir brother, the time has come for both of our persons to rule the kingdom entrusted to us by God themselves, since we have come to the measure of our age, and we do not deign to allow the third shameful person, our sister, with our two male persons, to be in titles and in the dispensation of affairs... It’s shameful, sir, at our perfect age, for that shameful person to own the state bypassing us.”
Ivan V Alekseevich
Princess Sofya Alekseevna in the Novodevichy Convent
Thus, Peter I expressed an unequivocal desire to take the reins of power into his own hands. Left without people willing to take risks for her, Sophia was forced to obey Peter’s demands and retire to the Holy Spirit Monastery, and then move even further, to the Novodevichy Convent.
From 1689 to 1696, Peter I and Ivan V ruled simultaneously, until the latter died. In fact, Ivan V did not take part in the reign; Natalya Kirillovna ruled until 1694, after which Peter I himself ruled.
The fate of Tsar Peter I after his accession
First lover
Peter quickly lost interest in his wife and in 1692 he met Anna Mons in the German settlement, with the assistance of Lefort. While his mother was still alive, the king did not show open antipathy towards his wife. However, Natalya Kirillovna herself, shortly before her own death, became disillusioned with her daughter-in-law, due to her independence and excessive stubbornness. After the death of Natalya Kirillovna in 1694, when Peter left for Arkhangelsk and even stopped corresponding with Evdokia. Although Evdokia was also called the queen and she lived with her son in a palace in the Kremlin, her Lopukhin clan fell out of favor - they began to be removed from leadership positions. The young queen tried to establish contacts with people dissatisfied with Peter's policies.
Alleged portrait of Anna Mons
According to some researchers, before Anna Mons became Peter's favorite in 1692, she was in a relationship with Lefort.
Returning from the Grand Embassy in August 1698, Peter I visited the house of Anna Mons, and on September 3 he sent his legal wife to the Suzdal Intercession Monastery. There were rumors that the king was even planning to officially marry his mistress - she was so dear to him.
House of Anna Mons in the German Settlement in the painting by Alexandre Benois.
The Tsar presented her with expensive jewelry or intricate items (for example, a miniature portrait of the sovereign, decorated with diamonds worth 1 thousand rubles); and even built a two-story stone house for her in the German settlement with government money.
Great fun hike Kozhukhovsky
Miniature from a manuscript of the 1st half of the 18th century “The History of Peter I”, written by P. Krekshin. Collection of A. Baryatinsky. State Historical Museum. Military exercises near the village of Kolomenskoye and the village of Kozhukhovo.
Peter's amusing regiments were no longer just a game - the scope and quality of equipment fully corresponded to real combat units. In 1694, the tsar decided to conduct his first large-scale exercises - for this purpose, a small wooden fortress was built on the banks of the Moscow River near the village of Kozhukhovo. It was a regular pentagonal parapet with loopholes, embrasures and could accommodate a garrison of 5,000 people. The plan of the fortress drawn up by General P. Gordon assumed an additional ditch in front of the fortifications, up to three meters deep.
To staff the garrison, they gathered the archers, as well as all the clerks, nobles, clerks and other service people who were nearby. The archers had to defend the fortress, and the amusing regiments carried out an assault and carried out siege work - they dug tunnels and trenches, blew up fortifications, and climbed walls.
Patrick Gordon, who drew up both the plan for the fortress and the scenario for its assault, was Peter’s main teacher in military affairs. During the exercises, the participants did not spare each other - according to various sources, there were up to 24 killed and more than fifty wounded on both sides.
The Kozhukhov campaign became the final stage of the military practical training of Peter I under the leadership of P. Gordon, which lasted from 1690.
The first conquests - the siege of Azov
The urgent need for trade routes in the Black Sea waters for the state's economy was one of the factors that influenced the desire of Peter I to extend his influence to the coasts of the Azov and Black Seas. The second determining factor was the young king's passion for ships and navigation.
Blockade of Azov from the sea during the siege
After the death of his mother, there were no people left who could dissuade Peter from resuming the fight with Turkey within the Holy League. However, instead of the previously failed attempts to march to the Crimea, he decides to advance south, near Azov, which was not conquered in 1695, but after the additional construction of a flotilla, which cut off the supply of the fortress from the sea, Azov was taken in 1696.
Diorama “The capture of the Turkish fortress of Azov by the troops of Peter I in 1696” Russia's subsequent struggle against the Ottoman Empire within the framework of an agreement with the Holy League lost its meaning - the War of the Spanish Succession began in Europe, and the Austrian Habsburgs no longer wanted to take into account the interests of Peter. Without allies, it was not possible to continue the war with the Ottomans - this became one of the key reasons for Peter’s trip to Europe.
Grand Embassy
In 1697-1698, Peter I became the first Russian Tsar to make a long trip abroad. Officially, the tsar participated in the embassy under the pseudonym of Pyotr Mikhailov, with the rank of bombardier. According to the original plan, the embassy was to go along the following route: Austria, Saxony, Brandenburg, Holland, England, Venice and, finally, a visit to the Pope. The actual route of the embassy passed through Riga and Koenigsberg to Holland, then to England, from England - back to Holland, and then to Vienna; It was not possible to get to Venice - on the way, Peter was informed about the uprising of the Streltsy in 1698.
Start of the journey
March 9-10, 1697 can be considered the beginning of the embassy - it moved from Moscow to Livonia. Arriving in Riga, which at that time belonged to Sweden, Peter expressed a desire to inspect the fortifications of the city fortress, but General Dahlberg, the Swedish governor, did not allow him to do this. The Tsar, in anger, called Riga a “cursed place,” and when leaving after the embassy to Mitava, he wrote and sent home the following lines about Riga:
We drove through the city and the castle, where soldiers stood in five places, there were less than 1,000 of them, but they say that they were all there. The city is much fortified, but it is not finished. They are very afraid here, and they are not allowed into the city and other places with a guard, and they are not very pleasant.
Peter I in Holland.
Arriving in the Rhine on August 7, 1697, Peter I descended to Amsterdam along the river and canals. Holland was always interesting to the tsar - Dutch merchants were frequent guests in Russia and talked a lot about their country, arousing interest. Without devoting much time to Amsterdam, Peter rushed to a city with many shipyards and shipbuilders' workshops - Zaandam. Upon his arrival, he signed up as an apprentice at the Linst Rogge shipyard under the name Pyotr Mikhailov.
In Zaandam, Peter lived on Krimp Street in a small wooden house. Eight days later the king moved to Amsterdam. The mayor of the city of Witsen helped him obtain permission to participate in work at the shipyards of the Dutch East India Company.
Seeing such interest of Russian guests in shipyards and the process of building ships, on September 9 the Dutch laid the foundation for a new ship (the frigate “Peter and Pavel”), in the construction of which Pyotr Mikhailov also took part.
In addition to teaching shipbuilding and studying local culture, the embassy was looking for engineers for the subsequent development of production in the Russian Tsardom - the army and future fleet were in dire need of re-equipping and equipping.
In Holland, Peter became acquainted with many different innovations: local workshops and factories, whaling ships, hospitals, orphanages - the tsar carefully studied Western experience to apply it in his homeland. Peter studied the mechanism of a windmill and visited a stationery factory. He attended lectures on anatomy in Professor Ruysch's anatomy office and expressed a special interest in embalming corpses. In the anatomical theater of Boerhaave, Peter participated in the dissection of corpses. Inspired by Western developments, a few years later Peter will create the first Russian museum of curiosities - the Kunstkamera.
In four and a half months, Peter managed to study a lot, but his Dutch mentors did not live up to the king’s hopes; he described the reason for his dissatisfaction as follows:
At the East India Dockyard, having devoted himself with other volunteers to the study of naval architecture, the sovereign in a short time accomplished what a good carpenter should know, and with his labors and skill he built a new ship and launched it into the water. Then he asked that shipyard bass, Jan Paul, to teach him the ship’s proportions, which he showed him four days later. But since in Holland there is no such mastery of perfection in a geometric way, but only some principles, other things from long-term practice, which the above-mentioned bass said, and that he cannot show everything on a drawing, then he became disgusted that such a long way for I perceived this, but did not achieve the desired end. And for several days His Majesty happened to be in the country yard of the merchant Jan Tessing in company, where he sat much sadder for the reason described above, but when between conversations he was asked why he was so sad, then he announced that reason. In that company there was one Englishman who, hearing this, said that here in England this architecture is as perfect as any other, and that it can be learned in a short time. This word made His Majesty very happy, so he immediately went to England and there, four months later, he completed his studies.
Peter I in England
Having received a personal invitation from William III at the beginning of 1698, Peter I went to England.
Having visited London, the tsar spent most of his three months in England in Deptford, where, under the guidance of the famous shipbuilder Anthony Dean, he continued to study shipbuilding.
Peter I talks with English shipbuilders, 1698 In England, Peter I also inspected everything that was connected with production and industry: arsenals, docks, workshops, and visited warships of the English fleet, getting acquainted with their structure. Museums and cabinets of curiosities, an observatory, a mint - England was able to surprise the Russian sovereign. There is a version according to which he met with Newton.
Leaving the art gallery of Kensington Palace without attention, Peter became very interested in the device for determining the direction of the wind, which was present in the king’s office.
During Peter's visit to England, the English artist Gottfried Kneller managed to create a portrait that later became an example to follow - most of the images of Peter I distributed in Europe during the 18th century were made in Kneller's style.
Returning back to Holland, Peter was unable to find allies to fight against the Ottoman Empire and headed to Vienna, to the Austrian Habsburg dynasty.
Peter I in Austria
On the way to Vienna, the capital of Austria, Peter received news of plans by Venice and the Austrian king to conclude a truce with the Turks. Despite the long negotiations that took place in Vienna, Austria did not agree to the demand of the Russian kingdom for the transfer of Kerch and offered only to preserve the already conquered Azov with the adjacent territories. This put an end to Peter's attempts to gain access to the Black Sea.
July 14, 1698 Peter I said goodbye to the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I and planned to leave for Venice, but news was received from Moscow about the mutiny of the Streltsy and the trip was cancelled.
Meeting of Peter I with the King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Already on the way to Moscow, the tsar was informed about the suppression of the rebellion. July 31, 1698 In Rava, Peter I met with the King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Augustus II. Both monarchs were almost the same age, and in three days of communication they managed to get closer and discuss the possibility of creating an alliance against Sweden in an attempt to shake its dominance in the Baltic Sea and adjacent territories. The final secret agreement with the Saxon Elector and the Polish King was signed on November 1, 1699.
August II Strong
Peter the Great was born in Moscow in 1672. His parents are Alexey Mikhailovich and Natalya Naryshkina. Peter was raised by nannies, his education was weak, but the boy’s health was strong, he was sick least of all in the family.
When Peter was ten years old, he and his brother Ivan were proclaimed kings. In fact, Sofya Alekseevna reigned. And Peter and his mother left for Preobrazhenskoye. There, little Peter began to become interested in military activities and shipbuilding.
In 1689, Peter I became king, and Sophia's reign was suspended.
During his reign, Peter created a powerful fleet. The ruler fought against Crimea. Peter went to Europe because he needed allies to help him stand against the Ottoman Empire. In Europe, Peter devoted a lot of time to shipbuilding and studying the cultures of different countries. The ruler mastered many crafts in Europe. One of them is gardening. Peter I brought tulips from Holland to the Russian Empire. The emperor liked to grow various plants brought from abroad in his gardens. Peter also brought rice and potatoes to Russia. In Europe, he became obsessed with the idea of changing his state.
Peter I waged war with Sweden. He annexed Kamchatka to Russia and the shores of the Caspian Sea. It was in this sea that Peter I baptized those close to him. Peter's reforms were innovative. During the Emperor's reign there were several military reforms, the power of the state increased, and a regular army and navy were founded. The ruler also invested his efforts in the economy and industry. Peter I invested a lot of effort in the education of citizens. Many schools were opened by them.
Peter I died in 1725. He was seriously ill. Peter handed the throne to his wife. He was a strong and persistent person. Peter I made many changes, both in the political system and in the life of the people. He successfully ruled the state for more than forty years.
Biography by dates and interesting facts. The most important.
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Since the time of the Great Troubles, Russian society has not seen such upheavals as occurred during the reign of Peter I. The usual way of life was destroyed, the state was rocked by famine and riots. But from the patriarchal Asian Muscovy he made a powerful European empire.
The future emperor began to rule in 1692. With the help of his supporters, he removed the regent Sophia from power and exiled her to a monastery. Taking the European order as a standard, Peter began to reform the army in the “German manner,” hired military advisers and built a fleet on the Voronezh River. In 1695, Russia began its breakthrough to the Black Sea. Almost simultaneously (1700) a war began with Sweden for access to the Baltic.
A series of wars and conflicts continued throughout the reign of Peter I. During this time, the system of government was transformed, industry was modernized, and trade patterns were improved. The army gained experience in battles; Armed with domestic weapons, she turned the tide of the Northern War (1700-1721) in the Battle of Poltava (1709). The emperor personally led this battle.
Russia firmly established itself in the Caucasus, Black and Baltic Seas, and its monarch became one of the most influential sovereigns in Europe. In addition, Peter was popular in the Old World. Back in 1698, he studied sciences and crafts in England and Holland, from where rumors quickly spread about the “outlandish king of the barbarians.”
The difficult character of Pyotr Alekseevich was both a burden and a blessing for the country at the same time. The Tsar could gather thousands of people to build the new capital of St. Petersburg. He could defeat any aristocrat with his famous club. He could have married a maid and executed his son as a conspirator. For the destruction of the old order and the reduction of the church to the level of an official department, he received the nickname “Moscow Dragon.”
But the emperor, who participated in assault attacks in the front line, could design and build a ship from keel to masts and be a godfather to the children of ordinary soldiers, brought Russia into the ranks of the leading powers of the 18th century. By the time of his death in 1725, the Russian army and navy were among the strongest in Europe. Industrial technology and science developed rapidly. The elite sought to receive a decent education.
The active sovereign did not succeed in only one thing. Peter the Great did not create a clear system of succession to the throne. And after his death, the era of palace coups came to the empire.
The personality of Peter the Great stands apart in the history of Russia, since neither among his contemporaries, nor among his successors and descendants was there a person who could make such profound changes in the state, so infiltrate the historical memory of the Russian people, becoming at the same time semi-legendary, but the most vivid her page. As a result of Peter's activities, Russia became an empire and took its place among the leading European powers.
Pyotr Alekseevich was born on June 9, 1672. His father was the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, and his mother Natalya Naryshkina was the Tsar’s second wife. At the age of 4, Peter lost his father, who died at 47. Nikita Zotov, who by the standards of Russia at that time was very educated, was involved in raising the prince. Peter was the youngest in the large family of Alexei Mikhailovich (13 children). In 1682, after the death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, the struggle between two boyar clans - the Miloslavskys (relatives of Alexei Mikhailovich's first wife) and the Naryshkins - intensified at court. The first believed that the sick Tsarevich Ivan should take the throne. The Naryshkins, like the patriarch, supported the candidacy of the healthy and fairly active 10-year-old Peter. As a result of the Streltsy unrest, the zero option was chosen: both princes became kings, and their elder sister, Sophia, was appointed regent under them.
At first, Peter had little interest in state affairs: he often visited the German Settlement, where he met his future comrades-in-arms Lefort and General Gordon. Peter spent most of his time in the villages of Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky near Moscow, where he created amusing regiments for entertainment, which later became the first guards regiments - Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky.
In 1689, a break occurs between Peter and Sophia. Peter demands that his sister be removed to the Novodevichy Convent, because by this time Peter and Ivan had already reached adulthood and had to rule independently. From 1689 to 1696, Peter I and Ivan V were co-rulers until the latter died.
Peter understood that Russia’s position did not allow it to fully implement its foreign policy plans, as well as to develop stably internally. It was necessary to gain access to the ice-free Black Sea in order to provide additional incentive to domestic trade and industry. That is why Peter continues the work begun by Sophia and intensifies the fight against Turkey within the framework of the Holy League, but instead of the traditional campaign in the Crimea, the young king throws all his energy to the south, near Azov, which could not be taken in 1695, but after construction in the winter of 1695 -1696 flotilla in Voronezh Azov was captured. Russia's further participation in the Holy League, however, began to lose its meaning - Europe was preparing for the War of the Spanish Succession, so the fight against Turkey ceased to be a priority for the Austrian Habsburgs, and without the support of its allies, Russia could not resist the Ottomans.
In 1697-1698, Peter traveled incognito throughout Europe as part of the Great Embassy under the name of the bombardier Peter Mikhailov. Then he makes personal acquaintances with the monarchs of leading European countries. Abroad, Peter acquired extensive knowledge in navigation, artillery, and shipbuilding. After a meeting with Augustus II, the Saxon elector and the Polish king, Peter decides to move the center of foreign policy activity from the south to the north and reach the shores of the Baltic Sea, which were to be conquered from Sweden, the most powerful state in the then Baltic.
In an effort to make the state more effective, Peter I carried out reforms of public administration (the Senate, collegiums, bodies of higher state control and political investigation were created, the church was subordinate to the state, the Spiritual Regulations were introduced, the country was divided into provinces, a new capital was built - St. Petersburg).
Understanding Russia's backwardness in industrial development from the leading European powers, Peter used their experience in a variety of areas - in manufacturing, trade, and culture. The sovereign paid great attention and even forcibly forced nobles and merchants to develop the knowledge and enterprises necessary for the country. This includes: the creation of manufactories, metallurgical, mining and other factories, shipyards, marinas, canals. Peter perfectly understood how important the country’s military successes were, so he personally led the army in the Azov campaigns of 1695-1696, took part in the development of strategic and tactical operations during the Northern War of 1700-1721, the Prut campaign of 1711, and the Persian campaign of 1722-23.
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Valuev Anton Vadimovich
February 8 marks the Day of Russian Science, the founder of which was Peter I the Great, an outstanding statesman and public figure, the Tsar - reformer, creator of the Russian Empire. It was through his labors that the Academy of Sciences was established in St. Petersburg, in which outstanding representatives of domestic and foreign science worked for the benefit of Russia from generation to generation. Let me congratulate my colleagues on their professional holiday and wish them interesting work, constantly improving their knowledge and experience, while always remaining true to their convictions, striving to enhance the centuries-old traditions of Russian science.
Valuev Anton Vadimovich/ Candidate of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences
By decree of Peter the Great, the Senate, the highest body of state executive power, was established in St. Petersburg. The Senate existed from 1711 to 1917. One of the most important and influential institutions in the system of secular government of the Russian Empire.
Valuev Anton Vadimovich/ Candidate of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences
The Grand Embassy of the young sovereign Peter Alekseevich is considered a turning point in the history of European modernization of the socio-political system of Russia. During the Embassy, the future emperor saw Western Europe with his own eyes and appreciated its great potential. After returning home, the renewal process accelerated many times over. Diplomatic and trade and economic relations, industrial production, science, culture and military affairs developed rapidly. In a sense, this was the real “window to Europe” that Tsar Peter opened for Russia.
Valuev Anton Vadimovich/ Candidate of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences
The talent of a statesman is visible in his attitude to the development of the human factor, personality, and social potential of the country. And here Peter I did a lot to strengthen public relations, internal stability, and, ultimately, the position of the Russian Empire on the world stage. The personnel policy of the Peter the Great era was based on two principles: the talent of each person - regardless of his social origin - and his desire to be useful to the Fatherland. In 1714, Peter's Decree prohibited the promotion of nobles to officer rank unless they had previously served as ordinary soldiers. Six years later, in a new decree, Peter secured the right of every senior officer to receive a patent of nobility and transfer the title of nobility by inheritance. In practice, this meant that thanks to his talents and the courage and heroism demonstrated in real conditions, a person honestly earned the right to move to another, higher class. This was an important step in updating the class hierarchy of the Russian Empire.
Valuev Anton Vadimovich/ Candidate of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences
May 18 is a doubly important date in the military history of our Fatherland. In 1703, at the mouth of the Neva, thirty Russian boats under the command of Peter I captured two Swedish military frigates, Astrild and Gedan, in a daring raid. This event is considered the beginning of the heroic history of the Baltic Fleet. A year later, to strengthen military positions in the Baltic, by order of Peter I, Kronshlot, the fort of Kronstadt, was founded. Three centuries have passed since then, and the Baltic Fleet and Kronstadt have always protected and are protecting the interests of Russia. Solemn events on this day take place in St. Petersburg and Kronstadt, cities of Russian naval glory. Viva to the founder of the Russian Empire, the Baltic Fleet, Kronstadt!!!
Smart Ivan Mikhailovich
Nice, informative article. Although it is worth noting that in the course of pro-Western official history, which has been “improved” in distorting the Truth since the time of the first Westernized Romanovs, Peter Romanov looks like a benefactor of the Fatherland, the “father of the peoples” of Russia-Eurasia.
But the Russian people still have information that “the Germans replaced the Tsar” - either in childhood, or already in youth (A.A. Gordeev). And most likely, the truth is that Peter the Great was recruited by the Catholic Jesuits, who were tirelessly carrying out their work to implement the “Drang nach Osten” - “Onslaught on the East” (B.P. Kutuzov).
For “... it must be said that under Peter I, the colonialists no longer hesitated to “spend the human resources” of the country they had captured to their heart’s content - “in the era of Peter the Great” population decline
Muscovite Rus' constituted, according to estimates by various historians and researchers, approximately 20 to 40% of the total population.
However, the population of Muscovite Rus' was also declining due to the flight of the people from the despotism of the colonialists. And the people fled from them mainly to Tataria (see below).
In fact, it must be said that Peter Romanov began the “Europeanization” of Rus'-Muscovy with his family. First of all, he imprisoned his wife from an original Russian family, Evdokia Lopukhina, in a monastery - in prison, that is. She dared to object to the bullying of her husband and his Western European entourage against the Fatherland - thus, apparently, she greatly interfered with the “introduction of Western culture and progress.”)
But the girl Mons from a German settlement helped Peter in every possible way in that infiltration. Peter exchanged his Russian wife for her - a beauty and smart woman. And his son Alexei, since he also stubbornly refused to “Europeanize” with age, was put to death. But before that, Peter, using all the skills he had learned from the Jesuit teachers, “led a search” for Alexei for a long time and persistently. That is, under torture he interrogated his son - why he opposes this “Europeanization”, and who are his accomplices in this “dark” and villainous, in the opinion of the “tsar-enlightenment”, business (7) .... "
(From the book “THE HERITAGE OF THE TATAR” (Moscow, Algorithm, 2012). Author G.R. Enikeev).
Also, read about all this and much more hidden from us from the true history of the Fatherland in the book “The Great Horde: Friends, Enemies and Heirs. (Moscow-Tatar coalition: XIV–XVII centuries).”– (Moscow, Algorithm, 2011). The author is the same.
Valuev Anton Vadimovich/ Candidate of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences
Russia owes many transformations to Peter the Great. Thus, it was according to his decree of December 15, 1699 that the Julian chronology and the Julian calendar were approved in Russia. Since then, the New Year in our country began to be celebrated not from September 1, but from January 1. Under Peter the Great, many of the most important cultural attributes of this folk celebration were laid down - decorated fir trees, fireworks, New Year's carnivals and many other winter entertainments. On the eve of the New Year holidays, according to tradition, it is customary to take stock of the past year and hopefully make plans for the future. I would like to wish all colleagues and project participants a pleasant New Year's Eve, more joy, family warmth, comfort, and happiness. May the New Year 2016 bring us new creative plans, successful and interesting ideas, may they definitely come true!
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