Peter the Great - Wikipedia

Peter the Great - Wikipedia
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Tsar of Russia from 1682 to 1725
This article is about the Russian monarch. For other uses, see
Peter the Great (disambiguation)
Peter the Great
Portrait by
Jean-Marc Nattier
, 1717
Emperor of Russia
Reign
2 November 1721 –
8 February 1725
Predecessor
Himself as Tsar
Successor
Catherine I
Tsar of all Russia
Reign
7 May 1682 –
2 November 1721
Coronation
25 June 1682
Predecessor
Feodor III
Successor
Himself as Emperor
Co-monarch
Ivan V
(1682–1696)
Regent
Sophia Alekseyevna
(1682–1689)
Born
1672-06-09
9 June 1672
Moscow
Tsardom of Russia
Died
8 February 1725
(1725-02-08)
(aged 52)
Saint Petersburg
Russian Empire
Burial
Peter and Paul Cathedral
Spouses
Eudoxia Lopukhina
m.
1689;
ann.
1698)
Catherine Alekseyevna
m.
1707)
Issue
Detail
Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia
Anna, Duchess of Holstein-Gottorp
Elizabeth, Empress of Russia
Peter Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia
Grand Duchess Natalia Petrovna
Names
Peter Alekseyevich Romanov
House
Romanov
Father
Alexis of Russia
Mother
Natalya Naryshkina
Religion
Russian Orthodoxy
Signature
Military career
Allegiance
Tsardom of Russia
Russian Empire
Branch
Army of Peter the Great
Imperial Russian Army
Conflicts
Treelike list
Russo-Turkish War
Azov campaigns
Great Northern War
Ingrian campaign
Siege of Nöteborg
Siege of Nyenschantz
ru
Siege of Dorpat
ru
Siege of Narva
Siege of Mitau
ru
Siege of Viborg (1706)
ru
Battle of Grodno
Battle of Lesnaya
Battle of Poltava
Siege of Viborg (1710)
Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia
Pruth River Campaign
Battle of Helsinki
Battle of Gangut
Persian campaign
Battle of the Inchkhe River
ru
Battle of Derbent
Capture of Rasht
Siege of Baku
ru
Peter I
Russian
Пётр I Алексеевич
romanized
Pyotr I Alekseyevich
IPA:
[ˈpʲɵtr
ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪtɕ]
; better known as
Peter the Great
note 1
; 9 June [
O.S.
30 May] 1672
– 8 February [
O.S.
28 January] 1725) was the
Tsar of all Russia
from 1682 and the first
Emperor of Russia
from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother
Ivan V
until 1696. Peter, as an
autocrat
, organized a well-ordered
police state
Much of Peter's reign was consumed by lengthy wars against the
Ottoman
and
Swedish
empires. His
Azov campaigns
were followed by the foundation of the
Russian Navy
; after his victory in the
Great Northern War
, Russia annexed a
significant portion
of the eastern
Baltic
coastline and was officially raised from a
tsardom
to an
empire
. Peter led a cultural revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific,
Westernized
, and based on the radical
Enlightenment
In December 1699, he introduced the
Julian calendar
and in 1703, he introduced the first Russian newspaper,
Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti
, and ordered the
civil script
, a reform of Russian orthography largely designed by himself. On the shores of the
Neva
River, he founded
Saint Petersburg
, a city famously dubbed by
Francesco Algarotti
as the "window to the West".
In 1712, Peter relocated the capital from
Moscow
to St. Petersburg, a status it retained until 1918. Peter had a great interest in plants, animals and minerals, in malformed creatures or exceptions to the
law of nature
for his
cabinet of curiosities
. He encouraged research of deformities, all along trying to debunk the superstitious fear of
monsters
He promoted
industrialization in the Russian Empire
and higher education. The
Russian Academy of Sciences
and the
Saint Petersburg State University
were founded in 1724, and invited
Christian Wolff
and
Willem 's Gravesande
Peter is primarily credited with the modernization of the country, quickly transforming it into a major European power. His
administrative reforms
, creating a
Governing Senate
in 1711, the
Collegium
in 1717 and the
Table of Ranks
in 1722 had a lasting impact on Russia, and many institutions of the
Russian government
trace their origins to his reign.
Early life
Peter as a child
Double throne in
Kremlin Armoury
. A large hole was cut in the back of the dual-seated throne used by Ivan and Peter. Sophia would sit behind the throne and listen as Peter conversed with nobles, while feeding him information and giving him responses to questions and problems.
Peter's ship, rigged with a sail and a mast with the help of Dutch carpenters
Peter grew up at
Izmaylovo Estate
and was educated at the
Amusement Palace
from an early age by several tutors commissioned by his father, most notably
Nikita Zotov
Patrick Gordon
, and
Paul Menesius
. When his father died in 1676, he left the sovereignty to Peter's elder half-brother, the crippled
Feodor III
10
Throughout this period, the government was largely run by
Artamon Matveyev
, an enlightened friend of Alexis, the political head of the
Naryshkin family
and one of Peter's greatest childhood benefactors.
citation needed
This position changed when Feodor died in 1682. As Feodor did not leave any children, a dispute arose between the Miloslavsky family (
Maria Miloslavskaya
was the first wife of Alexis I) and Naryshkin family (
Natalya Naryshkina
was his second wife) over who should inherit the throne. He
jointly ruled
with his elder half-brother,
Ivan V
, until 1696. Ivan was next in line but was weakminded and blind. Consequently, the
Boyar Duma
(a council of Russian nobles) chose the 10-year-old Peter to become tsar, with his mother as
regent
. A hole was cut in the back of the throne, so that she, literally behind the scenes, could whisper to the two boys.
11
The "Moscow Grand Discharge" started in 1677 and was completed in 1688; it affected noble families with high ranks in the administration; the ministries were also reduced in number. This provoked fierce reactions.
Sophia
, one of Alexis' daughters from his first marriage, led a
rebellion
of the
streltsy
(Russia's elite military corps) in April–May 1682. In the subsequent conflict, some of Peter's relatives and friends were murdered, including Artamon Matveyev, and Peter witnessed some of these acts of political violence.
12
The
streltsy
made it possible for Sophia, the Miloslavskys (the clan of
Ivan
), and their allies to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint tsars, with Ivan being acclaimed as the senior. Sophia then acted as regent during the minority of the sovereigns and exercised all power. For seven years, she ruled as an autocrat.
From 1682 to 1689, Peter and his mother were banned to
Preobrazhenskoye
. At the age of 16, he discovered an
English boat
on the estate, had it restored and learned to sail. He received a
sextant
, but did not know how to use it. Peter was fascinated by
sundials
. Therefore, he began a search for a foreign expert in the
German Quarter
. Peter befriended
Andrew Vinius
, a bibliophile, who taught him Dutch and two Dutch carpenters, Frans Timmerman and Karsten Brandt. Peter studied arithmetic, geometry, and military sciences (
fortification
). He was not interested in a musical education but liked fireworks and drumming.
Peter was not particularly concerned that others ruled in his name;
Boris Golitsyn
and
Fyodor Apraksin
played an important role. He engaged in such pastimes as shipbuilding in
Pereslavl-Zalessky
and sailing at
Lake Pleshcheyevo
, as well as mock battles with his
toy army
. Peter's mother sought to force him to adopt a more conventional approach and arranged his marriage to
Eudoxia Lopukhina
in 1689.
13
The marriage was a failure, and 10 years later, Peter forced his wife to become a nun and thus freed himself from the union.
By the summer of 1689, Peter, planned to take power from his half-sister Sophia, whose position had been weakened by two unsuccessful
Crimean campaigns
against the
Crimean Khanate
in an attempt to stop devastating
Crimean Tatar raids
into Russia's southern lands. When she learned of his designs, Sophia conspired with some leaders of the Streltsy, who continually aroused disorder and dissent. Peter, warned by others from the Streltsy, escaped in the middle of the night to the impenetrable monastery of
Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra
; there he slowly gathered adherents who perceived he would win the power struggle. Sophia was eventually overthrown, with Peter I and Ivan V continuing to act as co-tsars. Peter forced Sophia to enter a convent, where she gave up her name and her position as a member of the royal family.
14
Meanwhile, he was a frequent guest in the German quarter, where he met
Anna
and
Willem Mons
. In 1692 he sent
Eberhard Isbrand Ides
as envoy to the
Kangxi Emperor
of China. In 1693 he sailed to
Solovetsky Monastery
and accepted
divine providence
after surviving a storm.
15
Still, Peter could not acquire actual control over Russian affairs. Power was instead exercised by his mother. It was only when Natalya died in 1694 that Peter, then aged 22, became an independent sovereign.
16
Formally, Ivan V was a co-ruler with Peter, though being ineffective. Peter became the sole ruler when Ivan died in 1696 without male offspring.
Peter grew to be extremely tall, especially for the time period, reportedly standing 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m).
16
He was seen as a "second
Goliath
" or
Samson
17
18
Saint-Simon
described him in 1717 as "tall, well-formed and slim... with a look both bewildered and fierce". Peter had noticeable facial tics, and he may have suffered from
neck spasm
19
Ideology of Peter's reign
Monument to Peter the Great in
Kronstadt
As a young man, Peter I adopted the
Protestant
model of existence in a pragmatic world of competition and personal success, which largely shaped the philosophy of his
reformism
. He perceived the Russian people as rude, unintelligent, stubborn in their sluggishness, a child, a lazy student. He highly appreciated the state's role in the life of society, saw it as an ideal instrument for achieving high goals, saw it as a universal institution for transforming people, with the help of violence and fear, into educated, conscious, law-abiding and useful to the whole society subjects.
Peter had a keen interest in
The Education of a Christian Prince
which offers advice to rulers on how to govern justly and wisely.
citation needed
He introduced into the concept of the
autocrat's
power the notion of the
monarch
's duties. He considered it necessary to take care of his subjects, to protect them from enemies, to work for their benefit. Above all, he put the interests of Russia. He saw his mission in turning it into a power similar to
Western
countries, and subordinated his own life and the lives of his subjects to the realization of this idea. Gradually penetrated the idea that the task should be solved with the help of reforms, which will be carried out at the autocrat's will, who creates good and punishes evil. He considered the morality of a statesman separately from the morality of a private person and believed that the sovereign in the name of state interests can go to murder, violence, forgery and deceit.
He went through the naval service, starting from the lowest ranks:
bombardier
(1695),
captain
(1696),
colonel
(1706),
schout-bij-nacht
(1709),
vice-admiral
(1714),
admiral
(1721). By hard daily work (according to the figurative expression of Peter the Great himself, he was simultaneously "forced to hold a sword and a
quill
in one right hand") and courageous behavior he demonstrated to his subjects his personal positive example, showed how to act, fully devoting himself to the fulfillment of duty and service to the
fatherland
Reign
Europe in 1721
(in German)
Capture of Azov
, 1696, by
Robert Ker Porter
Peter reigned for around 43 years.
He implemented sweeping reforms
aimed at modernizing Russia.
20
Heavily influenced by his advisors, like
Jacob Bruce
, Peter reorganized the Russian army along modern lines and dreamed of making Russia a
maritime power
. He faced much opposition to these policies at home but brutally suppressed rebellions against his authority, including by the
Streltsy
Bashkirs
Astrakhan
, and the greatest civil uprising of his reign, the
Bulavin Rebellion
In his process to westernize Russia, he wanted members of his family to marry other European royalty. In the past, his ancestors had been snubbed at the idea; however, it was proving fruitful. He negotiated with
Frederick William, Duke of Courland
to marry his niece,
Anna Ivanovna
. He used the wedding in order to launch his new capital, St Petersburg, where he had already ordered building projects of westernized palaces and buildings. Peter hired Italian and German architects to design it.
21
He attracted
Domenico Trezzini
Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli
Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond
and
Andreas Schlüter
To improve his nation's position on the seas, Peter sought more maritime outlets. His only outlet at the time was the
White Sea
at
Arkhangelsk
. The Baltic Sea was at the time controlled by
Sweden
in the north, while the
Black Sea
and the
Caspian Sea
were controlled by the
Ottoman Empire
and
Safavid Empire
respectively in the south. The country's need for metal was exacerbated by the outbreak of wars for access to the Black and Baltic Seas.
Peter attempted to acquire control of the Black Sea, which would require expelling the
Tatars
from the surrounding areas. As part of an agreement with
Poland
that ceded
Kiev
to Russia, Peter was forced to wage war against the
Crimean
Khan
and against the Khan's overlord, the Ottoman Sultan. Peter's primary objective became the capture of the Ottoman fortress of
Azov
, near the
Don River
. In the summer of 1695 Peter organized the
Azov campaigns
to take the fortress, but his attempts ended in failure.
Peter returned to Moscow in November 1695 and began building a large navy in
Voronezh
. He launched about thirty ships against the Ottomans in 1696, capturing Azov in July of that year. He appointed
Alexander Gordon
, who later would publish a biography on Peter.
22
Peter used to hold all his important meetings and numerous celebrations in
Le Fort
's palace.
Grand Embassy
Main article:
Grand Embassy of Peter the Great
Abraham Storck
: Spectacle on the Amstel river, August 1697
Fleet Manoeuvres Performed on the IJ on 1 September 1797 during Peter's Visit to Amsterdam, painting by Adam Silo (Hermitage)
The
frigate
Pieter and Paul
on the
IJ
while Peter stands on the small ship on the right. Painting by A. Storck. This ship sank on his second voyage.
Peter knew that Russia could not face the Ottoman Empire alone. In March 1697, he traveled "incognito" to Western Europe on an 18-month journey with a large Russian delegation—the so-called
"Grand Embassy"
. Peter was the first tsar to leave Russia for more than 100 years.
23
He used a fake name, allowing him to escape social and diplomatic events, but since he was far taller than most others, he could not fool anyone. One goal was to seek the aid of European monarchs, but Peter's hopes were dashed. France was a traditional ally of the Ottoman Sultan, and
Austria
was eager to maintain peace in the east while conducting its own wars in the west. Peter, furthermore, had chosen an inopportune moment: the Europeans at the time were more concerned about the
War of the Spanish Succession
over who would succeed the childless King
Charles II of Spain
than about fighting the Ottoman Sultan.
13
Peter failed to expand the anti-Ottoman alliance.
In Riga, the local Swedish commander
Erik Dahlbergh
decided to pretend that he did not recognize Peter and did not allow him to inspect the fortifications.
24
(Three years later, Peter would cite the inhospitable reception as one of the reasons for starting the Great Northern War). He met
Frederick Casimir Kettler
, the Duke of Courland.
25
In
Königsberg
, the tsar was apprenticed for two months to an artillery engineer. (Decrees were issued on the construction of the first
Ural
blast furnace
plants.) In July he met
Sophia of Hanover
at
Coppenbrügge
castle. She described him: "The tsar is a tall, handsome man, with an attractive face. He has a lively mind is very witty. Only, someone so well endowed by nature could be a little better mannered."
26
Peter rented a ship in
Emmerich am Rhein
and sailed to Zaandam, where he arrived on 18 August 1697.
Amsterdam
Peter studied
saw-mills
, manufacturing and shipbuilding in Zaandam but left after a week.
27
He sailed to Amsterdam after he was recognized and attacked.
28
The log-cabin he rented became the
Czar Peter House
. He sailed to
Texel
to see a fleet. Through the mediation of
Nicolaas Witsen
, an expert on Russia, the tsar was given the opportunity to gain practical experience in shipyard, belonging to the
Dutch East India Company
, for a period of four months, under the supervision of
Gerrit Claesz Pool
. The diligent and capable tsar assisted in the construction of an
East Indiaman
Peter and Paul
specially laid down for him. Peter felt that the ship's carpenters in Holland worked too much by eye and lacked accurate construction drawings. During his stay the tsar engaged many skilled workers such as builders of locks, fortresses, shipwrights, and seamen—including
Cornelis Cruys
, a vice-admiral who became, under
Franz Lefort
, the tsar's advisor in maritime affairs; engineer
Menno van Coehoorn
refused. Peter put his knowledge of shipbuilding to use in helping build Russia's navy.
29
Peter and Witsen visited
Frederik Ruysch
who had all the specimens exposed in five rooms. He taught Peter how to catch
butterflies
and how to preserve them. They also had a common interest in
lizards
30
Together they went to see patients. He arrived in Utrecht on a
barge
and met
stadtholder
William III
in a tavern.
31
When he visited the
States-General of the Netherlands
he left the hall and the astonished attendees with his wig pulled over his head, according to Massie.
citation needed
32
He visited
Jan van der Heyden
, the inventor of a
fire hose
. He collected paintings by
Adam Silo
with ships and
seascapes
. In October 1697, the Tsar visited Delft and received an "eal viewer" from the microscopist
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek
33
After the
Peace of Ryswick
he was invited by King of England to visit him. The Dutch
regents
considered the Tsar too inquisitive, and this affected their willingness to help the Russians.
34
Deptford
Portrait of Peter I by
Godfrey Kneller
, 1698. This portrait was Peter's gift to the King of England.
Woolwich Dockyard in 1698: the recently erected Great Storehouse (centre-right) dominates the built environment of the dockyard.
On 11 January 1698 (
O.S.
), Peter arrived at
Victoria Embankment
with four chamberlains, three interpreters (
Peter Shafirov
, LeFort), two clock makers, a cook, a priest, six trumpeters, 70 soldiers from the
Preobrazhensky regiment
, four dwarfs and a monkey which he purchased in Amsterdam; Jacob Bruce accompanied him. Peter stayed at 21
Norfolk Street, Strand
, and met with Bishop of Salisbury
Gilbert Burnet
and
Thomas Osborne
and posed for Sir
Godfrey Kneller
. He watched the proceedings within the
Parliament
from a rooftop window.
35
At some time, he had an affair with actress
Letitia Cross
35
He visited the
Royal Mint
four times; it is not clear whether he ever met
Isaac Newton
, the
mint's warden
36
37
who introduced
milling
on the coinage.
38
Peter was impressed by the
Great Recoinage of 1696
, according to Massie.
citation needed
At some time he visited
Spithead
Plymouth
, with captain John Perry to watch a
mock battle
39
40
In February he attended a
Fleet Review
in
Deptford
, and inspected the
Woolwich Dockyard
and
Royal Arsenal
with
Anthony Deane
. For three months he stayed at
Sayes Court
as the guest of
John Evelyn
, a member of the
Royal Society
41
He was trained on a telescope at the
Greenwich Observatory
by
John Flamsteed
. Peter communicated with
Thomas Story
and
William Penn
about their position that believers should not join the military.
42
35
King William III presented a
schooner
with a whole crew to Peter I in exchange for the monopoly right of English merchants to trade tobacco in Russia (see
Charles Whitworth
).
43
At the end of April 1698 he left after being shown how to make watches, and carpeting coffins. Back in Holland he visited Harderwijk and Cleves.
The Embassy next went to Leipzig, Dresden, where he met with
Queen Christiane Eberhardine
of Poland-Lithuania. Three times he visited the
Kunstsammlung
, then
Königstein Fortress
, Prague, and Vienna, where he paid a visit to
Leopold I
44
At
Rava-Ruska
, he crossed the border and Peter spoke with
Augustus II the Strong
. Peter's visit was cut short, when he was informed of the second
Streltsy uprising
in June. The rebellion was easily crushed by
General Gordon
before Peter returned home early September.
45
Peter nevertheless acted ruthlessly towards the mutineers; 4,600 rebels were sent to prison. Around 1,182 were tortured and executed, and Peter ordered that their bodies be publicly exhibited as a warning to future conspirators.
46
The Streltsy were disbanded, and Peter's half-sister Sophia, who they sought to put on the throne, was kept in strictest seclusion at
Novodevichy Convent
Peter's visits to the West impressed upon him the notion that European customs were in several respects superior to Russian traditions. He commanded all of his courtiers and officials to wear European clothing (no
caftans
) and cut off their long beards, causing
Boyars
and
Old Believers
, who were very fond of their beards, great upset.
47
Boyars who sought to retain their beards were required to pay an annual
beard tax
of one hundred
rubles
48
49
In the same year, Peter also sought to end
arranged marriages
, which were the norm among the
Russian nobility
, because he thought such a practice was barbaric and led to domestic violence, since the partners usually resented each other.
50
Reforms
Vista through the
Summer Garden
towards the Summer Palace, 1716
Embankment of the
Fontanka
River, Laundry Bridge,
Summer Palace of Peter I
View of the
Kunstkamera
across the Neva
In 1698, Peter sent a delegation to
Malta
, under boyar
Boris Sheremetev
, to observe the training and abilities of the
Knights of Malta
and their
fleet
. Sheremetev investigated the possibility of future joint ventures with the Knights, including action against the Turks and the possibility of a future Russian naval base.
51
On 12 September 1698, Peter officially founded the first
Russian Navy
base,
Taganrog
on the
Sea of Azov
In 1699, Peter changed the date of the celebration of the new year from 1 September to 1 January. Traditionally, the years were reckoned from the purported
creation of the World
, but after Peter's reforms, they were to be counted from the
birth of Christ
. Thus, in the year 7207 of the old Russian calendar, Peter proclaimed that the
Julian Calendar
was in effect and the year was 1700.
52
On the death of Lefort in 1699,
Menshikov
succeeded him as Peter's prime favourite and confidant.
Yakov Fyodorovich Dolgorukov
also provided critical advice and support to the Tsar throughout his attempts at modernizing Russia.
53
54
In 1700, Peter I prevented the election of a new
patriarch
and deprived the Russian Church of the opportunity to regain a single spiritual leader. Reducing the number of monasteries, he converted all monasteries with less than 30 monks into schools or churches.
55
He encouraged the development of private entrepreneurship, but under strict state control. He initiated the construction of canals by John Perry and implemented a monetary reform, using the decimal principle as the basis of the
monetary system
(1698–1704).
Peter attracted many foreign specialists and opened an educational institution for
surgery
, led by
Nicolaas Bidloo
. In 1701, the
Moscow School of Mathematics and Navigation
was founded, led by
Jacob Bruce
; for fifteen years, naval officers, surveyors, engineers, and gunners were educated there.
56
Preobrazhensky Regiment
with the Sukharev tower
In 1700, Jan Thesingh (-1701) received a monopoly on printing and importing books, maps and prints into Russia for fifteen years.
57
In 1701 he appointed
Fedor Polikarpov-Orlov
as head of the
Moscow Print Yard
. In 1707, Tsar Peter I bought a fully equipped
printing house
in
Holland
, including staff.
58
Peter replaced the
Cyrillic numerals
with
Arabic numerals
(1705–1710) and the Cyrillic
font
with a
civil script
(1708–1710).
59
In 1708,
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
became an advisor and offered to write new laws for the country.
60
In December Russia was divided into
eight governorates
guberniya
).
55
Matwei Petrowitsch Gagarin
was the first governor of Siberia.
Peter was visited by
Cornelis de Bruijn
, who spent six years in Russia and made drawings of the Kremlin.
61
In 1711, Peter visited elector
August II of Poland
in Dresden,
Carlsbad
and Torgau where his son Aleksei married. In 1713 he visited Hamburg, sieged
Tönningen
with his allies. He then traveled to Hanover and was a guest of Duke
Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
in
Salzdahlum
. From Danzig he sailed to Riga,
Helsingfors
and
Turku
In 1711, Peter established by decree a new state body known as the
Governing Senate
62
Normally, the
Boyar duma
would have exercised power during his absence. Peter, however, mistrusted the boyars; he instead abolished the Duma and created a Senate of ten members. The Senate was founded as the highest state institution to supervise all judicial, financial and administrative affairs. Originally established only for the time of the monarch's absence, the Senate became a permanent body after his return. A special high official, the
Ober-Procurator
, served as the link between the ruler and the senate and acted, in Peter own words, as "the sovereign's eye". Without his signature no Senate decision could go into effect; the Senate became one of the most important institutions of Imperial Russia.
63
In 1701, 1705 and 1712, Peter I issued decrees establishing an Engineering School in
Sukharev Tower
, which was supposed to recruit up to 100 students, but had only 23.
56
Therefore, he issued another decree in 1714 calling for
compulsory education
, which dictated that all Russian 10- to 15-year-old children of the nobility, government clerks, and lesser-ranked officials must learn basic arithmetic,
trigonometry
and
geometry
, and should be tested on the subjects at the end of their studies.
64
Areskine
, an
iatrochemist
, became head of the court apothecary;
Johann Daniel Schumacher
was appointed secretary and librarian of the
Kunstkamera
. The country's first scientific library was opened in his palace in the Summer Garden. Peter ordered the development of
Aptekarsky Island
, headquarters for the Medical Clerical Office and the Main Pharmacy.
65
Gottlieb Schober was commissioned to examine
hot springs
and discovered rich deposits of
sulfur
; Peter immediately set up a factory for the development in the
Samara Oblast
. In 1721 the shipyard
Petrozavod
and
Petrodvorets Watch Factory
was established. Some 3,500 new words—German, French, Dutch, English, Italian, Swedish in origin—entered Russian in Peter's period, roughly one-fourth of them shipping and naval terms.
66
As part of his reforms, Peter started an industrialization effort that was slow but eventually successful. Russian manufacturing and main exports were based on the mining and lumber industries. In 1719, the privileges of miners were enshrined in law with the Berg Privilege, which allowed representatives of all classes to search for
ores
and build metallurgical plants. At the same time, manufacturers and artisans were exempted from state taxes and
recruiting
, and their houses were exempt from the post of troops. The law also guaranteed the inheritance of the ownership of factories, proclaimed industrial activity a matter of state importance and protected manufacturers from interference in their affairs by local authorities. The same law established the
Collegium of Mining
, and managed
the entire mining and metallurgical industry
, and local administrations. The
Demidovs
became the first Russian exporters of iron to
Western Europe
. In 1721, a decree was issued that allowed factory owners, regardless of whether they had a noble rank, to buy
serfs
Great Northern War
Main article:
Great Northern War
Peter I of Russia pacifies his marauding troops after
retaking Narva
in 1704
, by
Nikolay Sauerweid
, 1859
Interior of Peter's log cabin
Peter the Great Meditating the Idea of Building St Petersburg at the Shore of the Baltic Sea
, by
Alexandre Benois
, 1916
Peter I in the
Battle of Poltava
, a mosaic by
Mikhail Lomonosov
First Winter Palace by
Alexey Zubov
Peter made a
temporary peace
with the Ottoman Empire that allowed him to keep the captured fort of Azov, and turned his attention to Russian maritime supremacy. He sought to acquire control of the Baltic Sea, which had been taken by the
Swedish Empire
a half-century earlier. Peter declared war on Sweden, which was at the time led by the young King
Charles XII
. Sweden was also opposed by
Denmark–Norway
Saxony
, and the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
. The
Preobrazhensky regiment
took part in all major battles of the Great Northern War.
Russia was ill-prepared to fight the Swedes, and their first attempt at seizing the Baltic coast ended in disaster at the
Battle of Narva
in 1700. In the conflict, the forces of Charles XII, rather than employ a slow methodical siege, attacked immediately using a blinding snowstorm to their advantage. After the battle, Charles XII decided to concentrate his forces against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which gave Peter time to reorganize the Russian army and conquered
Nyenschantz
in the
Ingrian campaign
. Bidloo had to organize a military hospital.
Robert Bruce
was appointed
commander-in-chief
of St. Petersburg. After the defeat at Narva, Peter I gave the order to melt the
church bells
into cannons and mortars. In 1701, Peter ordered the construction of Novodvinsk Fortress north of Archangelsk. Everybody was convinced they knew: his Majesty will wage war.
67
In the
siege of Nöteborg
Russian forces captured the Swedish fortress, renamed
Shlisselburg
. In 1702 Peter the Great established the Olonets Shipyard at
Lodeynoye Pole
, where
Russian frigate Shtandart
was built.
While the Poles fought the Swedes, Peter founded the city of Saint Petersburg on
29 June
1703 on
Hare Island
. He forbade the building of stone edifices outside Saint Petersburg, which he intended to become Russia's capital, so that all stonemasons could participate in the construction of the new city. While the city was being built along the
Neva
he lived in a modest three-room log cabin (with a study but without a fire-place) which had to make room for the first version of the
Winter Palace
. The first buildings which appeared were a shipyard at the
Admiralty
Kronstadt
(1704–1706) and the
Peter and Paul Fortress
(1706). Peter took his whole family on a boat trip to Kronstadt.
68
Following several defeats, Polish King
Augustus II the Strong
abdicated in 1706. Swedish king Charles XII turned his attention to Russia, invading it in 1708. After crossing into Russia, Charles defeated Peter at
Golovchin
in July. In the
Battle of Lesnaya
, Charles suffered his first loss after Peter crushed a group of Swedish reinforcements marching from
Riga
. Deprived of this aid, Charles was forced to abandon his proposed march on Moscow.
69
Charles XII refused to retreat to Poland or back to Sweden and instead invaded
Ukraine
. Peter withdrew his army southward, employing
scorched earth
, destroying along the way anything that could assist the Swedes. Deprived of local supplies, the Swedish army was forced to halt its advance in the winter of 1708–1709. In the summer of 1709, they resumed their efforts to capture
Russian-ruled Ukraine
, culminating in the
Battle of Poltava
on 27 June. The battle was a decisive defeat for the Swedish forces, ending Charles' campaign in Ukraine and forcing him south to seek refuge in the Ottoman Empire. Russia had defeated what was considered to be one of the world's best militaries, and the victory overturned the view that Russia was militarily incompetent. In Poland, Augustus II was restored as King.
Peter, overestimating the support he would receive from his Balkan allies, attacked the Ottoman Empire, initiating the
Russo-Turkish War of 1710
70
Peter's campaign in the Ottoman Empire was disastrous, and in the ensuing
Treaty of the Pruth
, Peter was forced to return the Black Sea ports he had seized in 1697.
70
In return, the Sultan expelled Charles XII. The Ottomans called him
Mad Peter
Turkish
deli Petro
), for his willingness to sacrifice large numbers of his troops in wartime.
71
Peter's northern armies took the Swedish province of
Livonia
(the northern half of modern
Latvia
, and the southern half of modern
Estonia
), driving the Swedes out of
Finland
. In 1714, the Russian fleet won the
Battle of Gangut
. During the
Great Wrath
most of Finland was occupied by Russian forces.
Second Embassy
Tsar Peter the Great picks up the young King
Louis XV
(1717), painted around 1838
In January 1716, Tsar Peter traveled in the Baltic region to discuss peace negotiations and how to protect the sea trade route from the Swedes. He visited Riga,
Königsberg
and
Danzig
. There
his niece
married the quarrelsome
Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
with which Peter wanted an alliance. He obtained the assistance of the
Frederick William I of Prussia
who sieged the strong Swedish
fortress Wismar
. In
Altona
he met with Danish diplomats, supporting Prussia. He sailed to Copenhagen heading an allied fleet. In
Wittenberg
he visited the monastery, where Luther lived.
72
In May he went on to
Bad Pyrmont
, and, because of his physical problems he stayed at this spa. There he met with the genius
Leibniz
73
Blumentrost
and
Areskine
accompanied him.
In early December Peter arrived in Amsterdam and visited
Nicolaas Witsen
. He bought the
anatomic
and
herbarium
collection of
Frederik Ruysch
Levinus Vincent
and
Albertus Seba
. He obtained many paintings among other from
Maria Sibylla Merian
for his
Kunstkamera
and Rembrandt's "David and Jonathan" for
Peterhof Palace
74
He paid a visit to a friend's mansion near
Nigtevecht
, a silk manufacture and a paper-mill.
75
31
At five in the morning he was received by
Herman Boerhaave
who showed Peter the
Botanical Garden
. In April 1717 he continued his travel to
Austrian Netherlands
, Dunkirk and Calais. In Paris he obtained many books, requested to become a member of the
Academie de Sciences
and visited the parliament, the
Sorbonne
and
Madame Maintenon
. Via the
Palace of Saint-Cloud
, the
Grand Trianon
at Versailles,
Fontainebleau
Spa
he travelled on to
Maastricht
, at that time one of the most important fortresses in Europe. He went back Amsterdam to attend a
Treaty
with France and Prussia on 15 August.
76
He achieved a diplomatic success, and his international prestige, consolidated. Again he visited the
Hortus Botanicus
and left the city early September 1717, heading for Berlin.
77
In October he was back in St Petersburg.
58
In 1719
New Holland Island
was created.
The tsar's navy was powerful enough that the Russians could penetrate Sweden. Still, Charles XII refused to yield, and not until his death in battle in 1718 did peace become feasible. After the
battle of Grengam
, Sweden made peace with all powers but Russia by 1720. In 1721, the
Treaty of Nystad
ended the Great Northern War. Russia acquired
Ingria
Estonia
Livonia
, and a substantial portion of
Karelia
. In turn, Russia paid two million
Riksdaler
and surrendered most of Finland.
78
Later years
Peter I’s small wooden palace in
Strelna
, designed by
Le Blond
around 1714, had a
botanical garden
In 1717,
Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky
led the first Russian military expedition into Central Asia against the
Khanate of Khiva
. The expedition ended in complete disaster when the entire expeditionary force was slaughtered.
To the end of 1717, the preparatory phase of administrative reform in Russia was completed. After 1718, Peter established
collegiums
in place of the old central agencies of government, including foreign affairs, war, navy, expense, income, justice, and inspection. Later others were added, to regulate mining and industry. Each college consisted of a president, a vice-president, a number of councilors and assessors, and a procurator. Some foreigners were included in various colleges but not as president.
Pavel Yaguzhinsky
was entrusted with the observation of the "soonest possible establishment of colleges by their presidents". Peter did not have enough loyal, talented or educated persons to put in full charge of the various departments. Peter preferred to rely on groups of individuals who would keep check on one another.
79
Decisions depended on the majority vote.
In 1718, Peter investigated why the formerly Swedish province of
Livonia
was so orderly. He discovered that the Swedes spent as much administering Livonia (300 times smaller than his empire) as he spent on the entire Russian bureaucracy. He was forced to dismantle the province's government.
80
In June 1721 he had Gagarin, the governor of Siberia, executed.
Peter the Great's Assembly in 1718
by
Stanisław Chlebowski
Peter I being titulated as the emperor of Russia (1721) by
Boris Chorikov
Peter's last years were marked by further reform in Russia. On 2 November 1721 (
N.S.
), soon after peace was made with Sweden, he was officially proclaimed
Emperor of All Russia
. The
coronation of the Russian monarch
took place in
Uspensky Cathedral, Moscow
. Some proposed that he take the title
Emperor of the East
, but he refused.
81
Gavrila Golovkin
, the State Chancellor, was the first to add "the Great, Father of His Country, Emperor of
All the Russias
" to Peter's traditional title of tsar following a speech by
Theophan Prokopovich
in 1721. Peter's imperial title was recognized by
Augustus II of Poland
Frederick William I of Prussia
, and
Frederick I of Sweden
, but not by the other European monarchs. In the minds of many, the word
emperor
connoted superiority or pre-eminence over kings. Several rulers feared that Peter would claim authority over them, just as the
Holy Roman Emperor
had claimed
suzerainty
over all Christian nations.
By the grace of God
, the most excellent and great sovereign emperor Pyotr Alekseevich the ruler of all the Russias: of
Moscow
, of
Kiev
, of
Vladimir
, of
Novgorod
, Tsar of
Kazan
, Tsar of
Astrakhan
and Tsar of
Siberia
, sovereign of
Pskov
, great prince of
Smolensk
, of
Tver
, of
Yugorsk
, of
Perm
, of
Vyatka
, of
Bulgaria
and others, sovereign and great prince of the
Novgorod
Lower lands, of
Chernigov
, of
Ryazan
, of
Rostov
, of
Yaroslavl
, of
Belozersk
, of
Udora
, of
Kondia
and the sovereign of all the northern lands, and the sovereign of the
Iverian lands
, of the
Kartlian
and
Georgian Kings
, of the
Kabardin lands
, of the
Circassian
and
Mountain
princes and many other states and lands western and eastern here and there and the successor and sovereign and ruler.
Meeting between Peter I and
Ayuka Khan
of the
Kalmyk Khanate
In 1722, Peter issued a Decree on the succession to the throne, in which he abolished the ancient custom of transferring the throne to direct descendants in the male line (as he had no son). The decree was so unusual for Russian society that it was necessary to explain it. Peter created a new
order of precedence
for landowners known as the
Table of Ranks
. Formerly, precedence had been determined by birth. To deprive the
Boyars
of their high positions, Peter directed that precedence should be determined by merit and service to the Emperor. The Table of Ranks continued to remain in effect until the Russian monarchy was
overthrown in 1917
In 1722,
John Bell
accompanied Peter the Great on a military expedition to the city of
Derbent
near the Caspian Sea. The once powerful Persian
Safavid Empire
to the south was in deep decline. Taking advantage of the profitable situation, Peter launched the
Russo-Persian War of 1722–1723
, otherwise known as "The Persian Expedition of Peter the Great", which drastically increased Russian influence for the first time in the
Caucasus
and
Caspian Sea
region, and prevented the Ottoman Empire from making territorial gains in the region. After considerable success and the capture of many provinces and cities in the Caucasus and northern mainland Persia, the Safavids were forced to hand over territory to Russia, comprising
Derbent
Shirvan
Gilan
Mazandaran
Baku
, and
Astrabad
. Within twelve years all the territories were ceded back to Persia, now led by the charismatic military genius
Nader Shah
, as part of the
Treaty of Resht
, the
Treaty of Ganja
, and as the result of a Russo-Persian alliance against the Ottoman Empire, which was the common enemy of both.
82
Peter changed the system of
direct taxation
. He abolished the land tax and household tax and replaced them with a
poll tax
83
The taxes on land and on households were payable only by individuals who owned property or maintained families. The new head taxes were payable by
serfs
and paupers. Peter began construction of the
Monplaisir Palace
based on his own sketches. He ordered to purchase 2,000
lime trees
which were shipped to St Petersburg.
58
In 1725, the construction of
Peterhof
, a palace near Saint Petersburg, was completed. Peterhof was a grand residence, becoming known as the "Russian
Versailles
".
Illness and death
Peter the Great on his
deathbed
, by
Nikitin
In the winter of 1723, Peter, whose overall health was never robust, began having problems with his
urinary tract
and
bladder
. In the summer of 1724, a team of doctors performed surgery releasing upwards of four pounds of blocked urine. Peter remained bedridden until late autumn. In the first week of October, restless and certain he was cured, Peter began a lengthy inspection tour of various projects. Rastrelli finished
his monument to Peter I
. According to
legend
, in November, at
Lakhta
along the
Gulf of Finland
to inspect some ironworks, Peter saw a group of soldiers drowning near shore and, wading out into near-waist deep water, came to their rescue.
84
This icy water rescue is said to have exacerbated Peter's bladder problems and caused his death. The story, however, has been viewed with skepticism by some historians, pointing out that the German chronicler
Jacob von Staehlin
de
is the only source for the story.
85
In early January 1725, Peter was struck once again with
uremia
or
azotemia
. Legend has it that before lapsing into unconsciousness Peter asked for a paper and pen and scrawled an unfinished note that read:
"Leave all to ..."
and then, exhausted by the effort, asked for his daughter Anna to be summoned.
note 2
Peter died between four and five in the morning 8 February. An
autopsy
revealed his bladder to be infected with
gangrene
86
He was fifty-two years, seven months old when he died, having reigned forty-two years. He is interred in
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral
After his death, students came to the Military College with a request to "leave science" under the pretext of "unconsciousness and incomprehensibility."
56
Religion
The 1782 statue of Peter I in Saint Petersburg, informally known as the
Bronze Horseman
Saint Isaac's Cathedral
is in the background.
Peter had a great interest in
dissenters
and visited gatherings of Quakers and Mennonites. He did not believe in
miracles
and founded
The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters
87
an organization that mocked the Orthodox and Catholic Church, when he was eighteen. In January 1695, Peter refused to partake in a traditional Russian Orthodox
Epiphany Ceremony
, and would often schedule events for The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters to directly conflict with the Church.
88
He often used the nickname
Pakhom Mikhailov
Russian
Пахом Михайлов
) among the ministers of religion who made up his relatively close circle of long-term drinking companions.
Peter was brought up in the Russian Orthodox faith, but he had low regard for the Church hierarchy, which he kept under tight governmental control. The traditional leader of the Church was the
Patriarch of Moscow
. In 1700, when the office fell vacant, Peter refused to name a replacement, allowing the patriarch's coadjutor (or deputy) to discharge the duties of the office. Peter could not tolerate the patriarch exercising power superior to the tsar, as indeed had happened in the case of
Philaret
(1619–1633) and
Nikon
(1652–66). The
Alexander Nevsky Lavra
was constructed between 1710–1712;
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral
between 1712–1733. In 1716 he invited
Theophan Prokopovich
, a
pietist
and astronomer, to come to the capital.
89
The
Ecclesiastical Regulations
of 1721 are based on the ideas of
August Hermann Francke
90
The
Church reform of Peter the Great
therefore abolished the
patriarchate
, replacing it with a
Holy Synod
that was under the control of a
Procurator
In 1721, Peter followed the advice of Prokopovich in designing the Holy Synod as a council of ten clergymen. For leadership in the Church, Peter turned increasingly to Ukrainians, who were more open to reform, but were not well loved by the Russian clergy. Peter implemented a law that stipulated that no Russian man could join a monastery before the age of fifty. He felt that too many able Russian men were being wasted on clerical work when they could be joining his new and improved army.
91
92
Marriages and family
Peter the Great Interrogating the Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich at Peterhof
, a painting by
Nikolai Ge
(1871)
Peter the Great had two wives, with whom he had fifteen children, three of whom survived to adulthood. Peter's mother selected his first wife,
Eudoxia Lopukhina
, when he was only 16.
93
This was consistent with previous Romanov tradition by choosing a daughter of a minor noble. This was done to prevent fighting between the stronger noble houses and to bring fresh blood into the family.
94
Upon his return from his European tour in 1698, Peter sought to end his unhappy marriage. He divorced the
tsaritsa
and forced her to join a convent.
93
She had borne him three children, although only one,
Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia
, survived past his childhood.
Menshikov introduced him to
Marta Helena Skowrońska
, the daughter of a
Polish-Lithuanian
peasant, and took her as a mistress some time between 1702 and 1704.
95
Marta converted to the
Russian Orthodox Church
and was given the name Catherine.
96
Though no record exists, Catherine and Peter married secretly between 23 October and 1 December 1707 in St. Petersburg.
97
Peter valued Catherine and married officially, at
Saint Isaac's Cathedral
on 19 February 1712.
In 1718, his son
Alexei Petrovich
was locked up in the Peter and Paul fortress, whom he regarded as the rebellious
Absalom
98
He was suspected of being involved in a plot to overthrow the Emperor. Alexei was tried and confessed under torture during questioning conducted by a secular court (
count Tolstoy
). He was convicted and sentenced to be executed. The sentence of
high treason
could only be carried out with Peter's signed authorization, and Alexei died in prison, as Peter hesitated before making the decision. Alexei's death most likely resulted from injuries suffered during his torture.
99
Alexei's mother Eudoxia was punished. She was dragged from her home, tried on false charges of adultery, publicly flogged, and confined in monasteries while being forbidden to be talked to.
dubious
discuss
In 1724, Peter had his second wife,
Catherine
, crowned as Empress, although he remained Russia's actual ruler.
Issue
By his two wives, he had fifteen children: three by Eudoxia and twelve by Catherine. These included four sons named
Pavel
and three sons named
Peter
, all of whom died in infancy. Only three of his children survived to adulthood. He had only three grandchildren: Tsar
Peter II
and
Grand Duchess Natalia
by Alexei and Tsar
Peter III
by Anna.
Name
Birth
Death
Notes
By Eudoxia Lopukhina
Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia
18 February 1690
26 June 1718, age 28
Married 1711,
Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
issue
Peter II of Russia
Alexander Petrovich
13 October 1691
14 May 1692, age 7 months
Pavel Petrovich
1693
1693
By Catherine I
Peter Petrovich
Winter 1704
100
1707
100
Born and died before the official marriage of his parents
Paul Petrovich
October 1705
100
1707
100
Born and died before the official marriage of his parents
Catherine Petrovna
7 February 1707
100
7 August 1708
100
Born and died before the official marriage of her parents
Anna Petrovna
27 January 1708
15 May 1728
Married 1725,
Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
issue
Peter III of Russia
Elizaveta Petrovna,
later
Empress Elizaveta Petrovna
29 December 1709
5 January 1762
Reputedly married 1742,
Alexei Razumovsky
no issue
Maria Natalia Petrovna
20 March 1713
17 May 1715
born in Riga
Margarita Petrovna
19 September 1714
7 June 1715
Peter Petrovich
9 November 1715 (
N.S.
6 May 1719
Pavel Petrovich
13 January 1717
14 January 1717
in
Wesel
Natalia Petrovna
31 August 1718
15 March 1725
Peter Petrovich
7 October 1723
7 October 1723
Pavel Petrovich
1724
1724
Mistresses and illegitimate children
Peter the Great with a black
page
, by
de:Gustav von Mardefeld
, a Prussian diplomat, who attended the peace congress on
Åland
between 1717–1719
101
Anna Mons
, from 1691 (or 1692) until 1704.
93
Letitia Cross
in 1698
Lady Mary Hamilton
102
103
Miscarriage (1715)
Unnamed child (1717–1718?)
Princess Maria Dmitrievna Cantemirovna of Moldavia
, daughter of
Dimitrie Cantemir
Unnamed son (1722–1723?)
104
Legacy
Head (original) of the model after which the monument by
Falconet
was cast in gypsum by
Marie-Anne Collot
Russian Museum
, Saint-Petersburg
Portrait of Peter by
Pyotr Drozhdin
(1795). Peter is depicted with the
Order of St. Andrew
(ribbon and star). The portrait was donated by
Catherine the Great
in 1795 to the
Alexander Nevsky Lavra
, from where it entered the
Russian Museum
Peter's legacy has always been a major concern of Russian intellectuals. Peter is a more complex character than he is sometimes given credit for. Some believe Peter's reforms divided the country socially and weakened it spiritually.
Riasanovsky
points to a "paradoxical dichotomy" in the black and white images such as God/Antichrist, educator/ignoramus, architect of Russia's greatness/destroyer of national culture, father of his country/scourge of the common man.
105
For
Old Believers
he was the Antichrist, because of the calendar changes and
poll tax
. Peter compared himself with
King David
or
Noah
with a divine mission.
106
At his funeral Prokopovich compared him with
Moses
and
Solomon
18
Voltaire's 1759 biography gave 18th-century Russians a man of the Enlightenment, while Alexander Pushkin's "
The Bronze Horseman
" poem of 1833 gave a powerful romantic image of a creator-god.
107
108
109
Slavophiles in mid-19th century deplored Peter's westernization of Russia.
Western writers and political analysts recounted "The Testimony" or secret will of Peter the Great. It supposedly revealed his grand evil plot for Russia to control the world via conquest of Constantinople, Afghanistan and India. It was a forgery made in Paris at Napoleon's command when he started the
invasion of Russia in 1812
. Nevertheless, it is still quoted in foreign policy circles.
110
The Communists executed the last Romanovs, and their historians such as
Mikhail Pokrovsky
presented strongly negative views of the entire dynasty. Stalin however admired how Peter strengthened the state, and wartime, diplomacy, industry, higher education, and government administration. Stalin wrote in 1928, "when Peter the Great, who had to deal with more developed countries in the West, feverishly built works in factories for supplying the army and strengthening the country's defenses, this was an original attempt to leap out of the framework of backwardness."
111
As a result, Soviet historiography emphasizes both the positive achievement and the negative factor of oppressing the common people.
112
After the fall of Communism in 1991, scholars and the general public in Russia and the West gave fresh attention to Peter and his role in Russian history. His reign is now seen as the decisive formative event in the Russian imperial past. Many new ideas have merged, such as whether he strengthened the autocratic state or whether the tsarist regime was not statist enough given its small bureaucracy.
113
Modernization models have become contested ground.
114
He initiated a wide range of economic, social, political, administrative, educational and military reforms which ended the dominance of traditionalism and religion in Russia and initiated its westernization. His efforts included secularization of education, organization of administration for effective governance, enhanced use of technology, establishing an industrial economy, modernization of the army and establishment of a strong navy.
115
Historian Y. Vodarsky said in 1993 that Peter, "did not lead the country on the path of accelerated economic, political and social development, did not force it to 'achieve a leap' through several stages.... On the contrary, these actions to the greatest degree put a brake on Russia's progress and created conditions for holding it back for one and a half centuries!"
116
The autocratic powers that Stalin admired appeared as a liability to
Evgeny Anisimov
, who complained that Peter was, "the creator of the administrative command system and the true ancestor of Stalin."
117
In the period from 1678 to 1710, however, the population grew 2 times.
118
According to
Encyclopaedia Britannica
, "He did not completely bridge the gulf between Russia and the Western countries, but he achieved considerable progress in development of the national economy and trade, education, science and culture, and foreign policy. Russia became a
great power
, without whose concurrence no important European problem could thenceforth be settled. His internal reforms achieved progress to an extent that no earlier innovator could have envisaged."
119
While the cultural turn in
historiography
has downplayed diplomatic, economic and constitutional issues, new cultural roles have been found for Peter, for example in architecture (
Petrine Baroque
) and dress. James Cracraft argues:
The Petrine revolution in Russia—subsuming in this phrase the many military, naval, governmental, educational, architectural, linguistic, and other internal reforms enacted by Peter's regime to promote Russia's rise as a major European power—was essentially a cultural revolution, one that profoundly impacted both the basic constitution of the Russian Empire and, perforce, its subsequent development.
120
The
iconic
representations of dead saints typical for centuries of Russian visual culture suddenly give way to naturalistic
portraiture
66
In popular culture
Tomb of Peter the Great in the
Peter and Paul Fortress
, St Petersburg
Peter I at
Krasnaya Gorka
Lighting a Fire on the Shore to Signal to his Sinking Ships
; the
Russian
Baltic Fleet
first went to sea in full force, – to help the Russian troops
besieging Viborg
, – the fleet got caught in a storm.
121
Painting by
Ivan Aivazovsky
(1846).
Peter has been featured in many histories, novels, plays, films, monuments and paintings.
122
123
They include the poems
The Bronze Horseman
Poltava
and the unfinished novel
The Moor of Peter the Great
, all by
Alexander Pushkin
. The former dealt with
The Bronze Horseman
, an equestrian statue raised in Peter's honour.
Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy
wrote a biographical historical novel about him, named
Peter I
, in the 1930s.
The 1922 German silent film
Peter the Great
directed by
Dimitri Buchowetzki
and starring
Emil Jannings
as Peter
In 1929
A.N. Tolstoy's play
was true to the party line, depicting Peter as a tyrant who "suppressed everyone and everything as if he had been possessed by demons, sowed fear, and put both his son and his country on the rack."
124
The 1937–1938 Soviet film
Peter the Great
The 1976 film
How Czar Peter the Great Married Off His Moor
, starring
Aleksey Petrenko
as Peter, and
Vladimir Vysotsky
as
Abram Petrovich Gannibal
, shows Peter's attempt to build the Baltic Fleet.
Peter was played by
Jan Niklas
and
Maximilian Schell
in the 1986
NBC
miniseries
Peter the Great
The 2007 film
The Sovereign's Servant
depicts the unsavoury brutal side of Peter during the campaign.
A character based on Peter plays a major role in
The Age of Unreason
, a series of four
alternate history
novels written by American science fiction and fantasy author
Gregory Keyes
Peter is one of many supporting characters in
Neal Stephenson
's
Baroque Cycle
– mainly featuring in the third novel,
The System of the World
Peter was portrayed on
BBC Radio 4
by Isaac Rouse as a boy, Will Howard as a young adult and
Elliot Cowan
as an adult in the radio plays
Peter the Great: The Gamblers
125
and
Peter the Great: The Queen of Spades
126
written by
Mike Walker
and which were the last two plays in the first series of
Tsar
. The plays were broadcast on 25 September and 2 October 2016.
A verse in the "
Engineers' Drinking Song
" references Peter the Great:
There was a man named Peter the Great who was a Russian Tzar;
When remodeling his the castle put the throne behind the bar;
He lined the walls with vodka, rum, and 40 kinds of beers;
And advanced the Russian culture by 120 years!
Peter was played by
Jason Isaacs
in the 2020 'antihistory' Hulu series
The Great
127
Peter is featured as the leader of the Russian civilization in the computer game
Sid Meier's
Civilization VI
128
Peter was played by
Ivan Kolesnikov
in the 2022 Russian historical documentary film
Peter I: The Last Tsar and the First Emperor
129
Ancestors
Ancestors of Peter the Great
16.
Nikita Romanovich
143
8.
Feodor Nikitich Romanov
136
17. Princess Eudoxia Alexandrovna Gorbataya-
Shuyskaya
144
4.
Michael I of Russia
132
18. Ivan Vasiljevich Shestov
9.
Kseniya Shestova
137
2.
Alexis of Russia
130
10. Lukyan Stepanovich Streshnyov
138
5.
Eudoxia Streshneva
133
22. Konstantin Romanovich Volkonsky
145
11. Anna Konstantinovna Volkonskaya
139
1.
Peter I of Russia
24. Ivan Ivanovich Naryshkin
12. Poluekt Ivanovich Naryshkin
140
6.
Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin
134
3.
Natalya Naryshkina
131
14. Leonti Dmitrievich Leontiev
141
7. Anna Lvovna Leontieva
135
15. Praskovia Ivanovna Raevskaya
142
See also
Government reform of Peter the Great
History of Russia (1721–96)
History of the administrative division of Russia
Military history of the Russian Empire § Peter the Great
, on the modernization of the Russian military under Peter the Great
Peter the Great Statue
Censorship in the Russian Empire § Peter I's Reforms
Russian battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy
, named after Peter the Great
Notes
Russian
Пётр Великий
romanized
Pyotr Velikiy
IPA:
[ˈpʲɵtr
vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj]
. Peter is also known by the following nicknames:
Russian
Пётр Алексеев сын Михайлов
romanized
Pyotr Alekseyev syn Mikhaylov
lit.
Pyotr Mikhaylov, son of Aleksey
Russian
Пётр Михайлов
romanized
Pyotr Mikhaylov
The 'Leave all ..." story first appears in H-F de Bassewitz
Russkii arkhiv
3 (1865). Russian historian E.V. Anisimov contends that Bassewitz's aim was to convince readers that Anna, not Empress Catherine, was Peter's intended heir.
References
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(16 June 2023) [13 December 2022].
"Пётр I"
Great Russian Encyclopedia
Kollmann, Nancy Shields
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Crime and Punishment in Early Modern Russia, 1500–1725
. New Studies in European History. Cambridge University Press. pp.
403–
415.
ISBN
978-1-1070-2513-4
OCLC
780398248
OL
25252905M
Костецкая, Е. В.; Суслова, Л. Н.; Аксенова, В. А. (7 October 2023).
"Следствие по делу князя М. П. Гагарина в контексте развития системы государственного контроля в первой четверти XVIII века"
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12
(7):
346–
373.
doi
10.24224/2227-1295-2023-12-7-346-373
ISSN
2227-1295
Cracraft 2003
Driessen-Van het Reve 2006
, p. 264.
"Peter the Great ordered to establish January 1st as the New Year's Day countrywide"
Presidential Library
. Retrieved
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2024
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The Petrine Revolution in Russian Architecture By James Cracraft
. University of Chicago Press.
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Cultures of Forgery: Making Nations, Making Selves
. Routledge.
ISBN
978-1-1354-5827-0
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De Kunstkamera van Peter de Grote. De Hollandse inbreng, gereconstrueerd uit brieven van Albert Seba en Johann Daniel Schumacher uit de jaren 1711–1752
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ISBN
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. Retrieved
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2024
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, pp. 96–106.
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Collis 2015
, p. 365.
"Feofan Prokopovich's Funeral Sermon on Peter I"
shsu.edu
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, p. 318;
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history.hanover.edu
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2024
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(Routledge, 2015)
Montefiore 2016
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"The History of Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia: To which is Prefixed a ..."
printed by and for F. Douglass and W. Murray: sold by C. Hitch and L. Hawes, London; by thebooksellers of Edinburghand Glasgow; and atAberdeen by the said F. Douglass and W. Murrayat their shops. 26 May 1755 – via Internet Archive.
"Peter the Great | Royal Museums Greenwich"
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Vogue Industry
. Retrieved
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2024
Miate, Liana.
"The Grand Embassy of Peter the Great"
World History Encyclopedia
. Retrieved
7 May
2024
Wilson, D. (2006) Peter the Great, p. 45
Peter the Great: Part 1 of 3 (The Carpenter Czar)
Archived
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Wayback Machine
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ONH
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2024
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"Tsaar Peter de Grote in Utrecht in 1697 en 1717"
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2024
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ONH
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2024
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Cross, Anthony (2000).
Peter the Great Through British Eyes: Perceptions and Representations of the Tsar Since 1698
. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN
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ISBN
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– via www.degruyter.com.
"Peter the Great"
www.royalmintmuseum.org.uk
. Retrieved
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2024
Moriarty, Gerald Patrick (1896).
"Perry, John"
Dictionary of National Biography
. Vol. 45. pp.
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Halley's Log
. Retrieved
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2024
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. Retrieved
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2024
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"Peter the Great's favourite yacht found in the Baltic Sea"
. Retrieved
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2024
Massie 1980
, p. 191.
A. Gordon (1755), p. 307
Riasanovsky 2000
, p. 220.
D'Or, O.L.
"Russia as an Empire"
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Peter the Great
. Project Gutenberg online edition.
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. Retrieved
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2026
Miate, Liana.
"The Reforms of Peter the Great"
World History Encyclopedia
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"Глава вторая. ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ. Кутузов. Лидия Леонидовна Ивченко"
sv-scena.ru
"Monopolie"
. Retrieved
7 May
2024
Verblijf van tsaar Peter de Grote en tsarina Catharina 1 op hofstede Hout en Duynzigt/Vredenhof – Petersburg in Nederhorst
"Пётр I"
Большая российская энциклопедия
(in Russian). 13 December 2022
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2024
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DBNL.
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2024
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2024
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Blood of Others: Stalin's Crimean Atrocity and the Poetics of Solidarity
. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
ISBN
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OCLC
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Ayton, E.J. (1985).
Leibniz, a biography
. p. 308.
Collis 2015
, p. 367.
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The visits of Peter the Great to the United Provinces in 1697–1698 and 1716–1717
étrangères, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires.
"The 1717 Convention of Amsterdam, a treaty marking the alliance and reciprocal guarantees between France, Russia and Prussia (15.08.1717)"
France Diplomacy - Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
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Palmer & Colton 1992
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Pipes 1974
, p. 281.
Лакиер А. Б. §66. Надписи вокруг печати. Соответствие их с государевым титулом. // Русская геральдика. – СПб., 1855.
Lee 2013
, p. 31.
(in Russian) E.V. Anisimov (1985) Податная реформа Петра I. The tax reform of Peter I: Introduction of the poll tax in Russia (1718–1728)
Bain 1905
Stählin, Jacob von (1785).
Originalanekdoten von Peter dem Grossen: aus dem Munde angesehener Personen zu Moskau und Petersburg vernommen, und der Vergessenheit entrissen
Original anecdotes of Peter the Great: collected from the conversation of several persons of distinction at Petersburgh and Moscow, and snatched from oblivion
] (in German). J.G.I. Breitkopf.
ISBN
978-0-4050-3064-2
OCLC
118987
OL
4378643W
{{
cite book
}}
ISBN / Date incompatibility (
help
Hughes 2007
, pp. 179–82.
Massie, Robert K.
(1981).
Peter the Great: His Life and World
New York City
Ballantine Books
ISBN
0-3452-9806-3
Bushkovitch, Paul A. (January 1990). "The Epiphany Ceremony of the Russian Court in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries".
Russian Review
49
(1). Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Editors and Board of Trustees of the Russian Review:
1–
17.
doi
10.2307/130080
JSTOR
130080
Collis 2015
, p. 352.
Collis 2015
, p. 340.
Dmytryshyn 1974
, p. 18.
James Cracraft,
The church reform of Peter the Great
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, p. 134.
Hughes 2004
, p. 133.
Hughes 2004
, pp. 131, 134.
Hughes 2004
, p. 131.
Hughes 2004
, p. 136.
Collis 2015
, p. 368.
Massie 1980
, pp. 76, 377, 707.
Hughes 2004
, p. 135.
"Peter the Great with a Black Page Mardefelt, Gustaff B. Mardefeld, Gustav von (Baron) V&A Explore The Collections"
Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections
. 7 August 2023.
Peter the Great: A Life From Beginning to
. Hourly History. 2018.
ISBN
1-7239-6063-2
A. Gordon (1755), pp. 308–309
Petre P. Panaitescu
, Dimitrie Cantemir. Viața și opera, col. Biblioteca Istorică, vol. III, Ed. Academiei RPR, București, 1958, p. 141.
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History Today
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Pushkin Review
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online
dead link
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Waugh, 2001
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. 21 February 2023
. Retrieved
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
Les dynasties d'Europe
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
Les dynasties d'Europe
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
Les dynasties d'Europe
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
Les dynasties d'Europe
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
Les dynasties d'Europe
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
Les dynasties d'Europe
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
Les dynasties d'Europe
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
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Jiří Louda & Michael Maclagan,
Les dynasties d'Europe
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ISBN missing
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External links
Wikiquote has quotations related to
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Romanovs
. The third film. Peter I, Catherine I
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. StarMedia. Babich-Design (Russia, 2013)
Peter the Great, a Tsar who Loved Science
by Philippe Testard-Vaillant
ISBN missing
Russia in the Age of Peter the Great
by Lindsey Hughes, Yale University Press
ISBN missing
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2nd generation (Rurikids)
Ivan Dmitriyevich
(pretendent, murdered at the age of three)
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Feodor II Borisovich
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Alexei I Romanov
2nd generation (Romanovs)
Dmitry Alexeyevich
Alexei Alekseyevich
Feodor III Alekseyevich
Simeon Alexeyevich
Ivan V Alekseyevich
Peter I Alekseyevich
3rd generation (Romanovs)
Alexei Petrovich
Peter Petrovich
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Peter the Great
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