Peter I the Great - biography, information, personal life. Peter I the Great
Peter I is a great Russian emperor and an incredibly attractive and creative personality, so interesting facts from the biography of the tsar of the Romanov dynasty will be of interest to everyone. I will try to tell you something that is definitely impossible to find in any school textbooks. According to the new style, Peter the Great was born on June 8, according to his zodiac sign - Gemini. It is not surprising that it was Peter the Great who became an innovator for the conservative Russian Empire. Gemini is an air sign, which is characterized by ease in decision-making, a sharp mind and amazing imagination. Only the “horizon of expectation” usually does not justify itself: the rough reality is too different from the blue dreams.
According to calculations of the Pythagorean square, the character of Peter 1 consists of three units, which means that the emperor had a calm character. It is believed that a person with three or four units is most suitable for working in government agencies. For example, a person with one or five or six units has a despotic character and is ready to “go over their heads” for the sake of power. So, Peter the Great had all the prerequisites for occupying the royal throne.
Is he the heir?
There is an opinion that Peter the Great is not the natural son of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov. The fact is that the future emperor was in good health, unlike his brother Fyodor and sister Natalya. But this is just a guess. But the birth of Peter was predicted by Simeon of Polotsk, he informed the sovereign that he would soon have a son, who would go down in Russian history as a great almighty!
But the Emperor’s wife, Catherine I, was of peasant origin. By the way, this is the first woman who was aware of all government affairs. Peter discussed everything with her and listened to any advice.
Innovator
Peter the Great introduced many new ideas into Russian life.
- While traveling in Holland, I noticed that skating is much more convenient if they are not tied to shoes, but are tightly attached to special boots.
- To prevent soldiers from confusing right and left, Peter I ordered hay to be tied to his left leg and straw to his right. During drill training, the commander, instead of the usual “right - left”, commanded “hay - straw”. By the way, previously only educated people were able to distinguish between right and left.
- Peter intensively struggled with drunkenness, especially among the courtiers. To completely eradicate the disease, he came up with his own system: giving out seven-kilogram cast-iron medals for every binge. This award was hung around your neck at the police station and you had to wear it for at least 7 days! It was impossible to remove it on your own, and asking someone else would be dangerous.
- Peter I was impressed by the beauty of overseas tulips; he brought flower bulbs from Holland to Russia in 1702.
Peter I's favorite pastime was dentistry; he took such interest in pulling out diseased teeth from anyone who asked. But sometimes he got so carried away that he could vomit even healthy ones!
Substitution of Peter I
The most unusual and interesting fact in Russian history. Researchers A. Fomenko and G. Nosovsky claim that there was a substitution and provide significant evidence to confirm it. In those days, the names of the future heirs to the throne were given in accordance with the day of the angel and the Orthodox canons, and this is where a discrepancy emerged: the birthday of Peter the Great falls in the name Isaac.
From his youth, Peter the Great was distinguished by his love for everything Russian: he wore a traditional caftan. But after a two-year stay in Europe, the sovereign began to wear exclusively fashionable European clothes and never again put on his once beloved Russian caftan.
- Researchers claim that the impostor who returned from distant countries had a body structure different from Peter the Great. The impostor turned out to be taller and thinner. It is believed that Peter 1 was not actually two meters tall before; this is logical, because his father’s height was 170 cm, his grandfather - 167. And the king who came from Europe was 204 cm. Therefore, there is a version that the impostor did not wear the king's favorite clothing due to the discrepancy in size.
- Peter I had a mole on his nose, but after his stay in Europe, the mole mysteriously disappeared, this is confirmed by numerous portraits of the sovereign.
- When Peter returned from a campaign abroad, he did not know where the oldest library of Ivan the Terrible was located, although the secret of its location was passed down from generation to generation. Princess Sophia constantly visited her, and the new Peter could not find the repository of rare publications.
- When Peter returned from Europe, his entourage consisted of Dutchmen, although when the tsar just set off on his journey there was a Russian embassy of 20 people with him. Where 20 Russian subjects went during the two years of the Tsar’s stay in Europe remains a mystery.
- After arriving in Russia, Peter the Great tried to avoid his relatives and associates, and then got rid of everyone in different ways.
It was the archers who announced that the returning Peter was an impostor! And they staged a riot, which was brutally suppressed. This is very strange, because only those close to the tsar were selected for the Streltsy troops, the title of Streltsy was inherited with the confirmation of the tsar. Therefore, each of these people was definitely dear to Peter the Great before his trip to Europe, and now he suppressed the uprising in the most brutal way; according to historical data, 20 thousand people were killed. After this, the army was completely reorganized.
In addition, while in London, Peter the Great imprisoned his wife Lopukhina in a monastery without announcing the reason and took as his wife the peasant woman Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya-Kruse, who in the future would become Empress Catherine I.
Researchers note that the calm and fair Peter the Great became a real despot after returning from a campaign abroad, all his orders were aimed at destroying Russian heritage: Russian history was rewritten by German professors, many Russian chronicles disappeared without a trace, a new chronology system was introduced, and customary measures were abolished measurements, repressions against the clergy, the eradication of Orthodoxy, the spread of alcohol, tobacco and coffee, a ban on the cultivation of medicinal amaranth and much more.
Is this really so, one can only guess; all the historical documents of those times that we have cannot be considered valid, because everything was rewritten many times. We can only guess and assume; you can also watch a film on this topic.
In any case, Peter I is a significant figure in Russian history.
Naryshkins- Russian noble family, to which the mother of Peter I, Natalya Kirillovna, belonged. Before her marriage to Alexei Mikhailovich, the clan was considered small-scale and did not hold high positions.
Its origin has not been precisely established. In the 17th century, the enemies of the Naryshkins, later supported by P.V. Dolgorukov, considered the surname to be a derivative of the word “yaryzhka,” that is, a minor servant in the police of that time or a domestic servant.
After Natalya Kirillovna’s marriage to the Tsar (1671), her ancestors were thought to have a noble origin - from the German tribe of Narists, mentioned by Tacitus in his treatise on the Germans. Since the city of Eger with the imperial palace was founded on the lands of this tribe, the Naryshkins adopted the coat of arms of this city as their family one.
Later, the Crimean Karaite was declared the ancestor of the Naryshkins Mordka Kurbat, who went to Moscow to serve Ivan III (1465) and was called Narysh by the Russians (Naryshko is a diminutive). This Narysh, by genealogy, was a okolnichy of Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich. A.A. Vasilchikov provides information about Naryshko’s son Zabele, whose Orthodox name is Fedor: he “was a governor in Ryazan and was granted the honor by the authorities.” Chernopyatov V.I. claims that "his son, Isaac Fedorovich, was a governor in Velikiye Luki." According to the official pedigree, Isak was the first to bear the surname Naryshkin. In later historical documents it was written (1576), “In Rylsk - the siege head Boris Naryshkin...”. Thus, starting from the 15th-16th centuries, the Naryshkin family, gradually growing, penetrated into all spheres of public administration in Rus'.
And according to oral tradition, the Naryshkin family considers themselves descendants of one of the noble Crimean Murzas, who at the end of the 14th century went into the service of the Moscow princes. From the history of N.M. Karamzina, V.O. Klyuchevsky follows that the Naryshkins, Crimean Karaites, appeared in Rus' at the end of the 14th century. The Lithuanian prince Vytautas, famous for his belligerence and aggressiveness, raided the Crimea, defeated the Tatars and, as a military indemnity, took several hundred Crimeans, among them the Karaites, to Lithuania in 1389. Among them was Karaite Naryshko, who occupied a very prominent place among the captives. The Karaites were settled in Trakai, and some of the men were taken into the prince’s personal guard. Vitovt's aggressiveness also manifested itself in relation to some Russian principalities, which created tense relations between the Moscow and Lithuanian principalities. To smooth them out, Prince Vitovt in 1391 gave his daughter Sophia in marriage to Moscow Prince Vasily Dmitrievich, the young heir of Dmitry Donskoy. The convoy with his daughter Sophia and dowry arrived in Moscow under the protection of Karaite warriors, among whom was Naryshko. Naryshko is left for permanent settlement in Moscow to protect the young princess.
Subsequently, the descendants of Naryshko, having adopted Orthodoxy and the surname Naryshkin, became subjects of the Russian state. According to the famous historian-heraldist Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky, in 1552 historical documents list the warrior Ivan Ivanovich Naryshkin, who was killed in the Kazan campaign, leaving five sons orphans. Subsequently, they carried out very difficult service in the Russian border troops.
Academician M.S. Sarac notes the reason for the surprisingly good attitude of the entire Romanov family towards the Karaites. In his opinion, the emperors knew about the semi-Karaite origin of their great ancestor, whose memory was revered by everyone. The origin (mainly German roots) of themselves was deliberately or traditionally hushed up. According to historians, the Naryshkins undoubtedly came from the noble Karaite class, and when they were asked why they refused Russian titles, they answered that their family was more ancient than the Romanov family. Over four and a half centuries, the Naryshkins gave Russia numerous state, military, political figures, diplomats, scientists, writers, theater managers, creators of architectural styles, etc.
Isak Fedorovich had a son Gregory and three grandchildren: Semyon, Fedor And Yakim Grigorievich. The eldest son of the first of them - Ivan Semenovich(1528) received a letter of grant, and in 1544 he was recorded in the thousandth household register and was killed in the Kazan campaign (1552). His brother Dmitry Semenovich was a siege leader in Rylsk (1576). The sons of their second uncle did not express themselves in anything special, although there is no reason to doubt their existence based on the service of their sons, of whom the third son of the first was a commander in Luki the Great under Vasily Ivanovich; the only son of the second ( Grigory Vasilievich) was a governor in Sviyazhsk under Grozny (1558), and the third son signed as Maloyaroslavets ( Timofey Fedorovich) under a document of 1565. His son received a charter from Tsar Fedor (1587) for the Ryazan estates.
Particularly famous among them is the son of the Velikolutsk governor Boris Ivanovich Naryshkin, centurion in the Big Regiment of the army of Ivan the Terrible during the Livonian War (in 1516), where he was killed; and his brother (Ivan Ivanovich) fell near Krasny. Sons of Borisov ( Poluekt And Polycarp) received a charter for the estates from Shuisky for the Moscow siege, and their cousin brother (son of Ivan Ivanovich) 1.2. Petr Ivanovich fell under Aleksin;
1. It is believed that the Naryshkin family begins with Ivan Ivanovich Naryshkin and is divided into five branches (mid-16th century). The founders of each branch were the sons of Ivan Naryshkin: Poluekt, Peter, Filimon, Thomas, Ivan.
1.1.Half project(Poluecht) Ivanovich Naryshkin was listed as a tenant in the Torus tithe of 1622; in 1627 he owned 414 quarters in the field and was killed near Smolensk. This is the ancestor of the branch of the Naryshkin family, which became famous in our history for its property with the reigning house and has survived to our time.
His sons Kirill Poluektovich And Fedor Poluektovich traditionally served as a “choice according to Tarusa”. In 1655, the Naryshkin brothers found themselves in the capital. Here fate brought them together with a colonel of the Reitar regiment, a future boyar and the tsar's favorite, a childhood friend of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, a very influential, although unborn, man. Since 1658, the Naryshkins served as solicitors in Matveev’s Reiter regiment. In addition, one of the brothers was connected with Matveev and by family ties - Fedor Poluektovich Naryshkin was married to the niece of his commander’s wife. The acquaintance of the famous Matveev with the family of Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin, brother of Fyodor Poluektovich, turned the fate of his daughter Natalya, living in the provinces, upside down. Matveev invited his parents to let Natalya go to Moscow to his house to be raised. After some time, a young beautiful girl Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina became the queen of Russia and the mother of the future emperor Peter the Great.
1.1.1. Kirill Polievktovich(1623 - May 10 (April 30), 1691) - boyar, okolnichy, participant in the suppression of the uprising of Stepan Razin, father of Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna and grandfather of Peter the Great, in the first thirty-six years of his life he was content with an annual salary of 38 rubles in money and 850 rubles estates. He managed to visit military campaigns, the voivodship in the Terki fortress in the North Caucasus and Kazan.
Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin - participant in the Russian-Polish war of 1654-1667, in 1663 - captain in the regiment of “newly recruited reiters”, commanded by the boyar Artamon Sergeevich Matveev. Matveev's favor allowed Naryshkin to become the head of the Streltsy regiment (1666), and already at the end of the 1660s he was promoted to stolnik.
These are all the distinctions earned under the flattering patronage of friend and patron A. Matveev, earned by the father of the future queen until that memorable evening when the sovereign chose Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, the eldest daughter of his steward, who was born on August 22, 1651 from the marriage of K. P. Naryshkina with Anna Leontievna Leontieva(died June 2, 1706, outliving her daughter and husband).
In 1671, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who had previously favored Naryshkin, married his daughter, Natalya Kirillovna (1651-1694), for a second marriage. From that moment on, the rise of the Naryshkin family began: Kirill Poluektovich was granted a Duma nobleman in 1671, and in 1672 - a okolnichy and boyar (on the birthday of Tsarevich Peter). In 1673, he received the rank of butler to the queen and was appointed chief judge of the Grand Palace Order; During Alexei Mikhailovich’s frequent departures on pilgrimage, he remained “in charge of Moscow.” In 1673-1678, Kirill Poluektovich commanded a hussar regiment of the Novgorod category.
After the death of Alexei Mikhailovich, during the reign Fedor Alekseevich A sharp struggle broke out between the parties of the Naryshkins and the Miloslavskys (the family to which the mother of Tsar Fedor belonged). While the state was actually ruled by A.S. Matveev, the Naryshkins continued to remain in favor, but after the Miloslavskys achieved Matveev’s exile, the Naryshkins were gradually removed from the court, all of Kirill Poluektovich’s positions were taken away from him.
On April 27 (May 7), 1682, after 6 years of reign, the sickly Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich died. The question arose of who should inherit the throne: the older, sickly Ivan, according to custom, or the young Peter. Having secured the support of Patriarch Joachim, the Naryshkins and their supporters enthroned Peter on April 27 (May 7), 1682. In fact, the Naryshkin clan came to power and Artamon Matveev, summoned from exile, was declared the “great guardian.” It was difficult for supporters of Ivan Alekseevich to support their candidate, who could not reign due to extremely poor health. The organizers of the de facto palace coup announced a version of the hand-written transfer of the “scepter” by the dying Fyodor Alekseevich to his younger brother Peter, but no reliable evidence of this was presented.
The Miloslavskys, relatives of Tsarevich Ivan and Princess Sophia through their mother, saw in the proclamation of Peter as tsar an infringement of their interests. The Streltsy, of whom there were more than 20 thousand in Moscow, had long shown discontent and waywardness; and, apparently incited by the Miloslavskys, on May 15 (25), 1682, they came out openly: shouting that the Naryshkins had strangled Tsarevich Ivan, they moved towards the Kremlin. Natalya Kirillovna, hoping to calm the rioters, together with the patriarch and boyars, led Peter and his brother to the Red Porch. However, the uprising was not over. In the first hours, the boyars Artamon Matveev and Mikhail Dolgoruky were killed, then other supporters of Queen Natalia, including her two brothers Ivan and Afanasy Kirillovich.
On May 18, elected people from all orders beat their foreheads so that the grandfather of Peter I, Kirill Poluektovich, was tonsured a monk; in the Chudov Monastery he was tonsured and with the name Cyprian sent to the Kirillov Monastery; On May 20 they beat them with their foreheads so that the rest of the Naryshkins would be exiled.
Having survived the horror of the Streltsy rebellion during the accession of his grandson, K.P. Naryshkin, with the achievement of independent rule by Peter I, received all the decent honors and died in 1691, 78 years old, in wealth and honors.
1.1.2. He outlived by 15 years his brother and peer in the service - Fedor Polievktovich, married to the niece of A. S. Matveev’s wife - Evdokia Petrovna Hamilton(daughters Peter Grigorievich, brother of Matveev's wife Evdokia Grigorievna).
Fyodor Polievktovich is a Duma nobleman, the uncle of Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna. Of low birth and without any family ties, he served with the rank of captain under the command of Reitar Colonel Artamon Matveev, a later famous boyar and favorite of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. in 1658-68 he was a lawyer for the Reitar system; in 1659 he took part in the battle of Konotop, where he was wounded. The marriage of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich with Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, the niece of Fyodor Poluektovich, served to elevate the entire Naryshkin family. On November 19, 1673 he was appointed governor of Kholmogory. The death of the Quiet Tsar and the removal from the court of Matveev and the Naryshkins, many of whom fell into disgrace, had a strong effect on Fyodor Poluektovich; he did not survive the disasters of his family and died in Kholmogory, in the voivodeship on December 15, 1676. He had three sons. His family ended during the time of Anna with a granddaughter.
1.1.1.1. Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina(August 22 (September 1) 1651 - January 25 (February 4) 1694) - Russian queen, second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, daughter of Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin, mother of Peter I.
Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina
Alexey Mikhailovich
Natalya Kirillovna was brought up in the Moscow house of the boyar Artamon Matveev, where, as it is believed, Alexey Mikhailovich saw her. Natalya Kirillovna was called to a review of brides gathered from all over the country and was married to the Tsar on January 22, 1671, when she was 19 years old.
Wedding of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Natalya Naryshkina. 17th century engraving
From this marriage two daughters and a son were born, two survived - son Peter - the future Tsar Peter I and daughter Natalya
After the death of Alexei Mikhailovich, an alarming time came for Natalya Kirillovna; she had to become the head of the Naryshkins, who unsuccessfully fought the Miloslavskys. Under Fyodor Alekseevich, Natalya Kirillovna lived with her son mainly in the villages of Kolomenskoye and Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow.
During the Streltsy riot in 1682, many of Natalya Kirillovna’s relatives were killed.
On May 26, elected officials from the rifle regiments came to the palace and demanded that the senior Ivan was recognized as the first tsar, and the younger Peter as the second. Fearing a repetition of the pogrom, the boyars agreed, and Patriarch Joachim immediately performed a solemn prayer service in the Assumption Cathedral for the health of the two named kings; and on June 25 he crowned them kings.
On May 29, the archers insisted that the princess Sofya Alekseevna took over control of the state due to the youth of her brothers. Sophia, who was actually the sovereign ruler and completely removed Natalya Kirillovna from governing the country. Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, together with her son Peter - the second Tsar - had to retire from the court to a palace near Moscow in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Friction between the royal “courts” in Moscow and Preobrazhenskoye did not stop.
Pieter van der Werff (1665-1722) Portrait of Peter the Great (1690s, State Hermitage)
1.1.1.1.1.Peter I the Great(Peter Alekseevich; May 30, 1672 - January 28, 1725) - the last Tsar of All Rus' from the Romanov dynasty (since 1682) and the first All-Russian Emperor (since 1721).
In 1689, at the insistence and direction of the Naryshkins and Natalya Kirillovna personally, Peter’s first marriage took place with Evdokia Lopukhina.
The disgraced position of the widow queen continued until the triumph of Peter over Sophia in 1689. But, having won this victory, the 17-year-old tsar prefers to deal mainly with the amusing army and the construction of an amusing fleet on Lake Pleshcheyevo, and leaves the entire burden of state concerns to the discretion of the mother, who, in turn, entrusts them to her relatives - the Naryshkins. In the sketches of “The History of Tsar Peter Alekseevich and those close to him, 1682-1694.” Prince B.I. Kurakin gives the following description of N.K. and her reign:
This princess was of a good temperament, virtuous, but was neither diligent nor skilled in business, nor had a light mind. For this reason, she handed over the rule of the entire state to her brother, boyar Lev Naryshkin, and other ministers... The reign of this queen Natalya Kirillovna was very dishonest, and the people were dissatisfied and offended. And at that time, unjust rule from the judges began, and great bribery, and state theft, which continues to this day with multiplication, and it is difficult to remove its plague.
Although during this period there were no noticeable traces of Natalya Kirillovna’s state activities, her influence on Peter was quite significant, as can be seen from their correspondence. With his absences and especially sea voyages, he often upset his loving mother. Natalya Kirillovna died at the age of 43 in 1694. After the death of his mother, Peter assumes full power
1.1.1.1.2. Princess Natalya Alekseevna(August 22, 1673—June 18, 1716) - beloved sister of Peter I, daughter of Alexei Mikhailovich and Natalya Naryshkina
She lost her father at the age of three, and was raised by her mother and her brother, apparently sharing all his “fun.” During the reign of Princess Sophia, the disgraced branch of the family lived in the village of Preobrazhenskoye in the summer and in Moscow in the winter.
I.N. Nikitin. Portrait of Princess Natalya Alekseevna (1673-1716) (No later than 1716, State Hermitage Museum)
On May 15, 1682, during the Streltsy riot in the princess’s mansion, apparently not searched, her grandfather Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin, her uncles Ivan, Lev, Martemyan and Feodor Kirillovich Naryshkin, several relatives who held the position of room steward, and Andrei Artamonovich managed to escape Matveev, son of Artamon Sergeevich.
Throughout her life, since childhood, she shared her brother’s passion for Western culture and supported him in his endeavors; in adolescence, she traveled with him to the German Settlement.
Nikitin, Ivan Nikitich (1690-1741) Portrait of Princess Natalya Alekseevna (1716, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)
With the fervor of a pure, beautiful soul, she loved everything that her brother liked. (N. G. Ustryalov)
“She became so close to everything that interested Peter that later, when he, already a tsar, won one victory or another, he hurried to please his sister with a handwritten letter or instructed F.A. Golovin and A.D. Menshikov to notify her about this and congratulate"
In 1698, after the queen Evdokia Lopukhina was tonsured by her husband into the monastery, the little prince was given to Princess Natalya in Preobrazhenskoye Alexei. Later, Peter will settle in her own house Marta Skavronskaya, where she will receive the name Catherine in baptism, and Tsarevich Alexei will become her godfather. At the court of Princess Natalya lived two sisters of Menshikov (Maria and Anna), with whom Natalya was on very good terms, Anisya Kirillovna Tolstaya, Varvara Mikhailovna Arsenyeva and her sister Daria, Menshikov’s wife. These court ladies formed Catherine’s company and “guard.”
I.N. Nikitin. Portrait of Princess Natalya Alekseevna (1673-1716) (No later than 1716, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg)
Since 1708, the princess lives in St. Petersburg, on Krestovsky Island, but apparently not constantly, and visits Moscow. In 1713, Natalya Alekseevna’s house in St. Petersburg was located between the Church of the Mother of God of All Who Sorrow and the palace of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich. In 1715, together with her brother, she was the godmother of the future Peter II. They report on the friction that existed at the end of her life between the princess and the grown-up Tsarevich Alexei, who visited Tsarina Evdokia and allegedly accused Natalya of telling the Tsar about this.
Unlike her older sisters, Natalya grew up during the reign of her brother, when attitudes towards women in society changed, however, like them, she remained unmarried; there is no information about any matrimonial plans of the king regarding his beloved sister.
She died at the age of 43 from catarrh (gastritis) of the stomach.
On the 18th of June, at 9 o'clock in the afternoon, your sister Her Highness the Empress Tsarevna Natalia Alekseevna, by the will of the Almighty, moved from this vain world into eternal blissful life. I am enclosing a doctor’s description of Her Highness’s illness; and just like you yourself, according to your wise reasoning, you deign to know that this is necessary; besides, we are all guilty of our Christian duties to endure such sorrows, for this sake I humbly ask that you do not deign to continue this sorrow... Above all, my most merciful Sovereign and father, please take care of your health; Please judge for yourself that sadness will not bring any mental or physical benefit, but will it harm your health, from which may Almighty God protect you, from whom I ask this with all my heart
— From a letter from A. Menshikov to Peter in Danzig
She was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra at the Lazarevskoye cemetery. A chapel was erected over her grave and Peter Petrovich, who was buried nearby, in the name of the Resurrection of St. Lazarus, from which the cemetery received its name. A few years later, their remains were transferred to the Church of the Annunciation, which stood there, and were reburied in the most honorable altar part. Over their graves, slabs called royal slabs were placed, and the Church of the Annunciation began to turn into the first royal tomb of St. Petersburg.
Even during the life of the princess, the first almshouse in St. Petersburg was set up in her house, where old and wretched women were accepted - on Voskresensky Avenue, so named after the Church of the Ascension of Christ that she built. The Smolensk-Kornilievskaya Church in Pereyaslavl-Zalessky was also built at the expense of the princess.
Princess Natalia's library is part of the manuscript collections of the Library of the Academy of Sciences.
In 1706-1707 In Preobrazhenskoe, through the efforts of the princess and in her chambers, theatrical performances began. Plays were staged on modern themes, dramatizations of the lives of saints, and translated novels. By a special decree of the emperor, the troupe was given all the “equipment” from the “comedy temple”, previously located on Red Square in Moscow, “comedy and dance dress”, brought several years earlier by German theaters to Moscow, and in 1709 - their decorations and play texts. The actors were close associates and servants of the princess and her daughter-in-law, Queen Praskovya.
“With Peter the Great’s sister, Natalya Alekseevna, a new type appears - the type of artist, writer, herald of the female doctor of the future. And in the rapid development of the latter type in our days, one cannot help but recognize historical continuity.
(K. Waliszewski “The Kingdom of Women”)
In 1710, after moving to St. Petersburg, Natalya Alekseevna continued to work in this field, organizing a “comedy dance” for all “decently dressed people,” that is, the noble public. Plays have already been specially written for this theater, including by the princess herself, F. Zhurovsky.
Before Zabelin's research, the princess's activity in the theater was largely attributed to Princess Sophia, her sister. Her authorship is attributed to: “The Comedy of Saint Catherine”, “Chrysanthus and Darius”, “Caesar Otto”, “Saint Eudoxia”
In addition to Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, Kirill Polievktovich had five sons:
1.1.1.2. Ivan(born 1658, killed by archers on May 15, 1682) - boyar and armorer, married to the princess Praskovya Alexandrovna Lykova, who, being a widow, was the mother of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich;
Ivan Kirillovich Naryshkin
1.1.1.3. Afanasy Kirillovich he was killed with his brother by archers at the instigation of Princess Sofya Alekseevna;
1.1.1.4. Lev Kirillovich(1664-1705);
1.1.1.5. Martemyan Kirillovich was (1665-1697) also a boyar, married to the daughter of the last Tsarevich of Kasimov, Vasily Araslanovich, Evdokia Vasilievna(1691);
1.1.1.6. uncle of Tsar Peter I, Fedor Kirillovich(born 1666) died in 1691 very young in the rank of kravchiy. And his widow was given away by the Tsar-nephew to his beloved field marshal, Prince Anikita Ivanovich Repnin (she was born a princess Golitsyna, Praskovya Dmitrievna).
1.1.1.7. Finally, the younger sister of Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna - Evdokia Kirillovna(born 1667), died on August 9, 1689 as a girl from consumption, unable to bear the horror of the murder of her brothers by the archers.
The only descendants left are from Peter I’s beloved uncle, Lev Kirillovich. The senior line of the Naryshkins included Catherine II’s favorite joker Lev Naryshkin, his son Dmitry Lvovich and grandson Emmanuil Dmitrievich (born, perhaps, from his mother’s relationship with Alexander I). Representatives of this line did not reach the highest ranks in either the military or civil service, but in the imperial palace they were considered domestic people.
Childbirth and younger lines (from the younger brothers of Polievkt Ivanovich: 1.4. Thomas and 1.5. Ivan Ivanovich) also continue. While Boris's line ended with his childless grandson Vasily Polikarpovich, the governor of Vyatka, who lived to see the days of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich.
Some representatives of the clan are incorrectly called princes or counts in literature. In reality, the Naryshkins belonged to the untitled nobility, occupying a leading position among this group. This is due to the fact that the granting of princely titles before the reign of Paul I was of an exceptional nature, and the Naryshkins, due to their close relationship with the imperial family, considered accepting the title of count below their dignity and real position:
It is known that different sovereigns offered Naryshkin various titles, which they resolutely refused, citing the fact that they did not want to be lower than His Serene Highness Prince A.D. Menshikov.
During the 18th century, the colossal fortune of the Naryshkins was squandered. Only on the occasion of the marriage of Ekaterina Ivanovna Naryshkina with Kirill Razumovsky, a dowry of 44 thousand souls was given. This marriage included the Razumovskys among the richest people in Russia. Also, a considerable dowry was given to the cousins of Peter I on the occasion of their marriages with State Chancellor A. M. Cherkassky, Cabinet Minister A. P. Volynsky, Princes F. I. Golitsyn, A. Yu. Trubetskoy and V. P. Golitsyn .
The Naryshkin family was included in the VI part of the genealogical book of the Moscow, Oryol, St. Petersburg, Kaluga and Nizhny Novgorod provinces.
In Peter's time, the Naryshkins owned numerous estates on the territory of modern Moscow, including Fili, Kuntsevo, Sviblovo, Bratsevo, Cherkizovo, Petrovskoye and Trinity-Lykovo. The Vysokopetrovsky Monastery served as their tomb.
On March 27, 2012, in St. Petersburg, during restoration work in the Naryshkin mansion (29 Tchaikovsky St.; in 1875, the house was acquired by Prince Vasily Naryshkin, the house was rebuilt by the architect R. A. Gedike), the largest treasure in the history of St. Petersburg was found. In particular, it contained several large sets with the Naryshkins’ coat of arms. Since June 4, 2012, 300 of the most interesting objects have been exhibited in the Konstantinovsky Palace.
Studying the topic “Personality of Peter 1” is important for understanding the essence of the reforms he carried out in Russia. Indeed, in our country, it was often the character, personal qualities and education of the sovereign that determined the main line of socio-political development. The reign of this king covers a fairly long period of time: in 1689 (when he finally removed his sister Sophia from government affairs) and until his death in 1725.
General characteristics of the era
Consideration of the question of when Peter 1 was born should begin with an analysis of the general historical situation in Russia at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries. This was the time when the preconditions for serious and profound political, economic, social and cultural changes were ripe in the country. Already during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, a tendency towards the penetration of Western European achievements into the country was clearly noted. Under this ruler, a number of measures were taken to transform certain aspects of public life.
Therefore, the personality of Peter 1 was formed in a situation when society already clearly understood the need for serious reforms. In this regard, it is necessary to understand that the transformative activity of the first emperor of Russia did not arise out of nowhere, it became a natural and necessary consequence of the entire previous development of the country.
Childhood
Peter 1, a brief biography, whose reign and reforms are the subject of this review, was born on May 30 (June 9), 1672. The exact birthplace of the future emperor is unknown. According to the generally accepted point of view, this place was the Kremlin, but the villages of Kolomenskoye or Izmailovo are also indicated. He was the fourteenth child in the family of Tsar Alexei, but the first from his second wife, Natalya Kirillovna. on his mother's side he came from the Naryshkin family. She was the daughter of small-scale nobles, which may have subsequently predetermined their struggle with the large and influential boyar group of the Miloslavskys at court, who were relatives of the tsar through his first wife.
Peter 1 spent his childhood among nannies who did not give him a serious education. That is why until the end of his life he never learned to read and write properly and wrote with errors. However, he was a very inquisitive boy who was interested in everything, he had an inquisitive mind, which determined his interest in practical sciences. The end of the 17th century, when Peter 1 was born, was the time when European education began to spread in the highest circles of society, but the early years of the future emperor passed away from the new trends of the era.
Teenage years
The life of the prince took place in the village of Preobrazhenskoye, where he, in fact, was left to his own devices. No one was seriously involved in raising the boy, so his studies during these years were superficial. Nevertheless, the childhood of Peter 1 was very eventful and fruitful in terms of the formation of his worldview and interest in scientific and practical activities. He became seriously interested in organizing troops, for which he arranged for himself the so-called amusing regiments, which consisted of local courtyard boys, as well as the sons of small-scale nobles, whose estates were located nearby. Together with these small detachments, he took improvised bastions, organized battles and gatherings, and carried out attacks. In relation to the same time, we can say that the fleet of Peter I arose. At first it was just a small boat, but nevertheless it is considered to be the father of the Russian flotilla.
First serious steps
It has already been said above that the time when Peter 1 was born is considered to be a transitional time in the history of Russia. It was during this period that the country was in a position where all the necessary prerequisites arose for its entry into the international arena. The first steps were taken in this direction during the future emperor's trip abroad to the countries of Western Europe. Then he was able to see with his own eyes the achievements of these states in various areas of life.
Peter 1, whose short biography includes this important stage in his life, appreciated Western European achievements, primarily in technology and weapons. However, he also paid attention to the culture, education of these countries, and their political institutions. After his return to Russia, he made an attempt to modernize the administrative apparatus, the army, and legislation, which was supposed to prepare the country for entering the international arena.
The initial stage of government: the beginning of reforms
The era when Peter 1 was born was a preparatory time for major changes in our country. That is why the transformations of the first emperor were so appropriate and outlived their creator for centuries. At the very beginning of his reign, the new sovereign abolished which had been the legislative advisory body under the previous kings. Instead, he created a Senate based on Western European models. Meetings of senators to draft laws were supposed to take place there. It is significant that this was initially a temporary measure, which, however, turned out to be very effective: this institution existed until the February Revolution of 1917.
Further transformations
It has already been said above that Peter 1 on his mother’s side comes from a not very noble noble family. However, his mother was raised in the European spirit, which, of course, could not but affect the boy’s personality, although the queen herself adhered to traditional views and measures when raising her son. Nevertheless, the Tsar was inclined to transform almost all spheres of life of Russian society, which was literally an urgent need in connection with Russia's conquest of access to the Baltic Sea and the country's entry into the international arena.
And so the emperor changed the administrative apparatus: he created collegiums instead of orders, a Synod to manage church affairs. In addition, he formed a regular army, and the fleet of Peter I became one of the strongest among other naval powers.
Features of transformation activities
The main goal of the emperor's reign was the desire to reform those areas that were necessary for him to solve the most important tasks when conducting combat operations on several fronts at once. He himself obviously assumed that these changes would be temporary. Most modern historians agree that the ruler did not have any pre-thought-out program of activities to reform the country. Many experts believe that he acted based on specific needs.
The significance of the emperor's reforms for his successors
However, the phenomenon of his reforms lies precisely in the fact that these seemingly temporary measures outlived their creator for a long time and existed almost unchanged for two centuries. Moreover, his successors, for example, Catherine II, were largely guided by his achievements. This suggests that the ruler’s reforms came to the right place and at the right time. The life of Peter 1 was, in fact, dedicated to changing and improving a variety of areas in society. He was interested in everything new, however, when borrowing the achievements of the West, he first of all thought about how this would benefit Russia. That is why his transformative activities for a long time served as an example for reforms during the reign of other emperors.
Relationships with others
When describing the character of the tsar, one should never forget which boyar family Peter 1 belonged to. On his mother’s side, he came from a not very well-born nobility, which, most likely, determined his interest not in nobility, but in a person’s merits to the fatherland and his skills serve. The emperor valued not rank and title, but the specific talents of his subordinates. This speaks of Pyotr Alekseevich’s democratic approach to people, despite his stern and even harsh character.
Mature years
In the last years of his life, the emperor sought to consolidate the successes achieved. But here he had serious problems with the heir. subsequently had a very bad effect on political governance and led to serious difficulties in the country. The fact is that Peter's son, Tsarevich Alexei, went against his father, not wanting to continue his reforms. In addition, the king had serious problems in his family. Nevertheless, he made sure to consolidate the successes achieved: he took the title of emperor, and Russia became an empire. This step raised the international prestige of our country. In addition, Pyotr Alekseevich achieved recognition of Russia's access to the Baltic Sea, which was of fundamental importance for the development of trade and the fleet. Subsequently, his successors continued the policy in this direction. Under Catherine II, for example, Russia gained access to the Black Sea. The emperor died as a result of complications from a cold and did not have time to draw up a will before his death, which led to the emergence of numerous pretenders to the throne and repeated palace coups.
Peter 1 the Great (Born 1672 - died 1725) The first Russian emperor, known for his reforms of government.
How the king died
1725, January 27 - The Emperor's Palace in St. Petersburg was surrounded by reinforced guards. The first Russian Emperor Peter 1 was dying in terrible agony. For the last 10 days, convulsions gave way to deep fainting and delirium, and in those minutes when Peter came to his senses, he screamed terribly from unbearable pain. During the last week, in brief moments of relief, Peter received communion three times. By his decree, all arrested debtors were released from prison and their debts were covered from the royal sums. In all churches, including those of other faiths, about him
Origin. early years
Peter was the son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and his second wife Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. Peter was born on May 30, 1672. From his first marriage to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, the tsar had 13 children, but only two of his sons survived - Fedor and Ivan. After the death of Alexei Mikhailovich in 1676, Peter’s upbringing was supervised by his elder brother, Tsar Feodor, who was his godfather. For young Peter, he chose Nikita Zotov as a mentor, thanks to whose influence he became addicted to books, especially historical works. Nikita told the young prince a lot about the past of the Fatherland, about the glorious deeds of his ancestors.
The real idol for Peter was Tsar Ivan the Terrible. Subsequently, Peter spoke about his reign: “This sovereign is my predecessor and example; I always imagined him as a model for my rule in civil and military affairs, but I did not get as far in that as he did. Only those who do not know the circumstances of his time, the properties of his people and the greatness of his merits are fools and call him a tormentor.”
The fight for the royal throne
After the death of 22-year-old Tsar Fyodor in 1682, the struggle for the royal throne between two families - the Miloslavskys and the Naryshkins - sharply intensified. The contender for the kingdom from the Miloslavskys was Ivan, who was in poor health; from the Naryshkins, the healthy but younger Peter. At the instigation of the Naryshkins, the patriarch proclaimed Peter Tsar. But the Miloslavskys were not going to reconcile and they provoked a Streltsy riot, during which many of the people close to the Naryshkins died. This made an indelible impression on Peter and influenced his mental health and worldview. For the rest of his life he harbored hatred for the archers and the entire Miloslavsky family.
Two kings
The result of the rebellion was a political compromise: both Ivan and Peter were elevated to the throne, and Princess Sophia, the intelligent and ambitious daughter of Alexei Mikhailovich from his first marriage, became their regent (ruler). Peter and his mother did not play any role in the life of the state. They found themselves in a kind of exile in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Peter only had to take part in embassy ceremonies in the Kremlin. There, in Preobrazhenskoye, the military “fun” of the young tsar began. Under the leadership of the Scotsman Menesius, a children's regiment was recruited from Peter's peers, usually representatives of noble families, from which in the early 90s. Two guards regiments grew up - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky. The future field marshal M.M. Golitsyn, and a descendant of the noble family Buturlin, and the groom’s son, and in the future Peter’s friend and associate, A.D. Menshikov, served in them. The king himself served here, starting as a drummer. The officers in the regiments were usually foreigners.
In general, foreigners who lived near Preobrazhensky in the German settlement (Kukui), who came to the country during the reign of Tsar Alexei, seekers of fortune and rank, craftsmen, military specialists, played a huge role in the life of the tsar. From them he studied shipbuilding, military affairs, and besides this, drink strong drinks, smoke, wear foreign dresses. From them, one might say, he absorbed disdain for everything Russian. The Swiss F. Lefort became closer to Peter.
Attempted riot
In the summer of 1689, the struggle with the Miloslavskys intensified. Princess Sophia, realizing that Peter would soon push aside the sick Ivan and take the government into his own hands, began to incite the archers, led by Shaklovity, to revolt. However, this plan failed: the archers themselves handed over Shaklovity to Peter, and he, having named many of his like-minded people under torture, was executed along with them. Sophia was imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent. This was the beginning of his sole rule. Ivan's rule was nominal, and after his death in 1696, Peter became autocrat.
Streltsy riot
1697 - the Tsar, as part of the Great Embassy of fifty people, under the guise of the sergeant of the Preobrazhensky Regiment Pyotr Mikhailov, went abroad. The purpose of the trip is an alliance against the Turks. In Holland and England, working as a carpenter in shipyards, Peter mastered shipbuilding. On the way back, in Vienna, he was caught by the news of a new mutiny of the archers. The Tsar hurried to Russia, but on the way he received news that the rebellion had been suppressed, 57 instigators had been executed, and 4,000 archers had been exiled. Upon his return, considering that Miloslavsky’s “seed” had not been exterminated, Peter gave the order to resume the investigation. The already exiled archers were returned to Moscow. Peter personally took part in torture and executions. He chopped off the heads of the archers with his own hands, forcing his close associates and courtiers to do it.
Many archers were executed in a new way - they were wheeled on the wheel. Peter's vindictiveness towards the Miloslavsky family was boundless. He gave the order to dig up the coffin with Miloslavsky's body, bring it on pigs to the place of execution and place it near the scaffold so that the blood of the executed would flow onto Miloslavsky's remains. In total, more than 1000 archers were executed. Their bodies were thrown into a pit where animal corpses were thrown. 195 archers were hanged at the gates of the Novodevichy Convent, and three were hanged near the very windows of Sophia, and for five months the corpses hung at the place of execution. In this terrible matter, and in many others, the tsar surpassed his idol Ivan the Terrible in cruelty.
Reforms Peter 1
At the same time, Peter began reforms intending to transform Russia along Western European lines, making the country an absolutist police state. He wanted “everything at once.” With his reforms, Peter 1 put Russia on its hind legs, but how many people went to the rack, to the scaffold, to the gallows! How many were beaten, tortured... It all started with cultural innovations. It became mandatory for everyone, with the exception of the peasants and the clergy, to wear foreign dresses, the army was dressed in uniforms according to the European model, and everyone, again, except the peasants and the clergy, was obliged to shave their beards, while in Preobrazhenskoe the tsar cut off the beards with his own hands boyars 1705 - a tax was introduced on beards: 60 rubles from servicemen and clerks, merchants and townspeople. per year per person; from rich merchants of the living room hundreds - 100 rubles each; from people of lower rank, boyars, coachmen - 30 rubles each; from the peasants - 2 money each time they entered or left the city.
Other innovations were also introduced. They encouraged training in crafts, created numerous workshops, sent young men from noble families to study abroad, reorganized the city government, carried out a calendar reform, established the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, and opened a Navigation School. To strengthen the centralization of government, instead of orders, collegiums and the Senate were created. All these transformations were carried out using violent methods. The relationship between the king and the clergy occupied a special place. Day after day he led an attack on the independence of the church. After the death of his mother, the king no longer took part in religious processions. The Patriarch was no longer Peter's advisor; he was expelled from the Tsar's Duma, and after his death in 1700, the management of church affairs was transferred to a specially created Synod.
The Tsar's Temper
And all these and other transformations were superimposed by the unbridled temper of the king. According to the historian Valishevsky: “In everything that Peter did, he brought a lot of impetuosity, a lot of personal rudeness, and especially, a lot of partiality. He hit left and right. And therefore, while correcting, he spoiled everything.” Peter's rage, reaching the point of fury, and his mockery of people could not be restrained.
He could have attacked Generalissimo Shein with wild abuse, and inflicted severe wounds on the people close to him, Romodanovsky and Zotov, who were trying to calm him down: one had his fingers cut off, the other had wounds on his head; he could beat his friend Menshikov because he did not take off his sword at the assembly during the dances; could kill a servant with a stick for taking off his hat too slowly; he could give the order that the 80-year-old boyar M. Golovin be forced to sit naked on the Neva ice for a whole hour in a jester’s cap because he refused, dressed as the devil, to participate in the jester’s procession. After this, Golovin fell ill and quickly died. Peter behaved this way not only at home: in the Copenhagen museum, the tsar mutilated the mummy because they refused to sell it to him for the Kunstkamera. And many such examples could be given.
Peter's era
The era of Peter the Great was a time of constant wars. Azov campaigns 1695–1696, Northern War 1700–1721, Prut campaign 1711, campaign to the Caspian 1722. All this required a huge number of people and money. A huge army and navy were created. Recruits were often brought to cities in chains. Many lands were depopulated. In general, during the reign of Peter 1, Russia lost almost a third of its population. Throughout the state it was forbidden to cut down large trees, and people were executed for cutting down oak trees. To maintain the army, new taxes were introduced: recruit, dragoon, ship, household and stamp paper. New taxes were introduced: for fishing, home baths, mills, and inns. The sale of salt and tobacco passed into the hands of the treasury. Even the oak coffins were transferred to the treasury and then sold at four times the price. But there was still not enough money.
Personal life of Peter 1
The tsar’s difficult character also affected his family life. At the age of 16, his mother, in order to discourage him from the German settlement, married him to Evdokia Lopukhina, whom he never loved. Evdokia bore him two sons: Alexander, who died in infancy, and Alexei. After the death of Natalya Kirillovna, relations between the spouses deteriorated sharply. The tsar even wanted to execute his wife, but limited himself to only forcibly tonsuring her as a nun in the Intercession Monastery in Suzdal. The 26-year-old queen was not given a penny for her maintenance, and she was forced to ask her relatives for money. At the same time, the tsar had two mistresses in the German settlement: the daughter of the silversmith Betticher and the daughter of the wine merchant Mons, Anna, who became Peter’s first titled favorite. He gifted her with palaces and estates, but when her love affair with the Saxon envoy Keyserling surfaced, the vengeful king took almost everything donated, and even kept her in prison for some time.
A vindictive, but not inconsolable lover, he quickly found a replacement for her. Among his favorites at one time were Anisya Tolstaya, Varvara Arsenyeva, and a number of other representatives of noble families. Often Peter’s choice stopped at ordinary maids. 1703 - another woman appeared who played a special role in the life of Peter - Marta Skavronskaya, who later became the tsar’s wife under the name of Ekaterina Alekseevna. After the Russian army occupied Marienburg, she was the servant and mistress of Field Marshal B. Sheremetev, then A. Menshikov, who introduced her to Peter. Martha converted to Orthodoxy and gave birth to Peter three daughters and a son, Peter Petrovich, who died in 1719. But only in 1724 the tsar crowned her. At the same time, a scandal broke out: Peter became aware of the love affair between Catherine and Willem Mons, the brother of the former favorite. Mons was executed, and his head in a jar of alcohol, by order of Peter, was kept in his wife’s bedroom for several days. 
Tsarevich Alexey
Against the background of these events, the tragedy of Peter’s son, Alexei, stands out clearly. His fear of his father reached the point that, on the advice of friends, he even wanted to renounce the inheritance. The king saw this as a conspiracy and gave the order to send his son to a monastery. The prince fled and hid with his mistress, first in Vienna, and then in Naples. But they were found and lured to Russia. Peter promised his son forgiveness if he gave up the names of his accomplices. But instead of forgiveness, the tsar sent him to the casemate of the Peter and Paul Fortress and ordered an investigation to begin. During the week, Alexey was tortured 5 times. The father himself took part in this. To stop the torment, Alexei slandered himself: they say, he wanted to win the throne with the help of the troops of the Austrian emperor. 1718, June 24 - a court consisting of 127 people unanimously sentenced the prince to death. The choice of execution was left to Peter's discretion. Little is known about how Alexei died: either from poison, or from strangulation, or his head was cut off, or he died under torture.
And the participants in the investigation were awarded titles and villages. The next day, the tsar magnificently celebrated the ninth anniversary of the Battle of Poltava.
With the end of the Northern War in 1721, Russia was proclaimed an empire, and the Senate awarded Peter the titles “Father of the Fatherland,” “Emperor,” and “Great.”
Last years. Death
Peter’s stormy life “gave” him a bunch of illnesses at the age of 50, but most of all he suffered from uremia. Mineral waters did not help either. Peter spent the last three months mostly in bed, although on days of relief he took part in festivities. By mid-January, attacks of the disease became more frequent. Impaired kidney function led to blockage of the urinary tract. The operation did not yield anything. Blood poisoning began. The question of succession to the throne arose acutely, because Peter’s sons were no longer alive by this time.
On January 27, Peter wanted to write a decree on the succession to the throne. They gave him a paper, but he could only write two words: “Give everything...” In addition, he lost his speech. The next day he died in terrible agony. His body remained unburied for forty days. He was displayed on a velvet bed embroidered with gold in a palace hall, upholstered in carpets that Peter received as a gift from Louis XV during his stay in Paris. His wife Ekaterina Alekseevna was proclaimed empress.
The history of Russia is diverse and interesting. Peter 1 was able to have a huge influence on her. In his reform activities, he relied on the experience of Western countries, but acted based on the needs of Russia, while not having a specific system and program for reform. The first Russian emperor was able to lead the country out of the “troubled” times into the progressive European world, forced him to respect the power and reckon with it. Of course, he was a key figure in the formation of the state.
Politics and government
Let's take a brief look at the policies and reign of Peter 1. He was able to create all the necessary conditions for wide acquaintance with Western civilization, and the process of abandoning the old foundations was quite painful for Rus'. An important feature of the reforms was that they affected all social strata; this made the history of the reign of Peter 1 very different from the activities of his predecessors.
But in general, Peter’s policy was aimed at strengthening the country and introducing it to culture. True, he often acted from a position of strength, nevertheless, he was able to create a powerful country, headed by an emperor with absolute unlimited power.
Before Peter 1, Russia was far behind other countries economically and technically, but conquests and transformations in all spheres of life led to the strengthening, expansion of the borders of the empire and its development.
The policy of Peter 1 was to overcome the crisis of traditionalism through many reforms, as a result of which modernized Russia became one of the main participants in international political games. She actively lobbied for her interests. Her authority grew significantly, and Peter himself began to be considered an example of a great reformer.
He laid the foundations of Russian culture and created an effective management system that lasted for many years.
Many experts, studying Russian history, believe that carrying out reforms by forceful imposition was unacceptable, although the opinion is not denied that otherwise the country simply could not be raised, and the emperor must be tough. Despite the reconstruction, the country did not get rid of the serfdom system. On the contrary, the economy rested on it, the stable army consisted of peasants. This was the main contradiction in Peter’s reforms, and this is how the preconditions for a crisis in the future appeared.
Biography
Peter 1 (1672-1725) was the youngest son in the marriage of Romanov A.M. and Naryshkina N.K. Learning the alphabet began on March 12, 1677, when he was not yet five years old. Peter 1, whose biography was full of bright events since childhood, later became a great emperor.
The prince studied very willingly, loved different stories and reading books. When the queen found out about this, she ordered history books from the palace library to be given to him.
In 1676, Peter 1, whose biography at that time was marked by the death of his father, was left to be raised by his older brother. He was appointed heir, but due to poor health, ten-year-old Peter was proclaimed sovereign. The Miloslavskys did not want to come to terms with this, and therefore the Streletsky rebellion was provoked, after which both Peter and Ivan were on the throne.
Peter and his mother lived in Izmailovo, the ancestral estate of the Romanovs, or in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. The prince never received a church or secular education; he existed on his own. Energetic, very active, he often played out battles with his peers.
In the German settlement he met his first love and made many friends. The beginning of the reign of Peter 1 was marked by a revolt, which was organized by Sophia, trying to get rid of her brother. She did not want to give power into his hands. In 1689, the prince had to take refuge in the regiments and most of the court, and his sister Sophia was removed from the board and forcibly imprisoned in a monastery.
Peter 1 established himself on the throne. From that moment on, his biography became even more eventful both in his personal life and in state activities. He took part in campaigns against Turkey, traveled as a volunteer to Europe, where he took a course in artillery science, studied shipbuilding in England, and made many reforms in Russia. He was married twice and had 14 officially recognized children.
Personal life of Peter I
She became the tsar's first wife, with whom they married in 1689. The bride was chosen by the great sovereign’s mother, and he did not feel tenderness for her, but only hostility. In 1698, she was forcibly tonsured a nun. Personal life is a separate page of the book, in which the story of Peter 1 could be described. On his way he met Martha, a Livonian beauty who was captured by the Russians, and the sovereign, seeing her in Menshikov’s house, no longer wanted to part with her. After their wedding, she became Empress Catherine I.
Peter loved her very much, she bore him many children, but after learning about her betrayal, he decided not to bequeath the throne to his wife. The king had a difficult relationship with his son from his first marriage. The emperor died without leaving a will.
Hobbies of Peter I
Even as a child, the future great Tsar Peter 1 assembled “amusing” regiments from his peers and launched battles. In later life, it was these well-trained regiments that became the main guard. Peter was very inquisitive by nature, and therefore he was interested in many crafts and sciences. The fleet is another of his passions; he was seriously involved in shipbuilding. He mastered fencing, horse riding, pyrotechnics, and many other sciences.
Beginning of reign
The beginning of the reign of Peter 1 was a dual kingdom, as he shared power with his brother Ivan. After the deposition of his sister Sophia, Peter did not rule the state for the first time. Already at the age of 22, the young king turned his attention to the throne, and all his hobbies began to take on real shape for the country. His first Azov campaign was undertaken in 1695, and the second in the spring of 1696. Then the sovereign begins to build a fleet.
Appearance of Peter I
From infancy, Peter was a rather large baby. Even as a child, he was handsome in both face and figure, and among his peers he was taller than everyone else. In moments of excitement and anger, the king’s face twitched nervously, and this frightened those around him. Duke Saint-Simon gave his exact description: “Tsar Peter 1 is tall, well-built, a little thin. Round face and beautifully shaped eyebrows. The nose is a little short, but not conspicuous, large lips, dark skin. The king has beautifully shaped black eyes, lively and very penetrating. The look is very welcoming and majestic.”
era
The era of Peter 1 is of great interest, since this is the beginning of the growth and comprehensive development of Russia, its transformation into a great power. Thanks to the transformations of the monarch and his activities, over several decades, a system of administration and education was built, a regular army and navy were formed. Industrial enterprises grew, crafts and trades developed, and domestic and foreign trade improved. There was a constant provision of jobs for the country's population.
Culture in Russia under Peter I
Russia changed greatly when Peter ascended the throne. The reforms he carried out were of great importance for the country. Russia became stronger and constantly expanded its borders. It became a European state that other countries had to reckon with. Not only military affairs and trade developed, but there were also cultural achievements. The New Year began to count from January 1, a ban on beards appeared, the first Russian newspaper and foreign books in translation were published. Career growth without education has become impossible.
Having ascended the throne, the great emperor made many changes, and the history of the reign of Peter 1 is diverse and majestic. One of the most important decrees stated that the custom of transferring the throne to descendants only through the male line was abolished, and any heir could be appointed at the will of the king. The decree was very unusual, and it had to be justified and the consent of the subjects sought, forcing it to be sworn. But death did not give him the opportunity to bring it to life.
Etiquette in the time of Peter
Significant changes occurred during the time of Peter 1 in etiquette. The courtiers wore European clothes; a beard could only be preserved by paying a large fine. It has become fashionable to wear Western-style wigs. Women who had not previously been present at palace receptions now became obligatory guests at them, their education improved, since it was believed that a girl should be able to dance, know foreign languages and play musical instruments.
Character of Peter I
The monarch's character was controversial. Peter is hot-tempered and at the same time cold-blooded, wasteful and stingy, tough and merciful, very demanding and often condescending, rude and at the same time gentle. This is how those who knew him describe him. But at the same time, the great emperor was an integral person, his life was completely devoted to serving the state, and it was to him that he devoted his life.
Peter 1 was very thrifty when he spent money on personal needs, but he did not skimp on the construction of his palaces and his beloved wife. The emperor believed that the easiest way to reduce vices was to reduce his needs, and he should set an example for his subjects. Here two of his incarnations are clearly visible: one - the great and powerful emperor, whose palace in Peterhof is not inferior to Versailles, the other - a thrifty owner, setting an example of economical life for his subjects. Stinginess and prudence were also evident to European residents.
Reforms
The beginning of the reign of Peter 1 was marked by many reforms, mainly related to military affairs, which were often carried out by force and did not always lead to the result he needed. But after 1715 they became more systematic. We touched upon reforms from the first years, which turned out to be ineffective in governing the country. If we consider the reign of Peter 1 briefly, we can highlight several important points. He organized the Near Office. Many collegiums were introduced, each responsible for its own area (taxes, foreign policy, trade, courts, etc.). has undergone radical changes. The position of fiscal officer was introduced to supervise employees. The reforms affected all aspects of life: military, church, financial, trade, autocratic. Thanks to a radical restructuring of all spheres of life, Russia began to be considered a great power, which is what Peter 1 sought.
Peter I: important years
If we consider important dates in the life and activities of the monarch, then Peter 1, whose years were marked by various events, was most active in some time periods:
The beginning of the reign of Peter 1 was from the very beginning built on the struggle for the state. It was not for nothing that they called him the Great. Dates of the reign of Peter 1: 1682-1725. Being strong-willed, decisive, talented, sparing neither effort nor time to achieve the goal, the king was strict with everyone, but first of all with himself. Often ruthless, but it was thanks to his energy, determination, assertiveness and some cruelty that Russia changed dramatically, becoming a Great Power. The era of Peter 1 changed the face of the state for many centuries. And the city he founded became the capital of the empire for 300 years. And now St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in Russia and proudly bears its name in honor of the great founder.
