June 09, 2010 <Back to Index>
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Peter I the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov (Russian: Пётр Алексе́евич Рома́нов, Пётр I, Пётр Вели́кий) (9 June [O.S. 30 May] 1672 – 8 February [O.S. 28 January] 1725) ruled Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May [O.S. 27 April] 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V. He carried out a policy of modernization and expansion that transformed the Tsardom of Russia into a 3-billion acre Russian Empire, a major European power. From an early age his unique education (commissioned by Tsar Alexis I) was put in the hands of several tutors; most notably Nikita Zotov, Patrick Gordon and Paul Menesius. On 29 January 1676, Tsar Alexis died, leaving the sovereignty to Peter's elder half-brother, the weak and sickly Feodor III. Throughout this period, the government was largely run by Artamon Matveev,
an enlightened friend of Alexis, the political head of the Naryshkin
family and one of Peter's greatest childhood benefactors. This position
changed when Feodor died six years later in 1682. As Feodor did not
leave any children, a dispute arose between the Naryshkin and Miloslavsky families over who should inherit the throne. Peter's other half-brother, Ivan V, was the next for the throne, but he was chronically ill and of infirm mind. Consequently, the Boyar Duma (a
council of Russian nobles) chose the ten-year old Peter to become Tsar,
his mother becoming regent. This arrangement was brought before the
people of Moscow, as ancient tradition demanded, where the people
ratified it. But one of Alexis' daughters from his first marriage, Sophia Alekseyevna, led a rebellion of the Streltsy (Russia's
elite military corps). In the subsequent conflict, some of Peter's
relatives and friends were murdered, including Matveev, and Peter
witnessed some of these acts of political violence. The Streltsy uprising of April-May 1682 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 of the two. Sophia acted as regent
during the minority of the two sovereigns and exercised all power.
Peculiarly, 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, also feeding him information and giving
him responses to questions and problems. This throne can be seen in the
Kremlin museum in Moscow. For seven years, she ruled as an autocrat.
Peter
was not particularly concerned that others ruled in his own name. He
engaged in such pastimes as shipbuilding and sailing, 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. The marriage was a failure, and ten years later Peter forced her 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.
When she learned of his designs, Sophia began to conspire with the
leaders of the Streltsy, who continually aroused disorder and dissent
of the tsar's rule. Unfortunately for Sophia, Peter, warned by the
Streltsy, escaped in the middle of the night to the impenetrable
monastery of Troitsky;
there he slowly gathered his adherents and others, who perceived he
would win the power struggle. She was therefore 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 position as a member of
the royal family. Still,
Peter could not acquire actual control over Russian affairs. Power was
instead exercised by his mother, Nataliya Naryshkina. It was only when
Nataliya died in 1694 that Peter became an independent sovereign. Formally,
Ivan V remained a co-ruler with Peter, although he was still
ineffective. Peter became the sole ruler when Ivan died in 1696. Peter
grew to be quite tall as an adult, especially for the time period.
Standing at 6 ft 8 (200 cm) in height, the Russian
tsar was literally head and shoulders above his contemporaries both in
Russia and throughout Europe. Peter,
however, lacked the overall proportional heft and bulk generally found
in a man that size. Both Peter's hands and feet were small, and his
shoulders narrow for his height; likewise, his head was also small for
his tall body. Added to this were Peter's noticeable facial tics, and,
judging by descriptions handed down, he may have suffered from petit mal, a form of epilepsy.
Peter
the Great had two wives with whom he had fourteen children; just three
of them surviving to adulthood. His eldest child and heir, Alexei,
was suspected of being involved in a plot to overthrow the Emperor.
Alexei was tried and confessed during the tortured questioning
conducted by a secular court, where he was convicted and sentenced to
be executed. The sentence 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 the
injuries suffered during his torture. Peter implemented sweeping reforms aimed at modernizing Russia.
Heavily influenced by his advisors from Western Europe, 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 any and all rebellions against his
authority, the rebelling of Streltsy, Bashkirs, Astrakhan and including the greatest civil uprising of his reign, the Bulavin Rebellion.
Further, Peter implemented social modernization in an absolute manner
by requiring courtiers, state officials, and the military to shave
their beards and adopt modern clothing styles. To improve his nation's position on the seas, Peter sought to gain 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 was controlled by the Ottoman Empire in the south. Peter attempted to acquire control of the Black Sea, but to do so he would have to expel the Tatars from the surrounding areas. He was forced, as part of an agreement with Poland, which ceded Kiev to Russia, 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 in
order to take the fortress, but his attempts ended in failure. Peter
returned to Moscow in November of that year, and promptly began
building a large navy. He launched about thirty ships against the
Ottomans in 1696, capturing Azov in July of that year. On 12 September
1698, Peter officially founded the first Russian Navy base, Taganrog. Peter
knew that Russia could not face the Ottoman Empire alone. In 1697, he
traveled incognito to Europe on an 18-month journey with a large Russian delegation – the so-called "Grand Embassy" — to seek the aid of the European monarchs. Peter's hopes were dashed; France was a traditional ally of the Ottoman Sultan, and Austria was
eager to maintain peace in the east whilst conducting its own wars in
the west. Peter, furthermore, had chosen the most inopportune moment;
the Europeans at the time were more concerned about who would succeed the childless Spanish King Charles II than about fighting the Ottoman Sultan. The
"Grand Embassy", although failing to complete the mission of creating
an anti-Ottoman alliance, still continued to travel across Europe. In
visiting Holland, Peter learned much about the life in Western Europe. He studied shipbuilding in Zaandam and Amsterdam, and later put this learning to use in helping build Russia's navy during his rule. Thanks to the mediation of Nicolaas Witsen,
mayor of Amsterdam and expert on Russia par excellence, the Tsar was
given the opportunity to gain practical experience in the largest
shipyard in the world, belonging to the Dutch East India Company, for a period of four months. The Tsar helped with the construction of an East Indiaman especially laid down for him: Peter and Paul. During his stay the tsar engaged many skilled workers such as builders of locks, fortresses, shipwrights and seamen. Cornelis Cruys, a vice-admiral who became under Franz Lefort the Tsar's advisor in maritime affairs. Besides Peter paid a visit to Frederik Ruysch, who taught him how to draw teeth and catch butterflies. Also Ludolf Bakhuysen, a painter of seascapes and Jan van der Heyden the
inventor of the fire hose, received Peter, who was keen on learning and
bringing home what he had seen. On 16 January 1698 Peter organized his
farewell party and invited Johan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen, who had to sit between Lefort and the tsar and drink. In England he met with King William III, visited Greenwich and Oxford, was painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller and saw a Royal Navy Fleet Review at Deptford.
He also travelled to the fledgling city of Manchester to learn the
techniques of city building he would later use to great effect at Saint
Petersburg. Then the Embassy went to Leipzig, Dresden and Vienna. He spoke with August the Strong and Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. The Embassy did not make it to Venice. The visit of Peter was cut short in 1698, when he was forced to rush home by a rebellion of the streltsy. The rebellion was, however, easily crushed before Peter returned home from England;
of the Tsar's troops, only one was killed. Peter nevertheless acted
ruthlessly towards the mutineers. Over 1200 of the rebels were tortured
and executed, and Peter ordered that their bodies be publicly exhibited
as a warning to future conspirators. The streltsy were disbanded, and the individual they sought to put on the Throne — Peter's half-sister Sophia — was forced to become a nun. Also, upon his return from his European tour, Peter sought to end his unhappy marriage. He divorced the Tsaritsa, Eudoxia Lopukhina. The Tsaritsa had borne Peter three children, although only one — the Tsarevich Alexei — had survived past his childhood. In 1698, Peter sent a delegation to Malta under boyar Boris Petrovich Sheremetyev, to observe the training and abilities of the Knights of Malta and
their fleet. Sheremetyev also investigated the possibility of future
joint ventures with the Knights, including action against the Turks and
the possibility of a future Russian naval base. 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 cut off their long beards — causing
his Boyars, who were very fond of their beards, great upset — and wear European clothing. Boyars who sought to retain their beards were required to pay an annual beard tax of one hundred rubles.
He also sought to end arranged marriages, which were the norm among the
Russian nobility, because he thought such a practice was not only
barbaric but also led to domestic violence since the partners usually
resented each other in this forced union. In
1699, Peter also changed the celebration of 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. Following several defeats, the Polish King August II abdicated
in 1706. 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, however, 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. Charles XII refused to retreat to Poland or back to Sweden, instead invading Ukraine.
Peter withdrew his army southward, destroying any property that could
assist the Swedes along the way. 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 nevertheless resumed their efforts to
capture Ukraine, culminating in the Battle of Poltava on
27 June. The battle was a decisive defeat for Swedish forces, ending
Charles' campaign in Ukraine and forcing him into exile in the Ottoman Empire. In Poland, August II was restored as King. Peter, overestimating the support he would receive from Balkan allies, attacked the Ottoman Empire, initiating the Russo-Turkish War of 1710. 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. Peter's campaign in the Ottoman Empire
was disastrous, and in the ensuing peace treaty, Peter was forced to
return the Black Sea ports he had seized in 1697. In return, the Sultan expelled Charles XII, but Russia was forced to guarantee safe passage to the Swedish king, who in the end traveled back to Sweden through Germany. 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 back into Finland. In 1714 the Russian fleet won the Battle of Gangut. Most of Finland was occupied by the Russians. In 1716 and 1717, the Tsar revisited the Netherlands, and went to see Herman Boerhaave. He continued his travel to the Austrian Netherlands and France. The Tsar's navy was so powerful that the Russians could penetrate Sweden. Peter also obtained the assistance of the Electorate of Hanover and the Kingdom of Prussia. Still, Charles XII refused to yield, and not until his death in battle in 1718 did peace become feasible. After the battle near Åland Sweden made peace with all powers but Russia by 1720. In 1721, the Treaty of Nystad ended what became known as 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. The Tsar was, however, permitted to retain
some Finnish lands close to Saint Petersburg, which he had made his
capital in 1712. He gained access to a warm-water-port during his reign for easier trading with the west part of Europe. Peter
I's last years were marked by further reform in Russia. On 22 October
1721, soon after peace was made with Sweden, he was acclaimed Emperor of All Russia. Some proposed that he take the title Emperor of the East, but he refused. 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 Tsar following a speech by the archbishop of Pskov 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 "mere" kings. Several rulers feared
that Peter would claim authority over them, just as the Holy Roman
Emperor had once claimed suzerainty over all Christian nations. During Peter's reign the Russian Orthodox Church was reformed. The traditional leader of the Church was the Patriarch of Moscow.
In 1700, when the office fell vacant, Peter had refused to name a
replacement, allowing the Patriarch's Coadjutor (or deputy) to
discharge the duties of the office. Twenty-one years later, in 1721,
Peter followed the advice of Feofan Prokopovich and erected the Holy Synod,
a council of ten clergymen, to take the place of the Patriarch and
Coadjutor. Peter also implemented a law which stipulated that no
Russian man could join a monastery before the age of 50. He felt that
too many able Russian men were being wasted away by clerical work when
they could be joining his new and improved army. And
in 18th century Russia, few people (men and women) lived to over a half
century, therefore very few men became monks during Peter's reign, much
to the dismay of the Russian Church. In 1722, Peter created a new order of precedence, known as the Table of Ranks. Formerly, precedence had been determined by birth. In order 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 addition, Peter decided that all of the children of the
nobility should have some early education, especially in the areas of
sciences. Therefore, on 28 February 1714, he introduced the decree on
compulsory education which dictated that all Russian children of the
nobility, of government clerks and even lesser ranked officials between
the ages of 10 and 15 must learn basic mathematics and geometry and
that they should be tested on it at the end of their studies. Peter
also introduced new taxes to fund improvements in Saint Petersburg. He
abolished the land tax and household tax, and replaced them with a capitation.
The taxes on land on households were payable only by individuals who
owned property or maintained families; the new head taxes, however,
were payable by serfs and paupers. In 1724, Peter had his second wife, Catherine, crowned as Empress, although he remained Russia's actual ruler. All of Peter's male children had died—the eldest son, Alexei,
had been tortured and killed on Peter's orders in 1718 because he had
disobeyed his father and opposed official policies. At the same time,
Alexei's mother Eudoxia had also been punished; she was dragged from
her home and tried on false charges of adultery. A similar fate befell
Peter's beautiful mistress, Anna Mons, in 1704. In 1725, construction of Peterhof, a palace near Saint Petersburg, was completed. Peterhof (Dutch for "Peter's Court") was a grand residence, becoming known as the "Russian Versailles". 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 the necessary surgery
releasing upwards of four pounds of blocked urine. Peter remained
bedridden till late autumn. Then in the first week of October, restless
and certain he was cured, Peter began a lengthy inspection tour of
various projects. According to legend, it was in November, while at Lakhta along
the Finnish Gulf to inspect some ironworks, that Peter saw a group of
soldiers drowning not far from shore and, wading out into near-waist
deep water, came to their rescue. 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 Stählin is
the only source for the story, and it seems unlikely that no one else
would have documented such an act of heroism. This, plus the interval
of time between these actions and Peter's death seems to preclude any
direct link. However, the story may still, in part, contain some grain
of truth. In early January 1725, Peter was struck once again with uremia.
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. Peter died between four and five in the morning 8 February 1725. An autopsy revealed his bladder to be infected with gangrene. He was fifty-two years, seven months old when he died, having reigned forty-two years. |