What new did Peter 1 introduce? The first Russian emperor Peter I the Great was born. Origin. early years
Birth of the first Russian Emperor Peter I the Great
By autocratic hand
He boldly sowed enlightenment,
He did not despise his native country:
He knew its purpose.
Now an academician, now a hero,
Either a sailor or a carpenter,
He is an all-encompassing soul
The eternal worker was on the throne.
Pushkin A. S. “Stanzas”, 1826
May 30 (June 9), 1672 in Moscow in the family Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov and his second wife Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina was born first Russian emperor (1721) Peter I Alekseevich the Great.
Being the youngest of the heirs, Pyotr Alekseevich received the Moscow throne in April 1682, immediately after the death of his childless half-brother, Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, bypassing the second Tsarevich, Ivan. This caused discontent among the relatives of Alexei Mikhailovich’s first wife, the Miloslavskys, who used Streltsy Moscow uprising 1682 for a palace coup. The adherents and relatives of the Naryshkins were subjected to repression, Peter I was crowned king together with his half-brother, Ivan V, as a junior co-ruler, and the elder tsar’s sister, Princess Sofya Alekseevna, became their regent. During her reign, Peter and his mother were away from the Court in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Only in 1689 did he manage to remove Princess Sophia from power, and in 1696, after the death of Ivan V, became the sole tsar.
Like all the children of Alexei Mikhailovich, Peter I received a good education at home, and then throughout his life he expanded his knowledge and skills in various fields, paying special attention to military and naval affairs. In 1687, he created the amusing Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments, which later became the basis of the Russian regular army. In 1688-1693. An amusing flotilla operated on Lake Pleshcheyevo, the experience of which was then used in the construction of a fleet in the Black Sea region and the Baltic. And in 1697-1698. the young tsar made a trip abroad, during which he not only became acquainted with the peculiarities of the government of other countries, but also took a full course in artillery sciences in Koenigsberg, a theoretical course in shipbuilding in England and six months of practical work as a carpenter in the shipyards of Amsterdam.
While maintaining and strengthening the feudal-serf system during his reign, Peter I carried out a series of reforms aimed at overcoming Russia’s separation from the Western European path of development and strengthening the country’s influence on international economics and politics.
This was greatly facilitated by the energetic foreign policy of the tsar. So, as a result of the Azov campaigns of 1695-1696. Russia captured the Turkish fortress of Azov and gained access to the Azov and Black Seas. During Northern War (1700-1721) Lands along the banks of the Neva, in Karelia and the Baltic states, previously conquered by Sweden, were returned, the country gained access to the Baltic Sea, which greatly influenced its economic, political and cultural development. During the Persian campaign (1722–1723), the western coast of the Caspian Sea with the cities of Derbent and Baku went to Russia.
Important changes were carried out within the country in all spheres of life. Thus, the capital was moved to the city created in 1703. city of St. Petersburg , division of the country into provinces in 1708–1715., formation of the highest body of government - the Senate, creation of boards and so on. Changes in the social sphere, reflected in the decree on single inheritance of 1714, affected the merger of two forms of land ownership (patrimony and estates) and the transformation of noble service into lifelong service. In 1722, a document was approved regulating the procedure for moving in the service - "Table of Ranks". In 1721, Peter I introduced "Spiritual Regulations" officially abolished the Patriarchate in the Russian Church and created a Spiritual College for its governance, soon renamed the Holy Governing Synod. BThanks to military reform, a regular Russian army and navy emerged, the organizational basis of which was the “Military Charter” and the “Naval Charter”.It was created under Peter the Russian Academy of Sciences, a number of higher educational institutions were opened, a secular secondary school was formed, the first museum and public library in Russia were opened, and began to publish the first Russian newspaper "Vedomosti", a number of expeditions were organized to Central Asia and the Far East, etc. In 1721 Russia became an empire, and a year later succession decree, which secured the monarch’s autocratic rights to appoint his successor.
The activities of the king were assessed ambiguously by society. The promotion of the serving nobility and official bureaucracy to the fore, the elimination of the patriarchate, and the loss of political independence by the church caused discontent among the boyars and the church hierarchy. The response to many violent innovations and increased tax burdens was the uprising of citizens and soldiers.
On January 28 (February 10), 1725, the first Russian emperor died and was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. He was succeeded by his wife, Catherine I.
Lit.: Bazilevich K.V. Peter I - statesman, reformer, commander. M, 1946; Brickner A. G. History of Peter the Great. M., 2004; Valishevsky K. F. Peter the Great. M., 2003; The Great Reformer of Russia: To the 300th Anniversary of the Birth of Peter I. Voronezh, 2002; Memorable tales about the life and deeds of Peter the Great. St. Petersburg, 1872; Legislation of Peter I. M., 1997; Zolotov V. A. History of Peter the Great. St. Petersburg, 1872; Kara-Murza A. A. Reformer: Russians about Peter I. Ivanovo, 1994; Massey R. K. Peter the Great: Personality and Epoch. St. Petersburg, 2003; Pavlenko N. I. Peter I. M., 2003; Peter the Great in traditions, legends, anecdotes, fairy tales, songs. St. Petersburg, 2000; Letters and papers of Peter the Great. St. Petersburg; M.T.1-13. 1887-1992; Pogosyan E. A. Peter I is the architect of Russian history. St. Petersburg, 2001; Reforms of Peter I and the fate of Russia. M., 1994; Senigov I.P. Tsar-worker and teacher. Pg., 1915; Tarle E.V. Russian fleet and foreign policy of Peter I. St. Petersburg, 1994; Shchebalsky P.K. Sovereign Tsar Peter the Great, the first Russian emperor. Warsaw, 1873.
See also in the Presidential Library:
Battle of Lesnaya // Day in history. 9 October 1708 G.;
The first civil calendar was published in Moscow // On this day. 8 January 1709 G.;
The Alexander Nevsky Lavra was founded in St. Petersburg // Day in history. April 5, 1713 G.;
A decree of Peter I “On wearing a dress in the Hungarian manner” was issued // On this day in history. January 14, 1700 ;
The Treaty of Constantinople was concluded between Russia and Turkey // Day in history. July 14, 1700 ;
The Preobrazhensky Union Treaty was concluded between Peter I and Augustus II // On this day. November 21, 1699 ;
The first years of the reign of Peter I.
Azov campaigns and the “Great Embassy”.
Industry.
Trade.
Agriculture.
Financial policy.
Reorganization of the public administration system.
The Church and the liquidation of the patriarchate.
Creation of a regular army and navy.
Streltsy uprising of 1698
“The Case of Tsarevich Alexei.”
Astrakhan uprising.
Uprising under the leadership of K. Bulavin.
The main directions of foreign policy in the era of Peter I and the Northern War.
Reforms in the field of education and culture.
The first years of the reign of Peter I.
After the August coup of 1689, power in the country passed to supporters of the seventeen-year-old Tsar Peter Alekseevich (who formally ruled until 1696 together with his brother Ivan) - P.K. Naryshkin, T.N. Streshnev, B.A. Golitsyn and others. A number of important government posts were also occupied by relatives of Peter’s first wife E.F. Lopukhina (the wedding took place in January 1689). Having given them the leadership of the country, the young tsar devoted all his energy to “Neptune and Mars fun”, for which he actively attracted “foreign servicemen” who lived in the German settlement (Kukue).
Peter surrounded himself with capable, energetic assistants and specialists, especially military ones. Among the foreigners, the following stood out: the tsar's closest friend F. Lefort, the experienced general P. Gordon, the talented engineer J. Bruce, and others. And among the Russians, a close-knit group of associates gradually formed, who subsequently made a brilliant political career: A.M. Golovin, G.I. Golovkin, brothers P.M. and F.M. Apraksin, A.D. Menshikov. With their help, Peter organized maneuvers of “amusing” troops (the future two guards regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky), which were held in the village of Preobrazhensky. Peter paid special attention to the development of the Russian navigator. Already in May 1692, his first “amusing” ship, built with the participation of the Tsar himself, was launched on Lake Pereslavl. In 1693-1694. The first Russian naval ship was built in Arkhangelsk and another one was ordered in Amsterdam. It was on board a Dutch-built ship in July 1694, during a real sea voyage organized by the Tsar, that the Russian red-blue-white flag was first raised.
Behind Peter’s “military amusements” there was a far-reaching goal: the struggle for Russia’s access to the sea. Due to the short winter navigation, the Arkhangelsk port could not provide year-round trade. Therefore, the bet was made on access to the Black Sea. Thus, Peter returned to the idea of the Crimean campaigns, in which Prince V.V. failed. Golitsyn. After a three-month siege of Azov (spring - summer 1695), Peter was forced to retreat. Without a fleet, it was impossible to besiege the fortress from both land and sea. The first Azov campaign ended in failure. In the winter of 1695/96. Preparations for the second campaign began. Construction of the first Russian fleet began in Voronezh. By spring, 2 ships, 23 galleys, 4 fire ships and 1,300 plows were ready, on which the 40,000-strong Russian army again besieged Azov in May 1696. After a blockade from the sea on July 19, the Turkish fortress surrendered. The fleet found a convenient harbor in Taganrog and began building a port. But still, the forces to fight Turkey and Crimea were clearly not enough. Peter ordered the construction of new ships (52 ships in 2 years) at the expense of landowners and merchants.
At the same time, it was necessary to start looking for allies in Europe. Thus was born the idea of the “Great Embassy” (March 1697-August 1698). Formally, it had the goal of visiting the capitals of a number of European states to conclude an alliance against Turkey. Admiral General F.Ya. was appointed as great ambassadors. Lefort, General F.A. Golovin, head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, and Duma clerk P.B. Voznitsyn. The embassy included 280 people, including 35 volunteers who were traveling to learn crafts and military sciences, among whom, under the name of Peter Mikhailov, was Tsar Peter himself. The main task of the embassy was to familiarize itself with the political life of Europe, study foreign crafts, life, culture, military and other orders. During his one and a half year stay abroad, Peter and his embassy visited Courland, Brandenburg, Holland, England and Austria, met with sovereign princes and monarchs, studied shipbuilding and other crafts. Came in the summer of 1698. A message from Moscow about a new uprising of the archers forced the tsar to return to Russia.
International relations in Europe at this time were not in favor of continuing the war with Turkey, and soon (January 14, 1699), Russia, like other countries members of the “Holy League,” had to agree to a truce concluded in Karlovtsy. However, the “Great Embassy” became a true academy for Peter, and he used the experience gained in carrying out reforms in both domestic and foreign policy. For a long period, it determined the task of Russia’s struggle with Sweden for possession of the Baltic coast and access to the sea. Reorientation of Russian foreign policy by the beginning of the 18th century. from the southern direction to the northern coincided in time with enormous transformations that swept the country in all spheres of life, from priority diplomatic and military efforts to the Europeanization of life. Preparations for the war with Sweden served as an impetus for deep political and socio-economic reforms, which ultimately determined the appearance of the Peter the Great era. Some reforms took years, others were rushed. But on the whole, they formed a system of an extremely centralized absolutist state, headed by “an autocratic monarch who, as Peter himself wrote, should not give an answer to anyone in his affairs in his affairs.” The transformations were formalized by legislative decrees of the tsar, and their number in the first quarter of the 18th century. amounted to more than 2.5 thousand.
Industry.
During Peter’s accession, Russian industry, strictly speaking, did not exist and there was only one major merchant in Russia: the Tsar. During the duumvirate of Peter and John, a large reward was promised to the captain of a French ship for importing white paper, wine and some other goods into the country that were difficult to obtain in any other way. At the same time, the first Russian economist Pososhkov wrote a book - his “Testament”, where he proclaimed contempt for wealth. Twenty years later, the same author wrote, on white paper made in Russia, “A Discourse on Poverty and Wealth,” in which he tries to come up with ways to increase the wealth of the state and individuals and, before Smith and Turgot, explains the benefits of piecework over daily work. Peter did his job.
This is a very significant matter. Judging by the intensity of the efforts, the variety and ingenuity of the means used, the logical coherence of the guiding threads, despite some inconsistency, it deserves an honorable place in the history of the brilliant worker. To increase the well-being of individuals, while at the same time increasing state revenues, to simultaneously create new sources of taxation and new sources of production, to replace imported goods with products of domestic industry; to arouse the activity of the people and their spirit of enterprise; to force idle people, monks, nuns, and beggars to take places in the ranks of the working population; eliminate the indifference and even hostility of the administration towards the productive forces, introduce changes in unsatisfactory justice, eliminate the insufficient development of credit. lack of public safety, create a third estate, and finally introduce Russia into the modern economic movement.
The success of his enterprise was partly spoiled by an unfortunate coincidence and a fundamental mistake. Coincidentally, there was a war with its consequences and inevitable demands. She turned Peter, a staunch opponent of monopolies, into a creator of new monopolies, destroying with one hand what the other was doing. The mistake was his confidence in the ability to create a commercial and industrial life, to supply this creation with organs corresponding to its needs, to give it flesh and blood, then to control its movements, to turn it to the right and to the left, like regiments being created and commanded; by decrees and under the threat of the cane. Commercial and industrial companies made the first attempt of this kind in 1699. The Dutch were scared at first, but eventually they started laughing.
The war required money; the maintenance of standing troops gave impetus to the spirit of mercantilism in the West, and Peter is a zealous imitator of Colbert. True, Colbert also had no national covenants on his side. Already under Alexei Mikhailovich, perhaps even earlier, the right to import was paid for at Russian customs in Hungarian chervonets or Dutch thalers. Peter preserved, strengthening it, this system, which has survived to this day. He prohibited the export of precious metals, ignoring the warnings of Baudin and Childe about the dangers of such a practice. Having never read Klok, Schroeder or Decker, Pegr went further than them, forbidding his subjects to accept domestic coin as payment for their goods. According to Marperger, around 1723 Russia earned several barrels of gold annually in exchange with foreign countries. Peter also believed in the benefits of protectionism. The ruler of the country, which to this day has remained almost exclusively, in the sense of foreign trade, a producer of raw products, prohibited the export of some of these products, for example, flax, and so limited the right to export the rest that it was almost a prohibition. In anticipation of the opportunity to dress the entire army in locally produced cloth, he himself did not recognize otherwise for his dress and made it mandatory for liveries. When a Frenchman named Mamoron founded a stocking factory in Moscow, Muscovites were forbidden to buy them anywhere else. The industrialists, who were under the patronage of the tsar, hesitated to use the felt they produced for hats; a decree appeared that gave them courage: they were allowed to sell their goods only by releasing a certain number of hats of their production onto the market.
Such persistence of convictions, such an abundance of incentive and coercive measures, moral and monetary support, gradually did their job. Factories arose, some subsidized, others operated directly by the sovereign, others, finally, existing with their own funds. The Empress maintained a tulle factory and a starch factory in Yekateringof. Peter, who at first limited his activity to the production of items related to navigation: sailing cloth, saltpeter, sulfur, leather, weapons, gradually and partly against his will, also expanded its scope. We see him as a manufacturer of Kolomyanka in St. Petersburg, paper in Dudergof, cloth almost everywhere.
Unfortunately, all these institutions were far from thriving. It was in vain that the sovereign sold the Kolomyanka at a loss, giving five kopecks for an arshin of material that cost him fifteen. But, as usual, he continued to persist, even expanding the business, trying to introduce the production of luxury goods to his state. Russia produced carpets and tapestries without even having a paper spinning factory! And as always, the king did not limit himself to impulse, he struck from the shoulder. In 1718 The decree prescribed the use of lard instead of tar when processing yuft. A period of two years was given “to learn this, after which, if anyone makes yufti as before, he will be sent to hard labor and deprived of all his property.”
But, thus scattering himself in all directions, Peter finally stumbled upon grateful, directly productive, inexhaustibly rich soil, and immediately his impetuosity, ardor, and creative passion began to work miracles. He took up the mines. Already under Alexei Mikhailovich, the Dutch and the Dane mined ore and built factories in the vicinity of Moscow and cast cannons. With Peter's intervention, the matter assumed enormous proportions. Having ordered the establishment of ironworks in Verkhoture and Tobolsk by decree in 1697, the tsar had exclusively military purposes in mind: he needed cannons and rifles; but once it started, it went further and further, and the modern widespread development of the Russian mining industry owes its origin to it.
The sovereign began with the mining and processing of iron ore; , later he was seized by gold fever. He became even more interested, collecting all the instructions, exploring all the paths. True, numerous expeditions organized by him, Bekovich-Cherkassky to Persia in 1717, Likharev to Siberia in 1719, remained without results. Until 1720, the only silver mines were opened. But along the way, copper was found, again iron and, in 1722, coal. Thirty-six foundries were established in the Kazan province and thirty-nine in the Moscow province.
Private initiative - with the exception of the isolated case of Demidov - remained inactive for a long time. A decree issued in 1719 gives characteristic instructions in this regard: it declares the exploration and extraction of all kinds of metals on all lands without distinction free and accessible to the public. Owners of ore-bearing lands have only the right of primacy. So much the worse for them if they are slow to use it. “If they cannot or do not want it, then the right to build factories is given to others, with the payment to the landowner of 32 shares of the profit, so that God’s blessing does not remain underground in tuna.” Anyone who conceals ore or interferes with its mining is subject to corporal punishment and the death penalty. In 1723 the legislator took another step; he intended to finally end the system of the crown industrial monopoly. To the charter developed by the Manufactory Collegium, he added a manifesto inviting private individuals to replace the state in the operation of institutions of all kinds created by it, offering favorable conditions. And such versatile, persistent efforts did not remain fruitless; the creative movement of life grew, expanded, and domestic industry became a reality.
Trade.
The history of trade under Peter is almost entirely the history of domestic trade. Upon his accession to the throne, Peter had a strong desire to renounce his royal rights, which turned him into the largest and even the only major merchant of the state. But he had to submit to the law of war: he remained a merchant in order to earn money, and, without doing anything halfway, he increased the number of his affairs, monopolizing more than before, completely absorbing the entire domestic and foreign market. By creating new branches of trade, he only increased the list of monopolies. A wholesale buyer, a petty trader, he even sold Hungarian wine in Moscow! At one time, absorbed in the concerns of management and disappointed by the uncertainty of the income derived from trading enterprises, he decided to farm out the latter. Menshikov took Arkhangelsk fishing, blubber and seal skins. Then the hope for a near peace reduced the sovereign’s financial difficulties, and he returned to his natural, liberal aspirations. In 1717, trade in bread was declared free, and in 1719 all monopolies were destroyed. At the same time, the Trade Collegium, which had existed since 1715, began to show fruitful activity, engaging, among other things, in the commercial education of the trading class, sending dozens abroad, to Holland and Italy, of young people chosen from among the sons of large Moscow merchants, whose number was rapidly growing. increased. The sovereign's diplomacy, in turn, worked to expand international relations. The war had previously led to unfortunate compromises in this regard, for example, to the sale of emergency rights and privileges to the city of Lübeck in 1713 for thirty-odd thousand thalers, and to similar conditions with Danzig and Hamburg. Since 1717, Peter resolutely sought to put an end to these errors, and in the negotiations begun at that time with France, he no longer touched on such an issue, just as in the instructions given to the consulates established simultaneously in Toulon, Lisbon and London. Sometimes Peter still succumbed to the temptation to control rather arbitrarily the destinies of these nascent relations. Proof of this is the history of the St. Petersburg port, as well as the formal battles of the great man with foreign and Russian merchants who stubbornly preferred the Arkhangelsk port. When the king exhausted the means of peaceful persuasion; when he saw that neither the creation of the vast Gostiny Dvor, nor the special magistracy, composed mostly of foreigners, nor the efforts he spent to concentrate their favorite product, hemp, in his new capital, at cheap prices and in abundance, could attract them there , he resolutely resorted to the behests of his ancestors. He did not directly forcibly transport the Arkhangelsk residents to St. Petersburg, as Grand Duke Vasily did with the Pskovites, relocating them to Moscow; but he ordered the Arkhangelsk people from now on to buy or sell hemp no other way than in St. Petersburg.
The measure bore fruits that were to be expected. The new capital was still a disgusting warehouse. The canal system intended to connect the Volga with the Neva via Lake Ladoga was still in the project. The eminent English engineer Perry, who was entrusted with the execution of the work, dissatisfied with the ill-treatment he had to endure, abandoned it at the very beginning. The second canal, invented by Peter to avoid dangerous navigation on Lake Ladoga, remained unfinished until 1732. The third system, based on the use of connecting rivers, served only to enrich the miller Serdyukov, who offered and took advantage of the concession granted to him too hastily to build up the banks of the Una and Shlina mills and taverns that had nothing to do with the St. Petersburg port. Therefore, hemp, leather and other goods, since since 1717 two-thirds of all products were necessarily sent to St. Petersburg, were delivered with great difficulty, burdened with enormous transportation costs, and not finding buyers here, they were piled up in heaps, devalued due to the large accumulation, and finally spoiled, especially hemp.
By good or by force, Petersburg was to become a trading port. In 1714, only sixteen foreign ships arrived there, a year later fifty, one hundred nineteen in 1722, one hundred eighty in 1724. Peter laid the foundation for a system of water communications, which his successors, including Catherine II, tried to complete and improve, and which, connecting the Volga basin with the Neva and Dvina basins, i.e. the Caspian Sea with the Baltic and White Seas, contained in the space occupied by canals three hundred and two miles, seventy-six lakes and one hundred and six rivers. Here there was an enormous expenditure of wealth, labor and even human lives; but the strength of Russia and the secret of its fate have always, for the most part, consisted in the desire and ability not to think about sacrifices in order to achieve the intended goal. Long-suffering men, tens of thousands buried in the Finnish swamps, and this time they submitted rather resignedly.
Peter did not attach the same importance to the development of land communications, and did not pay any attention to them. He didn't build roads. This is still one of Russia's weak points from an economic point of view, and the insufficient number of existing highways is solely the work of the engineers of the Institute of Railways, founded only in 1809. However, the great man treated with due care the caravan trade organized by his ancestors. He dealt with it himself, purchasing Tokaji grapes from Hungary; transporting the wine obtained from it to Moscow on hundreds of carts and sending the products of Siberia back to Hungary. While directing the greatest effort to the Baltic Sea and the west, he did not lose sight of his southeastern border and the commercial interests that required his intervention. It is possible that having reached Bukhara, he would subsequently establish trade with India. Separate caravans were already arriving in Astrakhan, bringing not only silk and paper fabrics produced in Bukhara, but also goods from India: precious stones, gold and silver items. In any case, Peter managed to take possession first of the course of the Irtysh, the possession of which protected the borders of Siberia from the Kalmyks and Kyrgyz, then of the Kolyvan Mountains, where treasures discovered later fulfilled the Greek fairy tale about gold mines guarded by gnomes. Having held out in Azov, Peter would also have continued, and perhaps would have achieved, the restoration of the ancient trade route of the Venetians and Genoese. Thrown back to the Caspian Sea, he, of course, made an attempt to move this route, directing it from Astrakhan to St. Petersburg. The great expedition of 1722, proposed, and the beginning of the foundation of a large city - a storage point - at the mouth of the Kura, where five thousand people of Tatars, Cheremis, Chuvash worked at the moment of the tsar’s death, apparently indicate the existence of such a thought. We can say that the plan was partly fantastic, even crazy, and there was absolutely no calculation of possibilities, distances, or transportation costs. But despite the disproportionate daring of the enterprise and the oblivion to which its immediate successors betrayed it, a certain result was achieved: the intended path to the markets of Persia and India forms part of the heritage, the colossal asset of which Russia continues to enjoy at the present time.
Agriculture.
Such a versatile, almost all-encompassing person could not help but be a farmer. And indeed, he was, and even passionate. In the history of Russian agriculture, the reign of Peter also constitutes an era. He was not content with teaching his peasants how to plant potatoes, as Frederick later did; With a sickle in his hands, he showed peasants near Moscow how to harvest grain; near St. Petersburg, how to weave bast shoes. He considered the peasants as students, and himself as a teacher, forbade them to wear soles lined with large nails, because this would spoil the floors, and determined the width of the rough canvas they wove on their thighs. Having admired the garden of a rural priest in France, he immediately upon returning to Russia scolded his clergy: “Why don’t they start such gardens in their own country”! He was concerned with the selection of seeds for sowing, the raising of livestock, the fertilization of fields, and the use of implements and methods of improved farming; tried to grow grapes on the land of the Don Cossacks and took care of its more successful culture in the vicinity of Derbent, where he ordered to try Persian and Hungarian vines. In 1712 he established the first horse breeding farms; in 1706, the first herds of sheep were established in the present-day provinces of Kharkov, Poltava and Yekaterinoslav, where sheep are currently bred in huge numbers. Peter was also the first forester of his homeland. He was the first to defend the forests against the prevailing reckless destruction. To achieve this, however, he used methods that are hardly applicable at the present time even in Russia: along the banks of the Neva and the Gulf of Finland, at intervals of five miles, gallows were erected to edify the devastators. Even within the boundaries of present-day St. Petersburg, in the place now occupied by customs, there was a spruce forest then. Since the logging in it did not stop, Peter ordered a raid, hanged every tenth of the disobedient people caught and punished the rest with a whip. In general, on the basis of economic progress, the desire of the reformer encountered a double obstacle: a moral and a political one. Marked March 13, 1706, the decree addressed to the Senate punished with death local merchants who, following the habit they had acquired, about which their English customers strongly complained, mixed spoiled fiber or even stones into bales of hemp to increase weight. Raising the moral standard of commerce and industry nevertheless remained a task bequeathed to the future. At the end of the reign, the elements of commercial and industrial activity, created, called almost out of oblivion by the great creator, were still in a wild state. In 1722, Bestuzhev reported from Stockholm about the arrival there of several Russian merchants from Abo and Verel: “They brought a small amount of rough canvas, wooden spoons, nuts, and sell these goods along the streets in layers, cooking porridge for themselves in the open air; refuse to obey the demands of the police, get drunk, quarrel, fight and present a shameful spectacle of disgusting uncleanliness.”
Financial policy.
The political obstacle was finance. In the history of the great reign, financial policy is a dark spot. Of all the branches of Peter's creation, this branch, apparently, was most directly inspired and caused by the war, which was reflected in it. First of all, it does not have a transformative character at all; besides, she is almost always frank and disgusting.
The funds that Peter had at his accession to the throne cannot be put in direct parallel with the funds of other European states. According to Golikov, they did not exceed 1,750,000 rubles. Based on such a meager budget, the material existence of the Russian state would have taken on - even touching only the internal side, regardless of any efforts directed beyond its borders - the appearance of an insoluble riddle, if one did not take into account the very special conditions in which it then found itself. First of all, apart from maintaining the army, the state itself had almost no obligations. It did not pay its employees: they were obliged to serve it in return for the privileges it distributed, or they received their salaries indirectly, through “feeding”. It did not support roads, which did not exist then, and so on. Here, for example, is the expenditure budget of 1710. It is very instructive in this regard.
artillery........................ 221,799 rub.
fleet................................... 444,288 rub.
garrisons........................ 977,896 rub.
Recruitment costs................................... 30,000 rub.
purchase of weapons......................... 84,104 rub.
Other expenses (including salary
for feldzeichmisters .................................... 675,775 rub.
Before the accession of Peter in 1679, a very important beneficial measure was taken in this primitive organization, namely, the centralization of income into the Order of the Great Treasury, which was replaced in 1699 by the town hall. The great man, with his intervention, only destroyed everything that had been done. He was too pressed for time to follow a program that promised to give satisfactory results only over a long period of time. Needing big money immediately, he acted like the confused sons of rich parents. Instead of continuing to centralize and thus gradually destroy the individual in monetary terms). At the same time, high customs tariffs (up to 40% in foreign currency) reliably protected the domestic market. The growth of industrial production was accompanied by increased feudal exploitation, the widespread use of forced labor in manufactories: the use of serfs, purchased (possession) peasants, as well as the labor of the state (black-growing) peasantry, which was assigned to the plant as a constant source of labor. The decree of January 18, 1721, and subsequent laws (for example, of May 28, 1723) allowed private manufacturers to buy entire villages of peasants “without restrictions, so that those villages would always be inseparable from those factories.”
Peter I the Great (real name - Romanov Peter Alekseevich) - Russian Tsar, since 1721 - Emperor, an outstanding statesman, famous for a large number of cardinal reforms, commander - was born on June 9 (May 30, O.S.) in 1672 in Moscow; his father was Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, his mother was Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina.
The future emperor did not receive a systematic education, and although it is reported that his education began in 1677, in fact the boy was left largely to his own devices, spending most of his time with his peers in entertainment, in which he participated quite willingly. Until the age of 10, after the death of his father in 1676, Peter grew up under the supervision of Fyodor Alekseevich, his older brother. After his death, Ivan Alekseevich was supposed to become the heir to the throne, but the latter’s poor health contributed to the nomination of Peter to this post. Nevertheless, as a result of the Streltsy revolt, a political compromise was the enthronement of Peter and Ivan; Sofya Alekseevna, their elder sister, was appointed ruler.
During the period of Sophia's regency, Peter participated in government administration only formally, attending ceremonial events. Sophia, watching the grown-up Peter, who was seriously interested in military amusements, took measures to strengthen her power. In August 1689, Peter's supporters convened a noble militia, dealt with Sophia's main supporters, she herself was placed in a monastery, and after that power actually passed into the hands of Peter's party, Ivan remained only a nominal ruler.
Nevertheless, even after gaining real power, it was actually his mother and other close people who ruled instead of Peter. At first, after the death of Natalya Kirillovna in 1694, the state machine worked by inertia, so Peter, although he was forced to govern the country, entrusted this mission mainly to the ministers. He had become accustomed to detachment from affairs over many years of forced isolation from power.
At that time, Russia was very far from advanced European states in its socio-economic development. Peter's inquisitiveness, his ebullient energy, and keen interest in everything new allowed him to take on the most important issues in the life of the country, especially since life itself urgently pushed him towards this. The first victory in the biography of young Peter as a ruler was the second campaign against Azov in 1696, and this greatly contributed to the strengthening of his authority as a sovereign.
In 1697, Peter and his entourage went abroad, living in Holland, Saxony, England, Venice, Austria, where he became acquainted with the achievements of these countries in the field of technology, shipbuilding, as well as with the way of life of other countries of the continent, their political and social structure. The news of the Streltsy revolt that broke out in his homeland forced him to return to his homeland, where he suppressed the act of disobedience with extreme cruelty.
During his stay abroad, the tsar’s program in political life was formed. In the state, he saw the common good, which everyone, first of all, himself, had to serve, and set an example for others. Peter behaved in many ways unconventionally for a monarch, destroying his sacred image that had developed over the centuries, so a certain part of society was critical of him and his activities. Nevertheless, Peter I led the country along the path of radical reforms in all areas of life, from public administration to culture. They began with an order to shave their beards and wear clothes in a foreign style.
A number of reforms were undertaken in the public administration system. Thus, under Peter I, the Senate and collegiums were created; he subordinated the church to the state and introduced an administrative-territorial division of the country into provinces. In 1703, at the mouth of the Neva River, he founded the new Russian capital - St. Petersburg. They assigned a special mission to this city - it was to become a model city, a “paradise”. During the same period, instead of the boyar duma, a council of ministers appeared, and a lot of new institutions arose in St. Petersburg. When the Northern War ended, Russia received the status of an empire in 1721, and Peter was named “Great” and “Father of the Fatherland” by the Senate.
Much had changed in the economic system, since Peter was well aware of how deep the gulf was between the country he led and Europe. He took many measures to develop industry and trade, including foreign trade; under him, a large number of new industrial sectors, factories and factories, manufactories, shipyards, and marinas appeared. All this was created taking into account the adopted Western European experience.
Peter I was credited with creating a regular army and navy. The foreign policy pursued by him was extremely energetic; Peter the Great undertook many military campaigns. In particular, as a result of the Northern War (1700-1721), territories that Sweden had conquered earlier were annexed to Russia; after the war with Turkey, Russia received Azov.
During the reign of Peter, Russian culture was replenished with a large number of European elements. At this time, the Academy of Sciences was opened, many secular educational institutions were opened, and the first Russian newspaper appeared. Through the efforts of Peter, the career advancement of the noble class was made dependent on the level of their education. Under Peter I, the civil alphabet was adopted and New Year celebrations were introduced. A fundamentally new urban environment was being formed in St. Petersburg, starting with previously unbuilt architectural structures and ending with the forms of people’s pastime (in particular, Peter introduced the so-called assemblies by decree).
Peter I is credited with bringing Russia onto the international stage as a great power. The country has become a full-fledged participant in international relations, its foreign policy has become active and led to the strengthening of its authority in the world. For many, the Russian emperor himself turned into an exemplary reformer sovereign. For a long time, the management system he introduced and the principles of the territorial division of Russia were preserved; they laid the foundations of national culture. At the same time, Peter's reforms were contradictory, which created the preconditions for a crisis to brew. The ambiguity of the course he pursues is associated with violence as the main instrument of reform, the lack of changes in the social sphere, and the strengthening of the institution of serfdom.
Peter I the Great left behind an extensive manuscript heritage, numbering more than a dozen volumes; the emperor's relatives, acquaintances, his contemporaries, and biographers recorded many of the sovereign's statements that have survived to our time. On February 8 (January 28, O.S.), 1725, Peter I died in his brainchild, St. Petersburg. It is known that he suffered from a number of serious illnesses, which significantly brought his death closer.
Peter I was born on May 30, 1672, the 14th child of Alexei Mikhailovich, but the first-born of his wife, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. Peter was baptized in the Chudov Monastery.
He ordered the measures to be removed from the newborn and an icon of the same size to be painted. Simon Ushakov painted an icon for the future emperor. On one side of the icon the face of the Apostle Peter was depicted, on the other the Trinity.
Natalya Naryshkina loved her firstborn very much and cherished him very much. The baby was entertained with rattles and harps, and he was drawn to toy soldiers and skates.
When Peter turned three years old, the Tsar Father gave him a children's sabre. At the end of 1676, Alexei Mikhailovich died. Peter's half-brother Fyodor ascends the throne. Fyodor was concerned that Peter was not being taught to read and write, and asked Naryshkina to devote more time to this component of training. A year later, Peter began to actively study.
He was assigned a clerk, Nikita Moiseevich Zotov, as his teacher. Zotov was a kind and patient man, he quickly fell into the good graces of Peter I, who did not like to sit still. He loved to climb in attics and fight with archers and noble children. Zotov brought good books to his student from the armory.
From early childhood, Peter I began to be interested in history, military art, geography, loved books and, already being Emperor of the Russian Empire, dreamed of compiling a book on the history of his fatherland; He himself composed the alphabet, which was easy on the tongue and easy to remember.
Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich died in 1682. He did not leave a will. After his death, only two brothers Peter I and Ivan could claim the throne. The paternal brothers had different mothers, representatives of different noble families. Having secured the support of the clergy, the Naryshkins elevated Peter I to the throne, and Natalya Kirillovna was made ruler. The relatives of Ivan and Princess Sophia, the Miloslavskys, were not going to put up with this state of affairs.
The Miloslavskys organize a Streltsy riot in Moscow. On May 15, a Streltsy uprising took place in Moscow. The Miloslavskys started a rumor that Tsarevich Ivan had been killed. Dissatisfied with this, the archers moved to the Kremlin. In the Kremlin, Natalya Kirillovna came out to them with Peter I and Ivan. Despite this, the archers rampaged in Moscow for several days, robbed and killed, they demanded that the feeble-minded Ivan be crowned king. And she became the regent of two young kings.
Ten-year-old Peter I witnessed the horrors of the Streltsy riot. He began to hate the Streltsy, who aroused in him rage, a desire to avenge the death of loved ones and the tears of his mother. During the reign of Sophia, Peter I and his mother lived almost all the time in Preobrazhenskoye, Kolomenskoye and Semenovskoye villages, only occasionally traveling to Moscow to participate in official receptions.
Natural curiosity, quickness of mind, and strength of character led Peter to a passion for military affairs. He arranges “war fun”. “War fun” is semi-childish games in palace villages. Forms amusing regiments, which recruit teenagers from noble and peasant families. “Military fun” eventually grew into real military exercises. Amusing regiments soon became adults. The Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments became an impressive military force, superior to the Streltsy army in military affairs. In those same young years, Peter I came up with the idea of a fleet.
He gets acquainted with shipbuilding on the Yauza River, and then on Lake Pleshcheyeva. Foreigners living in the German Settlement played a large role in Peter’s military fun. The Swiss and Scotsman Patrick Gordon will have a special position in the military system of the Russian state under Peter I. Many like-minded people gather around young Peter, who will become his close associates in life.
He becomes close to Prince Romodanovsky, who fought with the archers; Fedor Apraksin - future admiral general; Alexei Menshikov, future field marshal of the Russian army. At the age of 17, Peter I married Evdokia Lopukhina. A year later, he cooled down to her and began to spend more time with Anna Mons, the daughter of a German merchant.
Coming of age and marriage gave Peter I full right to the royal throne. In August 1689, Sophia provoked a Streltsy uprising directed against Peter I. He took refuge in the Trinity - Sergeyev Lavra. Soon the Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments approached the monastery. Patriarch of All Rus' Joachim also took his side. The mutiny of the Streltsy was suppressed, its leaders were subjected to repression. Sophia was imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent, where she died in 1704. Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn was sent into exile.
Peter I began to independently govern the state, and with the death of Ivan, in 1696, he became the sole ruler. At first, the sovereign took little part in state affairs; he was passionate about military affairs. The burden of governing the country fell on the shoulders of the mother's relatives - the Naryshkins. In 1695, the independent reign of Peter I began.
He was obsessed with the idea of access to the sea, and now the 30,000-strong Russian army, under the command of Sheremetyev, goes on a campaign against the Ottoman Empire. Peter I is an epoch-making personality, under him Russia became an Empire, and the Tsar became an Emperor. He pursued an active foreign and domestic policy. The priority of foreign policy was to gain access to the Black Sea. To achieve these goals, Russia participated in the Northern War.
In domestic policy, Peter I made many changes. He went down in Russian history as a reformer tsar. His reforms were timely, although they killed Russian identity. We managed to carry out transformations in trade and industry. Many praise the personality of Peter I, calling him the most successful ruler of Russia. But history has many faces; in the life of each historical character you can find both good and bad sides. Peter I died in 1725, in terrible agony after a long illness. He was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. After him, his wife, Catherine I, sat on the throne.
Peter I, who received the nickname Peter the Great for his services to Russia, is not just a significant figure in Russian history, but a key one. Peter 1 created the Russian Empire, therefore he turned out to be the last Tsar of All Rus' and, accordingly, the first All-Russian Emperor. The son of the Tsar, the godson of the Tsar, the brother of the Tsar - Peter himself was proclaimed the head of the country, and at that time the boy was barely 10 years old. Initially, he had a formal co-ruler Ivan V, but from the age of 17 he already ruled independently, and in 1721 Peter I became emperor.
Tsar Peter the Great | Haiku Deck
For Russia, the years of the reign of Peter I were a time of large-scale reforms. He significantly expanded the territory of the state, built the beautiful city of St. Petersburg, incredibly boosted the economy by founding a whole network of metallurgical and glass factories, and also reducing imports of foreign goods to a minimum. In addition, Peter the Great was the first of the Russian rulers to adopt their best ideas from Western countries. But since all the reforms of Peter the Great were achieved through violence against the population and the eradication of all dissent, the personality of Peter the Great still evokes diametrically opposed assessments among historians.
Childhood and youth of Peter I
The biography of Peter I initially implied his future reign, since he was born into the family of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov and his wife Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. It is noteworthy that Peter the Great turned out to be the 14th child of his father, but the first-born for his mother. It is also worth noting that the name Peter was completely unconventional for both dynasties of his ancestors, so historians still cannot figure out where he got this name from.
Childhood of Peter the Great | Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias The boy was only four years old when the Tsar Father died. His elder brother and godfather Fyodor III Alekseevich ascended the throne, took guardianship of his brother and ordered him to be given the best possible education. However, Peter the Great had big problems with this. He was always very inquisitive, but just at that moment the Orthodox Church started a war against foreign influence, and all Latin teachers were removed from the court. Therefore, the prince was taught by Russian clerks, who themselves did not have deep knowledge, and Russian-language books of the proper level did not yet exist. As a result, Peter the Great had a meager vocabulary and wrote with errors until the end of his life.
Childhood of Peter the Great | View Map Tsar Feodor III reigned for only six years and died due to poor health at a young age. According to tradition, the throne was supposed to be taken by another son of Tsar Alexei, Ivan, but he was very sickly, so the Naryshkin family actually organized a palace coup and declared Peter I the heir. It was beneficial for them, since the boy was a descendant of their family, but the Naryshkins did not take into account that the Miloslavsky family will rebel due to infringement of the interests of Tsarevich Ivan. The famous Streletsky revolt of 1682 took place, the result of which was the recognition of two tsars at the same time - Ivan and Peter. The Kremlin Armory still preserves a double throne for the brother tsars.
Childhood and youth of Peter the Great | Russian Museum Young Peter I's favorite game was practicing with his troops. Moreover, the prince’s soldiers were not toys at all. His peers dressed in uniform and marched through the streets of the city, and Peter the Great himself “served” as a drummer in his regiment. Later, he even got his own artillery, also real. The amusing army of Peter I was called the Preobrazhensky regiment, to which the Semenovsky regiment was later added, and, in addition to them, the tsar organized an amusing fleet.
Tsar Peter I
When the young tsar was still a minor, behind him stood his older sister, Princess Sophia, and later his mother Natalya Kirillovna and her relatives the Naryshkins. In 1689, brother-co-ruler Ivan V finally gave Peter all power, although he nominally remained co-tsar until he died suddenly at the age of 30. After the death of his mother, Tsar Peter the Great freed himself from the burdensome guardianship of the Naryshkin princes, and it was from then on that we can talk about Peter the Great as an independent ruler.
Tsar Peter the Great | Cultural studies He continued military operations in Crimea against the Ottoman Empire, carried out a series of Azov campaigns, which resulted in the capture of the Azov fortress. To strengthen the southern borders, the tsar built the port of Taganrog, but Russia still did not have a full-fledged fleet, so it did not achieve final victory. Large-scale construction of ships and training of young nobles abroad in shipbuilding begins. And the tsar himself studied the art of building a fleet, even working as a carpenter on the construction of the ship “Peter and Paul”.
Emperor Peter the Great | Bookaholic While Peter the Great was preparing to reform the country and personally studied the technical and economic progress of leading European states, a conspiracy was hatched against him, led by the tsar’s first wife. Having suppressed the Streltsy revolt, Peter the Great decided to redirect military operations. He concludes a peace agreement with the Ottoman Empire and begins a war with Sweden. His troops captured the fortresses of Noteburg and Nyenschanz at the mouth of the Neva, where the Tsar decided to found the city of St. Petersburg, and placed the base of the Russian fleet on the nearby island of Kronstadt.
Wars of Peter the Great
The above conquests made it possible to open access to the Baltic Sea, which later received the symbolic name “Window to Europe.” Later, the territories of the Eastern Baltic were annexed to Russia, and in 1709, during the legendary Battle of Poltava, the Swedes were completely defeated. Moreover, it is important to note: Peter the Great, unlike many kings, did not sit in fortresses, but personally led his troops on the battlefield. In the Battle of Poltava, Peter I was even shot through his hat, meaning he really risked his own life.
Peter the Great at the Battle of Poltava | X-digest After the defeat of the Swedes near Poltava, King Charles XII took refuge under the protection of the Turks in the city of Bendery, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire, and today is located in Moldova. With the help of the Crimean Tatars and Zaporozhye Cossacks, he began to escalate the situation on the southern border of Russia. By seeking the expulsion of Charles, Peter the Great, on the contrary, forced the Ottoman Sultan to restart the Russian-Turkish war. Rus' found itself in a situation where it was necessary to wage a war on three fronts. On the border with Moldova, the tsar was surrounded and agreed to sign peace with the Turks, giving them back the Azov fortress and access to the Sea of Azov.
Fragment of Ivan Aivazovsky's painting "Peter I at Krasnaya Gorka" | Russian Museum In addition to the Russian-Turkish and northern wars, Peter the Great escalated the situation in the east. Thanks to his expeditions, the cities of Omsk, Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semipalatinsk were founded, and later Kamchatka joined Russia. The Tsar wanted to carry out campaigns in North America and India, but failed to bring these ideas to life. But he carried out the so-called Caspian campaign against Persia, during which he conquered Baku, Rasht, Astrabad, Derbent, as well as other Iranian and Caucasian fortresses. But after the death of Peter the Great, most of these territories were lost, since the new government considered the region not promising, and maintaining a garrison in those conditions was too expensive.
Reforms of Peter I
Due to the fact that the territory of Russia expanded significantly, Peter managed to reorganize the country from a kingdom into an empire, and starting in 1721, Peter I became emperor. Of the numerous reforms of Peter I, transformations in the army clearly stood out, which allowed him to achieve great military victories. But no less important were such innovations as the transfer of the church under the authority of the emperor, as well as the development of industry and trade. Emperor Peter the Great was well aware of the need for education and the fight against an outdated way of life. On the one hand, his tax on wearing a beard was perceived as tyranny, but at the same time, there appeared a direct dependence of the promotion of nobles on the level of their education.
Peter the Great cuts off the beards of the boyars | VistaNews Under Peter, the first Russian newspaper was founded and many translations of foreign books appeared. Artillery, engineering, medical, naval and mining schools were opened, as well as the country's first gymnasium. Moreover, now not only the children of nobles, but also the offspring of soldiers could attend secondary schools. He really wanted to create a compulsory primary school for everyone, but did not have time to implement this plan. It is important to note that the reforms of Peter the Great affected not only economics and politics. He financed the education of talented artists, introduced the new Julian calendar, and tried to change the position of women by prohibiting forced marriage. He also raised the dignity of his subjects, obliging them not to kneel even before the tsar and to use full names, and not call themselves “Senka” or “Ivashka” as before.
Monument "Tsar Carpenter" in St. Petersburg | Russian Museum In general, the reforms of Peter the Great changed the value system of the nobles, which can be considered a huge plus, but at the same time the gap between the nobility and the people increased many times and was no longer limited only to finances and titles. The main disadvantage of the royal reforms is the violent method of their implementation. In fact, this was a struggle between despotism and uneducated people, and Peter hoped to use the whip to instill consciousness in the people. Indicative in this regard is the construction of St. Petersburg, which was carried out in difficult conditions. Many artisans ran away from hard labor, and the tsar ordered their entire family to be imprisoned until the fugitives returned to confess.
TVNZ Since not everyone liked the methods of governing the state under Peter the Great, the tsar founded the political investigation and judicial body Preobrazhensky Prikaz, which later grew into the notorious Secret Chancellery. The most unpopular decrees in this context were the ban on keeping records in a room closed from outsiders, as well as the ban on non-reporting. Violation of both of these decrees was punishable by death. In this way, Peter the Great fought against conspiracies and palace coups.
Personal life of Peter I
In his youth, Tsar Peter I loved to visit the German Settlement, where he not only became interested in foreign life, for example, learned to dance, smoke and communicate in a Western manner, but also fell in love with a German girl, Anna Mons. His mother was very alarmed by such a relationship, so when Peter reached his 17th birthday, she insisted on his wedding to Evdokia Lopukhina. However, they did not have a normal family life: soon after the wedding, Peter the Great left his wife and visited her only to prevent rumors of a certain kind.
Evdokia Lopukhina, first wife of Peter the Great | Sunday afternoon Tsar Peter I and his wife had three sons: Alexei, Alexander and Pavel, but the latter two died in infancy. The eldest son of Peter the Great was supposed to become his heir, but since Evdokia in 1698 unsuccessfully tried to overthrow her husband from the throne in order to transfer the crown to her son and was imprisoned in a monastery, Alexei was forced to flee abroad. He never approved of his father's reforms, considered him a tyrant and planned to overthrow his parent. However, in 1717 the young man was arrested and detained in the Peter and Paul Fortress, and the following summer he was sentenced to death. The matter did not come to execution, since Alexei soon died in prison under unclear circumstances.
A few years after the divorce from his first wife, Peter the Great took 19-year-old Marta Skavronskaya as his mistress, whom Russian troops captured as booty of war. She gave birth to eleven children from the king, half of them even before the legal wedding. The wedding took place in February 1712 after the woman converted to Orthodoxy, thanks to which she became Ekaterina Alekseevna, later known as Empress Catherine I. Among the children of Peter and Catherine are the future Empress Elizabeth I and Anna, the mother, the rest died in childhood. It is interesting that the second wife of Peter the Great was the only person in his life who knew how to calm his violent character even in moments of rage and fits of anger.
Maria Cantemir, favorite of Peter the Great | Wikipedia Despite the fact that his wife accompanied the emperor on all campaigns, he was able to become infatuated with young Maria Cantemir, the daughter of the former Moldavian ruler, Prince Dmitry Konstantinovich. Maria remained Peter the Great's favorite until the end of his life. Separately, it is worth mentioning the height of Peter I. Even for our contemporaries, a more than two-meter man seems very tall. But during the time of Peter I, his 203 centimeters seemed completely incredible. Judging by the chronicles of eyewitnesses, when the Tsar and Emperor Peter the Great walked through the crowd, his head rose above the sea of people.
Compared to his older brothers, born by a different mother from their common father, Peter the Great seemed quite healthy. But in fact, he was tormented by severe headaches almost all his life, and in the last years of his reign, Peter the Great suffered from kidney stones. The attacks intensified even more after the emperor, together with ordinary soldiers, pulled out the stranded boat, but he tried not to pay attention to the illness.
Engraving "Death of Peter the Great" | ArtPolitInfo At the end of January 1725, the ruler could no longer endure the pain and fell ill in his Winter Palace. After the emperor had no strength left to scream, he only moaned, and everyone around him realized that Peter the Great was dying. Peter the Great accepted his death in terrible agony. Doctors named pneumonia as the official cause of his death, but later doctors had strong doubts about this verdict. An autopsy was performed, which showed a terrible inflammation of the bladder, which had already developed into gangrene. Peter the Great was buried in the cathedral at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, and his wife, Empress Catherine I, became the heir to the throne.
