Peter the Great was born in Moscow in 1672. His parents are Alexei Mikhailovich and Natalya Naryshkina. Peter was raised by nannies, his education was poor, but the boy's health was strong, he was the least ill in the family.

When Peter was ten years old, he and his brother Ivan were proclaimed kings. In fact, Sofia Alekseevna reigned. And Peter and his mother left for Preobrazhenskoye. There, little Peter began to be interested in military activities, shipbuilding.

In 1689, Peter I became king, and Sophia's reign was suspended.

During his reign, Peter created a powerful fleet. The ruler fought against the Crimea. Peter went to Europe because he needed allies to help him stand against the Ottoman Empire. In Europe, Peter devoted a lot of time to shipbuilding, studying the cultures of different countries. The ruler mastered many crafts in Europe. One of them is gardening. Peter I brought tulips from Holland to the Russian Empire. The emperor liked to grow in the gardens various plants brought from abroad. Peter also brought rice and potatoes to Russia. In Europe, he caught fire with the idea to change his state.

Peter I waged war with Sweden. He annexed Kamchatka to Russia and the coast of the Caspian Sea. It was in this sea that Peter I baptized people close to him. Peter's reforms were innovative. During the reign of the Emperor, there were several military reforms, the power of the state increased, and a regular army and navy were founded. And also the ruler invested his forces in the economy and industry. Peter I put a lot of effort into the education of citizens. They opened many schools.

Peter I died in 1725. He was seriously ill. Peter gave the throne to his wife. He had a strong and persistent personality. Peter I made many changes, both in the state system and in the life of the people. He successfully ruled the state for more than forty years.

Biography by dates and interesting facts. The most important.

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Date of publication or update 12/15/2017

Contents: Rulers

Peter I Alekseevich the Great
Years of life: 1672-1725
Reign: 1689-1725

Russian Tsar (1682). The first Russian emperor (since 1721), an outstanding statesman, diplomat and commander, all his activities are connected with reforms.

From the Romanov dynasty.

In the 1680s under the guidance of the Dutchman F. Timmerman and the Russian master R. Kartsev Peter I studied shipbuilding, and in 1684 he sailed on his boat on the Yauza, and later on Lake Pereyaslav, where he laid the first shipyard for the construction of ships.

On January 27, 1689, by decree of his mother, Peter married Evdokia Lopukhina, the daughter of a Moscow boyar. But the newlyweds spent time with friends in the German Quarter. There, in 1691, he met the daughter of a German craftsman, Anna Mons, who became his lover. But according to Russian custom, when he married, he was considered an adult and could claim independent rule.

But Princess Sophia did not want to lose power and organized a revolt of archers against Peter. Upon learning of this, Peter hid in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Remembering how the archers killed many of his relatives, he experienced real horror. Since that time, Peter had a nervous tic and convulsions.

Peter I, Emperor of All Russia. Engraving from the early 19th century.

But soon Petr Alekseevich came to his senses and brutally suppressed the uprising. In September 1689, Princess Sophia was exiled to the Novodevichy Convent, and her supporters were executed. In 1689, having removed his sister from power, Pyotr Alekseevich became the de facto tsar. After the death of his mother in 1695, and in 1696 of his brother-co-ruler Ivan V, on January 29, 1696, he became an autocrat, the only king of all Russia and legally.

Peter I, Emperor of All Russia. Portrait. Unknown artist of the late 18th century.

Barely established on the throne, Peter I personally participated in the Azov campaigns against Turkey (1695-1696), which ended with the capture of Azov and access to the shores of the Sea of ​​​​Azov. Thus, the first exit of Russia to the southern seas was opened.

Under the guise of studying maritime affairs and shipbuilding, Peter went as a volunteer at the Great Embassy in 1697-1698. to Europe. There, under the name of Peter Mikhailov, the tsar took a full course in artillery sciences in Brandenburg and Koenigsberg, worked as a carpenter at the shipyards of Amsterdam, studied ship architecture and drawing plans, and completed a theoretical course in shipbuilding in England. By his order, instruments, weapons, books were purchased in England, foreign craftsmen and scientists were invited. The British said about Peter that there was no such craft that the Russian Tsar would not have met.

Portrait Peter I. Artist A. Antropov. 1767.

At the same time, the Great Embassy prepared the creation of the Northern Alliance against Sweden, which finally took shape only 2 years later (1699). In the summer of 1697 Peter I held negotiations with the Austrian emperor, but having received news of the impending uprising of the archers, which was organized by Princess Sophia, who promised many privileges in the event of the overthrow of Peter, returned to Russia. On August 26, 1698, the investigation into the Streltsy case did not spare any of the rebels (1182 people were executed, Sophia and her sister Marfa were tonsured nuns).

Returning to Russia Peter I began his transformational work.

In February 1699, on his orders, unreliable archery regiments were disbanded and the formation of regular ones - soldiers and dragoons - began. Decrees were soon signed, under pain of fines and flogging, ordering men to “cut their beards”, wear European-style clothes, and women to open their hair. Since 1700, a new calendar was introduced with the beginning of the year on January 1 (instead of September 1) and the reckoning from the "Christmas". All these actions Peter I provided for the breaking of old customs.

However, Peter I began a major transformation in government. country. Over the course of more than 35 years of his reign, he managed to carry out many reforms in the field of culture and education. Thus, the monopoly of the clergy on education was abolished, and secular schools were opened. Under Peter, the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences (1701), the Medical and Surgical School (1707) - the future Military Medical Academy, the Naval Academy (1715), the Engineering and Artillery Schools (1719), schools of translators at the colleges. In 1719, the first museum in Russian history began to operate - the Kunstkamera with a public library.

Monument to Peter the Great at the House of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg.

ABC books, educational maps were published, a systematic study of the country's geography and cartography was laid. The spread of literacy was facilitated by the reform of the alphabet (cursive was replaced with civil type, 1708), the publication of the first Russian printed newspaper Vedomosti (since 1703). In the era Peter I many buildings were erected for state and cultural institutions, the architectural ensemble of Peterhof (Petrodvorets).

However, reform efforts Peter I proceeded in a sharp struggle with the conservative opposition. The reforms aroused the resistance of the boyars and the clergy (conspiracy of I. Tsikler, 1697).

In 1700 Peter I concluded the Treaty of Constantinople with Turkey and started a war with Sweden in alliance with Poland and Denmark. Peter's opponent was the 18-year-old Swedish king Charles XII. In November 1700, they first encountered Peter near Narva. The troops of Charles XII won this battle, since Russia did not yet have a strong army. But Peter learned a lesson from this defeat and actively set about strengthening the armed forces of Russia. Already in 1702, all the lands along the Niva to the Gulf of Finland were cleared of Swedish troops.

Monument to Peter the Great in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

However, the war with Sweden, called the Northern War, still continued. On June 27, 1709, under the fortress of Poltava, the great Battle of Poltava took place, ending in the complete defeat of the Swedish army. Peter I he himself led his troops and participated in the battle on an equal footing with everyone else. He encouraged and inspired the soldiers, saying his famous words: “You are fighting not for Peter, but for the state entrusted to Peter. Historians write that on the same day, Tsar Peter arranged a big feast, invited captured Swedish generals to it and, returning their swords to them, said: "... I drink to the health of you, my teachers in the art of war." After the Battle of Poltava, Peter forever secured access to the Baltic Sea. From now on, foreign countries were forced to reckon with the strong power of Russia.

Tsar Peter I did a lot for Russia. Under him, industry actively developed, trade expanded. New cities began to be built all over Russia, and in the old ones the streets were illuminated. With the emergence of the all-Russian market, the economic potential of the central government grew. And the reunification of Ukraine and Russia and the development of Siberia turned Russia into the greatest state in the world.

During the time of Peter the Great, exploration of ore resources was actively carried out, iron foundries and weapons factories were built in the Urals and Central Russia, canals and new strategic roads were laid, shipyards were built, and new cities arose along with them.

However, the burden of the Northern War and the reforms laid a heavy burden on the peasantry, which constituted the majority of the population of Russia. Discontent erupted in popular uprisings (Astrakhan uprising, 1705; Peasant war led by K.A. Bulavin, 1707-1708; unrest of the Bashkirs in 1705-1711), which were suppressed by Peter with cruelty and indifference.

After the suppression of the Bulavin rebellion Peter I carried out a regional reform of 1708-1710, dividing the country into 8 provinces headed by governors and governors-general. In 1719 the provinces were divided into provinces, provinces into counties.

The Decree on Uniform Heritage of 1714 equalized estates and patrimonies, introduced a majorat (granting the right to inherit real estate to the eldest of the sons), the purpose of which was to ensure the stable growth of noble land ownership.

Domestic affairs not only did not occupy Tsar Peter, but rather depressing. His son Alexei showed disagreement with his father's vision of proper government. After his father's threats, Alexei fled to Europe in 1716. Peter, declaring his son a traitor, imprisoned him in a fortress and in 1718 personally sentenced Alexei to death. After these events, suspiciousness, unpredictability and cruelty settled in the character of the king.

Strengthening its positions on the Baltic Sea, Peter I back in 1703, he laid the city of St. Petersburg at the mouth of the Neva River, which turned into a sea trading port, designed to serve the needs of all of Russia. With the foundation of this city, Peter "cut a window to Europe."

In 1720 he wrote the Naval Charter, completed the reform of city government. The Chief Magistrate was created in the capital (as a collegium) and magistrates in the cities.

In 1721, Peter finally concluded the Treaty of Nishtad, which put an end to the Northern War. According to the Treaty of Nishtad, Russia regained the Novgorod lands near Ladoga, which had been torn away from it, and acquired Vyborg in Finland and the entire Baltic region with Ravel and Riga. For this victory, Peter I received the title of "Father of the Fatherland, Emperor of All Russia, Peter the Great". Thus, the long process of formation of the Russian Empire was formally completed.

In 1722, the Table of Ranks for all military, civilian and court official ranks was published, according to which the family nobility could be obtained "for impeccable service to the emperor and the state."

The Persian campaign of Peter in 1722-1723 secured the western coast of the Caspian Sea with the cities of Derbent and Baku for Russia. There at Peter I For the first time in the history of Russia, permanent diplomatic missions and consulates were established.

In 1724, a decree was issued on the opening of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences with a gymnasium and a university.

In October 1724, Tsar Peter caught a bad cold while rescuing soldiers who were drowning during a flood in the Gulf of Finland. The tsar died of pneumonia on January 28, 1725, without leaving a will about his heir.

Later Peter I was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

The transformations he carried out made Russia a strong, developed, civilized country, introduced it into the community of great world powers.

Peter was married twice:

on Evdokia Fedorovna Lopukhina (1670-1731), from 1689 to 1698, after which she was forcibly sent to the Suzdal Intercession Monastery. She bore Peter I three sons.

on Catherine I Alekseevna (1684-1727), nee Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya, being the mistress (since 1703) and wife (since 1712) of Peter I bore him 11 children: 6 daughters and 5 sons.

At Peter I Alekseevich the Great officially had 14 children:

Alexei (1690 - 1718) - father of the Russian Emperor Peter IIa (1715-1730)

Alexander (1691 - 1692)

Pavel (born and died 1693)

Peter (1704 - 1707)

Pavel (1705 - 1707)

Catherine (1706 - 1708)

Anna (1708-1728) - mother of the Russian Emperor Peter IIIa (1728-1762)

Elizabeth (1709 - 1761) - Empress of Russia (1741-1762)

Natalia (1713 - 1715)

Margarita (1714 - 1715)

Peter (1715 - 1719)

Pavel (born and died 1717)

Natalia (1718 - 1725)

Peter (1719 - 1723)

Image Peter I Alekseevich the Great was embodied in the cinema ("Tsarevich Alexei", ​​1918; "Peter the Great", 1938; "Tobacco Captain", 1972; "The Tale of How Tsar Peter the Arap Married", 1976; "Peter's Youth", 1980; "In the Beginning Glorious Deeds", 1980, "Young Russia", 1982; "Dmitry Kantemir", 1974; "Demidovs", 1983; "Peter the Great" / "Peter the Great", 1985; "Tsarevich Alexei", ​​1997; "Secrets of palace coups ", 2000; "Prayer for Hetman Mazepa" / "Prayer for Hetman Mazepa", 2001; "Servant of the Sovereigns", 2006).

His extraordinary appearance was captured by artists (A.N. Benois, M.V. Lomonosov, E.E. Lansere, V.I. Surikov, V.A. Serov). Novels and novels about Peter were written: Tolstoy A. N. "Peter the First", A. S. Pushkin "Poltava" and "The Bronze Horseman", "Arap of Peter the Great", Merezhkovsky D. S. "Peter and Alexei", ​​Anatoly Brusnikin - "Ninth Spas", Gregory Keyes series "Age of Madness".

In memory of the great tsar, numerous monuments were built in St. Petersburg (“The Bronze Horseman” by E.M. Falcone, 1782; a bronze statue of B.K. Rastrelli, 1743, a bronze seated sculpture of M.M. Shemyakin in the Peter and Paul Fortress, Kronstadt (F Zhak), the cities of Arkhangelsk, Taganrog, Petrodvorets (M.M. Antokolsky), Tula, Petrozavodsk (I.N. Schroeder and I.A. Monigetti), Moscow (Z. Tsereteli). In 2007, a monument was erected in Astrakhan on the Volga embankment, and in 2008 in Sochi. Peter I Alekseevich were opened in Leningrad, Tallinn, Pereslavl-Zalessky, Vologda, Liepaja. The monument to Peter I in Arkhangelsk is depicted on a modern ticket of the Bank of Russia on a banknote of 500 rubles.

The Academy of Defense Security and Law Enforcement Problems established Order of Peter the Great.

According to the memoirs of contemporaries and the assessment of historians, the emperor, like many smart, strong-willed, decisive, talented people who spare no effort in the name of a cherished goal, was strict not only to himself, but also to others. Sometimes Tsar Peter was cruel and ruthless, did not take into account the interests and lives of those who were weaker than him. Energetic, purposeful, greedy for new knowledge, Tsar Peter the Great, for all his inconsistency, went down in history as an emperor who managed to radically change the face of Russia and the course of history for many centuries.

Pyotr Alekseevich Romanov (official titles: Peter I the Great, Father of the Fatherland) is an outstanding monarch who managed to make the deepest transformations in the Russian state. During his reign, the country became one of the leading European powers and acquired the status of an empire.

Among his achievements are the creation of the Senate, the foundation and construction of St. Petersburg, the territorial division of Russia into provinces, as well as the strengthening of the country's military power, obtaining access to the Baltic Sea, which is important for the economy, and the active use of the best practices of European states in various industries. However, according to a number of historians, he carried out the reforms necessary for the country hastily, poorly thought out and extremely harshly, which led, in particular, to a reduction in the country's population by 20-40 percent.

Childhood

The future emperor was born on June 9, 1672 in Moscow. He became the 14th child of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and the first of three children of his second wife, the Crimean Tatar princess Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina.

When Peter was 4 years old, his father died of a heart attack. Earlier, he announced Fedor, the son from his first marriage with Maria Miloslavskaya, who had poor health since childhood, as the heir to the throne. Difficult times have come for Peter's mother, together with her son she settled in the Moscow region.

The boy grew up strong, lively, inquisitive and active child. His upbringing was carried out by nannies, education - by clerks. Although later he had problems with literacy (he had not yet mastered the Russian alphabet by his 12th birthday), he knew German from an early age and, having an excellent memory, later mastered English, Dutch, and French. In addition, he studied many crafts, including weapons, carpentry, turning.

After the death at the age of 20 of Tsar Fedor Alekseevich, who did not make orders regarding the heir to the throne, his mother's relatives, Maria Miloslavskaya, the first wife of his father, considered that her 16-year-old son Ivan, who suffered from scurvy and epilepsy, should become the new tsar. But the boyar clan of the Naryshkins, with the support of Patriarch Joachim, advocated the candidacy of their protege, the healthy Tsarevich Peter, who was then 10 years old.

As a result of the Streltsy rebellion, when many relatives of the queen-widow were killed, both pretenders to the throne were proclaimed monarchs. Ivan was declared the "senior" of them, and the sovereign ruler, due to their young age, was sister Sophia, who completely removed her stepmother Naryshkina from governing the country.

Reign

At first, Peter was not particularly interested in state affairs. He spent time in Nemetskaya Sloboda, where he met future associates Franz Lefort and Patrick Gordon, as well as his future favorite Anna Mons. Often the young man also visited the Moscow region, where he created the so-called “amusing army” from his peers (for reference, in the 17th century, “fun” meant not fun, but military operations). During one of these "fun", Peter's face was burned with a grenade.

In 1698, he had a conflict with Sophia, who did not want to lose power. As a result, the grown-up brothers-co-rulers sent their sister to a monastery and remained together on the throne until the death of Ivan in 1696, although in fact the elder brother had ceded all powers to Peter even earlier.

In the initial period of the sole reign of Peter the power was in the hands of the princes Naryshkins. But, having buried his mother in 1694, he took care of the state upon himself. First of all, he set out to get access to the Black Sea. As a result, after being built in a flotilla in 1696, the Turkish fortress of Azov was taken, but the Kerch Strait remained under the control of the Ottomans.

In the period 1697-98. the tsar, under the name of the scorer Peter Mikhailovich, wandered around Western Europe, acquired important contacts with the heads of state and acquired the necessary knowledge in shipbuilding and navigation.

Then, having made peace with the Turks in 1700, he decided to win back access to the Baltic Sea from Sweden. After a series of successful operations, the cities at the mouth of the Neva were captured and the city of St. Petersburg was built, which received the status of the capital in 1712.

Northern war in detail

At the same time, the tsar, distinguished by purposefulness and strong will, carried out transformations in the administration of the country, rationalized economic activity - obliged the merchants and the nobility to develop industries important for the country, build mining, metallurgical, gunpowder enterprises, build shipyards, create manufactories.

Thanks to Peter, an artillery, engineering and medical school was opened in Moscow, and the Academy of Sciences, a school of the naval guards, was established in the Northern capital. He initiated the creation of printing houses, the country's first newspaper, the Kunstkamera museum, and a public theater.

During military operations, the sovereign never sat in safe fortresses, but personally led the army in the battles for Azov in 1695-96, during the Northern War of 1700-21, during the Prut and Caspian campaigns of 1711 and 1722-23. respectively. In the era of Peter the Great, Omsk and Semipalatinsk were founded, and the Kamchatka Peninsula was annexed to Russia.

Reforms of Peter I

Military reform

The reforms of the military forces became the main springboard for the activities of Peter the Great, "civilian" reforms were carried out on their basis in peacetime. The main goal is to finance the army with new people and resources, the creation of a military industry.

By the end of the 17th century, the archery army was disbanded. Gradually, a system of recruitment service is introduced, foreign soldiers are invited. Since 1705, every 20 households had to provide one soldier - a recruit. Under Peter, the term of service was not limited, but a serf could go to the army, and this freed him from dependence.

To manage the affairs of the fleet and the army, the Admiralty and the Military Collegium are created. Metallurgical and textile plants, shipyards and ships are being actively built, schools of military and maritime specialties are being opened: engineering, navigation, etc. In 1716, the Military Regulations were issued, regulating relations within the army and the behavior of soldiers and officers.

The result of the reform was a large-scale (about 210 thousand by the end of the reign of Peter I) and modernly equipped army, the likes of which have never been in Russia.

Central government reform

Gradually (by 1704) Peter I abolished the Boyar Duma, which had lost its effectiveness. In 1699, the Near Office was created, which was responsible for the administrative and financial control of state institutions. In 1711, the Senate was established - the highest state body, uniting the branches of the judiciary, executive and legislative power. The outdated system of orders is being replaced by a system of collegiums, analogous to modern ministries. A total of 13 collegiums were created, incl. Synod (spiritual board). At the head of the hierarchy was the Senate, all collegiums were subordinate to it, and the collegiums, in turn, were the administrations of provinces and districts. The reform was completed by 1724.

Local government reform (regional)

It took place in parallel with the reform of the central administration and was divided into two stages. It was necessary to modernize the outdated and confusing system of dividing the state into numerous counties and independent volosts. In addition, Peter needed additional funding for the military forces for the Northern War, which could be facilitated by strengthening the vertical of power in the localities. In 1708, the territory of the state was divided into 8 provinces: Moscow, Ingermanland, Kyiv, Smolensk, Arkhangelsk, Kazan, Azov and Siberia. Later there were 10 of them. The provinces were subdivided into counties (from 17 to 77). At the head of the provinces stood military officials close to the king. Their main task was to collect recruits and resources from the population.

The second stage (1719) - the organization of the provinces according to the Swedish model: province - province - district. After the creation of the Chief Magistrate, which was also considered a collegium, a new administrative body appeared in the cities - the magistrate (an analogue of the mayor's office or municipality). Citizens begin to be subdivided into guilds depending on their financial and social status.

Church reform

Peter I intended to reduce the influence of the Church and the patriarch on state policy in financial and administrative matters. First of all, in 1700, he forbade the election of a new patriarch after the death of Patriarch Andrian, i.e. this position was effectively eliminated. From now on, the king had to personally appoint the head of the Church.

Briefly about the reforms of Peter I

The next step was the secularization of church lands and human resources in favor of the state. The income of churches and monasteries was deducted to the state budget, from which came a fixed salary for clergy and monasteries.

The monasteries were taken under the strict control of the Monastic order. Without the knowledge of this body, it was forbidden to be tonsured monks. The construction of new monasteries was prohibited.

With the creation of the Senate in 1711, all the activities of the Church (the appointment of the heads of temples, the construction of new churches, etc.) came under its control. In 1975, the patriarchate was completely abolished, all "spiritual affairs" from now on are in charge of the Synod, which is subordinate to the Senate. All 12 members of the Synod, before taking office, take an oath to the emperor.

Other reforms

Among other socio-political transformations of Peter I:

• Cultural reform, which involved the imposition (and sometimes very cruel) of Western customs. In 1697, tobacco was allowed to be sold in Russia, and a decree on obligatory shaving was issued the following year. The calendar changes, the first theater (1702) and the museum (1714) are created.
• Educational reform, carried out with the aim of replenishing the troops with qualified personnel. After the creation of the school system, a decree on compulsory schooling (except for the children of serfs) and a ban on marriage for the offspring of nobles who did not receive education followed.
• Tax reform, which established the poll tax as the main tax source of replenishment of the treasury.
• Monetary reform, which consisted in reducing the weight of gold and silver coins, the introduction of copper coins into circulation.
• Creation of the Table of Ranks (1722) - a table of the hierarchy of military and civilian ranks with their correspondence.
• Decree of succession (1722), allowing the emperor to personally appoint a successor.

Legends about Peter I

For various reasons (in particular, due to the fact that the other children of the tsar and he himself, unlike Peter, were physically weak), there were legends that the real father of the emperor was not Alexei Mikhailovich at all. According to one version, paternity was attributed to the Russian admiral, a native of Geneva, Franz Yakovlevich Lefort, according to another, to the Georgian Grand Duke, who ruled in Kakheti, Heraclius I.

There were also rumors that a very weak daughter was born to Naryshkina, who was replaced by a strong boy from a German settlement, and even allegations that instead of the true anointed of God, the Antichrist ascended the throne.

The theory of the substitution of Peter during his stay at the Great Embassy is more widespread. Its supporters give the following arguments: upon his return in 1698, the tsar began to introduce foreign practices (shaving beards, dancing and entertainment, etc.); tried to find the secret library of Sophia Paleolog, the location of which was known only to persons of royal blood, but to no avail; before Peter's return to Moscow, the remnants of the Streltsy troops were destroyed in a battle, about which no documentary information has been preserved.

Personal life of Peter the Great: wives, children, favorites

In 1689, the tsarevich married Evdokia Lopukhina, the attractive and modest daughter of a former solicitor who had risen to the position of sovereign's stolnik. The bride was chosen by Natalya Naryshkina - she reasoned that, although a poor, but numerous kind of daughter-in-law would strengthen the position of her son and help get rid of the regent Sofia. In addition, Praskovya, the wife of his half-brother Ivan, stunned Natalia with the news of the pregnancy, so it was impossible to hesitate.

But the family life of the future sovereign did not work out. Firstly, no one was interested in the opinion of the prince when choosing a bride. Secondly, the girl was 3 years older than Peter, brought up in the key of Domostroy and did not share the interests of her husband. Contrary to the expectations of Naryshkina, who believed that a wise wife would curb her son's frivolous temper, Peter continued to spend time with the "boats". So the location of Naryshkina in relation to her daughter-in-law quickly changed to contempt and hatred for the entire Lopukhin family.

In a marriage with Lopukhina, Peter the Great had three (according to another version - two) sons. The younger children died soon after they were born, but the surviving Tsarevich Alexei was raised in a spirit of reverence for his father.

In 1690, Franz Lefort introduced Peter I to 18-year-old Anna Mons, the daughter of a widowed and impoverished hotel owner from the German Quarter, Lefort's former mistress. The girl’s mother did not hesitate to “put” her daughter under wealthy men, and Anna herself was not burdened by such a role.

Mercantile slutty German really won the heart of Peter the Great. Their relationship lasted more than ten years, by decree of Tsarevich Anna and her mother a luxurious mansion was erected in the German settlement, the sovereign's favorite was allocated a monthly allowance in the amount of 708 rubles.

Returning from the Grand Embassy in 1698, the first thing the sovereign did was visit not his legal wife, but Anna. Two weeks after his return, he exiled Evdokia to the Suzdal monastery - by that time Natalya Naryshkina had died, and no one else could keep the wayward tsar in his hated marriage. The sovereign began to live with Anna Mons, after which the subjects called the girl "the death of the Russian land", "monsikha".

In 1703, it turned out that while Peter I was in the Great Embassy, ​​Mons began adultery with a high-ranking Saxon. Killed by such a betrayal, the king ordered Anna to be put under house arrest. The second wife of Peter I was a commoner from Livonia, Marta Skavronskaya, who made an amazing social ascent for those times. At the age of 17, she became the wife of a Swedish dragoon, and when his army was defeated by soldiers under the command of Field Marshal Sheremetev, she ended up in the service of Alexander Menshikov. There, Peter the Great noticed her, made her one of his mistresses, and then brought her closer to him. In 1707, Martha was baptized into Orthodoxy and became Catherine. In 1711 she became the wife of the sovereign.

The union produced 8 children (according to other sources, 10), but most died in infancy or early childhood. Illegitimate daughters: Catherine, Anna, Elizabeth (the future empress), the first legitimate child Natalia, Margarita, the first son Peter, Pavel, Natalia Jr. In some unofficial sources, there is information about two boys, the very first children of Peter I and Catherine, who died in infancy, but there is no documentary evidence of their birth.

In 1724, the sovereign crowned his wife as empress. A year later, he suspected her of adultery, executed the chamberlain's lover Willim Mons, and personally presented her with his head on a platter.

The monarch himself also had romantic ties - with the maid of honor of his wife Maria Hamilton, with 15-year-old Avdotya Rzhevskaya, with Maria Matveeva, and also with the daughter of the Wallachian sovereign Dmitry Kantemir Maria. Regarding the latter, there were even rumors about replacing the queen with her. She bore a son for Peter, but the child did not survive, and the emperor lost interest in her. Despite numerous connections on the side, there were no bastards recognized by the emperor.

The love story of Peter the Great and Mary Hamilton

The eldest son of Peter I, Tsarevich Alexei, was the official heir to the throne, but in 1718 (at the age of 28) he was executed on charges of plotting against his father. He really fled abroad to ask for help from the rulers of Austria and Sweden, but was returned home, deprived of the throne and, after the revealing testimony of his mistress Euphrosyne, condemned to death. There is evidence that Peter personally interrogated his son before the court under torture.

Alexey Petrovich left two grandchildren - Natalya and Peter (the future Peter II). At the age of 14, the ruler died of smallpox. So interrupted the male line of the Romanovs.

Death

In the last years of his reign, the monarch, who suffered from headaches all his life, also had a urological disease - kidney stones. In the autumn of 1724, his illness worsened, but, contrary to the recommendations of doctors, he did not stop doing business. Returning in November from a trip to the Novgorod region, he helped, standing waist-deep in the water of the Gulf of Finland, to pull out a ship that had run aground, caught a cold and fell ill with pneumonia.

In January 1725, Peter fell ill and suffered greatly from terrible pain. The Empress was at the bedside of her dying husband all the time. He died in February in her arms. An autopsy showed that the death of the emperor came from inflammation of the bladder, which provoked gangrene. He was buried in the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Peter the Great was born on May 30 (June 9), 1672 in Moscow. In the biography of Peter 1, it is important to note that he was the youngest son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from his second marriage to Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. From one year he was brought up by nannies. And after the death of his father, at the age of four, Peter's half-brother and new Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich became Peter's guardian.

From the age of 5, little Peter began to learn the alphabet. The clerk N. M. Zotov gave him lessons. However, the future king received a poor education and was not distinguished by literacy.

Rise to power

In 1682, after the death of Fyodor Alekseevich, 10-year-old Peter and his brother Ivan were proclaimed kings. But in fact, their elder sister, Princess Sofya Alekseevna, took over the management.
At this time, Peter and his mother were forced to move away from the court and move to the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Here, Peter 1 becomes interested in military activities, he creates "amusing" regiments, which later became the basis of the Russian army. He is fond of firearms, shipbuilding. He spends a lot of time in the German Quarter, becomes a fan of European life, makes friends.

In 1689, Sophia was removed from the throne, and power passed to Peter I, and the government of the country was entrusted to his mother and uncle L.K. Naryshkin.

King's reign

Peter continued the war with the Crimea, took the fortress of Azov. Further actions of Peter I were aimed at creating a powerful fleet. The foreign policy of Peter I of that time was focused on finding allies in the war with the Ottoman Empire. For this purpose, Peter went to Europe.

At this time, the activities of Peter I consisted only in the creation of political unions. He studies shipbuilding, device, culture of other countries. He returned to Russia after the news of the Streltsy rebellion. As a result of the trip, he wanted to change Russia, for which several innovations were made. For example, the Julian calendar was introduced.

For the development of trade, access to the Baltic Sea was required. So the next stage of the reign of Peter I was the war with Sweden. Having made peace with Turkey, he captured the fortress of Noteburg, Nienschanz. In May 1703, the construction of St. Petersburg began. The following year, Narva and Dorpat were taken. In June 1709, Sweden was defeated in the Battle of Poltava. Shortly after the death of Charles XII, peace was concluded between Russia and Sweden. New lands joined Russia, access to the Baltic Sea was obtained.

Reforming Russia

In October 1721, the title of emperor was adopted in the biography of Peter the Great.

Also during his reign, Kamchatka was annexed, the coast of the Caspian Sea was conquered.

Peter I carried out military reform several times. Basically, it concerned the collection of money for the maintenance of the army and navy. It was carried out, in short, by force.

Further reforms of Peter I accelerated the technical and economic development of Russia. He carried out church reform, financial reform, transformations in industry, culture, and trade. In education, he also carried out a number of reforms aimed at mass education: many schools for children and the first gymnasium in Russia (1705) were opened.

Death and legacy

Before his death, Peter I was very ill, but continued to rule the state. Peter the Great died on January 28 (February 8), 1725 from inflammation of the bladder. The throne passed to his wife, Empress Catherine I.

The strong personality of Peter I, who sought to change not only the state, but also the people, played a crucial role in the history of Russia.

Cities were named after the Great Emperor after his death.

Monuments to Peter I were erected not only in Russia, but also in many European countries. One of the most famous is the Bronze Horseman in St. Petersburg.

Peter I Alekseevich
Coronation:
	Sofia Alekseevna (1682 - 1689)
Co-ruler:	Ivan V (1682 - 1696)
Predecessor:	Fedor III Alekseevich
Successor:	Title abolished
Successor:	Catherine I
Religion:	Orthodoxy
Birth:
Buried:	Peter and Paul Cathedral, St. Petersburg
Dynasty:	Romanovs
	Alexey Mikhailovich
	Natalya Kirillovna
	1) Evdokia Lopukhina 2) Ekaterina Alekseevna
	(from 1) Alexey Petrovich (from 2) Anna Petrovna Elizaveta Petrovna Pyotr (d. in childhood) Natalya (d. in childhood) the rest died in infancy
Autograph:
Awards::

Peter's first marriage

Accession of Peter I

Azov campaigns. 1695-1696

Great Embassy. 1697-1698

Russia's movement to the east

Caspian campaign 1722-1723

Transformations of Peter I

Personality of Peter I

Appearance of Peter

Family of Peter I

succession to the throne

Descendants of Peter I

Death of Peter

Performance evaluation and criticism

monuments

In honor of Peter I

Peter I in art

In literature

In cinema

Peter I on money

Criticism and evaluation of Peter I

Peter I the Great (Pyotr Alekseevich; May 30 (June 9), 1672 - January 28 (February 8), 1725) - Tsar of Moscow from the Romanov dynasty (since 1682) and the first All-Russian emperor (since 1721). In Russian historiography, he is considered one of the most prominent statesmen who determined the direction of Russia's development in the 18th century.

Peter was proclaimed king in 1682 at the age of 10, began to rule independently from 1689. From a young age, showing interest in the sciences and a foreign way of life, Peter was the first of the Russian tsars to make a long journey to the countries of Western Europe. Upon returning from it in 1698, Peter launched large-scale reforms of the Russian state and social order. One of the main achievements of Peter was the significant expansion of Russian territories in the Baltic region after the victory in the Great Northern War, which allowed him to take the title of the first emperor of the Russian Empire in 1721. After 4 years, Emperor Peter I died, but the state he created continued to expand rapidly throughout the 18th century.

The Early Years of Peter. 1672-1689 years

Peter was born on the night of May 30 (June 9), 1672 in the Terem Palace of the Kremlin (in 7235 according to the then accepted chronology "from the creation of the world").

Father - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich - had numerous offspring: Peter was the 14th child, but the first from his second wife, Tsarina Natalya Naryshkina. On June 29, on the day of Saints Peter and Paul, the prince was baptized in the Miracle Monastery (according to other sources in the church of Gregory of Neocaesarea, in Derbitsy, by Archpriest Andrei Savinov) and named Peter.

After spending a year with the queen, he was given to the education of nannies. In the 4th year of Peter's life, in 1676, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich died. The guardian of the prince was his half-brother, godfather and new tsar Fyodor Alekseevich. Clerk N. M. Zotov taught Peter to read and write from 1676 to 1680.

The death of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and the accession of his eldest son Fyodor (from Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna, nee Miloslavskaya) pushed Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna and her relatives, the Naryshkins, into the background. Tsarina Natalya was forced to go to the village of Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow.

Streltsy rebellion of 1682 and the coming to power of Sofia Alekseevna

April 27 (May 7), 1682, after 6 years of mild rule, the liberal and sickly Tsar Fedor Alekseevich died. The question arose of who should inherit the throne: the elder sickly and weak-minded Ivan according to custom, or the young Peter. Enlisting the support of Patriarch Joachim, the Naryshkins and their supporters on April 27 (May 7), 1682, elevated Peter to the throne. In fact, the Naryshkin clan came to power and Artamon Matveev, summoned from exile, declared the “great guardian”. Supporters of Ivan Alekseevich found it difficult to support their pretender, who could not reign due to extremely poor health. The organizers of the actual palace coup announced the version of the hand-written transfer of the “scepter” by the dying Feodor Alekseevich to his younger brother Peter, but there was no reliable evidence of this.

The Miloslavskys, relatives of Tsarevich Ivan and Princess Sophia by their mother, saw in the proclamation of Peter the Tsar an infringement of their interests. Streltsy, of whom there were more than 20 thousand in Moscow, had long shown discontent and willfulness; and, apparently, incited by the Miloslavskys, on May 15 (25), 1682, they spoke openly: shouting that the Naryshkins strangled Tsarevich Ivan, they moved to the Kremlin. Natalya Kirillovna, hoping to calm the rebels, together with the patriarch and the 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 Naryshkins.

On May 26, elected representatives from the archery regiments came to the palace and demanded that the elder Ivan be 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 to the kingdom.

On May 29, the archers insisted that Princess Sofya Alekseevna take over the government due to the infancy of her brothers. Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, together with her son, the second tsar, had to retire from the court to a palace near Moscow in the village of Preobrazhensky. In the Armory of the Kremlin, a double throne for young tsars with a small window in the back was preserved, through which Princess Sophia and those close to her told them how to behave and what to say during palace ceremonies.

Preobrazhenskoye and amusing shelves

Peter spent all his free time away from the palace - in the villages of Vorobyov and Preobrazhensky. Every year his interest in military affairs increased. Peter dressed and armed his "amusing" army, which consisted of peers in boyish games. In 1685, his "amusing", dressed in foreign caftans, marched in regimental formation through Moscow from Preobrazhensky to the village of Vorobyovo to the beat of drums. Peter himself served as a drummer.

In 1686, 14-year-old Peter started artillery with his "amusing" ones. Gunsmith Fedor Sommer showed the tsar grenade and firearms. 16 guns were delivered from the Pushkar Order. To control heavy guns, the tsar took adult servants eager for military affairs from the Stable Order, who were dressed in uniforms of foreign cut and identified as amusing gunners. The first to put on a foreign uniform Sergei Bukhvostov. Subsequently, Peter ordered a bronze bust of this the first Russian soldier, as he called Bukhvostov. The amusing regiment began to be called Preobrazhensky, in the place of its quartering - the village of Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow.

In Preobrazhensky, opposite the palace, on the banks of the Yauza, a "fun town" was built. During the construction of the fortress, Peter himself worked actively, helping to cut logs and install cannons. The “Most Joking, Most Drunk and Most Foolish Cathedral” created by Peter, a parody of the Orthodox Church, was also quartered here. The fortress itself was named Preshburg, probably by the name of the then famous Austrian fortress of Pressburg (now Bratislava - the capital of Slovakia), which he heard about from Captain Sommer. Then, in 1686, the first amusing ships appeared near Preshburg on the Yauza - a large shnyak and a plow with boats. During these years, Peter became interested in all the sciences that were associated with military affairs. Led by the Dutch Timmerman he studied arithmetic, geometry, military sciences.

Walking one day with Timmerman in the village of Izmailovo, Peter went to the Linen Yard, in the barn of which he found an English boat. In 1688 he commissioned a Dutchman Karsten Brandt repair, arm and equip this boat, and then lower it onto the Yauza.

However, Yauza and Millet Pond turned out to be cramped for the ship, so Peter went to Pereslavl-Zalessky, to Lake Pleshcheyevo, where he laid the first shipyard for the construction of ships. There were already two "amusing" regiments: Semyonovsky, located in the village of Semyonovskoye, was added to Preobrazhensky. Preshburg already looked like a real fortress. Knowledgeable and experienced people were needed to command regiments and study military science. But among the Russian courtiers there were none. So Peter appeared in the German settlement.

Peter's first marriage

The German settlement was the nearest "neighbor" of the village of Preobrazhenskoye, and Peter had long been eyeing her curious life. More and more foreigners at the court of Tsar Peter, such as Franz Timmerman and Karsten Brandt, were natives of the German settlement. All this imperceptibly led to the fact that the tsar became a frequent visitor to the settlement, where he soon turned out to be a great admirer of the laid-back foreign life. Peter lit a German pipe, began to attend German parties with dancing and drinking, met Patrick Gordon, Franz Yakovlevich Lefort - Peter's future associates, started an affair with Anna Mons. Peter's mother strongly opposed this. In order to reason with her 17-year-old son, Natalya Kirillovna decided to marry him to Evdokia Lopukhina, the daughter of the okolnichi.

Peter did not contradict his mother, and on January 27, 1689, the wedding of the "younger" king was played. However, less than a month later, Peter left his wife and left for a few days at Lake Pleshcheyevo. From this marriage, Peter had two sons: the eldest, Alexei, was heir to the throne until 1718, the youngest, Alexander, died in infancy.

Accession of Peter I

Peter's activity greatly disturbed Princess Sophia, who understood that with the coming of age of her half-brother, she would have to give up power. At one time, the supporters of the princess hatched a plan for the coronation, but Patriarch Joachim was categorically against it.

Campaigns against the Crimean Tatars, carried out in 1687 and 1689 by the favorite of the princess V.V. Golitsyn, were not very successful, but were presented as major and generously rewarded victories, which caused discontent among many.

On July 8, 1689, on the feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, the first public conflict took place between the matured Peter and the Ruler. On that day, according to custom, a religious procession was made from the Kremlin to the Kazan Cathedral. At the end of mass, Peter approached his sister and announced that she should not dare to go along with the men in the procession. Sophia accepted the challenge: she took the image of the Most Holy Theotokos in her hands and went for crosses and banners. Unprepared for such an outcome, Peter left the course.

On August 7, 1689, unexpectedly for everyone, a decisive event took place. On this day, Princess Sophia ordered the head of the archers, Fyodor Shaklovity, to equip more of his people to the Kremlin, as if to be escorted to the Donskoy Monastery on a pilgrimage. At the same time, a rumor spread about a letter with the news that Tsar Peter decided at night to occupy the Kremlin with his “amusing” ones, kill the princess, Tsar Ivan’s brother, and seize power. Shaklovity gathered archery regiments in order to march in a "great assembly" to Preobrazhenskoye and beat all the supporters of Peter for their intention to kill Princess Sophia. Then they sent three riders to observe what was happening in Preobrazhensky with the task to immediately inform if Tsar Peter went somewhere alone or with regiments.

Supporters of Peter among the archers sent two like-minded people to Preobrazhenskoye. After the report, Peter, with a small retinue, galloped in alarm to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. The consequence of the horrors of the streltsy performances experienced was Peter's illness: with strong excitement, he began to have convulsive movements of his face. On August 8, both queens, Natalya and Evdokia, arrived at the monastery, followed by “amusing” regiments with artillery. On August 16, a letter came from Peter, so that from all the regiments commanders and 10 privates were sent to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Princess Sophia strictly forbade this command to be carried out on pain of death, and a letter was sent to Tsar Peter with a notice that it was impossible to fulfill his request.

On August 27, a new letter of tsar Peter came - to go to all the regiments to the Trinity. Most of the troops obeyed the legitimate king, and Princess Sophia had to admit defeat. She herself went to the Trinity Monastery, but in the village of Vozdvizhenskoye she was met by Peter's envoys with orders to return to Moscow. Soon Sophia was imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent under strict supervision.

On October 7, Fyodor Shaklovity was captured and then executed. The elder brother, Tsar Ivan (or John), met Peter in the Assumption Cathedral and in fact gave him all power. Since 1689, he did not take part in the reign, although until his death on January 29 (February 8), 1696, he continued to be co-tsar. Little participated in the board at first, and Peter himself, giving authority to the Naryshkin family.

Beginning of Russian expansion. 1690-1699

Azov campaigns. 1695-1696

The priority of Peter I in the first years of autocracy was the continuation of the war with the Crimea. Since the 16th century, Muscovite Russia has been fighting the Crimean and Nogai Tatars for possession of the vast coastal lands of the Black and Azov Seas. During this struggle, Russia clashed with the Ottoman Empire, patronizing the Tatars. One of the military strongholds on these lands was the Turkish fortress of Azov, located at the confluence of the Don River into the Sea of ​​Azov.

The first Azov campaign, which began in the spring of 1695, ended unsuccessfully in September of the same year due to the lack of a fleet and the unwillingness of the Russian army to operate far from supply bases. However, in autumn. In 1695-96, preparations began for a new campaign. In Voronezh, the construction of a rowing Russian flotilla began. In a short time, a flotilla was built from different ships, led by the 36-gun ship "Apostle Peter". In May 1696, the 40,000-strong Russian army under the command of Generalissimo Shein again laid siege to Azov, only this time the Russian flotilla blocked the fortress from the sea. Peter I took part in the siege with the rank of captain in a galley. Without waiting for the assault, on July 19, 1696, the fortress surrendered. So the first exit of Russia to the southern seas was opened.

The result of the Azov campaigns was the capture of the fortress of Azov, the beginning of the construction of the port of Taganrog, the possibility of an attack on the Crimean peninsula from the sea, which significantly secured the southern borders of Russia. However, Peter failed to get access to the Black Sea through the Kerch Strait: he remained under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Forces for the war with Turkey, as well as a full-fledged navy, Russia has not yet had.

To finance the construction of the fleet, new types of taxes were introduced: landowners were united in the so-called kumpanships of 10 thousand households, each of which had to build a ship with their own money. At this time, the first signs of dissatisfaction with the activities of Peter appear. The conspiracy of Zikler, who was trying to organize a streltsy uprising, was uncovered. In the summer of 1699, the first large Russian ship "Fortress" (46-gun) took the Russian ambassador to Constantinople for peace negotiations. The very existence of such a ship persuaded the Sultan to conclude peace in July 1700, which left the fortress of Azov behind Russia.

During the construction of the fleet and the reorganization of the army, Peter was forced to rely on foreign specialists. Having completed the Azov campaigns, he decides to send young nobles for training abroad, and soon he himself sets off on his first trip to Europe.

Great Embassy. 1697-1698

In March 1697, the Great Embassy was sent to Western Europe through Livonia, the main purpose of which was to find allies against the Ottoman Empire. General-Admiral F. Ya. Lefort, General F. A. Golovin, head of the Ambassadorial Order P. B. Voznitsyn were appointed Grand Plenipotentiary Ambassadors. In total, up to 250 people entered the embassy, ​​among which, under the name of the constable of the Preobrazhensky regiment Peter Mikhailov, was Tsar Peter I himself. For the first time, the Russian Tsar undertook a trip outside his state.

Peter visited Riga, Koenigsberg, Brandenburg, Holland, England, Austria, a visit to Venice and to the Pope was planned.

The embassy recruited several hundred shipbuilding specialists to Russia and purchased military and other equipment.

In addition to negotiations, Peter devoted a lot of time to the study of shipbuilding, military affairs and other sciences. Peter worked as a carpenter at the shipyards of the East India Company, with the participation of the king, the ship "Peter and Paul" was built. In England, he visited a foundry, an arsenal, parliament, Oxford University, the Greenwich Observatory and the Mint, whose caretaker at that time was Isaac Newton.

The Great Embassy did not achieve its main goal: it was not possible to create a coalition against the Ottoman Empire due to the preparation of a number of European powers for the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14). However, thanks to this war, favorable conditions were created for Russia's struggle for the Baltic. Thus, there was a reorientation of Russia's foreign policy from the south to the north.

Return. Critical years for Russia 1698-1700

In July 1698, the Great Embassy was interrupted by the news of a new streltsy rebellion in Moscow, which was suppressed even before the arrival of Peter. Upon the arrival of the tsar in Moscow (August 25), a search and inquiry began, which resulted in a one-time execution of about 800 archers (except for those executed during the suppression of the rebellion), and subsequently several thousand more until the spring of 1699.

Princess Sophia was tonsured a nun under the name of Susanna and sent to the Novodevichy Convent, where she spent the rest of her life. The same fate befell Peter's unloved wife, Evdokia Lopukhina, who was forcibly sent to the Suzdal Monastery even against the will of the clergy.

During the 15 months of his stay in Europe, Peter saw a lot and learned a lot. After the return of the tsar on August 25, 1698, his reforming activity began, initially aimed at changing the external signs that distinguish the Old Slavonic way of life from the Western European. In the Transfiguration Palace, Peter suddenly began to cut the beards of the nobles, and already on August 29, 1698, the famous decree “On wearing a German dress, on shaving beards and mustaches, on walking schismatics in the attire indicated for them” was issued, which banned from September 1 wearing beards.

The new 7208th year according to the Russian-Byzantine calendar (“from the creation of the world”) became the 1700th year according to the Julian calendar. Peter also introduced the celebration of January 1 of the New Year, and not on the day of the autumn equinox, as was celebrated before. In his special decree it was written:

Creation of the Russian Empire. 1700-1724 years

Northern War with Sweden (1700-1721)

After returning from the Grand Embassy, ​​the tsar began to prepare for a war with Sweden for access to the Baltic Sea. In 1699, the Northern Alliance was created against the Swedish king Charles XII, which, in addition to Russia, included Denmark, Saxony and the Commonwealth, led by the Saxon elector and the Polish king August II. The driving force behind the union was the desire of August II to take away Livonia from Sweden, for help he promised Russia the return of lands that previously belonged to the Russians (Ingermanland and Karelia).

To enter the war, Russia had to make peace with the Ottoman Empire. After reaching a truce with the Turkish Sultan for a period of 30 years, on August 19, 1700, Russia declared war on Sweden under the pretext of revenge for the insult shown to Tsar Peter in Riga.

The plan of Charles XII was to defeat the opponents one by one with a series of quick landing operations. Shortly after the bombing of Copenhagen, Denmark on August 8, 1700 withdrew from the war, even before Russia entered it. The attempts of August II to capture Riga ended unsuccessfully.

The attempt to capture the fortress of Narva ended with the defeat of the Russian army. On November 30, 1700 (according to the new style), Charles XII with 8500 soldiers attacked the camp of Russian troops and completely defeated the 35,000 strong Russian army. Peter I himself left the troops for Novgorod 2 days before. Considering that Russia was sufficiently weakened, Charles XII went to Livonia in order to direct all his forces against the main, as it seemed to him, enemy - Augustus II.

However, Peter, having hastily reorganized the army according to the European model, resumed hostilities. Already in 1702 (October 11 (22)), Russia captured the Noteburg fortress (renamed Shlisselburg), and in the spring of 1703, the Nienschanz fortress at the mouth of the Neva. Here, on May 16 (27), 1703, the construction of St. Petersburg began, and the base of the Russian fleet, the Kronshlot fortress (later Kronstadt), was located on Kotlin Island. The exit to the Baltic Sea was broken. In 1704, Narva and Derpt were taken, Russia was firmly entrenched in the Eastern Baltic. On the offer to make peace, Peter I was refused.

After the deposition of Augustus II in 1706 and his replacement by the Polish king Stanisław Leszczynski, Charles XII began his fatal campaign against Russia. Having captured Minsk and Mogilev, the king did not dare to go to Smolensk. Enlisting the support of the Little Russian hetman Ivan Mazepa, Charles moved his troops south for food reasons and with the intention of strengthening the army with Mazepa's supporters. On September 28, 1708, near the village of Lesnoy, the Swedish corps of Levengaupt, which was going to join the army of Charles XII from Livonia, was defeated by the Russian army under the command of Menshikov. The Swedish army lost reinforcements and convoys with military supplies. Later, Peter celebrated the anniversary of this battle as a turning point in the Northern War.

In the Battle of Poltava on June 27, 1709, the army of Charles XII was utterly defeated, the Swedish king with a handful of soldiers fled to Turkish possessions.

Turkey intervened in 1710. After the defeat in the Prut campaign in 1711, Russia returned Azov to Turkey and destroyed Taganrog, but due to this, it was possible to conclude another truce with the Turks.

Peter again focused on the war with the Swedes, in 1713 the Swedes were defeated in Pomerania and lost all possessions in continental Europe. However, thanks to the dominance of Sweden at sea, the Northern War dragged on. The Baltic Fleet was just being created by Russia, but managed to win the first victory in the Gangut battle in the summer of 1714. In 1716, Peter led the combined fleet from Russia, England, Denmark and Holland, but due to disagreements in the camp of the allies, it was not possible to organize an attack on Sweden.

As the Russian Baltic Fleet strengthened, Sweden felt the danger of an invasion of its lands. In 1718, peace negotiations began, interrupted by the sudden death of Charles XII. The Swedish queen Ulrika Eleonora resumed the war, hoping for help from England. The devastating Russian landings on the Swedish coast in 1720 prompted Sweden to resume negotiations. On August 30 (September 10), 1721, the Peace of Nystadt was concluded between Russia and Sweden, which ended the 21-year war. Russia received access to the Baltic Sea, annexed the territory of Ingria, part of Karelia, Estonia and Livonia. Russia became a great European power, in commemoration of which, on October 22 (November 2), 1721, Peter, at the request of the senators, took the title Father of the Fatherland, Emperor of All Russia, Peter the Great:

... we thought, with the butt of the ancients, especially the Roman and Greek peoples, the boldness to perceive, on the day of the triumph and announcement of the concluded by them in. in. by the labors of all Russia only a glorious and prosperous world, after reading its treatise in the church, according to our most humble thanksgiving for the expiation of this world, to bring our petition to you publicly, so that you deign to accept from us, as from our faithful subjects, in thanksgiving the title of the Father of the Fatherland, Emperor of All Russia, Peter the Great, as usual from the Roman Senate for the noble deeds of emperors, their titles were publicly presented to them as a gift and signed on statues for memory in eternal childbirth.

Russian-Turkish war 1710-1713

After the defeat in the Battle of Poltava, the Swedish king Charles XII took refuge in the possessions of the Ottoman Empire, the city of Bendery. Peter I concluded an agreement with Turkey on the expulsion of Charles XII from Turkish territory, but then the Swedish king was allowed to stay and threaten the southern border of Russia with the help of part of the Ukrainian Cossacks and Crimean Tatars. Seeking the expulsion of Charles XII, Peter I began to threaten Turkey with war, but in response, on November 20, 1710, the Sultan himself declared war on Russia. The real cause of the war was the capture of Azov by Russian troops in 1696 and the appearance of the Russian fleet in the Sea of ​​Azov.

The Turkish war was limited to a winter raid of the Crimean Tatars, vassals of the Ottoman Empire, into Ukraine. Russia waged war on 3 fronts: the troops made campaigns against the Tatars in the Crimea and the Kuban, Peter I himself, relying on the help of the rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia, decided to make a deep campaign to the Danube, where he hoped to raise Christian vassals of the Ottoman Empire to fight the Turks.

On March 6 (17), 1711, Peter I went to the troops from Moscow with his faithful friend Ekaterina Alekseevna, whom he ordered to be considered his wife and queen (even before the official wedding, which took place in 1712). The army crossed the border of Moldova in June 1711, but already on July 20, 1711, 190 thousand Turks and Crimean Tatars pressed the 38 thousandth Russian army to the right bank of the Prut River, completely surrounding it. In a seemingly hopeless situation, Peter managed to conclude the Prut peace treaty with the Grand Vizier, according to which the army and the tsar himself escaped capture, but in return Russia gave Azov to Turkey and lost access to the Sea of ​​Azov.

From August 1711, there was no fighting, although in the process of negotiating the final treaty, Turkey threatened several times to resume the war. Only in June 1713 was the Andrianopol peace treaty concluded, which generally confirmed the terms of the Prut agreement. Russia got the opportunity to continue the Northern War without a 2nd front, although it lost the gains of the Azov campaigns.

Russia's movement to the east

The expansion of Russia to the east under Peter I did not stop. In 1714, the Buchholz expedition south of the Irtysh founded Omsk, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Semipalatinsk and other fortresses. In 1716-17, a detachment of Bekovich-Cherkassky was sent to Central Asia with the aim of persuading the Khiva khan to citizenship and reconnaissance of the way to India. However, the Russian detachment was destroyed by the khan. During the reign of Peter I, Kamchatka was annexed to Russia. Peter planned an expedition across the Pacific Ocean to America (intentioning to establish Russian colonies there), but did not manage to carry out his plan.

Caspian campaign 1722-1723

The largest foreign policy event of Peter after the Northern War was the Caspian (or Persian) campaign in 1722-1724. The conditions for the campaign were created as a result of Persian civil strife and the actual collapse of the once powerful state.

On June 18, 1722, after the son of the Persian Shah Tokhmas Mirza applied for help, a 22,000-strong Russian detachment sailed from Astrakhan across the Caspian Sea. In August, Derbent surrendered, after which the Russians returned to Astrakhan due to problems with provisions. In the next 1723, the western coast of the Caspian Sea with the fortresses of Baku, Resht, and Astrabad was conquered. Further progress was stopped by the threat of the Ottoman Empire entering the war, which seized the western and central Transcaucasus.

On September 12, 1723, the Petersburg Treaty was concluded with Persia, according to which the western and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea with the cities of Derbent and Baku and the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Astrabad were included in the Russian Empire. Russia and Persia also entered into a defensive alliance against Turkey, which, however, turned out to be inoperative.

According to the Istanbul (Constantinople) Treaty of June 12, 1724, Turkey recognized all Russian acquisitions in the western part of the Caspian Sea and renounced further claims to Persia. The junction of the borders between Russia, Turkey and Persia was established at the confluence of the Araks and Kura rivers. In Persia, the turmoil continued, and Turkey challenged the provisions of the Istanbul Treaty before the border was clearly established.

It should be noted that soon after Peter's death, these possessions were lost due to the high losses of garrisons from diseases, and, in the opinion of Queen Anna Ioannovna, the hopelessness of the region.

Russian Empire under Peter I

After the victory in the Northern War and the conclusion of the Peace of Nystadt in September 1721, the Senate and the Synod decided to present Peter with the title of Emperor of All Russia with the following wording: “ as usual, from the Roman Senate, for the noble deeds of emperors, such titles were publicly presented to them as a gift and signed on statutes for memory in eternal birth.»

October 22 (November 2), 1721, Peter I took the title, not just honorary, but testifying to the new role of Russia in international affairs. Prussia and Holland immediately recognized the new title of Russian Tsar, Sweden in 1723, Turkey in 1739, England and Austria in 1742, France and Spain in 1745, and finally Poland in 1764.

Secretary of the Prussian embassy in Russia in 1717-33, I.-G. Fokkerodt, at the request of Voltaire, who was working on the history of the reign of Peter, wrote memoirs about Russia under Peter. Fokkerodt tried to estimate the population of the Russian Empire by the end of the reign of Peter I. According to his information, the number of persons of the taxable estate was 5 million 198 thousand people, from which the number of peasants and townspeople, including females, was estimated at about 10 million. Many souls were concealed by landowners, a second revision increased the number of taxable souls to almost 6 million people. Russian nobles with families were considered to be up to 500 thousand; officials up to 200 thousand and clerics with families up to 300 thousand souls.

The inhabitants of the conquered regions, who were not under the general tax, were estimated to be from 500 to 600 thousand souls. Cossacks with families in the Ukraine, on the Don and Yaik, and in the border towns were considered to be from 700 to 800 thousand souls. The number of Siberian peoples was unknown, but Fokkerodt put it up to a million people.

Thus, the population of the Russian Empire amounted to 15 million subjects and was inferior in Europe in terms of numbers only to France (about 20 million).

Transformations of Peter I

All state activity of Peter can be conditionally divided into two periods: 1695-1715 and 1715-1725.

The peculiarity of the first stage was the haste and not always thoughtful nature, which was explained by the conduct of the Northern War. The reforms were aimed primarily at raising funds for the conduct of the Northern War, were carried out by force and often did not lead to the desired result. In addition to state reforms, at the first stage, extensive reforms were carried out to change the cultural way of life.

Peter carried out a monetary reform, as a result of which the account began to be kept in rubles and kopecks. A pre-reform silver kopeck (Novgorodka) continued to be minted until 1718 for the outskirts. The copper kopeck came into circulation in 1704, at the same time the silver ruble began to be minted. The reform itself began in 1700, when copper half a penny (1/8 kopeck), a half penny (1/4 kopeck), denga (1/2 kopeck) were put into circulation, and since 1701 silver ten money (five kopecks), a dime (ten kopecks), half-fifty (25 kopecks) and fifty. The account for money and altyns (3 kopecks) was banned. Under Peter, the first screw press appeared. During the reign, the weight and fineness of the coins were reduced several times, which led to the rapid development of counterfeiting. In 1723, copper five kopecks ("cross" penny) were put into circulation. It had several degrees of protection (smooth field, special alignment of the sides), but fakes began to be minted not in a handicraft way, but at foreign mints. Cross nickels were subsequently withdrawn for re-coining into a penny (under Elizabeth). According to the European model, golden chervonets began to be minted, later they were abandoned in favor of a gold coin worth two rubles. Peter I planned to introduce in 1725 a copper ruble-payment according to the Swedish model, but these payments were made only by Catherine I.

In the second period, the reforms were more systematic and aimed at the internal arrangement of the state.

In general, Peter's reforms were aimed at strengthening the Russian state and familiarizing the ruling stratum with European culture while strengthening the absolute monarchy. By the end of the reign of Peter the Great, a powerful Russian empire was created, headed by the emperor, who had absolute power. In the course of the reforms, the technical and economic backwardness of Russia from European states was overcome, access to the Baltic Sea was won, and transformations were carried out in all spheres of life in Russian society. At the same time, the people's forces were extremely exhausted, the bureaucratic apparatus grew, the prerequisites (Decree of Succession) were created for the crisis of the supreme power, which led to the era of "palace coups".

Personality of Peter I

Appearance of Peter

As a child, Peter amazed people with the beauty and liveliness of his face and figure. Because of his height - 200 cm (6 ft 7 in) - he stood out in the crowd by a whole head. At the same time, with such a large height, he wore size 38 shoes.

Surrounding people were frightened by very strong convulsive twitches of the face, especially in moments of anger and emotional excitement. These convulsive movements were attributed by contemporaries to childhood shock during the Streltsy riots or an attempted poisoning by Princess Sophia.

During a visit to Europe, Peter I frightened refined aristocrats with a rude manner of communication and simplicity of morals. Sophia, Elector of Hanover, wrote about Peter as follows:

Later, already in 1717, during Peter's stay in Paris, the Duke of Saint-Simon wrote down his impression of Peter:

« He was very tall, well built, rather thin, with a roundish face, high forehead, fine eyebrows; his nose is rather short, but not too short, and is somewhat thick towards the end; the lips are rather large, the complexion reddish and swarthy, fine black eyes, large, lively, penetrating, beautifully shaped; a look majestic and friendly when he watches himself and restrains, otherwise severe and wild, with convulsions in the face, which are not often repeated, but distort both the eyes and the whole face, frightening all present. The convulsion usually lasted for an instant, and then his eyes became strange, as if bewildered, then everything immediately took on a normal look. His whole appearance showed intelligence, reflection and grandeur, and was not without charm.»

Family of Peter I

For the first time, Peter married at the age of 17 at the insistence of his mother to Evdokia Lopukhina in 1689. A year later, Tsarevich Alexei was born to them, who was brought up with his mother in terms that were alien to Peter's reformist activities. The rest of the children of Peter and Evdokia died shortly after birth. In 1698, Evdokia Lopukhina was involved in the Streltsy rebellion, the purpose of which was to raise her son to the kingdom, and was exiled to a monastery.

Alexei Petrovich, the official heir to the Russian throne, condemned the transformation of his father, and eventually fled to Vienna under the patronage of a relative of his wife (Charlotte of Brunswick) Emperor Charles VI, where he sought support in the overthrow of Peter I. In 1717, the weak-willed prince was persuaded to return home, where he was taken into custody. On June 24 (July 5), 1718, the Supreme Court, which consisted of 127 people, sentenced Alexei to death, finding him guilty of high treason.

On June 26 (July 7), 1718, the prince, without waiting for the execution of the sentence, died in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The true cause of the death of Tsarevich Alexei has not yet been reliably established.

From his marriage with Princess Charlotte of Brunswick, Tsarevich Alexei left his son Peter Alekseevich (1715-1730), who became Emperor Peter II in 1727, and his daughter Natalia Alekseevna (1714-1728).

In 1703, Peter I met 19-year-old Katerina, nee Marta Skavronskaya, captured by Russian troops as spoils of war during the capture of the Swedish fortress of Marienburg. Peter took the former maid from the Baltic peasants from Alexander Menshikov and made her his mistress. In 1704, Katerina gives birth to her first child, named Peter, the next year, Paul (both died soon after). Even before her legal marriage to Peter, Katerina gave birth to daughters Anna (1708) and Elizabeth (1709). Elizabeth later became Empress (ruled 1741-1761), and Anna's direct descendants ruled Russia after Elizabeth's death, from 1761 to 1917.

Katerina alone could cope with the tsar in his fits of anger, knew how to calm Peter's attacks of convulsive headache with kindness and patient attention. The sound of Katerina's voice calmed Peter; then she:

The official wedding of Peter I with Ekaterina Alekseevna took place on February 19, 1712, shortly after returning from the Prut campaign. In 1724, Peter crowned Catherine as empress and co-ruler. Ekaterina Alekseevna gave birth to her husband 11 children, but most of them died in childhood, except for Anna and Elizabeth.

After the death of Peter in January 1725, Ekaterina Alekseevna, with the support of the serving nobility and guards regiments, became the first ruling Russian Empress Catherine I, but her reign was short-lived and died in 1727, vacating the throne for Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich. The first wife of Peter the Great, Evdokia Lopukhina, outlived her happy rival and died in 1731, having managed to see the reign of her grandson Peter Alekseevich.

succession to the throne

In the last years of the reign of Peter the Great, the question of succession to the throne arose: who would take the throne after the death of the emperor. Tsarevich Pyotr Petrovich (1715-1719, son of Ekaterina Alekseevna), announced at the abdication of Alexei Petrovich as heir to the throne, died in childhood. The son of Tsarevich Alexei and Princess Charlotte, Peter Alekseevich, became the direct heir. However, if you follow the custom and declare the son of the disgraced Alexei the heir, then the hopes of the opponents of the reforms to return the old order were aroused, and on the other hand, fears arose among Peter's associates, who voted for the execution of Alexei.

On February 5 (16), 1722, Peter issued a Decree on the succession to the throne (cancelled by Paul I 75 years later), in which he abolished the ancient custom of transferring the throne to direct male descendants, but allowed the appointment of any worthy person as heir at the will of the monarch. The text of this most important decree justified the need for this measure:

The decree was so unusual for Russian society that it was necessary to explain it and require the consent of the subjects under oath. The schismatics were indignant: “He took a Swede for himself, and that queen will not give birth to children, and he issued a decree to kiss the cross for the future sovereign, and kiss the cross for the Swede. Of course, the Swede will reign.”

Peter Alekseevich was removed from the throne, but the question of succession to the throne remained open. Many believed that either Anna or Elizabeth, Peter's daughter from his marriage to Ekaterina Alekseevna, would take the throne. But in 1724, Anna renounced any claims to the Russian throne after she became engaged to the Duke of Holstein, Karl-Friedrich. If the throne was taken by the youngest daughter Elizabeth, who was 15 years old (in 1724), then the Duke of Holstein would rule instead of her, who dreamed of returning the lands conquered by the Danes with the help of Russia.

Peter and his nieces, the daughters of Ivan's older brother, were not satisfied: Anna Kurlyandskaya, Ekaterina Mecklenburgskaya and Praskovya Ioannovna.

Only one candidate remained - Peter's wife, Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna. Peter needed a person who would continue the work he started, his transformation. On May 7, 1724, Peter crowned Catherine empress and co-ruler, but after a short time he was suspected of adultery (the case of Mons). The decree of 1722 violated the usual way of succession to the throne, but Peter did not have time to appoint an heir before his death.

Descendants of Peter I

	Date of Birth	Date of death	Notes
With Evdokia Lopukhina
Alexey Petrovich			He was considered the official heir to the throne until his arrest. He was married in 1711 to Princess Sophia-Charlotte of Braunschweig-Wolfenbittel, sister of Elizabeth, wife of Emperor Charles VI. Children: Natalya (1714-28) and Peter (1715-30), later Emperor Peter II.
Alexander Petrovich
With Ekaterina
Anna Petrovna			In 1725 she married the German Duke Karl-Friedrich. She left for Kiel, where she gave birth to a son, Karl Peter Ulrich (later Russian Emperor Peter III).
Elizaveta Petrovna			Empress since 1741. In 1744 she entered into a secret marriage with A. G. Razumovsky, from whom, according to contemporaries, she gave birth to several children.
Natalya Petrovna
Margarita Petrovna
Pyotr Petrovich			He was considered the official heir to the crown from 1718 until his death.
Pavel Petrovich
Natalya Petrovna

In most history books, including some popular Internet resources, as a rule, a smaller number of children of Peter I are mentioned. This is due to the fact that they have reached the age of maturity and left a certain mark in history, unlike other children who died in early childhood. According to other sources, Peter I had 14 children officially registered and mentioned on the genealogical tree of the Romanov dynasty.

Death of Peter

In the last years of his reign, Peter was very ill (presumably, stone disease of the kidneys, uremia). In the summer of 1724, his illness intensified, in September he felt better, but after a while the attacks intensified. In October, Peter went to inspect the Ladoga Canal, contrary to the advice of his life physician Blumentrost. From Olonets, Peter traveled to Staraya Russa and in November went to St. Petersburg by water. At Lakhta, he had to, standing waist-deep in water, rescue a boat with soldiers that had run aground. The attacks of the disease intensified, but Peter, not paying attention to them, continued to deal with state affairs. On January 17, 1725, he had such a bad time that he ordered a camp church to be built in the room next to his bedroom, and on January 22 he confessed. The strength began to leave the patient, he no longer screamed, as before, from severe pain, but only moaned.

On January 27 (February 7), all those sentenced to death or hard labor were amnestied (excluding murderers and those convicted of repeated robbery). On the same day, at the end of the second hour, Peter demanded paper, began to write, but the pen fell out of his hands, only two words could be made out of what was written: "Give it all..." The tsar then ordered his daughter Anna Petrovna to be called so that she would write under his dictation, but when she arrived, Peter had already fallen into oblivion. The story about the words of Peter “Give everything ...” and the order to call Anna is known only from the notes of the Holstein Privy Councilor G. F. Bassevich; according to N. I. Pavlenko and V. P. Kozlov, it is a tendentious fiction with the aim of hinting at the rights of Anna Petrovna, the wife of the Holstein Duke Karl Friedrich, to the Russian throne.

When it became obvious that the emperor was dying, the question arose of who would take the place of Peter. The Senate, the Synod and the generals - all institutions that did not have the formal right to control the fate of the throne, even before Peter's death, gathered on the night of January 27-28, 1725 to decide on the successor of Peter the Great. Guards officers entered the meeting room, two guards regiments entered the square, and under the drumbeat of the troops withdrawn by the party of Ekaterina Alekseevna and Menshikov, the Senate adopted a unanimous decision by 4 o'clock in the morning on January 28. By decision of the Senate, the throne was inherited by Peter's wife, Ekaterina Alekseevna, who became the first Russian empress on January 28 (February 8), 1725 under the name Catherine I.

At the beginning of the sixth hour in the morning on January 28 (February 8), 1725, Peter the Great died. He was buried in the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.

The famous court icon painter Simon Ushakov painted on a cypress board the image of the Life-Giving Trinity and the Apostle Peter. After the death of Peter I, this icon was installed over the imperial tombstone.

Performance evaluation and criticism

In a letter to the Ambassador of France in Russia, Louis XIV spoke of Peter in the following way: “This sovereign reveals his aspirations by his concerns about preparing for military affairs and about the discipline of his troops, about training and enlightening his people, about attracting foreign officers and all kinds of capable people. This course of action and the increase in power, which is the greatest in Europe, make him formidable to his neighbors and arouse very thorough envy.

Moritz of Saxony called Peter the greatest man of his century.

S. M. Solovyov spoke of Peter in enthusiastic tones, attributing to him all the successes of Russia both in internal affairs and in foreign policy, showed the organicity and historical readiness of the reforms:

The historian believed that the emperor saw his main task in the internal transformation of Russia, and the Northern War with Sweden was only a means to this transformation. According to Solovyov:

P. N. Milyukov, in his works, develops the idea that the reforms were carried out by Peter spontaneously, from time to time, under the pressure of specific circumstances, without any logic and plan, they were "reforms without a reformer." He also mentions that only "at the cost of ruining the country, Russia was elevated to the rank of a European power." According to Milyukov, during the reign of Peter the Great, the population of Russia within the boundaries of 1695 decreased due to incessant wars.

S. F. Platonov belonged to the apologists of Peter. In his book Personality and Activity, he wrote the following:

N. I. Pavlenko believed that Peter's transformations were a major step along the road to progress (albeit within the framework of feudalism). Outstanding Soviet historians, such as E. V. Tarle, N. N. Molchanov, and V. I. Buganov, agree with him in many respects, considering the reforms from the point of view of Marxist theory.

Voltaire wrote repeatedly about Peter. By the end of 1759 he published the first volume, and in April 1763 the second volume of "The History of the Russian Empire under Peter the Great" was published. Voltaire defines the main value of Peter's reforms as the progress that the Russians have made in 50 years, other nations cannot achieve this even in 500. Peter I, his reforms, their significance became the object of the dispute between Voltaire and Rousseau.

N. M. Karamzin, recognizing this sovereign as the Great, severely criticizes Peter for his excessive passion for foreign countries, the desire to make Russia the Netherlands. A sharp change in the "old" way of life and national traditions undertaken by the emperor, according to the historian, is far from always justified. As a result, Russian educated people "became citizens of the world, but ceased to be, in some cases, citizens of Russia."

V. O. Klyuchevsky gave a contradictory assessment of Peter's transformations. "The reform (Peter's) itself came out of the urgent needs of the state and the people, instinctively felt by an imperious person with a sensitive mind and strong character, talents ... the order established in this state was not directed by the task of placing Russian life on Western European foundations that were unusual for it, introducing new borrowed principles into it, but was limited to the desire to arm the Russian state and people with ready-made Western European means, mental and material, and thereby put the state on a level with the conquered their position in Europe... Initiated and led by the supreme power, the accustomed leader of the people, it adopted the character and methods of a violent upheaval, a kind of revolution.It was a revolution not in its aims and results, but only in its methods and on the minds and nerves of contemporaries."

V. B. Kobrin argued that Peter did not change the most important thing in the country: serfdom. Fortress industry. Temporary improvements in the present doomed Russia to a crisis in the future.

According to R. Pipes, Kamensky, E. V. Anisimov, Peter's reforms were extremely controversial. Serf-owning methods and repressions led to an overstrain of the people's forces.

E. V. Anisimov believed that, despite the introduction of a number of innovations in all spheres of society and the state, the reforms led to the conservation of the autocratic-serf system in Russia.

An extremely negative assessment of the personality of Peter and the results of his reforms was given by the thinker and publicist Ivan Solonevich. In his opinion, the result of Peter's activity was the gap between the ruling elite and the people, the denationalization of the first. He accused Peter himself of cruelty, incompetence and tyranny.

A. M. Burovsky calls Peter I, following the Old Believers, "the tsar-antichrist", as well as a "possessed sadist" and a "bloody monster", arguing that his activities ruined and bled Russia. According to him, everything good that is attributed to Peter was known long before him, and Russia before him was much more developed and free than after.

Memory

monuments

In honor of Peter the Great, monuments were erected in various cities of Russia and Europe. The very first and most famous is the Bronze Horseman in St. Petersburg, created by the sculptor Etienne Maurice Falcone. Its manufacture and construction took more than 10 years. The sculpture of Peter by B. K. Rastrelli was created earlier than the Bronze Horseman, but was installed in front of the Mikhailovsky Castle later.

In 1912, during the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Tula Arms Plant, a monument to Peter, as the founder of the plant, was opened on its territory. Subsequently, the monument was erected in front of the factory entrance.

The largest one was installed in 1997 in Moscow on the Moskva River by sculptor Zurab Tsereteli.

In 2007, a monument was erected in Astrakhan on the Volga embankment, and in 2008 in Sochi.

May 20, 2009 in the "Moscow City Children's Maritime Center named after. Peter the Great, a bust of Peter I was erected as part of the Alley of Russian Glory project.

Various natural objects are also associated with the name of Peter. So, until the end of the 20th century, an oak tree was preserved on Kamenny Island in St. Petersburg, according to legend, planted personally by Peter. On the site of his last feat near Lakhta, there was also a pine tree with a commemorative inscription. Now a new one has been planted in its place.

Orders

• 1698 - Order of the Garter (England) - the order was awarded to Peter during the Great Embassy for diplomatic reasons, but Peter refused the award.
• 1703 - Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (Russia) - for the capture of two Swedish ships at the mouth of the Neva.
• 1712 - Order of the White Eagle (Polish Commonwealth) - in response to the awarding of the King of the Commonwealth Augustus II with the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.
• 1713 - Order of the Elephant (Denmark) - for success in the Northern War.

In honor of Peter I

• The Order of Peter the Great is an award in 3 degrees, established by the public organization Academy of Defense Security and Law Enforcement Problems, which was liquidated by the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, as it issued fictitious awards consonant with official awards, orders and medals.

Peter I in art

In literature

• Tolstoy A.N., "Peter the Great (novel)" - the most famous novel about the life of Peter I, published in 1945.
• Yuri Pavlovich German - "Young Russia" - novel
• A. S. Pushkin made a deep study of the life of Peter and made Peter the Great the hero of his poems "Poltava" and "The Bronze Horseman", as well as the novel "Arap of Peter the Great".
• Merezhkovsky D.S., "Peter and Alexei" - a novel.
• Anatoly Brusnikin - "Ninth Spas"
• Yury Tynyanov's story "The Wax Person" describes the last days of the life of Peter I, vividly characterizes the era and the emperor's inner circle.
• A. Volkov's story "Two Brothers" - describes the life of various strata of society under Peter and Peter's attitude towards them.

In music

• "Peter the Great" (Pierre le Grand, 1790) - opera by Andre Grétry
• The Youth of Peter the Great (Das Petermännchen, 1794) - opera by Josef Weigl
• "The Tsar-Carpenter, or the Dignity of a Woman" (1814) - Singspiel by K. A. Lichtenstein
• "Peter the Great, the Russian Tsar, or the Livonian Carpenter" (Pietro il Grande zar di tutte le Russie or Il falegname di Livonia, 1819) - opera by Gaetano Donizetti
• The Burgomaster of Saardam (Il borgomastro di Saardam, 1827) - opera by Gaetano Donizetti
• The Tsar and the Carpenter (Zar und Zimmermann, 1837) - operetta by Albert Lorzing
• "Northern Star" (L "étoile du nord, 1854) - opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer
• Tobacco Captain (1942) - operetta by V. V. Shcherbachev
• "Peter I" (1975) - opera by Andrey Petrov

In addition, in 1937-1938, Mikhail Bulgakov and Boris Asafiev worked on the libretto of the opera Peter the Great, which remained an unrealized project (the libretto was published in 1988).

In cinema

Peter I is a character in dozens of feature films.

Peter I on money

Criticism and evaluation of Peter I

In a letter to the Ambassador of France in Russia, Louis XIV spoke of Peter as follows: “This sovereign reveals his aspirations by his concerns about preparing for military affairs and about the discipline of his troops, about training and enlightening his people, about attracting foreign officers and all kinds of capable people. This course of action and the increase in power, which is the greatest in Europe, make him formidable to his neighbors and arouse very solid envy.

Moritz of Saxony called Peter the greatest man of his century

August Strindberg described Peter as “A barbarian who civilized his Russia; he who built cities, but did not want to live in them; he who punished his wife with a whip and gave the woman wide freedom - his life was great, rich and useful in public terms, in private terms, such as it turned out.

Westerners positively assessed the reforms of Peter the Great, thanks to which Russia became a great power and joined the European civilization.

The well-known historian S. M. Solovyov spoke of Peter in enthusiastic tones, attributing to him all the successes of Russia both in internal affairs and in foreign policy, showed the organicity and historical readiness of the reforms:

The historian believed that the emperor saw his main task in the internal transformation of Russia, and the Northern War with Sweden was only a means to this transformation. According to Solovyov:

P. N. Milyukov, in his works, develops the idea that the reforms were carried out by Peter spontaneously, from time to time, under the pressure of specific circumstances, without any logic and plan, they were "reforms without a reformer." He also mentions that only "at the cost of ruining the country, Russia was elevated to the rank of a European power." According to Milyukov, during the reign of Peter, the population of Russia within the boundaries of 1695 was reduced due to incessant wars.
S. F. Platonov belonged to the apologists of Peter. In his book Personality and Activity, he wrote the following:

In addition, Platonov pays a lot of attention to the personality of Peter, highlighting his positive qualities: energy, seriousness, natural intelligence and talents, the desire to figure everything out on his own.

N. I. Pavlenko believed that Peter's transformations were a major step towards progress (albeit within the framework of feudalism). Outstanding Soviet historians, such as E. V. Tarle, N. N. Molchanov, and V. I. Buganov, agree with him in many respects, considering the reforms from the point of view of Marxist theory. Voltaire wrote repeatedly about Peter. By the end of 1759 he published the first volume, and in April 1763 the second volume of "The History of the Russian Empire under Peter the Great" was published. Voltaire defines the main value of Peter's reforms as the progress that the Russians have achieved in 50 years, other nations cannot achieve this even in 500. Peter I, his reforms, their significance became the object of the dispute between Voltaire and Rousseau.

N. M. Karamzin, recognizing this sovereign as the Great, severely criticizes Peter for his excessive passion for foreign countries, the desire to make Russia Holland. A sharp change in the "old" way of life and national traditions undertaken by the emperor, according to the historian, is far from always justified. As a result, Russian educated people "became citizens of the world, but ceased to be, in some cases, citizens of Russia."

V. O. Klyuchevsky thought that Peter was making history, but did not understand it. To protect the Fatherland from enemies, he devastated it more than any enemy ... After him, the state became stronger, and the people - poorer. “All his transformational activities were guided by the thought of the necessity and omnipotence of imperious coercion; he hoped only to impose on the people the blessings he lacked by force. "Will these torments lead to the worst torments for many hundreds of years? But it was forbidden to think, even to feel anything other than humility"

B. V. Kobrin argued that Peter did not change the most important thing in the country: serfdom. Fortress industry. Temporary improvements in the present doomed Russia to a crisis in the future.

According to R. Pipes, Kamensky, N. V. Anisimov, Peter's reforms were extremely controversial. Serf-owning methods and repressions led to an overstrain of the people's forces.

N. V. Anisimov believed that, despite the introduction of a number of innovations in all spheres of society and the state, the reforms led to the conservation of the autocratic-serf system in Russia.

• Boris Chichibabin. Curse Peter (1972)
• Dmitry Merezhkovsky. Trilogy Christ and Antichrist. Peter and Alexei (novel).
• Friedrich Gorenstein. Tsar Peter and Alexei(drama).
• Alexey Tolstoy. Peter the Great(novel).