Alexey Nikolaevich Tolstoy. The novel "Peter the First"

Tolstoy Alexey Nikolaevich, Russian writer. An extremely versatile and prolific writer who wrote in all genres and genres (two collections of poems, more than forty plays, scripts, adaptations of fairy tales, journalistic and other articles, etc.), primarily a prose writer, a master of fascinating narration.

He grew up on the Sosnovka farm near Samara, on the estate of his stepfather, zemstvo employee A. A. Bostrom. A happy rural childhood determined Tolstoy's love of life, which always remained the only unshakable foundation of his worldview. He studied at the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology, graduated without a diploma (1907). I tried painting. He published poetry from 1905 and prose from 1908. He gained fame as the author of short stories and novellas of the "Trans-Volga" cycle (1909-1911) and the small novels adjoining it "Eccentrics" (originally "Two Lives", 1911), "The Lame Master" (1912 ) - mainly about the landowners of their native Samara province, prone to various eccentricities, about all kinds of extraordinary, sometimes anecdotal incidents. Many of the characters are portrayed in a humorous, light-hearted way.

During the First World War, the writer was a war correspondent. Impressions from what he saw turned him against decadence, which had affected him from a young age with its influence, which was reflected in the unfinished autobiographical novel Yegor Abozov (1915). The writer met the February Revolution with enthusiasm. “Citizen Count A.N. Tolstoy”, then living in Moscow, was appointed “Commissioner for the Registration of the Press” on behalf of the Provisional Government. The diary, journalism and stories of the end of 1917-1918 reflect the anxiety and depression of the apolitical writer about the events that followed October. In July 1918 he and his family went on a literary tour to Ukraine, and in April 1919 he was evacuated from Odessa to Istanbul.

Two émigré years were spent in Paris. In 1921 Tolstoy moved to Berlin, where more intense ties were established with writers who remained in their homeland. But the writer could not take root abroad and get along with the emigrants. During the NEP period, he returned to Russia (1923). However, the years of living abroad were very fruitful. Then appeared, among other works, such remarkable ones as the autobiographical story "Nikita's Childhood" (1920-1922) and the first edition of the novel "Walking Through the Torments" (1921). The novel, covering the time from the pre-war months of 1914 to November 1917, included the events of two revolutions, but was dedicated to the fate of individual - good, although nothing outstanding - people in a catastrophic era; the main characters, sisters Katya and Dasha, were described with a rare persuasiveness among male authors, so that the title “Sisters” given in the Soviet editions of the novel corresponds to the text. In a separate Berlin edition of The Passage (1922), the writer announced that it would be a trilogy. In fact, the anti-Bolshevik content of the novel was "corrected" by a reduction in the text. Tolstoy was always inclined to remake, sometimes many times, his works, changing titles, names of characters, adding or removing entire storylines, sometimes fluctuating between poles in the author's assessments. But in the USSR, this property of him too often began to be determined by the political situation. The writer always remembered the "sin" of his Count-landowner origin and the "mistakes" of emigration, he sought an excuse for himself in the fact that he became popular with the widest readership, which was not like before the revolution.

In 1922-1923, the first Soviet science fiction novel, Aelita, was published in Moscow, in which the Red Army soldier Gusev arranges a revolution on Mars, however, unsuccessful. In Tolstoy's second science fiction novel, The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin (1925-1926, later revised more than once) and the story The Union of Five (1925), maniacal power-hungry people try to conquer the whole world with the help of unprecedented technical means and exterminate most people, but also unsuccessfully. The social aspect is everywhere simplified and coarsened in the Soviet way, but Tolstoy predicted space flights, catching voices from space, the "parachute brake", the laser, the fission of the atomic nucleus.

Speaking as a politicized writer, Tolstoy, who was a direct, organic artist, a master of representation, and not of philosophizing and propaganda, showed himself much worse. With the plays “The Conspiracy of the Empress” and “Azef” (1925, 1926, together with the historian P. E. Shchegolev), he “legitimized” the openly tendentious, caricatured depiction of the last pre-revolutionary years and the family of Nicholas II. The novel "The Eighteenth Year" (1927-1928), the second book of "Walking through the torments", Tolstoy oversaturated with tendentiously selected and interpreted historical materials, brought together fictional characters with real-life faces and thickly filled the plot with adventurousness, including the motives of dressing up and meetings "rigged" by the author (which could not help but weaken the novel).

In the 1930s on the direct order of the authorities, he wrote the first work about Stalin - the story "Bread (Defense of Tsaritsyn)" (published in 1937), entirely subordinated to Stalin's myths about the Civil War. It was like an "addition" to "The Eighteenth Year", where Tolstoy "overlooked" the outstanding role of Stalin and Voroshilov in the events of that time. Some characters of the story migrated to Gloomy Morning (completed in 1941), the last book of the trilogy, the work is still more lively than Bread, but in adventurousness it rivals the second book, and far surpasses it in opportunism. With pathetic speeches by Roshchin in an unfortunate, as usual with Tolstoy, fabulously happy ending, he indirectly but definitely justified the repressions of 1937. However, the bright characters, fascinating plot, Tolstoy's masterful language made the trilogy one of the most popular works of Soviet literature for a long time.

Among the best stories for children in world literature is The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio (1935), a very thorough and successful adaptation of a fairy tale by an Italian writer of the 19th century. Collodi "Pinocchio".

After the October Revolution, Tolstoy became interested in historical subjects. On the material of the 17th-18th centuries. stories and novels were written "Delusion" (1918), "Peter's Day" (1918), "Count Cagliostro" (1921), "The Tale of Troubled Times" (1922), etc. In addition to the story about Peter the Great, who builds St. cruelty to people and remaining in tragic loneliness, all these works are more or less full of adventures, although in the depiction of the turmoil of the early 17th century. one can feel the look of a man who has seen the turmoil of the 20th century. After the play "On the Rack", written in 1928, largely based on "Peter's Day" and under the influence of the concept of D. S. Merezhkovsky, in the novel "Antichrist (Peter and Alexei)" Tolstoy dramatically changes his view of the reformer tsar, feeling that that in the next decade the criterion of "class" may be replaced by the criteria of "people" and historical progressiveness, and the figure of a statesman of this level will evoke positive associations.

In 1930 and 1934, two books of a large narrative about Peter the Great and his era were published. For the sake of contrasting the old and new worlds, Tolstoy exaggerated the backwardness, poverty and lack of culture of pre-Petrine Russia, paid tribute to the vulgar sociological concept of Peter the Great's reforms as "bourgeois" (hence the exaggeration of the role of merchants, entrepreneurs), did not quite proportionally represent different social circles (for example, figures almost no attention was paid to the church), but the objective-historical necessity of the then transformations, as if being a precedent for socialist transformations, and the means of their implementation showed in general correctly. Russia in the image of the writer is changing, the heroes of the novel “grow up” with it, primarily Peter himself. The first chapter is eventful, covering events from 1682 to 1698, which are often given in the most concise way possible. The second book ends with the initial period of the construction of St. Petersburg, founded in 1703: there are serious transformations that require closer attention. The action of the unfinished third book is measured in months. The writer's attention is switched to people, scenes are long, with detailed conversations.

A novel without romantic intrigue, without a coherent fictional plot, without adventurousness, at the same time extremely fascinating and colorful. Descriptions of everyday life and customs, the behavior of a variety of characters (there are a lot of them, but they are not lost in the crowd, which is also depicted more than once), finely stylized colloquial language are the very strengths of the novel, the best in Soviet historical prose.

The terminally ill Tolstoy wrote the third book of Peter the Great in 1943-1944. It breaks off at the episode of the capture of Narva, under which Peter's troops suffered their first heavy defeat at the beginning of the Northern War. This gives the impression of the completeness of an unfinished novel. Peter is already clearly idealized, he even stands up for the common people; the entire tonality of the book was affected by the national-patriotic sentiments of the times of the Great Patriotic War. But the main images of the novel have not faded, the interest of events has not disappeared, although on the whole the third book is weaker than the first two. "Russian writers. Bibliographic Dictionary" Part 2. / Comp. B.F. Egorov, P.A. Nikolaev and others, - M.: Enlightenment, 1990.-p.136

The personality of Peter the Great and his era excited the imagination of writers, artists, composers of many generations. From Lomonosov to the present day, the theme of Peter does not leave the pages of fiction. A.S. Pushkin, N.A. Nekrasov, L.N. Tolstoy, A.A. Blok, D.S. Merezhkovsky and others addressed her. The assessment of Peter the Great, his transformations is ambiguous both in the assessment of historians and in fiction.

If Lomonosov and Pushkin perceived Peter's deeds as a feat (although Pushkin also saw the shortcomings of the tsar-transformer), then L.N. Tolstoy reacted negatively to him. Having conceived a novel from the era of Peter, he stopped writing it, because, by his own admission, he hated the personality of the king, "the most pious robber, murderer." A similar assessment was given to Peter in D.S. Merezhkovsky’s novel “Peter and Alexei” (1905). Without exaggeration, we can say that almost throughout his life, starting from 1917, the era of Peter and A. N. Tolstoy.

“I had been aiming at Peter for a long time,” Tolstoy wrote. “I saw all the spots on his jacket, but Peter still stuck out as a mystery in the historical fog.” Direct, albeit distant approaches to the Peter the Great theme were the stories Obsession (1917), Peter's Day (1917), the play On the Rack (1928), which became, as it were, an overture to the novel about Peter. They show that Tolstoy's attitude towards the personality of Peter was changing.

The story "Peter's Day" (1917) is deeply pessimistic. Showing the activities of Peter, aimed at transforming the state, the writer shows all the course of the narrative the futility of these events of Peter. The tsar is shown in the story as a cruel proud man, lonely and terrible: "... sitting on the wastelands and swamps, with one of his terrible wills he strengthened the state, rebuilding the earth." In the tragedy "On the Rack", in contrast to the story, a broader description of the time of Peter and his environment. But he is again alone in his vast country, for the sake of which he “did not spare his life”, and the people are against the converter, and the elements. The doom of Peter's cause can be heard in his own words: “I've been breaking through the wall for twenty years. For whom is this? I translated millions of people... I shed a lot of blood. If I die, they will attack the state like vultures.” A. Tarkhov “Historical triptych A.K. Tolstoy" - M.: Khudozh. lit., 1982.-p.110

Having completed the play, Tolstoy was going to write a story about Peter and, after serious preparation, took it up in February 1929. The first book of "Peter" was completed on May 12, 1930, and the last, seventh chapter, ends with the execution of the archers. The remaining points of the plan formed the content of the second book, which Tolstoy wrote from December 1932 to April 22, 1934. The writer began working on the third book of the epic on December 31, 1934 and managed to bring it to the sixth chapter. But death prevented the writer from completing his monumental work.

Getting to work on the novel, Tolstoy identifies the main problems. First of all, it is "primarily a book about the Russian character, its leading features." Secondly, the image of a historical personality, its formation. Thirdly, the image of the people as the driving force of history. The composition of the work is also subject to the solution of these problems. The composition of the novel reflects the course of Russian history correctly understood by the writer at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. Pautkin A. I. About the language of the novel by A. N. Tolstoy "Peter I", 1987.-p.126

The three books of the novel recreate the three most important periods in the development of Petrine Russia.

The first book depicts the lagging Muscovite Russia, the youth of Peter, the struggle with Sophia for power, the first Peter's reforms, the streltsy rebellion and the execution of the rebels. In the first chapters, which are the exposition of the novel, Peter is not yet there. The author, through the author's digressions, through the depiction of the life of all classes of pre-Petrine Russia, through the demonstration of class contradictions, helps to feel the historical necessity of transformations. “A man with a whipped ass somehow picked the hateful earth”; from intolerable tributes and requisitions, the townspeople "howled in the cold yard"; the small estate nobleman went bankrupt, "thinned", the small merchants "groaned"; Even the boyars and eminent merchants “groaned”. “What kind of Russia, cursed country, when will you move from your place?” The first book ends with the brutal suppression of the Streltsy rebellion by Peter: “Throughout the winter there were tortures and executions ... The whole country was engulfed in horror. The old one was huddled in the dark corners. Byzantine Russia ended. In the March wind, the ghosts of merchant ships seemed to be behind the Baltic coasts.

Tolstoy himself pointed out that the second book is more monumental. She talks about how "Russia moved from its place." There are fewer historical events here, but all of them are very important, showing the construction of a new Russia: preparations for the Northern War, the “Narva embarrassment”, the construction of factories, the founding of St. Petersburg ... in the second book, the motive of the people’s social protest sounds with even greater force.

The third book of the novel was created in the atmosphere of the heroic upsurge of the Great Patriotic War. The main thing in it is the image of the creative work of the Russian people, the great deeds of the Russian soldier. Pautkin A. I. About the language of the novel by A. N. Tolstoy "Peter I", 1987.-p.102

“The third book,” A. Tolstoy wrote, “is the most important part of the novel about Peter ...” This is a book about the brilliant Russian victories over the troops of Charles XII. The image of young Russia, which won in a difficult struggle, is especially vividly shown in it. The versatility of the composition, the contrast of the chapters, the changing tone of the author, the abundance of characters, the geographical breadth of the depicted - allowed the author to show Russia in a turbulent stream of historical events. However, Tolstoy himself admitted: “In my novel, the figure of Peter the Great is the center.” He is revealed in all his grandiose contradictory nature - a magnanimous and cruel, brave and merciless statesman to enemies, a brilliant reformer. The rest of the characters are grouped around him. Varlamov.A.N. Alexey Tolstoy. - 2nd ed. - M.: Young Guard, 2008.-p.87

A.N. Tolstoy depicts the process of formation of Peter's personality, the formation of his character under the influence of historical circumstances. Therefore, it is necessary to trace how Peter's character developed, what circumstances influenced his formation, what role the environment played in the formation of Peter's personality.

Tolstoy shows how events shape Peter the reformer. He actively intervenes in life, changes it, changes himself. The Preobrazhensky Palace is dominated by the antiquity that Peter hates all his life. Boredom, ignorance, monotony. The days are so similar to each other that it is difficult to remember whether the household members had lunch or had dinner already. The slow pace of life is also indicated by the words successfully found by Tolstoy, emphasizing the utter stagnation that prevailed in the palace: “The queen lazily got up and went to the bedchamber. There... angry old women were sitting on the covered chests... A dwarf with festering eyes crawled out from behind the bed... crouched at the sovereign's legs... - Has anyone seen a unicorn? The day was ending, the bell tolled slowly…”

The merit of Tolstoy is that he was able to show the gradual formation of Peter as an outstanding historical figure, and did not immediately paint him as a fully formed national figure and commander, as he appears in the third book of the novel. Peter's wise teacher was life itself. Even in Arkhangelsk, Peter realized that the seas were needed for the wide development of trade, that the country could not exist without them. However, Peter still cannot decide on his own the issue of a campaign against Azov, therefore he listens to what the boyars and people close to him in spirit say. His fear of the upcoming war with the Tatars was reminiscent of a memorable night

escape to Trinity. The behavior of Peter at the first meeting of the boyar duma clearly shows that the young tsar lacks firmness and decisiveness: “... it was terrifying and frightened from his youth. He waited, screwed up his eyes. He returned differently from the Azov campaigns. The struggle for Azov is the first serious matter in the life and work of Peter. In the battles near Azov, he learns to fight for real, learns to assess the strength of the enemy, here his will is tempered, perseverance in achieving goals grows stronger. Military failures at first "amazed" Peter, but did not force him to throw down his weapons and retreat. On the contrary, at any cost, he decides to take Azov, no matter what it costs him, the generals, the soldiers. His perseverance and inflexibility for the first time with great force are manifested here, near Azov. “Peter’s will seemed to be petrified. He became harsh, harsh. He lost so much weight that the green caftan dangled on him, as if on a pole. I quit jokes." He himself decides to conduct a siege and develops its plan, makes all people work with great tension and spends all days with the soldiers on earthworks, and eats simple soldier food with them. Tolstoy shows how, in this difficult struggle, it is no longer for himself (as in the struggle with Sophia in his youth), but for his country, for the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, Peter matures, and the soldiers mature with him. If earlier, during the explosion of bombs, “pale warriors only baptized themselves,” then during the last siege of Azov, soldiers, not paying attention to the whistle of bullets, climbed the stairs to the walls of the fortress. Even the forced retreat of the Russian army, which completed the first Azov campaign without glory, did not shake Peter's faith in the opportunity to take Azov, did not instill in him pessimism, disbelief in the strength of Russian soldiers. He does not give up, on the contrary, “failure has bribed him with a frantic bit. Even relatives did not recognize - another person: angry, stubborn, businesslike. Even in Arkhangelsk, Peter felt that the enemy, which prevents Russia from parting with its poverty and squalor, "is invisible, cannot be embraced, the enemy is everywhere, the enemy is in himself." This "enemy is in himself" - indifference to the state affairs, to the fate of the country, carelessness, and finally, his ignorance. Stay in Arkhangelsk, participation in the Azov campaign turned Peter to face the state, to its needs. His inherent energy, willpower, organizational skills and, most importantly, perseverance in fulfilling the set goal did their job: the Voronezh fleet was built at the cost of the lives of many hundreds of Russian workers.

An autocratic sovereign, firmly convinced of the usefulness and necessity of the measures he takes and now does not take into account the opinion of the boyars, Tolstoy shows Peter at the second meeting of the boyar duma. Now Peter, in a "courageous voice" that brooks no objections, tells the boyars about the immediate improvement of the devastated Azov and the Taganrog fortress, about the creation of "kumpanstvo" for the construction of ships, about the preparation of taxes for the construction of the Volga-Don Canal. From the throne, he no longer speaks, but "barks cruelly"; the boyars feel that with Peter now "everything is decided in advance" and soon he will do without a thought. The tasks facing the state become even clearer for Peter: “In two years they must build a fleet, become smart from fools.”

Love for the motherland manifests itself in Peter, first in deep pain for his country. "The devil brought to be born a king in such a country!" - he exclaims bitterly, seeing the poverty, squalor, darkness of his vast country. More than once Peter will think about the reasons for such impoverishment of Russia, such ignorance. “... why is this? We are sitting in the great open spaces and are poor ... ”Peter sees a way out of this situation in the development of industry, trade, in the conquest of the shores of the Baltic Sea. Peter's desire to eliminate the economic backwardness of the country is manifested, first of all, in the construction of factories, factories, workshops. To strengthen the power of Russia, it needed its own, Russian pig iron, its own iron, so as not to buy at exorbitant prices abroad. He wants the Russians to take up the development of iron ore, the construction of sawmills, and not foreigners. "Why can't their own?" - says Peter, referring to the merchants. And therefore, with joy, without hesitation, Peter gives money for the development of the ore business to the enterprising Tula blacksmith Demidov, who decided to "raise the Urals." So, on the initiative and with the support of Peter, domestic factories are being built and growing, giving pig iron and iron for the army. He welcomes the initiative of the Bazhenin brothers, Osip and Fyodor, who built a water saw mill on their own, without the help of overseas craftsmen, their desire to build ships and yachts and take boards and other Russian goods overseas on them. Seeing the "happiness of the country" in the success of maritime trade, Peter encourages its development with all his might. Peter gives the first "navigator" Ivan Zhigulin three ships at his disposal to carry blubber, seal skins, salmon and pearls across the sea. But Peter is well aware that the broad development of trade is possible only if the Russians have access to the Baltic Sea. But not only the economic backwardness of the country worries Peter. Love for the motherland forces one to fight against the ignorance and darkness that prevailed in the country, for the development of culture, science, and art. How to “push people apart, open their eyes”, introduce them to culture, instill a love for learning? “Lice has eaten us up from theology… Navigational, mathematical sciences. Mining, medicine. This is what we need ... ”, - says Peter in Preobrazhensky to Generals Patkul and Karlovich.

At the foundry in Moscow, Peter establishes a school where two hundred and fifty boyars, townsmen, and even young men of a “vile” rank (which is very important) studied casting, mathematics, fortification, and history. Russia needed educated people: engineers, architects, diplomats. "Dubinoy" Peter drove the noble undergrowth into science. “Inhumanly,” according to Peter himself, he fights so that “noble bastards - a fathom in height” learn to read and write. “Where do you have to start: az, beeches, lead ...,” he says indignantly. But with what joy Peter's eyes shine when he meets a literate, educated Russian person. When Artamon Brovkin asked Peter if he knows how to read and write, he answers in German, French, Dutch, Peter is delighted: “Peter Alekseevich began to kiss him, clapped his palm and dragged him over, shaking him. - Well, tell me! Ah, young…”

It is no coincidence that Peter’s decision “to favor counts for the mind” is also not accidental. Not kind, but knowledge above all appreciates Peter. Skill, ability in any business, golden hands always cause Peter's delight and respect for this person. With admiration and surprise, Peter looks at the skillful drawing of Andrei Golikov. Not a Dutch, but his own, Russian, icon painter from Palekha on a simple wall, not with paints, but with thin charcoal, drew the capture of two Swedish ships by the Russians for boarding. “Peter Alekseevich squatted down.

Well well! - he said ... - I’ll probably send you to Holland to study.

It is necessary to note the far-sightedness of Peter, his statesmanship, perseverance in achieving his goals, and finally, his simplicity, which manifests itself both in dealing with people and in habits, manners, and tastes.

Peter's statesmanship is manifested in his ability to correctly assess the current political situation and choose the most appropriate strategic moments for starting a war with the Swedes. If Karl sees in the war a game, entertainment and "with rapture" listens to the sounds of battle, then Peter, as Tolstoy writes, considers the war "a difficult and difficult matter, a bloody everyday suffering, a state need." Peter himself emphasizes more than once that this war with the Swedes does not mean the seizure of foreign lands, it is a war for his former fatherland. “It is not possible to give up the fatherland to us,” he says to the soldiers. The Azov campaigns taught him a lot. The time when Peter did not take into account the strength of the enemy and did not understand the reasons for the defeat of the Russians (there was not enough gunpowder, cannonballs, cannons, food), did not take into account the mood of his soldiers, has long passed. So, near Narva, he immediately understands that the Russians, despite two years of preparation for war, have not yet learned how to fight: “In order for a cannon to fire here, it must be loaded in Moscow.” Pautkin A. I. About the language of the novel by A. N. Tolstoy "Peter I", 1987.-p.144

We almost never see Peter in royal attire: he is either in the Transfiguration caftan, or in a "linen, soiled shirt with sleeves rolled up to the elbow," or in a sailor's jacket and a southwest coat.

In the third book of the novel, Tolstoy draws a thirty-year-old Peter. It is in this book that his military talent, the wisdom of a statesman and reformer are revealed. Over the years, Peter's faith in the strength and abilities of the Russian people, in the courage, heroism and endurance of the Russian soldiers, for whom "everything is passable," grows stronger and stronger.

Peter changed himself, learned to restrain outbursts of anger. In Peter, one feels a statesman who is responsible for the fate of the country, he is absorbed in the affairs of the state, often immersed in reflection, he is no longer attracted by the past "noisy". Peter in Tolstoy's novel is not only a son of his age, but also a man who embodied the best features of the Russian national character. However, noting the progressive nature of Peter's reforms and their historical regularity, Tolstoy shows their class limitations, for Peter's transforming activity rested on strengthening the feudal system. Bazanova A.E., Ryzhkova N.V. Russian literature of the 19th and 20th centuries - M.: Yurist - 1997.-p.212

Already the first chapters of the novel make us feel that this is a story not only about Peter, but also about the whole country, about the life and fate of the people in one of the turning points in Russian history. A whole gallery of people from the people is drawn by Tolstoy in the novel, among them are the participants in the Razin uprising: the bold, resolute bearded Ivan and Ovdokim, “tortured, tormented a lot”, but not losing faith in the return of Razin’s time, Fedka “bone with malice” Wash yourself with Mud, talented self-taught inventor Kuzma Zhemov, Russian hero blacksmith Kondraty Vorobyov, Palekh painter Andrei Golikov, bold scorer Ivan Kurochkin and others. And although each of these characters participates in two or three episodes, we constantly feel the presence of the people on the pages of the novel. The squares and streets of old Moscow, the noisy tavern, the military camp near Narva - this is where the action of mass scenes unfolds. Each mass scene is of great importance in the novel also because in it, through the mouths of the people, an assessment of this or that event, the situation in the country is given. "People's torment" is felt both in individual replicas of people from the crowd, and in the author's speech, expressing the voice of the people. The brutal exploitation of the peasants, countless taxes, poverty and hunger are not masked by Tolstoy: he shows the feudal reality of the Petrine era deeply and comprehensively. But Tolstoy could not confine himself to depicting people crushed by serfdom, patiently enduring bondage - this would mean distorting reality. Historical documents and studies showed Tolstoy that not all the people meekly and meekly bore the yoke. Some expressed their protest by fleeing from the landlords to the Don, the Urals, Siberia, others were preparing for an open struggle.

But not only the love of freedom of the Russian people is portrayed by Tolstoy. The Russian people are talented and hardworking. The writer reveals these qualities in the characters of Kuzma Zhemov, Andrey Golikov… Kuzma Zhemov, a talented self-taught inventor with a creative attitude to work, a “daring mind”, self-esteem, perseverance in achieving goals. The fate of Kuzma Zhemov is typical for a talented Russian inventor from the people in the conditions of tsarist serf Russia. With the image of a skilled blacksmith Zhemov, Tolstoy affirms the extraordinary talent of a simple Russian person, his spiritual wealth. Zhemov is a good blacksmith, his work is known outside of Moscow, as he himself says: “Blacksmith Zhemov! There has not yet been such a thief who would open my locks ... My sickles went to Ryazan. The bullet did not pierce the armor of my work ... ”Kuzma is firmly convinced that even here, in these hard labor conditions created for Russian workers, his masterful work will be noted. “They will recognize Kuzma Zhemova…” he says. Pautkin A.I. About the language of the novel by A.N. Tolstoy "Peter I", 1987.-p.97

Another interesting image of a man from the people - the image of the Palekh icon painter Andrei Golikov - attracts us with talent, love for art, beauty, the ability to understand and feel nature, the desire to escape from the darkness of life. “It would seem,” the author writes, “an animal cannot bear what Andryushka endured in a short life - they destroyed, beaten, tortured, executed him with starvation and cold death,” and nevertheless he retained a deep faith that somewhere that is, "the bright edge, where he still comes, will push through life."

The people in the novel, especially in the third book, are shown as the creator of history, and although they did not realize their historical role, they realized their power.

thick novel people creative

Details Category: Historical prose Published on 27.11.2017 17:57 Views: 1782

The historical novel by Alexei Nikolayevich Tolstoy "Peter the Great" is dedicated to the first Russian emperor, one of the most prominent statesmen who determined the direction of Russia's development in the 18th century.

This epic depicts one of the brightest and most difficult periods in the history of our country, when "young Russia matured with the genius of Peter." Peter the Great was not only the first emperor of Russia, but also a military leader, builder and naval commander.

The historical basis of the novel

P. Delaroche. Portrait of Peter I (1838)
During the preparatory work on the novel, Alexei Tolstoy used a number of historical sources: the academic "History of the reign of Peter the Great" by N. Ustryalov; volumes 13-15 "History of Russia from ancient times" by S. Solovyov; "Acts of Peter the Great" by I. Golikov; diaries and notes of Patrick Gordon, I. Zhelyabuzhsky, Johann Korb, D. Perry, B. Kurakin, Yust Jul, I. Neplyuev, P. Tolstoy, F. Berchholz and others; torture records of the end of the 17th century, collected by Professor N. Ya. Novombergsky.
The author depicts some historical events in the novel: the Azov campaigns of Peter the Great, the Streltsy rebellion, as well as a number of historical characters: Princess Sophia and her lover Vasily Golitsyn, Lefort, Menshikov, Charles XII, Anna Mons, etc.
Alexander Danilovich Menshikov- an associate of the king, the son of a court groom, later the most illustrious prince.

Unknown artist. Portrait of A. D. Menshikov (1716-1720)
Franz Yakovlevich Lefort- Russian statesman and military leader of Swiss origin, the closest assistant and adviser to Tsar Peter I.

Portrait of F. Ya. Lefort (late 17th century)
Anna Mons- Peter's favourite. D.L. Mordovtsev, a Russian writer, author of historical novels popular at the time on themes from the Cossack history of the 17th-18th centuries, described this lady and the consequences of her favoritism in this way: “Anna Mons is a foreigner, the daughter of a wine merchant, a girl, for whose love Peter turned old Russia to face the West and turned so sharply that Russia still remains a little wryneck” (“Idealists and Realists”, 1878).

Supposed portrait of Anna Mons
Sofia Alekseevna- Princess, sister of Peter. In 1682-1689. she was regent for the younger brothers Peter and Ivan. Sophia ruled, relying on her favorite Vasily Golitsyn.
May 30, 1689 Peter I turned 17 years old. He, at the insistence of his mother, Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, married Evdokia Lopukhina, and, according to the customs of that time, entered the age of majority. The elder Tsar Ivan was also married. Thus, there were no formal grounds for the regency of Sofya Alekseevna, but she continued to keep power in her hands. Peter made attempts to insist on his rights, but to no avail: the archery chiefs and order dignitaries, who received their positions from the hands of Sophia, still carried out only her orders.

Sofia Alekseevna

Vasily Vasilievich Golitsyn- Prime Minister of Sophia
Artamon Sergeevich Matveev- Russian statesman, "the great sovereign's close boyar", head of the Russian government at the end of the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, one of the first "Westerners".

Patriarch Joachim

Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina- Empress, mother of Peter I
In addition, among the characters of the novel are Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky (Prince Caesar), boyar Andrei Golikov (Bogomaz from Palekh), Elder Nektary (head of the schismatic monastery), Charles XII (King of Sweden), Augustus (Elector of Saxony, King of Poland) and others
Along with major historical figures, the novel depicts ordinary people from the people. The action of the novel is constantly transferred from the palace to the chicken hut; from the boyar estate to the smoky tavern; from the Assumption Cathedral - to the royal wanted list, etc.

After the death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich (end of the 17th century), a struggle for power begins in Russia. Incited by Princess Sophia, archers rebel. There were two tsars in Moscow (the juvenile Ivan Alekseevich and Pyotr Alekseevich), and above them - the ruler Sophia. “And everything went back to normal. Nothing happened. Over Moscow, over cities, over hundreds of districts, spread over the vast land, the sour century-old twilight - poverty, servility, homelessness.
At the same time, the Brovkin peasant family lives. Once Ivashka Brovkin took his son Alyoshka with him to Moscow, who runs away and meets his peer Aleksashka Menshikov. Alyoshka begins an independent life. And Aleksashka Menshikov had a fleeting meeting with the boy Peter, the future tsar. Soon they will meet again and will not part until the death of Peter.
Growing Peter and his mother Natalya Kirillovna live quietly and boringly in Preobrazhensky. To kill boredom, Peter visits the German settlement and there he meets Franz Lefort (Aleksashka Menshikov is in the service of Lefort), falls in love with Ankhen Mons. Mother Natalya Kirillovna marries Peter Evdokia Lopukhina.

"Funny" troops
Peter in Preobrazhensky is engaged in a "amusing" army, a prototype of the future Russian army. The tsar takes Aleksashka to his bed, and he becomes an intermediary between the tsar and foreigners. Alyosha Brovkin Aleksashka arranges for the "amusing" army as a drummer. Alyosha helps his father with money, and from this small capital, things immediately begin to improve for Ivan Brovkin: he redeems himself from serfdom, becomes a merchant. Peter gives Sanka Brovkina for Vasily Volkov, the former master of the Brovkins. “From now on, nobility is counted according to suitability” - the future motto of Tsar Peter.
A new streltsy rebellion begins in favor of Sophia, who is defeated, the streltsy leaders are terribly tortured and executed. Vasily Golitsyn is sent with his family to eternal exile in Kargopol, Sophia is locked up in the Novodevichy Convent.
Peter's heir is born - Alexei Petrovich, mother Natalya Kirillovna dies.
Peter begins his reforms. We must go into the new 18th century with new achievements. Lefort plays a big role in Peter's transformations.
But the reforms place a heavy burden on the people, who, from exorbitant hardships, begin to rob or go into the forests to the schismatics, but even there they are overtaken by the sovereign's servants. “Western contagion irresistibly penetrated into a drowsy existence... The boyars and the local nobility, the clergy and archers were afraid of change, hated the speed and cruelty of everything that was being introduced... But those, rootless, quick, who wanted change, who were fascinated by Europe... these said that they were not mistaken in the young king.
In connection with the preparation of Peter I for military operations against the Ottoman Empire by the end of the 17th century. there was a need to build a regular Russian navy, and only at the expense of the state and with the help of domestic specialists. Peter begins to build ships in Voronezh, and with the help of the fleet, Azov is nevertheless taken, but this leads to a clash with the powerful Turkish Empire. Peter understands that allies must be sought in Europe. Under the name of an officer of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, Pyotr Mikhailov, he travels with an embassy to Konigsberg, Berlin, Holland, and England. There he lives as a simple artisan, mastering the necessary crafts.

M. Dobuzhinsky "Peter the Great in Holland"
But during his absence, rumors spread that the king had died and that foreigners had replaced him. Sophia again incites the archers to rebellion, but this rebellion is suppressed, and upon Peter's return to Moscow, torture and executions begin. “The whole country was terrified. The old one was huddled in the dark corners. Byzantine Russia ended.
Tsarina Evdokia Feodorovna is sent to Suzdal, to a monastery, and Anna Mons takes her place. Franz Lefort dies. More and more new ships are being laid down in Voronezh, and now a whole flotilla is sailing to the Crimea, then to the Bosphorus, and the Turks can do nothing with the new Russian naval force that has come from nowhere.
The rich man Ivan Artemyich Brovkin is engaged in deliveries to the army, he has a large house, many eminent merchants are his clerks, his son Yakov is in the navy, his son Gavril is in Holland, the younger Artamon lives with his father. Alexandra Brovkina became a noble lady. And Alexei Brovkin falls in love with Princess Natalya Alekseevna, Peter's sister, she is also not indifferent to him.
In 1700, the young and brave Swedish king Charles XII defeated Russian troops near Narva, occupied Livonia and Poland, wanted to rush after Peter into the depths of Muscovy, but the generals dissuaded him. And Peter rushes between Moscow, Novgorod and Voronezh, re-creating the army; ships are built, new cannons are cast from monastery bells. The army of the nobility is unreliable, now everyone who wants to take its place is recruited, and there are many who want to come from bondage and peasant captivity. Under the command of Boris Petrovich Sheremetev, Russian troops captured the fortress of Marienburg; among the prisoners and soldiers, the field marshal notices a pretty girl with straw in her hair and takes her as a housekeeper, but the influential Alexander Menshikov takes the beautiful Katerina for himself. When Peter learns about the betrayal of Anna Mons, Menshikov slips him Katerina, who is the king's heart. Subsequently, she becomes Tsarina Catherine I.

Catherine I
“The embarrassment near Narva was of great benefit to us,” says Peter. “From beating, iron becomes stronger, a person becomes masculine.” He begins the siege of Narva, its defender, General Gorn, does not want to surrender the city, which leads to senseless suffering of its inhabitants. Narva was taken by a furious storm, in the midst of the battle one can see the fearless Menshikov with a sword. General Gorn surrenders. “You will not be honored by me,” says Peter. - Take him to prison, on foot, through the whole city, so that he can see the sad work of his hands ... "
A. Tolstoy worked on the novel from 1929 until his death. The first two books were published in 1934. Shortly before his death in 1943, the writer began work on the third book, but managed to bring the novel only up to the events of 1704.

The image of Peter in the novel

Peter I in childhood
In the first volume we read about Peter's childhood. For the first time, the author shows him as a still frightened child in a Monomakh hat that has slipped to one side, when, at the request of the rebellious archers, the queen and Matveev carry the boy out onto the porch to the people. A. Tolstoy also describes other episodes of Peter's real biography.
Gradually, the image of the hero changes. First, it is a 12-year-old teenager, “a boy with a muffled voice and unblinking owl eyes,” whom Aleksashka Menshikov, his future favorite, teaches tricks. Then this is Peter, already spreading his wings, giving the first rebuff to the imperial claims of his elder sister. During the solemn religious procession in the Assumption Cathedral, the hero violates the magnificent church ritual, in the presence of the boyars enters into an argument with Sophia. Then this awkward, lanky young man ...
Peter's youth and youth were full of sharp dramatic clashes and a tense struggle for power. The future king has a restless, but active character, he constantly manifests himself in business: at first these are “amusing” regiments, in relation to which the king’s hot, unbridled temper was fully manifested. This was facilitated by unlimited power and permissiveness, the obedience of others. Gradually, the "amusing" troops turn into Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky, become a force, a support for Peter in the fight against the old way of life, the guardian of which is Princess Sophia. It is supported by boyars and archers.
At that time, the question of which way Russia would go further was being decided. Therefore, it can be said without exaggeration that the role of Peter in the fate of our country is exceptionally great.
But his personality is considered demonic. His gaze is "dark, staring, inhuman". His sharpness, intemperance, cruelty towards enemies, suspiciousness, suspicion are extremely aggravated. The character of Peter, well known from documentary sources, acquires artistic authenticity in the novel.
Despite the fact that the novel remained unfinished, the character of the first Russian emperor is described quite fully. In his image, the features of the people's leader, who knows the way to a new better life and is ready to sacrifice his own and others' fate, and his contradictions, have merged. The image of Peter I shows the best features of the national character, he is truly a "people's tsar-worker", but he is also the arbiter of world history.

V. Serov. "Peter I" (1907)
Not only A. Tolstoy, but also other authors at different times tried to comprehend the role of this outstanding personality. Almost everyone evaluates his character and deeds ambiguously: some consider Peter a great reformer who saved Russia, opened up new prospects for development, others consider him a strong but cruel autocrat who disrupted the smooth course of history.

A novel by A.N. Tolstoy“ Peter the First”

Shemyakina Ludmila

11 cells

The novel by A.N. Tolstoy "Peter the Great" A.M. Gorky called "the first

in our literature a real historical novel, "a book -

for a long time."

Reflecting one of the most interesting eras in the development of Russia -

the era of a radical break in patriarchal Russia and the struggle of the Russian

people for their independence, A.N. Tolstoy's novel "Peter the Great"

will always attract readers with its patriotism, extraordinary

vein freshness and high artistic skill.

This novel introduces the reader to the life of Russia at the end of the XVII -

the beginning of the 17th century, depicts the struggle of the new young Russia, striving

striving for progress, with the old Russia, patriarchal, clinging

for the old, affirms the irresistibility of the new. "Peter the First" is

huge historical canvas, the broadest picture of morals, but

first of all, according to A.S. Serafimovich, this is a book about Russian

character.

The personality of Peter and his era excited the imagination of writers,

artists, composers of many generations. From Lomonosov to

these days, the theme of Peter does not leave the pages of artistic fiction

literature. Pushkin, Nekrasov, L. Tolstoy, Blok and others addressed her.

For over twenty years, the theme of Peter and Alexei Tolstoy was worried:

the story "Peter's Day" was written in 1917, the last chapters

you his historical novel "Peter the Great" - in 1945. Not immediately

A.N. Tolstoy managed to deeply, truthfully and comprehensively draw Petr-

Rovskaya epochs, to show the nature of Peter's reforms.

"I have been aiming at Peter for a long time, since the beginning of the February

revolution, - wrote A.N. Tolstoy. - I saw all the spots on his stone

ashes - but still Peter stuck out as a mystery in the historical fog.

This is evidenced by his story "Peter's Day", and tra-

hedia "On the Rack" (1928).

It is characteristic that A.N. Tolstoy turned to the Petrine era in

1917; in the distant past, he tried to find answers to mu-

questions about the fate of the motherland and the people that asked him. Why exactly

did the writer refer to this era? Peter's era - the time of pre-

educational reforms, a radical break in patriarchal Russia, the restoration

was accepted by him as something reminiscent of 1917.

In the story "Peter's Day" Tolstoy sought to show Peter

The first masterful landowner who wants to change the life of his family

noah country. “Yes, that’s enough,” he writes, did the tsar want the good of Russia

Peter? What was Russia to him, the tsar, the owner, lit up with annoyance

and jealousy: how is it his yard and cattle, laborers and all households

stvo worse, more stupid neighbor? "Negative attitude towards Peter

and his transforming activity was connected, as a matter of fact

the researchers say, with the rejection and misunderstanding of A.N. Tolstoy in

1917 October Revolution.

In the play "On the Rack" a broader description of the time is given.

name of Peter and his entourage. The era is still given in gloomy

tones. Through a number of episodes, the motif of the tragic

Nights of Peter. He is alone in his vast country, for whose sake

a swarm "did not spare his belly"; the people against the reformer. lonely

Peter and among his "chicks": Menshikov, Shafirov, Shakhovskoy-

all liars and thieves. Lonely Peter and in his family - cheating on him

Ekaterina. Despite the fact that in the tragedy "On the Rack" (on the

bu lifted by Peter all Russia) Peter is already drawn by a big go-

statesman, he still remained for Tolstoy

riddle - hence the writer's statement of the futility of his

transformative activity and the image of the collapse of all his

many years of work. The element conquers Peter, and not vice versa, as

Pushkin's poem "The Bronze Horseman".

One of the best works of Soviet literature in history

the topic was "excellent", according to A.M. Gorky, the novel

A.N. Tolstoy "Peter the Great".

The beginning of work on this novel coincides with events important

in the life of our country. 1929 is the year of a historical turning point.

It was at this time that Tolstoy again turned to the image

Peter's era. He feels the roll call of distant Petrovsky,

"when the old world cracks and collapses", with our time, feeling

There is a certain consonance between these two eras.

THE IDEA OF THE NOVEL "PETER THE FIRST"

1. First of all, the writer had to determine what would be

for him the main in the novel, and from these positions to select the appropriate

relevant material in the works of historians, historical documents,

memoirs. This main thing for Tolstoy, according to him, was

"the formation of personality in the era." He talked about this in conversation.

with the editorial team of the magazine "Change": "Formation of personality

in a historical era - a very complex thing. This is one of the tasks

my novel."

2. Tolstoy solves the question of Peter's transformations differently. Whole

the course of the narrative, the whole system of artistic images should

were to emphasize the progressive significance of transformative measures

acceptances, their historical regularity and necessity.

3. One of the most important tasks for Tolstoy was "identifying

driving forces of the era" - the solution of the problem of the people, its historical

role in all transformations of the country, finally, the image

complex relationship between Peter and the people.

These are the main tasks that Tolstoy was able to solve.

approached only at the end of the 20s. I found the ideological idea of ​​the novel

the corresponding expression in the composition of the work, in all its

components.

COMPOSITION AND PLOT OF THE NOVEL

"A historical novel cannot be written in the form of a chronicle, in the form of

history ... First of all, as in any artistic

canvas, - composition, architectonics of the work. What it is -

composition? This is primarily the establishment of the center, the center of vision

artist... In my novel, the center is the figure of Peter I."

So, in the center of Tolstoy's narrative is Peter, the formation of his

personality. However, the novel did not become even masterfully written

biography of Peter. Why? It was important for Tolstoy to show not only

Peter as a great historical figure, but also an era that

contributed to the formation of this figure.

The formation of the personality of Peter and the image of the era in its history

This movement determined the compositional features of the novel.

Tolstoy is not limited to depicting life and work

his hero, he creates a multifaceted composition, which gives him

an opportunity to show the life of the most diverse segments of the population of Russia,

the life of the masses. All classes and groups of Russian society

represented in the novel: peasants, soldiers, archers, artisans,

nobles, boyars. Russia is shown in a stormy stream of historical

events, in the clash of social forces.

The wide coverage of the events of the Petrine era is striking, the variety

created characters.

The action is transferred from the poor peasant hut Ivashka Brov-

kina to the noisy squares of old Moscow; from the light of power,

predatory princess Sophia - on the Red Porch in the Kremlin, where a small

cue Peter becomes an eyewitness to the brutal massacre of archers with Mat-

veevym; from the chambers of Natalya Kirilovna in the Transfiguration Palace -

to the German settlement, from there to the steppes scorched by the southern sun,

along which Golitsin's army is slowly moving; from Troitsko-Ser-

Giev Lavra, where at night he fled from the Transfiguration Palace

Peter, - to Arkhangelsk, near Azov, abroad.

The opening chapters of the novel depict a fierce power struggle between

two boyar groups - Miloslavsky and Naryshkin, representing

shchim old, boyar, pre-Petrine Russia. Neither one nor the other

the group was not interested in either the interests of the state or the fate of the people.

Tolstoy emphasizes this with almost the same type of remarks, evaluating

the rule of one and the other. "And everything went on as before. Nothing

It happened. Over Moscow, over cities, over hundreds of counties...

sour centennial twilight - poverty, servility, idleness "(after

victory of the Miloslavskys); but the Naryshkins won - "... they became du-

mother and rule according to the old custom. There hasn't been much change"

The people themselves understand this: "What is Vasily Golitsyn, what is Boris -

their only joy."

Tolstoy shows that the people play a decisive role in those

events that are played out in the Kremlin. Only with support

people, the Naryshkins manage to break the Miloslavskys, etc. Discontent

people by their position is manifested in a number of mass scenes.

From about the fourth chapter of the first book, Tolstoy shows

how relations between the matured Peter

and Sophia, which further leads to the fall of the former ruler.

Peter becomes an autocratic ruler and, with his characteristic

decisiveness, overcoming the resistance of the boyars, begins the struggle

with Byzantine Russia. "The whole of Russia resisted," writes Tolstoy.

change, "hated the speed and cruelty of the innovation, not only

the boyars, but also the local nobility, and the clergy, and archers:

"It was not the world, but a tavern, everyone breaks, they disturb everyone ... They don't live -

in a hurry ... We are rolling into the abyss ... "The people also resisted -" little

was the same burden - dragged to a new incomprehensible job - to

shipyards in Voronezh. "Escape to the dense forests,

on the Don - the people's response to all the hardships of life during the reign

The first book ends with the cruel suppression of the Streltsy by Peter

rebellion. Its ending is better to read aloud: "All winter there were tortures and

executions ... The whole country was engulfed in horror. The old clogged up

dark corners. Byzantine Russia ended. In the March wind

the ghosts of merchant ships seemed to be behind the Baltic coasts.

Peter the First

By the end of the XVII century. after the death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, a struggle for power begins in Russia. The archers rebel, instigated by Tsarevna Sophia and her lover, the ambitious Prince Vasily Golitsyn. There were two tsars in Moscow - the juvenile Ivan Alekseevich and Pyotr Alekseevich, and above them - the ruler Sophia. "And everything went on as before. Nothing happened. Over Moscow, over the cities, over hundreds of counties, spread over the vast land, centenary twilight sour - poverty, servility, homelessness."

In those same years, in the village, on the lands of the nobleman Vasily Volkov, the peasant family of the Brovkins lived. The eldest, Ivashka Brovkin, takes his son Alyoshka with him to Moscow; in the capital, afraid of punishment for the missing harness, Alyosha runs away and, having met his peer Aleksashka Menshikov, begins an independent life, settles down to sell pies. Once Aleksashka Menshikov is fishing on the Yauza near Losiny Island and meets a boy in a green non-Russian caftan. Aleksashka shows Tsar Peter (and it is he) a trick, pierces his cheek with a needle without blood. They immediately part, not knowing that they will meet again and will not part until death...

In Preobrazhensky, where the growing Peter and his mother Natalya Kirillovna live, it is quiet and boring. The young tsar languishes and finds an outlet in the German Sloboda, where he meets foreigners living in Russia, among them the charming captain Franz Lefort (in whose service Aleksashka Menshikov is by that time) and, in addition, falls in love with Ankhen, the daughter of a wealthy wine merchant Mons. To settle down Petrusha, his mother Natalya Kirillovna marries him to Evdokia Lopukhina. In Preobrazhensky, Peter devoted himself entirely to exercises with a funny army, a prototype of the future Russian army. Captain Fyodor Sommer and other foreigners strongly support his undertakings. The tsar takes Aleksashka to his bed, and the dexterous, agile and thieving Aleksashka becomes an influential intermediary between the tsar and foreigners. He arranges his friend Alyosha Brovkin in the "amusing" army as a drummer, and helps him in the future. Having accidentally met his father in Moscow, Alyosha gives him money. From this small capital, the economic peasant Ivan Brovkin's business immediately goes uphill, he redeems himself from serfdom, becomes a merchant, and the tsar himself knows him - through Aleksashka and Alyosha. Brovkin's daughter, Sanka, Peter passes off as Vasily Volkov, the former master of the Brovkins. This is already a harbinger of great changes in the state (“From now on, nobility is counted according to suitability” - the future motto of Tsar Peter). A new streltsy rebellion begins in favor of Sophia, but Peter, with his family and close associates, leaves the Preobrazhensky under the protection of the walls of the Trinity Monastery. The rebellion is dying down, the archery leaders are terribly tortured and executed, Vasily Golitsyn is sent with his family to eternal exile in Kargopol, Sophia is locked up in the Novodevichy Convent. Peter gives himself up to revelry, and his pregnant wife Evdokia, tormented by jealousy, is engaged in divination, trying to exterminate the damned lovebird Monsikha. Peter's heir is born - Alexei Petrovich, his mother Natalya Kirillovna dies, but the crack between Peter and Evdokia does not disappear.

Among foreigners, there are various rumors about Peter, they have high hopes for him. "Russia - a gold mine - lay under the age-old mud ... If not a new tsar will raise life, then who will?" Franz Lefort becomes necessary to Peter, like a smart mother to a child. Peter begins a campaign to the Crimea (the previous one - Vasily Golitsyn - ended in shameful failure); and part of the army goes to war against the Turkish fortress of Azov. And this campaign ended ingloriously, but time goes by, Peter carries out his reforms, it is difficult to give birth to a new, XVIII century. From exorbitant hardships, the people begin to rob or go into the forests to the schismatics, but even there they are overtaken by the sovereign's servants, and people burn themselves in huts or churches so as not to fall into the hands of Antichrist. "Western contagion irresistibly penetrated into a drowsy being... The boyars and the local nobility, the clergy and archers were afraid of change (new things, new people), hated the speed and cruelty of everything that was being introduced... But those, rootless, quick, who wanted change, who he was fascinated by Europe ... - they said that they were not mistaken in the young tsar. Peter begins to build ships in Voronezh, and with the help of the fleet, Azov is nevertheless taken, but this leads to a clash with the mighty Turkish Empire. We have to look for allies in Europe, and the tsar (under the name of the constable of the Preobrazhensky regiment Pyotr Mikhailov) goes with an embassy to Konigsberg, to Berlin, and then to Holland, to England, which he desires in his heart. There he lives as a simple artisan, mastering the necessary crafts. In his absence, fermentation begins in Russia: the tsar, they say, has died, foreigners have replaced the tsar. The indomitable Sophia again incites the archers to rebellion, but this rebellion is also suppressed, and upon Peter's return to Moscow, torture and executions begin. “The whole country was engulfed in horror. Tsarina Evdokia Feodorovna is sent to Suzdal, to a monastery, and her place is taken by the lawless "Qukuy queen" Anna Mons; her house is so called in Moscow - the Tsaritsyn Palace. Franz Lefort is dying, but his work lives on. More and more new ships are being laid down in Voronezh, and now a whole flotilla is sailing to the Crimea, then to the Bosphorus, and the Turks can do nothing with the new Russian naval power that has come from nowhere. The rich man Ivan Artemyich Brovkin is engaged in deliveries to the army, he has a large house, many eminent merchants are his clerks, his son Yakov is in the navy, his son Gavril is in Holland, the youngest, who received an excellent education, Artamon, is with his father. Alexandra, Sanka, now a noble lady and dreams of Paris. And Alexei Brovkin falls in love with Princess Natalya Alekseevna, Peter's sister, and she is not indifferent to him.

In 1700, the young and brave Swedish king Charles XII defeated Russian troops near Narva; he has the strongest army, and his head is already spinning in anticipation of the glory of the second Caesar. Charles occupies Livonia and Poland, wants to rush after Peter into the depths of Muscovy, but the generals dissuade him. And Peter rushes between Moscow, Novgorod and Voronezh, re-creating the army; ships are built, new cannons are cast (from monastery bells). The noble irregular army is unreliable, now everyone who wants to take its place is recruited, and there are a lot of people who want from bondage and peasant captivity. Under the command of Boris Petrovich Sheremetev, Russian troops captured the fortress of Marienburg; among the prisoners and soldiers, the field marshal notices a pretty girl with straw in her hair ("... apparently, they were already attached to the wagon train to wallow her under the carts ...") and takes her as a housekeeper, but the influential Alexander Menshikov takes the beautiful Katerina to himself. When Peter learns about the betrayal of Anna Mons with the Saxon envoy Kengisek, Menshikov slips him Katerina, who is the king’s heart (this is the future Empress Catherine I). "The embarrassment near Narva was of great benefit to us," says Peter. He begins the siege of Narva, its defender, General Gorn, does not want to surrender the city, which leads to senseless suffering of its inhabitants. Narva was taken by a furious storm, in the midst of the battle one can see the fearless Menshikov with a sword. General Horn surrenders. But: “You will not be honored by me,” he hears from Peter. “Take him to prison, on foot, through the whole city, so that he can see the sad work of his hands ...”

Book one
Chapter I

Sanka climbed down from the stove, followed by her younger brothers: Yashka, Gavrilka, Artamoshka. Everyone wanted to drink. The hut was heated in black, it was smoky.

The family was strong - a horse, a cow, four hens. They said about Ivashka Brovkin: "Strong."

Vasily Volkov was granted 450 acres of land. He set up a manor, laid half of the land in the monastery.

Brovkin rode and grieved: how to live when everyone beats the peasant out? On the way I met the serf Volkov, an old Gypsy, who told me that the old tsar was dying in Moscow. Ivan Artemyevich is sure: “Now wait for the boyar kingdom. We'll all fall apart." Because, except for little Peter, there is no one to enter the kingdom.

Ivashka and Gypsy arrived at Volkov's farmstead. They were called to bring warriors to Moscow. The yard girl told them to spend the night here. Brovkin saw his son Alyoshka in the servants' quarters, whom he gave to the boyar last autumn into eternal bondage. Brovkin asked his son to go to Moscow instead of his father, who already has a lot to do. The son agreed.

Vasily Volkov stayed overnight with a guest - a neighbor, Mikhailo Tyrtov. Tyrtov complained: there were fourteen children in the family, and he would get "a burnt village, a swamp with frogs ... How to live?" Tyrtov complained that without a bribe, nowhere. Volkov dreamed of foreign service in Venice, Rome or Vienna.

Alyoshka went to take the warriors. He walked next to the sleigh, on which sat three serfs in military right - the warriors of Vasily Volkov. Vasily and Mikhail ride in the Gypsy's sleigh, the serfs lead their horses from behind. Everyone is sent to Lubyanka Square, for layout and re-layout. By the time we drove into the Myasnitsky Gate, Alyosha was whipped to the point of blood by those around him, there was a crush. As soon as they reached Lubyanka Square, they pushed their way to the table where the boyars and clerks were sitting. "So, according to the old custom, every year before the spring campaigns there was a review of the sovereign's service people - the noble militia."

While Alyoshka was running after the pies, a bow, reins, and whip were stolen from his sledge. Vasily scolded Alyoshka. Alyoshka walked and cried: no hat, no harness. But then Mikhailo Tyrtov called him and sent him to beat Danila Menshikov with his forehead, let him give a horse for the day. "Tell me - I'll serve, and if you come without a horse," Mikhail threatened, "I'll drive you into the ground up to your shoulders ..."

In a low, hot chamber, Tsar Fedor Alekseevich dies. Tsarina Marfa Matveevna is standing at the wall, she is only seventeen, she was taken to the palace from the poor Apraksin family for her beauty. In another corner, a large royal family is whispering. Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn stands out among them. The hour has come decisive: "it is necessary to tell the new king." Peter or Ivan? Peter is hot and strong. Ivan is weak-minded, sick. Golitsyn is advised to name Peter, for Ivan is frail. "We need power."

After the death of the king, the patriarch went out onto the porch, blessed the crowd of thousands and asked who they wanted to see as king. Most named Petra.

Alyoshka came to Danila Menshikov at the moment when he was beating his son. Alyoshka also got it: he was mistaken for a horse thief. Danila was distracted by Alyoshka, and his son ran away, and then Alyoshka was thrown out of the hut.

Having rolled down from the porch, Alyoshka found himself near the boy whom Danila had beaten. The guys met and talked. Aleksashka Menshikov complained that his father flogged two or three times a day: “I have only bones left on my ass, the meat is all torn off.” Alyoshka said that his father sold him into bondage, and when he lived at home, he was also beaten. Aleksashka persuades Alyoshka to run away, he outlines a plan: “Now we will sip cabbage soup, they will call me upstairs to read prayers, then flog. Then I'll be back. Let's go to sleep. And as soon as it's light, we'll run to Kitay-Gorod, we'll run across the Moscow River, take a look... I would have run away long ago, there wasn't a comrade...' Alyoshka dreams of being hired by a merchant to sell pies.

On Varvarka, a low hut with six windows is the "king's tavern". It's crowded at the pub. Sagittarius, who did not fit in the tavern, look into the windows. The archers brought a half-dead man. Shouts are heard: “Why are the Germans beating ours?” Under the late king, there was no such disgrace. Ovsey Rzhov predicts even worse times. Boyar Matveev returns from exile. “His heart was filled with malice. He will swallow all of Moscow ... "

The archers conspire: “Give us time to deal with the colonels ... And then we’ll get to the boyars ... Let’s sound the alarm in Moscow. All landings are for us. You only support us, merchants ... "

After the evening spanking, Aleksashka barely crawled to the cellar. He scolds his father. “To break such a father on a wheel ...” In the morning he is going to run away from home. Early in the morning the boys left the yard. They walked along the Kremlin wall, and Alyoshka was shy, but Aleksashka reassured his friend: "Don't be afraid of anything with me, you fool."

Only the boys and the battered townsman remained on the square. Aleksashka offered the beaten man to take him home: "We feel sorry for you." On the way they learned that his name was Fedka Hare. Arriving home, he told the guys: “You guys helped me out. Now - whatever you want, ask ... "Aleksashka answered: no reward is needed, let Fedka let him spend the night at his place. Later, he told Alyoshka that tomorrow they would go to sell pies instead of the sick Fedka.

Tyrtov wandered around Moscow for the third week: no service, no money. On Lubyanka Square he was shamed and ordered to come "the next year, but without theft - on a good horse."

Mikhailo wandered around the taverns for a week, laid down his belt and saber. He remembered Styopka Odoevsky and went to his yard. Styopka met Mikhail condescendingly, and he asked to teach him the mind. Stepan advised to take away the village that he liked from his neighbor: “Look after the village, and even slander that landowner. Everyone does this...” When Mikhail asked how to slander, Stepan advised me to write a denunciation. But Mishka did not agree: "I'm not experienced in the courts, then ..." Stepan took Mikhail to his service.

Sophia returned from mass tired. "The girl, the king's daughter, is doomed to eternal virginity, a black skuf... There is only one door from the room - to the monastery." Golitsyn entered the room. He said that Ivan Mikhailovich Miloslavsky and Ivan Andreevich Khovansky had come to her with urgent news. Miloslavsky told the princess that Matveev was already at the Trinity, the monks met him as a king. Miloslavsky said: Golitsyn was threatened with death. Sophia decided to wage a deadly war against the tsarina: “... if Natalya Kirillovna wanted blood, she would have blood ... Either all of you heads off, and I will throw myself into the well ...” Such speeches are pleasant to Golitsyn. He said that all the archery regiments, except Stremyanny, were for the princess.

Aleksashka and Alyoshka gorged themselves on pies during the spring. The hare beat them up once. Aleksashka told his friend that he had left his father's beating, and even more so from the Hare. The street was crowded that day. There were wild crowds all around. Moscow was frightened by the boyar Matveev. "It is necessary to rebel today, tomorrow it will be too late." Unexpectedly, Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy galloped up with the news that the boyars and the Naryshkins had strangled Tsarevich Ivan; If you don't make it, they'll strangle Peter too.

The archers rushed to the Faceted Chamber, they wanted to break inside to prevent the murder of Peter.

The queen was frightened by this rebellion, she was afraid that she and her son Peter would be killed. Patriarch Joachim entered. Matveev suggested: the main thing is to remove the archers from the Kremlin, and then we will deal with them. Sofya, Golitsyn, Khovansky quickly entered the ward. Sophia said: the people demand that the tsarina and her brothers come out onto the porch, the archers are sure that the children were killed. The patriarch stopped the dispute, ordering to show the children to the archers.

Copper doors opened on the Red Porch and the queen appeared in widow's mourning clothes. She placed her son on the porch railing. Matveev said that the archers were deceived, the tsar and tsarevich "are alive by the grace of God." But the archers do not disperse, demanding to hand over Naryshkin to them. They began to shout out that they wanted Queen Sophia. “We want a pillar on Red Square, a memorial pillar - so that our will be eternal ...”

Chapter II

“The archers made noise. They exterminated the boyars: the brothers of the tsarina Ivan and Athanasius Naryshkin, princes Yuri and Mikhail Dolgoruky, Grigory and Andrei Romodanovsky, Mikhail Cherkassky, Matveev, Peter and Fyodor Saltykov, Yazykov and others - worse by birth.

There were two tsars in Moscow - Ivan and Peter, and above them - Princess Sophia.

The Streltsy were again troubled by the fact that they did not throw off the Nikonian patriarch. The archers again moved to the Kremlin, demanding the return of the old faith. Sophia threatened the rebels that the natural kings would leave Moscow. The archers were afraid that the militia would move against them. The archers decided to beat the schismatics. "There were great battles in those days." Sophia took refuge in Kolomenskoye, sending for the militia.

Stepan Odoevsky with his detachment attacked the archers. Khovansky Tyrtov twisted and tied to the saddle. Khovansky was later executed. The archers were frightened and locked themselves in the Kremlin, preparing for a siege, but then sent petitioners to the Trinity. "The people have become quieter than the water below the grass."

Aleksashka and Alyoshka lived, albeit half-starving, but merrily. In the settlements they were well known, friendly allowed to spend the night. Once, on the opposite bank of the Yauza, they saw a boy sitting with his chin propped up. Aleksashka started bullying him. In response, the boy threatened that he would order to cut off his head. Alyoshka realized that this was the king. But Aleksashka was not afraid. He asked why he does not respond when they are looking for him. Peter replied that he was sitting, hiding from the women.

Spring has come.

Many told Aleksashka that his father was looking for him, threatening to kill him. And then, out of the blue, it popped up. Aleksashka is running with all his last strength, his father is about to catch up, but then the carriage turned up, Aleksashka hung on the axle of the rear wheels, and from there he climbed onto the back of the carriage. Trying to get away from his father, Aleksashka ended up on Kukui. It was the carriage of Franz Lefort. Lefort took him into service.

The queen interceded for Peter, who was allegedly tired of studying, and he immediately ran away from the room, barely having time to thank his mother, who freed him from the boring lesson - reading the Apostle. Peter ran to the amusing fortress, where he taught the peasants to take and defend the fortress, not to give up and fight to the last.

Peter dictates to Nikita a decree on the allocation of a hundred good, young men under the command of the tsar, instead of the current old and stupid ones, for military fun. Moreover, Peter demands muskets and gunpowder for them, cast-iron cannons to shoot with real cannonballs, and not with turnips.

In Preobrazhensky live noble children from small estates, of poor birth, assigned by Sophia to Peter. Here is Vasily Volkov. In the evening there was a commotion in Preobrazhensky, until dark they could not find Peter. Volkov found the tsar among the Germans. Lefort brought Peter to Kukuy. On Kukuy, everything is curious and new to the tsar, and the Germans say approvingly about him: “Oh, young Pyotr Alekseevich wants to know everything, this is commendable ...”

The Poles came to call the Russians as allies to beat the Turks. But Golitsyn set the condition for the return of Kyiv to Russia, only after that he agreed to give troops. The Poles were forced to agree.

Golitsyn was talking in Latin with the foreigner de Neuville, who had arrived from Warsaw. Golitsyn philosophically argued how Russia should be enriched: the peasants should be freed from serf bondage, they should be given wastelands for rent so that they would grow rich and the state would grow richer, and the nobles should be served.

But the conversation was interrupted: Sofya secretly came to Golitsyn. Her love for Golitsyn was “restless, beyond her years: it’s good to love a seventeen-year-old girl like that, with eternal anxiety, hiding, thinking relentlessly, burning at night in bed.” She conveyed to Golitsyn rumors that they were weak to rule, they say, "great deeds are not visible from us." Sophia tells Golitsyn to go "to fight the Crimea". Sophia recalled that the tsar was growing up in Preobrazhensky, "he is already fifteen years old."

Golitsyn refuses to fight. Sophia does not want to understand him. Natalya Kirillovna scolds Nikita Zotov: Pyotr ran away again in the morning. If Zotov went to look for the tsar, then Nikita "was taken prisoner, tied to a tree, so that he would not bother with requests - to go stand mass or listen to the boyar who came from Moscow." And so that Nikita would not be bored, they put a bottle of vodka in front of him. So soon Zotov himself began to ask "to be taken prisoner under a birch."

On Kukuy, there was often talk about Tsar Peter.

In the morning, Peter carefully dressed. Having dressed Nikita Zotov in an inside-out rabbit coat, putting him in a carriage drawn by wild boars, Pyotr drove Nikita as a coachman to Kukuy. Lefort was the birthday boy. The king went to congratulate him. He gave the carriage with the pigs as a gift to Lefort. He appreciated the king's joke: "We thought to teach him funny jokes, but he will teach us to joke."

Aleksashka Menshikov helped Peter get to Preobrazhensky. Peter did not let Alexashka go. The tsar appointed Menshikov as bed-keeper.

Chapter III

Throughout the winter, the noble militia gathered. “At the end of May, Golitsyn finally set out with a hundred thousandth army to the south and joined the Ukrainian hetman Samoylovich on the Samara River.” Then the Tatars set fire to the steppe. It became clear that it was impossible to go forward: the steppe lay black and dead ahead. "Retreat to the Dnieper without delay." Thus ended the Crimean campaign ingloriously.

On the Yauza, below the Transfiguration Palace, the old fortress was rebuilt: reinforced with piles, cannons, covered with sandbags. The fortress is amusing, but "on occasion it was possible to sit out in it."

From morning to night, exercises of two regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky - took place on a mowed meadow. Even Piotr, now a non-commissioned officer, stretched out, rolling his eyes in fear as he passed Sommer.

The fortress was named "Preshburg".

Aleksashka Menshikov remained at the court of Peter. He sometimes gave good advice. If he was sent to Moscow for something, he got everything as if from under the ground. Aleksashka was promoted to orderly. Lefort spoke highly of him: "The boy will go far, loyal like a dog, smart like a demon." One day Menshikov introduced Alyosha Brovkin, the smartest drummer, to Pyotr.

Peter enrolled him in the first company as a drummer.

The queen decided to marry Peter so that he would not drag himself into the German settlement, but settle down. The queen's younger brother advised her to marry Peter to Evdokia Lopukhina.

Unexpectedly, Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn returned to Moscow. He looked pitiful. Golitsyn said that the army had not been paid for three months. The army was overwhelmed. He walks in bast shoes, and from February he has to go hiking.

Suddenly, from a blow, old Mons died. The widow and children left the austeria (tavern) and the house.

Natalya Kirillovna called Peter to her and announced that she was going to marry him. “Well, it’s necessary, so marry ... I’m not up to that ...” Peter answered and ran away.

Chapter IV

Ivashka Brovkin brought Volkova a table quitrent to Preobrazhenskoye. Tom didn't like too bad food. He began to beat his slave. Alyosha's son stood up for Ivashka, who was not far away and recognized his father.

In Preobrazhensky, preparations were underway for the wedding of Peter. Peter demands to be taken to Kukuy for at least an hour. Aleksashka objects: it’s impossible, “now don’t think about Monsikha,” but Peter insists on his own.

The wedding was played in Preobrazhensky. Peter's wedding only annoyed.

At the end of February, the Russian army again moved to the Crimea. Cautious Mazepa advised to go along the banks of the Dnieper, building siege cities, but Golitsyn did not want to hesitate, he needed to get to Perekop as soon as possible, wash away dishonor in battle. Evdokia wrote a letter to Peter, who had gone to Pereyaslavskoye Lake. Every day, Peter received letters from his wife, then from his mother, who called him back. And he doesn’t have to answer, there’s no time to read them. Ships were built on the lake; one was launched, and two are almost ready. A new flag was invented for the fleet - a tricolor with stripes: white, blue, red.

Gypsy, a neighbor of Brovkin, returned from the Crimean campaign, told how hard they fought, twenty thousand of their own laid under Perekop. Then he disappeared. Nobody saw Gypsy again.

The archers gathered in a tavern, started talking about rumors that they wanted to be removed from Moscow and sent to the cities. But they refuse.

Tyrtov was sent to shout that the famine in Moscow was due to the tsarina and her relatives, they were telling fortunes that the bread would be lost. But even without this cry, Tyrtov was almost torn to pieces by a hungry crowd.

Lev Kirillovich (Peter's uncle) came to the shore of Lake Pereyaslav. He saw four ships reflected in the water of the lake. Peter slept in the boat.

The boyars openly said that Peter should be exiled to a monastery. When Peter woke up, his uncle told him about the troubles in Moscow. Peter promised to be in Moscow soon.

The boyars, who appeared in the Assumption Cathedral, looked at him with displeasure: "The eye is evil, proud ... And - it can be seen by everyone - there is no piety in thoughts."

Shaklovity and Sylvester Medvedev are sitting in Golitsyn's bedchamber. The owner lies on a bench under a bearskin. He has a fever. Medvedev insists that an "avenger" (murderer) should be sent to Peter, but Golitsyn is against it.

Streltsy Pentecostals - Kuzma Chermny, Nikita Gladky and Obrosim Petrov - continued to stir up the archers, but they, "like damp firewood, hissed, did not light up - the glow of the riot did not light up."

Moscow is worried. The people tried to smash Preobrazhenskoye, but armed soldiers blocked the road.

Returning from the lake, Peter changed. There is no trace left of the former pastimes.

Volkov was stopped by archers, knocked off his horse and dragged to the Kremlin. There Shaklovity and Sophia began interrogating him, but Volkov answered all questions with silence, as Peter had ordered.

August began. It was ominous in Moscow, in Preobrazhensky - everyone was in fear, on the alert ... Aleksashka advised Peter to ask for an army from the Roman Caesar. But Peter didn't want to listen.

Alyosha Brovkin picked them up in the middle of the night, dragged two archers who had come running from Moscow. They yelled that an innumerable army was coming to Preobrazhenskoye to kill Peter. Peter, together with Aleksashka and Alyosha, galloped to Trinity.

Sophia was unable to gather archers. And the royal court moved to Troitsa, followed by the regiment of archers Lavrenty Sukharev. The boyars also reached out to Trinity. From the Trinity came an order for all archers to appear before the king, and whoever does not appear will be executed. Sophia was left alone. On August 29, she went to Trinity with the girl Verka.

Peter obeyed his mother and the patriarch in everything. And in the evenings he talked with Lefort, who taught the tsar "not to rush into a fight - everyone is tired of the fight now - but under the blessed ringing of the laurel" to promise peace and prosperity to the Moscow people. Lefort advised Peter to be quiet and meek, let Boris Golitsyn shout. Vasily Vasilyevich, seeing Sophia's futile attempts to retain power, could neither help her nor leave her. Arriving at the Kremlin, Sophia gathered the people and began to scare that the regiments would soon move to Moscow. The people swore that they would protect Sophia and Ivan.

Soon the patriarch congratulated Peter on the end of the turmoil.

Sophia was transported to the Novodevichy Convent at night. Her accomplices were beheaded, the rest of the thieves were beaten with a whip. All the boyars and military officials loyal to Peter, up to ordinary archers, were presented with money and lands.

Everyone, especially foreigners, had high hopes for Peter.

Chapter V

After the Trinity campaign, Lefort became a big man, was granted the rank of general, Peter needs him, "like a smart mother to a child." In the Palace of the Facets, Natalya Kirillovna and the patriarch were waiting for Peter. He soon appeared and, sitting on the throne, began to listen to the reading of the elder about the riots in Moscow, "about the disasters that are happening everywhere." The patriarch demanded cleansing from heretic foreigners. Peter answered that he did not interfere in the affairs of Orthodoxy, therefore, let the patriarch not interfere in politics, do not interfere with strengthening the state.

Ovsey Rzhov and his brother got rich, became a strong master. Gypsy (Brovkin's former neighbor) showed up in Moscow.

In the spring, Peter began to seriously prepare soldiers, "a war was declared between two kings: the Polish king and the king of the capital city of Preshpurg." Romodanovsky was appointed the capital king, Buturlin was appointed the Polish king.

Brovkins, thanks to their son Alyosha, who became a senior scorer, rose.

In the spring, Peter went to Arkhangelsk to look at real ships. Traveling to the north, Peter saw for the first time such expanses of full-flowing rivers, such power of boundless forests. In Arkhangelsk, Peter saw how "rich and important, formidable with gold and cannons, the European coast with contemptuous bewilderment has been looking at the eastern coast for more than a century, like a slave."

Peter decided to surprise the foreigners, he, “the skipper of the Pereyaslav fleet, will behave like this: we, they say, working people, poor and smart, have come to you with a bow from our misery, please teach us how to hold an ax.” Immediately, he decided to lay two shipyards in Arkhangelsk.

Lefort approved of Peter's decision to buy two ships in Holland and build his own.

Peter at the shipyard carpenter and blacksmith, fought and cursed, if necessary.

Peter's mother is dead. On the third day after the funeral, Peter left for Preobrazhenskoye. Evdokia arrived later, she did not support conversations about her mother. Peter went to Kukuy. The table was set for five people. At the table: Peter, Lefort, Menshikov, Prince-Papa (Zotov), ​​Ankhen Mons came later. Anna sympathized with Peter: "I would give everything to console you..."

In the dense forests beyond the Eye, Ovdokim picked up a gang of robbers, about nine people. They lived in the swamp. Peter in Preobrazhensky was preparing for war in full swing, building ships. Ivan Artemich Brovkin started a big deal. Through Alyosha, he got to Menshikov, and the pillbox to Lefort, where he received "a letter for the supply of oats and hay to the army."

The tsar, Lefort and Alyosha came to Brovkin to woo their daughter Sasha to the boyar Volkov. “We’ll return from the campaign,” said Peter, “I’ll take Sanka to the court.”

Chapter VI

In February 1695, the Kremlin announced the collection of the militia and the campaign against the Crimea under the command of Boris Petrovich Sheremetev. By August they took Ki-zikerman and two more cities.

In Tsaritsyn, Peter learned that thieves-contractors supplied rotten bread, rotten fish, there was no salt at all. Only the oats and hay supplied by Brovkin were good. Peter went and committed reprisals, gave all the contracts to Brovkin.

They tried to take Azov. Autumn came, the cold began, and the army did not have warm clothes. But Peter did not lift the siege.

On August 25, they broke through the wall, and the Butyrites went on the assault. Three days later the siege was lifted. Only one third of the army remained. “So the first Azov campaign ended without glory.”

Chapter VII

Two years have passed. In the forests near Voronezh, on the Don, shipyards began to be built. And then they laid down two ships, twenty-three galleys and four fireships. “The whole of Russia resisted - the times of Antichrist had truly come: the former hardships, bondage and corvée were not enough, now they were being dragged to new incomprehensible work ... The new century began with difficulty. And yet, by the spring, the fleet was built. Engineers and regimental commanders have been discharged from Holland.” Azov was taken. In honor of this victory, the Arc de Triomphe was erected at the entrance to the Stone Bridge. Returning to Moscow, Peter announced to the boyars that it was necessary to equip the captured Azov, build a new fortress of Taganrog, and populate them with troops in order to ensure peace in the south.

Leaving Moscow to Lev Kirillovich, Streshnev, Apraksin, Troekurov, Boris Golitsyn and the clerk Vinius, and the thieves' and robbery orders to Romodanovsky, Peter departed abroad. He wrote to Vinius in sympathetic ink, as "there were many curious ones."

The Russian embassy entered with unprecedented pomp. It concluded with Frederick not a military, but a friendly alliance. Then everyone departed through Berlin, Brandenburg, Holberstadt to the iron factories in Ilzenburg.

Peter hated Moscow - it's a barn, so he would have burned it down. He promised that after his return he would kick the spirit out of Moscow. In Coppenburg they were divided: the great ambassadors went to Amsterdam, and Peter sailed through the canals in the coveted Holland. In Holland, he lived under the name of Peter Mikhailov, but incognito lasted only a week.

In January, Peter moved to England and settled three miles from London, at the shipyard of Deptford, where he saw "ship art according to all the rules of science, or the geometric proportion of ships." For two months he studied mathematics and drawing ship plans there. To found a navigator school in Moscow, he hired mathematics professor Andrei Ferganson and lock master John Perry to construct the Volga-Don canal.

A new turmoil began in Moscow. Sophia called the archers to make a coup. It was a pity for Peter to interrupt a useful European trip, but it was necessary to return to Russia. “All winter there were tortures and executions. In response, riots broke out in Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, on the Don and in Azov. The dungeons filled up, and a blizzard rocked the walls of Moscow with new thousands of corpses. The whole country was engulfed in horror. The old one was huddled in the dark corners. Byzantine Russia ended. In the March wind, the ghosts of merchant ships seemed to be behind the Baltic coasts.