One of the reasons that led to the emergence of the version about the substitution of Tsar Peter I was the research of A.T. Fomenko and G.V. Nosovsky

The beginning of these studies were the findings made during the study of an exact copy of the throne of Ivan the Terrible. In those days, the zodiac signs of the current rulers were placed on the thrones. Thanks to the study of the signs placed on the throne of Ivan the Terrible, scientists have found that the actual date of his birth differs from the official version by four years.

Scientists compiled a table of the names of Russian tsars and their birthdays, and thanks to this table, it was revealed that the official birthday of Peter I does not coincide with the day of his angel, which is a blatant contradiction compared to all the names of Russian tsars. After all, names in Russia at baptism were given exclusively according to the calendar, and the name given to Peter breaks the established centuries-old tradition, which in itself does not fit into the framework and laws of that time.

Photo by Stan Shebs from wikimedia.org

A. Fomenko and G. Nosovsky, on the basis of the table, found out that the real name, which falls on the official date of birth of Peter I, is Isakiy. This explains the name of the main cathedral of tsarist Russia. So, in the dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron it says: “St. Isaac's Cathedral is the main temple in St. Petersburg, dedicated to the name of St. Isaac of Dalmatia, whose memory is honored on May 30, the birthday of Peter the Great"

Image from lib.rus.ec

All lifetime portraits of Peter 1

Let's consider the following obvious historical facts. Their totality shows a fairly clear picture of the substitution of the real Peter I for a foreigner:

1. An Orthodox ruler was leaving Russia for Europe, wearing traditional Russian clothes. Two surviving portraits of the king of that time depict Peter I in a traditional caftan. The tsar wore a caftan even during his stay at the shipyards, which confirms his adherence to traditional Russian customs. After the end of his stay in Europe, a man returned to Russia wearing exclusively European-style clothes, and in the future, the new Peter I never put on Russian clothes, including an attribute obligatory for the tsar - royal vestments. This fact is difficult to explain with the official version of a sudden change in lifestyle and the beginning of adherence to the European canons of development.

2. There are quite weighty grounds for doubting the difference in the structure of the body of Peter I and the impostor. According to accurate data, the growth of the impostor Peter I was 204 cm, while the real king was shorter and denser. It should be noted that the height of his father, Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, was 170 cm, and his grandfather, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, was also of average height. The difference in height of 34 cm is very much out of the general picture of true kinship, especially since in those days people over two meters tall were considered an extremely rare occurrence. Indeed, even in the middle of the 19th century, the average height of Europeans was 167 cm, and the average height of Russian recruits at the beginning of the 18th century was 165 cm, which fits into the general anthropometric picture of that time. The difference in height between the real king and the false Peter also explains the refusal to wear royal clothes: they simply did not fit the size of the newly appeared impostor.

3. On the portrait of Peter I by Godfried Kneller, which was created during the stay of the king in Europe, a distinct mole is clearly visible. In later portraits, the mole is absent. It is difficult to explain this by the inaccurate works of portrait painters of that time: after all, the portraiture of those years was distinguished by the highest level of realism.

Image from softmixer.com

4. Returning after a long trip to Europe, the newly-minted tsar did not know about the location of the richest library of Ivan the Terrible, although the secret of finding the library was passed from tsar to tsar. So, Princess Sophia knew where the library was and visited it, and the new Peter repeatedly made attempts to find the library and did not even disdain excavations: after all, the library of Ivan the Terrible kept the rarest publications that could shed light on many secrets of history.

5. An interesting fact is the composition of the Russian embassy that went to Europe. The number of those accompanying the king was 20 people, while the embassy was headed by A. Menshikov. And the returned embassy consisted, with the exception of Menshikov, only of the subjects of Holland. Moreover, the duration of the trip has increased many times over. The embassy, ​​together with the king, went to Europe for two weeks, and returned only after two years of stay.

6. Returning from Europe, the new king did not meet either with relatives or with his inner circle. And subsequently, in a short time, he got rid of his closest relatives in various ways.

7. Archers - the guards and the elite of the tsarist army - suspected something was wrong and did not recognize the impostor. The streltsy rebellion that had begun was brutally suppressed by Peter. But the archers were the most advanced and combat-ready military formations that faithfully served the Russian tsars. Sagittarius became by inheritance, which indicates the highest level of these units.

Image from swordmaster.org

According to various opinion polls, Peter I remains one of the most popular historical figures in our time. He is still glorified by sculptors, poets compose odes to him, politicians speak enthusiastically about him.

But did the real person Pyotr Alekseevich Romanov correspond to the image that, through the efforts of writers and filmmakers, was introduced into our consciousness?

Frame from the film "Peter the Great" based on the novel by A. N. Tolstoy ("Lenfilm", 1937 - 1938, directed by Vladimir Petrov,
in the role of Peter - Nikolai Simonov, in the role of Menshikov - Mikhail Zharov):

This post is quite lengthy. , consisting of several parts, is dedicated to exposing the myths about the pen of the Russian emperor, which still roam from book to book, from textbook to textbook, and from film to film.

Let's start with the fact that the majority represents Peter I absolutely not the way he really was.

According to the films, Peter is a huge man with a heroic physique and the same health.
In fact, with a height of 2 meters 4 centimeters (really huge in those days, and very impressive in our times), he was incredibly thin, with narrow shoulders and torso, a disproportionately small head and leg size (about 37 sizes, and this despite such and such height!), with long arms and spider-like fingers. In general, an absurd, awkward, clumsy figure, a freak of a freak.

The clothes of Peter I, which have survived to this day in museums, are so small that there can be no talk of any heroic physique. In addition, Peter suffered from nervous attacks, probably of an epileptic nature, he was constantly ill, he never parted with a first-aid kit with a lot of medicines that he took daily.

Do not trust the court portrait painters and sculptors of Peter.
For example, a well-known researcher of the Petrine era, historian E. F. Shmurlo (1853 - 1934) describes his impression of the famous bust of Peter I by B. F. Rastrelli:

"Full of spiritual power, unyielding will, an imperious gaze, intense thought make this bust related to Michelangelo's Moses. This is a truly formidable king, capable of causing awe, but at the same time majestic, noble."

Otdako more accurately conveys the appearance of Peter plaster mask taken from his face in 1718 father of the great architect B. K. Rastrelli when the king was investigating the betrayal of Tsarevich Alexei.

This is how the artist describes it A. N. Benois (1870 - 1960):“Peter’s face became at that time gloomy, directly terrifying with its menacingness. One can imagine what impression this terrible head, placed on a giant body, must have produced, while still shifting eyes and terrible convulsions that turned this face into a monstrously fantastic image.

Of course, the real appearance of Peter I was completely different from what appears before us on his formal portraits.
For example, these:

Portrait of Peter I (1698) by a German artist
Gottfried Kneller (1648 - 1723)

Portrait of Peter I with the signs of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (1717)
works by the French painter Jean-Marc Nattier (1685 - 1766)

Please note that between the writing of this portrait and the manufacture of the lifetime mask of Peter
Rastrelli has only been a year. What, are they similar?

The most popular at present and highly romanticized
according to the time of creation (1838) portrait of Peter I
works by French artist Paul Delaroche (1797 - 1856)

Trying to be objective, I cannot fail to note that monument to Peter I , works of the sculptor Mikhail Shemyakin , made by him in the USA and installed in the Peter and Paul Fortress in 1991 , also does not correspond much to the real image of the first Russian emperor, although, quite possibly, the sculptor sought to embody the same "monstrously fantastic image" about which Benoit spoke.

Yes, Peter's face was made from his death wax mask (cast by B. K. Rastrelli). But Mikhail Shemyakin at the same time consciously, achieving a certain effect, increased the proportions of the body by almost one and a half times. Therefore, the monument turned out to be grotesque and ambiguous (some people admire it, while others hate it).

However, the very figure of Peter I is also very ambiguous, about which I want to tell everyone who is interested in Russian history.

At the end of this part another myth about death of Peter I .

Peter did not die because he caught a cold, saving a boat with drowning people during a flood in St. Petersburg in November 1724 (although there really was such a case, and it led to an exacerbation of the tsar's chronic illnesses); and not from syphilis (although from his youth, Peter was extremely promiscuous in his relationships with women and had a whole bunch of venereal diseases); and not from the fact that he was poisoned by some "specially donated sweets" - all these are widespread myths.
The official version, announced after the death of the emperor, according to which the cause of his death was pneumonia, does not hold water.

In reality, Peter I had a neglected inflammation of the urethra (he had suffered from this disease since 1715, according to some sources, even since 1711). The disease worsened in August 1724. The attending physicians, the Englishman Gorn and the Italian Lazzaretti, unsuccessfully tried to cope with it. From January 17, 1725, Peter did not get out of bed, on January 23 he lost consciousness, into which he never returned until his death on January 28.

"Peter on his deathbed"
(artist N. N. Nikitin, 1725)

The doctors performed the operation, but it was too late, 15 hours after it, Peter I died without regaining consciousness and without leaving a will.

So, all the stories about how at the last moment the dying emperor tried to draw his last will on his will, but managed to write only "Leave everything..." , are also nothing more than a myth, or if you want a legend.

In the next short part so as not to make you sad, I will bring historical anecdote about Peter I , which, however, also refers to the myths about this ambiguous personality.

Thank you for attention.
Sergei Vorobyov.

Peter I is a great Russian emperor and an incredibly attractive and creative person, so interesting facts from the biography of the tsar of the Romanov dynasty will be of interest to everyone. I will try to tell you something that is definitely impossible to find in any school textbooks. Peter the Great, according to the new style, was born on June 8, according to the sign of the zodiac - twins. It is not surprising that it was Peter the Great who became the innovator for the conservative Russian Empire. Gemini is an air sign that is characterized by ease of decision-making, a sharp mind and amazing imagination. Only the "horizon of expectation" usually does not justify itself: the rough reality is too different from blue dreams.

According to the calculations of the square of Pythagoras, the character of Peter 1 consists of three units, which means that the emperor was distinguished by a calm character. It is believed that it is a person with three or four units that is most suitable for working in government structures. For example, a person with one or five, six units has a despotic character and is ready to “go over their heads” for the sake of power. So, Peter the Great had all the prerequisites for occupying the royal throne.

Is it an heir?

There is an opinion that Peter the Great is not the native son of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov. The fact is that the future emperor was distinguished by strong health, unlike his brother Fedor and sister Natalya. But this is only an assumption. But the birth of Peter was predicted by Simeon of Polotsk, he informed the sovereign that he would soon have a son who would go down in Russian history as a great ruler!

But the wife of the Emperor Catherine I was of peasant origin. By the way, this is the first woman who was aware of all state affairs. Peter discussed everything with her and listened to any advice.

Innovator

Peter the Great introduced many new ideas into Russian life.

• While traveling in Holland, I noticed that skating is much more convenient if they are not tied to shoes, but are tightly attached to special boots.

• In order for the soldiers not to confuse right and left, Peter I ordered hay to be tied to the left leg, and straw to the right. When doing drill training, the commander, instead of the usual ones for us: “right - left”, commanded “hay - straw”. By the way, only educated people used to be able to distinguish between right and left.
• Peter intensively fought against drunkenness, especially among the courtiers. In order to completely eradicate the disease, he came up with his own system: to give out iron, seven-kilogram medals for each spree. Such an award was hung around the neck in the police station and it was necessary to walk with it for at least 7 days! It was impossible to take pictures on your own, and it was dangerous to ask someone else.
• Peter I was impressed by the beauty of overseas tulips; he brought flower bulbs from Holland to Russia in 1702.

Peter I's favorite pastime is dentistry, with such interest he pulled out bad teeth from everyone who just asked. But sometimes he got so carried away that he could vomit healthy ones too!

Substitution of Peter I

The most unusual and interesting fact in Russian history. Researchers A. Fomenko and G. Nosovsky argue that the fact of substitution was and provide strong evidence to confirm. In those days, the names of the future heirs to the throne were given in accordance with the day of the angel of the Orthodox canons, and this is where the discrepancy opened up: the birthday of Peter the Great falls on the name Isakiy.

Peter the Great from his youth was distinguished by his love for everything Russian: he wore a traditional caftan. But after a two-year stay in Europe, the sovereign began to wear exclusively fashionable European clothes and never again put on his once beloved Russian caftan.

• Researchers claim that the impostor who returned from distant countries had a body structure that was different from Peter the Great. The impostor was taller and thinner. It is believed that Peter 1 was actually not two meters tall before, this is logical, because his father’s height was 170 cm, his grandfather’s was 167. And the king who came from Europe was 204 cm. Therefore, there is a version that the impostor did not wear favorite clothes of the king due to size discrepancies.
• Peter I had a mole on his nose, but after his stay in Europe, the mole mysteriously disappeared, this is confirmed by numerous portraits of the sovereign.
• When Peter returned from a trip abroad, he did not know where the oldest library of Ivan the Terrible was located, although the secret of its location was inherited. Princess Sophia constantly visited her, and the new Peter could not find a repository of rare editions.
• When Peter returned from Europe, his companions consisted of the Dutch, although when the tsar was just setting off on his journey, there was a Russian embassy with him, consisting of 20 people. Where did the 20 Russian subjects go during the two years of the tsar's stay in Europe remains a mystery.
• After arriving in Russia, Peter the Great tried to bypass his relatives and associates, and then got rid of everyone in various ways.

It was the archers who announced that the returned Peter was an impostor! And staged a riot, which was brutally suppressed. This is very strange, because only close associates of the king were selected for the archery troops, the title of archer was inherited with the confirmation of the king. Therefore, each of these people was clearly dear to Peter the Great before his trip to Europe, and now he suppressed the uprising in the most cruel way, according to historical data, 20 thousand people were killed. After that, the army was completely reorganized.

In addition, while in London, Peter the Great imprisoned his wife Lopukhina in a monastery without announcing the reason and married a peasant woman, Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya-Kruse, who in the future would become Empress Catherine I.

Researchers note that the calm and fair Peter the Great became a real despot after returning from a foreign campaign, all his orders were aimed at destroying Russian property: Russian history was rewritten by German professors, many Russian chronicles disappeared without a trace, a new chronology system was introduced, the usual measures were canceled measurements, repressions against the clergy, the eradication of Orthodoxy, the distribution of alcohol, tobacco and coffee, a ban on the cultivation of medicinal amaranth, and much more.

Whether this is really so, one can only guess, all the historical documents of those times that we have cannot be considered valid, because. Everything has been rewritten many times. It remains only to guess and assume, you can also watch a film on this topic.

In any case, Peter I is a significant figure in Russian history.

The king (!) prepared food for himself. When buying a boat, he bargained with the owner for a long time, until they agreed on 40 guilders and one (!) mug of beer, which they drank in a local tavern. two to one glass of beer?
In the works of the vice-president of the Russian Philosophical Society N.A. Chaldymov "Anthropological catastrophe" and the doctor of philosophy V.A. Shemshuk "On the satanic coup in Russia" also provide evidence in favor of a possible substitution of the sovereign.
Immediately upon the return of the king, all the "daily" records of Peter's childhood and youth disappeared from the court archives, in which any step of the king was noted: receptions of ambassadors, visits to churches, attendance at celebrations. It is unlikely that such a loss of the most important state documents was accidental. After all, there were letters and decrees of the young sovereign - and many of them were written with his own hand, that is, they could serve as samples of handwriting.
The new tsar, after his arrival, suddenly "forgot" the Russian language - he spoke it poorly, and depicted Russian words in Latin letters. For several years he did not write letters on his own, but only dictated them.
He suddenly awakened a desire to change the history, not only of the palace, but of the entire state. He ordered that old handwritten books be removed from all monasteries and brought to Moscow, ostensibly for making copies. Failure to comply with the order threatened the death penalty (!). the books were burned, no copies were taken from them. After that, Peir invited German (!) Scientists to write the history of the Russian (!) State. The tradition continued under Anna Ioannovna and under Catherine the Great. The history of Russia has been rewritten! And now the faithful Millerites, foaming at the mouth, are writhing, bringing us heresy that the Scythians came from Iran, about some kind of Tatar, and even the Mongol yoke and other callings of the Varangians, because, they say, the Russians have no "order", they are on their own they cannot govern the state, and "therefore they need a firm German hand" ("mein kampf"! - that's where Hitler got his crazy ideas from!)
Having returned from Europe, the tsar in every possible way avoided any meetings with close relatives - he did not even attend their weddings or funerals, during such events he tried to leave Moscow. Was this a manifestation of constant exposure?
A curious picture is given by the surviving records of the Preobrazhensky Order, the predecessor of the Secret Chancellery, their Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts. More than 90% of the state criminals of that time were not conspirators, traitors or rebels, namely those who spoke about the substitution of the king! Or did not inform, listening to such speeches.
It was they who represented the greatest danger and were persecuted and executed with particular cruelty.
An interesting detail: most punishments for speeches about an impostor fall precisely in the first years after the Great Embassy - that is, when the fear of a possible false king was especially strong.

According to the article by V. Svetlanin, "Secrets
20th century", №28 2015

In Moscow they gossiped: "The sovereign is not of Russian breed, and not Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich's son." The unequivocal proof was that the tsar favors the Germans, which means that he himself is one of them. They argued only about when and who replaced the monarch.

For "obscene speeches" they flogged, tortured, sent to hard labor and exile, but they could not eradicate the rumors.
According to one version, the Germans replaced the boy in infancy. The “mothers” of the tsarevich gape, and it was then that they had in their hands instead of Pyotr Alekseevich a “German”.

According to another, Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna herself replaced the child, fearing that her husband would fall out of love with her if she gave birth to a girl. Allegedly, the queen put a child from a German settlement in a cradle, and gave her daughter to someone. Peter allegedly learned about the substitution from his mother when she was dying.

Evil tongues even found the “real” father of Peter I, who allegedly was an associate of the reformer tsar Franz Lefort. It was this that explained the closeness of the general to the tsar, his appointment as an admiral, and then - the head of the Great Embassy.

According to another version, the king was replaced during a trip to Europe. It happened in Riga, where the real Peter was either immured in the wall, or “the tsar in the Germans was laid in a barrel and put into the sea”, and instead of him an impostor came to Russia.
There was a version that the king was tortured in prison by the Swedish queen Christina, who replaced Peter with her man.

It is alleged that Peter I, according to the memoirs of his contemporaries, changed dramatically after returning from the Great Embassy. As evidence of the substitution, portraits of the king are given before and after his return from Europe. It is alleged that in the portrait of Peter, before traveling to Europe, he had an elongated face, curly hair and a large wart under his left eye. In the portraits of the king after returning from Europe, he had a round face, straight hair and no wart under his left eye. When Peter I returned from the Great Embassy, ​​he was 26 years old, and on his portraits after his return he looked to be about 40 years old. It is believed that the king before the trip was of a dense build and above average height, but still not a two-meter giant. The returned king was thin, had very narrow shoulders, and his height, which was established quite accurately, was 2 meters 4 centimeters. Such tall people were a rarity at that time.

In addition, there is a version shared by a number of Russian historians that Peter I died in 1691 during military exercises due to an accident. Allegedly, his entourage was very afraid of losing their position, so they went to substitute. The head of the conspiracy was Prince Fyodor Romodanovsky. On his orders, they found a "replacement" for the Dutch shipbuilder Jaan Mus, who arrived in Russia, who allegedly looked very much like the tsar. Russia is actually Prince Romodanovsky, hiding behind a foreign impostor. After his death, in 1717, the new environment decided to put an end to the only heir of the real Peter - Tsarevich Alexei, who fled to the Holy Roman Empire. He was lured from there to Russia, and soon died in prison. So, according to this version, the Romanov dynasty was interrupted.