Peter I

Personality:   Peter I Alekseevich the Great — Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke of all Rus' (1682-1721), 1st All-Russian Emperor (1721-1725). He came to power at the age of 10, a month after the coronation it was decided to appoint two tsars, half-brothers Ivan (from the Romanov-Miloslavsky branch) and Peter (from the Romanov-Naryshkin branch). The regent for the young tsars (Peter was 10 years old, Ivan 15) was their sister Sophia Alekseyevna. In 1695-1696 he conducted the Azov campaigns against the Crimean Khanate. In 1700 he declared war on Sweden, in alliance with Saxony and Denmark. In 1703 he founded the city of St. Petersburg at the mouth of the Neva. In 1709 he won the Battle of Poltava. In 1712 he moved the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg. In 1714 he defeated Sweden in the famous Battle of Gangut, and in 1720 he won the Battle of Grengam, the last battle of the Northern War. In 1723-1724 he made the famous Persian campaign. He died in 1725. Biography Childhood Peter was born into the family of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. His mother was the Tsar's second wife, Natalia Naryshkina. Peter was not the only child in the family. During the regency of his sister Sophia, Peter lived in Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow. Here he felt free, a sense of inner freedom grew within him, he was not constrained by the strict framework of palace etiquette rules. Peter's natural talent, his thirst for knowledge and practical experience, combined with persistence and tenacity, bore amazing fruit. Peter loved physical labor. He did carpentry, worked in a forge, and mastered the most unsuitable professions for a Tsar. And, like all boys, he loved to play war. From the children of court servants, two toy regiments were selected and formed for the Tsar - Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky. The toy regiments played out battles and storming fortresses, learned to cross rivers, and often went on campaigns. Peter went through all the stages of military service and later received the rank of colonel of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The toy regiments also had their own artillery. Thus, gradually, the toy regiments became a serious military force. Porablem attracted. First - on the Yauza River, then on - Lake Pleshcheyevo near Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. Later, Peter would call the boat the grandfather of the Russian fleet. Foreigners who lived nearby, in the German Quarter, taught Peter military and naval "amusements". Peter often visited it, easily communicating with its inhabitants. Here he came into contact with European life and foreign culture. The inhabitants of the settlement treated the Russian tsar in a friendly manner, calling him Herr Peter (Mr. Peter). All this did not fit in with the image of the Moscow sovereign that existed in the minds of the Russian people. In 1689, Peter was married to Evdokia Feodorovna Lopukhina, who came from an old, poor noble family. The marriage made Peter an adult. He could now govern the state himself. Sophia was seriously worried. On an August night in 1689, Peter was suddenly awakened by false news: the Streltsy were going to attack Preobrazhenskoye. In just his shirt, he jumped on his horse and galloped off to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. The consequences of what he had experienced were expressed in the tic that appeared on Peter's face in moments of irritation. The Trinity-Sergius Monastery turned into a stronghold of resistance to Sophia. Gradually, many boyars and service people moved there, and Peter's toy regiments arrived. Patriarch Joachim, whom Sophia sent to Peter with a peace proposal, also remained here. Seeing that her strength was waning every day, Sophia tried to persuade her brother to peace, but Peter was unshakable: "a third shameful person" had no place on the throne. Sophia was sent to a monastery. Thus, in 1689, Peter became an independent sovereign. Brother Ivan, whom Peter treated with respect, did not interfere in the affairs of government. He died seven years later, and from 1696 Peter became the sole tsar of Russia. Azov campaigns Russia needed access to the Black Sea, and Peter decided to continue the work of his predecessors. In 1695, Russian troops moved to Azov. The fortress was besieged, but it was not possible to take it: it was blocked only from land, while the Turks freely delivered ammunition and provisions to Azov from the sea. Peter was forced to retreat. The Tsar realized that he needed his own fleet. Work began to boil at the Voronezh shipyards. The Boyar Duma supported the young Tsar: sea vessels will be! In 1696, having assembled a new army, the restless autocrat headed for Azov. This time, an entire flotilla - sixty ships - approached the fortress walls. Azov was besieged from both land and sea. A month and a half later, the Turks surrendered, and under the concluded truce, Azov passed to Russia. There was a serious struggle for access to the Black Sea. Peter set about creating a Russian fleet with redoubled force. Soon several dozen more ships were launched. And yet Russia alone was not able to cope with the Ottoman Empire. It was necessary to find allies in Europe. In early 1697, the Grand Embassy set out for European countries. The Grand Embassy and the Last Streltsy Revolt. The embassy was headed by the head of the Polish Prikaz F.A. Golovin, F.Ya. Lefort and the Duma clerk P.B. Voznitsyn. Peter set out under the name of bombardier Pyotr Mikhailov. This was the tsar's first trip abroad. The embassy intended to purchase military and naval equipment, books, and hoped to invite foreigners to Russian service, but first of all it was necessary to agree with European countries on an anti-Turkish coalition. The ambassadors visited the German states, Holland, England, and Austria. In Holland, Peter learned carpentry and became a real shipbuilder. In England, he visited museums and libraries, mints and factories, visited Oxford University and the Greenwich Observatory. With irrepressible energy, the sovereign absorbed the spirit of European life, learned and learned a lot. Foreigners looked at the young monarch of distant "Muscovy" with some surprise. In fact, the activities of the Grand Embassy contributed to Russia's first real breakthrough into Europe. And yet, the ambassadors did not achieve their main goal. European countries did not want to interfere in Russian-Turkish affairs. Moreover, some of them, including the Austrian Empire, intended to conclude peace with the Turks. Having learned about this, Peter urgently arrived in Vienna, but did not achieve anything. It was at this time that news arrived of a new Streltsy rebellion in Moscow. At the walls of the New Jerusalem Monastery on the Istra River, troops loyal to Peter defeated the disorderly regiments of the rebels. An investigation began immediately. More than fifty people were executed. Peter, who had returned from abroad, demanded a new investigation. On his orders, the Streltsy were tortured, and then almost 800 were executed. The Streltsy regiments were disbanded. The remaining Streltsy were sent to serve in distant cities. Sophia was accused of conspiring with the Streltsy and writing them a letter of conscription. Peter himself interrogated his sister, but she denied her guilt. Finally, the princess was tonsured in the Novodevichy Monastery with the name Susanna. 195 Streltsy were hanged in the monastery itself, three of whom, with petitions in their hands, under the windows of the cell where Sophia lived. The bodies swayed in the wind for five months. The princess looked at them in horror for five months. Sophia was kept in a monastery under arrest and heavy guard. The former ruler of Russia spent almost six more years there and died in 1704. Popular movements under Peter I Growth of popular discontent The events of Peter's reign - the Northern War, the reorganization of the army, the construction of cities and factories, grandiose transformations - required a huge effort from people. The population was burdened with heavy taxes. Craftsmen, tradesmen and peasants were driven by the hundreds to construction and industrial enterprises. The oppression of the state increased. The psychological breakdown also affected people. The new pace of life, different state guidelines, changes in the usual way of life were painfully perceived by society. Dissatisfaction with Peter's policy resulted in a revolt against the government. Uprising in Astrakhan The uprising was provoked by the governor T. I. Rzhevsky. On his orders, duties on goods were increased, the strelets' salaries were sharply reduced, and more and more new taxes were introduced. The governor's tyranny affected everyone. The Streltsy, traders, artisans, and the poor grumbled. Finally, the Streltsy, driven to despair, rebelled in 1705. The voivode tried to hide, but was found and put to death. Power in the city passed to the circle and the ataman they had chosen, the merchant Yakov Nosov. The voivode's property was plundered, the Streltsy were paid their salaries, and the heavy taxes and duties were abolished. People's power was established in the city. The uprising spread to the surrounding cities, but the Atamans failed to raise the Don. News of the events in Astrakhan alarmed Peter. The Tsar ordered the rebels to immediately hand over the ringleaders, and promised to pardon the rest. An army headed by B. P. Sheremetyev set out for the rebellious city. Peter hoped for the Field Marshal's prudence and advised encouraging the Astrakhan people with mercy and forgiveness. But Sheremetyev acted differently - he immediately took the city by storm, 300 active participants in the uprising were executed, and many paid with exile to Siberia. Kondraty Bulavin's movement. During Peter's time, the influx of fugitives to the Don increased. In 1707, Peter sent a large detachment there under the command of Prince Yu. V. Dolgorukov - to catch the fugitives and return them to their owners. Dolgorukov acted cruelly - he burned down villages and carried out reprisals against the Cossacks. The Cossack rabble was united by Kondraty Afanasyevich Bulavin (c. 1660-1708), and in October 1707, Bulavin's men surrounded Dolgorukov's detachment and dispersed it. The prince himself died. Bulavin hid in the Zaporozhian Sich. In early 1708, he reappeared on the Don. Now a considerable army had gathered around him. Bulavin sent out charming letters everywhere, calling for people to join him. Cossacks, fugitives, and other working and idle people joined Bulavin's detachments. When Bulavin approached Cherkassk, the capital of the Don Cossacks, an uprising broke out in the city, and Cherkassk was easily taken. The former ataman was executed, and Bulavin was elected as the new one. He was supported by the homely Cossacks. The uprising grew. A 30,000-strong army headed by Prince Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgokurim moved to the Don. The Tsar ordered the rebellion to be mercilessly suppressed. After all, it was flaring up in the rear of the Russian army, which at that time was preparing for a fight with Charles XII in Ukraine. But Dolgoruky did not immediately defeat the rebels. The Bulavinites captured Kamyshin, Tsaritsyn, and approached Saratov and Azov. The homely Cossacks were afraid of the Tsar's wrath. In the summer of 1708, they decided to hand over the ataman to the authorities. The house where Bulavin lived was attacked. The ataman died in the shootout. Only by the end of 1708 was the Bulavin movement suppressed. Many participants were cruelly executed. Some of the Cossacks went to the Ottoman Empire. There they lived for two centuries as a separate community, preserving their customs and adhering to the Old Believers. The strengthening of state oppression led to uprisings of non-Russian peoples of the Volga region. The largest was the Bashkir uprising, which lasted from 1705 to 1711. The Family of Peter I The family life of Peter the Great was difficult. Evdokia gave birth to two sons, of whom only the eldest, Alexei, survived. But Peter became more and more distant from his wife. An even greater gulf formed between the spouses when the Tsar traveled around Europe with the Grand Embassy. Now his wife personified the hated past for him. In September 1678, by order of Peer, Evdokia was taken to Suzdal. There she was forcibly tonsured as a nun with the name Elena. However, away from her stern husband, Evdokia soon recovered from the shocks. After a few months, she stopped wearing monastic clothes. Instead of a modest monastery meal, she was served dishes sent by numerous relatives. There was almost no supervision over her, and she enjoyed relative freedom. In 1703, a new woman appeared next to Peter. Initially, she was called Marta. Apparently, she came from a Latvian peasant family, the Skavronskys. In the summer of 1702, an eighteen-year-old girl married a Swedish dragoon, but then the city of Marienburg was captured by Russian troops. According to the custom of the time, the city was given over to the victors to plunder. Many residents, including Marta, were captured. It happened, however, that Peter himself noticed Marta. The Tsar sent her to the village of Preobrazhenskoye, to his sister Natalia. There the girl was taught Russian, and then she converted to Orthodoxy with the name Ekaterina Alekseyevna. Ekaterina became the sovereign's faithful companion. She was modest, unpretentious, hard-working, but most importantly, she fully shared all the hardships and stressful life of Peter. Catherine gave Peter several sons and daughters, although most of them died in childhood. State reforms of Peter I State administration The era of Peter the Great was a time of reforms that covered all spheres of life in the country. Peter acted very purposefully. He abruptly broke with centuries-old traditions and foundations, often resorting to violence. An autocratic monarch, he built a state where everyone submitted to his will. For him, the state mechanism was like a machine. He sought to create a clear system of state bodies, to establish the order of their activities. Peter believed that he was doing all this for the good of the state, on which, as he believed, the well-being of the people depended. The emperor was in a hurry, wanting to see the fruits of his labors as soon as possible. Therefore, many reforms were based solely on his energy, intelligence, and will. The place of the Boyar Duma was taken by the Senate. Peter created it in 1711, leaving for the Prut campaign, to govern the state. But later this temporary institution became permanent. Initially, the Senate consisted of 9 people. The Tsar himself appointed them. The Senate supervised the work of other state institutions and was the highest judicial authority. The Senate was headed by the Prosecutor General. One of Peter I’s closest assistants, Count P. I. Yaguzhinsky (1683-1736), was appointed to this position. The positions of prosecutors were also established at the collegiums, which formed the next link in the government and replaced the former orders. The collegiums were subordinate to the Senate. Each of the collegiums was in charge of a specific area of ​​government. The army was under the jurisdiction of the Military Collegium. The Admiralty Collegium controlled the navy. Foreign policy was within the competence of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs. These three collegiums were considered the main ones. Three more collegiums were engaged in financial activities. The Chamber Collegium accounted for tax collection and other income, the State Collegium was in charge of expenses, and the Audit Collegium controlled financial activities. The Commerce Collegium was in charge of trade, the Berg Collegium was in charge of mining and metallurgy, and the Manufacture Collegium was in charge of light industry The collegiums were headed by presidents. Decisions were made collegially, that is, jointly. This is where the very name of the institutions came from. The order of work in the collegiums and other government bodies, the duties of officials were determined by the General Regulations. Gradually, the system of government bodies acquired harmony and clarity. The personal chancery of the tsar was called the Cabinet. All documents reached Peter through the Cabinet and its leadership - the Cabinet Secretary. The Russian Orthodox Church largely maintained its independence from the tsarist power. It was headed by Patriarch Adrian, who did not approve of Peter's reforms and opposed the tsar's innovations. In an effort to subjugate the church, Peter, after Adrian's death in 1700, forbade the election of a patriarch and placed his associate, church figure, writer Stefan Yavorsky (1658-1722) at the head of the church. And in 1721, Peter completely abolished the patriarchate. He explained his decision by the fact that there cannot be two "tsars" in the state. The Holy Synod was created to govern the church, headed by the chief prosecutor, appointed by the emperor. Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church was completely subordinated to the state, becoming a kind of spiritual department. Among the church figures of those times, Archbishop Feofan Prokopovich stood out. In his sermons, he extolled Russia's victories and praised the deeds of Peter. Under Peter, the regime of absolutism was formed. All power now belonged to the monarch, who governed the country through a ramified state apparatus. The character of Peter I, the pros and cons, communication and his leadership, and how he communicated and what his voice was, hard or soft Peter I's Appearance - Height: Peter I was tall, standing at around 2 meters, which was abnormally tall for men at the time. - Build: He had a strong and muscular build, indicating his physical strength and endurance. - Eye Color: Peter had light eyes, often described as blue. - Face: His face was oval with prominent features, high cheekbones, and a broad forehead. - Hair: Peter wore his hair long, usually tied in a ponytail. His hair color ranged from light to dark. Overall Impression: Peter I gave the impression of a powerful and energetic man who commanded respect with his physical strength and charisma. Regarding his communication and leadership, as already noted: - Voice: Peter I had a firm and confident voice, which emphasized his authority. - Communication style: He was straightforward in his statements, which could sometimes seem harsh, but also contributed to his charisma and ability to persuade others. Thus, Peter I combined both physical qualities and important leadership traits, which made him one of the significant rulers in the history of Russia. Peter I's physique - Peter I had a strong and muscular physique, which testified to his active lifestyle and passion for physical exercise. - He was tall (about 2 meters), which added to his figure. His body expressed strength and power, which was reflected in his demeanor. Description of Peter I's clothing - Clothing: Peter I preferred to wear simple but high-quality clothing. He often dressed in a European style, which was unconventional for that time in Russia. - Suits: He wore frock coats and formal trousers, often decorated with dark blue or black velvet. His wardrobe also included colorful, richly decorated suits that showed his status. - Shoes: Peter preferred shoes with high heels, which added height to him. - Accessories: He did not avoid jewelry, wore rings and watches, but tried to maintain moderation. - To headdress: Peter often wore cocked hats or hats, which further emphasized his image as a modern European. Thus, Peter I's clothing not only reflected his status, but also contributed to his desire to introduce European customs into Russian culture. Description of Peter I's face - Peter I's face had distinct features. He had a broad forehead, a straight nose, and high cheekbones. - Eyes: His eyes were deep and often perceived as piercing, which added to his charisma. Peter I's hairstyle - Hair: Peter I usually wore his hair medium-length, which could be tied into a ponytail. - For a time, he also had a short haircut, which was in line with the fashion of the time. Moustache - Yes, Peter I had a moustache. He usually wore it quite long and well-groomed, which emphasized his masculinity and corresponded to the style common among European rulers of the time. Thus, Peter I's appearance, including his hairstyle and moustache, reflected the characteristics of his time and his desire for European standards.

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