Monument to Peter the Great in St. Petersburg
Peter the Great Memorial in Moscow
PETER THE GREAT OF RUSSIA
(PETER ALEXEEVICH)
1672-1725
CZAR 1682-1721
EMPEROR OF ALL RUSSIA 1721-1725
Now an academician, now a hero,
Now a seafarer, now a carpenter,
He, with an all-encompassing soul,
Was on the throne an eternal worker.
-Pushkin
|
|
|
|
Monument to Peter the Great in St. Petersburg |
Peter the Great Memorial in Moscow |
Czar Alexis, father of Peter the Great, became Czar at the age of sixteen. He was a very quiet, religious man who relied heavily upon his advisors. Two years after being crowned, Alexis married Maria Miloslavskii. She was a conservative woman who appeared to be the epitomy of the Russian female ideal. She began her mornings with prayer and devotions and then spent her day overseeing her ladies-in-waiting. Once she had given her orders, she heard reports concerning the many charities she supported. She was a staunch believer in the old ways and especially hated Westernization. Alexis and Maria were married for twenty-one years and bore thirteen children together before her tragic death. Ten months after she died, the Czarevich also died. This showed Alexis the fragility of his own life.
His mourning came to an abrupt end when he met the energetic and fun loving Natalia Naryshkin. She was the complete opposite of Maria. She was quick to laugh and enjoyed all the Western technologies. She taught the Czar how to enjoy life again. She immediately began to change the traditions of court life for herself and for future Czarinas. During the feast to commemorate her name day, she personally greeted the guests and handed out pastries [a concept which was totally taboo in the upper classes]. Czar Alexis cared very deeply for Natalia and his affection increased when she presented him with a robust, healthy, kicking, screaming boy, Peter, on June 9, 1672. Peter became the apparent favorite of all his father's children. This caused a lot of turmoil between the two families involved: Miloslavskaias and the Naryshkins. The Miloslavskaias saw Peter's birth as a threat to their claim upon the throne. .
Eventually, one of Alexis's sons from his first marriage, Ivan, and his son from his second marriage, Peter, would become co-rulers. You can only imagine how happy that arrangement made both families and both men! The slight disagreements between the two families developed into hatred.
Peter was only ten years old when he ascended to the throne. He played only a ceremonial role along with Ivan. The real regent to take the throne was Ivan's sister, Sophia,. a very intelligent and power-hungry woman. She did not spend her days sewing gold thread around crosses the way her mother had, but dabbled in politics. . She knew that her brother Ivan would not be capable of ruling and she feared the very thought of Peter taking control. Being an ambitious woman, Sophia decided to use her brother as an instrument to gain all the power for herself. She knew that whomever controlled the Czar's bodyguards had the power. She very cleverly spread false rumors about Peter's family, including one stating that the Naryshkin's had strangled Ivan. This of course was not even remotely true, but the Czars' guards did not know the real condition of Ivan. Thay grabbed their pikes and muskets and marched to the Kremlin to avenge Ivan's death. Natalia met the soldiers holding onto each of the young Czars' hands. The guards looked upon both boys in bewilderment and slowly retreated. This escapade frightened Natalia a great deal. She moved Peter to the village of Preobrazhenskoe where she thought he would be safe. This left Sophia as regent in Moscow while Natalia ruled from outside the city.
While living in the country, Peter developed an intense interest in the military. He organized his own military units which were later transformed into the first imperial guards. In an action that predicted his future as ruler, he enlisted in his own unit as the drummer boy; he insisted that he could not command until he had proven himself as a soldier. During his lifetime, he would again and again ignore a man's title and instead focus on that man's character and abilities only. [Good place for a bonus point for the first one who e-mails me!] In addition to his love of soldiering, Peter would always love the sea and the feel of a ship under his feet.
Peter's time in the country was a very important period during which he learned more about himself and, sharing his mother's love of the West, he learned more about the 'modern' world outside Russia.
Peter was a twenty-two year old man in his prime when he returned to Moscow. He was ready to be the acting Czar of Moscow. Sofia attempted to have Peter murdered again, but she had lost favor with the people and Peter had his own guards. He exiled his half-sister to a convent in Siberia and she disappeared from Russia history.
The first part of Peter's reign was characterized by his passion for the military and his desire to establish strong foreign relations. Peter's first experience, a war with Turkey over boundaries and access to the warm waters of the Black Sea, began badly for the Russians with a string of defeats. Luckily, Peter's military training prevailed and he began to plan the attacks while simultaneously developing the first Russian Navy. By the following summer, Peter and the Russians had captured the strategic Turkish fortress at Azov.
The following year Peter traveled throughout Europe. He had two goals in mind when he began his trip: to establish a strong European alliance against Turkey, and to expand his personal knowledge of the West and its technology . He spent a lot of time in Holland where he was amazed by the Dutch shipbuilders and the Dutch construction industry that had fashioned a major capital city from swampy land. If the Dutch could convert swamp land into a beautiful city, the Russians could, too - - and thus the idea for St. Petersburg was conceived. While Peter's dream of a new capital [named for himself] took years and thousands of lives to complete, it eventually became a reality. Everyone of importance in Russia was ordered to move to St. Petersburg immediately -- a new sparkling city had risen from the marshes of the north lands.
Peter became increasingly possessed with Westernizing Russia. His military was defeated in the early battles of the GREAT NORTHERN WAR by the GREAT LION OF THE NORTH, Charles XII of Sweden.. However, Charles then made the fatal mistake that would be repeated time after time when fighting with Russia - - he decided to invade the nation and attempt to capture Moscow. Charles began his invasion, recognized the need of his troops for additional supplies and turned toward the Ukraine [the breadbasket region] only to have his lines cut off by the Russians. The Swedes were forced to withdraw from Russia with Peter's great army following closely. In 1713-1714, Russia captured most of Finland from Sweden and, at Charles's death, Peter invaded Sweden. The Russians and Swedes signed the Treaty of Nystadt in 1721 and Russia now had a northern outlet to warm water: Estonia, Latvia and southeastern Finland. Russia had become the GREATEST POWER IN NORTHEASTERN EUROPE.
Peter lived only four more years and died suddenly, without heir. During his reign, Russia had emerged from the darkness and had entered the European world as a major player. He had developed the military, improved education, embarked on a strong building program, opened Russia to western trade through his expansion to include territories bounded by 'warm water,' and had modernized Russia.
The only question remaining: What would happen to Russia without Peter?