Peter the Great is known to every Russian as the great reformer who ruled the country from 1689 to 1725. His reforms, carried out in the first quarter of the eighteenth century, according to historians, moved the country two to five centuries forward. For example, M. Shcherbatov believed that without Peter, Russia would have traveled such a path in two hundred years, and Karamzin believed that the tsar had done in twenty-five years what others would not have done in six centuries. At the same time, it is worth noting that neither one nor the other historian had much sympathy for the reign of Peter the Great, but they could not deny him the significance of the reforms carried out and the giant leap in the development of the country.
The king himself formed his retinue
The autocrat who sat on the Russian throne was known for his versatile development, which left a significant imprint on what the associates of Peter 1 were like. To please the tsar, one had to be a gifted, intelligent person,hardworking like the ruler himself. And Peter the Great, it must be said, was lucky to have associates, whom he skillfully chose from among the most diverse segments of the population and used their talents for the benefit of the Russian state.
Among the comrades-in-arms of the autocrat were people from courtyards
Some associates of Peter 1, the list of which is significant, grew up with the tsar together from an early age. It is known that Alexander Danilovich Menshikov came from a simple family and worked as a pastry maker in his youth, when he accidentally met the then young tsar. Peter liked the lively boy, and Aleksashka (as he was then called) became a soldier in an amusing company and the orderly of the heir to the throne. In 1697, Menshikov was sent abroad to study shipbuilding, where he was inseparable from the tsar. During these years, the boy showed the qualities that the king was looking for in his favorites. He was devoted, zealous, observant. He well adopted the rational way of thinking of his master, had a high capacity for work and did things with full dedication. Menshikov proved to be excellent as the governor of Shlisselburg and military commander during the operation near Noteburg.
Former pastry maker Menshikov successfully commanded regiments
The closest associate of Peter 1 showed himself excellently in other fields as well. It is known that it was he who organized the search for ores for the B altic Plant, when it was necessary to cast guns. In 1703, together with Peter Menshikov, he developed a plan to clear the mouth of the Neva from the enemy. In 1704, Alexander Danilovich carried out a brilliant operation to capture Narva, and toBy this time, he was no longer a servant, but a comrade and colleague of the great Russian emperor. His merits were noted by the autocrat in 1706, when the former pastry maker received the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. The great prince now, however, remained the same temperamental, assertive, adventurous person and personally participated in some battles. For example, near Perevolognaya, his dragoons captured 16.2 thousand enemy people.
Alexander Menshikov, an associate of Peter 1, actively participated in the development of the northern capital, and in 1712 he commanded Russian troops in Pomerania, where he won another victory. After that, the favorite of the king did not participate in military operations due to unhe althy lungs. In the civil service, he proved to be no less effective, performing the duties of the governor of the capital lands, senator and president of the Military Collegium. In addition, Menshikov carried out numerous personal assignments of the autocrat, including in relation to the children of the king.
An old Russian tradition: everyone steals
The favorite, who, according to some sources, until the end of his days was illiterate, which was no different from the rest of the associates of Peter 1, participated in the investigation of the case of Tsarevich Alexei and personally compiled a list of persons who signed the death sentence for the prince. After such cases, Menshikov became especially close with Peter, who did not punish him significantly for embezzlement (the total amount stolen was gigantic - 1,581,519 rubles). Under Peter II, Menshikov fell into disgrace, was stripped of all ranks and titles, and sent to Ranienburg, then to Berezov, wheredied in 1729, outliving his king by four years. But before that, from 1725 to 1727, during the reign of Catherine, the wife of the late tsar, he was in fact the uncrowned ruler of the richest empire of that time.
From Lithuanian swineherds to the Senate
What other characters are attributed by historians to the associates of Peter 1? This list can begin with Prince Romodanovsky. You can also include Prince M. Golitsyn, Counts Golovins, Prince Y. Dolgoruky, Baron P. P. Shafirov, Baron Osterman, B. K. Minikh, Tatishchev, Neplyuev, Lefort, Gordon, T. Streshnev, A. Makarov, Ya. V. Bruce, P. M. Apraksin, B. Sheremetiev, P. Tolstoy. Peter the Great recruited people he liked everywhere and included them in his team. For example, it is believed that the chief of police of St. Petersburg, Devier, was a cabin boy on a Portuguese ship, Yaguzhinsky, as some facts indicate, before the heyday of his career as prosecutor general of the Senate, was a swineherd in Lithuania. Kurbatov, the inventor of stamped paper and the vice-governor of Arkhangelsk, came out of the courtyard and so on. And all this "motley" company, which was made up of associates of Peter 1, took away the powers of the old boyar nobility.
Conflicts between noble and rootless assistants of the king took place
Although among the assistants of the great autocrat there were people with more than an outstanding pedigree. For example, Boris Petrovich Sheremetev was of a noble family, served as a steward, received a boyar title and worked at the embassy under Princess Sophia. After her overthrow, he was forgotten for many years. However, duringDuring the Azov campaigns, the tsar needed Sheremetev's talent as a military leader, and Boris Petrovich justified the hopes placed on him. After that, Sheremetev perfectly fulfilled the diplomatic mission in Austria and the Commonwe alth and pretty much liked the tsar for his good and quick training in Western manners in dress and behavior.
Many associates of Peter 1 took part in the military campaigns of their king. This fate did not bypass B. Sheremetev either. His talent as a commander showed up in 1701, when he defeated the Swedes with a group of 21,000 people, while the Russians lost only nine soldiers dead. In 1702, Sheremetev captured Eastern Livonia, in 1703 he took the Oreshek fortress, and that was the end of his victories and proximity to the tsar, since Peter considered Sheremetev too slow, too prudent, but recognizing that he would not send soldiers to death in vain. Sheremetev, as a born aristocrat, was disgusted by the simple behavior of the tsar and the company of the rest, unborn favorites. Therefore, the relationship between the tsar and the field marshal was somewhat official.
A descendant of English kings in the service of Peter the Great
Special love among the Russian nobility, and among ordinary people, and among foreigners from the royal entourage was deserved by an associate of Peter 1 who arrived from Scotland. Gordon Patrick (in Russia - Peter Ivanovich) was not of a simple family, since his genes went back to the King of England, Charles II. He graduated from the Danzig Brausborg College, served in the Swedish troops, was captured by the Poles, from where, seenambassador in Warsaw Leontiev, was transferred to serve in Russia, where he showed himself well in the army and received the rank of lieutenant general, was appointed to an administrative position in Kyiv.
Then Gordon incurred the displeasure of Prince Golitsyn and was demoted, but later reinstated in rank and appointed commander of the Butyrsky regiment. In 1687, young Peter the Great held a review of this army unit and was imbued with sympathy for a foreigner, which strengthened in 1689, during the events that led to the removal of Princess Sophia from government. After the Trinity campaign, the general, an associate of Peter 1, Patrick Gordon, became the autocrat's teacher in military affairs. He does not give him a complete theoretical education, but conducts many conversations, supported by practical actions. In 1695-1696. Gordon takes part in the siege of Azov, in 1696, with his help, the uprising of the archers is suppressed. This respected man in his time died in 1699, without finding major reforms in the Russian army. Note that the ranks of Field Marshal under Peter were held by such of his associates as Y. V. Bruce, A. D. Menshikov, B. K. Minikh, B. P. Sheremetev.
He founded the district of modern Moscow
Admiral, associate of Peter 1, Franz Lefort, died, like Gordon, in 1699, at the age of 43. He came from a we althy family and was born in Geneva. He arrived in Russia in 1675, as here he was promised the rank of captain. Lefort's successful career was facilitated by his marriage to the cousin of P. Gordon's first wife. He participated in the wars with the Tatars onLittle Russian Ukraine, in both Crimean campaigns, during the reign of Sophia, he enjoyed the location of Prince Golitsyn. Since 1690, Lefort, as a charming, sharp-minded man, distinguished by courage, was noticed by Peter the Great and became his good friend, promoting European culture to the Russian environment. In Moscow, he founded Lefortovo Sloboda, accompanied the tsar on trips to the White Sea, Lake Pereyaslavskoe. He also participated in the idea of the Great Embassy from Russia to the European powers, which he headed.
Grigory Potemkin was never an ally of Peter the Great
Some inhabitants believe that the associate of Peter 1, Potemkin Grigory Alexandrovich, made a great contribution to the development of the Russian state. One can argue about the role of Potemkin in this process for a long time, but it must be taken into account that he could not be an ally of Peter the Great in his deeds, since he was born in 1739, fourteen years after the death of the great autocrat. Therefore, Potemkin's activity falls on the period of the reign of Catherine II, whose favorite was this statesman.
