The personality of Peter 1 rightfully occupies one of the leading places in the history of the Russian state. And the point is not even that it was this person who founded the Empire as such, but that during the reign of Peter the Great, Russia received a completely new vector of development. Thousands of historical and biographical books have been written that create a portrait of Peter 1, but historians cannot unequivocally characterize the activities of this person to this day. Some of them deify the first Russian emperor, describing his innovations in the state system and foreign policy. Others, on the contrary, try to show him as a tyrant and despot, referring to excessive harshness and cruelty towards their subjects. But the portrait of Peter 1, the photo of which is presented below, depicts a purposeful and educated person.
The first emperor is also criticized for ill-conceived innovations aimed, according to historians, at eradicating everything Russian, replacing it with Western values. However, both of them unequivocally agree on one thing: it was really ambiguous,a significant and great figure in the history of the Russian state.
Judge not, lest you be judged
If you carefully study the historical portrait of Peter 1, created by the authors of countless works, you can come to a simple conclusion: such large-scale personalities cannot be judged one-sidedly. Strict distinctions according to the type of "white and black" are unacceptable here. In addition, for criticism or, conversely, praise, it is necessary to clearly understand the laws and foundations that existed at that time. And what sometimes seems wild and scary to our contemporaries was a simple routine for different segments of the Russian population at the beginning of the 18th century.
The portrait of Peter the Great cannot be made using modern moral values. This approach will be "flat" and emotional. It will prevent a sober assessment of the historical reality of the Muscovite state, and then the Russian Empire of the XVIII century.
Therefore, you just need to try to objectively focus on the neutral biography of the first Russian emperor and everything connected with him. After all, such individuals, as a rule, leave a mark not only in politics and government.
Education is the basis of the future personality
Pyotr Alekseevich Romanov was born on May 30, 1672. Like all royal offspring, the future sovereign received exclusively home education. And I must admit that, even by today's times, it was not bad. The educators revealed in the boy a great propensity for foreign languages and the exact sciences. In other words, in the future emperor, since childhood, humanitarian and technical aspirations were combined. Althoughhe nevertheless gave preference to practical sciences.
The youngest son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Natalia Naryshkina, little Peter, grew up as an amazingly agile and strong child. In addition to his penchant for science, he enjoyed climbing fences, fighting with noble peers from his inner circle and committing other pranks typical of this age.
Handicraft is worthy of kings
The special surprise of all biographers without exception has always been the fascination of the tsar's son with simple working crafts, in which he showed interest at a very young age. Not a single historical portrait of Peter the Great is complete without a description of how he could watch the work of a lathe for hours or breathed with pleasure the hot fumes of the palace forge.
The interest of the royal offspring did not go unnoticed. Special artisans were allocated, who began to teach Peter the basics of the simplest crafts: turning and forging. At the same time, it must be taken into account that this did not go to the detriment of the main educational schedule of the young heir. The exact sciences, the study of languages, the basics of military affairs have not been canceled. Already from early childhood, the future sovereign received a versatile and high-quality education (contrary to the opinion of some Western historians that home education in Russia in those years was distinguished by one-sidedness and unprofessionalism).
However, you can’t call the emperor a simpleton, looking at how the artist Antropov painted a portrait of Peter 1: the royal regalia, posture and look speak of great and imperiousman. And even though at the time of the creation of the picture the emperor had not been alive for almost 50 years, the author portrayed him very reliably.
Coronation and exile
The political portrait of Peter 1 should be started from 1682. After the death of the childless Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, young Romanov was elevated to the throne. However, this happened bypassing his older brother Ivan, which the Miloslavsky party (relatives of Peter's older sister Sophia) did not fail to take advantage of to organize a palace coup. The Miloslavskys successfully used the streltsy unrest, and as a result, the Naryshkin clan, to which Peter's mother belonged, was almost destroyed. Ivan was appointed the "senior" tsar, and Sophia became the regent-ruler.
The Streltsy rebellion and the outright brutality of the murders had a very serious impact on the personality of Peter the Great. Many historians associate the further, not always balanced, actions of the king with these events.
Sofya, having become the sole mistress of the country, practically exiled the little tsar to Preobrazhenskoye, a small fiefdom near Moscow. It was here that Peter, having gathered the noble undergrowth of his inner circle, created the famous "amusing regiments". Military formations had real uniforms, officers and soldiers, and were subject to real army discipline. Peter, of course, was the commander-in-chief. For the entertainment of the young king, a “funny fortress” was built, which, honing their “combat skills”, was stormed by a funny army. However, few people then guessed that it was this children's fun of the boys,running with wooden guns and sabers, will lay the foundation for the famous and formidable Peter's guard.
Not a single portrait of Peter the Great is complete without a mention of Alexander Menshikov. They met there, in Preobrazhensky. The groom's son in later years became the Emperor's right hand and one of the most powerful men in the Empire.
Miloslavsky coup
The weakness and sickness of the "senior" Tsar Ivan constantly forced the ruler Sophia to think about complete autocracy in the country. Surrounded by nobles from the powerful Miloslavsky clan, the ruler was fully confident that she would be able to usurp power. However, on the way to the throne stood Peter. He was God's anointed and full king.
In August 1689, Sophia decided on a coup d'etat, the purpose of which was to eliminate Peter and seize the throne. However, faithful people warned the young tsar, and he managed to leave Preobrazhenskoye, hiding in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. The monastery was not chosen by chance. Powerful walls, ditches and underground passages were an insurmountable obstacle for Sophia's foot archers. According to all the rules of military science, Sophia had neither time nor money for an assault. In addition, the elite command of the streltsy units frankly hesitated, not knowing which side to choose.
Who made the decision to retreat exactly to Trinity-Sergiev? Not a single historical portrait of Peter 1 mentions this. In short, this place turned out to be fatal for Sophia and very successful for the tsar. The nobles supported Peter. Combat detachments of noble cavalry and infantry of "amusing" and faithful archerssurrounded Moscow. Sophia was convicted and imprisoned in a monastery, and all the associates from the Miloslavsky clan were executed or exiled.
After the death of Tsar Ivan, Peter became the sole owner of the Moscow throne. Perhaps it was the events described that prompted him to seriously reorganize the entire Russian way of life. After all, the representatives of the “good old time” in the person of the Streltsy and the Miloslavskys constantly tried to physically eliminate the young sovereign, instilling in him a subconscious fear, which, according to contemporaries who painted the psychological portrait of Peter 1, was reflected on his face and haunted his soul almost until his death. Even painters noticed and recreated the unusually strong, but at the same time extremely tired face of the king. The artist Nikitin, whose portrait of Peter 1 is amazing in its simplicity and lack of imperial paraphernalia, just conveyed such a strong-willed and powerful, but deeply sincere person. True, art historians tend to "take away" part of Nikitin's fame, referring to the drawing style that was uncharacteristic for the beginning of the century.
Window to Europe - German settlement
Against the background of these events, the aspirations of the young tsar for everything European look quite natural. It is impossible not to note the role of Kukuy - a German suburb, which the emperor liked to visit. Friendly Germans and their neat way of life differed sharply from what Peter saw in the rest of the same Moscow. But the point, of course, is not in neat houses. The sovereign was imbued with the very way of life of this small piece of Europe.
Many historians believethat it was the visit to Kukuy that partly formed the historical portrait of Peter 1. In short, future pro-Western views. We must not forget about the acquaintances made by the tsar on the German reservation. There he met the retired Swiss officer Franz Lefort, who became the main military adviser, and the charming Anna Mons, the future favorite of the first emperor. Both of these people played an important role in the history of Russia.
Access to the sea is a strategic objective
Peter is getting more and more interested in the fleet. Specially hired Dutch and English craftsmen teach him the tricks and tricks of building ships. In the future, when multi-gun battleships and frigates will sail under the Russian flag, Peter will need more than once or twice to know the nuances of shipbuilding. He determined all defects and defects in construction himself. They didn't call him the Carpenter King for nothing. Peter 1 could really build a ship from bow to stern with his own hands.
However, during his youth, the Muscovite state had only one outlet to the sea - in the city of Arkhangelsk. European ships, of course, called at this port, but geographically the place was too unfortunate for serious trade relations (due to the long and expensive delivery of goods into the depths of Russia). This thought visited, of course, not only Pyotr Alekseevich. His predecessors also fought for access to the sea, mostly unsuccessfully.
Peter the First decided to continue the Azov campaigns. Moreover, the war with Turkey that began in 1686 continued. The army he trainedEuropean mode, already represented an impressive force. Several military campaigns were made against the sea city of Azov. But only the last one was successful. True, the victory came at a high price. Small, but built at that time according to the latest engineering ideas, the fortress claimed many Russian lives.
And although the fact of the capture of Azov in Europe was perceived rather skeptically (precisely because of the ratio of losses), this was the first real strategic victory of the young king. And most importantly, Russia finally got access to the sea.
Northern War
Despite the frank skepticism of European politicians, Peter 1 begins to think about the B altic. The ruling elite was at that time seriously concerned about the growing ambitions of another young strategist - the Swedish king Charles XII. This is partly why the Europeans supported the Muscovite tsar in his desire to get part of the coastal B altic lands to open shipyards and ports there. It seemed that it was quite possible to have two or three Russian ports, and the inevitable war for the B altic would seriously weaken Sweden, which, although it would defeat the weak Russians, would seriously get bogged down in the mainland of wild Muscovy.
Thus began the long Northern War. It lasted from 1700 to 1721 and ended with the unexpected defeat of the Swedish army near Poltava, as well as the assertion of the Russian presence in the B altic.
Reformer
Of course, without serious economic and political changes in Russia, Peter the Great would not have opened the famous “window to Europe”. Reforms touched literallythe whole way of life of the Muscovite state. If we talk about the army, then it received its formation precisely in the Northern War. Peter found resources for its modernization and organization on the European model. And if at the beginning of hostilities the Swedes de alt with unorganized, often poorly armed and untrained units, then at the end of the war it was already a powerful European army that could win.
But not only the personality of Peter the Great, who had a remarkable talent as a commander, allowed him to win a great victory. The professionalism of his closest generals and devotees is a topic for long and meaningful conversations. There are whole legends about the heroism of a simple Russian soldier. Of course, no army could win without a serious rear. It was military ambitions that spurred the economy of old Russia and brought it to a completely different level. After all, the old traditions could no longer fully meet the needs of the growing army and navy. Almost every lifetime portrait of Peter 1 depicts him in military armor or with military paraphernalia. Artists paid tribute to the emperor.
Not a single army
The portrait of Peter 1 will not be complete if we limit ourselves to economic and military victories. The emperor must be given credit for developing and implementing reforms in the field of state administration. First of all, this is the establishment of the Senate and colleges instead of the obsolete ones and working according to the class principle of the Boyar Duma and orders.
The "Table of Ranks" developed by Peter gave rise to the emergence of so-called social elevators. In other words,The report card made it possible to receive benefits and the nobility solely on merit. The changes also affected diplomacy. Instead of the old fur coats and hats of the well-born boyars who represented Russia, embassies appeared with diplomats already of European level.
Description of the portrait of Peter 1 will be incomplete if we talk about him only in superlatives. It is worth noting that with the general geopolitical growth of Russia, the life of ordinary people within the country has not changed much, and in some cases (for example, recruitment duty) has become worse. The life of a simple serf was worth less than the life of a horse. This was especially noticeable during the "global" Peter's construction projects. Thousands of people died building the most beautiful city in Europe - St. Petersburg. No one counted the dead even during the construction of the Ladoga Canal… And many young guys never became soldiers, dying under the canes of officers who introduced discipline in military units.
It is for the complete disregard for human life that the first emperor is criticized, imputing to him senseless cruelty and a huge number of unreasonable victims. In addition, we are everywhere confronted with the facts of the activity of Peter 1, striking in their inhumanity.
Only one thing can be said in defense of this man. The first emperor of Russia never moved away from his people at the distances that subsequent rulers allowed themselves. A thousand times the enemy cannonball could have torn him apart. Dozens of times, Pyotr Alekseevich Romanov could simply drown on imperfect sea vessels. And during the globalconstruction sites, he slept in the same barracks with sick builders, risking catching ailments for which at that time there was no cure.
Of course, the emperor was better protected from enemy bullets than an ordinary soldier, he was treated by good doctors, and he had much more chances not to die from the flu than an ordinary peasant. However, let's finish the description of the portrait of Peter 1 with a memory of the cause of his death. The emperor died of pneumonia, which he received while rescuing a simple guard soldier from the cold waters of the Neva that had come out of the banks of the Neva. The fact, perhaps, is not so remarkable in comparison with the deeds of his entire life, but it speaks volumes. It is unlikely that any of today's "powerful ones" is capable of such an act…
