Peter the Great
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Reign
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2 November 1721 –
8 February 1725 |
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Successor
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Reign
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7 May 1682 – 2 November 1721
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25 June 1682
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Predecessor
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Co-monarch
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Born
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9 June 1672
Moscow, Tsardom of Russia |
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Died
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8 February 1725 (aged 52)
Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire |
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Burial
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Consort
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Issue
among others |
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Father
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Mother
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Religion
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Russian Orthodoxy
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Peter the Great
(Russian: Пётр Вели́кий, tr. Pyotr Velikiy; IPA: [ˈpʲɵtr vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj]), Peter I (Russian:
Пётр I, tr. Pyotr I; IPA: [ˈpʲɵtr ˈpʲɛrvɨj]) or Peter
Alexeyevich (Russian: Пётр Алексе́евич; IPA: [ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ]; 9
June [O.S. 30 May] 1672 – 8
February [O.S. 28 January] 1725) ruled the
Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian
Empire from 7 May (O.S. 27 April) 1682 until his death, jointly ruling
before 1696 with his elder half-brother, Ivan
V. Through a number of successful wars he expanded the Tsardom into a much
larger empire that became a major European power. He led a cultural revolution
that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political
systems with ones that were modern, scientific, westernized, and based on The
Enlightenment. Peter's reforms made a lasting impact on Russia and many
institutions of Russian government traced their origins to his reign.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_the_Great
Title
The
imperial title of Peter the Great was the following:
By the grace of God, the most excellent and great sovereign prince Pyotr Alekseevich the ruler all the Russias: of Moscow, of Kiev, of Vladimir, of Novgorod, Tsar of Kazan, Tsar of Astrakhan and Tsar of Siberia, sovereign of Pskov, great prince of Smolensk, Tversk, Yugorsk, Permsky, Vyatsky, Bulgarsky and others, sovereign and great prince of Novgorod Nizovsky lands, Chernigovsky, of Ryazan, of Rostov, Yaroslavl, Belozersky, Udorsky, Kondiisky and the sovereign of all the northern lands, and the sovereign of the Iverian lands, of the Kartlian and Georgian Kings, of the Kabardin lands, of the Circassian and Mountain princes and many other states and lands western and eastern here and there and the successor and sovereign and ruler.
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Peter the Great as a child
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Life
Early years
From
an early age, Peter's education (commissioned by his father,Tsar Alexis I)
was put in the hands of several tutors, most notably Nikita
Zotov, Patrick Gordon, and Paul
Menesius. On 29 January 1676, Tsar Alexis died, leaving the sovereignty to
Peter's elder half-brother, the weak and sickly Feodor III.
Throughout this period, the government was largely run by Artamon
Matveev, an enlightened friend of Alexis, the political head of the Naryshkin
family and one of Peter's greatest childhood benefactors. This position
changed when Feodor died in 1682. As Feodor did not leave any children, a
dispute arose between the Miloslavsky family (Maria Miloslavskaya was the first wife of
Alexis I) and Naryshkin family (Natalya Naryshkina was the second wife) over who
should inherit the throne. Peter's other half-brother, Ivan V, was next
in line for the throne, but he was chronically ill and of infirm mind.
Consequently, the Boyar
Duma (a council of Russian nobles) chose the 10-year-old Peter to become
Tsar with his mother as regent. This arrangement was brought before the people
of Moscow, as ancient tradition demanded, and was ratified. Sophia Alekseyevna, one of Alexis' daughters
from his first marriage, led a rebellion of the Streltsy
(Russia's elite military corps) in April–May 1682. In the subsequent conflict some
of Peter's relatives and friends were murdered, including Matveev, and Peter
witnessed some of these acts of political violence.
The
Streltsy made it possible for Sophia, the Miloslavskys (the clan of Ivan) and
their allies, to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint Tsars, with
Ivan being acclaimed as the senior. Sophia acted as regent during the minority
of the sovereigns and exercised all power. For seven years, she ruled as an
autocrat. A large hole was cut in the back of the dual-seated throne used by
Ivan and Peter. Sophia would sit behind the throne and listen as Peter
conversed with nobles, while feeding him information and giving him responses
to questions and problems. This throne can be seen in the Kremlin
Armoury in Moscow.
Peter
was not particularly concerned that others ruled in his name. He engaged in
such pastimes as shipbuilding and sailing, as well as mock battles with his toy army. Peter's mother sought to force him to
adopt a more conventional approach, and arranged his marriage to Eudoxia
Lopukhina in 1689. The marriage was a failure, and ten years later Peter
forced his wife to become a nun and thus freed himself from the union.
By
the summer of 1689, Peter planned to take power from his half-sister Sophia,
whose position had been weakened by two unsuccessful Crimean campaigns.
When she learned of his designs, Sophia conspired with the leaders of the
Streltsy, who continually aroused disorder and dissent. Peter, warned by the
Streltsy, escaped in the middle of the night to the impenetrable monastery of Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra; there he slowly
gathered adherents who perceived he would win the power struggle. She was
eventually overthrown, with Peter I and Ivan V continuing to act as co-tsars.
Peter forced Sophia to enter a convent, where she gave up her name and her
position as a member of the royal family.
Still,
Peter could not acquire actual control over Russian affairs. Power was instead
exercised by his mother, Natalya Naryshkina. It was only when Nataliya died in
1694 that Peter became an independent sovereign. Formally, Ivan V remained a
co-ruler with Peter, although he was ineffective. Peter became the sole ruler
when Ivan died in 1696.
Peter
grew to be extremely tall as an adult, especially for the time period. Standing
at 6 ft 8 in (203 cm) in height, the Russian tsar was literally
head and shoulders above his contemporaries both in Russia and throughout
Europe. Peter, however, lacked the overall proportional heft and bulk generally
found in a man that size. Both Peter's hands and feet were small, and his
shoulders were narrow for his height; likewise, his head was small for his tall
body. Added to this were Peter's noticeable facial tics, and he may have
suffered from petit mal, a form of epilepsy.
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Capture
of Azov, 1696
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Early reign
Peter
implemented sweeping reforms aimed at modernizing
Russia. Heavily influenced by his advisors from Western Europe, Peter
reorganized the Russian army along modern lines and dreamed of making Russia a
maritime power. He faced much opposition to these policies at home, but
brutally suppressed any and all rebellions against his authority: Streltsy, Bashkirs, Astrakhan,
and the greatest civil uprising of his reign, the Bulavin
Rebellion. Peter implemented social modernization in an absolute manner by
introducing French and western dress to his court and requiring courtiers,
state officials, and the military to shave their beards and adopt modern
clothing styles. One means of achieving this end was the introduction of taxes
for long beards and robes in September 1698.
To
improve his nation's position on the seas, Peter sought to gain more maritime
outlets. His only outlet at the time was the White Sea
at Arkhangelsk.
The Baltic
Sea was at the time controlled by Sweden in the
north, while the Black Sea and the Caspian
Sea were controlled by the Ottoman
Empire and Safavid Empire respectively in the south. Peter
attempted to acquire control of the Black Sea; to do so he would have to expel
the Tatars from
the surrounding areas. As part of an agreement with Poland which ceded
Kiev to Russia,
Peter was forced to wage war against the Crimean Khan and
against the Khan's overlord, the Ottoman Sultan. Peter's primary objective
became the capture of the Ottoman fortress of Azov, near the Don
River. In the summer of 1695 Peter organized the Azov
campaigns to take the fortress, but his attempts ended in failure. Peter
returned to Moscow in November of that year and began building a large navy. He
launched about thirty ships against the Ottomans in 1696, capturing Azov in
July of that year. On 12 September 1698, Peter officially founded the first Russian
Navy base, Taganrog.
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The Peter the Great Monument in the city of
Taganrog (sculptor: Mark Antokolski) as appears on a old postcard.
Photo was taken in range 1903—1916. Source: Museum of Taganrogs
Regional Studies photofiles.
The idea to open a memorial to Peter I of
Russia in Taganrog came to Achilles Alferaki, Mayor of Taganrog 1880-1887. The
Russian Emperor Alexander III gave his permission on June 5, 1893.
In 1897, Taganrog City Council (Duma) issued
a resolution to request the sculptor Mark Antokolski to produce a memorial to
Peter I The Great. In April 1898, Anton Chekhov met with Mark Antokolski in
Paris, France to arrange the production of a bronze statue.
The statue was molded in the atelier of
Thibaut Brothers in Paris. The pedestal for the monument was made in 1901 by
the artist Eduards, owner of an atelier in Odessa.
Petrovskaya Street near the central gates to
the City Park was selected as the site for the monument. The memorial to Peter
I The Great was solemnly inaugurated on May 13, 1903. The inscription on the
pedastal reads: "To the Emperor Peter I, Taganrog 1698-1898".
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Peter
knew that Russia could not face the Ottoman Empire alone. In 1697 he traveled
incognito to Europe on an 18-month journey with a large Russian delegation–the
so-called "Grand Embassy"—to seek the aid
of the European monarchs. Peter's hopes were dashed; France was a traditional
ally of the Ottoman Sultan, and Austria was eager to maintain peace in the east while
conducting its own wars in the west. Peter, furthermore, had chosen the most
inopportune moment; the Europeans at the time were more concerned about who would succeed the childless Spanish
King Charles II than about fighting the Ottoman
Sultan.
The
"Grand Embassy", although failing to complete the mission of creating
an anti-Ottoman alliance, continued. While visiting the Netherlands,
Peter learned much about life in Western Europe. He studied shipbuilding in Zaandam (the
house he lived in is now a museum, the Czar Peter House) and Amsterdam,
where he visited, among others, the upper-class de Wilde family. Jacob
de Wilde, a collector-general with the Admiralty of Amsterdam, had a well-known
collection of art and coins, and de Wilde's daughter Maria
de Wilde made an engraving of the meeting between Peter and her father,
providing visual evidence of "the beginning of the West European classical
tradition in Russia". According to Roger Tavernier, Peter the Great later
acquired de Wilde's collection. Thanks to the mediation of Nicolaas
Witsen, mayor of Amsterdam and expert on Russia, the Tsar was given the
opportunity to gain practical experience in the largest shipyard in the world,
belonging to the Dutch East India Company, for a period of
four months. The Tsar helped with the construction of an East
Indiaman especially laid down for him: Peter and Paul. During his
stay the Tsar engaged many skilled workers such as builders of locks, fortresses, shipwrights, and
seamen—including Cornelis Cruys, a vice-admiral who became, under Franz
Lefort, the Tsar's advisor in maritime affairs. He later put his knowledge
of shipbuilding to use in helping build Russia's navy. Peter paid a visit to Frederik
Ruysch, who taught him how to draw teeth and catch butterflies. Ludolf
Bakhuysen, a painter of seascapes and Jan van der Heyden the inventor of the fire
hose, received Peter, who was keen to learn and pass on his knowledge to his
countrymen. On 16 January 1698 Peter organized a farewell party and invited Johan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen, who had to sit
between Lefort and the Tsar and drink.
In
England Peter met with King William III, visited Greenwich
and Oxford, was
painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, and saw a Royal Navy
Fleet
Review at Deptford. He travelled to the city of Manchester
to learn the techniques of city-building he would later use to great effect at Saint
Petersburg. The Embassy next went to Leipzig, Dresden, and Vienna. He spoke
with August the Strong and Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.
Peter's
visit was cut short in 1698, when he was forced to rush home by a rebellion
of the Streltsy. The rebellion was, however, easily crushed before Peter
returned home from England; of the Tsar's troops, only one was killed. Peter
nevertheless acted ruthlessly towards the mutineers. Over 1,200 of the rebels
were tortured and executed, and Peter ordered that their bodies be publicly
exhibited as a warning to future conspirators. The Streltsy were disbanded, and
the individual they sought to put on the Throne—Peter's half-sister Sophia—was
forced to become a nun.
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Portrait of Russian Tsar Peter I the Great by
Godfrey Kneller (1698). This portrait was Peter's
gift to King of England William III. It was painted in 1698 when, between 11
January and 21 April, Peter the Great was in London visiting William III. This
was part of his famous "Grand Embassy" of 1697-8 a diplomatic mission
which turned into a fact-finding tour of the more advanced countries of Western
Europe. the Tzar was especially inetrested in the ship-building of the Dutch
and English, having begun the constrauction of a Russian Navy in 1695. The Tzar
is here shown wearing armour with an embroidered gold, ermine-lined cloak, his
crown on a cushion in a niche; ships can bee seen at manoeuvres through a
window.
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In
1698 Peter sent a delegation to Malta under boyar Boris
Sheremetev, to observe the training and abilities of the Knights of Malta and their fleet. Sheremetev
investigated the possibility of future joint ventures with the Knights,
including action against the Turks and the possibility of a future Russian
naval base.
Peter's
visits to the West impressed upon him the notion that European customs were in
several respects superior to Russian traditions. He commanded all of his
courtiers and officials to cut off their long beards—causing his Boyars, who
were very fond of their beards, great upset—and wear European clothing. Boyars
who sought to retain their beards were required to pay an annual beard tax
of one hundred rubles. He also sought to end arranged marriages,
which were the norm among the Russian nobility, because he thought such a
practice was barbaric and led to domestic violence, since the partners usually
resented each other.
In
1699 Peter changed the date of the celebration of the new year from 1 September
to 1 January. Traditionally, the years were reckoned from the purported creation of
the World, but after Peter's reforms, they were to be counted from the birth of
Christ. Thus, in the year 7207 of the old Russian calendar, Peter
proclaimed that the Julian Calendar was in effect and the year was 1700.
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Peter I of Russia pacifies his
marauding troops after taking Narva in 1704 by Nikolay
Sauerweid, 1859
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Great Northern War
Main
article: Great Northern War
Peter
made a temporary peace with the Ottoman Empire that allowed him to keep the
captured fort of Azov, and turned his attention to Russian maritime supremacy.
He sought to acquire control of the Baltic Sea, which had been taken by the Swedish
Empire a half-century earlier. Peter declared war on Sweden, which was at
the time led by King Charles XII. Sweden was also opposed by Denmark-Norway,
Saxony, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Russia
was ill-prepared to fight the Swedes, and their first attempt at seizing the
Baltic coast ended in disaster at the Battle of Narva in 1700. In the conflict,
the forces of Charles XII used a blinding snowstorm to their advantage. After
the battle, Charles XII decided to concentrate his forces against the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which gave Peter time to reorganize the Russian
army.
As
the Poles and Lithuanians fought against the Swedes, Peter founded the city of Saint
Petersburg (Germanically named after Saint
Peter the Apostle) in Ingermanland (province of Swedish
empire, which he had captured) in 1703. He forbade the building of stone
edifices outside Saint Petersburg, which he intended to become Russia's
capital, so that all stonemasons could participate in the construction of the
new city.
Following
several defeats, the Polish King August II abdicated in 1706. Swedish king
Charles XII turned his attention to Russia, invading it in 1708. After crossing
into Russia, Charles defeated Peter at Golovchin in July. In the Battle
of Lesnaya, Charles suffered his first loss after Peter crushed a group of
Swedish reinforcements marching from Riga. Deprived of this
aid, Charles was forced to abandon his proposed march on Moscow.
Charles
XII refused to retreat to Poland or back to Sweden, instead invading Ukraine. Peter withdrew
his army southward, destroying along the way any property that could assist the
Swedes. Deprived of local supplies, the Swedish army was forced to halt its
advance in the winter of 1708–1709. In the summer of 1709, they resumed their
efforts to capture Ukraine, culminating in the Battle
of Poltava on 27 June. The battle was a decisive defeat for the Swedish
forces, ending Charles' campaign in Ukraine and forcing him into exile in the
Ottoman Empire. In Poland, August II was restored as King.
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Peter I in the Battle
of Poltava
(a mosaic by Mikhail Lomonosov)
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Peter the Great Meditating the Idea of
Building St Petersburg at the Shore of the Baltic Sea by Alexandre
Benois, 1916
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Peter,
overestimating the support he would receive from his Balkan allies, attacked
the Ottoman Empire, initiating the Russo-Turkish War of 1710. Normally,
the Boyar Duma would have exercised power during his absence. Peter, however,
mistrusted the boyars; he instead abolished the Duma and created a Senate of
ten members. The Senate was founded as the highest state institution to
supervise all judicial, financial and administrative affairs. Originally
established only for the time of the monarch's absence, it became a permanent
body after his return. A special high official the Ober-Procurator, served as
the link between the ruler and the senate and acted, in Peter own words, as
"the sovereign's eye". Without his signature no Senate decision could
go into effect; the Senate became one of the most important institutions of
Imperial Russia. Peter's campaign in the Ottoman Empire was disastrous, and in
the ensuing peace treaty (Treaty of Pruth), Peter was
forced to return the Black Sea ports he had seized in 1697. In return, the
Sultan expelled Charles XII.
Peter's
northern armies took the Swedish province of Livonia (the northern half of modern Latvia, and the
southern half of modern Estonia), driving the Swedes into Finland.
In 1714 the Russian fleet won the Battle
of Gangut. Most of Finland was occupied
by the Russians. In 1716 and 1717, the Tsar revisited the Netherlands, and
went to see Herman Boerhaave. He continued his travel to the Austrian Netherlands and France. The Tsar's
navy was so powerful that the Russians could penetrate Sweden. Peter also
obtained the assistance of the Electorate of Hanover and the Kingdom of Prussia. Still, Charles
XII refused to yield, and not until his death in battle in 1718 did peace
become feasible. After the battle near Åland, Sweden
made peace with all powers but Russia by 1720. In 1721 the Treaty
of Nystad ended what became known as the Great Northern War. Russia acquired Ingria, Estonia,
Livonia, and a substantial portion of Karelia.
In turn, Russia paid two million Riksdaler
and surrendered most of Finland. The Tsar retained some Finnish lands close to
Saint Petersburg, which he had made his capital in 1712.
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Peter
I by Carel de Moor
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Later years
Peter's
last years were marked by further reform in Russia. On 22 October 1721, soon
after peace was made with Sweden, he was officially proclaimed Emperor of
All Russia. Some proposed that he take the title Emperor of the East,
but he refused. Gavrila Golovkin, the State Chancellor, was the
first to add "the Great, Father of His Country, Emperor of All
the Russias" to Peter's traditional title Tsar following a speech by
the archbishop of Pskov
in 1721.
Peter's
imperial title was recognized by Augustus II of Poland, Frederick William I of Prussia, and Frederick I of Sweden, but not by the other
European monarchs. In the minds of many, the word emperor connoted
superiority or pre-eminence over kings. Several rulers feared that Peter would
claim authority over them, just as the Holy Roman Emperor had claimed suzerainty
over all Christian nations.
In
1718 Peter investigated why the ex Swedish province of Livonia was so
orderly. He discovered that the Swedes spent as much administering Livonia (300
times smaller than his empire) as he spent on the entire Russian bureaucracy.
He was forced to dismantle the province's government. After 1718, Peter
established colleges in place of the old central agencies of government. The
new agencies were originally nine in number: Foreign affairs, war, navy,
expense, income, justice, inspection. Later others were added. Each college
consisted of a president, a vice-president and a number of councilors,
assessors in addition to one procurator. Some foreigners were included in
various colleges but not as president. Decisions depended on the majority vote,
Peter believed he did not have enough loyal and talented persons to put them in
full charge of the different departments. Peter prefer to rely on groups of
individuals who would keep check on one another.
In
1722 Peter created a new order of precedence known as the Table
of Ranks. Formerly, precedence had been determined by birth. To deprive the
Boyars of their high positions, Peter directed that precedence should be
determined by merit and service to the Emperor. The Table of Ranks continued to
remain in effect until the Russian monarchy was overthrown in 1917. Peter decided that all of
the children of the nobility should have some early education, especially in
the areas of sciences. Therefore, on 28 February 1714, he issued a decree
calling for compulsory education, which dictated that all Russian 10- to
15-year-old children of the nobility, government clerks, and lesser-ranked
officials, must learn basic mathematics and geometry, and should be tested on
it at the end of their studies.
Peter
introduced new taxes to fund improvements in Saint Petersburg. He abolished the
land tax and household tax, and replaced them with a poll tax.
The taxes on land and on households were payable only by individuals who owned
property or maintained families; the new head taxes, however, were payable by serfs and paupers. By
this same time, the once powerful Persian Safavid
Empire to its neighbouring south was heavily declining. Making advantage of
the profitable situation, Peter launched the Russo-Persian War of 1722-1723
otherwise known as "The Persian Expedition of Peter the Great" by the
Russian histographers, in order to drastically increase Russian influence for
the first genuine time in the Caucasus and Caspian
Sea, as well as to prevent the Ottoman Empire from making territorial gains
in the region at the expense of declining Safavid Iran. After considerable
successes and the capture of many provinces and cities in the Caucasus and
northern mainland Persia, the Safavids were forced to hand over their
territories to Russia, comprising Derbent, Shirvan, Gilan,
Mazandaran, Baku, and Astrabad.
However, 9 and 12 years later all territories would be ceded back to Persia,
now led by the charismatic and military genius Nader Shah,
as part of the Treaties of Resht and Ganja
respectively, and the Russo-Persian alliance against the Ottoman Empire, which
was the common enemy of both.
In
1725 the construction of Peterhof, a palace near Saint Petersburg, was
completed. Peterhof (Dutch for "Peter's Court") was a grand
residence, becoming known as the "Russian Versailles".
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Diamond order of Peter the Great
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The 1782 statue of Peter I in Saint
Petersburg, informally known as the Bronze
Horseman
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Religion
Peter
was not religious and had a low regard for the Church, so he put it under tight
governmental control. The traditional leader of the Church was the Patriarch of Moscow.
In 1700, when the office fell vacant, Peter refused to name a replacement,
allowing the Patriarch's Coadjutor (or deputy) to discharge the duties of the
office. Peter could not tolerate the thought that a patriarch could have power
superior to the Tsar, as indeed had happened in the case of Philaret (1619–33) and Nikon (1652-66). He therefore abolished
the Patriarchy, replacing it with a Holy Synod
that was under the control of a senior bureaucrat. The Tsar appointed all
bishops. A clerical career was not a route chosen by upper-class society. Most
parish priests were sons of priests, were very poorly educated, and very poorly
paid. The monks in the monasteries had a slightly higher status; they were not
allowed to marry. Politically, the church was impotent.
In
1721 Peter followed the advice of Feofan Prokopovich in designing the Holy Synod.
It was a council of ten clergymen. For leadership in the church, Peter turned
increasingly to Ukrainians, who were more open to reform, but were not well
loved by the Russian clergy. Peter implemented a law that stipulated that no
Russian man could join a monastery before the age of 50. He felt that too many
able Russian men were being wasted on clerical work when they could be joining
his new and improved army.
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Peter I interrogating his son Alexei, a painting by Nikolai Ge
(1871)
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Marriages and family
Peter
the Great had two wives, with whom he had fourteen children; three of them
survived to adulthood. Peter's mother selected his first wife, Eudoxia
Lopukhina, with the advice of other nobles in 1689. This was consistent
with previous Romanov tradition by choosing a daughter of a minor noble. This
was done to prevent fighting between the stronger noble houses and to bring in
fresh blood to the family. He also had a mistress from Germany, Anna Mons.
Upon his return from his European tour in 1698, Peter sought to end his unhappy
marriage. He divorced the Tsaritsa and forced her into joining a convent. The Tsaritsa
had borne Peter three children, although only one, the Tsarevich Alexei,
had survived past his childhood.
He
took Martha Skavronskaya as a mistress some time
between 1702 and 1704. Martha converted to the Russian Orthodox Church and took the name
Catherine. Though no record exists, Catherine and Peter are described as having
married secretly between 23 Oct and 1 Dec 1707 in St. Petersburg. Peter valued
Catherine and married her again (this time officially) at Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg
on 9 February 1712.
His
eldest child and heir, Alexei, was suspected of
being involved in a plot to overthrow the Emperor. Alexei was tried and
confessed under torture during questioning conducted by a secular court. He was
convicted and sentenced to be executed. The sentence could be carried out only
with Peter's signed authorization, and Alexei died in prison, as Peter
hesitated before making the decision. Alexei's death most likely resulted from
injuries suffered during his torture. Alexei's mother Eudoxia had also been
punished; she was dragged from her home and tried on false charges of adultery.
A similar fate befell Peter's mistress, Anna Mons,
in 1704.
In
1724 Peter had his second wife, Catherine, crowned as Empress, although he
remained Russia's actual ruler. All of Peter's male children had died.
Issue
By his two
wives, he had fourteen children. These included three sons named Pavel
and three sons named Peter, all of whom died in infancy.
Name
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Birth
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Death
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Notes
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By
Eudoxia Lopukhina
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18 February
1690
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26 June 1718
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Married
1711, Princess Charlotte of
Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel; had issue
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Alexander
Petrovich
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13 October
1691
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14 May 1692
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Pavel
Petrovich
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1693
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1693
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By
Catherine I
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Peter
Petrovich
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1704
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in infancy
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Born and
died before the official marriage of his parents
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Paul
Petrovich
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1705
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in infancy
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Born and
died before the official marriage of his parents
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Catherine
Petrovna
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Dec 1706
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Jun 1708
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Born and
died before the official marriage of her parents
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27 January
1708
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15 May 1728
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Married
1725, Karl Friedrich, Duke of
Holstein-Gottorp; had issue
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29 December
1709
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5 January
1762
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Reputedly
married 1742, Alexei Grigorievich, Count
Razumovsky; no issue
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Maria
Petrovna
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20 March
1713
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27 May 1715
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Margarita
Petrovna
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19
September 1714
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7 June 1715
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Peter
Petrovich
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15 November
1715
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19 April
1719
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Pavel
Petrovich
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13 January
1717
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14 January
1717
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31 August
1718
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15 March
1725
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Peter
Petrovich
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7 October
1723
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7 October
1723
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Peter I on his deathbed, 1725
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Death
In
the winter of 1723, Peter, whose overall health was never robust, began having
problems with his urinary tract and bladder.
In the summer of 1724 a team of doctors performed surgery releasing upwards of
four pounds of blocked urine. Peter remained bedridden until late autumn. In
the first week of October, restless and certain he was cured, Peter began a
lengthy inspection tour of various projects. According to legend, in November,
at Lakhta along the Finnish Gulf to inspect
some ironworks, Peter saw a group of soldiers drowning near shore and, wading
out into near-waist deep water, came to their rescue.
This
icy water rescue is said to have exacerbated Peter's bladder problems and
caused his death. The story, however, has been viewed with skepticism by some
historians, pointing out that the German chronicler Jacob von Stählin is the
only source for the story, and it seems unlikely that no one else would have
documented such an act of heroism. This, plus the interval of time between
these actions and Peter's death seems to preclude any direct link.
In
early January 1725, Peter was struck once again with uremia. Legend has
it that before lapsing into unconsciousness Peter asked for a paper and pen and
scrawled an unfinished note that read: "Leave all to ..."
and then, exhausted by the effort, asked for his daughter Anna to be summoned.
Peter
died between four and five in the morning 8 February 1725. An autopsy revealed
his bladder to be infected with gangrene. He was fifty-two years, seven months old when he
died, having reigned forty-two years.
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The tomb of Peter the Great in the Peter and
Paul fortress. Photographed by Eino Mustonen
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Ancestors
Ancestors
of Peter the Great
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Monument to Peter the carpenter in St.
Petersburg
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Popular culture
Peter
has been featured in many books, plays, films, and games, including the poems The Bronze Horseman, Poltava
and the unfinished novel Peter the Great's Negro, all by Alexander
Pushkin. The former dealt with a The Bronze Horseman, an equestrian statue
raised in Peter's honour. Alexey Nikolayevich Tolstoy wrote a
biographical historical novel about him, named Pëtr I, in the 1930s.
- The 1922 German silent film Peter the Great directed by Dimitri Buchowetzki and starring Emil Jannings as Peter
- The 1937-1938 Soviet Union (Russia) film Peter the First
- The 1976 film Skaz pro to, kak tsar Pyotr arapa zhenil (How Tsar Peter the Great Married Off His Moor), starring Aleksey Petrenko as Peter, and Vladimir Vysotsky as Abram Petrovich Gannibal, shows Peter's attempt to build the Baltic Fleet.
- The 2007 film The Sovereign's Servant depicts the unsavoury brutal side of Peter during the campaign.
- Peter was played by Jan Niklas and Maximilian Schell in the 1986 NBC miniseries Peter the Great.
- A character based on Peter plays a major role in The Age of Unreason, a series of four alternate history novels written by American science fiction and fantasy author Gregory Keyes. Peter is one of many supporting characters in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle – mainly featuring in the third novel, The System of the World.
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