The Orthodox Church
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| Bust of General Gordon |
Instead of
capitalising on his coup Peter now returned to his adolescent games at
Preobrazhenskoe and Lake Plaschev. Natalya and her advisers ruled in Ivan and
Peter’s names. But Natalya and her friends lacked Sophia’s drive and
determination. The Ukraine was not defended from Tartar attack, law and order
decayed in the countryside and corruption was rampant. In addition Eudoxia’s
relatives descended on Moscow to take advantage of her position. And contrary
to the course the younger Czar was taking, the Patriarch encouraged hatred of
foreigners.
Joachim was
unable to control Peter, who spent much of his time in the German Suburb with
his foreign friends. On 10th March 1690 Peter invited General Gordon
to dine at court, in honour of Czarevitch Alexis’ birth. Joachim protested
vehemently and Peter withdrew the invitation. His opinion of the Patriarch was
made clear by his actions the following day, when he dined at his country house
with Gordon and then rode back to Moscow beside him.
On 17th
March the hostile Joachim died suddenly. He left a testament demanding that
Peter appoint no foreigners to state or military positions[i]. Peter’s immediate
response was to order a new set of German clothes and to dine with General
Gordon in the German Suburb.
Patriarch Adrian
Peter backed
the more westward leaning Marcellus, a scholarly churchman for the post of
Patriarch. His mother and her advisers (and the majority of the faithful)
backed the more conservative Adrian. After a contest lasting several months Natalya’s choice of
candidate was given the post. Peter was disgusted by the appointment, telling
foreign visitors some years later
When the Patriarch in Moscow
was dead, he [Peter] designed to fill that place with a learned man, who had travelled,
who spoke Latin, Italian and French….the Russians petitioned him in a
tumultuous manner not to set such a man over them, alleging three reasons:
first, because he spoke barbarous languages; second, because his beard was not
big enough for a Patriarch; and third, because his coachman sat upon the coach
seat and not on the horses as was usual.’[ii]
Peter’s Friends and Advisers
Anna Mons house in the German Suburb
In 1690
Peter made friends with François Lefort[iii] who, with General
Gordon, was to become most closely associated with Peter. At Lefort’s home
Peter was to meet the woman who was to become his mistress, Anna Mons[iv]. Anna was an ambitious woman and was
to remain Peter’s mistress for twelve years; she had hopes of replacing
Eudoxia, who Peter could not bear.
Peter had
numerous friends in the German Suburb, but he also continued his friendships
with the boys from his Preobrazhenskoe days. He also attracted the company of
elder men, eager to work for the anointed Czar. Much of his time was spent on
his war games, which became ever more elaborate. It was through these war games that Peter was
taught the art of war by his foreign friends; nor did he neglect his passion
for boats during this period.
Archangel
Archangel
was the only seaport the Russians possessed and it was Peter’s enthusiasm for
the idea of sea power that drew Peter.
‘’I then decided to see the
open sea, and began often to beg the
permission of my mother to go to Archangel. She forbade me such a
dangerous journey, but, seeing my great desire and unchangeable longing,
allowed it in spite of herself.’[v]
On 11th
July 1693 Peter, Lefort and many of his foreign friends departed Moscow in a
party of over one hundred on a trip to Archangel; by road and river a journey
of one thousand miles.
Peter was
fascinated by the sea and was greeted by a yacht, the St Peter, which had been
constructed for him. He took the yacht out to sea in a convoy of English and
Dutch ships leaving for Europe. Peter accompanied them to where the White Sea
meets the Arctic and then he reluctantly turned back. Before his return to
Moscow Peter laid the keel of a vessel larger than his little St Peter and
ordered a Dutch built frigate from Amsterdam.
Change
Natalya died
suddenly on 4th February 1694, aged forty two, only a few weeks
after Peter’s recovery from a fever that laid him low from November 1693 to
January 1694[vi].
His mother’s death filled Peter with grief. He did not attend her funeral, only
visiting her grave to pray alone.
Czarevna Natalya
Peter now
transferred his love to his younger sister Natalya, but she was to be unable to temper
his enthusiasms. All the brakes on his behaviour were now gone. Less than three
months after his mother’s death Peter took part in the great court Easter
procession. It was the last time he would ever be involved in Kremlin
ceremonials.
Peter returned
to Archangel that summer, returning reluctantly to Moscow in early September to
oversee the last of his great military peacetime manoeuvres. It was during this
period of his life that Peter’s fits[vii] commenced. They made him
seriously shy, concerned that strangers would see him.
A Campaign in Tartary
During the
winter of 1695 Peter became obsessed with the idea of travelling. He announced
another campaign against the Tartars; the objective was the fortress of Azov. This
decision was made partly in view of Jan Sobieski’s threat to make peace with
the Ottomans; a peace which would ignore Russia’s needs.
Two armies
were formed to make separate attacks; one was led by Gordon and Lefort, which
was to move down the Don and attack Azov. The other army, under Russian command,
was to travel down the Dnieper and attack Oshakov and Kazikerman. For fourteen
weeks Gordon’s army pounded Azov and the siege was eventually raised on October
12th.
The retreat
was a disaster, costing lives and equipment. Peter attempted to mask the
disaster by staging a triumphal march through Moscow. Like Galitzyne’s attempts
if fooled no-one. There were harsh words uttered against the foreigners
influencing the Czar; compounded by the relative success of the Russian army,
who had taken their objectives. Peter determined to make another attempt on
Azov; starting over winter a shipyard was built at Vorozneh on the Don, to
build a massive fleet to attack Azov in the summer.
On February
8th 1696 Czar Ivan died. Peter immediately offered his protection to
his brother’s wife and her daughters; thereby gaining Czarina Praskovia’s
allegiance for the rest of her life. Peter was now the sole Autocrat of the
Russian state.
Return to Azov
The siege of Azov
In late May
the Russian army encamped around the fortress of Azov. Possibly suffering from
hubris the Turks had not removed the previous year’s earthworks, and on June 8th
the Russians opened fire, after the Turkish Pasha in charge of the fortress
refused an offer for surrender. When Natalya begged Peter not to go near the
fighting he replied;
‘It is not I who go near to
cannon balls and bullets, but they come near to me. Send orders to them to stop
it.’[viii]
On July 27th
two thousand Cossacks, fed up with digging and carrying earth, stormed part of
the walls of the fortress. The following day a general assault was ordered to
capitalise on the Cossacks’ gains. Before it could commence the Turks
surrendered.
Peter
ordered the building of a fort and harbour to shelter his new fleet, intended
to dominate the Black Sea. Taganrog was to become the first Russian naval base.
The
Muscovites were stunned by this first Russian victory since the days of Czar
Alexis. Peter did not head the parade, but walked with other galley captains
behind the carriage of Admiral and General Lefort. This giant of a man,
towering over the other marchers, was easily recognised as their eccentric
Czar.
Forming a Navy
Peter
summonsed his council of boyars and informed them of his plans to colonise Azov
and Taganrog and his determination to construct a navy. Three thousand peasants
and their families and three thousand Streltsy and their families were to be uprooted
and despatched to Azov as military colonisers. In addition twenty thousand
Ukrainian labourers were sent to Taganrog to build Peter’s new harbour.
The church,
landowners and merchants would join the state in paying the costs of Peter’s
new navy. All the ships were to be constructed, equipped and armed within a
period of eighteen months. The timber would be provided by the state. The order
was harshly enforced. When merchants complained of having to provide twelve
ships the number was increased to fourteen.
On 22nd
November 1696 Peter announced that he was sending more than fifty Russians to
Western Europe to study seamanship, navigation and shipbuilding. No-one was to
return without a certificate signed by a foreign master attesting to the student’s
proficiency and they were to travel at their own expense.
Fedor Golovin
Two weeks
later the Foreign Ministry announced that Lefort, General Fedor Golovin and Councillor Prokofy Voznitzyn
were to travel to Western Europe, visiting England, Rome, Venice, the
Netherlands and Denmark in what was to become known as the Grand Embassy. What was not announced was that the Czar was to travel with
them. Peter was hoping to expand the alliance[ix] against the Turks.
Peter’s
alias, Bombardier Peter Mikhailov, was to protect him against being caught up
in ceremonial duties. But he was quick to take offence if he was not treated
with suitable dignity. The one place Peter was not going to visit was France,
whose desire for hegemony over Europe was at odds with Peter’s plans to oppose
the expansion of Turkish influence in Eastern Europe.
Bibliography
Natasha’s
Dance – Orlando Figes, Penguin Books Ltd 2002
Russia and
the Russians – Geoffrey Hosking, The Penguin Press 2001
William and
Mary – John van der Kiste, Sutton Publishing 2003
Peter the
Great – Robert K Massie, Abacus 1992
William and
Mary – Henri & Barbara van der Zee, History Book Club 1973www.wikipedia.en
[i]
To avoid the faithful being given orders by heretics
[ii]
Peter the Great - Massie
[iii]
Who married a cousin of General Gordon’s
[iv]
She had already slept with Lefort
[v]
Peter the Great - Massie
[vi]
Peter was seriously ill and it was believed that he would die.
[vii]
Possibly epileptic seizures induced by his fever the previous winter
[viii]
Peter the Great - Massie
[ix]
Weakened by the death of Jan Sobieski
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