Peter I: Presidential Library materials illustrate the way from “cabin boy” to Great emperor

November 2, 2018 marks 297 years since the day when Russia became the Empire and Tsar Peter I assumed the title Great. The history of this era - transformations, glorious victories and the formation of our country as a world power - is widely represented in rare materials from the Presidential Library’s collections.

The life journey of Peter the Great is a whole series of truly great things, which fruits the Russian people still enjoy. However, not the reference points in the chronology of the events of those years reflect best of all the first Russian emperor. Episodes from his everyday life, characteristic portraits and evaluation of his contemporaries and descendants, perhaps the most speaking proof of why Peter Alekseevich Romanov was once called the Great.

The future Russian autocrat was born on May 30, 1672 in the family of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Tikhayshiy and his second wife, Tsarina Natalia Kirillovna Naryshkina. Peter was one of sixteen children, but he stood out among all of them: as if in a fairy tale, the child grew by leaps and bounds, and he also had a sharp and flexible mind. Russian philologist S. V. Solovyov writes in his work “Peter the Great: Three Readings” (1898), which is available on the Presidential Library portal: “All these sons were very sick, and three of them died in their youth . This was not the prince Peter; already in the cradle he was distinguished by extraordinary health, strength and a lively disposition, and he was extremely pleased his parent. He began to speak and walk pretty early, and according to legend, he was so alive that he didn’t walk, but ran. The liveliness of his temper increased with each passing year, and he spent all his time in merry and noisy games, mainly in fresh air, which made the health and strength of the young prince more and more strengthened. Anyone, looking at the eight-year-old Peter, would say that this tall, strong, handsome boy is at least twelve years old”.  

It is known that from early childhood Peter was interested in military history and he himself dreamed of becoming a warrior. S. V. Solovyov tells in detail about the amusements of the young heir to the Russian throne: “The little prince had, of course, many different kinds of toys, but of them he loved most of all those which belonged to military affairs. So once he was presented with a small saber. T Tsarevich, not paying attention to all other toys, immediately put a saber on himself and not only did not take it off all day, but also asked him to put his favorite toy when going to the bed”.   

Along with weapons, the future sovereign of the Russian Empire was keen on handicraft. We can read about this in the writings of the historian A. G. Brikner “The History of Peter the Great” (1882): “When Peter turned twelve years old, various craft tools, such as tools for stone work, for printing were delivered to the court for the prince and binding books, as well as a workbench and a lathe".   

Since young age Peter has the nature of the future talented strategist and commander, who should always be a friend and father to his soldiers and sailors.. The aforementioned book “Peter the Great: Three Readings” says that the comrades of his youth, with whom he fought side by side in “amusing” battles, the tsar did not forget: “When Peter grew up, he did not stop his games, but, on the contrary, loved them more. To his peers, he joined many more courtyards, poor noblemen, and many people, and made up a whole small army, called amusing. Peter dressed his children and trained them in a foreign manner and subsequently formed two regiments of them - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky, named after the two villages near Moscow, where the Tsar spent most of his time teaching his army and making approximate battles”.

In his essay “Peter the Great: the spiritual element in the military and political activities of the sovereign” (1897), which is available on the Presidential Library portal, the military agent of the Russian Empire, Mitrofan Marchenko, notes that Peter Alekseevich, paying personal attention to everything he undertook, was always one step ahead: “Peter I didn’t care for each business (no matter how little it was) never implemented the measure of his own short life and always knew how to outline the major features of those tenacious ideas that dominate time”.  

Having finally reigned on the Russian throne after overcoming a whole chain of palace intrigues and plots, Peter did not rest on his laurels, and instead of a crown put on a carpenter's robe and went to Europe to study shipbuilding and other sciences! The famous historian and teacher S. Ye. Rozhdestvensky tells in his book “About Peter the Great” (1872) about how the sovereign went into service to an experienced Dutch skipper: ““If you want to study, he said, then start from the position of a cabin boy” . “And what is this position?” asked the tsar. - “Here, come, lit up my pipe. You must learn to serve others until you learn to command". - The tsar rushed to the kitchen, grabbed a coal and instantly executed the order of his teacher. "Well", said the skipper, "now climb the mast". He was horrified when the tsar bravely began to climb to the very top of the mast. But Peter demanded the continuation of the lessons and thus went through the entire naval service to the officer's rank”.  

The fact that the Russian tsar worked in the Netherlands at shipyards as an ordinary carpenter was also widely known - he so fully wanted to comprehend the skills of local shipbuilders, in order to teach him his subjects. At the same time, even in the days of rest, Peter did not sleep in bed after hard work - he walked around the Dutch factories, studying their technologies and production. S.V. Solovyov describes the episode of a visit to a future emperor of a paper factory: “Peter looked at the work for a long time, finally could not resist, took the form from the nearest worker, scooped a paper pulp from the vat and poured the sheet, and so successfully.

Peter also visited England - in modern terms, for advanced training. Having admired the qualities of the Russian tsar, the English king personally demonstrated to him the combat capabilities of the British fleet, which at that time was the strongest in the world. After that, Peter I said the famous words: "If I had not been tsar in Russia, I would have wished to be an admiral in England".

Nothing seemed to blur the clear mind of Peter Alekseevich. The Polish historian Kazimir Waliszewski mentions in his book “Peter the Great” (1908): “Of course, this brain was a special device. The properties and the breadth of its volume are involuntarily called up for comparison with Napoleon I. The same continuous tension without visible fatigue. The same powerful flexibility and resourcefulness. The same ability to engage in a countless number of objects, the most dissimilar to each other, the most unequal in value, without any noticeable waste of mental abilities, without any weakening of the ability to cover each subject separately".

One of the main differences of Peter I and from other rulers, and from his contemporaries on the thrones of the countries of the world, was his military career, which the Russian emperor made personally, without the privileges corresponding to his position. Peter Alekseevich went from a soldier to a captain in the ground forces and from a sailor to a vice-admiral in the fleet. Indeed, do we know many examples when the first person of the state or a prominent commander is only one soldier ration? S. V. Solovyov described in detail: “When recruitment was made in Russia and a standing army was established, a certain amount of foodstuffs was determined for the soldiers, which they had to receive per day, but before entering this ration, the tsar decided to try it out. He lived for a month eating only soldiers' food, and only then ordered to give this ration to the whole army, when he himself was convinced that it was enough to satisfy a person”.

Peter, like no one else, was able to appreciate the merits of his subjects, always loved the truth, whatever it was, Solovyov says, and tells a curious story about how the Russian emperor received the title of vice-admiral: “In the fleet, he achieved the rank of rear admiral and after serving for several years in this rank, he filed a request for production with the vice-admiral who managed the fleet of the admiralty-collegium, enumerating his merits on the basis of which, it seemed to him, he had the right to be promoted. The board, having considered the royal petition, replied that he really deserved the promotion, but that now it cannot be made, because there is another counter-admiral who has more merits than the tsar, and which therefore has to be made earlier. Peter was very pleased with such an impartial decision of the Admiralty Board and was promoted to the rank he desired only some time after he had gained a great naval victory over the Swedes under Gangut”.  

The Battle of Gangut of 1714 is one of the most vivid episodes not only in the history of the glorious deeds of Peter, but also in the history of all Russia. This was the first victory of the Russian fleet over the Swedish. After this triumph, the enemy began to actively lose ground, which led to the final defeat of Sweden in 1721 and the end of the 20-year Northern War. It was possible to achieve such an outcome largely due to the contribution of Peter I. At the right moment, when the victories were far away and Russia was still defeated by the Swedes, he managed to raise the morale of the people by word and deed and turn the tide of the war. Here what S. Ye. Rozhdestvensky’s book says: “In unhappiness, difficult circumstances, the greatness of man is known.  Peter now discovers this greatness of his soul.“Gentlemen Swedes, he said after the Narvsk defeat, maybe even beat us more than once, but we will learn how to defeat them”. To encourage the people who have fallen in spirit, he rushes like a storm from one end of Russia to the other. Everywhere and for everyone he looks, sets everything in motion, sets an example in everything; in one place he is taken for an ax, in the other for the hammer, he is encouraging some, he is forcing others. And woe was to the one who thought at that time to get rid of work for the common cause!”

The triumph over Sweden was truly national. Petersburg met Peter, who himself brought this news. Founded by the tsar, the city decided to thank its creator and gave him the title Great. He himself became the capital of the Russian Empire: “All the most distinguished dignitaries approached the tsar, and the main of them, speaking forward, made a speech in which, by the way, the following significant words were said to Peter: “By your vigorous labor, your single leadership, the tsar, we from the darkness of ignorance and insignificance to the theater of glory of the whole world entered and joined the educated nations". In conclusion of the speech, he asked the tsar to take on the title of the Father of the Fatherland, the Great and the Emperor of the All-Russia on behalf of all his subjects. Peter accepted this award with humility, and since then our tsars have been called emperors”.

Concerning the foundation of St. Petersburg in 1703, certainly one of the main achievements of Peter the Great, it is important to note that the emperor himself treated the city with particular love. Here what S. Ye. Rozhdestvensky writes: “The Tsar himself chose a place for a fortress on an island, which seemed to him better and more convenient than others. This island was called by the Swedes Lust-Ehlant, or a fun island. Peter with his own hands cut down a birch tree here, made a cross and set it up, saying: “There will be a fortress and a church in the name of the holy [apostles] Peter and Paul”. Therefore, the city became known as St. Petersburg, that is, the city of St. Peter. At first, the fortress was wooden, and after a few years they began to take it out of stone ... Peter fell in love with the new city as his creation, but mainly because with the foundation of it a sea route opened up to enlightened Europe, from which the Russians were to receive scientific information and various goods. He called it paradise ... "

Studying the history of life and the reign of Peter the Great, it is easy to understand why his people loved him so much and why, on January 25, 1725 - the day when the emperor passed away - became a real grief for all of Russia. After all, Peter died from a cold, which he received by rescuing ordinary soldiers who were drowning near Lakhta. - he threw himself into the cold winter water and pulled out 20 people…

In memory of Peter, cities and large geographical objects were named after him, monuments are being erected to this day, feature films and documentaries are being shot, historical studies devoted to his personality and time are being published. The flagship of the Northern Fleet - the heavy nuclear missile cruiser "Peter the Great" bears his name.