The Presidential Library spotlighting Peter the Great’s death

The day of February 8 (January 28, old style) is marked in the history of Russia by a tragic event - the death of Peter the Great.

There are many disputes not only around the life of the great reformer Peter the Great, but also around the circumstances and causes of his death in 1725.

The outstanding figure of the Russian Academy of Sciences Jacob von Stehlin back in 1793 in his collection "Genuine anecdotes about Peter the Great, heard from the lips of famous people in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and extracted from oblivion by Yakov von Stehlin", which is available in the collections of the Presidential Library (“jokes” at that time called short stories) wrote: “About the death of Peter the Great, such various news were told, written and distributed that, finally, society both inside and outside the Russian State was perplexed, and maybe not yet knows which of these conflicting rumors you believe more. Since then, the death of Peter I has remained an unsolved mystery to the end, to shed light on which only the memories of his entourage and the opinions of doctors - the sovereign's contemporaries - help to shed light on it.

According to one version, the main reason for Peter's death at the age of 52 was the severe course of an "internal" illness. According to the information told to Jacob Stelin by the court physician of the emperor Paulson, back in the winter of 1723, Peter the Great felt an “internal illness”, but did not show it until the summer of 1724, when he no longer had the strength to endure. Upon learning of this problem, the life physician Blumentrost was frightened. He "could not sleep for several weeks, both day and night, lower from the yard to leave”. In the company of a pharmacist and doctor, Paulson treated Peter with frequent washes and poultices. Peter actually spent four months in bed before the long-awaited improvement appeared. Deciding that the disease had receded, the active and tireless Peter, for whom his forced confinement in his own chambers was the punishment, ordered the yacht to be prepared. Taking with him Blumentrost, who, of course, dissuaded him in every possible way from premature trips, the sovereign went to enjoy the voyage. On the way back to St. Petersburg, according to one version, which is more of a legend, Peter the Great saw a large boat with soldiers and sailors run aground near Lakhta, and sent his boat to help.

The New Year 1725 began for the emperor with festive fun, which was inexorably followed by the deterioration of his already poor health. Following the Epiphany holidays, he got a cold at that time and due to non-compliance with the diet laid down for him, the disease that tormented him worsened. And yet, bodily suffering "did not overshadow his bright mind", and until the last he did not stop Peter in solving state affairs. Peter spent the first half of January in work and plans for further transformation of the empire, but already on January 27 (January 16, according to the old style), a terrible increase in the disease completely deprived him of his strength, “stopped the eagle flight of his mind”, - according to Nikolai Lambin. The suffering of the monarch was truly terrible. “The great man, distinguished by extraordinary fortitude and patience, could not endure bodily pain and raised plaintive cries”. Despite the possible efforts of the doctors, in a very short time, the cries of Peter the Great, intensified by unbearable pain, were replaced by weak groans.

On February 2 (January 22), he confessed, and four days later the entire capital became aware of the dire situation of the sovereign. The people poured into the palace square and into the temples to serve prayers for the health of the emperor. According to some reports, not without exhortations from the members of the Synod, Peter decided to release criminals from prison so that they would pray for his recovery (excluding statesmen, murderers and inveterate robbers). A little later, they decided to release some of those sentenced even to death and eternal hard labor. But not a single prayer could save the great Peter. Feeling the approach of death, Peter demanded paper and a pen and began to write with a trembling hand, from which it was possible to make out only the words: "give everything away...". The pen fell from his hands, and the tongue already refused to serve him. The last word heard from Peter's lips was "after". “After that, only his groan was heard, piercing the heart”.

The physician Blumentrost, who treated Peter, in the last days of the sovereign’s terrible torments, asks to convene a council of St. Letters were urgently sent, but it was already too late - on February 8 (January 28) Peter the Great died. According to the testimony of Professor Boerhaave's nephew, which is cited by Yakov Stehlin, upon learning of the death of the Russian sovereign, the professor in amazement said the following: “My God! Is it possible that they allowed this great man to die, who could be cured for a five-kopeck medicine”.

After Peter's death, the question of succession to the throne became acute. The intrigues of the nobles began. Some members of noble families, among who were the Trubetskoy, Dolgoruky, Apraksin, Naryshkin, argued that it would be fair to return to the ancient law and make the emperor a successor in the male line - the grandson of Peter I, Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich. However, Peter's manifesto of 1722 canceled this order and made it possible to make his wife Catherine the ruler of Russia. Count Menshikov was especially interested in this successfully implemented scenario for the development of the country, who, in order to save his power, could resort to any most decisive measures.

The death of Peter marked the beginning of disputes not only around the choice of the heir to the throne, but also about the causes of his death. As expected, versions of the conspiracy also appeared. There was also a rumor about the involvement of Catherine herself, who was allegedly interested in the death of her husband, and they recalled her recent connection with Mons. There are many versions with the poisoning of Peter, but none of them has been confirmed.

Uncertainty in establishing the emperor's illness also gave rise to many probable causes of the death of Peter I. The first attempt to systematize all possible versions of the emperor's illnesses was made at the beginning of the 19th century by the famous medical historian, Professor Wilhelm Richter.

The body of Emperor Peter I was embalmed, and the death mask was removed from his face. Residents of St. Petersburg of all ranks and ages poured into the palace, "irrigating with tears a cold hand that sanctified all crafts with its sweat". To organize the funeral, a "Sad Commission" was created, and the burial itself took place 40 days later. Everywhere in St. Petersburg there was a "sad splendor". The Peter and Paul Cathedral was appointed as the burial place, and the entire road along which the funeral procession moved, from the palace to the church, was strewn with river sand and spruce forest.