20 shocking facts in favor of replacing Peter I during the Grand Embassy

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 16:23

Was Peter I a Russian man? This question is not as absurd as it seems at first glance. And they began to ask it for the first time not now, but more than three hundred years ago, but mostly in a whisper.

• The coincidence in time of the substitution of Tsar Peter I (August 1698) and the appearance of the prisoner in the "Iron Mask" in the Bastille in Paris (September 1698). In the lists of the Bastille prisoners, he was listed under the name Magshiel, which may be a distorted record of the Mikhailov, the name under which Tsar Peter traveled abroad. His appearance coincided with the appointment of a new commandant of the Bastille of Saint-Mars. He was tall, carried himself with dignity, and he always wore a velvet mask on his face. The prisoner was treated respectfully, well kept. He died in 1703. After his death, the room where he was kept was thoroughly searched, and all traces of his stay were destroyed.

• An Orthodox Tsar, who preferred traditional Russian clothing, left for the Great Embassy. There are two portraits of the tsar made during the trip, in which he was depicted in a Russian caftan, and even during his stay and work at the shipyard. A Latinian returned from the embassy, wearing only European clothes and never wearing not only his old Russian clothes, but even the royal attire. There is reason to believe that Tsar Peter I and the "impostor" differed in body structure: Tsar Peter was shorter and denser than the "impostor", the size of the boots was different, the "impostor" with a height of more than 2 meters, the size of clothes corresponded to the modern 44 size.

• In the portraits of Peter I (Godfried Kneller), made during the Grand Embassy, Peter had curly hair, short, bracketed, not on the shoulders, as Peter the Great later wore, a mustache slightly piercing, a wart on the right side of the nose. There are no warts in the lifetime portraits of Peter the Great. The age of "Peter the Great", which is confirmed by lifetime portraits dating back to 1698 -1700, is not less than 10 years older than Tsar Peter.
• The impostor did not know the location of the library of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, although this secret was passed on to all the kings, and even Tsar Peter's sister Princess Sophia knew and visited this place. It is known that "Peter the Great" tried to find the library immediately after returning from the "Great Embassy" and even conducted excavations for this in the Kremlin.

• After returning from the Grand Embassy, "Peter the Great" was hiding surrounded by conspirators, did not appear in public and did not even visit his closest relatives until the bloody executions of the archers were carried out, and the bloody "initiation" of the new confidants of the impostor passed (Surikov's picture is not corresponds to historical reality). It was that which began at the behest of Lefort, and perhaps Golovin as well, that the investigation of the "Streltsy Riot" and the subsequent executions, in fact, became a coup d'etat, the purpose of which was, first of all, to destroy the old armed forces that could oppose the impostor. In the second place, it became the bloody "baptism" of the new nobility - the "new Russians", who for the first time in Russia played the role of executioners.

• To commemorate the suppression of the "Strelets' revolt", a medal was struck for the destruction of the archers, which depicted Samson standing over a defeated serpent. All inscriptions are in Latin only. It is known that Samson was from the Danish clan, from where, according to prophecies, the Antichrist should come. It is also noteworthy that "Peter the Great", in contrast to Tsar Peter I, wore long hair, which is a sign of descent from the Danish clan. Later, on the occasion of the victory in the Battle of Poltava, a medal with the image of Samson was also knocked out. Earlier, a medal was struck on the occasion of the "Great Embassy", which depicts a horseman slaying a serpent. The image is not typical for those times - St. George the Victorious was always depicted without a headdress and without armor, and on the medal a full-fledged knight of the Western European model.

• At that time, the people directly spoke of the substitution of the king abroad, but these rumors and attempts to clarify this were brutally suppressed and called a conspiracy or rebellion. It was with the aim of preventing such rumors that the Secret Order was formed.

• Change of attitude towards his wife, with whom he lived in harmony for eight years. For the entourage of the "tsar" and historians, the true reason for Peter's cooling to his wife after returning from abroad is unknown. There are only versions that the queen was involved in a conspiracy against her husband, which, generally speaking, is incredible (encouraged the archers to speak out against the beloved king of the spouse?) And another that Peter was carried away by Anna Mons. The relationship with Anna Mons, who in fact has always been Lefort's mistress, was invented by word of mouth. Although the king gave royal gifts to her family for some kind of services. The proof is that after returning from abroad and sending her wife into exile, Anna Mons does not enjoy his attention, and after the sudden death of the young Lefort, Anna Mons is under house arrest. Since 1703, Catherine has been living with the "tsar". After his return, the "tsar" did not meet with his wife, Tsarina Evdokia, and she was immediately sent to the monastery. In exile, Queen Evdokia is in strict isolation, she is even forbidden to talk to anyone. And if this is violated, then the culprit was severely punished (impaled Stepan Glebov, guarding the queen).

• Debauchery. The strange behavior of the "king" after his return from abroad is noted. So he always took a soldier with him to bed at night. Later, after the appearance of Catherine, he simultaneously contained concubines. A similar debauchery was in the royal palace only under the impostor False Dmitry.
• The abolition of the Patriarchate in Russia and the subordination of the administration of the church to the secular authorities through the Synod, the organization of an amusing Council at the choice of the Patriarch. An attempt to “Protestantize” the Orthodox Church and even put it under the control of the Vatican. Subordination of the administration of the Orthodox Church to a native of the Vatican, who is entrusted with the reform of the Church. He tries to oblige the priests to convey what they say in confession if the repentant speaks of plans against the king or other crimes.
• Destruction of Russian folk traditions, the fight against them. Establishing the superiority of Latin Western culture over traditional Russian. Organization of Masonic Lodges (1700).
• The introduction of tobacco smoking in Russia, which is considered the greatest sin in Orthodoxy. Encouragement and inculcation of drunkenness.
• The murder of Tsarevich Alexei, although in Orthodox traditions for disobedience, from the point of view of his father, he could only be sent to a monastery, as Tsarevich Alexei requested.
• The transfer of the capital of Russia from Moscow to St. Petersburg to the very outskirts of the Russian Empire, while in the traditions of all states was the placement of the capital in the center of the state. Perhaps St. Petersburg was conceived by him or his advisers as the capital of the future united Europe, in which Russia, within the borders of Muscovy, was supposed to be a colony?
• The division of the Russian people into nobles and serfs by birth, the introduction of serfdom, in its meaning, corresponding to the creation of a slave state with slaves from its own people, in contrast to the ancient states, which made only prisoners of war slaves.
• The weakening and even freezing of the development of the Russian economy due to the tightening of ruinous taxes, the introduction of serfdom, the hard labor industry and serf factory workers, the cessation of the development of the regions of the Northern Urals, Arkhangelsk, Eastern Siberia, for almost 150 years until the abolition of serfdom in 1861.
• Tsar Peter visited Arkhangelsk and the Solovetsky monastery, where he made a wooden cross with his own hand in memory of salvation in a storm. He liked it there. "Peter the Great" consigned Arkhangelsk to oblivion. Only once he visited Arkhangelsk, in connection with the outbreak of the Northern War, for defensive capabilities, but at the same time he tried to avoid meeting old friends and acquaintances.
• Subordination of the foreign policy of the Russian state to the interests of Western European states.
• Creation of a bureaucratic machine for government.
• The establishment of power and control of foreigners, in the army, government, science, their privileges over the Russians, the distribution of titles of nobility, lands and serfs to them.

Based on materials from Evgeny Trofimovich Baida