Contemporaries of Peter 1 played an important role in his transformative activities. By apt definition A.S. Pushkin, they were all “Petrov’s nests”. It is a well-known fact that the success of a ruler’s policy is very often determined by the environment that he chooses for himself. In this regard, the reign of Peter Alekseevich was one of the most fruitful and interesting in history.
General characteristics of the era
Contemporaries of Peter 1 were part of his entourage. All of them were somehow connected with the beginning of his reign. Many of them began their careers even at a time when he was quite fascinated by the creation of amusing regiments at a very young age. Subsequently, they occupied leading command and administrative posts in the army and command. One of them was A.D. Menshikov. The features of the time in question were such that the favor of the ruler often determined the ups and downs of the favorites and close ones. At the end of the 17th century, a social recruitment system was not yet formed, which began to function only in the second half of the 18th century, when the bureaucratic apparatus was finally formed in our country. During the reign of Peter Alekseevich, the personal disposition and grace of the monarch determined the career of one or another close.
Alexander Danilovich
A striking example of the above is Menshikov. According to the most common version, it came from a family of merchants. Despite his origin, he was very smart, quick, and had outstanding abilities. Since Peter appreciated in people not their generosity and origin, but their abilities, he immediately brought the gifted young man to himself. He was illiterate, but he was best able to please the king. He always coped with those assignments that the rest could not afford. Since contemporaries of Peter the Great played an important role in strengthening his power, Menshikov was no exception. He proved himself in the Northern War as a talented commander, for which he was subsequently generously rewarded.
Lefort
Foreigners were often surrounded by the emperor. One of the most famous is F. Lefort. He was Swiss by birth, but this did not prevent him from becoming a loyal assistant to the emperor. He was the organizer of the so-called amusement regiments of the king, participated in the Azov campaigns. Contemporaries of Peter 1 did not always appreciate him, but the future emperor himself considered him his best friend. Lefort was an educated man and, of course, had a great influence on the young ruler with his mind, education, and intelligence. That is why he headed the great embassy in Europe at the end of the 17th century, in which the tsar himself took part under the name of the officer Pyotr Mikhailov.
Gordon
Another foreigner surrounded by Peter Alekseevich was P. Gordon. He was an excellent military organizer. He, like Menshikov and Lefort, is credited with organizing the famous amusement regiments. He was an excellent military strategist with vast experience, in addition, he possessed extensive theoretical knowledge. At the time of the decisive clash between the king and his sister Sophia, he sided with the first. That is why the future emperor especially trusted him. Gordon took part in many important events of his reign. So, it was he who suppressed the Streltsy rebellion in 1698.
Romodanovsky
Companions of Peter 1 occupied an important place in governing the country and its reform. It is known that the emperor was interested in the fact that the people around him were faithful and knew their job. It is to such people that Fedor Romodanovsky belongs. He came from a noble noble family and was close to the royal court from childhood. At a very young age, he was appointed a steward, since his father was close to Alexei Mikhailovich. Subsequently, Romodanovsky became one of the most loyal to Peter 1 people. It is indicative that the boyar himself, in everyday life and in his worldview, was a man of the old order, for the eradication of which the new king was fighting. He belonged entirely to the past century, but, nevertheless, supported the transformation of the young king and became his main confidant.
During his absence, Pyotr Alekseevich instructed him to rule the state, which indicated a special trust of the tsar in this severe boyar. Romodanovsky enjoyed the special privilege of entering the tsar at any time without a report, which indicates an important place that he occupied in the administration. He participated in the suppression of the Streltsy rebellion in 1698. He was the actual head of Moscow and after one of the fires was engaged in its restoration. The influence of the boyar was so great that no one dared to enter his courtyard, and even the sovereign himself left his one-winged truck at the gate, visiting his friend.
Shein
Peter 1 and Catherine 2 possessed an amazing ability to find for their environment not only devotees, but also very capable, talented and gifted people. This common feature of their reign was so obvious that special names even appeared in the literature for their circle: the above statement by Pushkin, and with reference to the circle of the empress, they began to talk about the nobles of Catherine’s time. Another prominent figure of the time of Peter Alekseevich was Shein. He became famous for his military and diplomatic abilities. He participated in diplomatic and military missions. So. He took part in the Prut campaign. During the years of the Northern War, he also took part in the largest and most important battles, for which he was granted the rank of generalissimo.
Osterman
He was still a prominent figure in the Petrine reign. He was a very capable and skilled diplomat, politician. Osterman was engaged in legislative activity. Peter 1 wanted to organize the administration and management according to the Western European model. He knew the system of European administration well and tried to apply its principles to Russian reality. However, the peak of the heyday of Osterman's activity falls on the years of the reign of Anna Ivanovna.
Kurakin
This famous figure of Peter's time was remembered for leaving his very interesting memoirs about this time. A thoughtful and observant man, he kept on paper all his memories and impressions of that era of the emperor's transformative activity, of which he became a contemporary. In his works, in addition to his own autobiography, there are also observations of those countries that he visited, as well as sketches of approximate rulers.
Tatishchev
He is called the "father of Russian history." He is rightly considered the founder of historical science. But he began as a talented and administrator during the reign of Peter 1. He held a wide variety of positions and performed a wide variety of duties and assignments. He was in charge of factories, supervised industrial production, and studied coinage and engineering. In addition, he was entrusted with the compilation of a map of Russia, which, in fact, prompted him to take up history on a professional level. Its significance also lies in the fact that he was the ideologist of Peter's reforms: adhering to rationalism, he warmly approved the transformation of the emperor. However, he believed that the latter does not pay enough attention to the development of industry and trade.
Common features
All these people have one thing in common - the fact that they were completely devoted to the cause of the transformative activities of Peter the Great, who, after the successful completion of the Northern War, assumed the title of Emperor and All-Russian autocrat. Each of them proved to be in different areas. They were people of different social status and origin, but the ruler was on an equal footing. In each of them he appreciated their abilities and talents and found them the necessary application. This was the success of his work: in that the last tsar of all Russia found his assistants at the right time and in the right place.