How Peter 1 came to power is a question that interests everyone involved in the study of Russian history. This is one of the most famous and significant domestic rulers, who played a big role in the development of the country. Therefore, all the stages of his reign are important.
Peter's childhood
This article is devoted to how Peter 1 came to power. The future Russian autocrat was born in 1672. The exact place of his birth is unknown, according to some sources, this happened in the Kremlin’s Terem Palace, and according to others, in the village of Kolomenskoye or Izmailovo.
His father had a large number of children, the hero of our article became the 14th child in the family. Therefore, for many it remains a mystery how Peter 1 came to power, having so many competitors.
The decisive role in this was played by the fact that Peter was the first son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from his second marriage with Natalya Naryshkina.
When he was one year old, he was given to the nanny to raise. When he was only 4, his father died. His guardian was the elder brother Fedor. In childhood, they did not do much of it, he received a very poor education, wrote with errors until the end of his life, and later he had to make up for knowledge gaps in many subjects at a more mature age in practice.
The death of Fedor
Briefly telling how Peter 1 came to power, it is necessary to mention the Streletsky revolt. The tense situation that provoked him arose after the painful Fedor III died in 1682. Among the candidates for the throne were another potential king with poor health, Ivan and the young Peter, who was only 10 years old.
With the support of the patriarch, who at that time was Joachim, the Naryshkins elevated their protege to the throne. So Peter 1 came to power. A summary of subsequent events is outlined in this article.
Under the infant Peter the so-called great guardian became Artamon Matveev. For everyone who did not agree with this appointment, a version was invented of transferring the scepter from the dying Fedor to Peter, which did not find authoritative evidence.
Sophia v.
When it became known that Peter 1 came to power, the relatives of Tsarevich Ivan decided that their interests were infringed. At that time, a strong force in the capital was archers, of which only in Moscow there were about 20 thousand. The Miloslavskys clearly incited them to oppose the Naryshkins.
On May 15, 1682, all this led to an open conflict. The Naryshkins were accused of killing Ivan. To reassure the rebels, Peter was taken to the porch of the Kremlin, but this did not stop the uprising. Several supporters of the new prince were killed.
A few days later, the elected from the Streltsy troops began to demand that Ivan be recognized as the first king, and the younger Peter - the second. The Naryshkins agreed, on June 25 both princes crowned the kingdom. The next requirement was that Princess Sophia take over the actual leadership of the state due to the infancy of her brothers. Peter and his mother were even removed to the village of Preobrazhenskoye.
Passion for military affairs
Spending a lot of time away from the palace, Peter became more interested in military affairs. He created his own "funny" army, which included his peers in boyish games.
In 1686, even "amusing" artillery appeared, and adults were specially allowed to control heavy guns. Peter was actively interested in all kinds of sciences, he studied geometry, arithmetic, military affairs. Once in the Flax yard he saw an English boat. He ordered it to be repaired and lowered to Yauza.
By that time, he had already formed two "amusing" regiments - Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky. There were not enough experienced and knowledgeable people to command them, so Peter began to appear frequently in the German settlement. A lot of it began to attract in Western orders and customs. The young Russian sovereign began to smoke a pipe, go to German evenings with dances.
To reason with his son, his mother decided to marry him. The choice fell on the daughter of a roundabout Evdokia Lopukhin. Peter did not resist, but almost immediately after the wedding, he left his wife and left for Lake Pleshcheyevo.
Peter overthrows Sophia
The activities of Peter bothered Sophia, who understood that when he was 18, she would have to give up the throne. The first public conflict between them occurred in 1689. After the Mass on the feast of the icon of the Kazan Mother of God, Peter stated that his sister did not have the right to perform a procession with men. Then she picked up the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary and joined him in the procession. The discouraged Peter simply left the course.
The decisive event took place on August 7, when Sophia ordered the chief of the archers to equip a large detachment in the Kremlin to accompany the pilgrimage to the Donskoy Monastery.
At the same time, there was a rumor that Peter decided, together with his "amusing" regiments, to enter the Kremlin and kill the princess, as well as his brother Ivan. Sagittarius themselves decide to go to Preobrazhenskoe.
Peter's supporters inform him of impending uninvited guests. Peter hides in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. After the Streltsy rebellion, which the ruler remembers from early childhood, he developed a nervous disease: severe convulsions of the face appeared. On August 8, "amusing" regiments arrive at the monastery along with artillery.
On August 27, Peter issued a letter in which he ordered all regiments to appear at the Trinity. Most of the troops implicitly obeyed the legitimate ruler. Sophia admitted defeat, shortly afterwards she was imprisoned under strict supervision at the Novodevichy Convent.
Peter's brother actually ceased to be interested in public affairs, although until his death in 1696 he remained virtually a co-ruler.
The first years in power
After the overthrow of Sophia, people who supported the last few years, Queen Natalia Kirillovna, took the helm of the state. At the same time, Peter himself found state affairs boring, besides, the most important issues, such as the election of a patriarch, the declaration of war took place without his participation. All this repeatedly led to conflicts and aggravation of relations with those who tried to put pressure on the king.
After Natalya Kirillovna died, Peter decided not to dismiss the government she created, but ensured that it strictly obeyed him.
First decisions
After Peter 1 came to power, what were his first actions and transformations? To answer this question is extremely important in order to figure out where one of the most famous and successful Russian rulers began.
It should be noted that success in foreign policy remained priority for him. To do this, he continued the war with the Crimea and the Ottoman Empire.
Instead of taking a trip to the Crimea, which was planned by Princess Sophia, he decided to strike at the fortress of Azov, which belonged to the Turks at that time. The first campaign ended unsuccessfully, but in 1696 the fortress nevertheless surrendered. This significantly strengthened the Russian borders in the south.
From this article you will learn how Peter 1 came to power, what were his first actions. Briefly summing up the results of his main achievements at the very beginning of the reign, it is necessary to mention the Great Embassy.
It went to Western Europe in 1697. His main goal was to find allies in the struggle against the Ottoman Empire. In total, the embassy included about 250 people, it is believed that among them was incognito the Russian ruler himself under the name of the ordinary officer of the Preobrazhensky regiment Peter Mikhailov.
Interestingly, this was the first journey of the Russian tsar outside the state. The Great Embassy visited many large European cities, several hundred military and shipbuilding specialists were recruited, who moved to Russia, and modern equipment was purchased.
Power transfer
The reign of the hero of our article lasted until 1725. After Peter 1, his wife Catherine 1 came to power, she was his second wife.
At the same time, Catherine herself was little interested in state affairs. In fact, the country was ruled by the Supreme Privy Council and Prince Menshikov.
Festivities and revelry undermined the empress’s health, she died in 1727. Now you know who came to power after Peter 1.