Peter the Great is known to every Russian citizen as a great converter who ruled the country from 1689 to 1725. His reforms, carried out in the first quarter of the eighteenth century, according to historians, advanced the country two to five centuries in advance. For example, M. Shcherbatov believed that without Peter, Russia would have gone such a path in two hundred years, and Karamzin believed that the tsar had done in twenty-five years what others would not have done in six centuries. It should be noted that neither historian had any particular sympathy for the reign of Peter the Great, but they could not refuse him the significance of the reforms and a giant leap in the development of the country.
The king himself formed his retinue
The autocrat who was seated on the Russian throne was known for his versatile development, which left a significant imprint on what the associates of Peter 1. In order to please the tsar, he had to be a gifted, intelligent person, working like a ruler himself. And Peter the First, it must be said, was lucky for his comrades-in-arms, whom he masterfully chose from among the most diverse sections of the population and used their talents for the benefit of the Russian state.
Among the associates of the autocrat were immigrants from yard people
Some associates of Peter 1, whose list is significant, grew up with the king along with a small age. It is known that Alexander Danilovich Menshikov was from a simple family and worked as a cake maker in his youth, when he accidentally met the then-young king. A lively boy liked Peter, and Alexashka (as he was then called) became a soldier in a funny company and batman of the heir to the throne. In 1697, Menshikov was sent to study shipbuilding abroad, where he was inseparable from the king. During these years, the boy showed the qualities that the king was looking for in his favorites. He was betrayed, zealous, observant. He well adopted the rational way of thinking of his master, had high efficiency and completed business with complete dedication. Menshikov proved himself perfectly as the governor of Shlisselburg and the military steward during the operation near Noteburg.
Former pastry maker Menshikov successfully commanded regiments
The closest associate of Peter 1 proved himself to be excellent in other fields. It is known that it was he who organized the search for ores for the Baltic plant, when it was required to cast guns. In 1703, together with Peter Menshikov, he developed a plan to clean the mouth of the Neva from the enemy. In 1704, Alexander Danilovich carried out a brilliant operation to capture Narva, and by this time he was no longer a servant, but a comrade and ally of the great Russian emperor. His merits were noted by the autocrat in 1706, when the former cake maker received the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. The great prince now, however, remained the same temperamental, assertive, adventurous man and personally participated in some battles. For example, near Perevologna, his dragoons captured 16,200 enemy people.
Alexander Menshikov, an associate of Peter 1, actively participated in the development of the northern capital, and in 1712 he commanded the Russian troops in Pomerania, where he won another victory. After that, the king's favorite did not participate in military operations because of unhealthy lungs. In the civil service, he proved himself to be no less effective, fulfilling the duties of the governor of the capital lands, senator and president of the Military College. In addition, Menshikov carried out numerous personal instructions of the autocrat, including in relation to the children of the king.
Old Russian tradition: everyone steals!
The favorite, who, according to some reports, was illiterate until the end of his days, which did not distinguish the other associates of Peter the Great, participated in the investigation of the case of Tsarevich Alexei and personally compiled a list of people who signed the Tsar’s death sentence. After such cases, Menshikov became especially close with Peter, who did not significantly punish him for embezzlement (the total amount stolen was gigantic - 1,581,519 rubles). Under Peter the Second, Menshikov fell into disgrace, was stripped of all ranks and ranks, and sent to Ranienburg, then to Berezov, where he died in 1729, having outlived his king for four years. But before that, from 1725 to 1727, during the reign of Catherine, the wife of the deceased king, he was actually the uncrowned ruler of the richest empire of that time.
From Lithuanian swineherds to the Senate
What other characters do historians attribute to the associates of Peter 1? This list can be started with Prince Romodanovsky. You can also include Prince M. Golitsyn, Count Golovins, Prince Y. Dolgoruky, Baron P. P. Shafirov, Baron Osterman, B. K. Minikh, Tatishchev, Neplyuev, Lefort, Gordon, T. Streshnev, A. Makarov, J. V. Bruce, P. M. Apraksin, B. Sheremetev, P. Tolstoy. Peter I recruited people he liked everywhere and included him in his team. For example, it is believed that the general police chief of St. Petersburg, Devier, was a young man on a Portuguese ship, Yaguzhinsky, as some facts indicate, before the heyday of his career as a prosecutor general of the Senate, was a swineherd in Lithuania. Kurbatov, inventor of stamp paper and vice-governor of Arkhangelsk, left the yard people and so on. And all this "motley" company, which was composed of associates of Peter the Great, robbed the powers of the old boyar nobility.
Conflicts between the noble and rootless helpers of the king took place
Although among the assistants of the great autocrat there were people with more than an outstanding genealogy. For example, Boris Petrovich Sheremetev was a noble family, served as a steward, received the boyar title and worked at the embassy under Princess Sophia. After her overthrow, he was forgotten for many years. However, during the Azov campaigns, the tsar needed the talent of Sheremetev as a military commander, and Boris Petrovich justified his hopes. After that, Sheremetev perfectly fulfilled the diplomatic mission in Austria and the Commonwealth, and the tsar liked him pretty much for his good and quick training in Western manners in dress and behavior.
Many associates of Peter 1 participated in the military campaigns of their king. This fate did not bypass B. Sheremetev. His leadership talent manifested itself in 1701, when he defeated the Swedes with a group of 21,000 people, while the Russians lost only nine fighters to the dead. In 1702, Sheremetev captured East Livonia, in 1703 he took Oreshek fortress, and his victories and closeness to the Tsar ended there, as Peter considered Sheremetev to be too slow, too prudent, but admitting that he would not send soldiers to death in vain. Sheremetev, as a born aristocrat, was disgusted by the simple behavior of the tsar and the company of the rest, unreborn favorites. Therefore, the relations of the king and the field marshal were somewhat official in nature.
A descendant of the English kings in the service of Peter the Great
A companion of Peter I who came from Scotland deserved special love among the Russian nobility, and among ordinary people, and among foreigners from the royal circle. Gordon Patrick (Peter Ivanovich in Russia) was not a simple family, since his genes went back to the king in a straight line England, Charles the Second. He graduated from the Datsig Brausbor College, served in the Swedish troops, was captured by the Poles, from where, noticed by the ambassador in Warsaw Leontyev, he was transferred to serve in Russia, where he established himself in the army and received the rank of lieutenant general, was appointed to the administrative position in Kiev.
Then Gordon incurred the displeasure of Prince Golitsyn and was demoted, but subsequently reinstated in the rank and appointed commander of the Butyrsky regiment. In 1687, the young Peter the Great conducted a review of this army unit and was imbued with sympathy for a foreigner, who strengthened in 1689, during the events that led to the removal of Princess Sophia from the reign. After the Trinity campaign, the general, associate of Peter 1, Patrick Gordon becomes an autocratic teacher in military affairs. He does not give him a complete theoretical education, but he conducts many conversations, supported by practical actions. In the years 1695-1696. Gordon takes part in the siege of Azov, in 1696 with his help the rebellion of the archers was suppressed. This respected man died in 1699, and never caught major reforms in the Russian army. It should be noted that the ranks of Field Marshal under Peter belonged to his comrades-in-arms such as Y. V. Bruce, A. D. Menshikov, B. K. Minikh, B. P. Sheremetev.
He founded the area of modern Moscow
The admiral, an associate of Peter the Great, Franz Lefort, died, like Gordon, in 1699, at the age of 43. He came from a wealthy family, was born in Geneva. He arrived in Russia in 1675, since here he was promised the rank of captain. Lefort's successful career was facilitated by his marriage to a cousin of his first wife P. Gordon. He participated in the wars with the Tatars in Little Russian Ukraine, in both Crimean campaigns, during the reign of Sophia he used the location of Prince Golitsyn. Since 1690, Lefort, as a man of charming, keen mind, distinguished by courage, was noticed by Peter the Great and became a good friend to him, promoting European culture in the Russian environment. In Moscow, he founded the Lefortovo settlement, accompanied the king on trips to the White Sea, Lake Pereyaslav. He also participated in the idea of the Great Embassy from Russia to the European powers, which he headed.
Grigory Potemkin was never an associate of Peter the Great
Some inhabitants believe that the associate of Peter 1, Grigory Potemkin, made a great contribution to the development of the Russian state. One can argue about the role of Potemkin in this process for a long time, but one must take into account that he could not be a companion of Peter the Great in his actions, since he was born in 1739, fourteen years after the death of the great autocrat. Therefore, the activities of Potemkin fell during the reign of Catherine the Second, whose favorite was this statesman.