This amazing man, a companion of Peter I and an outstanding statesman, made a tangible contribution to world culture as a writer, historian, philosopher and orientalist. A member of the Berlin Academy since 1714, he in his writings marked the transition from scholastic medieval thinking to modern rational forms. His name is Dmitry Cantemir.
Childhood and primary education
The future politician was born on October 26, 1673 in the Moldavian village of Silisten. Subsequently, it went to Romania, and today is called Vaslui. At the end of the XVII century, it housed the residence of Konstantin Kantemir - the Moldavian ruler and father of the newborn Dmitry. About his mother, Anna Bantysh, it is known that she was a representative of one of the oldest boyar clans.
From early childhood, the formation of the personality of Dmitry Konstantinovich was greatly influenced by his teacher - the most educated person, the monk I. Kakavel. At one time he was known for numerous publications polemicizing with the preachers of Catholicism, as well as the author of a textbook of logic, according to which many generations of future philosophers and theologians comprehended this science.
Years spent in the Turkish capital
At the age of fifteen, Dmitry was in Istanbul. He arrived there not of his own free will, but as a hostage to the state subject to Turkey, which was the Principality of Moldova in those years. Being in such an unenviable position, he nevertheless does not waste time and continues to improve his education. In this, many scientists of the patriarch of the Greek-Latin Academy, which was at the time, like him, in the capital of the Shining Porta, render invaluable help to him.
Over the three years spent on the shores of the Bosphorus, a knowledge-hungry young man learned Greek, Turkish, Arabic and Latin, and also attended a course of lectures on history, philosophy and theology. His worldview developed in those years under the influence of the philosophical works of Anthony and Spandoni, as well as as a result of his acquaintance with the natural-philosophical ideas of Meletius of Art.
Military campaign and political intrigue
When in 1691 Dmitry Kantemir returned to his homeland, he was in the thick of the war that the Principality of Moldova waged with Poland. As the son of the sovereign, Dmitry was among the commanders who led the army of many thousands. In 1692, he distinguished himself in the siege of the fortress of Soroka, captured by the Poles. This was his first experience in conducting military operations and making decisions on which the life of a large number of people depended.
The following year, 1693, brought him numerous problems related to the internal political struggle in the country. The fact is that the father of Cantemir died, who was the ruler of Moldova until the last days of his life, and after his death the boyars chose Dmitry as the successor. But boyar will alone was not enough.
Since the principality was under a Turkish protectorate, the election result was to be approved in Istanbul. Kantemir’s political opponent, the ruler of Wallachia, Konstantin Brynkovyan, took advantage of this. He managed to influence the Sultan, and as a result, the candidacy of Dmitry was rejected.
At diplomatic work
After the failure that cost him the highest public office, Cantemir returned to Istanbul again, but this time not as a hostage, but with a diplomatic mission. He was appointed official representative of the Moldavian ruler at the court of the Sultan. This time, his stay on the shores of the Bosphorus proved to be longer. With minor interruptions, he lived in the Turkish capital until 1710.
This period in the life of Dmitry Cantemir was filled with events. He had to fight, but this time in the ranks of the Turkish army. And although the battle with the Austrians on the Tisza River, in which he took part, ended in a crushing defeat for the Sultan’s troops, nevertheless, it gave him rich military experience. While at diplomatic work, Cantemir made an extensive circle of acquaintances.
Among his new friends were representatives of science, the most famous of which was the famous Turkish scientist Saadi Effendi, and the ambassadors of many European countries. He became close to the Russian envoy Count Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy, acquaintance with which had far-reaching consequences.
Secret agreement with the Russian Tsar
In 1710, when the war between Russia and Turkey broke out, Kantemir, having received the Moldavian principality from the Turkish government, was obliged to participate in hostilities. However, secretly hating the enslavers of his homeland and pinning his hopes on Russian bayonets, he made contact with the Russian government in advance, using his new acquaintance, Count Tolstoy.
The Turkish authorities, placing high hopes on Cantemir, not doubting his loyalty, entrust him with preparing the Moldavian army for the war with Russia. Dmitry's responsibilities include the construction of bridges and crossings over the Danube, as well as providing the winter apartments for the Swedes who survived after the battle of Poltava that was fatal for them, and were ready to take revenge for their former defeat. On top of the mission, he was obliged to conduct secret surveillance of his former political opponent Brynkovyan, whom the Sultan suspected of treason.
While in 1711 in Slutsk, one of the largest cities in Western Ukraine, Prince Dmitry Kantemir, with the assistance of Count P.A. Tolstoy, sent his envoy Stefan Luke to St. Petersburg, who was entrusted with holding secret negotiations with Peter I and making an unspoken alliance with him on joint action against the Turks.
The contract, which was not destined to be implemented
From that time on, Cantemir began close cooperation with the Russian monarch. In the same year, 1711, he took an active part in the drafting of an agreement providing for the voluntary entry of Moldova under the jurisdiction of Russia on the basis of autonomy. One of the seventeen paragraphs of this document was declared a monarch personally by him, Dmitry Kantemir, with the right to transfer power to his direct heirs. At the same time, all the privileges of the boyars remained untouched.
The most important point of this agreement was the return of Moldova to all the territories captured by Porta, and the abolition of Turkish tribute. The implementation of the agreement marked the end of the Ottoman yoke. This met with enthusiastic support in all sections of Moldovan society and provided Cantemir with popular support.
Prut Treaty
However, such a rosy plan was not destined to materialize. To liberate the Moldavian lands in 1711, the thirty-eight thousandth Russian army set out on a campaign led by Count Sheremetev. In continuation of all military operations, Peter I was personally present at the headquarters of the commander in chief.
This campaign, which went down in history as Prutsky by the name of the river, where there was a general battle with the enemy’s army of twelve hundred thousand, was unsuccessful for the Russians. To avoid defeat from the superior forces of the Turkish army, Peter I signed a peace treaty, according to which Russia lost the previously conquered Azov and a significant part of the coast of the Sea of Azov. Thus, Moldova remained under Turkish rule.
Moving to Moscow and royal favors
Of course, after all that has happened, there was no question of returning to their homeland for all the Moldovans who served under the Russian banners. A thousand boyars arrived in Moscow, where they were given a very welcoming meeting. Cantemir came with them. Dmitry Konstantinovich was awarded the count title with the right to be called "lordship" for his fidelity to Russia.
In addition, he was assigned a substantial pension, granted extensive land in the current Oryol province. The settlements Dimitrovka and Kantemirovka located on their territory have survived to this day. The first of them acquired the status of a city with a population of five and a half thousand people, and the second became an urban-type settlement. To crown it all, Cantemir, as the lord of all immigrant Moldovans who arrived with him, received the right to manage their lives at his discretion.
European recognition of scientific works
In 1713, the wife of Dmitry Kantemir Kassandra Kontakuzin died. After her death, he continued to live in Moscow, maintaining communication with the most advanced people of that time. Among them, the most famous were the founder of the Latin-Greek Academy Feofan Prokopovich, V.N. Tatishchev, Princes A.M. Cherkassky, I. Yu. Trubetskoy, the outstanding statesman B.P. Sheremetyev. As a personal secretary and teacher of children, he invited the famous writer and playwright I. I. Ilyinsky.
By that time, many scientific works that Dmitry Kantemir had created over the years of his wanderings had gained European fame. Description of Moldova and Turkey, work on linguistics and philosophy brought him universal fame. The Berlin Academy of Sciences in 1714 accepted him into its ranks as an honorary member. Of course, Russian scientists also repaid the credit to the merits of their colleague.
Second marriage, moving to the banks of the Neva
In 1719, a significant event took place in his life - he enters into a new marriage. This time, Princess A.I. Trubetskaya becomes his chosen one. During the wedding ceremony, the sovereign Peter I personally held the crown over the groom’s head. It is difficult to imagine a great honor for a citizen of the Russian monarch. At the end of the festivities, Dmitry Kantemir and his family move to St. Petersburg, where he holds a prominent state post as adviser to Peter the East. Here he is among the persons closest to the king.
When in 1722 the sovereign undertook his famous Persian campaign, Dmitry Konstantinovich was next to him as the head of the state chancellery. On his initiative, a printing house appeared, where materials were printed in Arabic. This made it possible to compile and spread the appeal of the emperor to the peoples who inhabited Persia and the Caucasus.
Scientific works and the evolution of philosophical views
Even in wartime conditions, Cantemir, like many Russian scientists who fell into similar circumstances, did not stop scientific work. During these years, a number of historical, geographical and philosophical works came out from under his pen. As a tireless archaeologist, he studied the ancient monuments of Dagestan and Derbent. His views on the basic issues of the universe had undergone significant evolution by that time. In the past, an adherent of theological idealism, over the years he has become a rationalist, and in many cases even a spontaneous materialist.
So, for example, in his writings, he argued that the whole world, visible and invisible, is developing on the basis of objective laws predetermined by the Creator. However, the power of scientific thought is able to study them and direct world progress in the direction that people need. Among the historical works of Cantemir, the leading place is occupied by the works on the history of Porta and its native Moldova.
The end of a vibrant life
Dmitry Kantemir, whose biography is inextricably linked with the era of Peter's reforms and reforms, passed away on September 1, 1723. He spent the last period of his life in the estate Dimitrovka granted to him by the sovereign. The ashes of the faithful companion of Peter I was buried in Moscow within the walls of the Novogretsky Monastery, and in the thirties of the XX century was transferred to Romania, to the city of Iasi.
Daughter of Moldavian Lord
In one of the subsequent eras, during the reign of Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Kantemir from the second marriage of Katerina Golitsyna, born in 1720, became widely known. She received this surname when in 1751 she married Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn, officer of the Izmailovsky regiment. After the wedding, she was made favored by the Empress as a real state lady.
Having a considerable fortune and traveling a lot, Katerina Golitsyna spent several years in Paris, where she enjoyed extraordinary success in high society and at court. Her salon was one of the most fashionable in the French capital. When the spouse was appointed ambassador of Russia in Paris, she became a real star.
Her life was cut short in 1761 due to illness. Dmitry Mikhailovich was very upset by the death of his beloved wife. Having survived her for almost thirty years, on the slope of his days, he bequeathed to build a hospital for the poor in memory of his wife. This desire was fulfilled, and the Golitsyn hospital, which at the beginning of the 20th century became part of the First City Hospital, became a kind of monument to her beloved woman.
Palace on the Neva Embankment
The majestic building adorning the Palace Embankment of St. Petersburg reminds descendants of Dmitry Cantemir himself. This is the former palace of Dmitry Cantemir. Erected in the twenties of the 18th century, it is the first building built in the Northern capital by the outstanding Italian architect B.F. Rastrelli. You can see his photo above. However, the Moldavian gospodar himself was not able to live in it. He died when finishing work was still underway in the palace, but his name is forever associated with this masterpiece of architecture.