Peter I was an impostor who stole and imprisoned the real Russian tsar. It is to this conclusion that the researchers of the ruler's biography came.
The history of any country knows at least several hoaxes with false representatives of the ruling dynasties. Such conspiracies with the substitution of representatives of the ruling dynasty or with the concealment of the fact of their death were beneficial to the "gray cardinals" - the behind-the-scenes political players who had tremendous influence on the rulers or dreamed of gaining it. In the history of tsarist Russia, the most obvious substitute for the tsar can be considered the double of Peter I, who successfully ruled the country for many years. It is not difficult to compile a list of direct evidence of such a substitution from historical information.
1. Return of Menshikov
In the years 1697-1698, Peter headed a diplomatic mission called the Great Embassy, which went from Russia to Western Europe. Together with him, 20 nobles and 35 commoners took part in it, of which only Alexander Menshikov survived. All the rest were killed under unexplained circumstances, which Peter I refused to talk about with his close associates and representatives of the clergy until the end of his days. All these people knew the tsar well by sight and could confirm that another person had returned to Russia instead.
2. Wonderful transformation during the trip
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The deceased supporters of the king would indeed be difficult to convince that the impostor and their former ruler are one person. To prove the version of the substitution, one can compare two portraits taken before the departure of Peter I and immediately after his return to his homeland. He left the country as a man who looked 25-26 years old, with a wart under his left eye and a round face. Peter I was taller than average and fairly dense in build.
During the trip, a strange transformation happened to him: his height "stretched" to 2 meters 4 centimeters, he dramatically lost weight and "changed" the shape of his face. The man in the portrait, who has been absent from home for only a year, is at least 40 years old in appearance. After his arrival, many foreigners began to speak openly:
"Our Tsar!"
3. The abandonment of the family and the war with the sister
Of course, the one who replaced Peter I was hampered by his relatives, who could recognize the impostor at the first meeting. The tsar's sister, Sofya Alekseevna, had experience in governing the country and immediately realized that Europe had sent a replacement for her brother in order to have influence over such a large country. Sophia led the streltsy revolt, since in the ranks of the streltsy there were many like-minded people who managed to communicate with the replaced tsar and personally make sure that he did not look like Peter I. The revolt was suppressed, Princess Sophia was sent to the monastery, and everyone who decided to openly talk the false king, physical punishment and arrest were prescribed.
The new Peter acted no less cruelly with the wife of the one he pretended to be. Evdokia Lopukhina was almost the only person whom the tsar trusted as himself. During the Grand Embassy, he corresponded with her almost daily, but then communication ceased. Instead of her loving husband, Evdokia saw a cruel impostor, who immediately after her arrival sent her to the monastery and did not deign to answer any of her numerous requests to reveal the reasons for such an act. Peter I did not even listen to the clergy, who had previously had a strong influence on him and were against the imprisonment of Eudokia.
4. Poor memory for faces
Sister Sophia and the archers are not the only ones who were not recognized by the tsar who returned home. He could not remember the faces of other relatives and teachers, was constantly confused in names and did not remember a single detail from his "past life." His associates Lefort and Gordon, and then several other influential persons who persistently sought communication with the king, were killed under strange circumstances immediately after their arrival. It is also curious that the tsar "forgot" after his arrival about the location of the library of Ivan the Terrible, although the coordinates of its location were transmitted strictly from tsar to tsar.
5. The prisoner in the iron mask
Immediately after the departure of Peter I from Europe, a prisoner appears in the Bastille prison, whose real name was known only to King Louis XIV. The overseers called him Michael, which is a reference to the Russian name of Peter Mikhailov, which the tsar appeared to be on his travels when he wanted to remain unrecognized. The people called him "the iron mask", although the mask, which he was doomed to wear until his death, was velvet. Voltaire wrote that he knows who the prisoner is, but “like a real Frenchman,” he must remain silent. The appearance and build of the prisoner ideally matched the appearance of Peter I before leaving for Europe. Here's what you find in the warden's notes about the mysterious prisoner:
"He was tall, carried himself with dignity, he was ordered to be treated like a man of noble birth."
And it's all. He died in 1703, after the destruction of the body, the room was thoroughly searched, and all traces of his life were destroyed.
6. A sharp change in clothing style
From childhood, the tsar loved old Russian clothes. He wore traditional Russian caftans even on the hottest days, being proud of his origin and emphasizing it in every possible way. A Latinian returned to Russia from Europe, forbidding sewing Russian clothes for himself and never again wearing the traditional tsarist attire, despite the persuasions of the boyars and confessors. Until his death, the false Peter wore exclusively European clothes.
7. Hatred of everything Russian
Suddenly, Peter I hated not only the Russian style of clothing, but also everything that was associated with his homeland. He began to speak poorly and understand Russian, which caused bewilderment of the boyars at councils and social receptions. The tsar claimed that during the year of his life in Europe he had forgotten how to write in Russian, decided to refuse to observe fasting in spite of his former piety, and could not remember anything about all the sciences that he had been taught as a representative of the Russian upper nobility. But he acquired the skills of a simple artisan, which were even considered offensive to the royal people.
8. Strange disease
The royal physician could not believe his eyes when, after returning from a long trip, the ruler began to suffer from regular bouts of chronic tropical fever. It could have been contracted by traveling the southern seas, which Peter I never saw. The Grand Embassy traveled along the northern sea route, so the possibility of infection was excluded.
9. New combat system
If earlier the king made plans for foot conquests and horse battles, then Europe changed his approach to the very process of waging war. Having never seen sea battles, Peter demonstrated an excellent experience of boarding battles on water, which surprised all the military nobility. His combat skills, according to written records, had features that can be acquired by fighting on ships over the years. For the former Peter I, this was physically impossible: his childhood and youth were spent on land that had no outlet to the seas.
10. Death of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich
Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, the eldest son of Peter and Evdokia Lopukhina, ceased to be of interest to the false ruler when his own son was born. The new Peter I began to force Alexei to take monastic vows, showing dissatisfaction with the mere fact of his being at court - his son, whom he had previously doted on. Aleksey Petrovich fled to Poland, from which he planned to go to the Bastille (obviously, to get his real father out of there) on some personal business. Supporters of the false Peter intercepted him on the way and promised that upon his return he would take the throne with their support. After arriving in Russia, the tsarevich was interrogated by Peter I and killed.