There were many mysteries in the life of Peter the Great. The biggest of them was his fantastic luck, thanks to which, in addition to his wonderful human and physical qualities, he left such a huge mark on the history of our country.
Fortune turned to face the king from his very birth. On May 30 (June 9, according to the new style), 1672, Moscow was announced with bell tints, which were interspersed with cannon salvos from the Kremlin towers - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Tsarina Natalia Kirillovna, nee Naryshkina, had an heir.
The birth was difficult, the baby was large, but nevertheless, the queen was safely relieved of the burden. The tsar had already lost hope of having a healthy child, after his first wife Maria Miloslavskaya gave birth to him a boy and a girl, very weak from birth and suffering from serious illnesses.
The boyars with a happy father examined the large baby and, marveling at his long body, sighed with relief: the child looked healthy and cheerful. Now the Romanov dynasty could count on a healthy and energetic heir to the throne.
After birth, luck did not leave Peter. The Tsar-father, faithful to the precepts of the house-building, did not single out the youngest son in any way. His mother took over his upbringing. The future Tsarina Natalia Kirillovna was brought up in the house of Artamon Matveyev, who was an ardent supporter of reforms and encouraged all kinds of innovations in everyday life. Matveyev's wife was the Englishwoman Maria Hamilton, who fled from Cromwell's persecution to Moscow and brought the traditions of foggy Albion to her Russian family.
Guests from the Nemetskaya Sloboda, foreign officers from the regiments of the "new order" and clerks of the Posolsky Prikaz visited the house of hospitable hosts, where they talked about foreign and military affairs. Only here one could constantly see theatrical performances of the German troupe, only here women were present at the table along with men.
After the birth of her son, the queen constantly visited the Matveyevs. At her request, foreign toys were brought to Peter - drums, tin cannons, sabers, maces, and the queen herself, ordering clothes for the child, tried to follow Western European fashion. The early childhood of the tsarevich was spent in the European home and its unique atmosphere, which later helped Peter to visit foreigners without prejudice and gain useful experience from them.
When it became necessary to switch from games to the compulsory training for Moscow princes, Peter was lucky again. At the request of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, the not very literate, but patient and affectionate clerk of the Great Parish Nikita Moiseevich Zotov was appointed teacher of Russian literature and the law of God to Peter, who not only did not seek to suppress the natural wit and restlessness of his royal offspring, but also managed to become a friend …
Promotional video:
"Uncle" did not even try to force the nimble child to sit for many hours on a straight-backed chair in order to develop the habit of the throne. He allowed the Tsarevich to run freely around the village of Preobrazhenskoye, climb in attics, play and even fight with noble and archer children.
When Peter got tired of running around, Nikita Moiseevich sat down next to him and, leisurely talking about incidents from his own life, cut out wooden toys. The Tsarevich carefully looked at the dexterous hands of the "uncle" and began to diligently grind the workpiece with a knife. Peter adopted the skill of the teacher and always relied more on his own eye than on drawings and mathematical calculations, and rarely made mistakes. The habit of filling his leisure hours with various "hand-sticks" remained with him for the rest of his life: even talking with foreign ambassadors, he could immediately plan boards for the boat's sheathing, turn chess pieces on a lathe or knot knots on ship's tackle.
Rumor has it that once the Prussian ambassador von Prinzen had to climb to the top of the mast to present his credentials to the king - he was so keen on rigging the first battleship Predestination, which he personally invented.
Nikita Moiseevich constantly brought Peter books with illustrations from the Armory, and later, as the student's interest in "historical" subjects - military art, diplomacy and geography - developed, he ordered "funny notebooks" for him with colorful images of soldiers, foreign ships and cities.
The Tsarevich readily studied everything and subsequently wrote fluently in Old Church Slavonic, albeit with mistakes. His natural tenacious memory until his death made it possible to quote the book of hours and verses of the Psalter and even sing in the church "on the hooks", which replaced the Russian musical signs.
Soon after the death of Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsarina Natalya and her son were expelled from the Kremlin by the new Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, who hated his stepmother. Matveyev went into exile in distant Pustozersk, and the Naryshkin family went to the family estate, the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Now Peter had no one to learn from, and the Moscow outskirts became his school. It turns out that he was lucky again. The future king grew up strong and enduring, he was not afraid of any physical work.
Palace intrigues developed his secrecy. Forgotten by everyone, except for the occasional few relatives who came over, he gradually turned into a child of an abandoned boyar estate, surrounded by burdocks and rickety township huts. All day long he disappeared anywhere, resorting only to mass. He now had to study in secret.
When the ten-year-old Peter was solemnly crowned king on April 28, 1682, foreign diplomats unanimously noted that he made the impression of a 16-year-old boy with his speech, education, and posture. Princess Sophia immediately intuitively felt the threat from her brother and with the help of Prince Khovansky roused the archers to a riot, which was popularly called “Khovanshchina”. May 25, when in front of Peter's eyes, the archers raised his beloved uncle Matveyev to the peaks, became the most terrible impression of Peter's childhood.
But it was these events that were the impetus for specific plans for transforming the country. It was possible to break the main support of Sophia - the archers, only by opposing them with a military force capable of overcoming them. Having learned early to hide his feelings, Peter decided to play the role of a harmless child, who has only childish play on his mind. Knowing that Sophia was looking through all the letters and orders emanating from Preobrazhensky, he, like boys at all times, started playing war. For this, he demanded to send to the village the children of his equestrians, falconers, stewards, sleeping bags, which from time immemorial were attributed to the obligatory honorary retinue of the king. In Preobrazhensky there were representatives of various estates: from Prince Mikhail Golitsyn to the groom's son Aleksashka Menshikov. It was they who turned into soldiers of the Semyonovsky and Preobrazhensky "amusing" regiments and helped Peter to cope with Sophia and the archers. And, of course, his, Peter's, fortune.
Peter grew up as a brave, resourceful and skillful soldier and commander. He never showed fear in battle. And luck never denied him - not a single bullet overtook him. When Admiral Cruis, during a campaign to Helsingfors in 1713, begged Peter I to go ashore because of the danger of meeting the Swedish fleet there, the tsar replied with a smile: "To be afraid of a bullet - do not go to the soldiers" and remained on the flagship.
He personally saved several people drowning in icy water during a flood in St. Petersburg, without even catching a cold and saying: "I have not regretted my life for my Fatherland and people and I do not regret it."
More than once he was threatened with death, but always bypassed. On the night of August 7-8, 1689, Peter, who was then living with his wife and mother in the village of Preobrazhenskoye, was awakened literally a few minutes before the arrival of the archers. He managed to escape.
In 1695, two people loyal to the king warned him that conspirators had gathered in the streltsy settlement. He was already 23. He himself came to the house where the criminals had gathered. One of the conspirators whispered to the owner: "Is it time?" - and grabbed the knife. “It's too early,” the owner replied. "It's early for you, but I have to go!" - Peter shouted, barely holding back from anger. With a violent movement, he pushed the oak table, which toppled over on those sitting behind it. Then people loyal to the king ran into the upper room.
Death stood behind Peter's shoulders during the famous Battle of Poltava. The king appeared on his horse in the most dangerous places - huge, decisive and fearless. He was wearing a cocked hat that served as a target for the Swedes. The first bullet hit her right. The king only crossed himself. The second bullet landed in the saddle at the foot. The third hit him in the chest, but! I came across a fold!
After Peter's death in 1725, a special Petrovskaya gallery was created in the Hermitage, where a hat, a saddle and a folding were exhibited.