ALEXEY PETROVICH
(18.II.1690 - 26.VI.1718) - Tsarevich, eldest son of Peter I from his first wife E. R. Lopukhina.
Until the age of 8, he was raised by his mother in an environment hostile to Peter I. He feared and hated his father and was reluctant to carry out his instructions, especially military ones. character. The lack of will and indecision of A.P. were used politically. enemies of Peter I. In 1705-06, the reactionary group grouped around the prince. the opposition of the clergy and boyars, opposing the reforms of Peter I. In Oct. 1711 A.P. married Princess Sophia Charlotte of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (d. 1715), with whom he had a son, Peter (later Peter II, 1715-30). Peter I, threatening disinheritance and imprisonment in a monastery, repeatedly demanded that A.P. change his behavior. In con. 1716, fearing punishment, A.P. fled to Vienna under the protection of the Austrians. imp. Charles VI. He hid in Ehrenberg Castle (Tirol), from May 1717 - in Naples. With threats and promises, Peter I achieved the return of his son (Jan. 1718) and forced him to renounce his rights to the throne and hand over his accomplices. On June 24, 1718, the supreme court of the generals, senators and Synod sentenced A.P. to death penalty. By existing version he was strangled by those close to Peter I in Peter and Paul Fortress.
Soviet historical encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet encyclopedia. Ed. E. M. Zhukova.
1973-1982.
Death of Peter I's son Alexei
How did Alexei really die? No one knew this then, and no one knows now. The death of the prince gave rise to rumors and disputes, first in St. Petersburg, then throughout Russia, and then in Europe.
Weber and de Lavie accepted the official explanation and reported to their capitals that the prince had died of apoplexy. But other foreigners doubted it, and various sensational versions were used. Player first reported that Alexei died of apoplexy, but three days later he informed his government that the prince was beheaded with a sword or an ax (many years later there was even a story about how Peter himself cut off his son’s head); According to rumors, some woman from Narva was brought to the fortress to have her head sewn back in place so that the prince’s body could be displayed for farewell. The Dutch resident de Bie reported that the prince was killed by draining all the blood from him, for which his veins were opened with a lancet. Later they also said that Alexei was strangled with pillows by four guards officers, and Rumyantsev was among them.
The truth is that to explain Alexei’s death, no additional reasons are needed: beheading, bloodletting, strangulation, or even apoplexy.
Forty blows of the whip would have been enough to kill any big man, and Alexey was not strong, so mental shock and terrible wounds from forty blows on his skinny back could well have finished him off.
But be that as it may, Peter’s contemporaries believed that the death of the prince was the work of the king himself.
Many were shocked, but the general opinion was that Alexei's death solved all of Peter's problems.
Peter did not shy away from accusations. Although he said that it was the Lord who called Alexei to himself, he never denied that he himself brought Alexei to trial and sentenced him to death. The king did not have time to approve the verdict, but he completely agreed with the decision of the judges. He did not bother himself with hypocritical expressions of grief.
What can we say about this tragedy? Was it just family drama, a clash of characters when a tyrannical father mercilessly torments and ultimately kills his pathetic, helpless son?
In Peter's relationship with his son, personal feelings were inseparably intertwined with political reality. Alexei’s character, of course, aggravated the confrontation between father and son, but at the heart of the conflict was the question supreme power. The two monarchs - one on the throne, the other awaiting the throne - had different ideas about the good of the state and set different goals for themselves.
But everyone faced bitter disappointment. Bye reigning monarch sat on the throne, the son could only wait, but the monarch also knew that as soon as he was gone, his dreams would come to an end and everything would turn back.
Interrogations revealed that treacherous speeches were made and burning hopes for Peter's death were nurtured. Many were punished; So, was it possible to condemn these secondary culprits and leave the main one unharmed? This was precisely the choice that Peter faced, and it was the same one he proposed to the court. Peter himself, torn between his father's feelings and devotion to his life's work, chose the second.
Alexey was sentenced to death for reasons of state. As for Elizabeth I of England, this was a difficult decision of the monarch, who set the goal at all costs to “preserve” the state on which he had devoted his whole life to creating.
Biofile.ru›History›655.html
The purpose of this article is to find out the true cause of death of Tsarevich ALEXEY PETROVICH by his FULL NAME code.
Let's look at the FULL NAME code tables. \If there is a shift in numbers and letters on your screen, adjust the image scale\.
1 13 19 30 48 54 64 80 86 105 122 137 140 150 174 191 206 219 220 234 249 252
ALEK SEY PETROVICH R O M A N O V 252 251 239 233 222 204 198 188 172 166 147 130 115 112 102 78 61 46 33 32 18 3
17 32 45 46 60 75 78 79 91 97 108 126 132 142 158 164 183 200 215 218 228 252
R O M A N O V A L E K S E Y P E T R O V ICH
252 235 220 207 206 192 177 174 173 161 155 144 126 120 110 94 88 69 52 37 34 24
Knowing all the twists and turns in the final stage of the fate of ALEXEY PETROVICH, it is easy to succumb to temptation and decipher individual numbers as:
64 = EXECUTION. 80 = STRAIGHTED.
But the numbers 122 = STROKE and 137 = APOPLEXY speak of the real reason of death.
And now we will make sure of this.
ROMANOV ALEXEY PETROVICH = 252 = 150-APOPPLEXIA OF THE M\brain\+ 102-...SIJA OF THE BRAIN.
252 = 179-BRAIN APOPLEXIA + 73-...SIYA M\brain\.
It should be noted that the word APOPLEXY is read openly: 1 = A...; 17 = AP...; 32 = APO...; 48 = APOP...; 60 = APOPL...; 105 = APOPLEXI...; 137 = APOPLEXIA.
174 = APOPPLEXIA OF THE MR\ha\
_____________________________
102 = ...BRAIN BRAIN
It seems that the most accurate decoding would be with the word STROKE. Let's check this with two tables: STROKE DEATH and DEATH BY STROKE.
10 24* 42 62 74 103 122*137*150* 168 181 187 204*223 252
I N S U L T O M DEATH
252 242 228*210 190 178 149 130*115* 102* 84 71 65 48* 29
We see the coincidence of the central column 137\\130 (the eighth - from left to right) with the column in the top table.
18* 31 37* 54* 73 102* 112*126*144*164*176 205 224 239*252
DEATH I N S U L T O M
252 234*221 215*198*179 150*140*126*108* 88* 76 47 28 13*
We see the coincidence of two columns 112\\150 and 126\\144, and in our table column 112\\150 is seventh from the left, and column 126\\144 is seventh from the right.
262 = APOPLEXIA OF THE BRAIN\.
Number code full YEARS LIVES: 86-TWENTY + 84-EIGHT = 170 = 101-DEAD + 69-END.
Let's look at the column in the top table:
122 = TWENTY SUN\ is \ = STROKE
________________________________________
147 = 101-DECEASED + 46-KONE\ts\
147 - 122 = 25 = UGA\s\.
170 = 86-\ 43-IMPACT + 43-EXHAUS\ + 84-BRAIN.
170 = 127-BRAIN BLOW + 43-EXHAUSTION.
We will find the number 127 = BRAIN Stroke if we add up the letter codes that are included in the FULL NAME code only once:
L=12 + K=11 + S=18 + P=16 + T=19 + H=24 + M=13 + H=14 = 127.
Continuation of the conflict
Alexey Petrovich’s young children were not the only addition to the royal family. The ruler himself, following his unloved son, acquired another child. The child was named Pyotr Petrovich (his mother was the future Catherine I). So suddenly Alexey ceased to be the only heir of his father (he now had a second son and grandson). The situation put him in an ambiguous position.
In addition, such a character as Alexey Petrovich clearly did not fit into the life of the new St. Petersburg. Photos of his portraits show a man a little sick and indecisive. He continued to carry out state orders from his powerful father, although he did so with obvious reluctance, which again and again angered the autocrat.
While still studying in Germany, Alexey asked his Moscow friends to send him a new confessor, to whom he could openly confess about everything that bothered him. young man. The prince was a deeply religious man, but at the same time he was very afraid of his father's spies. However, the new confessor Yakov Ignatiev really was not one of Peter’s henchmen. One day Alexey told him in his hearts that he was waiting for his father to die. Ignatiev replied that many of the heir’s Moscow friends wanted the same thing. So, quite unexpectedly, Alexey found supporters and took the path that led him to death.
Difficult decision
In 1715, Peter sent his son a letter in which he faced a choice - either Alexey reforms (that is, begins to engage in the army and accepts his father’s policies), or goes to a monastery. The heir found himself at a dead end. He did not like many of Peter's undertakings, including his endless military campaigns and dramatic changes in life in the country. This sentiment was shared by many aristocrats (mainly from Moscow). There was indeed aversion to hasty reforms among the elite, but no one dared to openly protest, since participation in any opposition could end in disgrace or execution.
The autocrat, delivering an ultimatum to his son, gave him time to think about his decision. The biography of Alexei Petrovich has many similar ambiguous episodes, but this situation became fateful. After consulting with those close to him (primarily with the head of the St. Petersburg Admiralty, Alexander Kikin), he decided to flee Russia.
Escape
In 1716, a delegation headed by Alexei Petrovich set off from St. Petersburg to Copenhagen. Peter's son was supposed to see his father in Denmark. However, while in Polish Gdansk, the prince suddenly changed his route and actually fled to Vienna. There Alexey began to negotiate for political asylum. The Austrians sent him to secluded Naples.
The fugitive's plan was to wait for the death of the then ill Russian Tsar, and then return to home country to the throne, if necessary, then with a foreign army. Alexey spoke about this later during the investigation. However, these words cannot be taken with confidence as the truth, since the necessary testimony was simply beaten out of the arrested person. According to the testimony of the Austrians, the prince was hysterical. Therefore, with more likely it can be argued that he went to Europe out of despair and fear for his future.
In Austria
Peter quickly learned where his son had fled. People loyal to the Tsar immediately went to Austria. Head important mission Experienced diplomat Pyotr Tolstoy was appointed. He reported to the Austrian Emperor Charles VI that the very fact of Alexei's presence on Habsburg land was a slap in the face of Russia. The fugitive chose Vienna because of his family ties with this monarch through his short marriage.
Perhaps Charles VI in other circumstances would have protected the exile, but at that time Austria was at war with Ottoman Empire and prepared for conflict with Spain. The emperor did not at all want to get such a powerful enemy as Peter I under such conditions. In addition, Alexey himself made a mistake. He acted panicky and clearly lacked self-confidence. As a result, the Austrian authorities made concessions. Peter Tolstoy received the right to see the fugitive.
Negotiation
Peter Tolstoy, having met Alexei, began to use everything possible methods and tricks to return him to his homeland. Kind-hearted assurances were used that his father would forgive him and allow him to live freely on his own estate.
The envoy did not forget about clever hints. He convinced the prince that Charles VI, not wanting to spoil relations with Peter, would not shelter him in any case, and then Alexei would definitely end up in Russia as a criminal. In the end, the prince agreed to return to his native country.
Court
On February 3, 1718, Peter and Alexei met in the Moscow Kremlin. The heir cried and begged for forgiveness. The king pretended that he would not be angry if his son renounced the throne and inheritance (which he did).
After this the trial began. First, the fugitive betrayed all his supporters, who “talked” him into a rash act. Arrests and legal executions followed. Peter wanted to see his first wife Evdokia Lopukhina and the opposition clergy at the head of the conspiracy. However, the investigation found that the king was much dissatisfied large quantity of people.
Death
None short biography Alexei Petrovich does not contain precise information about the circumstances of his death. As a result of the investigation, which was conducted by the same Pyotr Tolstoy, the fugitive was sentenced to death. However, it never took place. Alexei died on June 26, 1718 in the Peter and Paul Fortress, where he was kept during his trial. It was officially announced that he had suffered a seizure. Perhaps the prince was killed on the secret order of Peter, or perhaps he died himself, unable to bear the torture he experienced during the investigation. For an all-powerful monarch, the execution of his own son would be too shameful an event. Therefore, there is reason to believe that he ordered the execution of Alexei in advance. One way or another, the descendants never learned the truth.
After the death of Alexei Petrovich, a classic point of view emerged about the reasons for the drama that happened. It lies in the fact that the heir came under the influence of the old conservative Moscow nobility and the clergy hostile to the tsar. However, knowing all the circumstances of the conflict, one cannot call the prince a traitor and at the same time not keep in mind the degree of guilt of Peter I himself in the tragedy.
We went through this material at school. At first, of course, everyone knew that Ivan the Terrible killed his son, and only then did they remember that Peter the Great also killed him. Or rather tortured him to death.
And who remembers why?
The generally accepted explanation for the tragic fate of the prince is well known. It says that Alexei, who grew up in an atmosphere hostile to Peter and all his endeavors, fell under the harmful influence of the reactionary clergy and backward Moscow nobility. And when the father had enough, it was already too late, and all efforts to re-educate his son only led to him running away abroad. During the investigation, which began upon his return, it turned out that, together with a few henchmen, Alexei was impatiently awaiting the death of the king and was ready to destroy everything he had done. The court of senators and senior dignitaries sentenced the perpetrator of treason to death, which became a kind of monument to the integrity of Peter I.
Initially, not feeling much desire to live the life that his father lived, by this time the prince was simply unable to bridge the gap that was deepening between them. He was burdened by the current situation and, like any not very strong character the man was carried away by his thoughts into another reality, where Peter did not exist. Waiting for the death of the father, even wishing for it - terrible sin! But when the deeply religious Alexey confessed to him in confession, he suddenly heard from his confessor Yakov Ignatiev: “God will forgive you, and we all wish him death.” It turned out that his personal, deeply intimate problem had another dimension: his formidable and unloved father was also an unpopular sovereign. Alexey himself automatically turned into the object of the hopes and hopes of the dissatisfied. Life that seemed worthless suddenly took on some meaning!
The meeting of father and son took place on February 3, 1718 in the Kremlin Palace in the presence of the clergy and secular nobles. Alexei cried and repented, but Peter again promised him forgiveness on condition of unconditional renunciation of the inheritance, full recognition and surrender of his accomplices. The investigation actually began the very next day after the ceremonial reconciliation of the prince with his father and his solemn abdication of the throne. Later, specifically to investigate the alleged conspiracy, a Secret Chancery, headed by the same P.A. Tolstoy, whose career after Alexei’s successful return to Russia clearly took off.
The prince was tortured several times. Broken long before the physical torture, he tried his best to protect himself. Initially, Peter was inclined to lay the blame on Alexei’s mother, his closest advisors and the “bearded men” (clergy), but during the six months of the investigation, a picture emerged of such large-scale and deep dissatisfaction with his policies among the elite that there could be no question of punishing all the “defendants” in the case. speech. Then the king resorted to the standard move, making the suspects judges and thereby placing on them symbolic responsibility for the fate of the main accused. On June 24, the Supreme Court, consisting of the highest dignitaries of the state, unanimously sentenced Alexei to death.
We will probably never know exactly how the prince died. His father was least of all interested in divulging the details of the unheard-of execution of his own son (and there is almost no doubt that it was an execution).
Peter by nature was wild and unbridled, like Ivan the Terrible. Peter's favorite pastime is tormenting people. He spent hours in dungeons, torturing people with his own hands. Crushed and broke old life in Russia, carried out a reform of church government, issued a decree on compulsory military service for the nobility. He married soldier Marta Skavronskaya, with whom he had three daughters - Elizabeth, Anna and Katerina, son Peter
Having married, he issues a decree that his children should be considered legitimate. Tsarevich Alexei was outraged by the marriage and actions of his father while his wife was alive and imprisoned in a monastery
Alexey himself was already married to German princess Charlotte of Wolfenbüttel, who hated Russia. And everyone at court hated her. The princess suffered a lot from drunk Catherine. Finally, she died from childbirth. They say that Catherine poisoned her.
This former soldier wanted to clear the way to the throne for her son. She was disturbed by Tsarevich Alexei and his son Pyotr Alekseevich.
After the violent death of his wife, Tsarevich Alexei sent his daughter to Germany so that Catherine would not do evil. The son remained in Russia.
He didn't miss his wife. WITH for a long time he had a mistress, a serf girl, whom he bought from Prince Vyazemsky, his favorite courtier. Evfrosinya Fedorova, or, as she was called at court, the girl Afrosinya, was very pretty. Seeing that a German soldier had become a Russian queen, she decided that she too could get a job in the same way.
Alexei himself wanted to marry her. But Peter fell into a terrible anger. Marrying a German "girl" is nothing. But in Russian! What a disgrace! He wanted a new "alliance" abroad. One of the Austrian archduchesses agreed to become Alexei's wife.
Then Alexei fled with Euphrosyne abroad. He was hidden in Vienna, and meanwhile the Viennese government was negotiating with Peter about the extradition of the prince. Catherine and Menshikov worked with all their might to destroy the prince and all his associates. Catherine wanted her “Bump”, her little son Petya, to become heir to the throne.
Menshikov assured Peter that Tsarevich Alexei was preparing a conspiracy and wanted to take the throne from his father.
Tolstoy and Rumyantsev, the tsar's favorites, forced the Viennese government to hand over Alexei. The unfortunate prince was deceived that the king had forgiven him and allowed him to marry Euphrosyne. But Alexey was already married to her. He was married by an Old Believer priest back in Russia. The Tsarevich went to Russia to meet terrible death. Peter was expecting the prince in Moscow.
When Alexei was brought in, the trial of his friends began.
Alexei was forced to publicly abdicate the throne, accusing him of conspiracy and an attempt on his father’s life. Prince Vasily Dolgoruky, the prince's tutor, Prince Vyazemsky, Colonel Kikin and the Old Believer bishop Dosifey Glebov were arrested. After painful torture they were killed.
Besides them, Tsarevich’s friends Pustynsky, Zhuravsky and Dorukin also died. Peter spent whole days in dungeons, torturing the unfortunate. He took Alexei to St. Petersburg. Soon they brought Euphrosyne, who gave birth to a son on the way. Alexei, on his knees, begged Catherine not to destroy him, saying that he did not need the kingdom. But the ruthless German woman completed her job.
Princes Vyazemsky and Dolgoruky did not admit to anything. And there was nothing to it. They were executed in vain, and Peter, like Sophia, violated the restrictive certificate signed by Mikhail that the tsar did not dare execute nobles, but only exile them with the consent of the nobility.
Through the machinations of “Katenka” and Menshikov, Evfrosinya Fedorova was taken to the dungeon.
The unfortunate woman, torn away from her husband and little son, was frightened by the royal torture and slandered both herself and Alexei. She showed Peter, who interrogated her himself, that the prince really wanted to kill him, wanting to turn Rus' again towards the Russians and drive out the foreigners.
Alexei was taken to the dungeon. Peter, as if on a holiday, brought his own son and all his favorites to torture: Menshikov, Prince Dolgoruky (a relative of the executed), Prince Golovkin, with whose wife he was in a relationship, Feodor Apraksin, Musin-Pushkin, Streshnev, Tolstoy, Shafirov and General Buturlin .
The Tsarevich was tortured for three hours, from eight to eleven in the morning!
They tortured him for three days in a row, June 19, 24 and 26, 1717, giving him respites to recover a little from his torment.
That's what a beast Peter was! He even tortured his own son mercilessly. And what can we say about the people?
The monster king personally tortured his son.
On June 26, at 6 pm, the unfortunate prince died from torture. He was so crippled that, looking at him, even the guards of the Trubetskoy bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress, who were accustomed to everything, could not help but sob. Everyone felt sorry for the Russian prince, shamefully beaten with whips, tortured thanks to the intrigues of the royal concubine. Catherine-Martha killed Alexei.
But soon her son Peter died. Still, God sees all the dirty tricks that non-humans do and rewards them for it. She committed her crime in vain. The son of Tsarevich Alexei, Pyotr Alekseevich, was declared the heir.
These are such different and emotional opinions.
Do you think the son of Peter the Great deserved such a death and which version is closer to the truth?
Tsarevich Alexei is a very unpopular personality not only among novelists, but also among professional historians. He is usually portrayed as a weak-willed, sickly, almost weak-minded young man who dreams of returning to the order of old Moscow Rus', who in every possible way avoids cooperation with his famous father and is absolutely unfit to govern. huge empire. Peter I, who sentenced him to death, on the contrary, is portrayed in the works of Russian historians and novelists as a hero from ancient times, sacrificing his son public interest and deeply suffering from their tragic decision.
Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei in Peterhof. Artist N.N. Ge
"Peter in his father's grief and tragedy statesman arouses sympathy and understanding... In the entire unsurpassed gallery of Shakespearean images and situations, it is difficult to find anything similar in its tragedy,” writes, for example, N. Molchanov. And indeed, what else could the unfortunate emperor do if his son intended to return the capital of Russia to Moscow (by the way, where is it now?), “abandon the fleet” and remove his faithful comrades from governing the country? The fact that the “chicks of Petrov’s nest” managed well without Alexei and destroyed each other on their own (even the incredibly cautious Osterman had to go into exile after the accession of the beloved daughter of the prudent emperor) does not bother anyone. The Russian fleet, despite the death of Alexei, for some reason still fell into decay - there were a lot of admirals, and the ships existed mainly on paper. In 1765, Catherine II complained in a letter to Count Panin: “We have neither a fleet nor sailors.” But who cares? The main thing, as they say, is official historiographers Romanovs and in solidarity with them Soviet historians that Alexei’s death allowed our country to avoid returning to the past.
And only a rare reader of near-historical novels will ever think of a strange and seditious thought: what if it was precisely this kind of ruler, who did not inherit the temperament and warlike disposition of his father, that mortally tired and ruined Russia needed? So called charismatic leaders good in small doses, two great reformers in a row is too much: the country can break. In Sweden, for example, after the death of Charles XII, there is a clear shortage of people who are ready to sacrifice the lives of several tens of thousands of their fellow citizens in the name of great goals and the public good. Swedish Empire did not take place, Finland, Norway and the Baltic states were lost, but no one in this country on this occasion does not lament.
Of course, comparing Russians and Swedes is not entirely correct, because... The Scandinavians got rid of excessive passionarity back in the Viking era. Having scared Europe to death with terrible berserker warriors (the last of whom can be considered Charles XII, who was lost in time) and, having provided the Icelandic skalds with the richest material for creating wonderful sagas, they could afford to take a place not on the stage, but in the stalls. The Russians, as representatives of a younger ethnic group, still had to splash out their energy and declare themselves as a great people. But for the successful continuation of the work begun by Peter, at a minimum it was necessary for a new generation of soldiers to grow up in a depopulated country, future poets, scientists, generals and diplomats to be born and educated. Until they come, nothing will change in Russia, but they will come, they will come very soon. V.K. Trediakovsky (1703), M.V. Lomonosov (1711) and A.P. Sumarokov (1717) were already born. In January 1725, two weeks before the death of Peter I, he was born future field marshal P.A. Rumyantsev, February 8, 1728 - founder of the Russian theater F.G. Volkov, November 13, 1729 - A.V. Suvorov. Peter's successor must provide Russia with 10, or better yet, 20 years of peace. And Alexei’s plans are fully consistent with the historical situation: “I will keep the army only for defense, but I don’t want to have a war with anyone, I will be content with the old,” he tells his supporters in confidential conversations. Now think about it, is the unfortunate prince really so bad that even the reigns of the eternally drunk Catherine I, the creepy Anna Ioannovna and the cheerful Elizabeth should be considered a gift of fate? And is the dynastic crisis that shook the Russian empire in the first half of the 18th century and the subsequent era of palace coups that brought extremely dubious contenders to power, whose rule Germaine de Staël characterized as “autocracy limited by a stranglehold,” really such a good thing?
Before answering these questions, readers should be told that Peter I, who, according to V.O. Klyuchevsky, “ruined the country worse than any enemy,” was not at all popular among his subjects and was by no means perceived by them as a hero and savior of the fatherland. The era of Peter the Great for Russia became a time of bloody and not always successful wars, mass self-immolations of Old Believers and extreme impoverishment of all segments of the population of our country. Few people know that it was under Peter I that the classic “wild” version of Russian serfdom, known from many works of Russian literature, arose. And about the construction of St. Petersburg, V. Klyuchevsky said: “There is no battle in history that would claim so many lives.” It is not surprising that in people's memory Peter I remained the oppressor king, and even more than that, the Antichrist, who appeared as punishment for sins Russian people. The cult of Peter the Great began to be introduced into the national consciousness only during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. Elizabeth was the illegitimate daughter of Peter (she was born in 1710, the secret wedding of Peter I and Martha Skavronskaya took place in 1711, and their public wedding only in 1712) and therefore was never seriously considered by anyone as a contender for the throne . Having ascended to the Russian throne thanks to a palace coup carried out by a handful of soldiers of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, Elizabeth spent her entire life fearing becoming a victim of a new conspiracy and, by glorifying the deeds of her father, sought to emphasize the legitimacy of her dynastic rights.
Subsequently, the cult of Peter I turned out to be extremely beneficial to another person with adventurous character traits - Catherine II, who, having overthrown the grandson of the first Russian Emperor, declared herself the heir and continuer of the work of Peter the Great. To emphasize the innovative and progressive nature of the reign of Peter I, official historians of the Romanovs had to resort to forgery and attribute to him some innovations that became widespread under his father Alexei Mikhailovich and brother Fyodor Alekseevich. The Russian Empire in the second half of the 18th century was on the rise; great heroes and enlightened monarchs of the educated part of society were needed much more than tyrants and despots. Therefore, it is not surprising that early XIX century, admiration for the genius of Peter began to be considered good manners among the Russian nobility.
However, the attitude common people towards this emperor remained generally negative, and the genius of A.S. was required. Pushkin in order to radically change it. The great Russian poet was a good historian and intelligently understood the inconsistency of the activities of his beloved hero: “I have now sorted out a lot of materials about Peter and will never write his story, because there are many facts that I cannot agree with in any way with my personal respect for him,” - he wrote in 1836. However, you cannot command your heart, and the poet easily defeated the historian. It is with light hand Pushkin Peter I became a true idol of the broad masses of Russia. With the strengthening of the authority of Peter I, the reputation of Tsarevich Alexei perished completely and irrevocably: if he tirelessly cared for the good of the state and his subjects great emperor suddenly he begins to personally torture, and then signs an order for the execution of his own son and heir, which means there was a reason. The situation is like the German proverb: if a dog was killed, it means it had scabies. But what happened in imperial family In fact?
In January 1689, 16-year-old Peter I, at the insistence of his mother, married Evdokia Fedorovna Lopukhina, who was three years older than him. Such a wife, who grew up in a closed mansion and was very far from the vital interests of young Peter, of course, did not suit the future emperor. Very soon, the unfortunate Evdokia became for him the personification of the hated order of old Moscow Rus', boyar laziness, arrogance and inertia. Despite the birth of children (Alexey was born on February 8, 1690, then Alexander and Pavel were born, who died in infancy), relations between the spouses were very strained. Peter's hatred and contempt for his wife could not but be reflected in his attitude towards his son. The denouement came on September 23, 1698: by order of Peter I, Empress Eudokia was taken to the Intercession Suzdal Nunnery, where she was forcibly tonsured a nun.
In the history of Russia, Evdokia became the only queen who, when imprisoned in a monastery, was not assigned any maintenance and was not assigned servants. In the same year, the rifle regiments were cashed out; a year before these events, a decree on shaving beards was published, and the following year it was introduced new calendar and a decree on clothing was signed: the king changed everything - his wife, army, the appearance of his subjects, and even time. And only the son, in the absence of another heir, remained the same for now. Alexei was 9 years old when Peter I’s sister Natalya snatched the boy from the hands of his mother, who was forcibly taken to the monastery. From then on, he began to live under the supervision of Natalya Alekseevna, who treated him with undisguised hatred. The prince saw his father rarely and, apparently, did not suffer much from separation from him, since he was far from delighted with Peter’s unceremonious favorites and the noisy feasts received in his circle. However, it has been proven that Alexey never showed open dissatisfaction with his father. He also did not shy away from studying: it is known that the prince knew history and holy books quite well, mastered French perfectly and German languages, learned 4 operations of arithmetic, which is quite a lot for Russia early XVIII centuries, had the concept of fortification. Peter I himself, at the age of 16, could boast only of the ability to read, write and knowledge of two arithmetic operations. And Alexei’s older contemporary, the famous french king Louis XIV Compared to our hero, he may seem ignorant.
At the age of 11, Alexey traveled with Peter I to Arkhangelsk, and a year later, with the rank of a soldier in a bombardment company, he already took part in the capture Nyenschanz fortress(1 May 1703). Please note: “meek” Alexei first takes part in the war at the age of 12, his warlike father only at the age of 23! In 1704, 14-year-old Alexey was constantly in the army during the siege of Narva. The first serious disagreement between the emperor and his son occurred in 1706. The reason for this was a secret meeting with his mother: Alexey was called to Zholkva (now Nesterov near Lvov), where he received a severe reprimand. However, later the relationship between Peter and Alexei normalized, and the emperor sent his son to Smolensk to stockpile provisions and collect recruits. Peter I was dissatisfied with the recruits that Alexei sent, which he announced in a letter to the prince. However, the point here, apparently, was not a lack of diligence, but a complex demographic situation, which developed in Russia not without the help of Peter himself: “At that time, I couldn’t find anything better around, but you deigned to send it soon,” Alexey justifies himself, and his father is forced to admit that he was right. April 25, 1707 Peter I sends Alexei to supervise the repair and construction of new fortifications in Kitay-Gorod and the Kremlin. The comparison is again not in favor of the famous emperor: 17-year-old Peter amuses himself with building small boats on Lake Pleshcheyevo, and his son at the same age is preparing Moscow for a possible siege by the troops of Charles XII. In addition, Alexei is entrusted with leading the suppression Bulavinsky uprising. In 1711, Alexey was in Poland, where he managed the procurement of provisions for Russian army located abroad. The country was devastated by the war and therefore the activities of the prince were not crowned with much success.
A number of very authoritative historians emphasize in their works that Alexei in many cases was a “figurehead.” Agreeing with this statement, it should be said that the majority of his illustrious peers were the same nominal commanders and rulers. We calmly read messages that a twelve-year-old son famous prince Igor Vladimir in 1185 commanded the squad of the city of Putivl, and his peer from Norway (the future king Olav the Holy) in 1007 ravaged the coasts of Jutland, Frisia and England. But only in the case of Alexey we maliciously notice: but he could not seriously lead because of his youth and inexperience.
So, until 1711, the emperor was quite tolerant of his son, and then his attitude towards Alexei suddenly changed dramatically in the worst side. What happened in that ill-fated year? On March 6, Peter I secretly married Martha Skavronskaya, and on October 14, Alexei married Crown Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Charlotte Christina-Sophia. At this time, Peter I thought for the first time: who should now be the heir to the throne? To the son from an unloved wife, Alexei, or to the children of a dearly beloved woman, “Katerinushka’s dear friend,” who would soon, on February 19, 1712, become the Russian Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna? The relationship between an unloved father and a son unloved by his heart could hardly be called cloudless before, but now they are completely deteriorating. Alexey, who was afraid of Peter before, now experiences panic fear when communicating with him and, in order to avoid a humiliating exam when returning from abroad in 1712, he even shoots him in the palm. Usually this case are presented as an illustration of the thesis about the pathological laziness of the heir and his inability to learn. However, let's imagine the composition of the “examination committee”. Here, with a pipe in his mouth, lounging on a chair, sits the not entirely sober Emperor Pyotr Alekseevich. Standing next to him, grinning impudently, is an illiterate member Royal Academy Sciences of Great Britain Alexander Danilych Menshikov. Other “chicks of Petrov’s nest” crowd nearby, who carefully monitor any reaction of their master: if he smiles, they will rush to kiss him, if he frowns, they will trample on him without any pity. Would you like to be in Alexey's place?
As other evidence of the “unfitness” of the heir to the throne, the prince’s own letters to his father are often cited, in which he characterizes himself as a lazy, uneducated, physically and mentally weak person. Here it should be said that until the time of Catherine II, only one person had the right to be smart and strong in Russia - the ruling monarch. Everyone else in official documents, addressed to the king or emperor, they called themselves “poor in mind,” “poor,” “slow serfs,” “unworthy slaves,” and so on, so on, so on. Therefore, by humiliating himself, Alexei, firstly, follows the generally accepted rules of good manners, and secondly, demonstrates his loyalty to his father, the emperor. And we won’t even talk about testimony obtained under torture in this article.
After 1711, Peter I began to suspect his son and daughter-in-law of treachery and in 1714 he sent Mrs. Bruce and Abbess Rzhevskaya to monitor how the birth of the Crown Princess would proceed: God forbid, they would replace a stillborn child and finally close the path to the top for Catherine’s children. A girl is born and the situation temporarily loses its urgency. But on October 12, 1715, a boy was born into Alexei’s family - the future Emperor Peter II, and on October 29 of the same year, the son of Empress Catherine Alekseevna, also named Peter, was born. Alexei’s wife dies after giving birth, and at her funeral the emperor hands his son a letter demanding that he “improperly correct himself.” Peter reproaches his 25-year-old son, who served not brilliantly, but served fairly well, for his dislike for military affairs and warns: “Don’t imagine that you are my only son.” Alexei understands everything correctly: on October 31, he renounces his claims to the throne and asks his father to let him go to the monastery. And Peter I was afraid: in the monastery Alexey, becoming inaccessible to secular power, will continue to be dangerous for Catherine’s long-awaited and previously beloved son. Peter knows perfectly well how his subjects treat him and understands that the pious son, who innocently suffered from the tyranny of his “Antichrist” father, will certainly be called to power after his death: the hood is not nailed to his head. At the same time, the emperor cannot clearly resist Alexei’s pious desire. Peter orders his son to “think” and takes a “time out” - he goes abroad. In Copenhagen, Peter I makes another move: he offers his son a choice: go to a monastery, or go (not alone, but with his beloved woman - Euphrosyne!) to join him abroad. This is very similar to a provocation: the prince, driven to despair, is given the opportunity to escape, so that he can later be executed for treason.
In the 30s of the twentieth century, Stalin tried to repeat this trick with Bukharin. In February 1936, in the hope that the “party favorite”, severely criticized in Pravda, would run away and ruin his good name forever, he sent him and his beloved wife to Paris. Bukharin, to the great disappointment of the leader of the peoples, returned.
And naive Alexey fell for the bait. Peter calculated correctly: Alexey was not going to betray his homeland and therefore did not ask for asylum in Sweden (“Hertz, this evil genius of Charles XII ... terribly regretted that he could not use Alexey’s betrayal against Russia,” writes N. Molchanov) or in Turkey. There was no doubt that from these countries Alexei, after the death of Peter I, would sooner or later return to Russia as emperor, but the prince preferred neutral Austria. The Austrian emperor had no need to quarrel with Russia, and therefore it was not difficult for Peter’s emissaries to return the fugitive to his homeland: “Sent to Austria by Peter to return Alexei, P.A. Tolstoy managed to complete his task with amazing ease... The Emperor hastened to get rid of his guest” (N. Molchanov).
In a letter dated November 17, 1717, Peter I solemnly promises his son forgiveness, and on January 31, 1718, the prince returns to Moscow. And already on February 3, arrests begin among the heir’s friends. They are tortured and forced to give the necessary testimony. On March 20, the notorious Secret Chancellery was created to investigate the prince’s case. June 19, 1718 was the day the torture of Alexei began. He died from these tortures on June 26 (according to other sources, he was strangled so as not to carry out the death sentence). And the very next day, June 27, Peter I threw a luxurious ball on the occasion of the anniversary of the Poltava victory.
So no internal struggle and there was no trace of the emperor’s hesitation. It all ended very sadly: on April 25, 1719, the son of Peter I and Ekaterina Alekseevna died. The autopsy showed that the boy was terminally ill from the moment of birth, and Peter I in vain killed his first son, clearing the path to the throne for the second.
Alexey Petrovich (1690-1718) - Tsarevich, son of Peter I and his first wife Evdokia Lopukhina. He had a negative attitude towards his father’s reforms, which aroused his anger. In 1716 he secretly left for Vienna; returned to Russia and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Under torture, he betrayed his accomplices and confessed to treason against his father’s cause. He was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court and two days later found death in the Peter and Paul Fortress under unclear circumstances.
Orlov A.S., Georgieva N.G., Georgiev V.A. Historical Dictionary. 2nd ed. M., 2012, p. 14.
Alexey Petrovich (02/18/1690-06/26/1718), prince, eldest son of Peter I from his first wife E.F. Lopukhina. Until the age of 8, he was raised by his mother in an environment hostile to Peter I. He feared and hated his father and was reluctant to carry out his instructions, especially of a military nature. The lack of will and indecisiveness of Alexei Petrovich was used by the political enemies of Peter I. In 1705-06, the opposition of the clergy and boyars grouped around the prince, opposing the reforms of Peter I. In October. 1711 Alexey Petrovich married Princess Sophia Charlotte of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (d. 1715), with whom he had a son, Peter (later Peter II, 1715-30). Peter I, threatening disinheritance and imprisonment in a monastery, repeatedly demanded that Alexei change his behavior. In 1716, fearing punishment, Alexei fled to Vienna under the protection of the Austrian Emperor. Charles VI. He hid in Ehrenberg Castle (Tirol), from May 1717 - in Naples. With threats and promises, Peter I achieved the return of his son (Jan. 1718) and forced him to renounce his rights to the throne and hand over his accomplices. On June 24, 1718, the Supreme Court of the generals, senators and Synod sentenced Alexei to death. According to the current version, he was strangled by the associates of Peter I in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Materials used from the site Great Encyclopedia of the Russian People - http://www.rusinst.ru
Alexey Petrovich (18.II.1690 - 26.VI.1718) - Tsarevich, eldest son of Peter I from his first wife E. R. Lopukhina. Until the age of 8, he was raised by his mother in an environment hostile to Peter I. He feared and hated his father and was reluctant to carry out his instructions, especially of a military nature. The lack of will and indecisiveness of Alexei Petrovich was used by the political enemies of Peter I. In 1705-1706, the reactionary opposition of the clergy and boyars grouped around the prince, opposing the reforms of Peter I. In October 1711, Alexei Petrovich married Princess Sophia Charlotte of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (d. 1715), from whom he had a son, Peter (later Peter II, 1715-1730). Peter I, threatening disinheritance and imprisonment in a monastery, repeatedly demanded that Alexei Petrovich change his behavior. At the end of 1716, fearing punishment, Alexey Petrovich fled to Vienna under the protection of the Austrian Emperor Charles VI. He hid in Ehrenberg Castle (Tirol), from May 1717 - in Naples. With threats and promises, Peter I achieved the return of his son (January 1718) and forced him to renounce his rights to the throne and hand over his accomplices. On June 24, 1718, the supreme court of the generals, senators and Synod sentenced Alexei Petrovich to death. According to the current version, he was strangled by the associates of Peter I in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Soviet historical encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 1. AALTONEN – AYANY. 1961.
Literature: Solovyov S. M., History of Russia, St. Petersburg, book. 4, vol. 17, ch. 2; Ustryalov N., History of the reign of Peter the Great, vol. 6, St. Petersburg, 1859; Pogodin M.P., The trial of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, M., 1860; Execution of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich. Reported by L. A. Karasev, "PC", 1905, Aug. (book 8); Essays on the history of the USSR... Russia in the first quarter. XVIII century, M., 1954.
Alexey Petrovich (02/18/1690, village of Preobrazhensk near Moscow - 06/26/1718, St. Petersburg) - prince, eldest son of Peter I and his first wife Evdokia Lopukhina. After the imprisonment of Queen Evdokia in the Pokrovsky Monastery in 1698, he was raised by Peter's sister, Princess Natalya. His confessor Yakov Ignatiev had a strong influence on the prince. Alexey was well-read and knew several foreign languages. As heir to the throne, he carried out his father's instructions during Northern War: supervision of work to strengthen Moscow (1707–1708), inspection of warehouses in Vyazma (1709), etc. In 1709–1712 he traveled around Western Europe to continue his education, as well as choose a bride. In October 1711 in Torgau he married Sophia-Charlotte of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (baptized Evdokia, died in 1715). He aroused the anger of Peter I and the threat of removal from the throne and tonsure as a monk due to his reluctance to break with opponents of the reforms carried out by the tsar. At the end of 1716 he fled with his mistress Euphrosyne to Vienna under the protection of the Austrian Emperor Charles VI. He hid in Ehrenberg Castle (Tirol), and from May 1717 - in Naples. In January 1718, Peter I, with the help of P. A. Tolstoy, achieved the return of his son, forced him to renounce his rights to the throne and hand over his “accomplices.” On June 24, 1718, the Supreme Court sentenced Alexei to death. According to one version, he was strangled by those close to Peter I in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
L. A. Tsyganova.
Russian historical encyclopedia. T. 1. M., 2015, p. 272.
Alexey Petrovich (18.2.1690, village of Preobrazhenskoye, near Moscow, - 26 6.1718, St. Petersburg), prince, eldest son Peter I from his marriage with Evdokia Fedorovna Lopukhina . He spent the first years of his childhood mainly in the company of his mother and grandmother ( Natalia Kirillovna Naryshkina ), since Peter in 1693-1696 was first engaged in shipbuilding in Arkhangelsk, and then undertook Azov campaigns. After the imprisonment of Queen Evdokia in the Suzdal Intercession Monastery in 1698, Tsarevich Alexei was taken to the village of Preobrazhenskoye by Peter’s sister, the princess Natalya Alekseevna . In 1699, Peter intended to send the prince abroad for education, but then changed this plan and invited the German Neugebauer to be his teacher. In 1703 he was replaced by Baron Huyssen; according to the latter’s reviews, the prince was diligent, loved mathematics and foreign languages and longed to get to know foreign countries. Studies in science were interrupted, however, at the request of Peter, either by a trip to Arkhangelsk in 1702, or by participation in the campaign to Nyenschanz, or by his presence in 1704 at the siege of Narva. In 1705, Huyssen was sent abroad by Peter on a diplomatic mission, and the prince was left without a leader. The prince's confessor, archpriest of the Verkhospassky Cathedral, Yakov Ignatiev, had a special influence on Alexei, who tried to maintain in him the memory of his mother as an innocent sufferer. At the end of 1706 or at the beginning of 1707, the prince visited his mother in the Suzdal monastery. Having learned about this, Peter immediately summoned him to his place and expressed his anger to him. In the fall of 1707, Alexei was entrusted with overseeing the work to strengthen Moscow in case of attack Charles XII , in August 1708 he was entrusted with inspecting food stores in Vyazma. In the fall of 1708, Alexey continued his studies with Huyssen, who had returned from abroad. At the beginning of 1709, the prince presented the tsar in Sumy with five regiments collected and organized by himself, then was present in Voronezh during the launching of the ships, and in the fall he went to Kiev to be with that part of the army that was intended to act against Stanislav Leshchinsky. In 1709 he went on a trip abroad to continue his education, as well as to choose a bride (back in 1707, Baron Urbich and Huyssen were instructed by Peter I to find a bride for the prince). Vice-Chancellor Kaunitz answered their question regarding the possibility of matchmaking with the eldest daughter of the Austrian emperor rather evasively. As a result, Baron Urbich turned his attention to Princess Sophia-Charlotte of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and suggested that Peter send the prince abroad to make it more convenient to negotiate. On his way to Dresden, Alexey Petrovich spent three months in Krakow. According to the description of a contemporary, Alexey Petrovich was very thoughtful and taciturn in unfamiliar company; rather melancholic than cheerful; secretive, fearful and suspicious to the point of pettiness, as if someone wanted to encroach on his life. At the same time, the prince was very inquisitive, visited the churches and monasteries of Krakow, attended debates at universities, bought many books, mainly of theological content and partly historical, and spent 6-7 hours daily not only on reading, but also on extracts from books, and did not show his extracts to anyone. According to Vilchek, Alexey Petrovich "possesses good abilities and can have great success if those around him do not interfere with him.”. In March 1709, Alexey Petrovich arrived in Warsaw, where he exchanged visits with Polish king. In October 1711 in Torgau, in the presence of Peter I, who had just returned from the Prut campaign, Alexey Petrovich married Sophia-Charlotte of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (baptized Evdokia, died in 1715; their children are Natalya (1714-1728) and Peter (future emperor Peter II ). In 1714, Alexey Petrovich, with the permission of Peter I, was treated in Carlsbad for consumption. Stubbornly refusing to become a faithful associate of Peter I, he aroused the anger of his father and the threat of removal from succession to the throne and tonsure into a monastery. Peter I, in a letter to his son, outlined the reasons for his dissatisfaction with the prince and ended it with a threat to deprive his son of his inheritance if he did not reform. Three days later, Alexey Petrovich submitted an answer to his father, in which he himself asked to be deprived of his inheritance. “As soon as I see myself,” he wrote, “I am inconvenient and indecent for this matter, I am also very devoid of memory (without which nothing can be done) and with all my mental and physical strength (from various illnesses) I have weakened and become indecent for the rule of so many people, where I require a person not as rotten as me. For the sake of the legacy (God bless you with many years of health!) Russian after you (even if I didn’t have a brother, but now, thank God, I have a brother, to whom God bless him) I don’t claim and will not claim in the future.”. With this letter, the prince renounced the inheritance not only for himself, but also for his son. Peter was dissatisfied with the prince’s tone. At the end of September, Alexey Petrovich received a letter in which Peter demanded an answer whether he intended to get down to business or wanted to enter a monastery. Then the prince carried out his long-standing intention and, with the help of A.V. Kikina’s plan, at the end of 1716 he fled abroad with his “Chukhonka” mistress Afrosinya. In November, Alexey Petrovich appeared in Vienna to Vice-Chancellor Schönborn and asked for protection from the injustice of his father, who wanted to tonsure him in order to deprive him and his son of their inheritance. Emperor Charles VI gathered a council, and it was decided to give the prince refuge; from November 12 to December 7, he stayed in the town of Weyerburg, and then was transferred to the Tyrolean castle of Ehrenberg. At the beginning of April 1717, Veselovsky handed over to Emperor Charles VI a letter from Peter with a request, if Alexei Petrovich was within the empire, to send it to him “for fatherly correction.” The emperor replied that he knew nothing and turned to to the English king with a request whether he would take part in the fate of the prince, suffering from the “tyranny” of his father. The Austrian secretary Keil, who arrived on the orders of his emperor in Ehrenberg, showed the prince the above-mentioned letters and advised him to leave for Naples if he did not want to return to his father. Alexey Petrovich was in despair and begged not to extradite him. He was escorted to Naples. A.I.Rumyantsev discovered this location of the prince and, arriving in Vienna with P.A. Tolstoy , demanded from the emperor the extradition of Alexei Petrovich or at least a meeting with him. Tolstoy promised Alexei Petrovich to obtain permission to marry Afrosinya and live in the village. This promise encouraged the prince, and Peter’s letter dated November 17, in which he promised to forgive him, completely reassured him. January 31, 1718 Alexey Petrovich arrived in Moscow; On February 3, he met with his father. The prince pleaded guilty to everything and tearfully begged for mercy. Peter confirmed his promise to forgive, but demanded that he renounce his inheritance and indicate those people who advised him to flee abroad. On the same day, the prince solemnly abdicated the throne; A manifesto prepared in advance was published about this, and the prince was declared heir to the throne, “for we have no other heir of age.” In a confrontation with Afrosinya, the prince first denied it, and then not only confirmed all her testimony, but even revealed his secret thoughts and hopes. On June 13, Peter made announcements to the clergy and the Senate. He asked the clergy to give him instructions from Holy Scripture, what to do with his son, and instructed the Senate to consider the case and judge what punishment the prince deserves. On June 14, Alexey Petrovich was transferred to the Peter and Paul Fortress, interrogated and tortured several times. Members supreme court(127 people) signed the death warrant, which stated that “The prince hid his rebellious intentions against his father and his sovereign, and his deliberate search from long ago, and his search for the throne of his father and at his belly, through various insidious inventions and falsehoods, and the hope for the mob and the desire for his father and sovereign for his speedy death.”. On June 26 at 6 pm Alexey Petrovich died. According to a version shared by some contemporaries, Alexey Petrovich was secretly strangled in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Book materials used: Sukhareva O.V. Who was who in Russia from Peter I to Paul I, Moscow, 2005
Ge N.N. Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich in Peterhof.
Alexey Petrovich (1690, Moscow - 1718, St. Petersburg) - Tsarevich, eldest son of Peter Z and his first wife E.F. Lopukhina. In 1698, Peter I imprisoned Alexei Petrovich's mother in the Suzdal monastery, and from childhood the prince hated and feared his father. The Tsarevich's mentors "in science and moral teaching" N. Vyazemsky, Neugebauer, Baron Huysen quickly succeeded each other and had little influence on Alexei Petrovich, who was distinguished by his curiosity and interest in learning, especially spiritual writings, but who did not like military science and military exercises. Usually Alexey Petrovich lived in Moscow surrounded by boyars who hated the reforms of Peter I. His confessor Yakov Ignatiev had a strong influence on Alexey Petrovich. Smart, but inactive and hostile to his father, Alexey Petrovich hated his father’s court: “It would be better if I were in hard labor or lying in a fever than to be there.” Peter I tried to accustom his son to practical activities: in 1703 took him on a campaign as a soldier in a bombardment company, and in 1704 forced him to participate in the capture of Narva; in 1708 he ordered the collection of recruits and the construction of car washes. fortifications in case of attack by Charles XII. The prince performed his duties reluctantly, which aroused the anger of his father and was beaten by him more than once. In 1709, Alexei Petrovich was sent to Germany to continue his studies and to marry Princess Sophia Charlotte (d. 1715), who bore Alexei Petrovich a daughter and a son (the future Peter II). In 1713, Alexey Petrovich returned to Russia, where he had to take an exam in front of his father, but, fearing that Peter I would demand drawings, he unsuccessfully tried to shoot himself in the hand, for which he was severely beaten and expelled by Peter I with a ban on appearing at court. After the birth of his son, Alexei Petrovich received a letter from his father, in which Peter I demanded either to correct himself or to renounce the throne. On the advice of friends (“Vit, the hood is not nailed to the head: you can take it off”) Alexey Petrovich asked permission to go to the monastery. Peter I gave his son a six-month deferment. Under the guise of a trip to his father in Denmark, Alexei Petrovich fled to Austria under the protection of Emperor Charles VI. In 1718, with threats and promises, Peter I managed to return Alexei Petrovich to Russia. At the request of his father, the prince abdicated the throne, betrayed his accomplices who knew the plan for his escape, but hid (this became known from his mistress Euphrosyne) that he intended to overthrow Peter I with the help of foreign troops (“when I am sovereign, I will live in Moscow, and Petersburg I’ll just leave it as a city; I won’t keep ships; I’ll keep an army only for defense, and I don’t want to have a war with anyone." 127 senior dignitaries (clergy, senators, generals) found Alexei Petrovich guilty of intending to kill his father and seize power and sentenced him to death. He died under torture or was strangled in the Peter and Paul Fortress. His death meant the victory of the supporters of reforms.
Book materials used: Shikman A.P. Figures national history. Biographical reference book. Moscow, 1997
From the pre-revolutionary encyclopedia
Alexey Petrovich, Tsarevich - the eldest son of Peter the Great from his first marriage with E.F. Lopukhina, b. 18 Feb 1690, d. June 26, 1718 Tsarevich Alexei for the first years of his life remained in the care of his grandmother, Natalya Kirillovna and mother, Evdokia Fedorovna; his father was too busy busy social activities, from which rest is not at the family hearth, but at military fun or in a German settlement. After the death of Natalya Kirillovna (in 1694), his mother took the main place in the life of the prince, which had an impact on the friendly relations in which he was with her and in later time. At the age of six, Tsarevich Alexei began to learn to read and write using the book of hours and the primer from Nikifor Vyazemsky, a simple and poorly educated man, and also became acquainted with “the nature of writing, the stress of the voice and the punctuation of words” according to the grammar of Karion Istomin. In September 1698, following the imprisonment of Queen Evdokia in the Suzdal monastery, the prince was deprived of his mother's care and transported to his aunt, Natalya Alekseevna, in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Here, however, under the guidance of his teacher N. Vyazemsky and the Naryshkins’ educators (Alexey and Vasily), he did little, except perhaps for “hut amusements” and “learned more to be prudes.” He was surrounded at this time by the Naryshkins (Vasily and Mikhail Grigorievich, Alexey and Ivan Ivanovich) and the Vyazemskys (Nikifor, Sergey, Lev, Peter, Andrey). His confessor, the Verkhospassky priest, then the archpriest Yakov Ignatiev, the Blagoveshchensk sacristan Alexy, and the priest Leonty Menshikov, who, in charge of the prince’s upbringing, deliberately neglected the matter in order to discredit Alexei Petrovich in the eyes of the tsar, had a bad influence on him. The king, however, made his decision (in 1699). sent his son to Dresden to study science, but soon (perhaps under the influence of the death of General Karlovich, who was supposed to entrust this training) changed his mind.
The Saxon Neugebauer was invited to mentor the prince, former student University of Leipzig. He failed to bind the prince to himself, quarreled with his former teachers and annoyed Menshikov, and therefore in July 1702 he lost his position. The following year, his place was taken by Huyssen, a flattering man who did not want to take responsibility for the assignment entrusted to him, and therefore was not very reliable in his stories about the prince. But Huyssen, obviously, did not care too much about the successful education of Alexei Petrovich, since even after Huyssen’s departure in 1705, Tsarevich Alexei still continued to study. In 1708, N. Vyazemsky reported that the prince was studying the German and French languages, studying “the four parts of numbers,” repeating declensions and cases, writing an atlas and reading history. At this time, however, the prince was entering a period of more independent activity. Already in 1707, Huyssen (sent abroad on diplomatic missions) proposed Princess Charlotte of Wolfenbüttel as his wife to Alexei Petrovich, to which the tsar agreed. During his journey to Dresden in 1709, a journey undertaken for the purpose of teaching German and French, geometry, fortification and " political affairs", together with Alexander Golovkin (son of the chancellor) and Prince Yuri Trubetskoy, the Tsarevich saw the princess in Schlakenberg in the spring of 1710, and a year later, on April 11, a marriage contract was signed. The marriage itself was concluded on October 14, 1711 in Torgau (in Saxony).
The prince entered into marriage with a foreign princess of a non-Orthodox religion only on the orders of the king. His relationship with his father played a leading role in his life and was formed partly under the influence of his character, partly due to external circumstances. Prominent for his spiritual gifts, the prince was distinguished by a rather indecisive and secretive character. These traits developed under the influence of the situation in which he found himself in his youth. From 1694 to 1698, the prince lived with his mother, who then no longer enjoyed the royal favor. I had to choose between my father and mother, and it was difficult to collapse. But the prince loved his mother and maintained relations with her even after her imprisonment, for example, he went on a date with her in 1707; by this, of course, he aroused a feeling of hostility in his father. I had to hide my affection for my mother from my father’s anger. The weak soul of the prince was afraid of the powerful energy of his father, and the latter became more and more convinced of his son’s inability to become an active champion of his plans, feared for the fate of the reforms, the introduction of which he had devoted his whole life to, and therefore began to treat his son harshly. Alexey Petrovich was afraid of life's struggle; he sought refuge from her in religious rituals. It was not for nothing that he read the Bible six times, made extracts from Baronius about church dogmas, rituals and miracles, and bought books of religious content. The king, on the contrary, had a deep practical sense and an iron will; in the struggle his strength grew stronger and multiplied; he sacrificed everything to introduce reforms that his superstitious son considered contrary to Orthodoxy. When the prince lived in Preobrazhenskoye (1705 - 1709), he was surrounded by people who, in his own words, taught him to “be hypocritical and to have conversions with priests and monks and to often go to them and get drunk.” In his treatment of these subordinates, the prince, who knew how to bow to the strong will of his father, himself showed signs of self-will and cruelty. He beat N. Vyazemsky and tore at the “honest brotherhood of his guardian,” confessor Yakov Ignatiev. Already at this time, the prince confessed to his closest friend, the same Yakov Ignatiev, that he wanted his father to die, and the archpriest consoled him with the fact that God would forgive and that they all wished the same. And in this case, the behavior of the prince in Preobrazhenskoye did not, of course, remain unknown to his father. Rumors also began to circulate among the people about the discord between the prince and the king. During torture and executions after Streltsy riot, the monastery groom Kuzmin told the archers the following: “The sovereign loves the Germans, but the prince does not like them, the German came to him and said unknown words and the prince burned the dress on that German and singed it. Nemchin complained to the sovereign and he said: why are you You go there as long as I’m alive, and so will you.”
Another time, in 1708, there were rumors among the dissatisfied that the Tsarevich was also dissatisfied, surrounded himself with Cossacks, who, at his behest, punished the boyars who indulged the Tsar, and said that the Tsar was neither his father nor the Tsar. Thus, popular rumor personified in Tsarevich Alexei the hope of liberation from under the heavy oppression of Peter’s reforms and gave a shade of political enmity to the hostile relations of two different characters; family discord began to turn into party struggle. If in 1708 the prince proposed to the tsar articles on strengthening the Moscow fortification, on correcting the garrison, on the formation of several infantry regiments, on the search and training of undergrowth, if in the same year he recruited regiments at Smolensk, sent Swedish soldiers to St. Petersburg, and informed about military operations against Don Cossacks with Bulavin at the head, he went to inspect shops in Vyazma, in 1709 he brought regiments to his father in Sumy, but in later times he did not show such activity and enjoyed the tsar’s trust less and less. The prince's trips abroad hardly brought him any significant benefit. After the first of them (1709 - 1712), the prince treated his wife badly, indulged in drunkenness and continued to be friends with the priests. After the second, he entered into a relationship with Euphrosyne Fedorovna, a prisoner who belonged to his teacher N. Vyazemsky. At the same time, he began to show disobedience, stubbornness, and also an aversion to military affairs and began to think about escaping abroad. The king, apparently, did not know these secret thoughts, but nevertheless noticed a change for the worse in his son. On the very day of Crown Princess Charlotte's death, 22 October. 1715, the tsar demanded in writing from the prince that he either reform or become a monk, and in a letter dated January 19. 1716 added that in otherwise will treat him like a “villain.” Then Alexey Petrovich, supported by the sympathy of A. Kikin, F. Dubrovsky and the valet Ivan the Bolshoi, fled with Euphrosyne through Danzig to Vienna, where he appeared before Chancellor Schönborn on November 10, 1716. Having secured the patronage of Emperor Charles VI (who was his brother-in-law), Alexey Petrovich traveled to Tyrol, where he stayed at Ehrenberg Castle on December 7. 1716, and on May 6, 1717 arrived at the Neapolitan castle of Saint Elmo. Here he was found by Peter Tolstoy and Alexander Rumyantsev, sent by the Tsar. Despite the Tsarevich’s fears, Tolstoy managed to persuade him to go back to Russia (October 14), and during his return, Alexey Petrovich received permission to marry Euphrosyne Fedorovna, but not abroad, but upon entering Russia in order to have less shame. The first meeting between father and son took place on February 3, 1718. Following this, the prince was deprived of the right to inherit the throne, torture and executions began (Kikin, Glebov and many others). The search was initially carried out in Moscow, in mid-March, then transferred to St. Petersburg. The prince was also tortured from June 19 to June 26, when he died at 6 p.m. without waiting for the death sentence to be carried out. From Crown Princess Charlotte, the prince had two children: daughter Natalia, b. July 12, 1714 and son Peter, b. 12 Oct. 1715. From Evfrosinya Feodorovna, Alexey Petrovich was also supposed to have a child in April 1717; his fate remains unknown.
Literature:
N. Ustryalov, “History of the reign of Peter the Great,” vol. VI;
Ustryalov N., History of the reign of Peter the Great, vol. 6, St. Petersburg, 1859;
Solovyov S. M., History of Russia, St. Petersburg, book. 4, vol. 17, ch. 2;
S. Soloviev, "History of Russia", volume XVII;
A. Brickner, "The History of Peter the Great";
M. Pogodin, “The Trial of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich” (in “Russian Bes.” 1860, book pp. 1 - 84);
N. Kostomarov, “Tsarevich Alexey Petrovich” (in “Ancient and New Russia.” vol. 1, pp. 31 - 54 and 134 - 152).
Kostomarov N.I. Tsarevich Alexey Petrovich. (About the painting by N. N. Ge). Autocratic youth. M., 1989;
Kozlov O.F. The case of Tsarevich Alexei // Questions of history. 1969. N 9.
Pavlenko N.I. Peter the Great. M., 1990.
Pogodin M.P., The trial of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, M., 1860;
Essays on the history of the USSR... Russia in the first quarter. XVIII century, M., 1954.