Peter the Great: Founder of the Russian Empire — Transcript

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1. 0:00Peter the Great - Founder of the Russian Empire Peter the Great was, perhaps, the most important
2. 0:20ruler in Russian history.
3. 0:22He took a kingdom that was stuck in its old ways and transformed it into a modern and
4. 0:26powerful empire.
5. 0:27He looked to the West for inspiration.
6. 0:29Peter ignored the isolationist policies and traditions of his predecessors, becoming the
7. 0:34first tsar to visit other European countries.
8. 0:36There, he gained knowledge into the current military and scientific advancements, shipbuilding
9. 0:40techniques, diplomatic affairs, even fashion trends, and brought them with him back home.
10. 0:45Peter’s ambition to turn Russia into a great maritime power required expansion which, in
11. 0:50turn, required war.
12. 0:51In fact, he spent most of his adult years involved in one conflict or another but, in
13. 0:56the end, he achieved his goal.
14. 0:58Whether it was worth it or not, we cannot say, but it certainly had a major, everlasting
15. 1:03impact on the history of Russia, and Europe, as a whole.
16. 1:08Early Years He was born Pyotr Alexeyevich on June 9, 1672,
17. 1:17or May 30, going by the Old Style calendar.
18. 1:20He was part of the influential House of Romanov which ruled over Russia for 300 years until
19. 1:25the February Revolution of 1917 when Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate, subsequently
20. 1:31being executed along with his family by the Bolsheviks.
21. 1:34Peter was the son of Alexey Mikhailovich, better known as Alexis I, Tsar of Russia.
22. 1:39He was Alexey’s 14th child, overall, but the first and only son that the tsar had with
23. 1:44his second wife, Natalya Naryshkina.
24. 1:47This will come into play later when Peter will face challengers to his throne.
25. 1:51When he was born, Peter was a healthy boy of normal size and was described as having
26. 1:55“his mother’s black, vaguely Tatar eyes, and a tuft of auburn hair.”
27. 1:59In fact, we can give you the precise measurements of the royal infant thanks to a Russian tradition
28. 2:04called “taking the measure.”
29. 2:06It involved painting an image of the boy’s patron saint (who, unsurprisingly, was Peter
30. 2:10the Apostle) on a board with the same dimensions as the baby which were, in this case, nineteen-and-a-quarter
31. 2:16inches long and five-and-a-quarter inches wide.
32. 2:19Peter’s good health was considered a blessing on a house that seemed cursed with feeble
33. 2:24heirs.
34. 2:25Alexey’s first wife, Maria Miloslavskaya, gave the tsar five sons, but only two of them
35. 2:30reached adulthood and both were in poor health.
36. 2:33The eldest, Feodor Alexeyevich, had been left partially paralyzed by a mysterious childhood
37. 2:38illness, while the other son, Ivan Alexeyevich, was described as being “infirm in body and
38. 2:43mind.”
39. 2:44As a ruler, Peter the Great would become noted for his westernization of Russia.
40. 2:47However, this process was initiated by his mother whose own upbringing had a Western
41. 2:52influence and would pass on her interests to her son.
42. 2:55Right from the beginning of their marriage, Tsarina Natalya shared with her new husband
43. 2:59her love of music and theater.
44. 3:01Prior to this, an edict of Alexey turned the Tsardom of Russia into that town from “Footloose”
45. 3:06where music and dancing had been banned, except that in Russia they could get you beaten with
46. 3:10rods or even banished.
47. 3:11However, at their wedding, Alexey and Natalya had a choir and an orchestra playing music.
48. 3:15Soon after, they became patrons of the theater.
49. 3:18The tsar’s devotion to his new wife only increased after she had given birth to a healthy
50. 3:23baby boy like Peter.
51. 3:26Ascension to the Throne In 1676, Tsar Alexis fell ill after staying
52. 3:33out in the cold winter air and died ten days later.
53. 3:37This triggered the beginning of a power struggle between the families of his two wives - the
54. 3:41Miloslavsky and the Naryshkin.
55. 3:43Alexey’s oldest son, Feodor, was his successor.
56. 3:47His father had officially recognized him as his heir.
57. 3:50Even so, very few people likely thought he would actually become tsar since nobody expected
58. 3:55the feeble Feodor to outlive his father.
59. 3:57And yet, it happened.
60. 3:59On June 18, 1676, the sickly 15-year-old was crowned Feodor III, new Tsar of Russia.
61. 4:05Allegedly, he had to be carried during his coronation because his legs were so swollen
62. 4:09that he could not walk.
63. 4:10At first, there was no outward hostility between the two families.
64. 4:13Feodor, especially, never displayed any ill will towards his half-brother or step-mother.
65. 4:17It is also worth mentioning that the Naryshkins still had a notable ally in Artamon Matveyev,
66. 4:23a statesman who served as Natalya’s foster father and close advisor to Tsar Alexis.
67. 4:28He wanted Peter to take the throne, even though he was just four years old at the time of
68. 4:31his father’s death.
69. 4:32He failed to convince the other noblemen, though, and for his attempted interference
70. 4:36he was exiled from Moscow to a remote part of the kingdom.
71. 4:39The relationship between the two families took a drastic turn six years later when Feodor
72. 4:44died without an heir.
73. 4:45Technically, his other brother, Ivan, was next in line to the throne, but his physical
74. 4:49and mental disabilities proved to be a great concern to the Russian nobles aka the boyars.
75. 4:55In 1682, they held a special assembly called a duma and selected ten-year-old Peter as
76. 5:00Feodor’s successor, with his mother Natalya acting as his regent.
77. 5:04One of her first actions was to bring Matveyev back to Moscow to serve as their advisor.
78. 5:16This arrangement did not sit well with the Miloslavsky family who still wanted Ivan to
79. 5:20rule as tsar, with someone else acting as his regent.
80. 5:23They managed to get the Russian military corps known as the Streltsy on their side and lead
81. 5:27the Moscow Uprising of 1682.
82. 5:29In May, riots erupted on the streets of Moscow, with many Naryshkin allies branded as traitors
83. 5:35amid hearsay that Tsar Feodor may have been poisoned.
84. 5:38The rumors grew ever greater to a point where there was talk of a Naryshkin conspiracy to
85. 5:43kill all the royals on the Miloslavsky side.
86. 5:45Of course, the real conspiracy was against the Naryshkins and two of the main perpetrators
87. 5:50were Sophia Alekseyevna, daughter of Tsar Alexis and sister to Feodor, and a statesman
88. 5:55named Vasily Golitsyn.
89. 5:57On May 15, the Streltsy stormed the Kremlin, looking to take down all whom they perceived
90. 6:02as traitors.
91. 6:03They had been convinced not only that the Naryshkins had killed Feodor in order to take
92. 6:06the throne, but that they also murdered his brother Ivan.
93. 6:09As they poured into the square in front of the palace, they demanded the heads of the
94. 6:13Naryshkins and Matveyev.
95. 6:15They were met with an unexpected sight when Tsarina Natalya emerged with Peter and Prince
96. 6:20Ivan, alive and well.
97. 6:22Artamon Matveyev then showed himself and seemingly managed to talk down the angry mob which was
98. 6:26now full of doubts regarding their true purpose.
99. 6:28For a while, it seemed like the uprising might end peacefully.
100. 6:31The rage of the crowd had been subdued and the Streltsy were ready to head home.
101. 6:35However, a commander named Michael Dolgorukov thought that would be the perfect time to
102. 6:40enact some strong military discipline and began berating the men for their actions.
103. 6:45To put it mildly, they did not respond well to this.
104. 6:48In fact, their anger came back in full force.
105. 6:50A group of Streltsy picked up the commander and threw him onto the pikes of their comrades
106. 6:54who then proceeded to cut him up into pieces.
107. 6:57They then did the same thing to Matveyev who was taken and executed right in front of ten-year-old
108. 7:01Peter.
109. 7:02The enraged soldiers rushed through the palace and went from room to room, looking for more
110. 7:06boyars and Naryshkins to execute.
111. 7:08They killed one of Natalya’s brothers, as well as several others statesmen.
112. 7:12When they got tired, they sealed the escapes, put guards on the Kremlin and went home.
113. 7:17The next day, the Streltsy returned to continue their ferocious hunt.
114. 7:20The main target they wanted was Ivan Naryshkin, another one of Natalya’s brothers whom they
115. 7:25believed to be the mastermind behind the alleged conspiracy.
116. 7:28On the third day, they gave an ultimatum that, if the royal family did not give up Ivan,
117. 7:33they will kill everyone inside the palace.
118. 7:35Faced with little choice, they surrendered Ivan to the bellicose mob where he also suffered
119. 7:39an agonizing, gruesome death.
120. 7:41Finally, after their thirst for blood was satiated, the Streltsy reached a settlement
121. 7:45with the remaining boyars which, unsurprisingly, was greatly in the soldiers’ favor since
122. 7:50the noblemen were in no position to negotiate.
123. 7:52The Streltsy received back pay, complete amnesty for their murders and even a triumphal column
124. 7:57which celebrated their deeds against the traitors.
125. 8:00Moreover, Peter’s half-brother, Ivan, was installed as joint tsar with his sister, Sophia,
126. 8:05ruling as regent for both of them.
127. 8:07The two young rulers even had a special double throne made for them which included a hole
128. 8:10in the back where Sophia would sit and listen to dignitaries and other visitors and tell
129. 9:09the tsars how to respond.
130. 9:19Sophia was now the de facto ruler of Russia but her authority was contested almost immediately
131. 9:24by one of her co-conspirators in the Streltsy Uprising - a boyar named Ivan Andreyevich
132. 9:30Khovansky.
133. 9:31Khovansky wielded a lot of power because he had the loyalty of the Streltsy.
134. 9:34As the boyar kept pushing the boundaries of his influence, Sophia believed it would only
135. 9:38be a matter of time before Khovansky’s ambitions and arrogance drove him to attempt to seize
136. 9:43complete power.
137. 9:44Indeed, it wasn’t long before rumors of a planned coup started swirling so Sophia
138. 9:48took the two tsars and fled Moscow to the royal summer residence at Vozdvizhenskoe.
139. 9:52Fortunately for the tsars, Khovansky also managed to anger a lot of the boyars and he
140. 9:55was easily found guilty of plotting to assassinate the royal family.
141. 9:59On September 17, 1682, Sophia even succeeded in luring Khovansky to her residence outside
142. 10:04Moscow and outside the protection of the Streltsy where he was condemned to death and beheaded
143. 10:09on the spot, alongside his son.
144. 10:11Whether the boyar actually planned to kill the royals or whether he was outmaneuvered
145. 10:15by Sophia we cannot say with certainty, but one thing was clear - the tsarina was back
146. 10:19in power.
147. 10:20As far as Peter was concerned, he cared very little for his position as tsar while he was
148. 10:24young.
149. 10:25Due to the events he witnessed during the uprising, he developed an extreme aversion
150. 10:28to Moscow and its palace and preferred to spend his time in the countryside.
151. 10:32He took an interest in sailing, shipbuilding, and the military, all passions which will
152. 10:36influence not only his reign as tsar, but the development of the whole Russian Empire.
153. 10:41During this time, Peter also married Eudoxia Lopukhina, at the insistence of his mother.
154. 10:46This was not a happy marriage, though, and Peter later forced his wife to enter a convent.
155. 10:50His relationship with his eldest son, Alexei, was even worse, and it was believed, at one
156. 10:53point, that the heir plotted against his father, looking to restore the old ways.
157. 10:57This was something Peter could not abide, and he had Alexei and all his acquaintances
158. 11:02tortured, banished and, in some cases, executed.
159. 11:05Alexei himself died in 1718 due to wounds from being whipped with a knout.
160. 11:11Peter Takes Power We’re getting ahead of ourselves, though.
161. 11:16At this time, Peter was still a boy and Sophia was still in power.
162. 11:20Eventually, she lost the support of many boyars after two failed military campaigns against
163. 11:24the Crimean Khanate.
164. 11:26Influenced by her partner-in-crime and lover, Vasily Golitsyn, who was also an ardent fan
165. 11:31of the West, Sophia did something a tsar never did before - she joined a coalition of European
166. 11:36powers in a war against the Ottoman Empire and, in exchange, she received Kiev from the
167. 11:41Kingdom of Poland.
168. 11:42Sophia’s main target were the Crimean Tatars, vassals of the Ottoman Empire who conducted
169. 11:47frequent raids into Russian lands.
170. 11:49However, her forces’ inexperience in large-scale combat became evident and Golitsyn, especially,
171. 11:55proved inept at commanding an army.
172. 11:57They launched a failed campaign in 1687 where they not only lost battles, but were forced
173. 12:02to retreat and give up settlements to the advancing Tatars.
174. 12:05A second campaign in 1689 was also unsuccessful.
175. 12:08In the summer of 1689, 17-year-old Peter had the support of the boyars and overthrew his
176. 12:14half-sister, Sophia, who was forced to enter the Novodevichy Convent and become a nun.
177. 12:19Peter had no ill will towards his step-brother, Ivan, who was allowed to stay on as co-ruler,
178. 12:24although this was purely in name only.
179. 12:26As Peter was still not of age, his mother returned to serve as regent, which she did
180. 12:29until she died in 1694.
181. 12:31Ivan died two years later and the 24-year-old Peter finally became the sole ruler of Russia.
182. 12:37A New Russia It took a long time to get here, but now Peter
183. 12:46ruled unopposed and was free to enact his vision for a modern Russia based on the models
184. 12:50of the Western European powers.
185. 12:52He took on foreigners such as Franz Lefort and Patrick Gordon to serve as his close advisors.
186. 12:57He enacted sweeping reforms to reorganize the Russian military.
187. 13:00He adopted western dress, as did all his courtiers and officials.
188. 13:04He instituted the Julian calendar, moving the celebration of New Year on January 1.
189. 13:08He began marrying off his relatives to other European royalty, a practice which had been
190. 13:13shunned by his predecessors, and he also made a habit of sending young noblemen to study
191. 13:17abroad to receive a more worldly education.
192. 13:20In one of his more, let’s say unconventional moments, Peter even enacted a beard tax to
193. 13:25encourage Russians to cut their beards because the clean shaven look was in vogue in Western
194. 13:30Europe.
195. 13:31The tsar introduced this new decree in quite dramatic fashion.
196. 13:34In 1698, during a reception in his honor, Peter stunned his guests by coming down to
197. 13:38greet them clean shaven, sporting just a moustache.
198. 13:41He then took out a razor and proceeded to go around from one male guest to another,
199. 13:46cutting off their beards with his own hands.
200. 13:48At first, nobody was safe from the razor except for priests and peasants.
201. 13:52Everybody else would have been shaved on the spot by police officials if they were caught
202. 13:56harboring illegal facial hair.
203. 13:58Eventually, though, Peter relaxed on his stance somewhat and introduced the beard tax which
204. 14:02was not only more practical, but also beneficial to his coffers.
205. 14:06In 1697, Peter organized a year-long diplomatic mission known as the Grand Embassy.
206. 14:11He visited multiple countries in Western Europe, looking to secure various deals and services.
207. 14:16He managed to obtain foreign specialists, new technology, and weapons, but failed in
208. 14:20his ultimate goal of finding allies for his ongoing conflict with the Ottoman Empire.
209. 14:24It was bad timing as the West had its own problem to deal with.
210. 14:28Charles II, the inbred, sickly, King of Spain was in poor health and had no heirs and Europe
211. 14:33was preparing for the war of succession that his death would trigger.
212. 14:36Peter spent most of his time in the Netherlands and England which, at the time, were both
213. 14:40ruled by William III aka William of Orange.
214. 14:43He usually went incognito under the pseudonym Peter Mikhailov, but the fact that he was
215. 14:486 feet 8 inches tall meant that he seldom managed to remain anonymous.
216. 14:52He also enjoyed quite a few notorious drinking sessions and, after leaving London, the lord
217. 14:57who provided him with accomodations complained that Peter and his retinue completely trashed
218. 15:02the house where they were staying, thus setting the bar pretty high for the rock stars that
219. 15:07would follow in his footsteps 200 years later.
220. 15:10He also found a drinking buddy in Peregrine Osborne, the Marquis of Carmarthen.
221. 15:14A marine architect, Osborne earned the tsar’s friendship when he designed a yacht for him
222. 15:19as a gift from King William.
223. 15:20The two reportedly drank so frequently at one pub in London that the landlord renamed
224. 15:25it to the “Czar of Muscovy.”
225. 15:26The pub is gone, but nearby Muscovy Street still exists as a reminder of Peter’s party
226. 15:32days in London.
227. 15:33The tsar had to end the Grand Embassy short because, back home, he faced another Streltsy
228. 15:38uprising in July 1698.
229. 15:40This one, however, went decidedly in his favor and the rebellion was crushed even before
230. 15:45Peter returned to Russia.
231. 15:47Although dozens were executed and many more sent into exile, this was not good enough
232. 15:51for the tsar.
233. 15:52When he returned to Moscow, he demanded a major investigation to discover all the accomplices.
234. 15:56After a lot of torture and confessions, most of them probably false, well over 1,000 Streltsy
235. 16:02were executed and hundreds more sent into exile.
236. 16:05Regiments that had nothing to do with the rebellion were disbanded while all the Streltsy
237. 16:09and their families were banished from Moscow.
238. 16:12Many believe that this new uprising simply gave Peter a pretext to enact his long-awaited
239. 16:17revenge on the Streltsy for their previous riot that terrorized him as a child and led
240. 16:21to the death of his family members.
241. 16:25Building a Maritime Power In case it wasn’t clear yet, Peter was a
242. 16:30big fan of ships and his greatest ambition was to turn Russia into one of Europe’s
243. 16:35maritime powers.
244. 16:36He learned a lot about shipbuilding during his Grand Embassy and obtained the knowledge,
245. 16:40manpower, and resources needed to construct watercrafts as good as those in Western Europe
246. 16:45but, in order to fulfill his goal, there was one more thing he needed: access to water.
247. 16:50After all, you can’t really have a navy on land and, at that time, Russia only had
248. 16:54access to the North Sea via the port in Arkhangelsk and that was simply not good enough.
249. 16:59This necessity would, more or less, shape Peter’s foreign policies during his entire
250. 17:03reign.
251. 17:04Russia was still at war with the Ottoman Empire from the time Sophia launched her ill-fated
252. 17:07campaigns in Crimea.
253. 17:09With that in mind, in 1695 and 1696 Peter renewed hostilities against the Turks with
254. 17:15two new military campaigns focused on capturing the fortress of Azov.
255. 17:19Ultimately, the Russians were successful, scoring not only an important victory against
256. 17:24their enemy, but also gaining access to the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
257. 17:28The war ended in 1699 with the signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz.
258. 17:32Peter’s next target was the Baltic Sea which, back then, was almost entirely under the control
259. 17:37of the Swedish Empire led by the 18-year-old King Charles XII.
260. 17:41Therefore, in 1700, Russia went to war in a conflict that would rage on for over 21
261. 17:46years but would, ultimately, lead to the birth of the Russian Empire and secure its position
262. 17:51as a new global power.
263. 17:53The Great Northern War This conflict became known as the Great Northern
264. 18:01War.
265. 18:02Going into the fight, Peter formed an alliance with Frederick IV, King of Denmark and Norway,
266. 18:06and Augustus II the Strong who ruled over the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania, as well
267. 18:11as the Electorate of Saxony.
268. 18:12Over the years, many other nations would come in and out of the fight as the war engulfed
269. 18:16most of Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe.
270. 18:19It might be fair to say that Peter and his comrades-in-arms were hoping for a quick victory
271. 18:23by overwhelming Sweden with a three-pronged attack.
272. 18:26That did not happen as the first battles were all in Sweden’s favor.
273. 18:30Just a few months after it declared war, Denmark-Norway had to call peace with the Swedish Empire
274. 18:35after being defeated at Travendal.
275. 18:37Due to a previous treaty, Sweden had the maritime support of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
276. 18:42As we mentioned previously, though, they were busy with the War of Spanish Succession so,
277. 18:46although they helped fight off the attackers, they would not assist Sweden in conquering
278. 18:50Denmark.
279. 18:51A similar situation occurred in Poland, although it took a bit longer.
280. 18:55King Charles XII mounted a successful counter-offensive and conquered Warsaw and Krakow.
281. 18:59The two sides signed the Treaty of Altranstädt in 1706 where Augustus II had to abdicate
282. 19:05the throne, recognize Stanislaus I as the new Polish king and renounce his alliance
283. 19:09with Russia.
284. 19:10Speaking of Russia, their first attempt at gaining a foothold in the Baltic ended in
285. 19:14disaster.
286. 19:15The Battle of Narva on November 30, 1700, concluded with a decisive Swedish victory
287. 19:19as they caused up to 8,000 Russian casualties while losing less than a tenth that and captured
288. 19:25almost 200 artillery pieces.
289. 19:28Because King Charles XII elected to concentrate his efforts on Poland, Peter had years to
290. 19:32build up a new, modern, better trained and better equipped army.
291. 19:37In 1703, he also founded Saint Petersburg which would serve as the new capital for his
292. 19:41empire.
293. 19:42In 1708, with Poland taken care of, Charles redirected his attention to Russia.
294. 19:46Although initially successful, he soon learned a very harsh lesson, one that other future
295. 19:50commanders would learn at their own cost - you don’t invade Russia in winter.
296. 19:56It didn’t help that that season, later dubbed the Great Frost, happened to be the coldest
297. 20:00European winter of the past 500 years.
298. 20:04After suffering heavy losses to the cold and starvation, Charles routed his forces to Russian-owned
299. 20:10Ukraine, culminating in the Battle of Poltava on July 8, 1709.
300. 20:15This was a huge victory for Peter.
301. 20:18Consequently, Charles had to retreat into the Ottoman Empire which was his ally and
302. 20:22Poland and Denmark cancelled their peace treaties and joined the war again.
303. 20:25The tide had turned in Peter’s favor, but he got a bit too cocky.
304. 20:29He demanded that the Ottoman Sultan surrender Charles to him and, when the latter refused,
305. 20:33Peter invaded and was soundly defeated during the Pruth River Campaign between 1710 and
306. 20:381711.
307. 20:39He had to make multiple concessions, including giving back Azov, but, fortunately for him,
308. 20:43the sultan wasn’t interested in a protracted war and he eventually kicked Charles out of
309. 20:48his empire in 1714.
310. 20:50The conflict lasted for another seven years.
311. 20:52Sweden still had occasional military victories, but it never regained the dominant position
312. 20:56it had at the outset of the war.
313. 20:58Other nations like Prussia and Hanover smelled the blood in the water and also declared war
314. 21:02on the Swedish Empire.
315. 21:04On November 30, 1718, Charles XII was killed by a bullet to the side of the head during
316. 21:09the Siege of Fredriksten.
317. 21:10The Great Northern War ended on September 10, 1721, with the Treaty of Nystad.
318. 21:16Russia kept Estonia, Livonia, Ingria, and part of Finland, and now it had its much-coveted
319. 21:21entry into the Baltic.
320. 21:23This represented an important shift in the power balance of Europe - the Swedish Empire
321. 21:27was gone and the Russian Empire had risen.
322. 21:32Later Years Peter’s later years were mostly marked by
323. 21:38continued reform inside his new empire.
324. 21:41However, when the Safavid Dynasty began crumbling in modern-day Iran, Peter couldn’t resist
325. 21:46gaining entry to the Caspian Sea.
326. 21:48He launched the Russo-Persian War in 1722 which ended a year later with a victory for
327. 21:52Russia.
328. 21:53The empire gained many new territories, although it would only manage to keep them for a decade.
329. 21:54Shortly after the war, Peter fell ill with bladder problems.
330. 21:56He died on February 8, 1725, and was buried at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint
331. 22:01Petersburg.
332. 22:02He was succeeded by his second wife, Catherine I, who became the first woman to rule Imperial
333. 22:06Russia, setting the stage for future rulers such as Catherine the Great who, by the way,
334. 22:11we already covered and you can check out that video right here.