Peter the Great - FULL Audio Book - by Jacob Abbott
Peter the Great - FULL
Audio Book - by
Jacob Abbott
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Peter the Great,
Peter I or
Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov (
Russian: Пётр Алексе́евич Рома́нов,
Пётр I,
Pyotr I, or Пётр Вели́кий,
Pyotr Velikiy) (9 June [
O.S. 30 May] 1672 --
8 February [O.S.
28 January] 1725)[a] ruled the
Tsardom of Russia and later the
Russian Empire from 7 May [O.S. 27 April] 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before
1696 with his half-brother. In numerous successful wars he expanded the Tsardom into a huge empire that became a major
European power. According to historian
James Cracraft, he led a cultural revolution that replaced the traditionalist and medieval social and political system with a modern, scientific, Europe-oriented, and rationalist system
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EARLY YEARS OF PETER THE
GREAT
From an early age,
Peter's education (commissioned by
Tsar Alexis I) was put in the hands of several tutors, most notably
Nikita Zotov,
Patrick Gordon, and
Paul Menesius.
On 29 January 1676, Tsar Alexis died, leaving the sovereignty to Peter's elder half-brother, the weak and sickly
Feodor III. Throughout this period, the government was largely run by
Artamon Matveev, an enlightened friend of
Alexis, the political head of the
Naryshkin family and one of Peter's greatest childhood benefactors. This position changed when Feodor died in 1682. As Feodor did not leave any children, a dispute arose between the Naryshkin and Miloslavsky families over who should inherit the throne. Peter's other half-brother,
Ivan V, was next in line for the throne, but he was chronically ill and of infirm mind. Consequently, the
Boyar Duma (a council of
Russian nobles) chose the 10-year-old
Peter to become
Tsar with his mother as regent. This arrangement was brought before the people of
Moscow, as ancient tradition demanded, and was ratified.
Sophia Alekseyevna, one of Alexis' daughters from his first marriage, led a rebellion of the Streltsy (
Russia's elite military corps) in April--May 1682
. In the subsequent conflict some of Peter's relatives and friends were murdered, including Matveev, and Peter witnessed some of these acts of political violence
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The Streltsy made it possible for
Sophia, the Miloslavskys (the clan of
Ivan) and their allies, to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint Tsars, with Ivan being acclaimed as the senior. Sophia acted as regent during the minority of the sovereigns and exercised all power. For seven years, she ruled as an autocrat. A large
hole was cut in the back of the dual-seated throne used by Ivan and Peter. Sophia would sit behind the throne and listen as Peter conversed with nobles, while feeding him information and giving him responses to questions and problems. This throne can be seen in the
Kremlin Armoury in Moscow.
Peter was not particularly concerned that others ruled in his name. He engaged in such pastimes as shipbuilding and sailing, as well as mock battles with his toy army. Peter's mother sought to force him to adopt a more conventional approach, and arranged his marriage to
Eudoxia Lopukhina in 1689.[3] The marriage was a failure,
and ten years later Peter forced his wife to become a nun and thus freed himself from the union.
By the summer of 1689, Peter planned to take power from his half-sister Sophia, whose position had been weakened by two unsuccessful
Crimean campaigns. When she learned of his designs, Sophia conspired with the leaders of the Streltsy, who continually aroused disorder and dissent. Peter, warned by the Streltsy, escaped in the middle of the night to the impenetrable monastery of
Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra; there he slowly gathered adherents who perceived he would win the power struggle. She was eventually overthrown, with Peter I and Ivan V continuing to act as co-tsars. Peter forced Sophia to enter a convent, where she gave up her name and her position as a member of the royal family.
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