The novel “Peter the Great” by Tolstoy was written in 1945. The historical work describes the life of the Russian Tsar Peter, from childhood to the first victories in the war with Sweden for access to the Baltic Sea. Death prevented Alexei Tolstoy from finishing his book.
Main characters
Peter 1- Russian Tsar, a great reformer who forever changed the history of the Russian state.
Other characters
Alexander Menshikov (Alexashka)- comrade-in-arms of the king, his faithful friend, who later became a prince.
Alexey Brovkin- Alexashka’s best friend.
Franz Lefort- general, friend and mentor of young Peter.
Sofya Alekseevna- Princess, Peter’s sister, who dreamed of power.
Vasily Golitsyn- Prince, Sophia’s lover, her assistant in conspiracies and riots.
Anna Mons- German, Peter's beloved.
Evdokia Lopukhina- Peter’s legal wife, who gave him an heir.
Book one
Chapters 1-3
At the end of the 17th century, after the death of the Russian Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, a struggle for power began. The Streltsy, incited by Princess Sophia and her lover, Prince Vasily Golitsyn, rebelled. “The archers made some noise. They exterminated the boyars,” and then peaceful life returned. So in Moscow there were two kings - young Ivan Alekseevich and Pyotr Alekseevich, led by Sophia.
Meanwhile, in the village, in the Brovkin family, Alyoshka was growing up. One day his father took him with him to Moscow, but there Alyoshka lost his harness and, fearing punishment, ran away. He met his peer, Aleksashka Menshikov, with whom he began an independent life. The friends “lived from hand to mouth, but happily”: they caught fish and songbirds, “stole berries and vegetables from the gardens.” One day, while fishing, Aleksashka Menshikov met a boy in a “green non-Russian caftan.” It was young Peter, to whom Aleksashka performed a sophisticated trick by dragging a needle and thread through his cheek. Peter liked this fun so much that he “ran to the palace, probably to teach the boyars to smuggle needles.”
Peter loved to play, and “he could play for a day without sleep, without food, at anything, it would be noisy, fun, amusing.” He gathered an amusing army, service in which was real hard labor for the courtiers. Peter often visited the German settlement, where he became friends with captain Franz Lefort, in whose service Aleksashka Menshikov was by that time.
Peter fell in love with the charming Anchen, the daughter of a wealthy German wine merchant in Mons. At Lefort’s name day, Peter met Aleksashka, with whom he became friends, and brought him closer to him, appointing him to the position of bed servant. The boy proved himself to be a clever and faithful servant. He did not forget about his friend Alyoshka Brovkin, and asked the king to appoint him as a drummer in the amusing army.
To settle down Petrusha, his mother had a simple plan - to marry him to Evdokia Lopukhina.
Chapters 4-7
A new Streltsy revolt was organized in favor of Sophia, but Peter and his relatives managed to hide behind the walls of the Trinity Monastery. When the rebellion was extinguished, the Streltsy leaders were subjected to terrible torture and then executed. Prince Golitsyn and his family were sent into eternal exile, and “Sophia, without much fuss, was transported at night from the Kremlin to the Novodevichy Convent.”
Thanks to his loyalty to Peter, "Lefort became a great man." He helped Peter in many ways, giving valuable advice that he so needed. At one of the receptions, the young king met Anna Mons again and confessed his love to her. This connection became known to the pregnant Evdokia, who decided to kill the damned homewrecker. Soon Peter gave birth to an heir, Alexey Petrovich.
After visiting Arkhangelsk, Peter became seriously interested in shipbuilding. He was ashamed in front of foreigners for the backwardness of his state, and he was at a loss as to “what forces would be used to push people aside, to open their eyes.” He began to carry out reforms, which the nobility, clergy and archers stubbornly opposed - the changes introduced by the tsar were too fast and harsh.
Having chosen fifty of the best Moscow nobles, Peter sent them to Europe “to study mathematics, fortification, shipbuilding and other sciences.” Soon the king himself went to Germany, Holland, and England. He admired the way of life of Europeans, and dreamed of recreating it in Russia.
Taking advantage of the king's absence, Sophia again began to incite the archers to revolt. However, he was suppressed in time, and upon Peter’s return, torture and executions began in Moscow. “Byzantine Rus' was ending”, giving way to a new era.
Book two
Chapters 1-2
Tsarina Evdokia Feodorovna was sent “to Suzdal, to a monastery, to shed tears forever,” and Anna Mons took her place. Franz Lefort died, but his work did not die out. New ships were laid down in Voronezh, and soon Peter had an impressive fleet. The Tsar sent ships to the Crimea, then to the Bosporus, unpleasantly surprising the Turks with powerful force.
A regular army was formed, in which “many arrived voluntarily, from a meager living.” Peter introduced a new calendar, according to which the chronology began from the Nativity of Christ, “and as a sign of that good beginning and the new century, we congratulate each other on the New Year in joy.”
Chapters 3-5
Peter made peace with the Turks, and in 1700 sent troops to the Swedes. The young Swedish king Charles XII easily defeated Russian troops near Narva. Having occupied Livonia and Poland, he intended to go deeper into Muscovy, but the generals dissuaded him. There could be no talk of peace with Karl.
Peter directed all his forces to conquer the Neva. After a long battle, the fortress was taken, called Shlisselburg. Peter learned about Anna Mons's betrayal and alienated her from himself. Faithful Menshikov quickly found a cordial replacement for the Tsar - she was the captive girl Katerina, who was destined to become Tsarina Catherine I.
Construction of a fortress with six bastions began on the Neva - “it was decided to call the fortress Piterburkh.”
Book three
Chapters 1-6
Swedish ships approached the mouth of the Narva. Peter threw all his forces there, and the Russian “troops surrounded Narva with a horseshoe, resting on the river above and below the city.” The defender of the fortress, General Gorn, did not want to surrender it, and the inhabitants suffered greatly from this. On the advice of Menshikov, the tsar used military stratagem. The four regiments changed into Swedish dress and painted their cannons in the color of the Swedish flag. The maneuver was a success and during the “masquerade battle” Narva was captured. Peter appointed the faithful Menshikov governor of the city, and gave him exactly “an hour to stop the bloodshed and robbery.” He ordered the stubborn Gorn to be taken to prison “across the whole city, so that he could see the sad work of his hands.”
Conclusion
The work describes the life of Peter I, his development as a person and as a wise and decisive ruler of a great power. He faces many severe trials, which he copes with with dignity.
After reading the brief retelling of “Peter the Great,” we recommend reading the work in its full version.
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Summary. The novel opens with a description of real historical events. In 1675, Fyodor Alekseevich ascended the throne. But after his death, a struggle for power begins. During Peter's early childhood, his sister, Princess Sophia, began to rule the state. In an effort to maintain power, she persuades the Streltsy army to revolt, but Peter escapes. A confrontation arises between Princess Sophia, her favorite, Prince Vasily Golitsyn, and the minors Ivan Alekseevich and Pyotr Alekseevich. “And everything went as before. Nothing happened. Over Moscow, over the cities, over hundreds of districts spread across the vast land, the twilight of a hundred years soured - poverty, servility, lack of contentment. All these events develop in parallel with the most ordinary incidents in the lives of ordinary people. The author describes the Brovkin family, in particular the difficult life of little Alyoshka, who is constantly punished for his mischief. One day Ivashka Brovkin goes to Moscow and takes his son Alyoshka with him. Along the way, Alyoshka runs away, frightened by his father’s anger. This is where his independent life begins. He gets a job selling pies. Here he meets Aleksashka Menshikov. One day Alyoshka and Aleksashka meet an unusually dressed boy. They easily strike up a conversation with him and surprise him with a needle trick. Peter, and it was he who met Alyosha and Menshikov, lived three miles from the capital in the village of Preobrazhenskoye. Peter was burdened by his home environment and found inexplicable charm in communicating with the inhabitants of the German settlement. Here he meets Captain Franz Lefort. Here he meets his first love, the daughter of a local wine merchant, Anna Mons. Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna hastily marries the young tsar to Evdokia Lopukhina in order to settle him down. In Preobrazhenskoe, Peter gathers many of his peers, from whom he forms regiments. Companions for playing soldiers were called amusing ones. The number of amusing people began to increase so much that there was not enough room for everyone in the village. Therefore, some of them were located in the nearest village - Semenovskoye. Thus, the amusing regiments become the prototype of the future Russian army. Peter becomes close to captain Fyodor Sommer, who strongly supports his endeavors. Peter learns that the boy who so amazed him with his magic trick is in the service of Captain Franz Lefort. The young king takes him to his place and makes him his bed servant. From this time on, Aleksashka Menshikov became a significant figure in Peter’s life, a man who had great influence on the Tsar. Aleksashka, in turn, does not forget about his friend Alyoshka. He gets him into the amusing army as a drummer and helps him in the future. One day Alyoshka meets his father in Moscow. He forgives him all his insults and gives him money. With this money, Ivashka Brovkin bought himself out of serfdom and became a wealthy merchant. In addition, he, again through his son, met Peter himself. And at this time rumors were already beginning to circulate about the king. He amazes everyone by the fact that he brings people closer to himself, guided not so much by their origin and nobility, but by their intelligence and intelligence. It is not for nothing that his motto is mentioned in the novel by the author himself: “From now on, nobility will be judged by suitability.” Sophia, who saw Peter's increasing power and his growing influence, is trying to organize a rebellion against him. And again her choice falls on the Streltsy regiment. However, some of the archers take an oath to warn the king and thereby save him. Warned, Peter leaves Preobrazhensky for the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. The revolt is suppressed. Its instigators were brutally executed. Vasily Golitsyn himself and his family were sent into exile. And Sophia is locked in the Novodevichy Convent. Peter remains the sole ruler. Soon Evdokia brings Peter his first child - Alexei Petrovich. And almost simultaneously his mother, Natalya Kirillovna, dies. Among the intelligent and active people of that era there were great hopes for Peter. They saw him as an intelligent, far-sighted politician, a firm, self-confident person. Many then understood that “Russia - a gold mine - lay under centuries-old mud... If not the new tsar will raise life, then who will?” The already famous Franz Lefort becomes close to the king. He helps the king with advice. One of the tsar's first major accomplishments was the campaign against Crimea. Crimea was a very important territory for Russia, where many of its interests converged. Peter sends part of his army to Azov. The campaign to Crimea ends in failure for Russia, but this did not break Peter’s will. He carries out his reforms and “breaks through the window to Europe,” as they will later talk about him. However, these reforms were not unanimously accepted by the people. The beginning of the 18th century was marked by riots and discontent. People went into the forests, burned themselves in huts, just so as not to surrender into the hands of the Antichrist. “The Western infection uncontrollably penetrated into a dormant existence... The boyars and local nobility, the clergy and archers were afraid of change (new things, new people), hated the speed and cruelty of everything new... But those, rootless, efficient, who wanted changes, who were enchantedly drawn to Europe ... - these said that they were not mistaken in the young king.” When Peter was in Arkhangelsk for the first time, he was amazed by the view of the sea. And indeed, the sea was very important for Russia. Peter orders the construction of ships in Voronezh. Having recruited a strong fleet, the tsar makes a new attempt to take Azov. The fortress surrendered, but the Turkish Empire rebelled against Russia. The king is forced to look for allies. He calls on European states to cooperate. Peter secretly travels to Holland under the name of the sergeant of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, Peter Mikhailov. Here he learns crafts. And his absence in the country threatens a riot. And again Sophia incites the archers to an uprising, a conspiracy. The return of the Tsar to Moscow threatens with cruel reprisals against the rebels. “The whole country was gripped by horror. The old stuff was hidden in dark corners. Byzantine Rus' was ending." There has long been a rift in the relationship between Evdokia and Peter. And so Evdokia is sent to Suzdal, to a monastery. In her place is the “Kukui queen” Anna Monet; Her house is called that in Moscow - the Tsaritsyn Palace. The tsar's faithful assistant and friend Franz Lefort suddenly dies. The construction of a military fleet in Voronezh continues actively. Russia is growing stronger. New ships are being laid down. They are beginning to fear Russia. Ivan Artemyich Brovkin is expanding his business. He manages supplies to the army. Now he is an eminent merchant who can safely be proud of his children. And Alexey Brovkin is not indifferent to Princess Natalya Alekseevna, Peter’s sister. In the 1700s, the Great Northern War broke out. Peter declares war on the Swedes. The young and ambitious King Charles XII defeats Russian troops near Narva. Considering Peter a weak enemy, Charles goes against the Polish king. He stayed in Poland for about 6 years and overthrew Augustus from the throne. Peter is torn to pieces at this time. He manages to manage affairs in Moscow, Novgorod, and Voronezh. Peter's decision to cast cannons from monastery bells became infamous. Volunteers are being recruited into the army. And many peasants, trying to escape serfdom, rush to the army. Well-trained Russian troops capture the Marienburg fortress. Many prisoners were taken. Among them they notice a slightly disheveled, but still very pretty girl. Alexander Menshikov takes the beautiful Katerina for himself. At this time, Peter learns about Anna Mons's betrayal with the envoy Kenichsek. Menshikov, in order to pacify the tsar’s formidable temper, introduces him to Katerina. This is the future Tsarina Catherine I. “The embarrassment near Narva did us great good,” says Peter. “By beating, iron becomes stronger, a man matures.” Peter marches victoriously to Narva. General Horn understands perfectly well that the city cannot withstand a siege, but, nevertheless, does not want to surrender the city. The result is meaningless sacrifices. Narva is taken. General Horn is defeated. “You will not be honored by me,” he hears from Peter. “Take him to prison, on foot, across the whole city, so that he can see the sad work of his hands...”Chapter 1
The nobleman Vasily Volkov reflects on how the state treasury, empty from wars and riots, robs the landowners. Volkov’s peasant, Ivashka Brovkin, at the same time thinks about the peasant’s hard lot. Both nobles and peasants harbored a grudge against the growing rich boyars.
Volkov is going to Moscow for the annual review of troops. The warriors will be lucky by Brovkin, whose son Alyoshka is in eternal bondage in Volkov’s courtyard.
Instead of Ivashka Brovkin, his son Alyoshka is going to Moscow. Moscow is scary: swearing, crush, vanity. On Lubyanka Square every year before the spring campaigns there was a review of the sovereign's servicemen - the noble militia.
Mikhaila Tyrtov sends Alyoshka Brovkin to the courtyard of the royal groom Danila Menshikov for a stately horse in order to appear at the show.
The boyars are thinking about who to call king. Peter is the son of Naryshkina, hot in mind, strong in body. Ivan is the son of Miloslavskaya, feeble-minded, sick, weave ropes out of him... Who will win - the Naryshkins or the Miloslavskys?..
After the death of Fyodor Alekseevich, the patriarch asked the crowd from the red porch who should be king? In the crowd you shouted Peter's name.
Alyoshka Brovkin in Danila Menshikov's yard. Menshikov talks with the guests about the Moscow order: the royal salary has not been paid for two years, the archers are threatening to start a riot in Moscow, the Nikonians (supporters of the reform of Patriarch Nikon in 1553) live in abundance, but there is no spirituality, ancient piety has disappeared; Sagittarius goes into a “schism” (in opposition to the official faith). Danila's brother-in-law reports that Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich died, and Peter was shouted in his place - this means further triumph of the boyars and Nikonians.
Alyoshka Brovkin meets Aleksashka Menshikov, Danila’s son.
Streltsy come to the kruzhal (royal tavern) to the hotel palaces (merchants). They have common interests: all trade is in the hands of the Germans of Kukueva Sloboda, and the power of the Naryshkins means new tributes and duties. As proof of the permissiveness of foreigners, the archers show a man allegedly beaten by the Germans on Kukui. Sagittarius assure that all the settlements are on their side, they only need financial support from the merchants.
Aleksashka Menshikov was again beaten half to death by his father. At dawn, she and Alyoshka leave home. On Red Square, the boys meet the archers, who tell the story about the Germans and their future dominance under the Naryshkins, showing a man beaten at Kukui. Anger flares up in the crowd. Princes galloped from the Kremlin: Voivode Khovansky, of ancient boyar blood, a hater of the noble Naryshkins, and Vasily Golitsyn, the favorite of Princess Sophia. Khovansky called to go across the river to the Streltsy regiments and rebel against the Naryshkins.
Golitsyn comes to Sophia and reports that Khovansky and uncle Ivan Miloslavsky are waiting for her. Khovansky reported that almost all the regiments were in her favor. The princess agrees to rule if the regiments throw off Peter and shout at her for the kingdom. In return, the archers received freedom, land, and salary.
Aleksashka and Alyoshka in the crowd near the Vsesvyatsky Bridge across the Moscow River. Pyotr Tolstoy, Miloslavsky’s nephew, appeared and reported that the Naryshkins had strangled Tsarevich Ivan. The crowd poured into the Kremlin.
Sophia, Golitsyn and Khovansky invite the mortally frightened Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna to go out onto the Red Porch with Ivan and Peter, so that the people can be convinced that the children are alive.
Natalya Kirillovna brought Peter out onto the porch, and Artamon Matveev (a close associate of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich), who had specially arrived in Moscow, brought Ivan out. The rioting crowd demands that the Naryshkins and their supporters be handed over to them. Matveev was thrown onto the spears.
Chapter 2
The brothers Naryshkin, Dolgoruky, Romodanovsky, Cherkassky, Matveev and others were exterminated. The archers were given a salary and bonuses. A memorial pillar was erected on Red Square with the names of the murdered boyars, their guilt and atrocities. But otherwise everything went as before: poverty, servility, lack of wealth. Even the boyars and eminent merchants were dissatisfied, who wanted to live no worse than the Polish gentlemen, Livonians or Germans. At the same time - unbearable taxes, tribute, depleted land, bad trade. There are two Daryas in Moscow - Ivan and Peter, and with them is the ruler, Tsarevna Sophia. Some boyars were replaced by others. Again there was a murmur among the people. A delegation of schismatics came to Sophia and disgraced the patriarch and the clergy, demanding the “old faith.”
Confusion and unrest began. The most desperate decided to kill both princes and Sophia, but the princess left with the entire court for Kolomenskoye and began to gather a noble militia there. The leader of the rebel archers, the schismatic Khovansky, was executed, and the archers from his detachment were chopped up. The remaining archers were forced to send petitioners to confess to the protection of the walls of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra of Sophia. Thus the will of the archers ended. The pillar on Red Square was demolished, and the freedom certificates were taken away.
Aleksashka and Alyoshka on the Yauza, not far from the Preobrazhensky Palace, met Tsarevich Peter. Aleksashka offered to show him a “trick” for a silver ruble: he pulled a needle through his cheek. Since then, the boys have gotten into the habit of coming to the banks of the Yauza, but Peter was only seen from afar.
In the spring, Aleksashka came across his father, Danila, who had been looking for him for a long time, and miraculously escaped from him by jumping on the heels of a German carriage. So, with the carriage of Franz Lefort, Aleksashka ended up in Kukuy, in a German settlement. Lefort allowed Aleksashka to remain in service.
Peter's teacher and uncle Nikita Moiseevich Zotov was too light-hearted - this was not the kind of mentor the stubborn and restive prince needed. Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna was worried that her son was not studying the Law of God enough: is this not the reason for his dissimilarity to the real king? Peter built an “amusing” fortress on an earthen rampart in front of the palace, where he played with the peasants of the courtyard: he lined them up, commanded the shooting from a wooden cannon and the hand-to-hand combat of the “soldiers”.
At the court of Tsar Peter there are (for the sake of decency) only four boyars: princes Mikhail Cherkassky, Lykov, Troe-kurov and Boris Golitsyn. Stolniks were also assigned to Peter's court - boyar children from small estates, noble families. Among them is Vasily Volkov, who discovered Peter, who once disappeared, in the Kukuyskaya settlement.
Peter met Captain Franz Lefort, familiar from the Kremlin’s receptions of foreign ambassadors, while sailing in his plow along the Yauza past Kukui. Lefort offered to show the prince “mental things”: a water mill, an ornate music box, a telescope, a locked freak baby. Curious Peter could not resist. Having visited many houses of the Kukui people, Peter saw in a tavern-austerium a beautiful girl who sang in German in his honor - it was the daughter of a wine merchant, Anna Monet.
The Moscow court differed from European ones in the absence of gallant fun, games, and exquisite music. The boyars spoke in the Kremlin only about trade transactions and prices for goods. The life of a Russian person was rooted in traditions: even the estate in Moscow had a strong gate with a fence. There was little free time: the boyars spent time in the palace, waiting for orders from the tsar; the merchants at the shop were inviting customers; the clerk was sniffling over the letters. The usual course of affairs was stirred up by Poland's request to stand up for its Christian brothers - to go to war with the Turks, sending Russian troops to Crimea. Vasily Golitsyn set a condition: the Poles return the original Russian Kyiv with its towns. The Poles argued for a long time, but they gave up Kyiv and signed an eternal peace with Moscow. Now it was necessary to go to war against the Turkish Sultan.
In his house, Vasily Golitsyn had a conversation in Latin with de Neuville, who had arrived from Warsaw, about the Russian classes - the feeding and the serving, reflecting that it would be useful to tear the landowners away from the peasants, so that the two classes would bring the maximum possible benefit. Golitsyn formulated his thoughts in the essay “On civil life or the improvement of all affairs that should be common to the people...”: to plow and sow millions of acres that are still empty, to increase livestock at the expense of English fine-wool sheep, to interest people in various trades and ore business; replace many unbearable quitrents, corvées, taxes and duties with a single, universal, moderate tax, for which purpose take all the land from the landowners and plant free peasants on it, and destroy all former serf bondage. In return for the land, the landowners will receive a salary from the general land tax. The troops will consist of only nobles, so that everyone does their own thing. According to Golitsyn’s calculations, this state of affairs should have led to a doubling of treasury revenues. Young noble children should have been sent to study in Poland, France and Sweden to study military affairs, and academies should have been opened in Rus' and sciences and arts established. The prince’s project also included stone pavements, buildings made of stone and brick... Vasily Vasilyevich even allowed to overcome the ancient stubbornness of the nobles by force, if necessary.
The ruler Sophia arrived to Golitsyn (secretly, as always). Lately she has been tracking all the rumors and gossip of the boyars. Basically they said that Sophia did not see great deeds, and that it was a burden for her, a woman, to rule. Sophia insists on war in Crimea and has already prepared a letter declaring Prince Vasily a great governor. The war was necessary to show the power of Sophia’s troops: they whisper that a true warrior-tsar is growing up in Preobrazhenskoe, who demands that all grooms and falconers be recruited into his “amusing troops.”
Under the command of Peter there were already three hundred “soldiers”, with whom he went on “campaigns” through villages and monasteries around Moscow. A governor appeared in the army - Avtonom Golovin, who knew the soldier’s execution well. Under him, Peter began to undergo military science in the first “Preobrazhensky” battalion. Thanks to Lefort, the regiment acquired cannons that fired cast iron bombs.
At Lefort’s house, Peter ran into Aleksashka. After the feast, Aleksashka accompanies Peter on horseback to Preobrazhenskoye and becomes the king’s bed servant.
Chapter 3
The noble militia, under the threat of disgrace and ruin, gathered all winter. The people whispered about the bad omens that accompanied preparations for the campaign. At the end of May, Golitsyn set out on a campaign to the south. On the way, people died of thirst, and in the regiments they grumbled. The Tatars ahead set fire to the steppe; Walking through the ashes is dangerous - there is no food, no water. The Cossack patrols were the first to turn back. It was ordered to retreat to the Dnieper. The Crimean campaign ended ingloriously.
The colonels informed Golitsyn that the Ukrainian Hetman Samoilovich had sent the steppe to set fire. He doesn’t want the strengthening of Moscow, and the colonels are ready to support Sophia, as long as their liberties are left to them. Samoilovich swore that these were the machinations of his sworn enemy Mazepa, who wanted to give Ukraine to Poland. They called Mazepa the new hetman.
The amusing fortress in Preobrazhenskoye was rebuilt: if necessary, it was possible to sit out here. Already two regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky - were subjected to executions. The German Timmerman taught Peter mathematics and fortification. The German Brandt undertook to build ships following the example of a boat found in the village of Izmailovo. More and more often, boyars came from Moscow to watch the Tsar’s “games” in the “capital city of Preshpurga.”
The orderly Aleksashka is everywhere next to the “min hertz” Peter. Lefort praised Petra Aleksashka and gave him gifts. Aleksashka hired Alyosha Brovkin as a drummer.
The people became impoverished from the extortions for the Crimean campaign. Thousands of people are running to the schismatics - to the Urals, Pomerania, the Volga region, and the Don. Hundreds of Old Believers commit self-immolation for the sake of salvation from the reigning Antichrist. Natalya Kirillovna is seriously thinking about marrying her son so that he can settle down. The choice fell on the okolnichy’s daughter Evdokia Lopukhina.
Boris Golitsyn, Vasily Vasilyevich’s cousin, frequented Preobrazhenskoye, dissatisfied with his brother’s actions and the policies of the boyars. He began to patronize amusing shipbuilding: he sent books, drawings, sheets, and sent Karl-Araps to translate them.
Vasily Golitsyn, having returned to Moscow, voiced a proposal from the French: to develop Siberia and build a trade route through Russian lands to Persia, India and China. The proposal was angrily rejected by the boyars.
Chapter 4
Ivashka Brovkin meets with Alyoshka and asks his son for money for the household.
Peter marries Lopukhina. Immediately after the wedding, he leaves for the shipyard of Lake Pereyaslav. The third ship was launched. A special flag was invented for the Pereyaslavl fleet - with three panels - white, blue and red.
The archers plan to set fire to Preobrazhenskoe and kill the queen and Peter. Famine struck in Rus', including in Moscow. There is robbery and robbery everywhere. Rumors are spreading in the crowd (with Sophia's tacit consent) that Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna ordered all the grain to be taken to Preobrazhenskoye, and let Moscow die of hunger.
Lev Kirillovich persuades Peter to urgently return to Preobrazhenskoye.
Streltsy Pentecostals are stirring up Streltsy settlements, planting anonymous letters in the bazaars. But Sophia was unable to raise the archers as she once did. Individual boyars and several regiments defected to Preobrazhenskoye and warned of possible arson and attacks.
Peter leaves for Trinity, where a courtyard is taking shape. To please the boyars, he behaves like a true tsar: he attends church services, observes all Russian traditions, and listens to the advice of his elders. Lefort advises him to promise tired people peace and prosperity.
Sophia goes to Trinity, but she is detained in Vozdvizhensky and by order of Peter she is sent to Moscow.
Boris Golitsyn advises his cousin to quickly move to Peter, but he hesitates. After Shaklovity was captured by Peter’s decree, Golitsyn goes to Trinity. Peter sends him into eternal exile with his entire family, depriving him of all his estates.
Sophia is imprisoned in the Novodevichy Convent. Shaklo-Vity and other archers were executed as conspirators, many were exiled to Siberia. Peter's supporters are rewarded. Ministers are replaced, but no significant changes occur.
Chapter 5
Lefort becomes a big man under Peter. Foreign merchants in his house talk about the peculiarities of Russian trade: a nationwide order is needed, then Muscovy is a gold mine.
Peter's first state decision: he gives the heretic Kulman to Patriarch Joachim, but does not allow him to touch other Gentiles, citing the fact that the state needs foreigners in military affairs.
Evdokia Lopukhina learns about Peter's passion for Anna Monet. Peter's first child is born - son Alexey.
In the spring and summer, all the boyars are driven to Preobrazhenskoye for “amusing” service, in order to train them in military affairs. Out of horror, many fled to the forests to steal, others - to the north, to the schismatics; went to the Caucasus and Crimea. The fugitives were found; they shot back or committed self-immolation in log houses and churches.
Peter goes to Arkhangelsk to look at foreign merchant ships and understands how wretched the “amusing” fleet is. He decides to buy a ship in Holland and follow his example to build his own. Lefort advises him to conquer the Black and Azov Seas and build harbors in the Baltic. This is vital for normal trading. It is also important to glorify trading people - merchants, who throughout Europe are the support of sovereigns.
Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna died. Evdokia is preparing to reign.
Chapter 6
In February 1695, a levy of militia was announced “for fishing over the Crimea.” In April, the army moved to the lower reaches of the Dnieper, to the ancient fortress of Ochakov and fortified Turkish towns. In August they took three towns. Material from the site
At the same time, the Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky and Lefortov regiments secretly went to the Sea of Azov, under the Turkish fortress of Azov, where the Turks controlled the trade routes to the east and to the grain-growing Kuban and Terek steppes. During the army, Peter was called bombardier Peter Alekseev (so that there would be no publicity, including in case of failure).
Moscow was left to the prince-Caesar of amusing campaigns and the most humorous council, Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky. Also, once upon a time, Ivan the Terrible left the Tatar prince Simeon Bekbulatovich in Moscow as “the king of all Rus'.”
It quickly became clear that Azov could not be taken by storm. The Russians lacked modern weapons, food, reinforcements, the ability to fight, ships—everything. Again and again, on Peter's orders, the Russians launched an attack, but only lost soldiers and officers. The soldiers refused to fight out of fear. Finally, the siege of Azov was lifted. The first Azov campaign ended ingloriously.
Chapter 7
1696 Boyars and local nobles, clergy and archers were afraid of changes: new things, new people. From the shame at Azov, Peter matured and became more serious. Workers and artisans were driven to Voronezh to build ships. In May, the prepared Peter again went to Azov - and took the fortress. The construction of Russian fortresses began in the south (Taganrog, etc.). Fifty of the best Moscow nobles were sent abroad to study mathematics, fortification, shipbuilding and other sciences.
By capturing Azov, the Russians provoked a big war with the Turkish Empire. Allies were needed. The magnificent Great Embassy went to Europe for them, under which the Tsar was called the constable of the Preobrazhensky Regiment Pyotr Mikhailov.
1697 The state remained with Lev Kirillovich with the boyars, Moscow - with Romodanovsky. In mid-March we went to Courland and visited Konigsberg. There Peter met with Elector Frederick, who called the Swedes a common enemy, dissuading Muscovy from an alliance with Poland. Peter begins to delve into the political game of Europe.
In the cities of Germany and Holland, Peter plans to learn all the necessary crafts in two years. In January 1698, Peter moved to England, where he studied mathematics and drawing ship plans. Foreign shipwrights arrive in Moscow, as well as convoys with weapons, tools, and European wonders (monsters in alcohol, stuffed animals).
The Streltsy rebellion began: the regiments working in Azov and Taganrog rebelled along with the Cossacks against hard service, and rumors spread that Peter had died abroad. Princess Sophia gave the archers a letter with an order to take Moscow in battle.
Peter understands that European military alliances are false and short-lived. The war for the Spanish inheritance breaks out: against French rule in the Atlantic and Mediterranean - for free routes and markets for the ships of England and Holland.
Upon returning to Moscow, Peter subjected the boyars to terrible humiliation: he personally trimmed their beards - a symbol of ancient piety.
The interrogation of the rebel archers begins. We went to Sophia's letter. Spectacular executions of Streltsy took place (over a thousand people). Byzantine Rus' ended.
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Novel by A.N. Tolstoy“ Peter the First”
Shemyakina Lyudmila
11th grade
A.N. Tolstoy’s novel “Peter the Great” was called “the first” by A.M. Gorky
in our literature a real historical novel, "a book -
for a long time."
Reflecting one of the most interesting eras in the development of Russia -
the era of a radical break in patriarchal Russia and the struggle of the Russian
people for their independence, A.N. Tolstoy's novel "Peter the Great"
will always attract readers with its patriotism, extraordinary
genuine freshness and high artistic skill.
This novel introduces the reader to the life of Russia at the end of the 17th century.
beginning of the 17th century, depicts the struggle of the new young Russia, striving
striving for progress, with Russia old, patriarchal, clinging
for the old, asserts the invincibility of the new. "Peter the Great" is
a huge historical canvas, the broadest picture of morals, but
first of all, this is, according to A.S. Serafimovich, a book about Russian
character.
The personality of Peter and his era excited the imagination of writers,
artists, composers of many generations. From Lomonosov to Na-
These days, the theme of Peter does not leave the pages of artistic literature.
teratures. Pushkin, Nekrasov, L. Tolstoy, Blok and others turned to her.
For over twenty years, the theme of Peter and Alexei Tolstoy was of concern:
The story "The Day of Peter" was written in 1917, the last chapters
you read his historical novel "Peter the Great" - in 1945. Not immediately
A.N. Tolstoy was able to deeply, truthfully and comprehensively draw Petr.
Rovskaya eras, show the nature of Peter’s transformations.
"I had been targeting Peter for a long time, since the beginning of the February
revolution,” wrote A.N. Tolstoy. “I saw all the spots on his stone.”
ashes, - but still Peter stuck out as a mystery in the historical fog."
This is evidenced by his story “The Day of Peter” and the
hedia "On the Rack" (1928).
It is characteristic that A.N. Tolstoy turned to the Petrine era in
1917; in the distant past he tried to find answers to the mu-
questions that haunted him about the fate of his homeland and people. Why exactly
did the writer turn to this era? Peter's era - a time of pre-
educational reforms, a radical overthrow of patriarchal Russia-
was accepted by him as something reminiscent of 1917.
In the story "The Day of Peter" Tolstoy sought to show Peter
The first by a willful landowner who wants to change the life of his family
no country. “Yes, that’s enough,” he writes, did the Tsar want the best for Russia?
Peter? What was Russia to him, the tsar, the owner, who was burning with vexation?
and jealousy: how is it his yard and cattle, farm laborers and all the owners -
Is the property worse, more stupid than the neighbor's? "Negative attitude towards Peter
and his transformative activities were connected, both
researchers say, with rejection and misunderstanding of A.N. Tolstoy in
1917 October Revolution.
The play "On the Rack" gives a broader description of the time
me Peter and his entourage. The era is still given in darkness
different tones. Through a number of episodes the motif of a tragic tragedy runs through
nights of Peter. He is alone in his huge country, for the sake of which
Roy "didn't spare his stomach"; people against the converter. Lonely
Peter and among his “chicks”: Menshikov, Shafirov, Shakhovskoy-
all are liars and thieves. Peter is lonely in his family - he is cheating on him
Catherine. Despite the fact that in the tragedy "On the rack" (on the breath-
All Rus' was raised by Peter) Peter is drawn as a big
a statesman, he still remained for Tolstoy
a mystery - hence the writer’s assertion of his futility
transformative activity and the image of the collapse of all of it
many years of work. The elements defeat Peter, and not vice versa, as
in Pushkin's poem "The Bronze Horseman".
One of the best works of Soviet literature in history
The “excellent” novel, according to A.M. Gorky, became a great theme.
A.N. Tolstoy "Peter the Great".
The beginning of work on this novel coincides with events that are important
important in the life of our country. 1929 is the year of a historical turning point.
It was at this time that Tolstoy again turned to the image
Peter's era. He feels the roll call of distant Petrovsky,
“when the old world cracks and collapses,” with our time, feeling
There is a certain consonance between these two eras.
THE IDEAL CONCEPT OF THE NOVEL "PETER THE FIRST"
1. First of all, the writer needed to determine what would happen
for him, the main thing in the novel, and from these positions select the appropriate
relevant material in the works of historians, historical documents,
memoirs. This main thing for Tolstoy, according to him, was
"the formation of personality in the era." He talked about this in conversation
with the editorial team of the magazine "Smena": "Formation of personality
in a historical era - a very complex thing. This is one of the tasks
my novel."
2. Tolstoy also solves the question of Peter’s transformations differently. All
the course of the narrative, the entire system of artistic images must
were to emphasize the progressive importance of transformative measures
acceptances, their historical pattern and necessity.
3. One of the most important tasks for Tolstoy was to “identify
driving forces of the era" - a solution to the problem of the people, their history
ical role in all transformations of the country, finally, the image
complex relationship between Peter and the people.
These are the main problems that Tolstoy was able to solve
approach only in the late 20s. Found the ideological concept of the novel
the corresponding expression in the composition of the work, in all its
components.
COMPOSITION AND PLOT OF THE NOVEL
"A historical novel cannot be written in the form of a chronicle, in the form
history... It is needed first of all, as in any artistic
canvas, - composition, architectonics of the work. What it is -
composition? This is first of all the establishment of a center, a center of vision
artist... In my novel the center is the figure of Peter I."
So, in the center of Tolstoy’s narrative is Peter, the formation of his
personality. However, the novel did not become, albeit masterfully written,
biography of Peter. Why? It was important for Tolstoy to show not only
Peter as a great historical figure, but also an era that
contributed to the formation of this figure.
The formation of Peter’s personality and the image of the era in its history
This movement determined the compositional features of the novel.
Tolstoy is not limited to depicting life and activity
of his hero, he creates a multifaceted composition, which gives him
the opportunity to show the life of the most diverse segments of the Russian population,
life of the masses. All classes and groups of Russian society
represented in the novel: peasants, soldiers, archers, artisans,
nobles, boyars. Russia is shown in a stormy stream of historical
events, in the clash of social forces.
The wide coverage of the events of the Petrine era is striking, the diversity
created characters.
The action is transferred from the poor peasant hut of Ivashka Brov-
kin to the noisy squares of old Moscow; from the powerful room,
predatory princess Sophia - on the Red Porch in the Kremlin, where little
Kiy Peter becomes an eyewitness to the brutal massacre of the Streltsy with Mat-
fan; from Natalya Kirilovna's chambers in the Preobrazhensky Palace -
to the German Settlement, from there to the steppes scorched by the southern sun,
along which Golitsin’s army is slowly moving; from Troitsko-Ser-
Gievsky Lavra, where he fled from the Preobrazhensky Palace at night
Peter, - to Arkhangelsk, near Azov, abroad.
The first chapters of the novel depict a fierce struggle for power between
two boyar groups - the Miloslavskys and the Naryshkins, representing
those who cherish the old, boyar, pre-Petrine Rus'. Neither one nor the other
the group was not interested in either the interests of the state or the fate of the people.
Tolstoy emphasizes this with almost the same type of remarks evaluating
the rule of one and the other. "And everything went as before. Nothing
It happened. Over Moscow, over cities, over hundreds of districts...
sour hundred-year twilight - poverty, servility, idleness" (after
victory of the Miloslavskys); but then the Naryshkins won - “...they began to du-
mother and rule as before. There haven't been any significant changes"
The people themselves understand this: “What is Vasily Golitsyn, what is Boris -
They are one joy."
Tolstoy shows that the people play a decisive role in those
events that are playing out in the Kremlin. Only with support
people, the Naryshkins manage to break the Miloslavskys, etc. Discontent
people's position is manifested in a number of crowd scenes.
From about the fourth chapter of the first book, Tolstoy shows
how relations between the matured Peter become increasingly strained
and Sophia, which subsequently leads to the fall of the former ruler.
Peter becomes an autocratic ruler and with his characteristic
decisively, overcoming the resistance of the boyars, begins the fight
with Byzantine Russia. “All of Russia resisted,” writes Tolstoy.
changes, “they hated the speed and cruelty of what was being introduced not only
boyars, but also local nobility, and clergy, and archers:
“It’s become not the world, but a tavern, everyone is breaking, everyone is being disturbed... They don’t live -
are in a hurry... We are rolling into the abyss..." The people also resisted - "little
there was the same burden - they were dragged to a new, incomprehensible job - to
shipyards in Voronezh." Escape to the dense forests,
on the Don - the people's response to all the hardships of life during the reign
The first book ends with the brutal suppression of Streltsy by Peter
mutiny. It’s better to read its ending out loud: “All winter there was torture and
executions... The whole country was gripped by horror. The old one clogged up
dark corners. Byzantine Rus' was ending. In the March wind
the ghosts of merchant ships were seen beyond the Baltic coasts.”
Full version 20 hours (≈400 A4 pages), summary 5 minutes.
Heroes of the work
Pyotr Alekseevich (Tsar of the Russian State)
Alexander Danilovich Menshikov (comrade-in-arms of the sovereign, is the son of a court groom, later becomes His Serene Highness Prince)
Franz Lefort (Peter's comrade and general)
Anna Mons (the sovereign's favorite)
Sofya Alekseevna (princess, sister to Peter)
Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn (head of the princess’s government)
Artamon Sergeevich Matveev (boyar)
Patriarch Joachim
Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina (queen)
Lev Kirillovich Naryshkin (brother of the queen)
Dwarf (servant of Ivan Kirillovich)
Alexey Ivanovich Brovkin (Alyoshka) (son of Ivashka Brovkin, friend of Aleksashka)
Ivan Artemich Brovkin (Ivashka Brovkin) (serf, later became a rich merchant, is Alyosha’s father)
Book 1
Towards the end of the seventeenth century, after the death of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, a struggle for a place on the throne began in Russia. The noble parties of the Naryshkins and Miloslavskys were at enmity. Princess Sophia was the regent for the young heirs Ivan and Peter. She achieved the election of the weak-minded Ivan to the throne.
At this time, in the village, on the land of the nobleman Volkov, a family of peasants, the Brovkins, lived. The head of the family (Ivashka) was supposed to take military men to Moscow, but sent his son, Alyoshka, in his place. There the boy met Aleksashka Menshikov, who persuaded him to run away from home and start living on his own. The fugitives became street pie sellers.
One day Aleksashka and Alyoshka were fishing on the Yauza and met a boy dressed in a non-Russian green caftan. This was the future Tsar Peter. Aleksashka showed him a trick by piercing his cheek without a drop of blood. The meeting was short-lived.
Peter and his mother lived in honorable exile in Preobrazhenskoye. The heir to the throne was very bored. He preferred “amusing” war games to studying the Law of God. One day Peter visited the German settlement, where he met foreigners living in Russia. Among them, Captain Lefort stood out, in whose service at that time was Aleksashka Menshikov.
Young Peter fell in love with the daughter of the wine merchant Mons, Anna, but his mother married him to Evdokia Lopukhina. The marriage did not in any way affect the energetic character of the young man: he continued to intensively engage in the exercises of his “amusing” army, which became the prototype of the future army. Residents of the German Settlement actively supported all his endeavors. Peter appointed the clever and agile Menshikov as a bed-keeper, who immediately became his closest and most trusted person. Aleksashka hired his friend Alyoshka Brovkin as a drummer in a funny army and helped him in everything.
Alyoshka unexpectedly met his father and helped him out with money. Thanks to his son, Ivan Brovkin became a “people figure” and approached the tsar. Peter gave his daughter Alexandra in marriage to Vasily Volkov, who used to be the owner of the Brovkins.
Sophia initiated a new Streltsy rebellion in order to get rid of her growing rival. Peter hid in the Trinity Monastery. Sophia's supporters, one after another, began to go over to his side. The rebellion was suppressed. The instigators and leaders of the riot were terribly tortured and executed. Golitsyn and his family were sent forever to Kargopol. Princess Sophia was locked in the Novodevichy Convent. Peter became the sole king and organized noisy celebrations on this occasion. Evdokia gave birth to the heir to the throne, Alexei. Peter's mother died.
Peter energetically began to carry out large-scale reforms. His main goal was to win access to the Black Sea for Russia. The first Azov campaign ended in a shameful defeat. There was growing dissatisfaction among the people with rising taxes and the dominance of foreigners. Many peasants fled from villages, becoming bandits. The number of schismatics hiding from the authorities in deep forests has increased significantly. People burned themselves, along with their huts and churches, just to avoid ending up in the hands of the “Antichrist.”
Peter began building the Russian fleet. The second Azov campaign ended with the capture of the fortress. However, this caused a clash with the Turkish Empire. I had to look for allies in the West.
The Tsar sent a Grand Embassy to Europe, in which he included himself under the name of Peter Mikhailov. There he lived as a simple artisan and learned the necessary crafts.
While Peter was away, fermentation began in the Russian state. There were rumors that the sovereign died abroad, and foreigners replaced him with their own man. Sophia again began to prepare a rebellion. The conspiracy was discovered. When Peter unexpectedly returned, mass ostentatious executions of disgruntled archers took place. The Tsar began to energetically instill European morals and orders in Russia. He sent Evdokia to the Suzdal monastery and no longer hid his connection with Anna Mons.
Book 2
Peter's chief adviser in the matter of reforms, Lefort, died. However, the young king already clearly understood the main goal - access to the Baltic Sea. To start a war with Sweden, it was necessary to make peace with Turkey. New ships were hastily built in Voronezh. A powerful flotilla suddenly appeared in the Black Sea and approached Constantinople unhindered. The frightened Turks went to sign a peace treaty. Peter began to prepare for the Northern War.
Ivan Brovkin carried out deliveries to the army. A large number of famous merchants were Ivan’s clerks. His other children were also settled: Yakov served in the navy, Gavrila was abroad. Artamon, who received a European education, remained with his father. Alexandra's daughter turned into a noble lady and dreamed of traveling abroad.
The first clash with the Swedes led to disaster: the Russian army was defeated near Narva. Charles XII, inspired by success, dreamed of worldwide fame. He defeated the army of King Augustus and occupied Livonia. Charles XII intended to capture Poland and the “heart of Europe” - Saxony, and only then deal a crushing blow to Russia.
Peter appreciated the bitter “lesson” near Narva. He began to become even more active in creating a new army, built ships, and cast cannons from church bells. Soon Russian troops and navy began to win their first victories. The army led by Sheremetyev captured the Marienburg fortress.
Peter found out about Anna Mons's betrayal and broke off all relations with her. In an effort to dispel the tsar's grief, Menshikov introduced him to Catherine (the future empress), who was captured in Marienburg.
After confident victories over the Swedes in the Baltic Sea, Peter began construction of a new fortress at the mouth of the Neva - Piterburgh.
Book 3
The situation in the European theater of military operations has changed. The failures of Augustus of Saxony led to the fact that in Warsaw the Sejm elected another king - Stanislav Leszczynski. Taking advantage of the internal turmoil, Charles XII victoriously advanced through the territory of Poland. Suddenly, Russian troops arrived to help Augustus. This infuriated the Swedish king and forced him to divide his forces, sending Levengaupt's detachment to Narva.
Peter I began the siege of Narva for the second time. The Russian army was much better prepared. With the help of cunning, the king lured the Swedish troops out of the fortress and destroyed a third of the garrison. The commandant of the city of Gorn never wanted to surrender Narva. This caused senseless suffering and death of many townspeople. After seven days of powerful shelling, Narva was taken. Peter ordered the captive Horn to be led through the entire city so that he could see for himself the terrible results of his stubbornness.
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