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Jacob von StahlinA learned German at the Russian court, collected anecdotes about Tsar Peter I.
Date of Birth: 09.05.1709
Country:  Germany |
Content:
- Biography of Yakov Shtelin
- Life in Russia
- Discovery of History
- True Calling
- Collection of Anecdotes
- A Close Relationship with Witnesses
- An Impressive Collection
- Legacy
Biography of Yakov Shtelin
IntroductionYakov Shtelin was a German scientist who collected anecdotes about Tsar Peter I while serving at the Russian court. He published these anecdotes in German, but only after his death. In 1735, Shtelin was invited to Russia by the director of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. He was a graduate of Leipzig University and had a good command of foreign languages and a deep knowledge of literature. Shtelin was known for his exceptional ability to create engravings and come up with concise and expressive captions for them. His rare talent for visual art led to his invitation to the capital of the northern empire with the sole purpose of utilizing his skills in creating engravings and allegories to glorify the Russian monarchs.
Life in Russia
Shtelin was assigned to oversee the academic engravers, and he immediately immersed himself in his work. He organized fireworks displays, wrote poetry in German, and invented new allegories to celebrate the Russian monarchs. However, he couldn't help but feel that the reign of Anna Ioannovna provided little inspiration for his enthusiastic devotion. The stark contrast between the elaborate symbolism and celebrations and the reality of Anna's intellect and interests was evident.
Discovery of History
Quietly, Shtelin began recording his observations and conversations from the early days in Russia, but he kept them secret from everyone. He hardly had any time for discussions about his work, as he was involved in numerous court activities. Besides the endless celebrations, during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, Shtelin even staged an opera titled "Tito's Mercy" (again about a good monarch). He also served as a tutor to the lanky teenager Peter Ulrich, who had been brought from Holstein and was designated as the heir to the throne. However, the future emperor proved to be hopelessly dull, and all of Shtelin's efforts to educate him went in vain. When the boy grew up, Elizabeth dismissed Shtelin from his position as a tutor and instead sent him to edit the "Vedomosti" newspaper. While working on the newspaper, the industrious German found time to compile a book of emblems and create sketches for medals commemorating significant historical events.
True Calling
Shtelin's true calling turned out to be history, not the kind of history found in voluminous academic works analyzing the causes of wars, victories, and defeats, but the history of people. He was interested in how individuals shaped history, how they thought, and how they felt amidst the events. Traditionally, this type of history was embodied in historical anecdotes. Two hundred years ago, the word "anecdote" had a different meaning than it does today. It referred to a short story about a historical figure, such as a monarch or a military leader, describing a situation where their personal traits were most vividly displayed.
Collection of Anecdotes
Shtelin heard countless anecdotes, not about Anna Ioannovna or Elizabeth, for whom he had to compose odes, but about Peter. Moreover, Shtelin realized that it was during the reign of Elizabeth that the myth of Peter the Great as a transformative and almost superhuman ruler began to take shape, a myth that would later occupy a significant place in Russian culture. At that time, many people were talking and debating about Peter, but few dared to write down what they agreed upon. Shtelin recorded it all.
A Close Relationship with Witnesses
In St. Petersburg, Shtelin developed a close relationship with the very people who could tell him what he would never learn otherwise about the deceased monarch. It was through conversations with them that Shtelin discovered the everyday life of the monarch and sometimes amusing details that were still vivid in their memories. Conversations with these individuals, like the talkative I. Yu. Trubetskoy, the cunning A.P. Bestuzhev, and the attentive I.A. Cherkasov, who had spent many years alongside Peter the Great, allowed Shtelin to learn about the personal life of the monarch. These conversations humanized the great reformer, who had already been thoroughly deified during the reign of his beautiful daughter.
An Impressive Collection
By the end of his life, Yakov Shtelin had collected 142 anecdotes. They were published after his death, in Leipzig, in 1785, in German. Russians debated whether they should translate them or not, and after a year they decided to do so. The first Russian edition of the "Authentic Anecdotes about Peter the Great" was published with a few alterations, as about a dozen stories were deemed inappropriate for such a high-ranking figure. And that's when it all began! Inspired by Shtelin's example, everyone who wanted to began collecting and publishing stories about the great monarch, and Russia experienced a true Peter the Great "boom". Russians read the stories of Golikov and Nartov with great enthusiasm.
Legacy
Over time, it became fashionable for historians studying the Peter the Great era and the biography of the reformer to search for any discrepancies or inaccuracies in Shtelin's texts. In fact, more fiction is often found in the "Authentic Anecdotes" than actual historical truth. Yakov Shtelin idealized the tsar, portraying him as too democratic, friendly, and only cruel when absolutely necessary.
In the end, historical anecdotes lost their luster and turned into mere peeping and mocking. Stories about the lives of Russian rulers in the 19th century were closer to modern-day anecdotes.
As for more recent history, the last "tsars" are brought to life in these stories, despite the deep sarcasm embedded by their patient subjects. Whether Yakov Shtelin would have been horrified or delighted by this outcome remains unknown.
