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tsarevitch AlekseyTsarevich, son of PETER THE GREAT, later sentenced to death by him
Date of Birth: 18.02.1690
Country:  Russia |
Content:
- The Unloved Son
- An Estrangement
- Peter's Enigmatic Rule
- It is no wonder that Peter was obsessed with his legacy's fate.
- A Foreign Bride
- Meanwhile, the tsar's wife, Catherine
The Unloved Son
Alexei was born into the royal family in the village of Preobrazhenskoye, near Moscow, on February 18, 1690. His father, Peter the Great, had just married his first wife, Evdokia Lopukhina, a year earlier. Alexei was only two when Peter began an affair with Anna Mons, a merchant's daughter he met in the German Quarter, and only four when Peter finally left Evdokia. Consequently, Alexei's childhood was far from being one of domestic tranquility. And in 1698, he was effectively orphaned when Peter, returning to Moscow from a European trip, sent Evdokia to the Suzdal Monastery and forced her to become a nun.
Alexei's upbringing was left to his aunt, Tsarevna Natalya Alexeyevna, whom he disliked. He was tutored by Nikifor Vyazemsky and German tutors, including Martin Neugebauer and Heinrich Huyssen, with the overall supervision of his father's favorite, Alexander Menshikov. The prince, however, placed little value in his new responsibilities.
Alexei received a decent education and became proficient in German, French, and Latin. He was an avid reader and in 1704, at the age of 14, was summoned by his father to witness the siege and assault on Narva. "I have taken you on this campaign to show you that I have no fear of work or danger," Peter told his son. "I may die today or tomorrow, but be aware that you will gain little pleasure if you do not follow my example... if you disregard my counsels and do not do as I wish, I will disown you as my son and pray to God to punish you in this life and the next."
What could have precipitated such a tirade? Was it Alexei's apparent lack of interest in military affairs? Was it a sudden aversion to Peter's entourage?
An Estrangement
Alexei's relationship with his father suffered from an egregious lack of warmth and was filled with mutual suspicion and distrust. Peter took great care that Alexei had no contact with his mother. The prince, in turn, was always afraid of surveillance and betrayal. This unwavering fear became almost obsessive.
In 1708, during the Swedish invasion, Alexei, who had been entrusted with overseeing Moscow's defense preparations, received a letter from his father criticizing him for inaction. However, the real reason for Peter's displeasure was most likely Alexei's visit to his mother in the monastery, which he immediately reported to Peter. Alexei promptly asked his new wife and his aunt for help: "Dear Katerina Alexeyevna and Anisya Kirillovna, I beg you to tell me why the sovereign-father is angry with me. He has written that I am idle and neglecting my duty. I am now filled with concern and fear."
Two years later, Alexei was sent to Germany, ostensibly to study and choose a suitable foreign princess as his wife. From abroad, he appealed to his confessor, Yakov Ignatiev, to find and send him an Orthodox priest to hear his confession: "And tell him that he should come secretly, without any priestly signs, that is, with his beard and mustache shaved... or he should shave his entire head and wear a wig; and in German attire, send him to me as a courier... and tell him to pose as my valet, not as a priest, in any way..."
What was Alexei afraid of? The fact is, his father encouraged denunciations and was not prepared to respect the secrecy of even confession, as he considered the 'interests of the state' to be superior to any sacred rites. In the prince's mind, there were many unflattering and unfilial thoughts brewing. And then there was the need to marry a foreign woman! All these burdens made serious study an impossibility.
Therefore, when, a few years later after Alexei's return to Russia, his father, as was his custom, attempted to assess his son's progress in drawing, Alexei panicked and shot himself in the right hand. It is easy, following the celebrated historian S.M. Solovyev, to exclaim, "This one action defines the man!" but is it not possible that the oppressive atmosphere surrounding Alexei made him the way he was?
Peter bore little resemblance to a reasonable and just ruler. Quick-tempered and irritable, he was terrifying when enraged and often meted out punishments (including humiliating beatings), without even understanding the circumstances of the case. Did Alexei grow up to be weak-willed? But Peter would not have tolerated the will of anyone close to him that was not utterly and unconditionally subordinate to his own! He saw people merely as obedient instruments in his hands, ignoring their desires and, even more so, their feelings.
Peter's Enigmatic Rule
Peter's formidable companions were systematically trained to avoid having "their own judgment." According to renowned contemporary historian Yevgeny Anisimov, "A characteristic trait of many of Peter's associates was a feeling of helplessness and despair when they did not have clear instructions from the tsar or, buckling under the oppressive burden of responsibility, failed to receive his approval."
What could be said of a son who was inherently psychologically dependent on his father, when such nobles as Fyodor Apraksin, general-admiral and president of the Admiralty-Collegium, wrote to the tsar in his absence: "...Truly, we are like blind men groping in the dark, not knowing what to do. There is a great deal of disarray and we do not know where to seek refuge or what to do in the future. No money is being sent from anywhere, and all affairs are completely neglected."
This acute feeling of "divine abandonment" was but one facet of the comprehensive myth that Peter persistently created and propagated. The tsar presented himself not as a reformer (since reforms imply the transformation, or "improvement", of the past), but as the creator of a new Russia "out of nothing." However, bereft of symbolic support in the past, his creation was perceived as existing solely by the will of the creator. If his will were to disappear, the magnificent edifice was in danger of crumbling to dust...
It is no wonder that Peter was obsessed with his legacy's fate.
Alexei and the SuccessionBut what kind of a man should be the successor and executor of a creator? Richard Wortman, a contemporary scholar of imperial mythology, was the first to note the striking discrepancy between Peter's demands that Alexei become the heir to his work and the very essence of this work: "The son of a founder cannot himself become a founder without destroying his own inheritance"... Peter ordered Alexei to follow his example, but his example was that of an angry god whose purpose was destruction and creation; his image was that of a conqueror, rejecting everything that had come before. By assuming Peter's role in the myth, Alexei would have to distance himself from the new order and master the same kind of destructive force.
The American historian's conclusion is entirely reasonable: "Alexei Petrovich had no place in the reigning legend."
I believe, however, that there was a place for him. But the plot of the myth assigned him the role not of a loyal heir and successor, but of... a victim offered up for the greater glory of the entire edifice. It turns out that in a symbolic sense, the prince was doomed from the outset. Remarkably, this fact was subtly picked up by the popular consciousness. As folklorist K.V. Chistov discovered, folkloric texts about Peter's execution of the prince Alexei appeared a decade before the actual execution and long before the first serious conflicts between father and son! It is worth noting that in the traditional mythology of many different nations, the heir (the younger brother or son) of a creator-god often plays the role of either an inept imitator, distorting the meaning of creation, or a sacrifice offered up willingly by the creator. This archetype can be seen in the biblical motifs of the sacrifice of the son.
These considerations do not, of course, suggest that Alexei's life had to end exactly as it did. Any myth is not a rigid schema, but a "role-playing game" that allows for a variety of possible developments. Let us try to follow its twists and turns.
A Foreign Bride
In accordance with Peter's wishes, Alexei was forced to choose a wife abroad. On October 14, 1711, in the Saxon city of Torgau, in the presence of the tsar, he married Sophia Charlotte of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the sister of the wife of the Austrian emperor, Charles VI. This marriage was hardly a happy one. The princess, even after moving to Russia, remained an alienated and distant foreigner, unwilling to get close to either her husband or the royal court. "When I come to her, she is always angry and does not want to talk to me," complained the prince, while drunk, to his valet, Ivan Afanasiev. If Peter had hoped that she would help improve his relationship with his son and rouse him from his apathy, he miscalculated. On the other hand, the German princess proved to be quite capable in fulfilling the expectations of her first duty. In 1714, the couple had a daughter, Natalia. Afterwards, the princess wrote to Peter that, although she had failed to produce an heir on this occasion, she hoped to be more fortunate in the future.
Indeed, a son (the future emperor Peter II) was born in 1715. The princess was delighted and received congratulations, but soon afterwards her condition rapidly declined and she died ten days after giving birth, on October 22.
