KTSSIA 



reina of power us princess-regent She concluded 

 peace with Poland in 1686, made two unsuccessful 

 campaigns against the Tartars of the Crimea ; anil 

 after an attempt to deprive Peter of his right to 

 the throne, and, this failing, to assassinate him and 

 his mother, she was forced to resign all power and 

 retire to a convent. Nearly a thousand of her 

 accomplices were executed ; and Peter (1689-1725) 

 ascended the throne as sole ruler, his half-brother 

 Ivan being allowed to retain the title of tsar con- 

 jointly, and to appear as such at public ceremonies, 

 but without any real authority. 



The history of Peter L's reign is almost entirely 

 his own biography, and it is given under his name, 

 the following remarks being only intended to give 

 a general view of the importance of his reforms. 



The powers of the tear, the duma of l>oyars, and 

 the church have already been mentioned alKive ; 

 but since Ivan IV. 's time, and especially since 

 the 'troubled times' of 1601-12, a new power 

 had come into existence viz. the Sobor, or states- 

 general. The Sobors consisted of representa- 

 tives of either ' the whole land ' or special classes 

 merchants or military or the inhabitants of 

 Moscow only, and they exercised a decided in- 

 fluence upon legislation. But even in Alexei's 

 reign steps were taken towards centralising all 

 powers in the hands of various boards (prikazy) 

 corresponding to modern ministries, under the 

 guidance of the tsar, and the Sobors were convoked 

 less and less frequently. Peter I. totally destroyed 

 the powers of the boyars and the churcn, and con- 

 voked the states-general but once, to condemn his 

 sister Sophia. He proclaimed himself emperor, 

 abolished the rank of patriarch, and introduced, 

 instead of the duma and the Sobor, a senate, whose 

 members he nominated himself. By transporting 

 his capital to St Petersburg, a city of his own 

 creation, he entirely freed himself from the inter- 

 ference of the boyars, the church, and the people 

 of Moscow, which often made its voice heard by 

 means of rebellions. He ruled with absolute 

 power, supported by men of his own choice. 

 All Russians l>ecame in an equal degree his own 

 subjects, though class-distinctions continued to 

 prevail in their mutual relations, and serfdom 

 grew worse and worse, taking all the characters of 

 slavery. Of a standing army under Peter's pre- 

 decessors only the Stryeltsy (military settlements 

 in the suburbs of the cities) and the Cossacks 

 deserved the name. The former were abolished 

 after their revolts in favour of Sophia, and the 

 privileges of the latter were curtailed. A stand- 

 ing army, completed by recruiting, was intro- 

 duced. The whole administration was reorganised 

 upon German models, or on strongly hierarchical 

 and centralised principles. A secret state police, 

 endowed with extensive powers of imprisonment, 

 torture, and exile, was introduced, and among i t - 

 victims was Peter's only son, Alexei, convicted oi 

 having plotted with the old party against his 

 father. He died under torture. The old taxes by 

 household were superseded by capitation taxes, and 

 formidably increased. Written procedure was in- 

 troduced in the justice courts, stamp-duties were 

 imposed. Faith was made a state affair, and at- 

 tendance at church on Sundays and communion 

 once a year was rendered obligatory. 



Agriculture and industry were at a low ebb in 

 the teardom of Moscow. Civilisation and learning, 

 which had been introduced during the federative 

 period, had never recovered the shock they had 

 received from the Mongol invasion. The educa- 

 tion even of the higher classes was confined to 

 reading and writing, and the first school for 

 classics and theology only made its appearance 

 during Feodor's reign. Fine arts were limited to 

 architecture and painting (of sacred subjects) after 



the Byzantine school The first newspaper ap- 

 peared (in Moscow), and the first theatre was 

 established, during the reign of Alexei. The in- 

 fluence of the Mongols left deep traces on the 

 domestic manners and habits of the Russians, 

 among which was the low position of women in 

 domestic life ; those of higher rank were completely 

 excluded from social intercourse with the other sex, 

 and were condemned to pass a dull and dreary 

 existence in their 'terems. Peter I. did his best 

 to improve the state of affairs in all these direc- 

 tions. He organised the army, created mining and 

 manufactures, chiefly for state purposes, imported 

 improved races of cattle, traced and caused to be 

 dug the canals which now are so important for 

 Russia, created schools, chiefly technical, and intro- 

 duced more social intercourse between the differ- 

 ent classes of society, in which women were 

 allotted a share. It must, however, be noted, 

 that in the . carrying out of his well-meant 

 schemes he forgot the people for the state, and 

 imposed upon the former the most terrible burdens. 

 Thousands and thousands of his subjects perished 

 in erecting St Petersburg and its fortress and in 

 digging canals, not to say a word of the wars they 

 had to maintain, and the revolts crushed with 

 Asiatic cruelty. 



In accordance with the terms of his will, his 

 second wife, Catharine I. (1725-27) succeeded 

 him ; but the old or anti-reform party of the 

 nobility supported the claims of the only son of 

 the unfortunate Alexei, Peter II. (1727-30), who 

 soon after obtained the imperial throne. The 

 reigns of both of these sovereigns were occupied 

 with court quarrels and intrigues, Menschikoff 

 (q.v.) during the former, and Dolgorouki during 

 the latter, beinjj the real rulers. On the death of 

 Peter II. the pnvy-council, setting aside the other 

 descendants of Peter I., conferred the crown on 

 Anna, Duchess of Courland, the daughter of Ivan. 

 Her reign (1730-40) was marked by the predomin- 

 ance of the German party at court, who, unchecked 

 by the weak sovereign, treated Russia as a great 

 emporium of plunder (see BIRON). Under their 

 influence Russia restored to Persia her lost Caspian 

 provinces, and was led into a most ruinous war 

 with Turkey. Anna's successor was Ivan (1740- 

 41), the son of her niece, the Duchess of Bruns- 

 wick, Anna Carlovna ; but he was speedily de- 

 throned by Elizabeth (1741-62), the daughter of 

 Peter I., who deprived the German party of the 

 influence it had so shamefully abused, restored the 

 senate to the power with which it had been 

 entrusted by Peter the Great, established a regular 

 system of recruiting, abolished tolls, and increased 

 the duties on imports. Russia gained by the treaty 

 of Mm (1743) a portion of Finland, and took part 

 in the Seven Years' War (q.v.). 



ElizalMjth's nephew and successor, Peter III. 

 (q.v. ; 1762), was a devoted admirer of Frederick 

 the Great of Prussia. His first act on his accession 

 to the throne was to order the Russian army whirh 

 supported the Austrians against Prussia to join 

 Frederick against the Austrians. Prussia, redurril 

 to the last extremity, was thus saved from dis- 

 memberment. At home he abolished the pre- 

 scriptions of Peter I. which imposed upon each 

 noble the duty of entering the state's service ; he 

 aln>lished the secret state police, gave full liberty to 

 the rankolnihtt proclaimed an amnesty to the serfs 

 who had revolted against their owners, and pro- 

 posed to seize the estates of the convents a measure 

 which Peter I. did not dare to take, and which was 

 partially accompli-On-d siilwequently under Cath- 

 arine II. But he was disliked at the court, and his 

 wifp, Catharine II. (1762-96), easily dethroned him. 

 He \yas arrested and murdered by Catharine's 

 associates. 



