496 



PETER I. 



Petersburg took place two months later. In June, 

 1712, he again visited Carlsbad, with his wife. Af- 

 t r having taken the waters three wesks, he proceed- 

 ed to his army in Holstein, where Steenbock, the 

 S wedish general, had obtained some successes over the 

 Danes. He shut up this general in Tonningen, and 

 returned to Petersburg, to effect the conquest of 

 Swedish Finland, and, in 1713, penetrated beyond 

 Abo to Tavusthus, while the Swedes in Tonningen 

 were compelled to surrender. But the neutrality of 

 I'omerania, proposed by Prussia, and consented to by 

 Menzikoff, thwarted his plans : for this act, even the 

 intercession of the czarina was hardly able to save 

 the favourite from ruin. Peter continued his efforts 

 to improve the Russian marine ; but he was obliged 

 to submit when the college of admiralty refused to pro- 

 mote him to the dignity of vice-admiral, " because he 

 had not sufficiently distinguished himself at sea, to be 

 preferred over other officers.'' His chief object was 

 now to merit that distinction. Having obtained the 

 naval victory at Twermunde, and completed the sub- 

 jugation of Finland by the subsequent capture of the 

 fortress of Nyslot, he was received, on his triumphal 

 entry into Petersburg, by the vice-czar Romanadowski, 

 with the salutation, "Hail, vice-admiral!'' 



Perceiving the oppressions exercised by the nobi- 

 lity upon the lower classes, he established a board to 

 inquire into abuses. The investigation ended in the 

 exile to Siberia of a great number of civil officers 

 from the first to the third rank, and strict provi- 

 sions against future abuses. He did not consider 

 it prudent to attempt to abolish slavery for the pre- 

 sent. He repaired the devastations which the war 

 had caused in Ingria, by settling in that country a 

 number of rich peasants from the interior of Russia. 

 He exercised the greatest prudence in regard to the 

 religious contests between the Roskolnicks (those of 

 the ancient faith and the Orthodox, but was obliged 

 to put to death a Roskolnick, who sought to obtain a 

 martyr's crown by assassinating the czar. Events of 

 this nature increased Peter's aversion to Moscow, 

 and confirmed his determination to make Petersburg 

 the capital of the empire. All his commercial ordi- 

 nances, and his measures for the growth and embel- 

 lishment of the city, were directed to this object. In 

 the midst of these plans, he was informed that Charles 

 XII. had returned, and was now in Stralsund. But 

 as this headstrong prince refused to consent to the 

 neutrality of Pomerania, and thus offended Britain 

 as well as Holland, he prepared for the czar the way 

 to new and easy conquests. Stralsund was taken 

 December 23, 1715, by the Prussians and Danes, 

 without the aid of Peter ; and in the first impulse of 

 anger, the czar was on the point of siding with Charles, 

 because his troops were refused admittance into the 

 works, and were even driven back by force. Before 

 his visit to Pyrmont for the recovery of his health, he 

 agreed with the king of Denmark upon a landing at 

 Schonen ; in pursuance of which he went to Copen- 

 hagen. Four fleets, Russian, Danish, British and 

 Dutch, were united, forming a squadron of 80 sail, 

 partly to cover the disembarkation at Schonen, and 

 partly to make head against the Swedish fleet, which 

 was cruising in the Baltic. The command of the com- 

 bined fleet was unanimously committed to the czar ; 

 and lie convoyed 100 merchant vessels, lying in the 

 sound, by the fleet of Sweden. The landing at Scho- 

 nrn was abandoned by the advice of the Russian 

 generals ; this excited suspicions in the mind of the 

 Danish king, and Peter left Denmark and took pos- 

 se-sion of Mecklenburg. 



For the accomplishment of certain political plans, he 

 undertook a journey to Holland and France, towards 

 the end of 1716. In Amsterdam, besides the naval 

 and commercial objects of his visit, he also attended 



to all the subjects of art and science. His wile, who 

 visited him after her delivery in February, 1717, re- 

 mained at the Hague, while Peter, in the beginning of 

 April, wentthrough Brabant to Paris, where he visited 

 all the literary, military, mechanical and other institu- 

 tions and collections of art, &c., and concluded a treaty 

 of amity and commerce with France, in behalf of him- 

 self and Prussia. His main object, the separation of 

 France from Britain, and his designs on Mecklen- 

 burg, were not accomplished. In October, 1717, lie 

 returned to Petersburg, and instituted investigations 

 into charges of abuses and acts of oppression. Prince 

 Wolkonski, the governor of Archangel, was shot, and 

 military courts were commissioned to inquire into ac- 

 cusations against others. He then went to Moscow, 

 to judge his only son, Alexis, who was condemned to 

 death by the high officers of the empire. Though 

 pardoned shortly after, he is said to have died of the 

 agitation into which the trial and sentence had thrown 

 him. At his funeral, which was solemnized with great 

 pomp, the czar melted into tears. Many persons, in- 

 volved in the guilt of Alexis, were executed with 

 great cruelty. Peter treated with equal severity the 

 nobles who oppressed the people, and did not even 

 spare his favourites Menzikoff and Apraxin. He en- 

 deavoured to introduce a more regular administration 

 of justice by the institution of the colleges of the 

 governments, and a legislative committee, taking tlie 

 code of his father, Alexis, for the basis of his new 

 system. A commercial college was also erected, 

 and the commercial class treated with distinction. 

 His amusements consisted in ornamenting his capital, 

 collecting a cabinet of natural curiosities, encouraging 

 art, and raising the tone of society; he likewise pro- 

 vided amusements for the court and people, by public 

 shows, masquerades, &c., (among which the papal 

 election, intended to expose the head of the Romai, 

 church to ridicule, was particularly remarkable.) 



Peter now landed troops on almost every point of 

 the Swedish coast, and commenced a war of devas- 

 tation, never to be forgotten in the annals of that 

 country. Jealousy of the growing power of Russia 

 united Poland, Prussia, and Denmark, with Sweden. 

 But Peter resisted all, and maintained his dignity in 

 a dispute with Austria. He banished the Jesuits 

 from the empire, because they meddled with affairs 

 in which they had no concern, and prepared for a 

 conflict with Britain In 1719, all the British 

 merchants in Russia were arrested, and threatened 

 with the seizure of their property. Peter was now 

 called to endure the severest trials in the death of 

 Scheremeteff, his companion in arms, and (on the 

 25th of April, old style) of the heir to the throne, 

 Peter Petrowitsch, his son by Catharine, born Nov. 

 8, 1717. The czar remained alone for three days 

 and three nights, after the death of his son, without 

 food or drink ; fears were at length entertained for 

 his life. But he resumed his firmness, and one of 

 his first measures was the institution of the " holy 

 directing synod," designed to put an end to the hier- 

 archy. (See Greek Church.} In 1720, Sweden was 

 again devastated ; the Swedish king having resolved 

 on the invasion of Finland, with the aid of a Bri- 

 tish fleet. Peter, however, continued his negotia- 

 tions, while he prepared for action, and directed the 

 construction of the port of Royerwick. At length 

 a third expedition against the Swedish coasts, suc- 

 cessfully conducted by Peter in 1721, in spite of the 

 British fleet, led to the peace of Nystadt (August 

 30, 1721, old style,) by which Livonia, Esthonia, 

 Ingria, with Wiburg and Kexholm, were ceded to 

 Russia. But the duke of Holstein, whom he had 

 promised to aid in the recovery of Sleswick, was 

 made the victim of political expediency. 



Thus after twenty-one years, the northern war 



