Peter the Great

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Abbott Jacob. Peter the Great

PREFACE

CHAPTER I. THE PRINCESS SOPHIA. 1676-1684

CHAPTER II. THE PRINCESS'S DOWNFALL. 1684-1869

CHAPTER III. THE CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF PETER. 1677-1688

CHAPTER IV. LE FORT AND MENZIKOFF. 1689-1691

CHAPTER V. COMMENCEMENT OF THE REIGN. 1691-1697

CHAPTER VI. THE EMPEROR'S TOUR. 1697

CHAPTER VII. CONCLUSION OF THE TOUR. 1697

CHAPTER VIII. THE REBELLION. 1698

CHAPTER IX. REFORMS. 1700-1701

CHAPTER X. THE BATTLE OF NARVA. 1700-1701

CHAPTER XI. THE BUILDING OF ST. PETERSBURG. 1700-1704

CHAPTER XII. THE REVOLT OF MAZEPPA. 1708

CHAPTER XIII. THE BATTLE OF PULTOWA. 1709

CHAPTER XIV. THE EMPRESS CATHARINE. 1709-1715

CHAPTER XV. THE PRINCE ALEXIS. 1690-1716

CHAPTER XVI. THE FLIGHT OF ALEXIS. 1717

CHAPTER XVII. THE TRIAL. 1717-1718

CHAPTER XVIII. THE CONDEMNATION AND DEATH OF ALEXIS. 1718

CHAPTER XIX. CONCLUSION. 1719-1725

Отрывок из книги

The circumstances under which Peter the Great came to the throne form a very remarkable—indeed, in some respects, quite a romantic story.

The name of his father, who reigned as Emperor of Russia from 1645 to 1676, was Alexis Michaelowitz. In the course of his life, this Emperor Alexis was twice married. By his first wife he had two sons, whose names were Theodore and John,1 and four daughters. The names of the daughters were Sophia, Catharine, Mary, and Sediassa. By his second wife he had two children—a son and a daughter. The name of the son was Peter, and that of the daughter was Natalia Alexowna. Of all these children, those with whom we have most to do are the two oldest sons, Theodore and John, and the oldest daughter, Sophia, by the first wife; and Peter, the oldest son by the second wife, the hero of this history. The name of the second wife, Peter's mother, was Natalia.

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Couvansky also conceived the design of securing and perpetuating the power which he hoped thus to acquire through the army by a marriage of his son with one of the princesses of the imperial family. He selected Catharine, who was Sophia's sister—the one next in age to her—for the intended bride. He cautiously proposed this plan to Sophia, hoping that she might be induced to approve and favor it, in which case he thought that every obstacle would be removed from his way, and the ends of his ambition would be easily and permanently attained.

But Sophia was perfectly indignant at such a proposal. It seemed to her the height of presumption and audacity for a mere general in the army to aspire to a connection by marriage with the imperial family, and to a transfer, in consequence, of the supreme power to himself and to his descendants forever. She resolved immediately to adopt vigorous measures to defeat these schemes in the most effectual manner. She determined to kill Couvansky. But, as the force which he commanded was so great that she could not hope to accomplish any thing by an open contest, she concluded to resort to stratagem. She accordingly pretended to favor Couvansky's plans, and seemed to be revolving in her mind the means of carrying them into effect. Among other things, she soon announced a grand celebration of the Princess Catharine's fête-day, to be held at the Monastery of the Trinity, and invited Couvansky to attend it.2 Couvansky joyfully accepted this invitation, supposing that the occasion would afford him an admirable opportunity to advance his views in respect to his son. So Couvansky, accompanied by his son, set out on the appointed day from Moscow to proceed to the monastery. Not suspecting any treachery, he was accompanied by only a small escort. On the road he was waylaid by a body of two hundred horsemen, whom Galitzin, Sophia's minister of state, had sent to the spot. Couvansky's guard was at once overpowered, and both he and his son were taken prisoners. They were hurried at once to a house, where preparations for receiving them had already been made, and there, without any delay, sentence of death against them both, on a charge of treason, was read to them, and their heads were cut off on the spot.

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