How Charles XII agreed with Peter I and what came of it. Getting Russia access to the sea under Peter I Peter the Great war with the Swedes
North War(Russian-Swedish) 1700-1721 - a protracted conflict between Sweden and the Northern Union (a coalition of the Russian kingdom, the Commonwealth, Denmark and Saxony) for the possession of the Baltic lands. It ended with the defeat of Sweden and a significant strengthening of the position of the Russian kingdom, which received access to the Baltic Sea, returned the lands that previously belonged to itself and was proclaimed the Russian Empire, and Peter I took the title of Emperor of the All-Russian
Territories of states at the time of the start of the Northern War
Causes and background
- During the Great Embassy, Peter I found allies to wage war with Sweden (Northern Union) - Denmark and Saxony sought to weaken Sweden.
- In 1697, Sweden was headed by the young Charles XII - the fifteen-year-old king seemed an easy prey for competing states
- Sweden captured Ingria and Karelia during the Time of Troubles.
- For the Russian kingdom, the Baltic Sea was the most important economic channel for the development of maritime trade with Europe.
- Peter I called the formal reason for declaring war a personal insult during his visit to Riga, where the commandant of the fortress did not let the tsar inspect the fortifications.
Goals and objectives
- Getting access to the Baltic Sea for the development of foreign maritime trade with Europe
- The return of Ingria and Karelia, the capture of part of the Baltic
- Weakening of Sweden's dominance
- Raising the international status of Russia
Briefly about the essence and content of the Russian-Swedish war
1700-1721
Stage 1 - the beginning of the Northern War
Sweden successfully acted at the beginning of the war - the siege of Riga by the Saxon copus failed, the landing of the Swedish troops near Copenhagen forced Denmark to leave the Northern Union, and the Russian troops, poorly organized, poorly armed and not having their own officers (commanded by Saxon officers and generals) failed to resist the Swedes near Narva on November 30, 1700 - the young army of Peter I was defeated.
This defeat for several years convinced all of Europe of the inability of the Russian army to conduct successful military operations, and Charles XII began to be called the Swedish "Alexander of Macedon." One of the main conclusions of Peter I as a result of the failure near Narva was to limit the number of foreign officers in combat units. They could make up no more than a third of the total number of unit officers.
Northern War 1700-1721 - general table
1701. While the Swedes were busy fighting in the Commonwealth and Saxony, Peter I decides to attack again in a northerly direction.
By early 1703 Russian troops occupied the entire course of the Neva. The captured settlement of Noteburg (erected by the Swedes on the site of the previously existing Oreshek fortress), Peter renamed Shlisselburg (key-city), and at the mouth of the Neva on May 16 (27), 1703, a new city and future capital, St. Petersburg, was founded.
In 1704 Russian troops continued to seize territories - almost the entire territory of Ingermanland came under the control of the Russian kingdom. By the summer of 1704, the commander of the troops, Boris Sheremetyev, invaded Livonia and laid siege to the fortress of Dorpat, taken a few months later with the personal participation of Peter I.
Summer 1704 General Ogilvy, with the second grouping of the Russian army, invaded Estonia and again laid siege to Narva - by the end of the summer, this fortress was also captured. Success in the assaults on well-fortified Swedish fortresses demonstrated the increased skill and equipment of the Russian army, as well as the correctness of the decisions made regarding the reorganization of personnel and the reduction in the number of artillery calibers.
Swedish invasion of Russia
Having defeated the army of Peter the Great near Narva in 1700, Charles XII turned all his forces against another member of the Northern Union - Augustus II. In four years, the Swedes ousted the Saxon troops from Poland, as a result of which, in 1704, some of the deputies of the Seim of the Commonwealth deprived Augustus II of the title of king, and a Swedish protege took his place.
In the war with Sweden, the Russian kingdom was left without allies.
In the spring of 1707 the first rumors appeared that Charles XII was preparing his main army, which was stationed in capitulated Saxony, for a campaign against Russia.
September 1, 1707 The Swedes army marched from Saxony towards Poland. During the 11 months of respite in Saxony, Charles XII managed to significantly strengthen his troops, making up for the losses incurred in past battles.
In June 1708 the Swedes crossed the border and advanced in the direction of Smolensk.
July 3 (14), 1708 Karl defeated the Russian troops of General A.I. Repnin at the Battle of Golovchin. Three days later, the Swedish king occupied Mogilev and controlled the crossings across the Dnieper.
To delay the advance of the Swedes, Peter I used the tactics of “scorched earth” - dozens of Belarusian villages were destroyed, and, forced to move around the devastated area, the Swedes experienced an acute shortage of food. Diseases, lack of food and supplies, the need to rest after a long transition - all this persuaded Charles XII to accept Hetman Mazepa's proposal and send troops to Ukraine.
September 28 (October 9), 1708 in the battle near the village of Lesnaya, the troops of Peter I defeated the corps of Lewenhaupt, moving from Riga to unite with the main army of Charles XII. This victory seriously raised the morale of the Russian army - in the framework of the Northern War, for the first time, the superior forces of the enemy, his elite army units, were defeated. Tsar Peter called her "the mother of the Poltava battle."
In October 1708 news came of the betrayal of Hetman Ivan Mazepa and his defection to the side of Sweden. Mazepa corresponded with Charles XII and offered him, in case of arrival in Ukraine, 50 thousand Cossacks, provisions and a comfortable winter quarters.
Unable to replenish supplies, the Swedish army by the spring of 1709 began to lack hand grenades, cannonballs, lead and gunpowder. Mazepa informed the Swedes that military supplies, prepared in case of battles with the Crimea or Turkey, were collected in large quantities in the fortress of Poltava.
The Battle of Poltava - the turning point of the Northern War
The victories near Kalisz and Lesna allowed the Russian army to create and consolidate a numerical advantage over the troops of Charles XII. In the army of Peter I, there were about 40-50 thousand people and 100 guns, while the Swedes had 20-30 thousand people and 34 guns with an acute shortage of gunpowder. A competent choice of the battlefield strengthened the tactical advantage (the forest prevented the wide coverage of Russian positions from the flank if the Swedes made such an attempt). The Swedes were forced to storm the Russian fortifications prepared in advance, providing the less mobile main forces of the Peter's army for safe combat deployment.
Having suffered a defeat near Poltava, the Swedish army fled to Perevolnaya - a place at the confluence of the Vorskla and the Dnieper. But faced with the impossibility of transporting the army across the Dnieper, Charles XII entrusted the remnants of the troops to Lewenhaupt, and he fled to Ochakov together with Mazepa.
October 9, 1709 in Torun a new alliance treaty was concluded with Saxony, on October 11 a new peace treaty was signed with Denmark, according to which she pledged to oppose Sweden, and Russia to launch military operations in the Baltic states and Finland. The victory at Poltava allowed Peter I to restore the Northern Union.
Charles XII hid in the Ottoman Empire, where he tried to persuade Sultan Ahmed III to declare war against Russia (Turkey sought to return the territories captured by Peter I as a result of the Azov campaigns)
Türkiye enters the war
At the end of 1710 Peter received news about the preparation of the Turks for war and decided to seize the initiative - in early 1711, he declared war on the Ottoman Empire and began the Prut campaign. The campaign ended in complete failure: together with all the troops, Peter I was surrounded and was forced to return Azov and Zaporozhye to Turkey, destroy the fortifications of Taganrog and ships, and, as a result, lose access to the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. Only under these conditions did the Ottoman Empire allow the Russian troops to leave the encirclement and did not enter the war on the side of Sweden.
Numerous resources spent on the Prut campaign complicated the situation on the Swedish front - the economy of the Russian kingdom was not designed for such a load.
Fighting in Finland and Norway
In 1713 Russian troops entered Finland, while the Russian fleet for the first time began to play a significant role in hostilities. On May 10, after shelling from the sea, Helsingfors was taken, after which Breg surrendered without a fight. On August 6 - August 7, 1714, the first major victory of the Russian fleet in the Baltic Sea took place in the Gangut battle, and on August 28, the landing force under the command of F. M. Apraksin captured Abo, the capital of Finland. On land, Russian troops under the leadership of Prince M. M. Golitsyn defeated the Swedes near the river. Pyalkan (1713), and later under Lappola (1714).
In 1716 Charles XII began hostilities in Norway. On March 25, his troops took Christiania, but failed during the assault on the border forts of Fredrikshald and Fredriksten. In 1718, during another assault, Karl was killed - the Swedish troops were forced to retreat. Clashes between Denmark and Sweden on the border with Norway took place until 1720.
The final stage of the Northern War of 1718-1721
In May 1718 to develop the conditions for concluding peace between Russia and Sweden, the Åland Congress began its work. However, the Swedes drag out the negotiations, in the hope of winning a victory that can soften the conditions of the coming peace.
In July 1719 Admiral Apraksin, commander of the Russian fleet, landed troops near Stockholm and raids on the adjacent territories of the Swedish capital.
In 1720 brigadier Mengden repeated the raid on the Swedish coast, and on July 27 (August 7), the rowing Russian fleet sailed the Swedish sailing flotilla in the battle of Grengam.
Under the cover of the English squadron, the Swedes tried to go to sea to intercept the Russian landing craft. Having set off in pursuit of the feigned retreating Russian ships into a narrow strait, the Swedes were suddenly attacked by more maneuverable rowing vessels and, trying to turn around, ran aground one after another and were boarded. Seeing how 4 Swedish frigates, which had a total of 104 guns, were captured by the Russians, the British were convinced of the weakness of their sailing fleet against the rowing Russian and did not come to the aid of the Swedes.
May 8, 1721 new peace negotiations began between the Russian kingdom and Sweden in Nystadt, ending with the signing of the Nystadt peace treaty on September 10, 1721.
Clashes between states began in the middle of the XII century, when the First Swedish Crusade was announced. But then the Novgorodians held out. From then until the beginning of the 19th century, Sweden and Russia fought countless times. There are about two dozen major confrontations alone.
Novgorod takes a hit
The first Swedish crusade had a very specific goal - to recapture Ladoga from Novgorod. This confrontation continued from 1142 to 1164, and the Novgorodians emerged victorious from it.
Twenty-odd years later, the combined Karelian-Novgorod troops managed to capture the capital of Sweden, Sigtuna. The Archbishop of Uppsala was killed and the city was sacked. Among the spoils of war were the famous bronze church gates, which later "settled" in Novgorod.
Towards the middle of the 13th century, the Swedes announced the Second Crusade.
In 1240, the famous battle between Jarl Birger and Alexander Yaroslavich took place. Novgorodians were stronger, and thanks to the victory, the prince received the nickname Nevsky.
But the Swedes did not think to calm down. Beginning in 1283, they actively tried to gain a foothold on the banks of the Neva. But they did not dare to get involved in open confrontation. The Swedes used the tactics of "petty foul", regularly attacking Novgorod merchants. But the Scandinavians failed to extract any particular benefit from this.
At the beginning of the XIV century, the struggle continued with varying success. Once even the Swedes managed to capture and burn Ladoga, but they failed to consolidate or develop success.
Swedes against the Russian kingdom
The Scandinavians did not give up their claims to the northern lands even after Novgorod became part of the Moscow principality. At the very end of the 15th century, under Ivan III, Russia attacked Sweden for the first time in a long time. Enlisting the support of the Danish king, the Russian troops went to capture Vyborg.
The war went on with varying success. Either the Russian governors managed to plunder the enemy settlements, or the Swedes did the same. Only the Danish king, who took the Swedish throne, benefited from the confrontation.
A truly large-scale and bloody war between the Russian kingdom and Sweden unfolded under Ivan the Terrible. The occasion was traditional - border disputes. The Scandinavians were the first to attack and the Oreshek fortress fell under the "distribution". In retaliation, Russian troops laid siege to Vyborg. But both the first and the second failed.
Then the Swedes invaded the Izhorian and Korelian lands, arranging a pogrom there. During the capture of Korela, the Scandinavians massacred all the Russian inhabitants (about two thousand). Then they exterminated another seven thousand in Gapsala and Narva.
An end to the bloodshed was put by Prince Khvorostinin, who managed to defeat the Scandinavians in the battles in Votskaya Pyatina and near Oreshok.
True, the peace treaty between the states was unfavorable for Russia: she lost Yam, Ivangorod and Koporye.
The turmoil that began in Russia, the Swedes tried to use for themselves as profitably as possible. And, as they say, "on the sly" they took Ladoga. Further more. Novgorodians themselves called the Swedish king to rule them, so they surrendered the city without a fight. When Mikhail Fedorovich ascended the Russian throne, Ingermanland and most of the Novgorod lands already belonged to the Scandinavians.
With a swoop, the Russian troops failed to return Novgorod, the war was reduced, for the most part, to brawls on the borders. Since the governors did not dare to go into open battle with the troops of Gustavus Adolphus. Soon the Swedes captured Gdov. But near Pskov, failure awaited them. Only in 1617, the Stolbovsky peace was concluded between the countries, according to which Russia called for the rights of Sweden to Ingermanland and Karelia.
In the middle of the XVII century hostilities continued. But none of the parties managed to achieve significant results.
Wars under Peter the Great
Under Peter the Great, the largest war in history took place between Russia and Sweden - the Northern War, which lasted from 1700 to 1721.
Initially, an alliance of European states opposed the Scandinavians, who wanted to snatch parts of the Baltic territories. The Northern Union, which appeared thanks to the initiative of the Elector of Saxony and the Polish King August II, in addition to them included the Danes and Russia. But very quickly the alliance fell apart due to several Swedish victories.
Until 1709, Russia alone fought against a formidable enemy. After the capture of Noteburg, Peter founded St. Petersburg in 1703. A year later, Russian troops were able to take Derpt and Narva.
Four years later, the Swedish king Charles XII went for broke and lost. At first, his troops were defeated near Lesnaya. And then - in the decisive battle near Poltava.
The new king of Sweden Fredrik I had no choice, he asked for peace. The defeat in the Northern War hit the Scandinavian state hard, forever knocking it out of the rank of great powers.
Wars in the 18th and 19th centuries
The Swedes wanted to return the status of a great power. To do this, they definitely needed to defeat the Russian Empire.
Under Elizabeth Petrovna, the Swedes declared war. It lasted only two years: from 1741 to 1743. The Scandinavian army was so weak that it could hardly even defend itself, not to mention any offensive actions.
The result of the war was the loss of the Kymenegorsk province by Sweden with Neishlot, Wilmanstrand and Friedrichsgam. And the border between the states began to pass along the Kumen River.
Once again, the Swedes tried their military fortune already under Catherine II, succumbing to the instigations of England. The Scandinavian king Gustav III hoped that he would not meet serious resistance in Finland, since the Russian troops were drawn to the south. But this war, which lasted from 1788 to 1790, did not produce any results. According to the Verel peace treaty, Russia and Sweden simply returned the occupied territories to each other.
It fell to Emperor Alexander I to put an end to the centuries-old confrontation between Russia and Sweden. The war lasted only a year (from 1808 to 1809), but was very eventful.
Alexander decided to put an end to his old enemy once and for all, so the Russian troops set off to conquer Finland. The Swedes hoped to the last that bloodshed could be avoided, and the king did not believe in the presence of an enemy army on the border. But on February 9, Russian troops (the armies were commanded by Barclay, Bagration and Tuchkov) invaded the neighboring state without an official declaration of war.
Due to the weakness of the monarch and the impending disaster in Sweden, a coup d'état took place "on time". Gustav IV Adolf was deposed, and power passed into the hands of his uncle, the Duke of Südermanland. He received the name Charles XIII.
After these events, the Swedes started up and decided to drive the enemy armies out of Esterbotnia. But all attempts were unsuccessful. At the same time, which is typical, the Swedes refused to agree to peace, giving Russia the Aland Islands.
Hostilities continued, and the Scandinavians decided on the last, decisive blow. But this idea also failed, the Swedes had to sign a peace treaty. According to it, they conceded to the Russian Empire all of Finland, the Aland Islands and the eastern part of Vestro-Botnia.
On this, the confrontation of states, which lasted almost seven centuries, was over. Russia emerged from it as the sole winner.
The year 1699 was devoted to preparations for war with Sweden. Within three months, 25 infantry and 2 dragoon regiments were recruited and trained. In October, a Polish-Danish-Russian agreement was reached on a war against Sweden. Russia's entry into the war, which Poland and Denmark were supposed to start, was to take place after the conclusion of peace with Turkey. On August 8, 1700, Peter received a message that such an agreement had been signed. On August 9, Russian troops moved to Narva.
However, in 1700 the Russian army was not yet the same victorious army that it later became. A foreign officer who trained soldiers wrote that they “are so good in themselves that you can’t find better in the whole world, but there is no main thing - direct order and teaching.” How can one not recall here the words of the ambassadors who asked Rurik to come to rule the Russians: - "Our land is rich, there is only no order in it." Narva turned out to be such a defeat for the Russians that Europe decided that Muscovy would not soon prove itself again. Only two regiments from the entire army managed to resist: Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky. And these two regiments cost the rest of the army, both Russian and Swedish. Through their efforts, the remnants of the troops managed to get away from Narva without much shame.
Peter learned a lesson from Narva. During the year, national officer cadres were trained. Armament standards were introduced: muskets and guns. Recruitment was introduced, which later became the only way to recruit an army. The introduction of the bayonet doubled the army. This is due to the fact that before that, half of the companies were supplied with fuzes, half with edged weapons. At the same time, only half of the army participated in the battle - shooting was carried out at long distances, the rest of the army acted in hand-to-hand combat. The introduction of an attached bayonet made it easy to switch from hand-to-hand to shooting and vice versa.
On December 29, 1701, Russian troops won their first victory: Sheremetyev's dragoons defeated Schlipenbach's detachment. It was the first victory of the regular Russian army. It is from this moment that the history of the army begins - the winner, which our army has recommended itself. October 11, 1702 Noteburg fell. On May 1, 1703 Nienschanz surrendered. And already on May 16, Peter began the construction of a new city - St. Petersburg. It was a very bold move on his part. But by this action, Peter showed that he did not intend to give up the newly captured lands. In addition to the construction of St. Petersburg, the construction of the Baltic fleet began. Already in 1703, Russia had several 25-35 cannon frigates and galleys. In 1704 and 1705, the Swedish king Karl made attempts to break through to St. Petersburg, but they ended in his defeat. Having captured Ingria, Peter solved two problems at once: he received a “window to Europe” and cut the Swedish army into two parts. Now it was possible to engage in the occupation of the Baltic states.
In 1705, Russian troops moved to Poland to help their allies. However, the allies rather fettered the actions of Peter than provided any assistance. With great difficulty, the Russian units managed to get out of Grodno, where they were abandoned by the Polish king Augustus. Encouraged by the successes, Karl prepared to march on Moscow. However, he did not have a definite plan for the company. After wandering around Belarus and the Baltic states, the Swedes went to Ukraine, where hetman Mazepa was waiting for them. But having entered the interior of the country, the Swedes were faced with a lack of provisions, destroyed by the Russians and partisans. The position of the Swedish army became more and more critical. Lewenhaupt's corps with a large convoy was going to help her from Sweden. The combination of the two armies would lead to a significant strengthening of the Swedes. But then Karl made a huge mistake. Instead of making a connection, he self-confidently turned inland. Taking advantage of this, Peter sent a "korvolant" ("flying corps") to Levengaupt. In a battle near the town of Propoisk near the village of Lesnoy on September 28, 1708, Russian troops completely defeated the Swedes. The prize for the battle was a huge convoy.
Realizing that help would not come, Karl decided to capture Poltava, which contained both supplies and gunpowder. However, the seemingly weak fortress held out until the main units arrived, albeit with the last of their strength. Peter arrived in the army operating near Poltava on June 4th. On June 16, it was decided to give the Swedes a fight. By agreement with them, the battle was scheduled for June 29. But Karl decided to attack the Russians earlier. However, the surprise factor was lost due to defectors. On June 27, the Battle of Poltava took place. Here Peter first used fortifications in a field battle. The system of redoubts inflicted enormous damage on the Swedes with their crossfire. The result of the battle was 9 thousand killed and 22 thousand captured Swedes. The Russians lost 1,345 killed and 3,290 wounded. At the end of the battle, Peter held a banquet with the participation of the captured Swedish generals. During the banquet, Peter offered to drink for the teachers - the Swedes. To this, Field Marshal Reinshield replied: - "Well, the students thanked their teachers."
The battle of Poltava was for the Swedes what Stalingrad was for the Germans or Dunkirk was for the British. Sweden could not quickly recover from the loss of the army. But she still had a fleet. Riga and Vyborg fell in 1710. Riga, Peter avenged himself by firing the first three shots on its walls with his own hand. During the summer of 1710, the entire southern coast of Finland was taken. But this year brought not only victories, but also defeats. The war with Turkey began again, ending in the defeat of Russia. Under the terms of the agreement, Russia was losing Azov and had to tear down the Taganrog fortress.
During 1712-1714, Russian troops captured all of southern Finland and the central European possessions of Sweden. On July 27, 1714, the Swedish fleet was defeated at Cape Gangut. Now Sweden was finally weakened. Russia has moved into the ranks of major powers. She only needed to move her troops for the issues to be decided in her favor. Peter entered into several political marriages between his daughters and the offspring of European rulers. An interesting fact is that before Gangut, Peter asked the highest naval authorities to promote him to the next rank - vice admiral. But this was refused to him under the pretext that when he "distinguished himself by something special, then he would be given the rank of vice admiral." In 1718, peace negotiations began. They were interrupted due to the death of Charles during the storming of the Norwegian fortress. Ulrika-Eleonora ascended the Swedish throne, determined to continue the war. In 1719, Russian troops landed near Stockholm. In 1720, the Russian fleet defeated the Swedish fleet off Grengam Island before the eyes of the British. By that time, the British were so worried about the success of Russia that they wanted to enter the war on the side of Sweden. Fortunately, they did not dare to do this, fearing to damage the Russian-English trade.
On August 30, 1721, an agreement was signed in Nystadt that ended the Northern War. According to it, Russia received Estonia, Livonia, Ingria, Karelia and part of Finland with Vyborg. On this occasion, celebrations were arranged in St. Petersburg. On October 20, Peter announced the forgiveness of all convicts, the abolition of arrears, and the release of state debtors. On the same day, the Senate awarded Peter the title of Emperor, the title of the Great and Father of the Fatherland.
The Northern War is over. During this time, Peter managed to bring the country out of the provincial Muscovy into the Russian Empire. The fleet plowed the Baltic Sea. The army forced to reckon with the opinion of Russia on any issue. True, the road to the empire was paved with the bones of working people. The empire was created by the enormous effort of the whole people. During the Northern War, the troops more than once had to fight with their own people, suppressing uprisings.
In September 1699, the Polish ambassador Karlowitz arrived in Moscow and proposed to Peter, on behalf of Poland and Denmark, a military alliance against Sweden. The agreement was signed in November. However, in anticipation of peace with Turkey, Peter did not enter into a war that had already begun. On August 18, 1700, news was received of the conclusion of a 30-year truce with Turkey. The tsar reasoned that the Baltic Sea was more important than the Black Sea for access to the West. On August 19, 1700, Peter declared war on Sweden (Northern War 1700-1721).
The war, the main goal of which was to consolidate Russia in the Baltic, began with the defeat of the Russian army near Narva in November 1700. However, this lesson went to Peter for the future: he realized that the reason for the defeat was primarily in the backwardness of the Russian army, and with even greater energy set about rearming it and creating regular regiments, first by gathering "subjective people", and from 1705 by introducing recruitment. The construction of metallurgical and weapons factories began, supplying the army with high-quality cannons and small arms. Many church bells were poured into cannons, and weapons abroad were bought with the confiscated church gold. Peter gathered a huge army, putting serfs, nobles and monks under arms, and in 1701-1702 came close to the most important port cities of the eastern Baltic. In 1703, his army captured the swampy Ingermanland (Izhora land), and there on May 16, at the mouth of the Neva River on the island renamed by Peter from Janni-Saari to Lust-Eiland (Merry Island), a new capital was founded, named in honor of the Apostle Peter St. Petersburg. This city, according to Peter's plan, was to become an exemplary "paradise" city.
In the same years, the Boyar Duma was replaced by the Council of Ministers, which consisted of members of the inner circle of the tsar, along with the Moscow orders, new institutions were created in St. Petersburg.
The Swedish king Charles XII fought in the depths of Europe with Saxony and Poland and neglected the threat from Russia. Peter wasted no time: fortresses were built at the mouth of the Neva, ships were built at the shipyards, the equipment for which was brought from Arkhangelsk, and soon a powerful Russian fleet arose on the Baltic Sea. Russian artillery, after its radical transformation, played a decisive role in the capture of the fortresses of Dorpat (now Tartu, Estonia) and Narva (1704). Dutch and English ships appeared in the harbor near the new capital. In 1704-1707, the tsar firmly established Russian influence in the Duchy of Courland.
After the council near Poltava, Field Marshal Sheremetev went to besiege Riga, and Menshikov, also granted a field marshal, went to Poland - to fight against the protege of the Swedes Leshchinsky, who was proclaimed the Polish king instead of Augustus. Peter himself traveled to Poland and Germany, renewed his alliance with Augustus, and made a defensive alliance against Sweden with the Prussian king.
On June 12, 1710 Apraksin took Vyborg, on July 4 Sheremetev captured Riga, and on August 14 Pernov capitulated. On September 8, General Bruce forced the surrender of Kexholm (Old Russian Karela), thus the conquest of Karelia was completed. Finally, on September 29, Revel fell. Livonia and Estonia were cleared of the Swedes and came under Russian rule.
War with Turkey and the end of the Northern War.
However, Charles XII was not yet completely defeated. While now in Turkey, he made efforts to quarrel her with Peter and impose war on Russia in the south. On October 20, 1710, the Turks broke the peace. The war with Turkey (1710-1713) proceeded unsuccessfully: in the Prut campaign (1711), Peter, along with his entire army, was surrounded and forced to conclude a peace treaty, abandoning all previous conquests in the south. Under the agreement, Russia returned Azov to Turkey and destroyed the Taganrog harbor. The treaty was concluded on July 12, 1711.
On August 30, 1721, the Treaty of Nishtad was signed: Russia received Livonia (with Riga), Estonia (with Revel and Narva), part of Karelia, Izhora land and other territories, and Finland returned to Sweden.
In 1722-1723 Peter carried out a successful campaign against Persia, capturing Baku and Derbent.
Management reform.
Before leaving for the Prut campaign, Peter founded the Governing Senate, which had the functions of the main body of executive, judicial and legislative power. Since 1717, the creation of colleges began - the central bodies of sectoral management, founded in a fundamentally different way than the old Moscow orders. New authorities - executive, financial, judicial and control - were also created in the localities. In 1720, the General Regulations were issued - detailed instructions for organizing the work of new institutions.
But the tax reform, begun in 1718, was of paramount importance for the social sphere. In Russia, in 1724, a poll tax was introduced from males, for which regular population censuses ("audits of souls") were carried out. In the course of the reform, the social category of serfs was eliminated and the social status of some other categories of the population was clarified.
In 1721, on October 20, after the end of the Northern War, Russia was proclaimed an empire, and the Senate awarded Peter the titles "Father of the Fatherland" and "Emperor", as well as "Great".
Relations with the church.
Peter and his military commanders regularly praised the Almighty from the battlefield for their victories, but the relationship of the king with the Orthodox Church left much to be desired. Peter closed monasteries, appropriated church property, allowed himself to mock blasphemously at church rites and customs. His ecclesiastical policy caused mass protests of the Old Believers-schismatics, who considered the tsar the Antichrist. Peter persecuted them severely. Patriarch Adrian died in 1700, and no successor was appointed to him. The patriarchate was abolished, and in 1721 the Most Holy Synod was established, a state governing body of the church, consisting of bishops, but led by a layman (chief procurator) and subject to the monarch.
Transformations in the economy.
Peter I clearly understood the need to overcome the technical backwardness of Russia and in every possible way contributed to the development of Russian industry and trade, including foreign trade. Many merchants and industrialists enjoyed his patronage, among whom the Demidovs are most famous. Many new plants and factories were built, new branches of industry arose. Russia even exported arms to Prussia.
Foreign engineers were invited (about 900 specialists arrived with Peter from Europe), many young Russians went abroad to study science and crafts. Under the supervision of Peter, Russian ore deposits were studied; significant progress has been made in mining. A system of canals was designed, and one of them, connecting the Volga with the Neva, was dug in 1711. Fleets, military and commercial, were built. However, its development in wartime conditions led to the priority development of heavy industries, which, after the end of the war, could no longer exist without state support. In fact, the enslaved position of the urban population, high taxes, the forcible closure of the Arkhangelsk port and some other government measures did not favor the development of foreign trade. On the whole, the exhausting war that lasted for 21 years, requiring large investments, received mainly through emergency taxes, led to the actual impoverishment of the country's population, mass flight of peasants, and the ruin of merchants and industrialists.Transformations in the field of culture.
The time of Peter I is the time of active penetration into Russian life of elements of secular Europeanized culture. Secular educational institutions began to appear, the first Russian newspaper was founded. Success in the service of Peter made the nobles dependent on education. By a special decree of the tsar, assemblies were introduced, representing a new form of communication between people for Russia. Of particular importance was the construction of stone St. Petersburg, in which foreign architects took part and which was carried out according to the plan developed by the tsar. He created a new urban environment with previously unfamiliar forms of life and pastime. The interior decoration of houses, the way of life, the composition of food, etc., have changed. Gradually, a different system of values, worldview, and aesthetic ideas took shape in the educated environment. Arabic numerals and civil type were introduced, printing houses were established, and the first Russian newspaper appeared. Science was encouraged in every possible way: schools were opened, books on science and technology were translated, and the Academy of Sciences was founded in 1724 (opened in 1725).The personal life of the king.
At the age of sixteen, Peter was married to Evdokia Lopukhina, but he lived with her for barely a week. She bore him a son, Alexei, heir to the throne. It is known that Peter transferred his dislike for Evdokia to her son Tsarevich Alexei. In 1718, Alexei was forced to renounce his right to the throne. In the same year, he was tried, accused of plotting against the sovereign, found guilty and put to death in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Since returning from the Great Embassy, Peter finally broke with his unloved first wife. Subsequently, he became friends with the captive Latvian Marta Skavronskaya (the future Empress Catherine I), whom he married in 1712, who from 1703 was his actual wife. In this marriage, 8 children were born, but except for Anna and Elizabeth, they all died in infancy. In 1724 she was crowned as empress, Peter planned to bequeath the throne to her. In 1722, Peter issued a law on succession to the throne, according to which the autocrat could appoint his successor. Peter himself did not use this right.Peter himself died on January 28 (February 8), 1725 at 6 o'clock in the morning in the arms of Catherine in St. Petersburg from a disease of the urinary organs, without leaving a will. On February 2, his corpse was embalmed, and on March 8, he was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
His wife Catherine (ruled 1725-1727) ascended the throne.
The results of Peter's reforms.
The most important result of Peter's reforms was to overcome the crisis of traditionalism by modernizing the country. Russia became a full-fledged participant in international relations, pursuing an active foreign policy. Significantly increased the authority of Russia in the world, and Peter himself became for many a model of the sovereign-reformer. Under Peter, the foundations of Russian national culture were laid. The tsar also created a system of administration and administrative-territorial division of the country, which was preserved for a long time. At the same time, violence was the main tool for carrying out reforms. Not only did Peter's reforms fail to rid the country of the previously established system of social relations embodied in serfdom, but, on the contrary, conserved and strengthened its institutions. This was the main contradiction of the Petrine reforms, the prerequisites for a future new crisis.
Until the middle of the XVII century. Poland was the leading state in the east of Europe, but in the era of the Thirty Years' War, it had to cede this position to Sweden, which during second half17th century reached the pinnacle of its power. But at the beginning of the XVIII century. and Sweden lost its position, and the championship passed to Russia. At the same time, it became play a very prominent role a small German state, Prussia, which reached in the middle of the same century the significance of a great power.
The neighboring sovereigns, who had old scores with her, looked with displeasure at the predominance of Sweden. In 1697 the Swedish king died Charles XI leaving the throne to his sixteen-year-old son Charles XII(1697 - 1718), and two years later it was concluded against Sweden alliance of three neighboring sovereigns, of which each set himself a specific goal in a future war with Charles XII. Peter I, the king of Moscow, sought to establish himself on the Baltic Sea; King of Poland (and Elector of Saxony) August II Strong(1697 - 1733) meant to conquer Livonia; Danish king Friedrich IV(1699 - 1730) hoped to regain the former Danish possessions in southern Sweden and take away Schleswig from its duke, who was the son-in-law of Charles XII. The allies did not at all expect serious resistance from the young Swedish king, who was reputed to be a frivolous and incapable young man, but they were mistaken in their calculations. Charles XII turned out to be an energetic person and immediately discovered remarkable talents in military affairs. In 1700, the allies attacked the possessions of Charles XII from different sides, and the great North War (1700 – 1721), coinciding with the War of the Spanish Succession. Charles XII from the very beginning hastened to deal with the enemies one by one. He crossed over first of all to Denmark and proceeded to the siege of Copenhagen, which forced the Danish king to ask for peace. Then he appeared under Narvoi, where he inflicted a terrible defeat on the Russians, and after that he turned against his third enemy and captured Warsaw, Krakow, Thorn, Danzig and other cities. At the request of Charles XII, the Poles declared Augustus II dethroned and elected the governor of Poznań to the throne. Stanislav Leshchinsky. Charles XII even persecuted the deposed king in his hereditary possession, the elector of Saxony, and forced him to make peace on the condition of renouncing the Polish crown and an alliance with the Muscovite tsar. While Charles XII acted in Poland and Saxony, Peter became a firm foot on the Baltic Sea and founded his future capital - Petersburg. The Swedish king then again turned his forces against Russia, but with Poltava in 1709 he was defeated by Peter and fled to Turkey. While he was busy there about inciting the Turks to war with Russia, his opponents renewed their alliance with the aim of conquering the Swedish regions. Although Charles XII managed to raise the Turks against Peter ( Prut campaign 1711), but they willingly made peace with the Russian sovereign for minor concessions on his part and even demanded that Charles XII himself retire from their possessions. Only after a five-year stay in Turkey did the Swedish king return to his homeland, when Prussia and Hanover joined the enemies of Sweden. After the death of Charles XII (1718), who was killed during the siege of a Norwegian fortress, the new government (sister of Charles XII Ulrika Eleonora and the state council that limited its power) concluded peace treaties with hostile powers. Sweden lost part of its possessions in Germany in favor of Hanover and Prussia, Denmark acquired Schleswig and subordinated Sweden to the obligation to pay the Sound tax: Augustus II, who returned to Poland even earlier, was recognized by Sweden as the Polish king. The last to conclude peace with Sweden was Russia, which Treaty of Nystadt 1721 acquired Ingermanland, Estland, Livonia with part of Karelia and Finland. Sweden dropped out of the ranks of the great powers, but for a long time still dreamed of regaining its former position (Russian-Swedish wars).
