Presidential Library marks Birthday of Peter the Great

On 9 June 1672 in Moscow in the family of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov and his second wife Natalia Kirillovna Naryshkina was born Peter I Alexeevich the Great.

Numerous documents related to the life and activities of the first Russian emperor are available on the Presidential Library's portal. Among them are stories of contemporaries and legends about him. Of particular interest is a rare edition of 1793 True Anecdotes about Peter the Great.

The book contains records of oral recollections about Peter and his era made by Yakov Shtelin, a member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, who arrived in the capital in 1735. He organised what he heard from Peter's contemporaries in the form of small notes (anecdotes), indicating the name and rank of the narrator under each message. An anecdote (a separate incident) in this case is presented as a historical source, which by its origin is closest to memoirs, it is based on the recollection of the event.

Yakov Shtelin cites an interesting fact. Semeon Polotsky, a spiritual writer, theologian, poet, playwright and translator, told the future parents about the birth of a son who would reign, "gain the greatest praise" and "his glory would increase hourly". Shtelin calls him "skilful in stargazing" and "gifted by God with great intelligence and special knowledge".

A year before Peter's birth, in the summer of 1671, Semeon Polotsky came to Alexei Mikhailovich to tell him that the Tsar would have a son. Polotsky put his prediction in writing and signed it. The prediction contained many other interesting facts about Peter the Great. In particular, it said that the future emperor would "defeat his rebellious neighbours and do many glorious things that none of his ancestors could do".

Having heard Semeon Polotsky, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich ordered to call the Tsarina Natalia Kirillovna, "kissed her and introduced Polotsky to her", who told the Tsarina such words: "Your Majesty and the newborn Tsarevich will remain alive, healthy and under God's protection".

Candidate of Historical Sciences Natalia Smirnova in her dissertation calls Yakov Shtelin's book "Genuine Anecdotes about Peter the Great" an important source for studying the activities of Peter the Great and his era. She believes that "anecdotes are the opinions of specific people expressed under specific circumstances" by such figures as I. Y. Trubetskoy, P. I. Yaguzhinsky, I. A. Cherkasov and others. More details about the text of the study can be found in the collection of the Presidential Library.

More information about the first Russian emperor can be found on the library portal in the collection Peter l (1672-1725), which consists of four thematic sections devoted to the biography, activity, death and memory of Peter the Great. The collection includes scientific and popular editions devoted to the personality of the reformer and his reforms, documentary prose of the XVIII-XIX centuries, including works by the first biographers of Peter the Great. One can get acquainted with the editions selected by the sovereign for printing in civil type, his letters, as well as collections of documents, decrees, some of the most important legislative acts of the Peter the Great era. The collection also includes electronic copies of maps, plans, drawings and drawings from the "Peter the Great Collection" of the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences, campaign logs and other archival materials of the first quarter of the 18th century.

The Presidential Library portal also presents electronic projects dedicated to the first Emperor of Russia. The virtual tour of the exhibition Peter the Great introduced science to us... reflects his contribution to the development of Russian science and scientific education. The online project at the exhibition The Creator of Russian Prosperity... tells about the history of Peter the Great's creation of the navy and regular army, reforms in the sphere of state administration: the establishment of the Senate and the Synod, and the formation of executive bodies - collegia. The electronic exhibition Peter's Petersburg - the Economic Centre of the Russian State shows a map of St. Petersburg of the XVIII century, on which the objects of Peter's time connected with the emperor's economic reforms are marked: Admiralty, Mint and Smolny Yards and others. Together with the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences , an online project entitled Peter the Great's Library has been prepared. The collection of manuscripts, books and graphics gathered during the life of Peter Alexeevich formed the basis of the first public library of the country created by him.

Interesting facts about the first Russian emperor are presented in the On this Day section of the Presidential Library's portal.