300 years ago, on November 2, 1721, the highest military and civilian ranks in Russia gathered in St. Petersburg to celebrate the Peace of Nishtadt concluded in September.
In Troitskaya Square, near the Trinity-Petrovsky Cathedral, units of 27 regiments of the victorious army were lined up. 125 galleys of the Russian Baltic Fleet entered the Neva. The highlight of the holiday was considered by many who came to read the Instrument of Peace Ratification, which summed up the results of the long and difficult Northern War. However, the public was surprised. Archbishop Theophan Prokopovich , delivering a sermon after the liturgy, for the first time appoints Tsar Peter I the Great, father of the homeland and emperor of all Russia. Then the floor is taken by the kants & shy ler, Count Gavrila Golovkin , who graciously asks the sovereign to accept all these titles. Thus, with the cries of “ Vivat! & # 39; & # 39 ;, The cannon and the musket salute Peter I takes the title of emperor.
For some reason, it is generally believed that Russia has acquired a new status to this day and time. Some even call this date the “ birth of an empire, '' sacrificing historical accuracy at the expense of beauty. & Nbsp;
Empire without a crown
However, Russia has long been an empire. Both in practice and internationally. Because the empire & ndash; It is first of all the supranational character of the state, which unites the different peoples under its power and universal law. Russia already in the 15th century fully corresponded to these ideas. And after Ivan the Terrible united the khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan under his scepter, it was somehow indecent to doubt Russia's imperial status.
Another thing is & ndash; how to name the ruler of the empire. Here, as they say, each bast was aligned. Because this is how the place of a particular state in the hierarchical system of & shy; has been demonstrated. The title of the rule made this clear & ndash; who is a 'trembling creature' and who has a “ right. & # 39; & # 39;
Above all stood, of course, the Emperor. After the collapse of Byzantium in 1453, the emperor in Europe was alone. And he was the head of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation. A step below were the royal people of England, France, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal and others & ndash; they were called & # 39; Majesty & # 39; & # 39; you, that is, sovereign monarchs. Still lower down stood the voters and dukes & ndash; title 'Majesty' shy 'in' they weren't supposed to anymore. Where were the Russian monarchs in this pyramid?
Poor parents?
Unfortunately, at the very bottom. Yes, for themselves they were kings & ndash; title equal to imperial, since it comes from the word “ Caesar '' or Caesar, which was one of the synonyms for Emperor. But it didn't affect Europe and didn't make an impression. They had to prove their status by actual deeds.
And after the Time of Troubles, Russia fell out of the cage. If Ivan the Terrible was still recognized as a 'Majesty', then later ' Alas. Peter I's grandfather, Mikhail Fedorovich , & timid; the first Russian czar of the Romanov dynasty, was not a czar in the eyes of Europe. In the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, summarizing the results of the Thirty Years 'War, he appears under the title Magnus Dux Muscoviae, i.e. the' Grand Duke of Moscow. & # 39; & # 39; # 39; Russia was then effectively lowered to the rank of a supernumerary duchy.
Therefore, Peter's task was to make the name of the Russian Tsar both weight and prestige. Thus, when it is argued that Peter I, before accepting the emperor of the “ timid; title, & # 39; & # 39; has long given up & # 39; & # 39;, this should be understood as coquetry. Because he wanted to get that title from the start of his independent reign.
The first step was taken immediately after the young king in 1696 defeated the Turks by taking the fortress of Azov. It made an impression. Already in 1697, when the Vienna Union Treaty was signed between Austria, Russia and Venice, Peter insisted on changing his title. And win. He is called the Tzarea Majestas, the Royal Majesty. From this moment it is for Europe & ndash; sovereign monarch. But that is not enough for Peter. A new cycle begins.
Pierre's particular journey
The Russian Tsar manifests himself here as a virtuoso master of political maneuver. While there were more defeats than victories in the Northern War, Peter sat quietly. But as soon as the situation began to change in favor of Russia, he began to move closer to the coveted title. Step by step.
The first big victory & ndash; take Narva & ndash; took place in 1704 And already in 1706 Peter conferred the title of count on Field Marshal Boris Sheremetev . It would seem, so what? And the fact that “ granting graphs '' until now only the Holy Roman Emperor had the right. In 1707, after Kalisz's victory, Peter made Aleksashka Menshikov no longer a count, but a prince. Gradually, Europe learned that the Russian Tsar was free to grant imperial titles to his subjects.
After Poltava, in 1709, according to a foreign diplomat, “the boyars obtained from the Tsar the titles of Grand Imperial Chancellor and Imperial Vice-Chancellor, thus hoping to enjoy great honor and respect. “In 1711, Peter established the Senate & ndash; Like the Roman Empire in times of antiquity. Russia is gradually acquiring imperial attributes. This is noticeable in Europe. Danish envoy Yust Juhl writes: “ Now, both in Russia and abroad, there are people who seek to please the Tsar with the Imperial title, prompting them to to seek recognition of this title from all crowned heads of Europe. & # 39; & # 39;
Holy truth. When Pierre visited Paris in 1717, the business of his recognition went so far that the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs circulated a special note in which the subjects of King Louis XV were strictly prohibited from d & # 39; call Russian guest 'Imperial Majesty' ;.
Add to queue!
The funny thing is that after the official award of the title of Emperor of All Russia to Peter I, there are a lot of 'turned-ons' moving. and categorically refused to recognize this status. France & ndash; the longest. The first to recognize Peter as emperor were his allies & ndash; Prussia and Holland. A year later & ndash; defeated Sweden. Then a number of smaller states & ndash; from Republican Venice and Geneva to the Parma region. In 1725 Peter died, but his heirs and successors continued to fight for the imperial title. It was accompanied by scandals, sneaky covert attacks, sometimes even outright rudeness. Still, Russian stubbornness prevailed. In 1732, Denmark recognized the imperial title to the Russian monarchs. In 1734 & ndash; England. The Holy Roman Empire clinging to its exclusivity & ndash; in 1742 Spain & ndash; in 1759 the Rzeczpospolita & ndash; proud Poles to recognize the imperial status of Russia was like a sharp knife. But they also lost in 1764, barely 8 years before the first partition of their state. And in the dispute with France, the Russians only gained the upper hand in 1772, when Catherine II was appointed with the full Imperial title. It took almost half a century for the whole of Europe to finally recognize the right to Russia, which she had from birth.
