Portrait of Peter I. Engraving, Peter Schenk. End of 17th cent. стр. 68 Peter I, being in his twelfth year, was given a free hand. He made friends with aliens. Genevan Lefort (23(?) years his senior) had taught him the Dutch language. He clothed the company of poteshny boy-soldiers à la German style. Peter was a drum major in it and was promoted to sergeant for merit. Thus began an important turnabout that he accomplished subsequently: suppression of the nobility and inauguration of ranks. Boyars looked on Peter's escapades with displeasure and anticipated innovations. Instigated by them, the czarina and the patriarch expostulated with the young czar to leave off the exercises as not behooving his dignity... The boyars wanted to instill love in him for other amusements and invited him to a hunting. Peter-- whether of his own accord or on the advice of his favorites--took it into his head to make fun of them; he made as if he agreed; he fixed the time of the hunting, but upon his arrival said it in so many words he would not amuse himself with bondsmen but would rather have gentlemen alone participating in the czar's entertainment. The huntsmen rode off, consigning the dogs to the masters' care but these were unable to cope. There was utter confusion. The dogs startled horses; the horses bolted, the dogs tugged at the laces put on the hands of the green huntsmen. Peter was glad beyond measure--and the next day, as the gentlemen had refused his invitation to a falconry, he told them: "Learn that it behooves a czar to be a fighting man, while hunting is a mean occupation for serfs only..." /.../ ... Peter had picked out 35 sons of the boyars and gentry and sent them to alien parts to learn engineering, the art of shipbuilding and navigation, architecture and other sciences. He supplied them with letters of recommendation and solicitations addressed to the ceasar, kings, the General States of Holland, kurfuersten, princes, counts and o ... Читать далее