Menshikov in Exile

Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov (Александр Данилович Меншиков) (1673 – 1729) was a Russian statesman, whose official titles included Generalissimo, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire and Duke of Izhora. Highly appreciated associate and friend of Tsar Peter the Great, he was the de facto ruler of Russia for 2 years. Prince Menshikov in Exile. ... Prince Menshikov in Exile. ... Events The English Test Act was passed. ... Events July 30 - Baltimore, Maryland is founded. ... A generalissimo is a commissioned officer of the highest rank; the word is often translated as Supreme Commander or Commander in Chief. It is an Italian superlative substantive, which grammatically would actually be disallowed in Italian (superlatives can be made with adjectives only). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Jump to: navigation, search This page is about the Germanic empire. ... The Ingrian flag Map of Karelia giving an idea of where Ingria lies. ... Peter I Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia Peter I (Pyotr Alekseyvich) (9 June 1672–8 February 1725 [30 May 1672–28 January 1725 O.S.1]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death. ... De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without...

Early life

Menshikov was born not earlier than 1670 nor later than 1673. It has been disputed by his enemies whether his father was an ostler or a bargee; it's more likely that he was of petty noble stock. As the story goes, he was gaining his livelihood in the streets of Moscow as a vendor of meat-pies at the age of twenty. His handsome looks and smart sallies attracted the attention of Franz Lefort, Peter's first favorite, who took him into his service and finally transferred him to the tsar. On the death of Lefort in 1699, Menshikov succeeded him as Peter's prime favorite and confidant. Moscow (Russian: Москва́, Moskva, IPA:   listen?) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva. ... Franz Lefort - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Ignorant, brutal, grasping and corrupt as he was, he deserved the confidence of his master. He could drill a regiment, build a frigate, administer a province, and decapitate a rebel with equal facility. During the tsar's first foreign tour, Menshikov worked by his side in the dockyard of Amsterdam, and acquired a thorough knowledge of colloquial Dutch and German. He took an active part in the Azov campaigns (1695-96), and superseded Ogilvie as commander-in-chief during the retreat before Charles XII in 1708, subsequently participating in the battle of Holowczyn, the reduction of Mazepa, and the crowning victory of Poltava (June 26, 1709), where he won his field-marshal's baton. Jump to: navigation, search Amsterdam Location Country The Netherlands Province North Holland Population 739,295 (1 January 2005) Coordinates 4°54E - 52°22N Website www. ... Azov campaigns of 1695-1696 (Азовские походы in Russian), two Russian military campaigns during the Russo-Turkish War of 1686-1700, led by Peter the Great and aimed at capturing the Turkish fortress of Azov (garrison - 7,000 men), which had been blocking Russias access to the Azov Sea... Jump to: navigation, search People called Ogilvie include: This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ... Jump to: navigation, search Charles XII, Karl XII or Carolus Rex, (June 17, 1682 – November 30, 1718), the Alexander of the North, nicknamed in Turkish as DemirbaÅŸ Åžarl (Charles the Habitue), was a King of Sweden from 1697 until his death. ... Ivan Stepanovich Mazepa (Іван Степанович Мазепа in Ukrainian; Иван Степанович Мазепа in Russian) (circa 1640 — August 28, 1709), Cossack Hetman (Ataman) of the Left-bank Ukraine in 1687—1708. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Battle of Poltava (or Pultowa) was a battle between the armies of Peter I of Russia and Charles XII of Sweden on 28 June (new style 8 July) 1709, the most famous of the battles of the Great Northern War. ... A Field Marshal (sometimes incorrectly spelled Marshall) is a military officer of the highest rank, one step above a full General or Colonel General. ...

Avidity and corruption

A tower built by Menshikov in Moscow

From 1709 to 1714 he served during the Courland, Holstein and Pomeranian campaigns, but then, as governor-general of Ingria, with almost unlimited powers, was entrusted with a leading part in the civil administration. Menshikov understood perfectly the principles on which Peter's reforms were conducted, and was the right hand of the tsar in all his gigantic undertakings. But he abused his omnipotent position, and his depredations frequently, brought him to the verge of ruin. Every time the tsar returned to Russia he received fresh accusations of peculation against "his Serene Highness." Menshikova tower in Moscow, built in 1705-07. ... Menshikova tower in Moscow, built in 1705-07. ... Map Kurland, Courland, Couronia, Curonia, or Kurzeme is a former Baltic province of the Teutonic Order state in Livonia (ca. ... For other uses of the word, see Holstein Holstein (Hol-shtayn) (Low Saxon: Holsteen, Danish: Holsten, Latin and historical English: Holsatia) is the southern part of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, between the rivers Elbe, Eider, and the Schlei firth. ... Jump to: navigation, search Historic Pomerania (outlined in yellow) Pomerania (Polish: Pomorze, German: Pommern and Pommerellen, Pomeranian (Kashubian): Pòmòrze and Pòmòrskô, Latin: Pomerania, Pomorania) is a geographical and historical region in northern Poland and Germany on the south coasts of the Baltic Sea between and on... The Ingrian flag Map of Karelia giving an idea of where Ingria lies. ... Jump to: navigation, search Serene Highness (acronym HSH) – His Serene Highness or Her Serene Highness. ...

Peter's first serious outburst of indignation (March 1711) was due to the prince's looting in Poland. On his return to Russia in 1712, Peter discovered that Menshikov had winked at wholesale corruptions in his own governor-generalship. Peter warned him "for the last time" to change his ways. Yet, in 1713, he was implicated in the famous Solov'ey process, in the course of which it was demonstrated that he had defrauded the government of 100,000 roubles. He only owed his life on this occasion to a sudden illness. On his recovery Peter's fondness for his friend overcame his sense of justice.

In the last year of Peter's reign fresh frauds and defalcations of Menshikov came to light, and he was obliged to appeal for protection to the empress Catherine. It was chiefly through the efforts of Menshikov and his colleague Tolstoi that, on the death of Peter, in 1725, Catherine was raised to the throne. Menshikov was committed to the Petrine system, and he recognized that, if that system were to continue, Catherine was, at that particular time, the only possible candidate. Her name was a watchword for the progressive faction. The placing of her on the throne meant a final victory over ancient prejudices, a vindication of the new ideas of progress. H.I.M. Ekaterina I, Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias Catherine I (In Russian: Екатерина I Алексеевна) (April 15, 1683/1684 – May 17, 1727), the second wife of Peter the Great, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death. ...

Supremacy and disgrace

During Catherine's short reign (February 1725 - May 1727), Menshikov was practically absolute. He promoted himself to the unprecedented rank of Generalissimo, and was the only Russian to bear a ducal title. Upon finishing the construction of a sumptuous palace on the Neva Embankment in St Petersburg (now assigned to the Hermitage Museum), Menshikov intended to make Oranienbaum a capital of his ephemeral duchy. Pushkin in one of his poems alluded to Menshikov as "half-tsar". A generalissimo is a commissioned officer of the highest rank; the word is often translated as Supreme Commander or Commander in Chief. It is an Italian superlative substantive, which grammatically would actually be disallowed in Italian (superlatives can be made with adjectives only). ... The River Neva (Нева́) is a 74 km long Russian river flowing from Lake Ladoga (Ладожское Озеро — Ladozhskoye Ozero) through the Karelian Isthmus (Карельский Перешеек — Karelskii Peresheyek) and the city of Saint Petersburg (Санкт — Петербург — Sankt Peterburg) to the Gulf of Finland (Финский Залив — Finskii Zaliv). ... The Hermitage Museum (Эрмитаж) in St. ... For the town adjacent to Oranienbaum that formerly shared this name, see Lomonosov, Russia. ... A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. ... Aleksandr Pushkin was a Russian poet and a founder of modern Russian literature Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Пу́шкин) (June 6 (May 26, O.S.), 1799 - February 10 (January 29, O.S.), 1837), Russian author, whom many consider the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. ...

On the whole he ruled well, his difficult position serving as some restraint upon his natural inclinations. He contrived to prolong his power after Catherine's death by means of a forged will and a coup d'etat. While his colleague Peter Tolstoi would have raised Elizabeth Petrovna to the throne, Menshikov set up the youthful Peter II, son of the tsarevich Alexius, with himself as dictator during the prince's minority. Count Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy (1645 - 1729) was a Russian statesman prominent during and after the reign of Peter the Great. ... H.I.M. Yelizaveta Petrovna, Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias (1709-62) Yelizaveta (Yelisavet) Petrovna (Елизаве́та (Елисаве́т) Петро́вна) (December 29, 1709 - January 5, 1762), also known as Elizabeth, was an Empress of Russia (1741 - 1762) who took the country into the War of Austrian succession (1740 - 1748) and the Seven Years... Peter II (Пётр II Алексеевич in Russian) (October 23, 1715–January 29, 1730) was Emperor of Russia from 1727 until his death. ... Alexei Petrovich interrogated by his father Alexius Petrovich (Алексей Петрович in Russian) (1690-1718), a Russian tsarevich, was the son of Tsar Peter I and his first wife Eudoxia Lopukhina. ...

He now aimed at establishing himself definitely by marrying his daughter Mary to Peter II. But the old nobility, represented by the Dolgorukovs and the Galitzines, united to overthrow him, and he was deprived of all his dignities and offices and expelled from the capital (Sept. 9, 1727). Subsequently he was deprived of his enormous wealth, stripped of the titles, and he and his whole family were banished to Berezov in Siberia, where he died on the 12th of November 1729. Prince Vasily Lukich Dolgorukov Prince Vasiliy Lukich Dolgorukov (Василий Лукич Долгоруков in Russian) (1672 - November 8, 1739) was a Russian diplomat and minister who was the most powerful man in the country in the later years of Peter IIs reign. ... Peter I permitted the Galitzines to take an emblem of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as their coat of arms Galitzine, more correctly Golitsyn (Russian: Голицын), is one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. ... Menshikov and his family in Berezov, by Vasily Surikov. ... Jump to: navigation, search Siberia Siberia (Russian: , common English transliterations: Sibir’, Sibir; from the Tatar for “sleeping land”) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ... Events July 30 - Baltimore, Maryland is founded. ...

The Menshikov Palace on the Neva Embankment

The Menshikov Palace on the Neva Embankment This work is copyrighted. ... The Menshikov Palace on the Neva Embankment This work is copyrighted. ...

See also

Aleksandr Sergeevich Menshikov - his great grandson Prince Aleksandr Sergeyevich Menshikov (Александр Сергеевич Меншиков in Russian) (August 26, 1787 — May 1, 1869, all n. ...

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain. Jump to: navigation, search Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) represents the sum of human knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century; indeed, it was advertised as such. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

External links

• The Menshikov Palace in St Petersburg