Editing Peter the Great (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Young Peter the Great parsuna.jpg|thumb|Peter as a child|left]][[File:Double throne of Russia 04 by shakko.jpg|thumb|Double throne in [[Kremlin Armoury]]. A large hole was cut in the back of the dual-seated throne used by Ivan and Peter. Sophia would sit behind the throne and listen as Peter conversed with nobles, while feeding him information and giving him responses to questions and problems]][[File:Museum IMG 1156 (603455489).jpg|thumb|Peter's ship, rigged with a sail and a mast with the help of Dutch carpenters]]

Peter grew up at [[Izmaylovo Estate]] and was educated at the [[Amusement Palace]] from an early age by several tutors commissioned by his father, most notably [[Nikita Zotov]], [[Patrick Gordon]], and [[Paul Menesius]]. When his father died in 1676, he left the sovereignty to Peter's elder half-brother, the crippled [[Feodor III of Russia|Feodor&nbsp;III]].{{Sfn|Massie|1980|pp=25–26}} Throughout this period, the government was largely run by [[Artamon Matveyev]], an enlightened friend of Alexis, the political head of the [[Naryshkin family]] and one of Peter's greatest childhood benefactors.

This position changed when Feodor died in 1682. As Feodor did not leave any children, a dispute arose between the Miloslavsky family ([[Maria Miloslavskaya]] was the first wife of Alexis I) and Naryshkin family ([[Natalya Naryshkina]] was his second wife) over who should inherit the throne. He [[coregency|jointly ruled]] with his elder half-brother, [[Ivan V of Russia|Ivan&nbsp;V]], until 1696. Ivan was next in line but was weakminded and blind. Consequently, the [[Duma#Boyar Duma|Boyar Duma]] (a council of Russian nobles) chose the 10-year-old Peter to become tsar, with his mother as [[regent]]. A hole was cut in the back of the throne, so that she, literally behind the scenes, could whisper to the two boys.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Museums of the Moscow Kremlin: ARMOURY CHAMBER |url=https://armoury-chamber.kreml.ru/en-Us/exposure/view/vitrina-48-dvoynoy-tron-konets-xvii-veka/ |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=armoury-chamber.kreml.ru}}</ref>

The "Moscow Grand Discharge" started in 1677 and was completed in 1688; it affected noble families with high ranks in the administration; the ministries were also reduced in number. This provoked fierce reactions. [[Sophia Alekseyevna|Sophia]], one of Alexis' daughters from his first marriage, led a [[Moscow Uprising of 1682|rebellion]] of the ''[[streltsy]]'' (Russia's elite military corps) in April–May 1682. In the subsequent conflict, some of Peter's relatives and friends were murdered, including Artamon Matveyev, and Peter witnessed some of these acts of political violence.{{Sfn|Riasanovsky|2000|p=214}}

The ''streltsy'' made it possible for Sophia, the Miloslavskys (the clan of [[Ivan V of Russia|Ivan]]) and their allies to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint tsars, with Ivan being acclaimed as the senior. Sophia then acted as regent during the minority of the sovereigns and exercised all power. For seven years, she ruled as an autocrat.

From 1682 to 1689, Peter and his mother were banned to [[Preobrazhenskoye District|Preobrazhenskoye]]. At the age of 16, he discovered an [[Botik of Peter the Great|English boat]] on the estate, had it restored and learned to sail. He received a [[sextant]], but did not know how to use it. Peter was fascinated by [[sundial]]s. Therefore, he began a search for a foreign expert in the [[German Quarter]]. Peter befriended [[Andrew Vinius]], a bibliophile, who taught him Dutch and two Dutch carpenters, Frans Timmerman and Karsten Brandt. Peter studied arithmetic, geometry, and military sciences ([[fortification]]). He was not interested in a musical education but liked fireworks and drumming.

Peter was not particularly concerned that others ruled in his name; [[Boris Alekseyevich Golitsyn|Boris Golitsyn]] and [[Fyodor Apraksin]] played an important role. He engaged in such pastimes as shipbuilding in [[Pereslavl-Zalessky]] and sailing at [[Lake Pleshcheyevo]], as well as mock battles with his [[Toy army of Peter I|toy army]]. Peter's mother sought to force him to adopt a more conventional approach and arranged his marriage to [[Eudoxia Lopukhina]] in 1689.{{Sfn|Riasanovsky|2000|p=218}} The marriage was a failure, and 10 years later, Peter forced his wife to become a nun and thus freed himself from the union.

By the summer of 1689, Peter, planned to take power from his half-sister Sophia, whose position had been weakened by two unsuccessful [[Russo-Crimean Wars|Crimean campaigns]] against the [[Crimean Khanate]] in an attempt to stop devastating [[Crimean–Nogai slave raids in Eastern Europe|Crimean Tatar raids]] into Russia's southern lands. When she learned of his designs, Sophia conspired with some leaders of the Streltsy, who continually aroused disorder and dissent. Peter, warned by others from the Streltsy, escaped in the middle of the night to the impenetrable monastery of [[Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius|Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra]]; there he slowly gathered adherents who perceived he would win the power struggle. Sophia was eventually overthrown, with Peter&nbsp;I and Ivan&nbsp;V continuing to act as co-tsars. Peter forced Sophia to enter a convent, where she gave up her name and her position as a member of the royal family.{{Sfn|Massie|1980|pp=96–106}}

Meanwhile, he was a frequent guest in the German quarter, where he met [[Anna Mons|Anna]] and [[Willem Mons]]. In 1692 he sent [[Eberhard Isbrand Ides]] as envoy to the [[Kangxi Emperor]] of China. In 1693 he sailed to [[Solovetsky Monastery]] and accepted [[divine providence]] after surviving a storm.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Collis |first=Robert |title=The Petrine Instauration: Religion, Esotericism and Science at the Court of Peter the Great, 1689–1725 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1424361 |via=www.academia.edu |date=2015}}</ref>
Still, Peter could not acquire actual control over Russian affairs. Power was instead exercised by his mother. It was only when Natalya died in 1694 that Peter, then aged 22, became an independent sovereign.{{Sfn|Riasanovsky|2000|p=216}} Formally, Ivan&nbsp;V was a co-ruler with Peter, though being ineffective. Peter became the sole ruler when Ivan died in 1696 without male offspring.

Peter grew to be extremely tall, especially for the time period, reportedly standing {{Height|ft=6|in=8}}.{{Sfn|Riasanovsky|2000|p=216}} He was seen as a "second [[Goliath]]" or [[Samson]].{{Sfn|Collis|2015|p=365}}<ref name="auto4">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120204044857/https://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Prokop2.html Prokopovich's Funeral Sermon on Peter I]</ref> [[Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon|Saint-Simon]] described him in 1717 as "tall, well-formed and slim... with a look both bewildered and fierce". Peter had noticeable facial tics, and he may have suffered from [[neck spasm]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Stählin|1785|pp=92–94}}; {{Harvnb|Gordon|1755|p=318}}; {{Cite web |title=Peter the Great |url=https://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/212pet.html#Alexander%20Gordon |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=history.hanover.edu}}</ref>