Peter the Great

Peter the Great was a notorious ruler who amassed approximately three million deaths as a selfish and tyrannical tsar from 1682 to 1725. Peter wanted to make major changes for Russia, he sought ways to modernize the country. Russia lagged behind other countries such as Holland and Denmark, countries that had more clout than a country as large as Russia. He went on a tour of other countries to the west of Russia learning about their culture and technology.  England, Denmark, Holland and France were some of the countries he visited. Superficial modernization techniques were applied first. Russian men wore their beards with religious pride. They believed divine forces put beards on their faces and it was vain to shave their faces. Peter ordered the men to shave their faces. The reaction led Peter to charge a fee for wearing a beard and the men had to wear a beard permit where it could be easily seen. Many drastic changes were made in Russia to satisfy Peter’s whims at the cost of approximately three million lives (White, 2012).

Peter rushed home when he got word that his half-sister Sophia staged a rebellion involving palace guards. One thousand men who served as the leaders of the rebellion, tied up so the public could view what happens to trouble makers, breathed their last breath as a result of the most humiliating and excruciating torture.

Ivan was tied next to one of the guards who was about to be assaulted with an iron rod. He did not know the man but he was horrified about what was about to happen to him. His eyes wide open with terror. He knew he was next in line.

“Please don’t do this. I beg of you. Please don’t,” the man pleaded. The iron rod was jammed into the man hard. He screamed in agony and then passed out. Lots of blood dripped down his legs.

All of the guards were tied naked to posts, brutally sexually assaulted and whipped until they bled to death. Some of them plead for mercy before suffering the anguish from the harsh  attacks. Sophia was locked up in a convent never to return home again. After handling the trouble makers, he turned his focus on modernizing Russia and taking the power away from the Russian church.

           The church’s coffers were next to be hit by the power greedy tsar. If he could break the power of the church, he could confiscate the church’s money for the state. The patriarch (leader) of the church died in 1700, he stalled the replacement of a new patriarch. He did so until 1721. At that time, Peter turned the church into a branch of the Russian civil service under the direction of the tsar. He changed the Russian year of 7208, which represented creation, to 1699 (after Christ). He moved New Year’s Day from September 1 to January 1 to bring Russian in line with western countries (White, 2012).

            Peter was taller than most people during that time period which added to the dominance he inflicted on his subjects. He was working with Lucifer and other fallen angels to take over a country that was struggling to make its mark in the world. Peter did not accept any limits and set out to change the political landscape for Russia. Peter was a hybrid individual, part human and part demon or fallen angel. Part of the Genesis project was carried out for many generations and Peter was considered a Nephillim descendant, highly intelligent, larger than life and downright mean because he didn’t have a soul. The Nephillim that remained on the earth that were not lost during the flood kept procreating. Evil hybrid beings did not have souls. That made him ruthless to the bitter end. The demon that was part of his lineage was Armoni, one of the most evil and powerful of the fallen angels. Lucifer and his followers were behind a lot of the tyrannical rulers throughout the history of this planet.

             To the chagrin of many peasants, Peter adopted a serfdom system which made the free peasants slaves along with the people who were already slaves. The slaves were elevated in status but the peasants were degraded. The government enforced taxation on the slaves, requiring them to pay taxes to the government. New rules, placed on peasants, did not permit them to travel without a passport and they could not sign contracts without government approval. They lost any freedom they had in the past.

            Ivar wanted to travel to Austria to seek work. He heard through the grapevine that the landlords in Austria needed workers. He heard they were more lenient with their slaves.

            “Ivar, I am not sure this is good idea for us to travel at night and leave this country,” said Marique, his wife.

            “I am tired of slaving away and we can never get ahead. The government takes a lot of our earnings. I heard that the landlords in Austria do not do this to their slaves. They are treated with respect,” said Ivar.

            They packed up their meager belongings. Their young child, Louis, was put in a small wagon. The wagon was pulled by their donkey. Ivar and Marique walked alongside the wagon. The sky was dark, the moon, a sliver, did not give off much light. The fall air was crisp. The family walked slowly alongside other families who were also escaping the tyranny. A wolf howled in the distance. Marique trembled when she heard the sound. Ivar reached over to his wife and patted her arm. She smiled weakly at him. Marique looked under the blanket that Louis was covered with and he was fast asleep. She envied him, she wanted to be fast asleep in her bed.

            “What is going to happen to our home now that it is abandoned. Lots of people don’t have homes,” said Marique. She looked towards Ivar who appeared to be deep in thought.

            “We are not going to need a home until we reach Austria.”

            “I hope we don’t get caught,” said Marique.

            “I hope so, too.”

            Ivar heard whispering in his ear. He looked around and nobody was talking or even near enough to whisper in his ear.

            The voice said, “we are watching you.” Ivar told Marique what he heard.

            “Whose watching us,” said Marique. She looked around to see if anyone was talking to Ivar. She discovered nobody was near enough for him to hear what they were whispering, she trembled. They traveled through the night without anymore strange occurrences. They found a place in the woods to set up camp and catch a few hours of sleep. They ate while walking during the evening. Marique tucked Louis snugly between them so he would not wander off.

            The group of adventurers started off before the sun rose simply because they did not want to be seen. Louis was given food to snack on. He looked perfectly content.

            The day was warmer than the day before. Ivar wiped sweat from his brow. Marique fanned her face with her hand. Louis was laying in the wagon uncovered.

            The other travelers were also experiencing the warmth of the day in the same way.

            Marique was chewing on a hard biscuit and gave Ivar and Louis biscuits to eat.

            “I will have to hunt or fish so we can have meat for our meals,” said Ivar.

            “We have a lot of biscuits and apples to eat,” replied Marique.

            “I miss the taste of meat,” said Ivar.

            “Yes, you can go hunting or fishing when the time permits,” said Marique.

            “I think I will go after we set up camp tonight,” said Ivar.

            The group traveled most of the evening and then settled down around a campfire in the woods. Ivar and some of the other men went hunting with their swords and bow and arrows.  They came across a place where some other people were staying. The ashes of a campfire were still smoldering. They walked carefully towards the sounds of men talking. The men were Russian soldiers.

            “Did you hear that?” asked one of the soldiers.

            “I think we are being followed,” said another soldier.

            “I didn’t hear anything. We need to keep our focus on why we were sent here. To find the deserters,” said the first soldier who spoke first when Ivan’s group arrived at the scene.

            “I hope we find them soon. I am getting tired of this mission.

            “Soldiers are trying to track us down,” said Ivar. He was devastated.

            “Let’s attack them when they fall asleep so they can’t follow us,” said Ivan.

            “Sounds like a good plan,” replied Edmon.

            “They are going in the opposite direction from where our camp is located,” said Ivar.

            “That will buy us some time,” said Edmon.

            “I wish we could have come across their camp when they were still sleeping,” said Ivar.

            “Me, too,” said Ivar.  

            Ivar and his peers followed the small caravan of soldiers for a while until they finally settled down by woods and a river and set up camp. They looked tired. The soldiers stripped down and dove in the water.

            The soldiers ended their time at the river and went back to their camp. Ivar and the other men decided to wait until they fell asleep. The kill was easy. The soldiers’ throats were cut from ear to ear. Only one soldier woke up before he was killed and yelled. It was too late for the others.

 

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            “I am going to restructure the leadership of our kingdom. All nobility will be ranked the same no matter their ancestry. I want to follow Western-style feudalism in which all the nobility will be assigned equal privileges. That will save our kingdom from the fighting that has occurred over goods and services. Everybody will get their equal piece of the domain. Of course, I will still own and control the majority of the resources,” said Peter.

            “Everything will be equal,” asked one of the lords.

            “Yes, everything will be equal,” said Peter.

            “When does this come into effect?” asked the lord.  

            “Immediately.”

            “I would like to move into one of the larger castles. I would not mind sharing the castle with another family,” said the lord.

            “I don’t see why that would be a problem,” replied Peter.

            The lord approached another lord and he nodded in agreement with the new arrangement as long as they could share each other’s wives.

            The new arrangement worked well once everyone resettled in the larger castles. The smaller castles were given to the children of the lords and their slaves. There were a few skirmishes and some of the lords lost their lives. All and all, the death toll was only in the hundreds. Small potatoes considering how many people lost their lives to war and other unnecessary hardships.

            “I believe it is time to seek a port that is not frozen half of the year. We need to pick up our trade with other countries. We can do so if we improve our port location,” said Peter. The only Russian seaport was the Archangel on the White Sea below the Artic Circle.

            “What do you have in mind?” asked Jerem, a general.

            “I want to attack Sweden first to take over their port,” said Peter.

            For years and years Peter fought against Sweden, who held the Baltic Coast and the Turks, who held the Black Sea Coast. Each year a war was fought between Russia and another country.

            The Russian army fought tirelessly. They continued fighting after their numbers were low and the soldiers were beaten to a frazzle. They were stubborn and had proven to take on incredible punishment and an enormous loss of life to demonstrate that they could outlast their opponents.

            During times of peace, the soldiers could not rebuild their strength and rest. Soldiers along with civilians carried out extensive labor by dredging rivers, building roads, factories and canals all over Russia. Peter was tireless when it came to building up Russia to a powerful elite country. The arduous labor was where Peter racked up his highest body count. Peter’s ambition to maintain a huge army that was ready at a moment’s notice proved to be as deadly as the wars.

            Hardships such as malnutrition, disease, neglect and harsh discipline rose the death toll considerably. The frigid cold of the empire matched the harshness of the other problems the inhabitants faced. Many men avoided the draft into the armed services by knocking out their teeth so they could not bite open cartridges to load their muskets to severing their hands and feet so they couldn’t shoot their weapons or march.

            Peter had his sights on a port at the Baltic Sea which came at a high cost. The Great Northern War was not settled in his favor before he pushed to start building a new coastal capital. This new city would serve as a gateway to the west. He gathered criminals, prisoners, peasant slaves and construction teams to begin the building of Saint Petersburg. The city was named after Peter’s patron saint, St. Peter. Construction of stone buildings was halted all over Russia except at the location of Saint Petersburg. 40,000 workers died in the swamps. Peter ordered another 40,000 to take their place. They died as well so more took their place. Approximately 100,000 workers lost their lives when they were building Saint Petersburg under Peter’s stringent watch (White, 2012).

            “I need to offset the heavy cost of our army while we are not at war,” said Peter.

            “How do you plan on doing that?” asked Jerem.

            “The people of this great country are defended by our vast army, they can house and feed them during peacetime,” said Peter.

            “That sounds like a grand idea,” said Jerem.

            Before Peter disbursed the soldiers all over Russia, he had a census conducted to see what locations could support the soldiers. The cost of the soldier’s upkeep was passed onto the taxpayers. The citizens were warned that anyone ducking out of the census would have their property confiscated and the informer would be granted the property.

            A convoy of officials landed in the various communities and needed to be fed and housed at the expense of the local citizens. Soldiers served as police in the communities. However, the only service they provided to the nobility was the prevention of the peasants from escaping.

            Sarah approached her husband Remi and said, “We are being made slaves to these wealthy people who have bought our town. We are forced to work in the factories they built. I hate this arrangement.” Peter sold towns to wealthy investors and the investors built factories in which the peasants served as the workforce.

            “I know my sweet. We have lost all freedoms and are treated like we have no rights. Like we are common animals,” said Henry.

            “I have been used in ways I am ashamed to think about,” said Sarah. She wiped a tear from her eye.

            “I am so sorry,” said Henry. He hugged Sarah.

            They checked on their children and they were sound asleep in their beds right after dinner. They also had to work hard in the factories. They both sighed and thought about their lost childhoods.

            “Our neighbors tried to run away and did you see what happened to them,” said Henry.

            “I could not watch while they were being whipped in the public square,” said Sarah.

            “I heard that our other neighbors are working at another factory in another town. They were not able to leave and work in another town,” said Henry.

            Peter founded a new city, Yekaterinbury. Approximately 25,000 serfs were drafted and this new city became the center of the iron industry.

            Peter sought workers by pulling at least one member out of each household. Families were losing their fathers and sons on a regular basis.

Always having the upper hand, Peter feared no one and seemed to be relaxed around all people: nobility, priests, soldiers, foreigners and peasants. If he felt he was offended, he would retaliate with cruel jokes often involving dwarfs. He expected everyone to keep up to him while abiding in the drinking of alcohol. No one could keep up with him. He did not like pomp and circumstance and utilized the simplest of accommodations often bragging that he could endure any hardship he inflicted on his soldiers or sailors (White, 2012).

           

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Alexis, Peter’s son, was being groomed to become his successor. Alexis cracked under the pressure his hyperactive father placed on him. Alexis took a peasant girl as his full-time mistress which displeased his father and then shot himself in the hand to avoid serving military duty. Peter shunned his son. His son, to avoid punishment, ran away to Austria and then to Italy. Peter tracked him down and made him believe that he would be welcomed with open arms and convinced Alexis that he was forgiven.

            Things went well for Alexis for a while. Peter finally realized the magnitude of his son’s betrayal. He wondered who sided with Alexis concerning his escape. Alexis was seized and forced through to torture to reveal his accomplices. Peter supervised Alexis final payment. He was whipped for several days until he died in anguish.

     

Many deaths occurred during multiple wars and the construction of St. Petersburg, various infrastructures, and factories. His tireless ambition to seek additional sea ports, accumulate more land, modernize Russia and build a new city was intimidating to most of his subjects. Some of his subjects would become deformed to avoid serving in the military. He made vast changes and peasants were no longer free citizens. They were forced to become members of the serfdom. Men were even not allowed to sport beards unless they paid a beard tax. Many of the changes were derived from what Peter obtained when he traveled to various countries west of Russia and these ideas were quickly put into place at the expense of many lives. Given what can be conceived as the backing of demonic forces, Peter was unstoppable. A multitude of rulers gained much of their power the same way throughout the history of this world (White, 2012).

 Source: White, M. (2012).  Atrocities: The 100 Deadliest Episodes in Human History. New York:

            W.W. Norton and Company.