November 14, 2013

Perks and Perils of Being the Tsar's Favorite


Perks and Perils of Being the Tsar's Favorite

This Saturday, November 16th, marks the 340th birthday of Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, a favorite of Peter the Great, Generalissimus of the Russian Army and Duke of Ingria.

About 25 miles outside the imperial capital of St. Petersburg, in the quiet suburban town of Lomonosov, you can still find a gem of a palace, untouched by the horrors of German occupation. Restored for the estate’s 300th anniversary, the Oranienbaum palace recalls the days of glory of a former pie-seller, Alexander Danilovich Menshikov.

Young Menshikov (in Holland during the Grand Embassy)

Built into a hillside, the palace seems to represent Menshikov himself: it’s a small structure when looking downhill, not much bigger than the average nobleman’s residence. Looking uphill, though, suddenly the ensemble is overwhelmingly ornate and magnificent, with multiple layers of marble staircases and imposing galleries seeming to embrace the sky. Top it all off with an imperial crown, to drive the point home: to get this kind of opulence, you need to be in the tsar’s good books.

Oranienbaum palace, looking downhill

Same building, looking uphill

From his (relatively) humble roots, Menshikov rose to the highest position in the land – second only to Tsar Peter himself, of course. All of Peter’s ideas and decisions were subject to feedback from his right-hand man. He had command of the armies, and was the only duke in Russian history – Duke of Ingria (a.k.a. Izhora or Ingermanland), more or less modern St. Petersburg and environs. Menshikov’s mansion was the first stone house in St. Petersburg, right in the center of the new capital.

Menshikov's center-city residence

It all sounds like a meritocracy, doesn’t it? And yet, Menshikov’s merits had their pros – his wit, his military leadership, his ability to turn ideas into action – and their cons. In addition to all the favors he already got from Peter, Menshikov felt the need to constantly bend the rules and take money for himself, illegally confiscating property and accepting money from fugitives for the right to live on his land. The luxuries of Oranienbaum serve as a testament to Menshikov’s corruption and greed as much as to his deserved success.

 

How much land did Menshikov have to confiscate elsewhere to afford this grand of an estate?

How did Menshikov ever stay in power, with that kind of attitude? Simple: he was useful. “In cases of a man’s life or honor,” Peter wrote of Menshikov, “justice requires us to impartially weigh both his crimes and his services to tsar and to fatherland – and I’ll need him later.” Menshikov was happy to wear Western clothes, shave his beard, and help Peter get everyone else to do the same, not to mention command his armies and convict his son for treason.

Menshikov in exile (1883 painting by Surikov)

The only trouble is, tsars are just as mortal as everyone else. Peter died in 1725. Still on a roll, Menshikov was practically in control of the country for two more years before being arrested and exiled in 1727 – the dangerous flipside to being a monarch’s favorite. As for Oranienbaum, it was confiscated (a taste of Menshikov’s own medicine!) and later expanded as an imperial residence. Menshikov never saw its expansion: he died in 1729, still in exile.

Sunset over Oranienbaum

 

Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons and Eugenia Sokolskaya

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955