Latest / The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History / Peter the Great's Grand Embassy: Russia's First European Tour
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've covered a lot of ground in this Romanov series — Peter the Great's reforms, his wars, his building of St. Petersburg. But there's one episode from his life that really sets the stage for everything else: his Grand Embassy to Western Europe in 1697 and 1698. Luna: The Grand Embassy — that's when Peter traveled incognito, right? Lucas: Exactly. He went under the name 'Peter Mikhailov,' a simple bombardier in the retinue. But everyone knew who he was — he was six foot seven, with a distinctive twitch in his face. Still, the pretense allowed him to avoid some diplomatic protocol and get his hands dirty. Lucas: The official purpose was to forge an alliance against the Ottoman Empire. Russia had recently captured Azov from the Turks, and Peter wanted to continue the war. But his real goal was to learn everything he could about Western technology, especially shipbuilding. Luna: So he wasn't just a tourist — he was an industrial spy. Lucas: Exactly. He took with him a huge entourage — about 250 people, including diplomats, volunteers, and servants. The official ambassadors were Franz Lefort, Fyodor Golovin, and Prokofy Voznitsyn, but Peter was the real leader. Lucas: The embassy first went to Riga, then part of Sweden. Peter was supposed to be welcomed, but the Swedish governor refused to let him inspect the fortifications. That slight — plus Sweden's control of the Baltic — would later help trigger the Great Northern War. Luna: I remember you mentioned that war in a previous episode. So the seeds were already there. Lucas: Yes. From Riga, they went to Königsberg in Prussia, where Peter studied artillery and received a certificate from the Prussian engineer. Then on to the Dutch Republic, the heart of European shipbuilding. Lucas: In the Netherlands, Peter settled in the small town of Zaandam, where he worked as a shipwright at the East India Company shipyards. He lived in a tiny wooden house — it's still a museum today. He wore Dutch clothes, ate with the workers, and even tried to buy a Dutch ship outright. Luna: Wait, he actually built ships with his hands? Lucas: He did. He was genuinely fascinated by the craft. But after a few weeks, the constant crowds of curious onlookers drove him away. He moved to Amsterdam and worked at the VOC's largest shipyard, where he helped build a frigate from keel to mast. Lucas: Despite his enthusiasm, Dutch shipbuilders worked by experience and rule of thumb — they couldn't explain the underlying geometry. That frustrated Peter. So when he heard that English shipbuilders used mathematical plans, he decided to go to England. Luna: So off to London he went. Lucas: In January 1698, Peter arrived in London with a small retinue. King William III gave him a house — Sayes Court, the home of diarist John Evelyn — but Peter and his men trashed the place: they ruined the lawns, broke furniture, and famously pushed a wheelbarrow through a holly hedge. Luna: Oh no — what did Evelyn say? Lucas: He called Peter 'a dangerous man' and was horrified. But the English government didn't care. They wanted Russian trade. Peter spent most of his time at the Royal Dockyard in Deptford, studying ship plans and hiring naval experts. Lucas: He also visited the Royal Society, where he saw a dissection of a severed head — he was fascinated by the anatomy. He met with scientists like Christiaan Huygens and Sir Christopher Wren. He even attended a session of Parliament, though he refused to enter the building — instead, he watched from a rooftop across the street. Luna: And what did he think of Parliament? Lucas: He later said it was amusing to see 'the king subject to his people.' But he also absorbed ideas about governance, though he never applied them in Russia. What he really wanted was more technical expertise. Lucas: From England, Peter went back to Holland, then to Vienna. He was planning to go to Venice to study galleys, but in August 1698, news reached him of a Streltsy revolt in Moscow — his half-sister Sophia was trying to seize power again. He had to return immediately. Luna: And we know how that ended — the brutal suppression of the Streltsy. Lucas: Yes. Peter executed over a thousand Streltsy, often personally beheading them in Red Square. But the Grand Embassy wasn't a failure. He brought back hundreds of engineers, shipwrights, and military officers. He also acquired scientific instruments, books, and a plan for a modern navy. Lucas: More importantly, his personal observations convinced him that Russia was centuries behind. He saw clean Dutch cities with canals, English parliamentary debates, and European art and science. That experience drove his later reforms: the beard tax, the Western dress code, the new calendar, and the creation of the Russian navy. Luna: It seems like the Grand Embassy was the turning point for his entire reign. Lucas: Absolutely. Without the Embassy, there might have been no St. Petersburg, no Russian fleet, no defeat of Sweden. Peter's foreign policy shifted from the Ottoman south to the Baltic north — he realized Sweden was a more immediate threat and a richer prize. Lucas: One quirky detail: While in Zaandam, Peter tried to buy a small frigate from a Dutch merchant, but it was too expensive. He settled for a smaller boat, which he later sailed on the Neva. That vessel — the 'St. Nicholas' — is considered the first ship of the Russian Baltic fleet. Luna: So a Dutch merchant's refusal indirectly spurred the creation of Russia's navy. Lucas: In a way, yes. And Peter never forgot his time in the Netherlands. He later invited Dutch shipbuilders to Russia, and many of his new warships were built by Dutch craftsmen. He even tried to reproduce the Dutch canal system in St. Petersburg. Lucas: The Grand Embassy also changed Russia's diplomatic standing. Peter met with Frederick I of Prussia, William III of England, and Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire. He established new trade agreements and alliances. Russia was no longer a distant, mysterious land — Peter had put it on the European map. Luna: So the Embassy was as much a public relations campaign as a learning trip. Lucas: Exactly. But it was also deeply personal. Peter once wrote to a friend that he was 'a student seeking knowledge' — and he genuinely was. He worked with his hands, asked endless questions, and even took notes in a journal that survives today. He was a tsar who wanted to be a craftsman. Luna: That's such a contrast to the autocrat who crushed the Streltsy. Lucas: It's one of the great paradoxes of Peter. He could be brutal and enlightened in the same day. But the Grand Embassy shows his sincere desire to modernize — not just for power, but because he believed in progress. He once said, 'I am a man who must reform his people.' And he never stopped trying. Lucas: So the next time you think of Peter the Great, remember him not just as the builder of St. Petersburg, but as the tsar who wielded an axe in a Dutch shipyard, learning how to build a nation from the keel up. Luna: I'll never look at a frigate the same way again.