Count Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy (Russian:Граф Пётр Андреевич Толстой; 1645–1729) was a Russianstatesman anddiplomat, prominent during and after the reign ofPeter the Great. He was the ancestor of all theCounts Tolstoy, including the novelistLeo Tolstoy (September 9 [O.S. August 28], 1828 – November 20 [O.S. November 7], 1910) andAlexei Tolstoy the writer. His wife was Solomonida Timofeevna Dubrovskaya born 1660 and died 1722; he had two sons with her, Ivan (born 1685) and Peter (born 1680). Both his sons died in exile with him the year before his own death. He was, however, survived by many grandchildren: the family was recalled by the Empress Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great in 1760, and had all honors and land restored.
Some historians assume Pyotr Tolstoy to have been an "okolnichy", while others consider he came from a "boyar" background. He served in 1682 asChamberlain at the court of childless TsarFeodor III Alekseevich, Tsar 1676–1682. On account of his family relationship with the Miloslavsky family, he miscalculated the strength of thetsarevnaSophia Alekseyevna, (September 17 [N.S. September 27], 1657 – regent of Russia (1682–1689) – July 3 [N.S. July 14], 1704), full sister of Feodor III and third daughter, also, of TsarAlexei I of Russia by his first wife,Maria Miloslavskaya and became one of her most energetic supporters, but contrived to join the other, and winning, side just before the final catastrophe.[1]
Peter was the only son of TsarAlexei I of Russia's second marriage (toNataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina), and therefore, was the younger half-brother of childless Tsar Feodor III and of Sophia, temporary regent of Russia. For a long time Peter kept his latest supporter at arm's length. However, in 1697, Tolstoy volunteered to go toVenice to learnItalian andship-building, and Peter could not resist the subtle flattery implied in such a proposal from a middle-agedMuscovite noble.[1]
In November 1701, Tolstoy was appointed the first regularly accredited Russianambassador to the Ottoman Empire, known as TheSublime Porte, and in this demanding role, he more than justified the confidence of the most exacting of masters. Even beforePoltava, Tolstoy had the greatest difficulty in preventing theTurks from aiding theSwedes. WhenCharles XII took refuge on Turkish soil, Tolstoy instantly demanded hisextradition. This diplomatic blunder only irritated the already alarmed Turks, and on 10 October 1710, Tolstoy was thrown into theSeven Towers, a proceeding tantamount to a declaration of war againstRussia. On his release, in 1714, he returned to Russia, was created asenator, and closely associated himself with the omnipotent favourite,Aleksandr Menshikov.[2]
In 1717, his position during Peter's reign was secured once and for all by his successful mission toNaples to bring back the unfortunatetsarevichAlexei Petrovich, (28 February 1690 – by death penalty authorised by one hundred twenty six members of the equivalent of the Russian Duma following the wishes of his father, 7 July 1718, aged twenty-eight), the son of Tsar Peter I whom he may be said to have literally hunted to death.[3]
For this, Tolstoy earned the undying hatred of the majority of the Russian people; but Tsar Peter I naturally regarded it as an inestimable service and loaded Tolstoy with honours and riches, appointing him, moreover, the head of theSecret Chancellery, or official torture chamber, a post for which Tolstoy, nearly eighty years old by then, was by nature eminently fitted,[3] as his vigorous prosecution of theMons Affair (1724) made clear.
He materially assisted Aleksandr Menshikov to raise theempress consort, to becomeCatherine I, (deceased less than two years later in 1727), to the throne on the decease of Peter in 1725, and the newsovereign made him a count and one of the six members of the newly institutedSupreme Privy Council (Верховный тайный совет).[3]
Tolstoy was well aware that the elevation of thegrand duke Peter II, son of the tsarevich Alexei, grandson of Piotr I would put an end to his own career and endanger his whole family.[3]
.jpg)
Tsar Peter II Alexeyvich, here above, was the son of tsarevich Alexei Petrovich "Romanov", executed at age twenty-eight, the widower at twenty-five of German Princess Charlotte Christine, sister in law of EmperorCharles VI of Austria. Peter II, grandson of Peter I of Russia, was Tsar of Russia aged twelve, for three years, and died aged fifteen.
Therefore, when Menshikov, during the last days ofCatherine I, declared in favour of Peter, Tolstoy endeavoured to form a party of his own whose object it was to promote the accession of Catherine's second daughter, the tsarevnaElizabeth. But Menshikov was too strong and too quick for his ancient colleague. On the very day of Empress Catherine I's death (11 May 1727), Tolstoy, now in his eighty-second year, was banished to theSolovetsky Monastery in theWhite Sea, where he died two years later.[3]
Pyotr Tolstoy is the author of a sketch of the impressions made upon him byWestern Europe during his tour in the years 1697–1698 and also of a detailed description of theBlack Sea.[3]
Not all the later family lineages ofnobility bearing the last name of Tolstoy list Pyotr Andreyevich as their ancestor. However, it is among his direct descendants in the male line where we find all the known Tolstoy writers, among themLeo Tolstoy,Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, andAleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy (the former and the latter having notable descendants as well). There were a number of statesmen and soldiers descending from Pyotr Andreyevich, as Education and Interior MinisterDmitry Tolstoy.[citation needed]
His other notable descendants were such literati as the pioneering Russian philosopherPyotr Chaadayev andVladimir Odoyevsky.[citation needed]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). "Tolstoy, Petr Andreevich, Count". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 1061–1062.| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
