Nikita Zotov
Encyclopedia
Count Nikita Moiseevich Zotov (1644 – December 1717) was a childhood tutor and life-long friend of Russian Tsar
Peter the Great. Historians disagree on the quality of Zotov's tutoring. Robert K. Massie
, for example, praises his efforts, but Lindsey Hughes
criticizes the education that he gave to the future Tsar.
Not much is known about Zotov's life aside from his connection to Peter. Zotov left Moscow for a diplomatic mission to Crimea
in 1680, and returned to Moscow before 1683. He became part of the "Jolly Company", a group of several dozen of Peter's friends that eventually became The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters
. Zotov was mockingly appointed "Prince-Pope" of the Synod, and regularly led them in games and celebrations. He accompanied Peter on many important occasions, such as the Azov campaigns
and the torture of the Streltsy
after their uprising
. Zotov held a number of state posts, including from 1701 a leading position in the Tsar's personal secretariat. Three years before his death, Zotov married a woman 50 years his junior. He died in December 1717 of unknown causes.
and then to Natalia Naryshkina
after Maria's death. Peter I was born to Natalia Naryshkina on 30 May 1672. After the death of Tsar Alexis on 8 February 1676, Peter's half brother and godfather
Feodor
, the "semi-invalid eldest surviving son of Maria Miloslavskaya
", became the Tsar of Russia. Ivan Miloslavsky, Feodor's uncle, returned to Moscow from virtual exile as Governor of Astrakhan
to become Chief Minister. His family had not been in power for some time as a result of Tsar Alexis' remarriage. As a result, Ivan Miloslavsky hated the Naryshkin family, which included Peter, Natalia Naryshkina, and Natalia's foster father, Artamon Matveyev. When a new ruling family took over, the previous ruling family was usually banished to a ceremonial position somewhere far from Moscow. Instead, Ivan Miloslavsky tried to arrest the Naryshkins, but Feodor would only permit him to exile Artamon Matveyev. Feodor was fond of his half-brother Peter and Peter's mother, and both were allowed to remain in the Kremlin
in private apartments.
Most 17th-century Muscovites received little education, and there were low levels of literacy even among the nobility, education for whom typically consisted of a little reading, writing, and a small amount of history and geography. Religious scholars were usually the exception to this rule and were often also taught grammar, mathematics, and foreign languages. Two of Tsar Alexis' children—Feodor, and his sister Tsarevna Sophia—received a thorough education from the religious scholars of Kiev
, and could speak Latin
and Polish
.
At the age of three, in 1674 or 1675, Peter received a primer
from Tsar Alexis to help him learn the alphabet; two years later, Tsar Feodor suggested to Peter's mother that he begin his studies. Estimates of the exact year when Peter's tutoring began range widely; numerous authors refer to a starting date as early as 1677, and as late as 1683, though multiple references specifically identify 12 March 1677 as the beginning of Peter's tutoring. Nikita Zotov, a former church clerk, or "Duma secretary" from the tax-collection department of the governmental bureaucracy, was chosen to teach Peter to read and write.
well—an important qualification for Tsaritsa Natalia
. Although he did not expect it, he was well rewarded before he had even started his work, receiving from Feodor and the Tsaritsa, as well as Patriarch Joachim
, gifts including a set of apartments, two new sets of clothing, and 100 ruble
s. He was also raised to the rank of a minor nobleman
. Zotov was deeply humbled and overwhelmed by the Tsaritsa's request, and was enthralled at the prospect of teaching Peter. Zotov and Peter quickly became good friends, and Zotov remained close to Peter until the former's death.
Peter's first lesson began the morning after Zotov was appointed. After the books were sprinkled with holy water
, Zotov began his instruction; first in the alphabet, and then the Prayer Book. He taught the Bible, from which Peter learned long passages that he could still recite from memory forty years later. Zotov also taught his student to sing, and in his later years Peter often spontaneously accompanied choirs at church services. Although initially tasked only to teach reading and writing, Zotov found Peter to be intellectually curious, and interested in all that he could impart. Peter asked for lessons on Russian history, battles, and heroes. At Zotov's request, the Tsaritsa ordered engravings of "foreign cities and palaces, sailing ships, weapons and historical events" to be brought from the Ordnance Office. Zotov placed them in the study room, along with a somewhat accurate globe
for the time, to divert Peter when he became bored with his studies. Other informal "makeshift" tutors (foreign and domestic) and servants, were brought in for rowdy outdoor games with live ammunition. They were also to instruct Peter in other subjects such as royal and military history, blacksmithing, carpentry, joinery
, printing, and, uniquely for Russian nobility at the time, sailing and shipbuilding.
has criticized Zotov for giving Peter an education that did not teach what a future Tsar ought to know. Her contemporary, Robert K. Massie
, has argued that the education was the best possible one for a curious boy like Peter, because it was unlikely that he would ever become Tsar, as his half-brother, Ivan V
, was before him in the line of succession. According to Massie, although Zotov may have not taught Peter at the highest possible level, he delivered "the best education for a mind like Peter's", as it "stimulated [Peter's] curiosity" and allowed him to become "in large part, a self-taught man". Zotov's closeness to the Tsar later became a source of worry to others in government, many of whom—including even the powerful Menshikov
—feared his influence.
In 1680, Zotov embarked on a three-year diplomatic mission to the Crimea
; sources disagree on whether this was before or after he tutored Peter. When Peter left the Kremlin
to spend his childhood at Preobrazhenskoye
, two years after Zotov's departure, his memories of the tutors who had taught his siblings, Feodor and Sophia, were so negative that he cut himself off from traditional academic subjects for a time. He later resumed his studies under Afanassyi Nesterov and Zotov after the latter's return from the Crimea. Although Peter sought to learn of nature and military matters rather than literature or theology, he nevertheless learned a great deal of the latter from his tutors. Zotov (and later his sons) later worked with Peter to translate books about fortification
from a Western European language into Russian. Peter also forgot, or did not learn, a great deal about mathematics, a subject that he had to learn properly in his late teens for use in siege warfare
and fortification
. In later years, Peter regretted his lack of a fuller education, and sought to give his daughters Anne and Elizabeth educations equivalent of any European princess.
, a "synod
" that parodied religion. Although he had a reputation for sobriety and fasting, Zotov was appointed the "Prince-Pope" of the Synod because of that very fact. He was sometimes even referred to as Patriarch Bacchus
. Peter forced him to participate in the parties even when Zotov claimed sickness and exhaustion.
However, Zotov soon grew to be a key participant in the mocking celebrations. After first drinking to everyone's health, he "blessed" the group with the Sign of the Cross
, using two long Dutch pipes. On holidays, the games were played on the streets of Moscow, and at Christmas
, the Jolly Company rode around the city singing on sleighs, with Zotov at their head, on a sleigh pulled by twelve bald men. Zotov wore a highly unusual costume—his outfit was adorned with playing cards; he wore a tin hat; and he sat upon a barrel. During the first week of Lent
, a procession of "penitents" followed Zotov through the city on donkeys, oxen, and sleighs pulled by goats, pigs, and bears.
In 1695 and 1696, Peter the Great mounted two campaigns against the Turkish garrison of Azov
. Though the campaign in 1695 was ultimately unsuccessful, the 1696 one succeeded. The Russians surrounded the city with both men and ships and breached the wall, causing the Pasha
of Azov
to "surrender under honorable conditions". The people of Moscow were amazed by the news of the surrender; not since the reign of Peter's father Alexis had a Russian army been victorious. Peter delayed his return home to allow Andrew Vinius
, another member of the All-Joking Company, time to set up a victory parade
through the capital. The army returned home on 10 October, but instead of a traditional Orthodox reception, the army marched through an arch
seemingly supported by Hercules
and Mars
. Contrary to the custom for a tsar, Peter did not ride at the head of the procession, but instead it was led by 18 horsemen leading carriages carrying the war hero Fedor Golovin
and Zotov.
While on a tour of Europe
in 1698, Peter learned that the Streltsy
had rebelled
, and immediately rushed home from Vienna. Angry, Peter ordered the torture of those who had incited the Streltsy to rebel. For almost a month and a half, men from Peter's Jolly Company, including Fyodor Romodanovsky
, Boris Golitsyn, and Zotov, led the torture in secret.
In 1701, Zotov was made the head of the Tsar's newly created Privy Council
, a committee akin to the defunct Duma
. In 1710, Peter made Zotov a count
, and a year later when Peter set up the Governing Senate
, he appointed Zotov to oversee the Senate and ensure that the senators performed their duties well.
According to Robert K. Massie and Lindsey Hughes, Peter told Zotov in October 1713 that he intended to have him marry a second time, to Anna Pashkova, a widow 50 years Zotov's junior, despite Zotov's wish to spend his final years in a monastery
. However, the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
and Sergey Solovyov
say that Zotov came up with the idea to marry Pashkova in 1714, and that his plan to become a monk was merely a joke.
The wedding was described by Friedrich Christian Weber
, the ambassador of Hanover
, as "solemnized by the court in masks". Guests were instructed to pre-register in groups of three with their costumes so as not to look too similar to other guests. Witnesses described the event, which took place on 27 and 28 January 1715, and which had been prepared for three months, as a "world turned upside-down". The Jolly Company dressed in ridiculous regalia, and many people behaved exactly opposite to the norm; "invitations to the guests were delivered by stammerers, the bridesmen were cripples, the runners were fat men with gout, the priest was allegedly one hundred years old" (and blind). Hughes notes that the event may have been a "variation on the Western charivari
or shaming ceremonies", through which the Tsar could demonstrate how much power he had over his subjects' lives. During the wedding, the Drunken Synod routinely sang carols
in the streets of Moscow and demanded money, which became a New Year tax for the wealthy.
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Peter the Great. Historians disagree on the quality of Zotov's tutoring. Robert K. Massie
Robert K. Massie
Robert Kinloch Massie III is an American historian, author, Pulitzer Prize recipient. He has devoted much of his career to studying the House of Romanov, Russia's royal family from 1613-1917.-Biography:...
, for example, praises his efforts, but Lindsey Hughes
Lindsey Hughes
Lindsey Hughes was a British historian who studied seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Russia, especially the reign of Peter the Great. She authored biographies of Peter and his predecessor Sophia Alekseyevna, as well as a more general work, Russia in the Age of Peter the Great...
criticizes the education that he gave to the future Tsar.
Not much is known about Zotov's life aside from his connection to Peter. Zotov left Moscow for a diplomatic mission to Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
in 1680, and returned to Moscow before 1683. He became part of the "Jolly Company", a group of several dozen of Peter's friends that eventually became The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters
The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters
The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and JestersThe group is also known by various similarly-phrased titles. Robert K. Massie says, "The Drunken Synod, created when Peter was eighteen, continued its tipsy existence until the end of the Tsar's reign[.]" Peter died in 1725. was a club of sorts...
. Zotov was mockingly appointed "Prince-Pope" of the Synod, and regularly led them in games and celebrations. He accompanied Peter on many important occasions, such as the Azov campaigns
Azov campaigns
Azov campaigns of 1695–96 , two Russian military campaigns during the Russo-Turkish War of 1686–1700, led by Peter the Great and aimed at capturing the Turkish fortress of Azov , which had been blocking Russia's access to the Azov Sea and the Black Sea...
and the torture of the Streltsy
Streltsy
Streltsy were the units of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms. They are also collectively known as Marksman Troops .- Origins and organization :...
after their uprising
Streltsy Uprising
The Streltsy Uprising of 1698 was an uprising of the Moscow Streltsy regiments. Some Russian historians believe that the Streltsy uprising was a reactionary rebellion against progressive innovations of Peter the Great...
. Zotov held a number of state posts, including from 1701 a leading position in the Tsar's personal secretariat. Three years before his death, Zotov married a woman 50 years his junior. He died in December 1717 of unknown causes.
Tutelage of Peter I
Background
Alexis I, Tsar of Russia, married twice in his lifetime, first to Maria MiloslavskayaMaria Miloslavskaya
Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya was the first wife of tsar Alexis of Russia and mother of the tsars Feodor III of Russia and Ivan V of Russia, as well as regent princess Sophia Alekseyevna.-Biography:...
and then to Natalia Naryshkina
Natalia Naryshkina
Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina was the Tsaritsa of Russia from 1671 to 1676 as the second spouse of tsar Alexei I of Russia.-Biography:Coming from a petty noble family, daughter of Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin and wife Anna Leontyevna Leontyeva Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina was the Tsaritsa of...
after Maria's death. Peter I was born to Natalia Naryshkina on 30 May 1672. After the death of Tsar Alexis on 8 February 1676, Peter's half brother and godfather
Godfather
A godfather is a male godparent in the Christian tradition.Godfather may also refer to:*A male arranged to be legal guardian of a child if untimely demise is met by the parentsPeople:* Capo di tutti capi, a Mafia crime boss...
Feodor
Feodor III of Russia
Feodor III Alexeevich of Russia was the Tsar of all Russia between 1676 and 1682....
, the "semi-invalid eldest surviving son of Maria Miloslavskaya
Maria Miloslavskaya
Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya was the first wife of tsar Alexis of Russia and mother of the tsars Feodor III of Russia and Ivan V of Russia, as well as regent princess Sophia Alekseyevna.-Biography:...
", became the Tsar of Russia. Ivan Miloslavsky, Feodor's uncle, returned to Moscow from virtual exile as Governor of Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
to become Chief Minister. His family had not been in power for some time as a result of Tsar Alexis' remarriage. As a result, Ivan Miloslavsky hated the Naryshkin family, which included Peter, Natalia Naryshkina, and Natalia's foster father, Artamon Matveyev. When a new ruling family took over, the previous ruling family was usually banished to a ceremonial position somewhere far from Moscow. Instead, Ivan Miloslavsky tried to arrest the Naryshkins, but Feodor would only permit him to exile Artamon Matveyev. Feodor was fond of his half-brother Peter and Peter's mother, and both were allowed to remain in the Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
in private apartments.
Most 17th-century Muscovites received little education, and there were low levels of literacy even among the nobility, education for whom typically consisted of a little reading, writing, and a small amount of history and geography. Religious scholars were usually the exception to this rule and were often also taught grammar, mathematics, and foreign languages. Two of Tsar Alexis' children—Feodor, and his sister Tsarevna Sophia—received a thorough education from the religious scholars of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, and could speak Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
.
At the age of three, in 1674 or 1675, Peter received a primer
Alphabet book
An Alphabet book is a book primarily designed for young children. It presents letters of the alphabet with corresponding words and/or images. Some alphabet books feature capitals and lower case letter forms, keywords beginning with specific letters, or illustrations of keywords...
from Tsar Alexis to help him learn the alphabet; two years later, Tsar Feodor suggested to Peter's mother that he begin his studies. Estimates of the exact year when Peter's tutoring began range widely; numerous authors refer to a starting date as early as 1677, and as late as 1683, though multiple references specifically identify 12 March 1677 as the beginning of Peter's tutoring. Nikita Zotov, a former church clerk, or "Duma secretary" from the tax-collection department of the governmental bureaucracy, was chosen to teach Peter to read and write.
Appointment and instruction
Zotov was not a religious scholar, but he knew the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
well—an important qualification for Tsaritsa Natalia
Natalia Naryshkina
Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina was the Tsaritsa of Russia from 1671 to 1676 as the second spouse of tsar Alexei I of Russia.-Biography:Coming from a petty noble family, daughter of Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin and wife Anna Leontyevna Leontyeva Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina was the Tsaritsa of...
. Although he did not expect it, he was well rewarded before he had even started his work, receiving from Feodor and the Tsaritsa, as well as Patriarch Joachim
Patriarch Joachim
Patriarch Joachim was the eleventh Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, an opponent of the Raskol , and a founder of the Slavic Greek Latin Academy....
, gifts including a set of apartments, two new sets of clothing, and 100 ruble
Ruble
The ruble or rouble is a unit of currency. Currently, the currency units of Belarus, Russia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria, and, in the past, the currency units of several other countries, notably countries influenced by Russia and the Soviet Union, are named rubles, though they all are...
s. He was also raised to the rank of a minor nobleman
Russian nobility
The Russian nobility arose in the 14th century and essentially governed Russia until the October Revolution of 1917.The Russian word for nobility, Dvoryanstvo , derives from the Russian word dvor , meaning the Court of a prince or duke and later, of the tsar. A nobleman is called dvoryanin...
. Zotov was deeply humbled and overwhelmed by the Tsaritsa's request, and was enthralled at the prospect of teaching Peter. Zotov and Peter quickly became good friends, and Zotov remained close to Peter until the former's death.
Peter's first lesson began the morning after Zotov was appointed. After the books were sprinkled with holy water
Holy water
Holy water is water that, in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, and some other churches, has been sanctified by a priest for the purpose of baptism, the blessing of persons, places, and objects; or as a means of repelling evil.The use for baptism and...
, Zotov began his instruction; first in the alphabet, and then the Prayer Book. He taught the Bible, from which Peter learned long passages that he could still recite from memory forty years later. Zotov also taught his student to sing, and in his later years Peter often spontaneously accompanied choirs at church services. Although initially tasked only to teach reading and writing, Zotov found Peter to be intellectually curious, and interested in all that he could impart. Peter asked for lessons on Russian history, battles, and heroes. At Zotov's request, the Tsaritsa ordered engravings of "foreign cities and palaces, sailing ships, weapons and historical events" to be brought from the Ordnance Office. Zotov placed them in the study room, along with a somewhat accurate globe
Globe
A globe is a three-dimensional scale model of Earth or other spheroid celestial body such as a planet, star, or moon...
for the time, to divert Peter when he became bored with his studies. Other informal "makeshift" tutors (foreign and domestic) and servants, were brought in for rowdy outdoor games with live ammunition. They were also to instruct Peter in other subjects such as royal and military history, blacksmithing, carpentry, joinery
Woodworking joints
Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining together pieces of wood, to create furniture, structures, toys, and other items. Some wood joints employ fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, while others use only wood elements. The characteristics of wooden joints - strength, flexibility,...
, printing, and, uniquely for Russian nobility at the time, sailing and shipbuilding.
Impact
Zotov became one of Peter's first friends, and the two remained close throughout Zotov's life. Twentieth-century historian Lindsey HughesLindsey Hughes
Lindsey Hughes was a British historian who studied seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Russia, especially the reign of Peter the Great. She authored biographies of Peter and his predecessor Sophia Alekseyevna, as well as a more general work, Russia in the Age of Peter the Great...
has criticized Zotov for giving Peter an education that did not teach what a future Tsar ought to know. Her contemporary, Robert K. Massie
Robert K. Massie
Robert Kinloch Massie III is an American historian, author, Pulitzer Prize recipient. He has devoted much of his career to studying the House of Romanov, Russia's royal family from 1613-1917.-Biography:...
, has argued that the education was the best possible one for a curious boy like Peter, because it was unlikely that he would ever become Tsar, as his half-brother, Ivan V
Ivan V of Russia
Ivan V Alekseyevich Romanov was a joint Tsar of Russia who co-reigned between 1682 and 1696. He was the youngest son of Alexis I of Russia and Maria Miloslavskaya. His reign was only formal, since he had serious physical and mental disabilities...
, was before him in the line of succession. According to Massie, although Zotov may have not taught Peter at the highest possible level, he delivered "the best education for a mind like Peter's", as it "stimulated [Peter's] curiosity" and allowed him to become "in large part, a self-taught man". Zotov's closeness to the Tsar later became a source of worry to others in government, many of whom—including even the powerful Menshikov
Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov
Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov was a Russian statesman, whose official titles included Generalissimus, Prince of the Russian Empire and Duke of Izhora , Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Cosel. A highly appreciated associate and friend of Tsar Peter the Great, he was the de facto ruler of...
—feared his influence.
In 1680, Zotov embarked on a three-year diplomatic mission to the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
; sources disagree on whether this was before or after he tutored Peter. When Peter left the Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
to spend his childhood at Preobrazhenskoye
Preobrazhenskoye District
Preobrazhenskoye District is a district of Moscow. It is located in Eastern Administrative Okrug. It is named after Preobrazhenskoye village where the residence of Alexis of Russia and Peter I of Russia was located....
, two years after Zotov's departure, his memories of the tutors who had taught his siblings, Feodor and Sophia, were so negative that he cut himself off from traditional academic subjects for a time. He later resumed his studies under Afanassyi Nesterov and Zotov after the latter's return from the Crimea. Although Peter sought to learn of nature and military matters rather than literature or theology, he nevertheless learned a great deal of the latter from his tutors. Zotov (and later his sons) later worked with Peter to translate books about fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
from a Western European language into Russian. Peter also forgot, or did not learn, a great deal about mathematics, a subject that he had to learn properly in his late teens for use in siege warfare
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
and fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
. In later years, Peter regretted his lack of a fuller education, and sought to give his daughters Anne and Elizabeth educations equivalent of any European princess.
Prince-Pope of Drunken Synod
In 1692, Peter, who by then was Tsar of Russia, organized himself and several dozen of his friends into The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and JestersThe All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters
The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and JestersThe group is also known by various similarly-phrased titles. Robert K. Massie says, "The Drunken Synod, created when Peter was eighteen, continued its tipsy existence until the end of the Tsar's reign[.]" Peter died in 1725. was a club of sorts...
, a "synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
" that parodied religion. Although he had a reputation for sobriety and fasting, Zotov was appointed the "Prince-Pope" of the Synod because of that very fact. He was sometimes even referred to as Patriarch Bacchus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
. Peter forced him to participate in the parties even when Zotov claimed sickness and exhaustion.
However, Zotov soon grew to be a key participant in the mocking celebrations. After first drinking to everyone's health, he "blessed" the group with the Sign of the Cross
Sign of the cross
The Sign of the Cross , or crossing oneself, is a ritual hand motion made by members of many branches of Christianity, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of a trinitarian formula....
, using two long Dutch pipes. On holidays, the games were played on the streets of Moscow, and at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, the Jolly Company rode around the city singing on sleighs, with Zotov at their head, on a sleigh pulled by twelve bald men. Zotov wore a highly unusual costume—his outfit was adorned with playing cards; he wore a tin hat; and he sat upon a barrel. During the first week of Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
, a procession of "penitents" followed Zotov through the city on donkeys, oxen, and sleighs pulled by goats, pigs, and bears.
High office
Azov campaigns
Azov campaigns of 1695–96 , two Russian military campaigns during the Russo-Turkish War of 1686–1700, led by Peter the Great and aimed at capturing the Turkish fortress of Azov , which had been blocking Russia's access to the Azov Sea and the Black Sea...
. Though the campaign in 1695 was ultimately unsuccessful, the 1696 one succeeded. The Russians surrounded the city with both men and ships and breached the wall, causing the Pasha
Pasha
Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
of Azov
Azov
-External links:** *...
to "surrender under honorable conditions". The people of Moscow were amazed by the news of the surrender; not since the reign of Peter's father Alexis had a Russian army been victorious. Peter delayed his return home to allow Andrew Vinius
Andrew Vinius
Andrew Vinius was a Russian statesman and a friend of Peter the Great. He was a member of Peter's close-knit group of friends who organized themselves into the Jolly Company and The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters....
, another member of the All-Joking Company, time to set up a victory parade
Victory parade
A victory parade is a type of parade held in order to celebrate a victory. Because of that, victory parades can be divided into military victory parades and more frequent sport victory parades....
through the capital. The army returned home on 10 October, but instead of a traditional Orthodox reception, the army marched through an arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
seemingly supported by Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
and Mars
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
. Contrary to the custom for a tsar, Peter did not ride at the head of the procession, but instead it was led by 18 horsemen leading carriages carrying the war hero Fedor Golovin
Fedor Golovin
Count Feodor Alekseyevich Golovin was the last Russian boyar and the first Russian chancellor, field marshal, general admiral . Until his death he was the most influential of Peter the Great's associates....
and Zotov.
While on a tour of Europe
Grand Embassy of Peter I
The Grand Embassy was a Russian diplomatic mission, sent to Western Europe in 1697-1698 by Peter the Great....
in 1698, Peter learned that the Streltsy
Streltsy
Streltsy were the units of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms. They are also collectively known as Marksman Troops .- Origins and organization :...
had rebelled
Streltsy Uprising
The Streltsy Uprising of 1698 was an uprising of the Moscow Streltsy regiments. Some Russian historians believe that the Streltsy uprising was a reactionary rebellion against progressive innovations of Peter the Great...
, and immediately rushed home from Vienna. Angry, Peter ordered the torture of those who had incited the Streltsy to rebel. For almost a month and a half, men from Peter's Jolly Company, including Fyodor Romodanovsky
Fyodor Romodanovsky
Prince Fyodor Yuryevich Romodanovsky was one of Peter the Great's foremost assistants in the task of modernizing Russia. He was the country's first head of secret police....
, Boris Golitsyn, and Zotov, led the torture in secret.
In 1701, Zotov was made the head of the Tsar's newly created Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
, a committee akin to the defunct Duma
Duma
A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...
. In 1710, Peter made Zotov a count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
, and a year later when Peter set up the Governing Senate
Governing Senate
The Governing Senate was a legislative, judicial, and executive body of Russian Monarchs, instituted by Peter the Great to replace the Boyar Duma and lasted until the very end of the Russian Empire. It was chaired by the Ober-Procurator...
, he appointed Zotov to oversee the Senate and ensure that the senators performed their duties well.
Personal life
Nikita Zotov was twice married, and had three sons from his first marriage. One was Vasily Zotov (d. 1729), who was educated outside of Russia and became the Revisor-General of Ukazes (Inspector General of Decrees) in November 1715. As Inspector General, it was Vasily's job to preside over the Senate, enforce its decrees, and report absent senators to Peter. Vasily had little political power however, and so was unable to fulfil his role in opposition to the wishes of some of the most powerful men in the Russian empire. The second son was Ivan Zotov (1687–1723), who lived and studied in France, where he worked as a translator. The third son, Konon Zotov (1690–30 December 1742), studied in England, and served in various positions in the Russian Navy and in the Russian judicial system.According to Robert K. Massie and Lindsey Hughes, Peter told Zotov in October 1713 that he intended to have him marry a second time, to Anna Pashkova, a widow 50 years Zotov's junior, despite Zotov's wish to spend his final years in a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
. However, the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
The Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary is, in its scope and style, the Russian counterpart to the Encyclopædia Britannica. It contains 121,240 articles, 7,800 images, and 235 maps...
and Sergey Solovyov
Sergey Solovyov
Sergey Mikhaylovich Solovyov was one of the greatest Russian historians whose influence on the next generation of Russian historians was paramount. His son Vladimir Solovyov was one of the most influential Russian philosophers...
say that Zotov came up with the idea to marry Pashkova in 1714, and that his plan to become a monk was merely a joke.
The wedding was described by Friedrich Christian Weber
Friedrich Christian Weber
Friedrich Christian Weber was an 18th century German diplomat and writer.He was born in Hanover and, after the succession of fellow Hanoverian George I of Great Britain to the throne of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1714, represented English interests at the Russian court of Peter the Great...
, the ambassador of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, as "solemnized by the court in masks". Guests were instructed to pre-register in groups of three with their costumes so as not to look too similar to other guests. Witnesses described the event, which took place on 27 and 28 January 1715, and which had been prepared for three months, as a "world turned upside-down". The Jolly Company dressed in ridiculous regalia, and many people behaved exactly opposite to the norm; "invitations to the guests were delivered by stammerers, the bridesmen were cripples, the runners were fat men with gout, the priest was allegedly one hundred years old" (and blind). Hughes notes that the event may have been a "variation on the Western charivari
Charivari
Charivari is the term for a French folk custom in which the community gave a noisy, discordant mock serenade, also pounding on pots and pans, at the home of newlyweds. The loud, public ritual evolved to a form of social coercion, for instance, to force an as-yet-unmarried couple to wed...
or shaming ceremonies", through which the Tsar could demonstrate how much power he had over his subjects' lives. During the wedding, the Drunken Synod routinely sang carols
Carol (music)
A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church worship, and often with a dance-like or popular character....
in the streets of Moscow and demanded money, which became a New Year tax for the wealthy.