He hurried a little, for which he paid his head. It was worth a little wait, and no one would have invented that the evil German Lefort replaced Tsar Peter with his son.
The presence of such a man among the closest associates of Alexei Mikhailovich was a prologue to the era of Peter the Great. This statesman could become a mediator between the Russian political elite and the progressive people of the West, but some did not like his work. We in the Fatherland always have opponents of idyllic paintings.
Childhood
From time immemorial, men from the Matveyev family have chosen either military service or service to the emperor in a spiritual rank. Clerk Sergei dedicated his life to diplomacy. He represented the interests of Russia in Turkey and Persia. He was at home on short visits. During one of the visits in 1625, the wife pleased her husband with her son. The boy was named Artamon.
Coat of arms of the noble family Matveyev
The wanderer could return to Moscow and pay attention to his family only in his declining years. The good news was waiting for him at home - his heir was serving at court. When the boy was 12 years old, his family sent him to the retinue of the young prince. The son of a clerk was educated with the children of the autocrat, he studied manners and military art.
Youth
Matveev Sr. did not want to raise a footman from a guy. He persuaded Artamon to ask for military service. The young man knew that his governor was his ancestor, and he dreamed of gaining fame on the battlefield. The tsar was glad that the youth did not sit out in mansions, and sent his subject to the border with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where then it was restless.
Our hero arrived in time for the most interesting events - Little Russia rebelled under the leadership of Bogdan Khmelnitsky. Artamon managed both to wave his saber and to master the profession of a parent, taking part in negotiations with the hetman. When Old Man Hop died, the young aristocrat tried to establish a dialogue with his heirs, which turned out to be a bit much. It was not possible to settle things in the West, since an order came from Moscow to accompany the clergy on their way to the Church Council.
Forever with Moscow, forever with the Russian people (1951). Artist Mikhail Khmelko
Capital
Returning home in 1666, already a mature man, Artamon immediately married. His personal life was part of a big politics of a noble family, because he chose a difficult bride. She became a certain Evdokia, among whose relatives were foreigners. The wife came to the Matveyev estate not one. She brought with her a girl whose education she was engaged in. They called baby Natasha. The newlywed made a contribution to the economy by organizing life in a European manner.
Artamon Sergeevich Matveev. Unknown artist
Alexei Mikhailovich, who had taken the throne by that time, was happy to know that his childhood friend was back in Moscow. He made him the head of the service, dealing with relations with Little Russia. Artamon Matveev knew the situation in that region very well. He suggested the autocrat to avoid conflicts with Sweden, supporting the northern neighbor, if he decides to attack Poland. In addition to the West, the nobleman was also interested in the East. He helped organize an expedition to China, famous for such exotic and already popular goods in Russia as silk, tea and spices.
Family and state affairs
In addition to working for the good of the motherland, men were united by leisure. The autocrat often visited Artamon. As it should have been in the old days, the hostess controlled the house. Evdokia, who had already given the wife of her son Andrei, violated all traditions - she not only met the guests, but also had a conversation with them at the same table. She introduced her missus to English actors. Artamon Sergeyevich liked the creativity of the hypocrites so much that he organized his own theater.
The performance of "Judith" on the stage of the Preobrazhensky Theater on November 24, 1674 in the presence of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1895). Engraving by Mikhail Nesterov
When in 1671 the tsar decided to remarry, he drew attention to Natalia Naryshkina, that same companion of Evdokia Matveeva. After the wedding, in gratitude for the pleasant girlfriend of life, the monarch presented the nobleman with the title of Duma boyar and head of the Ambassadorial order. The high ranks did not arouse the desire of the active hero to rest on his laurels. He continued to actively establish relations between Russia and the West, and in his free time he wrote books on the biography of Fedor, the son of Ivan the Terrible.
Artamon Sergeevich Matveev. Unknown artist
