This king was great in front of the world but proved to be an ‘executioner’ for his/her son, no father can commit such cruelty

Peter’s son had a different thinking

Jonathan Daly, a professor of Russian history at the University of Illinois at Chicago, argues that Peter was rebelling against the traditionalist Muscovite political culture as a whole. However, Peter was greatly disappointed when his/her eldest son and heir, Tsarevich Alexei, grew up to think differently.

Alexei’s mother, Eudoxia, was both pious and Orthodox. Peter kept his/her distance from his/her son, so Alexei was raised by his/her aunts. he/she was always surrounded by a Moscow entourage that believed in less Westernization and a greater role for the Orthodox Church.

The distance between father and son was not seen before

Paul Bushkovich, professor of history at Yale University in New Haven and author of Peter the Great: The Struggle for Power, explains that as a teenager Alexei was hired into the logistics department of Peter’s army. Alexei was nominally charged with defending Moscow during Sweden’s failed invasion of Russia in 1708. It was not realized at the time that there was any trouble between Alexei and Peter.

Alexey’s marriage worsened the situation

Around 1711, Peter married Alexei to a German princess named Charlotte. Although Charlotte was happy with her husband at first, after some time she found herself lonely and isolated. Not only this, she complained about Alexei’s lack of love and excessive drinking through letters. However, Charlotte died in 1715 due to some complications after the birth of their second child. By then Alexei had started having an affair with a maid Afrosina Fedorova.

A crack that will never be healed…

The father-son relationship was permanently fractured in October 1715, when Peter wrote a letter to Alexei lamenting his/her lack of military prowess and threatening to deprive him/her of the succession. Peter went on to say that he/she would prefer to pass the crown to a worthy stranger rather than to his/her unworthy son.

In response, Alexei himself renounced his/her claim to the throne, saying he/she felt unworthy. After this assurance, Peter was worried that opponents would unite around his/her son, because Alexei had different views. So Peter ordered Alexei to either try for succession or become a monk.

If you did not obey, then you were sentenced to death

At Peter’s behest, Alexei agreed to go to a monastery. Instead, he/she borrowed money and fled the country in disguise. In 1716, he/she took refuge with his/her brother-in-law, the Habsburg emperor Charles VI, in Vienna, Austria. Unfortunately, Peter’s agents managed to track Alexei down.

In 1718 Alexei had to return to Russia. Then Peter disinherited Alexei. he/she was imprisoned, tried and tortured for plotting against Peter. According to some reports, he/she was flogged 25 times on June 19, 1718. Alexei died within a few days due to the deep wounds.