Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov

Russian military leader, politician, and aristocrat

• Born: November 16, 1673
• Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
• Died: November 23, 1729
• Place of death: Berezov, Siberia, Russian Empire (now in Russia)

Menshikov rose from obscurity to become Czar Peter the Great’s closest adviser and companion, and under Peter’s successor, Catherine I, Menshikov was the czar in all but name. Although he was awarded land and great wealth for his military service, he made a far greater fortune through his corrupt practices.

Sources of wealth: Government; real estate; embezzlement

Bequeathal of wealth: Dissipated; confiscated

Early Life

Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov (al-ehks-AN-dehr dah-NEE-loh-vihch MEHN-shi-kawf) worked as a stable boy at the imperial estate at Preobrazhenskoe, where his father, an army corporal of Lithuanian origins, was stationed. As a young boy, Menshikov supplemented family income by selling meat pies on the streets in nearby Moscow. He developed street smarts, wit, and an outgoing personality but remained illiterate until well into adulthood. One person whom he impressed was François Lefort, a young Swiss mercenary who served as an officer in both the Dutch and French armies and then sought opportunity as an officer in the Russian army. Alexander became Lefort’s personal servant. Lefort was a close friend of Czar Peter the Great. Peter, who was a year and a half older than Menshikov, was impressed by Menshikov and made him his personal servant. When Peter formed his “toy regiment” (later to evolve into the elite Preobrazhensky Regiment), Menshikov was the first to join. Drilling and practicing war games with Peter under the command of European adventurers living in Moscow’s foreign quarter, Menshikov became the czar’s close friend.

First Ventures

Menshikov fought alongside Peter and shared the czar’s tent when the czar used his toy regiment to seize sole power in Russia, driving his stepbrother Ivan and stepsister Natalia from the throne. The two also fought together to defeat Turkish forces at Azov. Menshikov accompanied Peter on a journey to Europe, where the czar sought to learn Western technology and to recruit talented Europeans for careers in Russia. Menshikov and Peter learned shipbuilding in Amsterdam. When the regular Russian army revolted against Peter’s Westernization, Menshikov returned to Russia with Peter and played a major role in the mass execution of officers involved in the revolt.

Lefort died in 1699, and Menshikov became Peter’s primary adviser. As the lengthy Great Northern War broke out with Sweden (1700-1721), Menshikov proved to be a capable commander in terms of organization and bold initiatives. As a reward, Peter granted him honors, titles, command positions, and land grants. He was made governor of Karelia, Ingria, and Estonia. After Menshikov’s victory over the Swedes at Kalisz, Poland, Peter made Menshikov the prince of Izhora and granted him large estates. Soon after that, Menshikov was named the governor general ofSt. Petersburg, which Peter intended to transform as the new capital of Russia. Menshikov’s positions provided him with an incredible range of opportunities. He freely sold government contracts, embezzled money intended to finance military operations, and extorted money from people living in the territories he governed.

Mature Wealth

For his command role in the decisive Battle of Poltava (1709), Menshikov was made a field marshal, adding to his previous titles of prince of the Holy Roman Empire, grand duke, and serene highness. He was also granted lands at Oranienbad, facing the Gulf of Finland, where in 1713 work was begun on a massive and elegant palace designed by renowned architects Gottfried Schädel and Giovanni Fontana, who at the same time were building an even grander palace for Menshikov in St. Petersburg. Such expenditures were a clear indication that something was amiss.

The first major allegations about Menshikov’s corruption were made in March, 1711, when he was accused of extortion in Poland. His primary defense was that he took money only from the Poles. Peter, aware of a string of past abuses, lectured Menshikov and warned him to end such transgressions. In a major corruption investigation in 1715, Menshikov was accused of mismanaging more than 100,000 rubles in government funds and property, while at the same time making large and unlawful profits in awarding government contracts. He was sentenced to pay back the expropriated money. Others accused in the corruption trials received far harsher sentences. While making a few token repayments and apologizing for his transgressions, Menshikov eventually ceased repayment.

Although Peter was thoroughly disgusted with his closest friend, the czar took no further reprisals. Relieved, Menshikov continued swindling government funds. In January, 1719, he was convicted of embezzlement and court-martialed. He was sentenced to loss of all his honors and estates. However, in the end Peter lifted the sentence and imposed a heavy fine. In 1724, Menshikov was accused of illegally owning thirty thousand serfs on estates he had acquired near Baturin. These serfs had either fled their obligation for military service or escaped from their masters. Fearful that these accusations would finally result in harsh reprisals from Peter, Menshikov sought protection from Peter’s wife, Empress Catherine. The investigation of Menshikov’s alleged corruption was nearing a conclusion when on January 28, 1725, Peter died abruptly from pneumonia. This was a fortuitous development for Menshikov, who immediately moved to make Catherine head of Russia and to rule Russia through her. This plan not only would protect his fortune but also would provide him with numerous opportunities to become even wealthier.

Menshikov had much to fear from the traditional Russian aristocracy, jealous and angered by his meteoric rise to power, status, and great wealth. Catherine I was even more removed from traditional Russian society than was Menshikov. She was of peasant Lithuanian stock and was Menshikov’s mistress before Peter became infatuated with her in 1703 and made her his mistress. After Peter divorced his wife, Catherine wed Peter in November, 1707. At critical junctures, Catherine intervened to assuage Peter’s wrath about Menshikov’s machinations.

After Catherine ascended to the throne, Menshikov, as head of the Privy Council, the first senator, and Russia’s only grand duke, was czar in all but name. The traditional Russian aristocracy had much to fear from challenging him. Catherine I had little interest in or knowledge of state matters. This ideal situation for Menshikov came to a rapid end when Catherine died of pneumonia twenty-seven months after her accession.

In a panic to preserve his power and wealth, Menshikov rapidly worked to make Peter, the eleven-year-old grandson of Peter the Great, the new czar. To solidify power, Menshikov arranged to have his sixteen-year-old daughter, Maria, betrothed to Peter II; in this way, his blood would merge with that of future Russian czars. At the time of his short illness in July, 1727, the world seemed ideal for Menshikov. Recovering after a few weeks, however, his world had radically changed in a reversal of fortune. The government had run smoothly without his direction, and the old-line nobles were anxious to be rid of Menshikov and to marry one of their own daughters to the boy czar. Peter II knew that Menshikov was responsible for luring his father, Alexei Petrovich, from a secure refuge in Italy to Russia, where, by order of the czar, Alexei was tortured to death while his captors tried to extract a confession about his attempt to seize the throne.

On September 27, 1727, Menshikov was punished for his corruption by being stripped of his offices and honors. He was sent with his family, including his daughter Maria, to exile in an estate in Ukraine. By August, 1728, Menshikov was accused of treasonable contacts with Sweden. All of Menshikov’s property and wealth were seized by the state, and the entire Menshikov family was then exiled to Berezov in northern Siberia. Menshikov died in November, 1729, three weeks before the death of his wife and eight weeks before the death of Peter II.

Legacy

Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov’s rise from the lower rungs of Russian society to the pinnacle of power, status, and wealth shows the extent to which Petrine Russia was open to the advancement of talented individuals, resulting in the emergence of a new aristocracy of merit based on service to the czar. Menshikov’s career is also an extreme example of corruption and the substitution of self-service for state service. His reversal of fortune, taking him from the highest positions of Russian power and wealth to a spectacular plunge into poverty and banishment, could be the script of a Greek tragedy.

The Menshikov Palace can be viewed as a lasting monument to Menshikov’s life and career. His family continued to be of significance in czarist aristocratic circles. For example, his great-grandson, Aleksandr Menshikov (1787-1869), served as admiral of the Russian navy and commander in chief of Russian forces during the first years of the Crimean War.

Bibliography

Cracraft, James. The Revolution of Peter the Great. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003. An interpretive analysis of Peter’s Westernization and its meaning, including a discussion of the architectural changes implemented in building the new capital city of St. Petersburg.

Lindsey, Robert. Peter the Great: A Biography. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2004. A scholarly analysis of Peter the Great’s reign and its radical nature, with significant detail on individuals, such as Menshikov, who were intimately involved in governance. The psychological nature of Peter’s personal relationships with individuals, such as Menshikov, is also explored.

Massie, Robert K. Peter the Great: His Life and World. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1981. A massive and graphic analysis of the reign of Peter the Great, with much information about Menshikov’s role.

Menshikov, Aleksandr D. The Perils of Greatness: The Story of Alexander Menshikov. 1865. Reprint. Whitefish, Mont.: Kessinger, 2009. A reprint of the self-serving autobiography written by Menshikov’s great-grandson.

Troyat, Henri. Terrible Tsarinas: Five Russian Tsarinas in Power. Translated by Andrea Lyn Secara. New York: Algora, 2001. A detailed biography of Catherine I, with much detail about her relationship with Menshikov.