Artamon Matveyev
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Artamon Sergeyevich Matveyev (Артамон Сергеевич Матвеев in
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
) (1625–1682) was a
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n
statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...
,
diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
and reformer.


Biography

Because his father - Sergey Matveyev - was a notable diplomat, Artamon Matveyev was brought up at the royal court since the age of thirteen, where he would become close friends with
Alexius I Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...
. Matveyev started his career as a government official, who worked in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and took part in some of Russia's wars with
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. He was a member of the Russian
delegation Delegation is the assignment of authority to another person (normally from a manager to a subordinate) to carry out specific activities. It is the process of distributing and entrusting work to another person,Schermerhorn, J., Davidson, P., Poole ...
at the conclusion of the
Treaty of Pereyaslav The Pereiaslav AgreementPereyaslav Agreement
in 1654 and Russian
diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
to Poland in 1656–1657. As the head of the
Streltsy Department Streltsy Department or Streletsky Prikaz (Стрелецкий приказ in Russian) was one of the main governmental bodies in Russia in 16th and 17th centuries. The first reference to the Streltsy Department (SD) appears in 1571, but in the ...
, Matveyev participated in suppression of the
Copper Riot The Copper Coin Riot, also known as the Moscow Uprising of 1662 (russian: Медный бунт, Московское восстание 1662 года) was a major riot in Moscow, which took place on . Background The riot was preceded by a gradua ...
in 1662. Seven years later, he was put in charge of the '' Malorossiysky Prikaz'', i.e. Ministry of the Ukrainian Affairs, and in 1671 - head of the ''
Posolsky Prikaz A prikaz (russian: прика́з, ''prikaz''; , plural: ) was an administrative, judicial, territorial, or executive office functioning on behalf of palace, civil, military, or church authorities in Muscovy and in Russia from the 15th to the 1 ...
'' (
foreign ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
) and other ministries. Matveyev was known to have considered unification of Ukraine and Russia as the most important issue of the Russian
foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
. He once said that it was even possible to temporarily forget about the struggle with the
Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...
for the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
for the sake of unification with Ukraine. In 1672, Matveyev managed to secure
Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
for Russia during the talks with Poland. After Matveev had become head of the Little Russian Chancellery in 1669 and after the death of the tsar's first consort
Maria Miloslavskaya Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya (, 1 April 1624 – 18 August 1669) was a Russian tsaritsa as the first spouse of tsar Alexis of Russia. She was the mother of tsar Feodor III of Russia, tsar Ivan V of Russia, and the princess regent Sophia Alekse ...
, tsar Alexis visited the house of Matveev to meet prospective brides. Here Alexis also met
Natalia Naryshkina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina (russian: Ната́лья Кири́лловна Нары́шкина; 1 September 1651 – 4 February 1694) was the Tsaritsa of Russia from 1671–1676 as the second spouse of Tsar Alexis I of Russia, and reg ...
, whom he married on 22 January 1671. Matveev had 'sponsored' several young ladies at his house, including Natalia. She was put forward due to her family connections as her brothers were subordinant officers in Matveev's musketeer regiments.(''with care'') Peter the Great Emperor of Russia, 2 vols., vol. I, A Study of Historical Biography, Eugene Schuyler, New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1884, pp. 43-44. At the end of the year Matveyev was raised to the rank of ''
okolnichy Okolnichy (russian: око́льничий, ) was an old Muscovite court official position. According to the ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary'', directives on the position of ''okolnichy'' date back to the 14th century. Judging by t ...
'', and on 1 September 1674 attained the still higher dignity of
boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...
. The deplorable physical condition of Alexius's immediate successor,
Feodor III Fyodor III Alekséyevich (in Russian: ''Фёдор III Алексеевич'') or Feodor III Alekséyevich (9 June 1661 – 7 May 1682) was the Tsar of Russia between 1676 and 1682. While disabled and paralyzed from birth, he managed to pass refo ...
, suggested to Matveyev the desirability of elevating to the throne the sturdy little
tsarevich Tsarevich (russian: Царевич, ) is a Slavic title given to tsars' sons. Under the 1797 Pauline house law, the title was discontinued and replaced with ''Tsesarevich'' for the heir apparent alone. His younger brothers were called '' Velik ...
Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...
, then in his fourth year. He purchased the allegiance of the ''
Streltsy , image = 01 106 Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = , dates = 1550–1720 , disbanded = , country = Tsardom of Russia , allegiance = Streltsy D ...
'' and then, summoning the boyars of the council, earnestly represented to them that Feodor was unable to reign and urged the substitution of little Peter. But the
reactionary In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the ''status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abse ...
boyars, among whom were the near kinsmen of Feodor, proclaimed him tsar and Matveyev was
banish Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
ed to
Pustozyorsk Pustozersk (russian: Пустозерск , Tundra Nenets: Санэр” харад, ''Sadėr’’ harad'') or Pustozyorsk () was the first town built by Russians north of the Arctic Circle. It was the administrative center of Yugra and Pecho ...
, where he remained until Feodor's death on 7 May 1682. Immediately afterwards Peter was proclaimed tsar by Patriarch Joachim, and the first ''
ukaz In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz (russian: указ ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader (patriarch) that had the force of law. "Edict" and "decree" are adequate translations using the terminology and concepts ...
'' issued in Peter's name summoned Matveyev to return to the capital and act as chief adviser to the
tsaritsa Tsarina or tsaritsa (also spelled ''csarina'' or ''csaricsa'', ''tzarina'' or ''tzaritza'', or ''czarina'' or ''czaricza''; bg, царица, tsaritsa; sr, / ; russian: царица, tsaritsa) is the title of a female autocratic ruler (mona ...
Natalia. Matveyev came to
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
on 11 May, and four days later had to meet with the rebellious ''Streltsy'', who had been instigated to rebel by the anti-Petrine faction. He had already succeeded in partially pacifying them, when one of their
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
s began to abuse the still hesitating and suspicious musketeers. Infuriated, they seized Matveyev and hacked him to pieces. Matveyev was a very educated and versatile individual for his time. He organized a
publishing house Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
on the premises of the ''Posolsky Prikaz'' and compiled the so-called ''Book of Titles'' ( Царский титулярник), an illustrated reference book about
title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
s of the Russian tsar and foreign rulers, with some information on Russian history, pictures of different
coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its wh ...
,
stamp Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...
s,
monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
s and
patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
s. Matveyev was also a collector of rare books and had a huge
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
. He decorated his house with pieces of fine art,
optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviole ...
devices and models of different ships. Matveyev was the one to introduce
theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
to the court by organizing a group of actors who staged various plays. He was also one of the organizers of the first apothecary in Moscow. His son
Andrey Matveev Count Andrey Artamonovich Matveev (russian: Андрей Артамонович Матвеев) (1666–1728) was a Russian statesman of the Petrine epoch best remembered as one of the first Russian ambassadors and Peter the Great's agent in Lon ...
was made a count and served as the first President of Justice Collegium.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matveev, Artamon Foreign ministers of the Tsardom of Russia 1625 births 1682 deaths 17th-century Russian people