Peter the Great and the Serbs: An Era of Change in the History of Serbian–Russian Relations
摘要
The era of Peter I was a turning point for Serbian-Russian relations, and was perhaps no less important than the reign of the first Russian emperor for the entire history of Russia as the era of changes of Peter I (1682–1725) coincided with the tragedy of two great migrations of Serbs (1690 and 1730). Despite the utilitarian, if not skeptical, attitude of Peter I himself to religion, Orthodox ties continued to play an important role in popularizing the image of Russia in the lands of the Patriarchate of Peć. At the same time, three new branches of Serbian–Russian relations appeared during the era of Peter the Great. Serbs became included in the sphere of Russian diplomats’ activity, in the intensions of Russian military and even settled in Russia. The most important public figures of that period for Serbian–Russian relations were Prokofii Bogdanovich Voznitsyn (1640–1702, Petr Andreevich Tolstoy (1645–1729), Savva Lukich Vladislavich-Raguzinskii (1669–1738), Matvei Khristoforovich Zmaevich (1680–1735), and many other secular persons (P. Bozic, M. Martinovic, M. Miloradovich, I. Lukashevich, I. Albanez) and clerics (Patriarch of Peć Arsenije III Čarnojević, Metropolitan of Belgrade Moisey Petrović, Metropolitan of Cetinje Danilo I Petrović Njegoš ). The memory of Peter I and the Serbian–Russian relations of the late 17th–early 18th centuries were kept alive for a long time among the Serbs living on the Adriatic coast and in the southern border areas of the Habsburg Empire.