In July 1762, the Russian emperor Peter III was killed by conspirators in Ropsha. Much to the surprise of his subjects, the place of his burial was not the imperial tomb of the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress, but the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In addition, his widow, Catherine, who proclaimed herself the new empress, did not appear at the funeral. As a result, rumors began to spread throughout the country that instead of Peter, some soldier was buried, only vaguely similar to the emperor, or perhaps a wax doll. Soon there appeared impostors posing as the king, of whom there were about 40, some of them are described in the article Emperor Peter III. Murder and "life after death".
The most famous and successful of the impostors was Emelyan Pugachev, who, as you know, was defeated and executed in Moscow on January 10, 1775. But a year later, another "Peter III" appeared, who, nevertheless, managed to ascend the throne - true, not in Russia, but in Montenegro. Many believed then that this mysterious person, who appeared out of nowhere, is really very similar to the deceased Russian emperor. And what do you think? Take a look at the portraits below:
Montenegro and the Ottoman Empire
The first blow to Montenegro was struck by the Ottomans back in 1439, and in 1499 it became a province of the Ottoman Empire, as part of the Skadar Sanjak. The Venetians took control of the Adriatic coast with the Bay of Kotor.
But in the mountainous regions, the power of the Ottomans has always been weak, sometimes almost nominal. In the 17th century, in response to the attempts of the Turks to introduce kharaj (tax on the use of land by non-believers) in Montenegro, a series of uprisings followed. Realizing that the forces were unequal, in 1648 the Montenegrins made an unsuccessful attempt to go under the protectorate of Venice. In 1691, at the request of the Montenegrins, the Venetians sent a military detachment to them, which, due to their small numbers, could not provide real help. As a result, in 1692 the Ottomans even managed to seize and destroy the seemingly impregnable Cetinje Monastery, whose metropolitan enjoyed great authority and was then the only person who somehow united the constantly warring Montenegrins.
Montenegro in the 18th century
It should be said that the territory of Montenegro in the 18th century was much smaller than the modern one, on the presented map it is highlighted in yellow.
At this time, with the growth of the power and influence of the Russian Empire, the Montenegrins began to pin their hopes for liberation from the Ottoman oppression with our country. Moreover, Peter I in 1711 issued an appeal to the Christian peoples of the Ottoman Empire, in which they called for an uprising and the provision of military assistance to the same faith in Russia. In Montenegro, this appeal was heard, in the same year a partisan war against the Ottomans began here, in 1712 the Montenegrins even managed to defeat a large enemy detachment near Tsarev Laz. In response, during a punitive expedition in 1714, the Turks ravaged and burned a large number of Montenegrin villages.
In 1715, Metropolitan Danila visited Russia, receiving church books, utensils and money as a gift to help those who suffered from the Turks. Russian subsidies for the Cetinje Monastery became permanent, but the governor (manager of secular affairs) and tribal elders received a "salary" from Venice.
Thus, the Orthodox Church of Montenegro and the common people traditionally advocated an alliance with Russia, while the secular authorities and the rich, as a rule, were oriented towards Venice.
By the way, when in 1777 the Montenegrins did not receive Russian money, Governor Jovan Radonich entered into negotiations with Austria on "subsidies". At that time, Metropolitan Peter I Njegos was also suspected of collaborating with the Austrians, who was expelled from St. Petersburg for such double-dealing in 1785.
It seems to me that these facts explain a lot in the behavior of the modern rulers of Montenegro, who are striving to join the European Union and have already achieved the country's accession to NATO.
The appearance of the hero
But let us return to the 18th century and see in 1766 on the territory of the so-called Venetian Albania (the Adriatic coast of Montenegro controlled by Venice) a strange man of about 35-38 years old, who called himself Stefan the Small.
Later, a version appeared that Stefan got his nickname because he was "kind with kind, simple - simple" (or, in another version - "with small small"). However, there is another explanation. It is known that a strange newcomer not without success treated people, and in the middle of the 18th century, a very famous and popular doctor Stefan Piccolo (Small) worked in Verona. Perhaps it was in his honor that our hero took the name for himself. He himself confessed to the Russian general Dolgorukov that he often had to change names.
As for the origin, sometimes Stefan called himself Dalmatian, sometimes - Montenegrin or Greek from Ioannina, and sometimes he said that he came from Herzegovina, Bosnia or Austria. He told the Serbian Patriarch Vasily Brkich that he came from Trebinje, "lying in the east."
The most contradictory information has come down to us about the level of education of Stephen. So, his implacable opponent, Metropolitan Sava, said that Stephen was illiterate, but this, nevertheless, seems unlikely. But the monk Sofroniy Plevkovich claimed that Stephen was a real polyglot - in addition to Serbo-Croatian, he knew Italian, French, English, German, Russian, Greek, Turkish, Arabic. Some contemporaries note that Stephen, in appearance and demeanor, gave the impression of a clergyman. Others say that he knew peasant labor well and had all the skills necessary for agricultural work. He usually dressed in the Turkish manner ("in Albanian"), from which some concluded that Stephen grew up in a Muslim environment and adopted Orthodoxy at a conscious age, breaking with his relatives, which allegedly served as the reason for his exile and long wanderings … But he also treated "German clothes" without prejudice: when he considered it necessary, he changed his clothes and it was clear that he felt quite confident and comfortable in it, it did not seem unusual for him. In general, despite the abundance of evidence, the identity of this person remains a mystery to historians. After Stephen's death, Metropolitan Sava said:
“I don’t know now who he is and where he is from.”
Farm laborer
In the village of Maina, Stefan was hired as a farm laborer for Vuk Markovic (in other sources, on the contrary - Marko Vukovic). In addition to the usual agricultural work, Stefan began to treat the surrounding residents, simultaneously conducting conversations with patients and their relatives about the need to unite all Montenegrins and end strife between communities (after all, a doctor is usually listened to much more attentively than a shepherd or a gardener). Gradually, his fame went beyond the village, and soon rumors spread throughout the district that the newcomer was not an ordinary person, apparently, he was hiding from enemies, adopting an alien name. Further, Stefan acts according to the traditional "scheme" of many impostors - "reveals himself" to his master: he says in great secret that he is the Russian Tsar Pyotr Fedorovich, who managed to escape from enemies abroad. Extremely proud that the Emperor of All Russia turned out to be his own farm laborer, Markovich, naturally, could not resist: he told some other people about it, others, and soon there was not a single person in the whole district who did not know about “The secret of Stephen the Small”. By the way, he himself never publicly called himself Peter III, but he did not particularly object when others called him that.
Then everything went like clockwork: the cattle merchant Marko Tanovic, who served in the Russian army in 1753-1759, and, as he assured, was introduced to the Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, confidently identified Stephen as the Russian emperor. There were also other witnesses - some monks Feodosiy Mrkoevich and Jovan Vukicevich, who visited Russia at about the same time. And then in one of the monasteries they found a portrait of Peter III, and decided that the resemblance to Markovich's farmhand was simply obvious.
The following descriptions of Stefan's appearance have survived:
"The face is oblong, the mouth is small, the chin is thick."
“Shiny eyes with arched brows. Long, Turkish-style, brown hair."
"Of medium height, thin, white complexion, he does not wear a beard, but only a small mustache … There are traces of smallpox on his face."
"His face is white and long, his eyes are small, gray, sunken, his nose is long and thin … His voice is thin, like a woman's."
By that time it became clear that a few months ago (in February 1767) Stefan handed over a letter to the Venetian general conductor A. Renier through a soldier asking him to prepare for the arrival of the Russian "light-emperor" in Kotor. Then he did not pay attention to this strange letter, but now the rumors about the impostor could no longer be ignored. And so Renier sent to Stephen the colonel of the Venetian service, Mark Anthony Bubich, who, having met with him (October 11), said:
“The person in question is distinguished by a great mind. Whoever he is, his physiognomy is very similar to that of the Russian Emperor Peter III."
Now the phenomenon of the "Russian emperor" in Montenegro has become almost inevitable. And he appeared: at first Stefan the Small was recognized as "the Russian Tsar Peter III" at a meeting of Montenegrin elders in the mountain village of Ceglichi, then at the end of October in Cetinje, the assembly of 7 thousand recognized him as the "Russian sovereign of Montenegro", about which the new monarch was issued the corresponding letter - November 2, 1767.
The first to "recognize" the "emperor", Marko Tanovic was appointed the great chancellor. To protect the "tsar", a special detachment was created, which initially consisted of 15 people, and only later its number increased to 80.
In November, Stephen traveled around the country, everywhere receiving an enthusiastic welcome and surprising the people with sanity and justice.
The news of the "accession" of Stephen the Small aroused general enthusiasm not only among the Montenegrins, but also among the Albanians and Greeks, who, as they wrote, "came to him in great numbers to express their loyalty to Russia and the Russian people."
Metropolitan Sava, who was traditionally in Montenegro, if not a ruler, then a figure very close to him, naturally did not like the "tsar" very much. He even tried to "denounce" Stephen as an impostor, but the forces were not on his side, and therefore the metropolitan, in the end, was forced to appear before "Peter III." In front of the people, the "Tsar" accused the hierarch of conniving at the vices of the Montenegrin clergy, and the frightened Metropolitan (who was even forced to kneel) publicly recognized Stephen the Small as the Russian Emperor Peter III and the sovereign of Montenegro.
Recognizing Stephen in words, the Metropolitan immediately sent a letter to the Russian envoy in Constantinople, A. M. Obreskov, in which he informed about the appearance of the impostor and asked about the "real" emperor.
Obreskov, in a reply letter, confirmed the death of Peter III and expressed "surprise at the pranks." He himself, in turn, sent a report to Petersburg. After receiving correspondence from the capital, he already sent an official letter to Savva (dated April 2, 1768), in which he was accused of "frivolity", and Stephen Maly was called "a rogue or an enemy."
Now the metropolitan could go on the offensive: he informed the Montenegrin elders about Obreskov's letter, and summoned Stephen to one of the monasteries for an explanation. But Stephen, in turn, accused him of "selling himself to Venice", speculating in land, stealing church values and money sent from Russia. And then he made the participants of the meeting "an offer that cannot be refused": to take away the property "stolen" by him from the Metropolitan and "justly" divide it among the patriots gathered here. As you probably guessed, there was no objection from anyone. Savva still remained a metropolitan, but Stephen now relied more on the Serbian patriarch Vasily Brkich, who came to him after being expelled from Pec by the Ottomans after the liquidation of the independent Serbian Orthodox Church. In March 1768, Vasily called on all Orthodox Christians to recognize Stephen as the Russian Tsar (it turns out that the Russians too).
Russian Tsar of Montenegro
After that, Stephen finally got the opportunity to engage in reforms, his innovations turned out to be surprisingly reasonable. He banned blood feud, instead establishing punishments for criminal offenses (murder, theft, stealing cattle, etc.), and closely monitored the execution of the sentences. The church was separated from the state. The first school in Montenegro was opened, where children were taught, among other things, the Russian language. The construction of roads and fortifications began. One of the Montenegrin elders wrote then:
"Finally, God gave us … Stephen the Small himself, who pacified the whole earth from Trebinje to Bar without a rope, without a galley, without an ax and without a prison."
Even Stephen's enemy, Metropolitan Sava, admitted:
"He began to mend great prosperity among the Montenegrin people and such peace and harmony that we have never had before."
Turks and Venetians jealously followed Stephen's successes, suspecting each other of secretly supporting the "tsar". In Europe, they did not know what to think, assuming the intrigue of England, France, Austria in the Montenegrin events and even seeing a Russian trace in them: either Catherine II is trying to strengthen her influence in the Balkans in such an extravagant way, or her opponents are creating a springboard and base for a new coup d'état. Catherine, of course, was very much afraid of the latter option. And therefore, in the spring of 1768, the adviser of the Russian embassy in Vienna G. Merk was instructed to go to Montenegro to clarify the situation and expose the impostor. However, Merc only reached Kotor, in the mountains, he did not dare to climb, saying that "the Montenegrins are loyal to their king, and therefore it is dangerous to go to them."
In 1768, Turkish troops moved to Montenegro. Volunteers from Bosnia and Albania came to the aid of the Montenegrins, among the Albanians, there was also a very authoritative "field commander" Simo-Sutsa, about whose intransigence and cruelty the Ottomans then told their children terrible tales.
And the Venetians tried to solve the problem with the help of poison, promising the poisoner a refuge, forgiveness for all crimes and 200 ducats in cash. But they could not find a skillful and desperate (given the reputation of the Montenegrins) performer. And then, in April 1768, Venice sent a 4-thousandth detachment against Stephen, which cut off Montenegro from the sea. The richest of the Montenegrins, whose trade interests were closely connected with the Venetian Republic, were no longer happy with the appearance of the king, but the people supported Stephen. In July 1768 the Montenegrin ambassadors tried to negotiate with Renier. In response, he demanded to expel Stefan Maly from the country, but the Montenegrins said that they were “free to keep even Turchin in their land, and not just their Christian brother,” and that “we must and must always serve a person from the Kingdom of Moscow to the last drop of blood. … We will all die … but we cannot move away from the Muscovy."
Stefan focused on the fight against the Ottomans, Tanovic - acted against the Venetians.
On September 5, 1768, in the decisive battle near the village of Ostrog, the army of Stephen the Small was surrounded and defeated, he himself could barely escape, and had to hide for several months in one of the mountain monasteries. Against this background, the rebellious Savva, supported by the Venetians, again opposed him, who achieved the election of the second metropolitan - Arseny. It was assumed that he would support the unpopular Savva with his authority. But then Stefan's opponents miscalculated, because Arseniy turned out to be a friend of Marko Tanovic.
The Turks were unable to build on their success because of the torrential rains that washed away the roads. And on October 6, the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia, and the sultan was not up to the small and poor Montenegro.
This Russian-Turkish war, which lasted from 1768 to 1774, forced Catherine II on January 19, 1769 to issue a manifesto, in which all the Christian peoples of the Ottoman Empire were called on “the circumstances of this war useful for them, to take advantage of the overthrow of the yoke and to bring themselves into independence, taking up arms against the common enemy of all Christianity. " Catherine II, of course, could not recognize the Montenegrin "Peter III" as her murdered husband. But Montenegro was a natural ally of Russia, and I didn't want to give it up either. Therefore, Major General Yu. V. Dolgorukov was sent to this country, to whom 9 officers and 17 soldiers were assigned.
Dolgorukov's small detachment reached the Adriatic with Alexei Orlov's squadron. Under the name of the merchant Baryshnikov, Dolgorukov rented a small ship, on which his detachment reached the Bay of Kotor in Venetian Albania.
From there, the general headed for the mountains. On August 17, at the assembly in Cetinje, in the presence of two thousand Montenegrins, elders and church authorities, Dolgorukov declared Stephen an impostor and demanded that those present take an oath of allegiance to the ruling Russian empress - Catherine II. Serbian patriarch Vasily also spoke out in support of his demands, declaring his former benefactor "a troublemaker and a villain of the nation." The oath to Catherine was taken. Stefan was not present at this meeting, he arrived only the next day and was immediately arrested. When asked why he appropriated the name of the late Russian emperor, he answered:
"The Montenegrins themselves invented this, but I did not dissuade them only because otherwise I would not have been able to unite so many troops under my rule against the Turks."
Dolgorukov was a brave and skillful military leader, but he turned out to be useless as a diplomat. Not knowing the local situation and Montenegrin customs, he acted bluntly and even rudely, and quickly quarreled with the elders who initially enthusiastically accepted him. His main adviser in Montenegrin affairs suddenly became the "tsar" he had arrested. Communicating with him, Dolgorukov unexpectedly came to the conclusion that Stephen had neither the intentions nor the opportunity to challenge the power of Catherine II, and his rule in Montenegro was in the interests of Russia. Therefore, he freed Stephen, presented him with a Russian officer's uniform, left the 100 barrels of gunpowder, 100 pounds of lead brought with him, and departed for the squadron of Alexei Orlov - on October 24, 1769. 50 Montenegrins joined his detachment, who decided to enlist in the Russian army …
Thus, Stephen Maly was actually officially recognized as the ruler of the country. As such, he established contacts with the commander of the Russian land army, Peter Rumyantsev, and "his killer" - Alexei Orlov, who was in charge of the Russian squadron of the Mediterranean.
And General Dolgorukov in Orlov's squadron received a very unexpected appointment: having never served in the navy, he went to the three-deck battleship Rostislav (crew of 600 people, 66 large guns, the total number of guns - up to 100, captain - E. I. Lupandin, arrived in the Archipelago with Greig's squadron). On this ship, Dolgorukov had a chance to participate in the Battle of Chesme.
It is difficult to say what the future would have awaited Montenegro under the longer rule of Stefan the Small. But fate turned out to be unfavorable to this talented and outstanding person, he already had almost no time. A year later, in the fall of 1770, while inspecting the construction of a new mountain road, a charge of gunpowder exploded next to it. Stefan was seriously injured, resulting in blindness. Now being permanently at the Dolnie (Nizhnie) Brcheli monastery, he still continued to lead the country through his loyal ones Tanovich and Metropolitan Arseny.
In 1772, an "inspection" military detachment was even created to monitor the execution of his orders. This unit was headed by S. Baryaktarovich, who had previously served in the Russian army.
The death of Stephen Maly
But the power of Stephen over Montenegro did not suit the Turks. Skadar Pasha managed to introduce into his entourage a traitor - the Greek Stanko Klasomunyu, who stabbed the unfortunate with a knife. It happened in August (according to other sources - in October) 1773. The head of Stephen, which the traitor brought to Skadar (Shkoder), was later sent as a gift to the Sultan in Constantinople.
Stefan's body was buried in the Church of St. Nicholas in the Dolnie Brcheli monastery.
Marko Tanovic tried for a long time to convince the people that "Tsar Peter" did not die, but went to Russia for help, and will soon return. But the Russian Tsar of Montenegro was already only a part of the common history of our countries.
A parody of an impostor
The fame of Stephen the Small in Europe at that time was so great that an international adventurer Stephan Zanovich, an Albanian born in 1752, tried to take advantage of his name. In 1760, his family moved to Venice and became very rich in the shoe trade. This Stefan, like his brother Primislav, received his education at the University of Padua. Giacomo Casanova in his "Memoirs" called the brothers "two great swindlers", which in his mouth can probably be considered a compliment. Here is what Casanova gave to Primislav:
“I saw, at last, in this young man the future great adventurer, who, with proper guidance, could reach considerable heights; but its brilliance seemed to me excessive. In it I seemed to see my portrait when I was fifteen years younger, and I felt sorry for him because I had not assumed my resources from him."
Don't you think that jealousy of a young, but already very "toothy predator" and a competitor is heard in these words of Casanova?
The Zanovichi brothers were worth each other, so they had to flee Venice at the same time. Instead of them, their portraits were hung in St. Mark's Square - not in picture frames, but on the gallows. But Stefan, by all accounts, still surpassed his brother and was a cheater of a higher level. He was an excellent master of cold weapons, was familiar with Voltaire, d'Alembert and Karol Radziwill (Pane Kohancu). It is very likely that he also met with "Princess Tarakanova".
Stefan Zanovich traveled a lot in Europe, visiting different cities in Italy and Germany, England, Holland, France, Prussia, Poland. During these wanderings, he called himself Bellini, Balbidson, Wart, Charnovich, Tsarablados and Count Castriot of Albania. For obvious reasons, this adventurer did not stay anywhere for a long time. He even managed to make friends with the heir to the Prussian throne, Friedrich Wilhelm. But such a suspicious friend did not like the prince's father, Frederick the Great. Therefore, the adventurer was also forced to leave Prussia in the most haste manner. In Amsterdam, presenting letters of recommendation from the Venetian ambassador in Naples, Stefan nibbled local bankers so sensitively that he almost provoked a war between Holland and the Venetian Republic. The Austrian Emperor Joseph II had to act as a peacemaker. He came to Montenegro just from Amsterdam. Here he tried to pass himself off as the murdered Stephen the Small, but the Montenegrins remembered their "tsar" well, and the Russian emperor Peter III was not destined to "resurrect" again. This did not prevent the adventurer from presenting himself in Europe as the "Montenegrin Tsar Stephen the Small" and impersonating him. In 1784 g.he wrote the book "Stepan Maly, otherwise Etienne Ptit or Stefano Piccolo, the emperor of Russia pseudo-Peter III", in which he attributed to himself the deeds of the real king of the Montenegrins, adding to them invented stories about "his anti-Turkish exploits." In this book, he also posted his own portrait with the inscription:
"Stepan fighting the Turks, 1769".
To enhance the effect, under the image there was also a pseudo quote from the Prophet Muhammad:
“The right, which in its designs possesses a versatile and unyielding mind, has power over the rough rabble. Mahomet.
Stefan Zanovich, an adventurer posing as Stepan Maly. Engraving by an unknown artist of the 12th century
This portrait is still mistakenly considered by many to be the true depiction of Stefan Maly.
Then the adventurer, as a "Montenegrin king", undertook to help the Dutch in their conflict with the Austrian emperor Joseph II over navigation on the Scheldt River. Entangled in intrigues, he still ended up in an Amsterdam prison, where he committed suicide.
