Peter I, Emperor of Russia | Important letter signed about Charles XII of Sweden, 30 November 1711

Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia

Important letter signed ("Pyotr") and dated, with an autograph postscript, about Charles XII of Sweden, 30 November 1711

written in Russian in an elegant secretarial hand, to General Boris Sheremetev, comprising five numbered paragraphs, in which the Tsar arranges, as stipulated by his treaty with the Turks, the safe conduct of his great enemy Charles XII of Sweden back from exile in the Ottoman Empire, charging Sheremetev with accompanying him in person, conducting him as slowly as possible, in which he outlines a suitable route north from Kiev via Starodub, Yaroslavl, Moscow and Velikiye Luki (Pskov) as far as Finland, ideally avoiding Poland, Cherngov and Novgorod (where there is plague), and impressing upon him that he must keep the route highly secret; Peter concludes with an autograph postscript of three lines, congratulating Sheremetev on his promotion

[translation:]

"1) Having received the Swedish King and his boyars, go with him yourself until the special envoy has been sent for his safe conduct, then entrust the King to the envoy personally and come to us at the post house where we are going to be stationed.

"2) So that the Swedish King does not arrive in his own land long before the company which will arrive there, it is necessary to conduct his progress en route as slowly as possible. For this reason, dispatch an infantry regiment from the Kiev garrison for the King’s security, and likewise gather the wagons for the King slowly and do not move them ahead, but from town to town when he goes, so that his path will be slower.

"3) The highway from Kiev to Starodub (and say you cannot go by the straight route because it is into the wind), that Chernigov [lies below] and from there to Yaroslavl, Kaluga to Moscow, and from Moscow on the Voloko-Lamskoi highway (because there is an epidemic around Novgorod) to Luki Velikie, to Sapsk-Kopore, Petersburg, and from there to Finland, and you must keep this route a secret so that no one learns to what places he sets out.

"4) During the trip, make sure there is sufficient stock of provisions and fodder in the wagons.

"5) Meanwhile, write more often to Petersburg about everyone’s health, and once the Swedish King is released on to our land or by another route, then leave the mounted forces in the places indicated with General Ren and go with both proper and … infantry divisions to Moscow; there, supply the regiments with uniforms and equipment, and from there send them to Petersburg so that the above can arrive by March 25. If the King of Sweden does not go through our country or through Poland, but goes by another route, then, instructing the regiments according to the decree, as ordered above, come to us personally at the post house. If the King of Sweden goes through Poland then send one proper division and remain there with the rest close by the King according to the imperial decree given to you, keeping track of the local conjectures... I congratulate you this day as a member of the order"

4 pages, small 4to. on a folded leaf, annotated by the scribe below the postscript, later numbering in red ink (N[r]43), Riga, 30 November 1711

The Great Northern War (1700–1721), principally against Charles XII of Sweden (1682-1718) was the major military undertaking of Peter the Great's long and glorious reign (1682-1725). Charles was comprehensively defeated at the Battle of Poltava in 1709 and went into exile as a guest of the Ottoman Empire near the Black Sea, at Bender in Moldavia (now Moldova).

On 8 May 1711 Peter issued a proclamation presenting himself as the liberator of the Christians in the Balkans, urging them to rise up against their Ottoman masters (see our sale on 31 March 1998, lot 343). With General Sheremetev, he marched south into Moldavia, but his army suffered many losses to the Ottoman Army along the Pruth River. Peter told Sheremetev to sue for peace, fully realizing that this would mean relinquishing hard-won conquests, agreeing to make peace with Sweden and allowing Charles XII to return from exile.

The humiliating Treaty of Pruth was signed on 23 July, but Peter reneged on its terms by failing to give up the Azov Fortress and the port of Taganrog (both near Rostov), which he had held since 1696. Consequently Russia's war with the Ottoman Empire continued as did Charles's exile. He did not return to Sweden until 1714, only then to renew his fight against Peter, before perishing in the conflict in 1718.