Assembly at Peter 1. Petrovsky Assemblies. Culture under Peter 1

The decree on assemblies issued by Peter the Great became a turning point in the life of the urban population, especially in the sphere of entertainment. In November 1718, women for the first time gained the right to participate in public gatherings. The entrance to the assembly was to be open to all people who had the opportunity to dress properly, only servants and peasants were not allowed. Culture under Peter 1 was equated with important business, official and state aspects.

Prerequisites

Peter 1 believed that not only things should be conducted wisely, but entertainment should be arranged the same way. Even the rest of the sovereign sent to the reorganization of Russia. He believed that state interests are much more important than personal interests.

The tsar wanted to put the culture of Russia on one level with the European states. Great influence was the finding of Peter 1 among foreigners, frequent travels across Europe. In an effort to make Russia look like a modern European state, the emperor introduced new reforms concerning service and leisure. And his reforms, as is known, were mandatory for everyone without exception.

What is an assembly?

"Assembly" is a French word that denotes a whole series of actions and events. First, it is entertainment and fun, and secondly, the solution and discussion of various business issues, including state importance. In a short time, the assembly under Peter 1 became a tradition and went down in history. After his death, they changed a little, but still enjoyed popularity in the community.

Obligatory conditions

Released the decree of Peter 1 on the assemblies included a list of requirements:

• Notify the forthcoming assembly in writing;
• To specify the sex of the guests (there may be either men or representatives of both sexes);
• The event should begin no earlier than four to five hours;
• It is necessary to complete the assembly not later than midnight;
• The host should not meet, see or regale his guests, his duties include only providing free space for dancing, eating and drinking on tables, as well as games in which he offers to play to his guests.

Following these rules, everyone could join in to the general merriment.

Church Attitude

The culture of the era of Peter 1 required the approval of spiritual ministers. The Emperor was sure that without the permission of the church, his decree on assemblies would not pass. He knew that people feel a sacred fear towards the king as to a god on earth, but he understood that the fear of hell and the fall of the immortal soul is stronger. That is why, in order to change the traditional rejection towards dances, he attracts black clergy to secular activities. According to his decree, in the Synod since 1723 the Assemblies were established in Moscow monasteries. And already on December 29 of the same year the first assembly of the archimandrite of the Don monastery was held. It was arranged for the President of the Synod, archbishops of Moscow monasteries, Archbishop of Novgorod Theodosius, officials of the Synodal Office, as well as for Archbishop Leonid of Krutitsy, etc. There were dissatisfied with this action, but in the main the assemblies had a positive response.

Assembly at Peter 1

According to the custom for carrying out this action, four large rooms were released from the furniture. The first for dancing, the next for conversations, another for men who smoked tobacco, drank wine, and the latter for playing checkers or chess. In case the house is not so big as to release four rooms at once, all the actions took place in one room. However, this was very inconvenient for many reasons. It was believed that the sounds of dances, conversations, smells of tobacco and spirits were inappropriate in the ladies' society.

Traditions

Assemblies under Peter 1 were given by all the courtiers in turn. Sometimes the king decided on his own, who should all meet next time. The day and time of the assembly were disclosed by the court heralds, they were informed of it with drum beats and announcements, which were hung at every intersection. In his decree, Peter 1 briefly described the main moments of the celebrations. All well-dressed people could attend the event, but not servants and peasants. Among the guests were nobles, officials, wealthy merchants, clergy, artisans and even ordinary sailors. Married men obligatory took with them wives and adult daughters.

According to the tradition, the owner of the house could choose from the young girls the queen of the ball. After the choice, he handed her a living rose. At the end of the event, the queen passed this rose to any knight. This meant that the next assembly should be held in his house.

Musical accompaniment

Often at such meetings, a brass band played, which consisted of pipes, oboes, timpani, bassoons and French horn. Sometimes they were joined by violins. Dances of Russian citizens were taught by captured officers from Sweden or residents of the German settlement. The process of learning the dance art was very slow.

Initially, the assemblies played wind music, but in 1721 the Duke of Holstein brought to the capital a small string orchestra, which immediately won popularity with the public. Since then, began to appear their musicians, instruments for which were imported especially from abroad. All this was very expensive, but the grandees were ready for such waste, because the most agile boyars the king awarded.

Dancing

As for the dances, at first these were usual obeisances and squats to the music, but in the future the minuets and polonaise began to dance at the assemblies. Movements became smoother, and dances - more elegant.

The second half of the event was more fun and moving, including allemande, counter dance and anglais, which were especially liked by young people. They chose the first pair, which was supposed to come up with new ones, and the rest followed after it. The first in turn became different people, but because this kind of fun could last a very long time.

Requirements for guests

Peter 1 summarized in his decree on assemblies the requirements for guests, whom they were obliged to adhere to in order to have the right to attend such events. The list looks like this:

• The guest must be carefully washed and clean;
• Men must necessarily be carefully shaved;
• Before assembly it is impossible to eat up and especially to come drunk;
• You need to be neat and richly dressed, but not too much, because it's a privilege to give;
• Women are allowed to use cosmetics, but in moderation, they should also be kind, graceful and cheerful;
• You can not eat too much, so that the belly does not interfere with dancing at full strength;
• Be sure to be cheerful and sociable, smile affably and start conversations with others, you can not close up and stay away;
• Having come into the house for the first time, it is necessary to familiarize with arrangement and arrangement of rooms, especially to note to itself the whereabouts of latrines;
• Wine is allowed to drink freely, while keeping your feet, when they stop holding, then you need to consume the drink while sitting down, and if asked for a recumbent, it is not allowed to serve;
• To the one who does not know his own measure, the king recommends to rely on his comrades;
• Those who have drunk, need to be stacked separately from the others in order to avoid unpleasant embarrassments;
• A guest who has become ill, without delay, must go to the lavatory, so as not to spoil the holiday to the rest;
• Single men or those who came to the action without their spouses, it was forbidden to look at the ladies;
• It was not allowed to dismiss hands during dances, it was severely punished;
• During the singing it was not recommended to join the general fun to people who did not have a musical ear;
• It was recalled that a woman is best suited by music and sweet-heartedness;
• Meeting at the assembly of a distinguished person, including the king, was not allowed to protrude and try to help, especially when drunk.

The active participant of the assemblies was Peter 1. The age in which he lived was characterized by the development of culture, a new direction in music and dancing, as well as costumes and amusements.

Participation of Peter 1 in assemblies

During his celebrations or those that the Tsar attended, he actively participated in all the activities. He walked through the halls, from time to time joining various companies and participating in their conversations. If he was in a good mood, then it was impossible to find him more cheerful and talkative. The activities of Peter the Great at the assemblies were reduced not only to conversations. He loved dancing and in this art he was a master and an entertainer. Very often the cavaliers could not exactly repeat his movements. What was Peter 1 during the dance, knew all his friends, and of his well-worked out movements, there were rumors even between choreographers.

The dances, as a rule, were opened by the Empress with her husband, the Duke of Holstein, or Prince Menshikov. Catherine in this matter was suited to her husband. When they danced in pairs, they managed to make as many as three circles, while the other pairs just finished the first. However, the Empress danced only with Peter the Great, with the rest of the partners she behaved more casually and preferred a simple step at a gallop. Anyone present could invite one of the princesses to dance, and therefore they did not know the rest.

Over time, Peter's Assemblies took root, the situation on them became more and more at ease. Gradually, the old boyars stopped condemning the frank decollete of the young ladies. There was a new tradition of kissing women after the dance, not in the pen, but in the lips, which was very encouraging for the cavaliers.

Celebrations of Peter 1

The Assemblies under Peter 1 were mostly a winter kind of entertainment. In the summer, the king arranged his celebrations in the gardens or on the banks of the Neva. He was very fond of holidays in the open air, celebrated his name-day in the summer garden. Here was also celebrated the day of the "glorious Victoria", or Poltava victory. Peter 1 valued the tradition and on that day celebrated the exploits of the soldiers. The holiday began after dinner, about five o'clock in the evening. By that time, on the big lawn, the Preobrazhensky and Semyonov regiments were built, so that the tsar could personally bring wine or beer in wooden bowls.

The guests who were invited were to reach the destination by water on the Neva. Then, traditionally, on the beach, the Empress met her daughters, from her hands the guest was supposed to take a glass of wine, further fun was also strictly according to plan.

The Emperor was partial to solemn processions, he loved allegorical processions and masquerades, and therefore arranged them whenever possible. The most famous among them is a five-day masquerade. It was held in 1722 in Moscow and was timed to the signing of the Nishtat Peace Treaty. A couple of days before the start of the celebration, the king personally inspected all the costumes of the participants. If he did not like something, then he forced to redo the outfits. Masks were a prerequisite. History remembers the case when during the masquerade in 1724 the senators sat, not removing the masks from their faces. The activities of Peter 1 with respect to these requirements were absurd, but fully corresponded to the spirit of that time.

People gradually became familiar with new traditions, learned dances, changed their clothes, even started to do business in a new way. Despite the fact that it was inexpressibly expensive and tedious, gradually masquerades flowed into everyday life and occupied a huge niche in it, becoming a habit.

Russia under Peter 1 blossomed and resembled European states with their dances, orchestras and balls.

Assembly after the death of the sovereign

After the death of the king, the assemblies and other celebrations changed greatly. They became entertainment only for the upper strata of society. Assemblies, balls, masquerades were organized only for high society. The lower layers arranged for themselves dances.

Culture under Peter 1 was as important as official, state affairs. The death of Peter the Great ceased to exist assemblies, later Peter 2 tried to restore them, but he did not succeed, and in 1728 they completely ceased to exist. However, they did not completely disappear, but reborn into balls and gave rise to secular life.

Russia under Peter 1 knew many reforms concerning leisure and entertainment. Some of them have influenced the course of history and have survived to this day.