ANDREY ARTAMONOVICH MATVEEV – HEAD OF THE FIRST RUSSIAN MISSION ABROAD (HOLLAND)

Introduction. Establishment of international relations with the Western countries and then with the Eastern countries laid the foundation of Russia’s formation as a Great state.

At the initiative of Peter the Great the closest economic and political relationships were established with Holland which at that time was the most highly developed industrial country in Europe. The diplomatic staff of the day were great patriots of their Motherland as they had to accomplish paramount tasks assigned to the diplomats abroad at that time, under those circumstances, with minimal resource base available for the diplomatic corps.

It is the duty of grateful descendants to remember Andrey Artamonovich Matveev, the first Russian career diplomat who worked abroad and who did a lot to develop the Russian diplomatic service.

The article is devoted to Andrey Artamonovich Matveev – a statesman of the era of Peter the Great, who was head of the first Russian mission abroad (Holland), son of a famous political figure and supporter of Peter the Great’s father – Aleksey Mikhailovich Romanov.

In 1674, when an adolescent, Andrey Matveev joined the close circle of the tsar’s associates, became the tsar’s chamber steward, in 1692-1694 A. Matveev was a Dvinsk voivode. When serving in this position he was promoted to the rank of okolnichy.

At that time he was already one of the most educated people of the era of Peter the Great: he knew foreign languages, spoke Latin, he had an extensive library. It was not by accident that, on the instruction of Peter the First A.A.Matveev, Permanent Representative of The Russian State (1699-1712) to the Dutch States and (1712-1715) to the Austrian court, carried out the orders of Peter the Great in 1705-1706 in France and in 1707-1708 in England, actively assisted the Sovereign in consolidating Russian positions in the Baltics.

Further developments show that A.A.Matveev honestly carried out his responsibilities and had much success in his service. He made great contribution to consolidating Russian military forces on the coast of the Gulf of Finland in 1701-1704 (conquest of Derpt, Narva and other fortresses), to the victory over the Swedes near Poltava in 1709, to the victorious sea battles at Gangut in 1714 and at Granhamn in 1720, and to conclusion of the Treaty of Nestad in 1721.

Peter the Great highly praised zealousness of A.A.Matveev: in November 1712 he elevated him to First Privy Councilor. On February 20, 1715, when Andrey Artamonovich was leaving Vienna, the Austrian emperor Charles VI conferred the title of the Duke of the Holy Roman Empire on him, in January 1716 Andrey Matveev was assigned to the prestigious and responsible post of the Head of the Naval Academy where he served selflessly for the good of his Motherland.

In 1717 A.A.Matveev was appointed President of Justice-collegium by the tsar’s order. In this capacity he contributed greatly to rebuilding the justice system in Russia. He played a crucial role in developing the concept of judicial reform in Russia. A.A.Matveev applied his energies to ensure judges’ independence of local authorities. In 1723-1726 he was Judge of Superior Court.

Materials and methods: Methodological background of the research is based on the following general scientific and specialized methods of cognition of legal phenomena and processes in the sphere of international law: method of system and structural analysis; method of socio-legal phenomena synthesis; comparative method; Aristotelian method.

Results of the research: the results of the research show that the whole activity of A.M. Matveev in the field of state service was connected with serving in prominent government posts. For a long time Andrey Artamonovich headed the Russian diplomatic mission in Holland and Austria. The article also explores informal diplomatic errands of Peter the Great which he carried out in France and England. The author devotes much consideration to Earl Matveev’s activity when he occupied the post of President of Justice-collegium.

Discussion and conclusions: The author shows the reasons which led to the introduction of a collegium reform by Peter the Great. Serving as President of Justice-collegium Andrey Matveev took great pains to ensure independence of judges of local government authorities. He repeatedly drew attention of governors to the necessity of providing assistance to courts and to impermissibility of interference in judicial cases.

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