The Last Edict of Peter (free, hassle-free, easy to listen to along the way)

The Last Edict of Peter (free, hassle-free, easy to listen to along the way)

I, Peter I, Emperor and Sovereign of all Russians, in the name of the Most Holy and Indivisible Trinity, declare to all successors to the throne and government of Russia:

Almighty God, who gave me life, convinced me that the Russian people had the mission of becoming the dominant nation in Europe in the future, forever guided by the glory of God, and supported by God.

This belief arises from the consideration that most of the peoples of Europe have reached a state of decay, or at any rate are rapidly approaching this state.

It follows from this that a young people, when they have reached their strength, should easily and must be able to conquer them.

I believe that the coming northern invasion of the nations of the West and East is a cyclical movement ordained and designed by God, just as He arranged the barbarian invasions in the same way to promote the rebirth of the Roman nation.

This movement of migration from north to south is like the backflow of the Nile, which regularly fertilizes the land of western Egypt with its own soil.

I discovered that Russia was such a river, and it will remain so when I die.

My successors will build Russia into a sea that will fertilize poor Europe. If my descendants know how to guide this tide, its waves will break through any embankment that stands in its way.

To this end, I leave the following will and instruct my descendants to pay attention to it and abide by it at all times.

(1) Keep Russia in a state of war for a long time, keep the soldiers constantly prepared, and make continuous efforts to strengthen the national finances and improve the army.

Choose the most favorable opportunity to launch an attack, follow peace with war, and follow war with peace, in order to seek Russia's interests, expansion, and growing prosperity.

(2) Use all possible means to recruit celebrities from among the smartest people in Europe, to lure officers in wartime and slaves in peacetime, so as to help the Russians and harm other countries without harming themselves.

(3) Take advantage of every opportunity to participate in European affairs and discussions, no matter what they are, and especially participate in affairs and discussions related to Germany. Germania is our nearest neighbor and has the most direct interest in us. .

(4) The division of Poland caused the Kingdom of Poland to maintain constant turmoil and constant speculation about using gold to win over other big countries and influence Poland's court meetings.

To bribe them to benefit from the selection of the king, to cultivate the pro-Russian faction and protect them, and to use this as a pretext to send Muscovite troops there and stay there until the day of permanent occupation.

If several neighboring countries share the blame, Poland may be partitioned to appease them temporarily, until we can recover from them all the portions we have ceded.

(5) Occupy as much Swedish territory as possible and induce them to attack us so that we can have an excuse to conquer Sweden. To do this we must isolate Denmark and Sweden and encourage strife between them.

(6) Always choose German princesses as wives for our princes to enhance family ties, reunite our interests, and win German support for our cause of expanding our power.

(7) Prioritize our alliance and trade with England. England's fleet is in great need of us. At the same time, England will be very useful to us in order to develop our own fleet.

To exchange our timber and other products for the gold of England, and to establish a continual exchange of goods and seamen between us, which will facilitate our navigation and trade.

(8) Let our country continue to expand northward along the Baltic Sea and expand southward along the Black Sea.

(9) Get as close as possible to Constantinople and India. Whoever rules there will be the real master of the world. Therefore a war on the frontiers was to be provoked, not only in Türkiye, but also in Persia.

The establishment of shipyards on the Black Sea and the acquisition of small plots of land near the Black Sea and on the Baltic coast are doubly necessary for the realization of our plans.

At the time of Persia's decline, a sudden advance into the Persian Gulf should be made, if possible to revive the ancient trade with the Levant, and into India, the storehouse of the world. At this point we no longer need the gold of England.

(10) Efforts were made to maintain the alliance with the Austrian royal family, pretending to support Austria's policy of attempting to dominate Germany in the future, and secretly promoting jealousy among the princes.

Various methods were used to induce Austria to request assistance from Russia and to exercise some kind of protection over the country with a view to future control.

(11) To make the Austrian royal family interested in driving Turkey out of Europe, and to eliminate Austria's jealousy when conquering Constantinople, either by provoking it to fight against the major powers in Europe, or by giving away part of the spoils of war, We will take it back later.

(12) Efforts to reunite around us all the Greeks who are scattered politically and religiously in Hungary, Turkey and central Poland and become their center and pillar, pretending to be friends of the enemy to obtain some kind of automatic or The advantages of the priesthood to establish advantages throughout the world.

(13) After dismembering Sweden, destroying Persia, crushing Poland, and conquering Turkey, our armies have been united, and the Black Sea and Baltic Sea have been guarded by our ships.

Separately and with the utmost secrecy we must make proposals first to Versailles and then to the Court of Vienna with which to share the global empire.

If one of them accepts, and it is almost certain it will accept if only its ambitions and national vanity are fanned, it can be used to subdue the other.

Finally, eliminate the only survivor. Since Russia already possesses all or most of Eastern Europe, there is no danger of starting a conflict.

(14) If two powerful countries reject Russia's proposal (this is not impossible), we should know how to incite them to quarrel with each other and make them weaken each other.

Then, Russia must seize the decisive opportunity to move the united forces towards the Germans, and at the same time send two quite large fleets carrying Asian troops, one from the Sea of ​​Azov, the other from the Arkhan Departure from Gersk.

With the aid of those armed fleets, a simultaneous advance was made through the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic, invading France on one side and the Germans on the other.

Once these two countries were conquered, the rest of Europe would be left vulnerable to subjugation. In this way we can and should conquer Europe.