“There Is No Stopping in Kotlin’s Work”: A.D. Menshikov and Stone Construction on Kotlin in the Early 1720s

Introduction. The development and defense of Kotlin Island, which became a seaport and base of the Baltic Navy, was a matter of national importance for Peter I. The implementation of the tsar’s plans required the involvement of material and human resources from all Russian provinces. The researchers turned to the issues of the defense of the island as well as the construction of fortifications and port facilities. The beginning of civil construction on the island and the creation of a new city, the bulk of the population of which was in the navy and maritime trade, have been studied only fragmentarily. Methods and materials. The basis of the source base was made up of documents stored in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, as well as published materials: correspondence between the Most Serene Prince and Peter I, heads of offices and contractors, as well as notes and diaries of eyewitnesses. The study of published and archival sources and the analysis and comparison of the information contained in them make it possible to reveal the role of St. Petersburg governor A.D. Menshikov in the creation of a regularly built-up port city. Analysis. Before the laying of the Kronstadt fortress on October 7, 1723, the settlement on Kotlin had no name. The first stone houses on the southern coast of the island were erected by the forces of the provinces; therefore, they were called “provincial.” After the start of the second regional reform, the completion of the provincial houses was entrusted to Senator M.M. Samarin. The construction of all stone buildings Peter I entrusted to A.D. Menshikov. In 1720, the Office of the Construction of Kotlin Stone Houses was created to conduct work. In connection with the beginning of the construction of the canal (the future Petrovsky Dock), the wooden residential buildings and outbuildings located near the seacoast were demolished or moved inland. At the beginning of 1724, the stone houses in the “bracket” – the sea gates of Kronstadt – were transferred to the associates of the first Russian emperor and naval officers. Results. In historiography, all stone houses built in 1717–1725 on Kotlin are what it is customary to call “provincial.” The buildings begun in 1719 under the leadership of A.D. Menshikov were built on the model of the provincial ones, but they were called “the houses of his royal majesty.” The office of the construction of the Kotlin stone houses carried out work at a faster pace, which was facilitated by the huge administrative resources of the Petersburg governor.