Aleksandr Menshikov (1673–1729), the son of a stable hand who once sold meat pies on the streets of Moscow, became one of Peter’s closest friends and aides, participating in the entire gamut of the tsar’s civil and military activities and rising to the title of prince. The most powerful official in Petrine Russia, Menshikov retained his power after Peter’s death. He had introduced Peter to his second and beloved wife, Catherine, and he engineered her succession to the throne, dominating her entire reign (1725–27). The next emperor, the young Peter II (r. 1727–30), was at first also under Menshikov’s control, but the prince overplayed his hand, and a competing faction exiled him to Siberia.