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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.
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