The reign of Peter the Great is regarded as one of the most significant and contentious epochs in Russian history. It has been customary to view the reforms of the period as either a progressive transformation of an antiquated society or the destructive suppression of traditional Russian culture. This dichotomy rests on an accepted perception of Peter the Great and his reign as rational and secular. This paper attempts to revise this dichotomy by focussing on the Masonic and occult influence prevalent at the Petrine Court. These two complimentary aspects of Petrine society and culture have been censured or overlooked by successive generations of historians, yet they exerted a considerable hold on some of the most powerful statesmen of the period, including the Tsar himself. The importance of studying Masonic and occult influence in Petrine Russia lies in the fact that it can help to overcome the starkly secular image of Peter the Great, without denying the progressive nature of his reforms. The first section of the article examines the powerful symbolic representations of the Tsar as a "Mason King" and architect of a new Russia. It reveals a concerted campaign to portray Peter the Great as a new King David, leading his people-new Israelites-to their promised land and a New Jerusalem, crystallised by the foundation of St. Petersburg. This is then followed by examining how Peter the Great's worldview-encompassing religious tolerance, a scientific curiosity open to esotericism and a passion for chivalrous societies-was wholly compatible with the ideals of Freemasonry as it developed at the beginning of the eighteenth-century. The second part of the paper focuses on the Masonic links and strong occult interests of Jacob Bruce (1669-1735), Feofan Prokopovich (1681-1736) and Robert Erskine (1677-1718)-three of the most prominent statesmen in Petrine Russia. Bruce came from a Scottish Jacobite family and played an active role in practically all fields of Russian state life, ranging from the military to the promotion of science and education. Prokopovich was the most eminent ecclesiastic figure in Petrine Russia and a loyal stalwart of Peter the Great's state reforms. Erskine, like Bruce, also descended from a powerful Jacobite family in Scotland. He enjoyed a close relationship with Peter the Great and was his Chief Physician and Head of the Russian Medical Chancellery, as well as being Director of the St. Petersburg Kunstkamera and Library. This triumvirate played an active role in transforming the Russian State, but do not represent the archetypal embodiments of purely rational and secular enlighteners. They all displayed a strong religiosity and a marked interest in esoteric matters and Bruce and Erskine, in particular, had strong ties to Jacobite Freemasonry. Peter the Great displayed similar interests and acted as their enthusiastic patron. Thus, it is hoped that this paper will reveal the significant extent to which Masonic ideals and a fascination with the occult were rife at the Petrine Court and helped to shape the transformations enacted during this pivotal period in Russian history. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2006.
