Yushkov Vasily Alekseevich (1677 — after 1722) — room steward (komnatny stolnik) to Tsarina Praskovia Fyodorovna, consort of Tsar Ivan V Alekseevich, and one of the dowager tsarina's closest confidants for more than twenty years.[1]

Early years and military service

Yushkov came from a family tracing its origin to Zeush, an emigre from the Golden Horde, who arrived in Rus at the end of the 14th century. Neither Yushkov's father nor his grandfather held prominent posts at the Moscow court. Nevertheless, in 1690, at the age of thirteen, Vasily was granted a place "in the chamber" of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich. After Tsar Ivan's death in 1698, Yushkov was enrolled as a sergeant in the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment and took part in the campaigns against Azov and Kerch, and in 1700 he fought at Narva.[1]

At the court of Tsarina Praskovia Fyodorovna

In 1701, by a personal decree of Tsar Peter Alekseevich, Yushkov was assigned "to the chamber" of the dowager Tsarina Praskovia Fyodorovna and her children. He remained in this position for about 22 years, almost until the tsarina's death. Praskovia Fyodorovna grew strongly attached to her favorite: she showered him with favors and gifts, kept him constantly at her side, and consulted him on personal matters. In 1711, when Yushkov's father attempted through the courts to reclaim estates earlier ceded to his son, the tsarina interceded for Vasily and, having granted the father the rank of okolnichy, secured an end to the lawsuit. Yushkov was elevated to the position of chief steward of all the tsarina's estates and households.[1]

Under his management, however, the tsarina's household fared poorly: debts accumulated, payments were made carelessly, stewards stole, and peasants complained. Yushkov himself was noted for arrogance and rudeness in his dealings with servants, which caused constant conflicts. The most notable case was his quarrel with clerk Vasily Fyodorovich Derevnin: in 1718, wishing to remove the unwelcome clerk, Yushkov sent his friend, clerk Stepan Tikhmenev, to audit his treasury. The handover of the treasury dragged on; Tikhmenev accused Derevnin of embezzlement, while Derevnin in response asked to be discharged without what he called unlawful surcharges. In January 1722 the treasury affair took an unexpected turn: the clerk Derevnin happened upon a letter from Tsarina Praskovia to Yushkov, part of which was written in cipher, and decided to use the find to take revenge on his tormentor.

Learning of the missing letter, Yushkov had Derevnin arrested, confined in a "special lock-up," interrogated, and tortured; from this "harsh confinement" the clerk "fell gravely ill and barely survived," after which Yushkov, fearing the matter would become known, released him, strictly forbidding him from appealing to the sovereign, who was then in Moscow. After the tsar left Moscow, Yushkov renewed his pursuit of Derevnin through the Moscow chief of police, Grekov, hunting the fugitive clerk as an embezzler of the tsarina's treasury; Derevnin's father-in-law, the provincial fiscal officer Tersky, mentioned the fateful letter under interrogation, and when his testimony reached the head of the Secret Chancellery, he demanded that the entire case be handed over to him.[2][3][4][1]

Sources

  1. ru.wikisource.org — RBS/VT/Yushkov, Vasily Alekseevich — Wikisource (archive)
  2. biographiya.com — Yushkov Vasily Alekseevich, brief biography — After the tsar left Moscow, Yushkov renewed his pursuit of Derevnin through the Moscow chief of police, Grekov, hunting…
  3. imha.ru — Yushkov, Vasily Alekseevich, room steward » International Military History Association — Learning of the missing letter, Yushkov had Derevnin arrested, confined in a "special…" (archive)
  4. dic.academic.ru — Yushkov, Vasily Alekseevich — Who was Yushkov, Vasily Alekseevich? — In January 1722 the treasury affair took an unexpected turn: the clerk Derevnin happened upon a letter from the tsarina… (archive)