London hosted the Day of Peter the Great, dedicated to the 320th anniversary of the Tsar’s visit to the British capital city. It was timed with the Day of Russia. The participants recollected the story of the Emperor’s visit, watched and tasted the costume ball the Tsar Feast, according to England weekly Russian newspaper’s website.
angliya.com
Peter the Great visited London during William 3 Hendrik van Oranje-Nassau’s Rule in 1698. Two monarchs looked like ice and fire. There was great difference in their age and manners. During all the social occasions, the young Russian Emperor broke the etiquette rule now and then and did not understand the behavior of the King of England who was more than 20 years older than Peter. Even when it came to lodging, Peter the Great refused to live in the palace chambers and lived closer to the dock yards in a humble house near the Thames, which was, of course, very astonishing for the European court.
As the legend would have it, the Emperor managed to plant a tree in England, which still exists. The monument to Peter the Great by sculptor Alexander Kirillov was solemnly unveiled near this tree in the Day of celebrations. This is the second commemorative sign to Peter the Great in London. The first one was made after the project of sculptor Shemyakin and set by the Russian Embassy in 1999.
Apart from opening the memorial, guests watched the theatrical staging the Tsar Feast, where actors dressed up in the style of Peter’s epoch involved guests into the interactive performance. The person of the Day of Peter the Great became Zinaida Petruchenya, the cook of the Tsar Feast. She treated guests by jellies, pies, starch drinks, porridges, pancakes and pickled dishes.
Honoring Peter the Great in London is to become an annual event, according to organizers.
Russkiy Mir
