Robert Nisbet Bain

“ At the age of twenty he was gaining his livelihood in the streets of Moscow as a vendor of meat-pies. His handsome looks and smart sallies attracted the attention of François Lefort, Peter’s first favourite, who took him into his service and finally transferred him to the tsar. On the death of Lefort in 1699, Menshikov succeeded him as prime favourite. Ignorant, brutal, grasping and corrupt as he was, he deserved the confidence of his master. He could drill a regiment, build a frigate, administer a province, and decapitate a rebel with equal facility. ”

“ Yet, in 1713, he was implicated in the famous Solov’ey process, in the course of which it was demonstrated that he had defrauded the government of 100,000 roubles. [1] He only owed his life on this occasion to a sudden illness. ”