«[В]места форшрифта науки политическия»

The development of political science in Russia is closely connected with the interests of Peter I and the course of his reforms. The tsar received his first ideas about this discipline from Heinrich Wilhelm Ludolf and Ivan Kopievsky in the 1690s. Peter I’s interest in political science in the 1700s was directly or indirectly connected with the political education of Tsarevich Alexei, although the practice of organizing triumphal processions and panegyric literature could have had a certain influence. Heinrich von Huyssen played a significant role at this stage. At least two books used in the educational program devised by Huyssen for the Tsarevich Alexei attracted the attention of Peter I and were translated into Russian: The Idea of a Christian Political Prince by Diego de Saavedra Fajardo and An Introduction to the History of the Principal Kingdoms and States of Europe by Samuel von Pufendorf. Having received general ideas about political science, Peter I more often resorted to situational interpretations of the fields covered by this discipline as they connected to practical political activity. This approach laid the foundation for the subsequent introduction of political knowledge into the practices of public administration and education, as well as for the disclosure of theoretical and ideological possibilities of political knowledge in the 1710-1720s.