Noble Blood: "Sentencing His Son to Death"

Host: Dana Schwartz
Release Date: October 7, 2025
Podcast Description: Author Dana Schwartz explores dramatic, tragic, and bloody stories from royal history. In this episode, she delves into one of history’s most disturbing family dramas—the conflict between Russia’s Peter the Great and his son, Tsarevich Alexei.

Episode Overview

This episode examines the intense and ultimately fatal conflict between Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia, and his only surviving son, Tsarevich Alexei. It traces how a clash of personalities, duties, and expectations brought a father to approve (directly or indirectly) the death of his own heir—revealing the chilling reality that, in royal families, the demands of dynasty often eclipse personal relationships.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: The Verdict (00:44–02:40)

• The episode opens in 1718. Tsarevich Alexei, Peter the Great's only surviving son, stands accused of high treason. The Russian jury, terrified for their own safety, knows a guilty verdict means death—even for the Tsar's son.
• Schwartz reflects: “Great and terrible are terribly close words when we speak of Russian monarchs... when it comes to royal families, the royal wins out over the family with chilling frequency.” (02:35)

2. The Early Lives of Peter & Alexei (02:45–07:00)

• Peter the Great: Explores Peter’s rise from child co-ruler to sole Tsar and then Emperor, detailing his modernization campaigns: founding St. Petersburg, initiating brutal reforms, and quirky personal eccentricities (such as his "beard tax").
• Alexei’s Birth and Childhood: Peter’s son by his first, unloved wife Eudoxia, is born in 1690, initially celebrated but soon marginalized. Alexei is acknowledged as weak, more inclined to prayer than military affairs, and deeply afraid of his father.

3. Strained Father-Son Relationship (07:01–13:30)

• Peter’s disappointment is palpable: he wants a strong, warlike heir, but Alexei is meek and lacks ambition.
• Dana’s reflection: “Alexei was so afraid of his father that he once shot himself in the hand to avoid having to see him... Classic Alexei. Though he missed, burning himself badly. And then he lied to his father that it was an accident.” (09:15)
• Peter pressures Alexei into marriage and attempts to involve him in government, but Alexei remains disengaged—more interested in personal comfort than power.

4. Succession Crisis and Emotional Showdown (13:31–20:15)

• By 1715, with two new baby sons (one by Alexei, one by Peter), Peter’s options widen.
• Key correspondence between father and son lays bare their disconnect:
  • Peter’s letter on Alexei’s failings: “I will deprive you of the succession as one may cut off a useless member. Harsh words, especially to get on the day of your wife's funeral.” (17:56)
  • Alexei’s capitulation: “If you will deprive me... I most urgently beg it of you.” (18:28)
  • Schwartz: “It’s like these two men just cannot see each other.”

5. Alexei’s Flight and Betrayal (20:16–24:10)

• Alexei flees with his mistress, Afrosina, to Vienna, hoping for asylum or at least obscurity.
• Peter’s relentless: sends Tolstoy (not the famous writer) to bring Alexei back “by any means, including outright duplicity,” and dangles false promises—including Alexei’s dream of a quiet life with Afrosina.
  • “In an earlier letter to his son, Peter had quoted the Bible, King David said, all men are liars. This kid did not have the strategic mind he would have needed...” (22:50)
• Ultimately, love for Afrosina lures Alexei back to Russia, but he is greeted not by deliverance but by betrayal.

6. Arrest, Torture, and Death (24:11–28:17)

• Upon return, Alexei’s circle is ruthlessly punished—his mother's lover tortured, her brother killed, friends executed.
• Afrosina, under pressure but not torture, betrays Alexei: “Yes,” she says, “Alexei wanted Peter dead. He spoke of it often.” (26:48)
• Alexei is tortured (struck 25 times, then 15 more, with a whip). He confesses to treason and is formally condemned to death—but before Peter can decide on the execution, Alexei succumbs to his injuries on June 26, 1718.
  • “Alexei was stronger than he’d always thought, but weaker than his father had always wished.” (27:42)

7. The Aftermath (28:18–29:30)

• Peter did not sign the death warrant, but he permitted and arguably orchestrated the torture that killed his son.
• Peter’s death leaves the succession in chaos; Alexei’s son (by Charlotte) briefly becomes Tsar before dying as a teenager.
• Comparison to Ivan the Terrible, who killed his own son: “But Peter was not raging like Ivan... he coolly instructed the court to treat Alexei as they would any other accused criminal.” (28:37)

8. Epilogue: The Women’s Fates (29:30–30:43)

• Afrosina: After betraying Alexei, she remarries quietly, and their child disappears from the historical record.
• Eudoxia (Alexei’s mother): After suffering the loss of loved ones to Peter’s vengeance, she ultimately sees her grandson crowned Tsar and spends her final years at court.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Great and terrible are terribly close words when we speak of Russian monarchs…when it comes to royal families, the royal wins out over the family with chilling frequency.”
— Dana Schwartz (02:35)

“Alexei was so afraid of his father that he once shot himself in the hand to avoid having to see him.”
— Dana Schwartz (09:15)

“If you want to rule, if you want to be interested in war, that is enough. And the tragedy is that Peter the Great and his son Alexei really were…ships passing in the night.”
— Dana Schwartz (18:00)

“He will have a coffin instead of a wedding.”
— Quoted by historian Robert K. Massie on Alexei’s fate (23:47)

“Alexei was stronger than he’d always thought, but weaker than his father had always wished.”
— Dana Schwartz (27:42)

“What would Peter have done if his son had not died? Would he have sentenced his own son to the death penalty? We can’t know. History can only be left to wonder. But at Alexei’s funeral, the preacher quoted from the Old Testament—O Absalom, my son. My son.”
— Dana Schwartz (28:57)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:44 – The verdict and the chilling tension in the court
• 02:45 – Peter’s background and modernization of Russia
• 07:01 – Peter and Alexei’s fractured relationship
• 13:31 – Peter’s letters: the emotional and philosophical conflict
• 20:16 – Alexei’s flight to Vienna and diplomatic crisis
• 24:11 – Alexei’s return, betrayal, and torture
• 27:42 – Alexei’s death and legacy
• 29:30 – The aftermath for key women: Afrosina and Eudoxia

Final Thoughts

Dana Schwartz successfully conveys the psychological and political complexities of one of the most tragic father-son relationships in history. Her narration is rich in detail, often laced with dark irony and historical insight, making this episode both gripping and deeply unsettling.

The lesson: in the calculus of monarchy, personal affection rarely triumphs over the demands and ruthlessness of royal power.