ive, he was a threat to the throne whether or not Peter actually intended to kill his son. Of prime concern for Peter was the possibility that Alexis had asked Charles VI of Austria for assistance to overthrow his father and seize the throne.
             Aided by an assembly of high officials, Peter made the decision to dispose of Alexis. Along with him there were few other executions in the plot to dethrone Peter. Conspirators Kikin, Bishop Dositheus, Avraam Lopukhin, and Glebov, among others were put to death. Others suffered beatings and exile. In 1697 Peter had Ivan Zickler, A.P. Sokovnin, F.M. Pushkin, and Don Cossack leader Lukyanov slowly killed for conspiracy to kill the czar.
             Far more brutal than this was Peter’s suppression of the Streltsy in 1698-1699. The Streltsy military force was very hostile to foreign influences on the Russian government and had revolted before in 1682. This uprising was a response to a general dislike and mistrust of Peter’s style of rule. Peter exiled the monk Avraam after he presented a written protest to the czar of foreign influence. The westernization of the court and country, his journey to the west, and h
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