Artamon Matveev (1625-1682) was a close boyar of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
During the Russo-Polish War of 1654-1667, Matveev participated in the siege of Smolensk; he traveled to Lithuania and Poland to negotiate the election of Alexei Mikhailovich as Polish king. In 1657, he revealed the treason of I. Vygovsky and tamed the unrest in Ukraine. He took part in the suppression of the Copper Rebellion in 1662. In 1669, he was in charge of the Little Russia Prikaz; from 1671, he was in charge of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, Streltsy Prikaz, and the Kazan palace Prikaz. He considered the main task of the foreign policy to be the attachment of entire Ukraine to Russia and for its solution, he thought it possible to temporarily give up the struggle with Sweden for the Baltic. On February 22 of 1671, Matveev was appointed head of the ambassadorial seal. Three years later, he was granted the rank of boyar and butler with the title of governor of Serpukhov. He suppressed uprisings in Kolomenskoye, in Putivl, and in Pereyaslavl. In 1672, during negotiations with Poland, he attained the Kiev affixture to Russia. In 1674, A. Matveev went to the Chinese Emperor as an envoy.
After the Tsar’s death in 1676, he was excommunicated from the court under the guise of being sent for voivode service to Siberia, accused of sorcery, deprived of ranks and the Estate and imprisoned in the Pustozersky jail, where he stayed for seven years. In 1682, he was returned to the court, but on May 15 during the Streltsy rebellion in Moscow, he was captured by rebels in the palace and killed.
The postage stamp provides a portrait of Artamon Matveev.
| Paper |
Printing method |
Perforation |
Format of the stamp |
Edition |
| Chalk surfaced |
Offset + security system |
Comb 11¼ |
37 × 37 mm |
42 thousand stamps |