DickZ
02-23-2007, 06:16 AM
I was recently amazed to read a description of a brilliant but dishonest confidant of Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, that had a familiar ring to it.
Long before baseball was even conceived, in the early 1700s, Peter the Great was Tsar of Russia. He had a very influential confidant by the name of Alexander Menshikov, who was a military and political genius. He was a great help to Peter in westernizing the once-backward nation, and served in several important military campaigns. But in the course of being so influential, Menshikov also became very corrupt and was always pulling underhanded schemes to enrich his own bank account at the expense of Mother Russia.
This caused Peter the Great lots of anguish, because the guy was so valuable in the service he provided the nation, while at the same time being a constant source of major embarrassment. Peter the Great responded to advisors who wanted to get rid of the dishonest genius with the line “Menshikov will always be Menshikov.”
Long before baseball was even conceived, in the early 1700s, Peter the Great was Tsar of Russia. He had a very influential confidant by the name of Alexander Menshikov, who was a military and political genius. He was a great help to Peter in westernizing the once-backward nation, and served in several important military campaigns. But in the course of being so influential, Menshikov also became very corrupt and was always pulling underhanded schemes to enrich his own bank account at the expense of Mother Russia.
This caused Peter the Great lots of anguish, because the guy was so valuable in the service he provided the nation, while at the same time being a constant source of major embarrassment. Peter the Great responded to advisors who wanted to get rid of the dishonest genius with the line “Menshikov will always be Menshikov.”