It was Golitsyn who suggested taking refuge in that strong fortress and won over the boyars of the opposite party.

[3] In 1690 he was created a boyar and shared with Lev Naryshkin, Peter's uncle, the conduct of home affairs.

The Astrakhan rebellion (1706), which affected all the districts under his government, shook Peter's confidence in him, and seriously impaired his position.

Yet this eminent, superior personage was an habitual drunkard, an uncouth savage who intruded upon the hospitality of wealthy foreigners, and was not ashamed to seize upon any dish he took a fancy to, and send it home to his wife.

It was his reckless drunkenness which ultimately ruined him in the estimation of Peter the Great, despite his previous inestimable services.

[3] The Polish diplomat Foy de la Neuville visited Moscow at the end of 1689 and hosted a banquet for two Russian nobles, Golitsyn and Matveev, who had long wanted to try French roast.