Stefan Mali (Stephen the Little) was an impostor who passed himself
off in Montenegro as the Czar Peter III of Russia, who was supposed
to have been murdered in 1762. He appeared in the Bocche di Cattaro
in 1767. No one seemed to know him or to doubt him; indeed after he
had put forth his story he did not escape identification. One witness
who had accompanied a state visit to Russia averred that he recognized
the features of the Czar whom he had seen in St. Petersburg. Like all
adventurers Stefan Mali had good personal resources. An adventurer,
and especially an adventurer who is also an impostor, must be an
opportunist; and an opportunist must be able to move in any direction
at any time; therefore he must be always ready for any emergency. The
time, the place, and the circumstances largely favoured the impostor
in this case. It is perhaps but fair to credit him with foreknowledge,
intention, and understanding of all that he did. In after years he
justified himself in this respect and showed distinctly that he was a
man of brains and capable of using them. He was no doubt not only able
to sustain at the start his alleged personality, but also to act under
new conditions and in new circumstances as they developed themselves,
as a man of Czar Peter’s character and acquired knowledge might have
done. Cesare Augusto Levi, who is the authority on this subject, says,
in his work “_Venezia e il Montenegro_”: “He was of fine presence and
well proportioned form and of noble ways. He was so eloquent that he
exercised with mere words a power not only on the multitude but also on
the higher classes.... He must certainly have been in St. Petersburg
before he scaled Montenegro; and have known the true Peter III, for
he imitated his voice and his gestures--to the illusionment of the
Montenegrins. There is no certainty of such a thing, but he must,
in the belief of the Vladika Sava have been a descendant of Stefano
Czernovich who reigned after Giorgio IV.”
At that time Montenegro was ruled by Vladika Sava, who having spent
some twenty years in monastic life, was unfitted for the government of
a turbulent nation always harassed by the Turks and always engaged in
a struggle for bare existence. The people of such a nation naturally
wanted a strong ruler, and as they were discontented under the sway of
Sava the recognition of Stefan Mali was almost a foregone conclusion.
He told a wonderful story of his adventures since his reported death--a
story naturally interesting to such an adventurous people; and as he
stated his intention of never returning to Russia, they were glad to
add such a new ally to their fighting force for the maintenance of
their independence. As the will of the people was for the new-comer,
the Vladika readily consented to confine himself to his spiritual
functions and to allow Stefan to govern. The Vladika of Montenegro
held a strange office--one which combined the functions of priest and
generalissimo--so that the new division of the labour of ruling was
rather welcome than otherwise to the people of a nation where no man
ever goes without arms. Stephen--as he now was--governed well. He
devoted himself fearlessly to the punishment of ill-doing, and early
in his reign had men shot for theft. He established Courts of Justice
and tried to further means of communication throughout the little
kingdom, which, is, after all, little more than a bare rock. He even
so far impinged on Sava’s sacred office as to prohibit Sunday labour.
In fact his labours so much improved the outlook of the Montenegrins
that the result brought trouble on himself as well as on the nation in
general. Hitherto, whatever foreign nations may have believed as to the
authenticity of Stephen’s claim, they had deliberately closed their
eyes to his new existence, so long as under his rule the little nation
of Montenegro did not become a more dangerous enemy to all or any of
them.
But the nations interested grew anxious at the forward movement in
Montenegro. Venice, then the possessor of Dalmatia, was alarmed,
and Turkey regarded the new ruler as an indirect agent of Russia.
Together they declared war. This was the moment when Fate declared
that the Pretender should show his latent weakness of character. The
Montenegrins are naturally so brave that cowardice is unknown amongst
them; but Stephen did not dare to face the Turkish army, which attacked
Montenegro on all the land sides. But the Montenegrins fought on till
a chance came to them after many months of waiting in the shape of a
fearful storm which desolated their enemies’ Camp. By a sudden swoop
on the camp they seized much ammunition of which they were sadly in
want and by the aid of which they gained delivery from their foes.
The Russian government seemed then to wake up to the importance of
the situation, and, after sending the Montenegrins much help in the
shape of war material, asked them to join again in the war against the
Turks. The Empress Catherine in addition to this request, sent another
letter denouncing Stephen as an impostor. He admitted the charge and
was put in prison. But in the impending war a strong man was wanted
at the head of affairs; and Sava, who now had the mundane side of
his dual office once more thrust again upon him, was a weak one. The
situation was saved by Prince George Dolgourouki, the representative
of the Empress Catherine, who, with statesmanlike acumen, saw that
such a desperate need required an exceptional remedy. He recognized the
false Czar as Regent. Stephen Mali, thus restored to power under such
powerful auspices, once more governed Montenegro until 1774, when he
was murdered by the Greek player Casamugna--by order, it is said, of
the Pasha of Scutari, Kara Mahmound.
By the irony of Fate this was exactly the way in which the real Czar,
whose personality he had assumed, had died some dozen years before.
This impostor was perhaps the only one who in the history of nations
prospered finally in his fraud. But as may be seen he was possessed of
higher gifts than most of his kind; he was equal to the emergencies
which presented themselves--and circumstances favoured him, rarely.