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. he32 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 adventurous33 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 the34 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,35 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.
