Abstract
Alexei fled to Prague, Vienna and placed himself under the protection of his brother-in-law, the emperor Charles VI, who sent him for safety finally to the castle of Sant'Elmo at Naples. The emperor sincerely sympathized with Alexei.
Peter felt insulted: the flight of the tsarevich to a foreign potentate was a reproach and a scandal, and he had to be recovered and brought back to Russia at all costs. This difficult task was accomplished by Count Peter Tolstoi, the most subtle and unscrupulous of Peter's servants.
Alexei would only consent to return on his father solemnly swearing, that if he came back he should not be punished in the least, but cherished as a son and allowed to live quietly on his estates and marry Afrosinia.