I conducted a historical research to find out interesting facts about the visit of Peter I to the city of Saratov.
With Peter I in the Saratov region, many legends and fictions were created. So, for example, the inhabitants of Khvalynsk say that when Peter left the ship ashore, he was presented with a live goat with golden horns. In fact, he was not in Khvalynsk.
Two journeys along the Volga were made by Peter I. The main sources of information about them are travel magazines. The first of them took place in 1695 and its goal was to get access to the sea. On May 31, 1695, a flotilla consisting of 117 ships, 40 plows with artillery, set off from Nizhny Novgorod on their way along the Volga.
Another trip of Peter I along the Volga took place in 1722, when he began the Persian (or Caspian) campaign in Transcaucasia to expand the borders of the Russian state. On June 13, Peter I arrived in Saratov to meet with the Kalmyk Khan Ayuka. Having descended from the ship, Peter visited the local governor, and then the Trinity Church. At one o'clock in the afternoon, the son and grandson of the Khan arrived with congratulations, and at three o'clock Ayuki Khan's cortege arrived. Peter went ashore from the galley, met the khan and took him to the ship, where he introduced Ayuka to Empress Catherine. Peter I gave Ayuka Khan an expensive saber. Having accepted the gift, Ayuka ordered the Kalmyks who were nearby to stand in a circle and shoot up arrows, which, falling to the ground, also formed a circle, symbolizing unity.