Šćepan Mali

"Tsar" Šćepan Mali (Stephen the Little) (? - 22 September 1773) was a de facto ruler tsar of Montenegro from 1767 until his death in 1773. He seized the throne by falsely representing himself as the Russian Tsar Peter III.

Šćepan Mali's origins are not known. It is assumed that he was from Dalmatia or Bosnia and that his name was Stefan Rajčević. He first appeared in Montenegro in 1766. During this time, he lived in Podmaine Monastery and operated as a self-styled doctor.

During Christmas fasting in 1766, after the rumors spread by captain M. Tanović, in Montenegro appeared, supposedly, Russian Tsar Peter III, who was believed to have been murdered by the lovers of Catherine the Great in 1762. Having affection for Russia, Montenegrins accepted the newcomer as their new tsar (1768) under the name of Stephen the Little (Šćepan Mali). Vladika Sava conveyed to the people a Russian message that Šćepan was an ordinary crook, but the people believed the tsar rather than Sava. Following this event, Šćepan the Little put Sava under house arrest in Stanjevići monastery.

Metropolitan Sava II wrote "The land has been silenced" and that all of Montenegro was under Šćepan Mali. When Šćepan Mali ruled Montenegro, he began to behave like an absolute ruler.

The Ottoman Empire was afraid of the fact that a Russian tsar was in the Balkans. In May 1768, the sultan ordered an expedition to Montenegro. A few months later, 50,000 Ottoman soldiers were sent to capture Šćepan Mali but were decisively defeated 10-20 km south of Cetinje.

Soon after, Šćepan began to heavily modernize the army. He used the style of Peter the Great's infantry, while due to a short supply of horses, he had no cavalry. The new green uniforms were donated by the Russian government from its old 1720s stock supplies.

The Russian Government sent Prince Georgiy Dolgorukov to gain control of Montenegro and eliminate Šćepan Mali. In August 1769, he arrived in Montenegro but was unable to capture Šćepan Mali. As the Montenegrin people, upon hearing from Šćepan himself that he was not Tsar Peter III, recovered from their shock and proclaimed him Tsar Šćepan I. Šćepan the Little was a very cruel but respected and feared man during his reign. After realizing how much respect he commanded, and that only he could keep Montenegrins together, the Russian diplomat Dolgoruki abandoned his efforts to discredit Scepan giving him even financial support. In 1771, Tzar Šćepan founded a permanent court, composed of most respected clan leaders, and stubbornly insisted on respect for the court's decision.

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