Sometime near the end of the Russian Diplomatic mission known as The Grand Embassy to Europe, which occurred in the years 1697 to 1698, Peter the Great visited Vienna and met with the Austrian foreign minister in an attempt to prevent a further developing of diplomatic relations between Austria and Turkey. Although Russia and Austria had been allies in the Holy League of 1684 against the Ottoman Empire, the negotiations to maintain the alliance were already failing when Peter received news of a revolt against his rule led by disgruntled members of the Russian military caste called the Streltsy (or "musketeers" in Russian). The Streltsy did not support Peter's interest in the modernization of Russia through contact with western Europe and felt justified in exploiting his absence to begin a march on Moscow on June 6, 1698. By June 18, 1698, Peter was back in Russia directing 4,000 troops and cavalry in putting down the coup before it reached Moscow, halting the uprising and crushing it about 40 kilometers west of the city.
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