Peter the Great met Jews, or "people of Moses' faith" (as the Jews were called in those days), for the first time in Holland. The Mayor of Amsterdam, Mr. N. Vitsen, passed on to Peter a petition of the Dutch Jews who wanted to come to trade to Russia. But it was refused by the Tsar. "My friend, Governor Vitsen, said Peter, it's not yet time for Jews to settle in my country. It's not even possible to allow them to come for a visit. Please tell them from me that I am thankful for their proposal but I regret their desire to carry out trade operations in Russia, because even though Jews know how to cheat everybody in this world, I am not sure that they will be successful with my Russians."
Despite the Tsar's harsh opinion of Jews, there were also people of Jewish origin among his associates, and they included both Ashkenazim and Sephardim