There have been incomprehensible characters in Russian history. One of these was Peter III, who, by the will of fate, was destined to become the Russian emperor.
Peter-Ulrich was the son of Anna Petrovna, the eldest daughter, and the Duke of Holstein, Kal - Friedrich. The heir to the Russian throne was born on February 21, 1728.
Anna Petrovna died three months after the birth of the boy, from consumption. At the age of 11, Peter-Ulrich will lose his father.
Peter-Ulrich's uncle was the Swedish king Charles XII. Peter had rights to both the Russian and Swedish thrones. From the age of 11, the future emperor lived in Sweden, where he was brought up in the spirit of Swedish patriotism and hatred of Russia.
Ulrich grew up as a nervous and sickly boy. This was largely due to the manner of his upbringing.
His teachers often took humiliating and harsh punishments towards their ward.
The character of Peter-Ulrich was simple-minded; there was no particular malice in the boy.
In 1741, Peter-Ulrich's aunt became Empress of Russia. One of her first steps at the head of the state was the proclamation of an heir. The Empress named Peter-Ulrich as his successor.
Why? She wanted to establish the paternal line on the throne. And her relationship with her sister, Peter’s mother, Anna Petrovna, was very, very warm.
After the proclamation of the heir, Peter-Ulrich came to Russia, where he converted to Orthodoxy and at baptism received a new name Peter Fedorovich.
When Empress Elizaveta Petrovna first saw Peter, she was unpleasantly surprised. The heir had a mediocre mind, had low level education and unhealthy appearance.
A teacher, Jacob Shtelin, was immediately assigned to Pyotr Fedorovich, who tried to instill in his student a love of Russia and teach the Russian language. In 1745, Peter III married Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst. At baptism, the lady received the name Ekaterina Alekseevna, and again, by the will of fate, after some time she took the Russian throne and went down in history under the name.
The relationship between Pyotr Fedorovich and Ekaterina Alekseevna immediately went wrong. Catherine did not like the immaturity and limitations of her husband. Peter did not intend to grow up, and continued to devote himself to children's amusements, playing with soldiers, and with great gusto. On December 25, 1761, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna died and Peter Fedorovich ascended the Russian throne, although it is worth noting that he did not have time to be crowned.
First of all, having ascended the Russian throne, he did an unprecedented thing. Let me remind you that Russia participated in the war, on the battlefields of which its military genius was tempered. The Seven Years' War developed so successfully that it was possible to put an end to the existence of the German state, or at least oblige Prussia to pay a huge indemnity and extract favorable trade agreements from it.
Peter III was a long-time and great admirer of Frederick II, and instead of benefiting from a successful war, the emperor concluded a gratuitous peace with Prussia. This could not please the Russian people, who, with their courage and blood, achieved success on the battlefields of that war. This step cannot be described as anything other than betrayal or tyranny.
In the domestic political field, Peter III launched active activities. In a short time, he issued a huge number of legal acts, among which stands out the manifesto on the freedom of the nobility - the liquidation of the Secret Chancellery, which dealt with political crimes and the fight against dissent. Under Peter, the persecution of Old Believers was stopped. In the army, he imposed Prussian orders, and in a short time turned a significant part of Russian society against himself.
Pyotr Fedorovich did not act within the framework of a specific political program. According to historians, most of his actions were chaotic. Society's dissatisfaction intensified, which ultimately resulted in a coup d'etat in 1762, after which Ekaterina Alekseevna, the wife of Peter III, ascended the throne, whom Russian history will remember as Catherine II.
Peter died in the suburbs of St. Petersburg at mysterious circumstances. Some believe that he was overcome by a fleeting illness, others that conspirators - supporters of Catherine II - helped him die. The short reign of Peter III, which lasted about six months, from December 1761 to July 1762, can be described in one word - a misunderstanding.
Peter III Fedorovich (1728-1762) - Russian ruler from 1761 to 1762. He was born in the Duchy of Holstein (Germany). When his aunt Elizaveta Petrovna ascended the Russian throne, he was brought to St. Petersburg in November 1742, at which time his aunt declared him her heir. Having converted to Orthodoxy, he was named Peter Fedorovich.
He ascended the throne after the death of Elizabeth Petrovna. He was the first representative from the Holstein-Gottorp Romanov family to the Russian throne. Grandson of Peter I and sister of Charles XII, son of Tsarevna Anna Petrovna and Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp. At first he was raised as the heir to the Swedish throne, forced to teach Swedish language, Lutheran textbook, Latin grammar, but instilled in him hatred of Russia, Sweden's old enemy.
Peter grew up as a timid, nervous, receptive and not evil child, he loved music, painting and adored everything military, while being afraid of cannon fire. He was often punished (flogged, forced to stand on peas).
Having ascended the Russian throne, Peter Fedorovich began to study Orthodox books and the Russian language, but otherwise Peter received virtually no education. Suffering constant humiliation, he mastered bad habits, became irritable, quarrelsome, learned to lie, and in Russia, even drink. Daily feasts surrounded by girls were his entertainment.
In August 1745 he married Princess Sophia, who later became Catherine II. Their marriage was not successful. They didn't have children for a long time. But in 1754, a son, Pavel, was born, and 2 years later, a daughter, Anna. There were various rumors about her paternity. Elizaveta Petrovna herself was involved in raising Pavel as an heir, and Peter was not at all interested in his son.
Peter III reigned for only six months and was overthrown as a result of a coup, the soul of which was his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna. As a result of the palace coup, power was in the hands of Catherine II.
Peter abdicated the throne and was exiled to Ropsha, where he was kept under arrest. Peter III was killed there on July 6, 1762. He was first buried in the church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. But in 1796, the remains were transferred to the Peter and Paul Cathedral and reburied along with the burial of Catherine II.
There is no consensus in assessments of the reign of Peter III Fedorovich. Much attention is paid to his vices and dislike for Russia. But there are also positive results from his short reign. It is known that Pyotr Fedorovich adopted 192 documents.
Charles XII and was initially raised as heir to the Swedish throne.Mother of a boy named at birth Karl Peter Ulrich, died shortly after his birth, having caught a cold during fireworks in honor of the birth of her son. At the age of 11, he lost his father. After his death, he was brought up in the house of his paternal great-uncle, Bishop Adolf of Eiten (later King Adolf Fredrik of Sweden). His teachers O.F. Brummer and F.V. Berkhgolts were not distinguished by high moral qualities and more than once cruelly punished the child. The Crown Prince of the Swedish Crown was flogged several times; many times the boy was placed with his knees on the peas, and for a long time - so that his knees became swollen and he could hardly walk; subjected to other sophisticated and humiliating punishments. His teachers cared little about his education: by the age of 13, he only spoke a little French.
Peter grew up fearful, nervous, impressionable, loved music and painting and at the same time adored everything military (however, he was afraid of cannon fire; this fear remained with him throughout his life). All his ambitious dreams were connected with military pleasures. He was not in good health, rather the opposite: he was sickly and frail. By character, Peter was not evil; often behaved innocently. Peter's penchant for lies and absurd fantasies is also noted. According to some reports, already in childhood he became addicted to wine.
Heir
At their first meeting, Elizabeth was amazed at her nephew’s ignorance and was upset appearance: thin, sickly, with an unhealthy complexion. His tutor and teacher was academician Jacob Shtelin, who considered his student quite capable, but lazy, at the same time noting in him such traits as cowardice, cruelty towards animals, and a tendency to boast. The heir's training in Russia lasted only three years - after the wedding of Peter and Catherine, Shtelin was relieved of his duties (however, he forever retained Peter's favor and trust). Neither during his studies, nor subsequently, Pyotr Fedorovich never really learned to speak and write in Russian. The Grand Duke's mentor in Orthodoxy was Simon of Todor, who also became a teacher of the law for Catherine.
The heir's wedding was celebrated on a special scale - so that before the ten-day celebrations, “all the fairy tales of the East faded.” Peter and Catherine were granted possession of Oranienbaum near St. Petersburg and Lyubertsy near Moscow.
Peter's relationship with his wife did not work out from the very beginning: she was intellectually more developed, and he, on the contrary, was infantile. Catherine noted in her memoirs:
(In the same place, Catherine mentions, not without pride, that she read the “History of Germany” in eight large volumes in four months. Elsewhere in her memoirs, Catherine writes about her enthusiastic reading of Madame de Sevigne and Voltaire. All memories are from about the same time.)
The Grand Duke's mind was still occupied with children's games and military exercises, and he was not at all interested in women. It is believed that until the early 1750s there was no marital relationship between husband and wife, but then Peter underwent some kind of operation (presumably circumcision to eliminate phimosis), after which in 1754 Catherine gave birth to his son Paul (the future Emperor Paul I) . The infant heir was immediately taken away from his parents after birth, and Empress Elizaveta Petrovna herself took up his upbringing. However, Pyotr Fedorovich was never interested in his son and was quite satisfied with the empress’s permission to see Paul once a week. Peter was increasingly moving away from his wife; Elizaveta Vorontsova (sister of E.R. Dashkova) became his favorite. Nevertheless, Catherine noted that Grand Duke for some reason I always had an involuntary trust in her, all the more strange since she did not strive for spiritual intimacy with her husband. In difficult situations, financial or economic, he often turned to his wife for help, calling her ironically "Madame la Resource"(“Mistress Help”).
Peter never hid his hobbies for other women from his wife; Catherine felt humiliated by this state of affairs. In 1756, she had an affair with Stanisław August Poniatowski, then the Polish envoy to the Russian court. For the Grand Duke, his wife’s passion was also no secret. There is information that Peter and Catherine more than once hosted dinners together with Poniatovsky and Elizaveta Vorontsova; they passed in the chambers Grand Duchess. Afterwards, leaving with his favorite to his half, Peter joked: “Well, children, now you don’t need us anymore.” “Both couples lived on very good terms with each other.” The grand ducal couple had another child in 1757, Anna (she died of smallpox in 1759). Historians cast great doubt on the paternity of Peter, calling S. A. Poniatovsky the most likely father. However, Peter officially recognized the child as his own.
In the early 1750s, Peter was allowed to write out a small detachment of Holstein soldiers (by 1758 their number was about one and a half thousand), and that’s all free time he spent time doing military exercises and maneuvers with them. His other hobby was playing the violin.
During the years spent in Russia, Peter never made any attempts to get to know the country, its people and history better, he neglected Russian customs, behaved inappropriately during church service, did not observe fasts and other rituals.
It is noted that Peter III was energetically engaged in state affairs (“In the morning he was in his office, where he heard reports<…>, then hurried to the Senate or collegium.<…>In the Senate, he took on the most important matters himself energetically and assertively." His policy was quite consistent; he, in imitation of his grandfather Peter I, proposed to carry out a series of reforms.
The most important affairs of Peter III include the abolition of the Secret Chancellery (Chancellery of Secret Investigative Affairs; Manifesto of February 16, 1762), the beginning of the process of secularization of church lands, the encouragement of commercial and industrial activities through the creation of the State Bank and the issuance of banknotes (Name Decree of May 25), adoption of a decree on freedom of foreign trade (Decree of March 28); it also contains a requirement to respect forests as one of the most important resources of Russia. Among other measures, researchers note a decree that allowed the establishment of factories for the production of sailing fabric in Siberia, as well as a decree that qualified the murder of peasants by landowners as “tyrant torture” and provided for lifelong exile for this. He also stopped the persecution of Old Believers. Peter III is also credited with the intention to carry out a reform of the Russian Orthodox Church along the Protestant model (In the Manifesto of Catherine II on the occasion of her accession to the throne dated June 28, 1762, Peter was blamed for this: “Our Greek Church is already extremely exposed to its last danger, the change of ancient Orthodoxy in Russia and the adoption of a law of other faiths").
Legislative acts adopted during the short reign of Peter III largely became the foundation for the subsequent reign of Catherine II.
The most important document of the reign of Pyotr Fedorovich is the “Manifesto on the freedom of the nobility” (Manifesto of February 18, 1762), thanks to which the nobility became an exclusive privileged class Russian Empire. The nobility, having been forced by Peter I to compulsory and universal conscription to serve the state all their lives, and under Anna Ioannovna, having received the right to retire after 25 years of service, now received the right not to serve at all. And the privileges initially granted to the nobility as a service class not only remained, but also expanded. In addition to being exempt from service, nobles received the right to virtually unhindered exit from the country. One of the consequences of the Manifesto was that the nobles could now freely dispose of their land holdings, regardless of their attitude to service (the Manifesto passed over in silence the rights of the nobility to their estates; while the previous legislative acts of Peter I, Anna Ioannovna and Elizaveta Petrovna regarding noble service, linked official duties and landownership rights). The nobility became as free as a privileged class could be free in a feudal country.
The reign of Peter III was marked by the strengthening of serfdom. The landowners were given the opportunity to arbitrarily resettle the peasants who belonged to them from one district to another; serious bureaucratic restrictions arose on the transition of serfs to the merchant class; During the six months of Peter's reign, about 13 thousand people were distributed from state peasants to serfs (in fact, there were more of them: only men were included in the audit lists in 1762). During these six months, peasant riots arose several times and were suppressed by punitive detachments. Noteworthy is the Manifesto of Peter III of June 19 regarding the riots in the Tver and Cannes districts: “We intend to inviolably preserve the landowners on their estates and possessions, and to maintain the peasants in due obedience to them.” The riots were caused by the spread of a rumor about the granting of “liberty to the peasantry”, a response to the rumors and served legislative act, which was not accidentally given the status of a manifesto.
The legislative activity of the government of Peter III was extraordinary. During the 186-day reign, judging by the official “Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire,” 192 documents were adopted: manifestos, personal and Senate decrees, resolutions, etc. (These do not include decrees on awards and ranks, cash payments and regarding specific private issues).
However, some researchers stipulate that measures useful for the country were taken “by the way”; for the emperor himself they were not urgent or important. In addition, many of these decrees and manifestos did not appear suddenly: they were prepared under Elizabeth by the “Commission for the Drawing up of a New Code”, and were adopted at the suggestion of Roman Vorontsov, Peter Shuvalov, Dmitry Volkov and other Elizabethan dignitaries who remained at the throne of Peter Fedorovich.
Peter III was much more interested in internal affairs in the war with Denmark: out of Holstein patriotism, the emperor decided, in alliance with Prussia, to oppose Denmark (yesterday's ally of Russia), with the goal of returning Schleswig, which it had taken from his native Holstein, and he himself intended to go on a campaign at the head of the guard.
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Immediately upon his accession to the throne, Peter Fedorovich returned to the court most of the disgraced nobles of the previous reign, who had languished in exile (except for the hated Bestuzhev-Ryumin). Among them was Count Burchard Christopher Minich, a veteran of palace coups. The Emperor's Holstein relatives were summoned to Russia: Princes Georg of Holstein-Gottorp and Peter August Friedrich of Holstein-Beck. Both were promoted to field marshal general in the prospect of war with Denmark; Peter August Friedrich was also appointed as the capital's governor-general. Alexander Vilboa was appointed general-feldtzeichmeister (that is, commander of the artillery). These people, as well as the former educator Jacob Staehlin, appointed personal librarian, formed the emperor's inner circle.
Once in power, Peter III immediately stopped military operations against Prussia and concluded the St. Petersburg Peace Treaty with Frederick II on extremely unfavorable terms for Russia, returning conquered East Prussia (which had been integral part Russian Empire); and abandoning all acquisitions during the actually won Seven Years' War. Russia's exit from the war once again saved Prussia from complete defeat (see also “The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg”). Peter III easily sacrificed the interests of Russia for the sake of his German duchy and friendship with his idol Frederick. The peace concluded on April 24 caused bewilderment and indignation in society; it was naturally regarded as a betrayal and national humiliation. The long and costly war ended in nothing; Russia did not derive any benefits from its victories.
Despite the progressiveness of many legislative measures, the unprecedented privileges for the nobility, poorly thought out foreign policy actions of Peter, as well as his harsh actions towards the church, the introduction of Prussian orders in the army not only did not add to his authority, but deprived him of any social support; in court circles, his policy only generated uncertainty about the future.
Finally, the intention to withdraw the guard from St. Petersburg and send it on an incomprehensible and unpopular Danish campaign served as a powerful catalyst for the conspiracy that arose in the guard in favor of Ekaterina Alekseevna.
Palace coup
The first beginnings of the conspiracy date back to 1756, that is, to the time of the beginning of the Seven Years' War and the deterioration of Elizabeth Petrovna's health. The all-powerful Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin, knowing full well about the pro-Prussian sentiments of the heir and realizing that under the new sovereign he was threatened by at least Siberia, hatched plans to neutralize Peter Fedorovich upon his accession to the throne, declaring Catherine an equal co-ruler. However, Alexey Petrovich fell into disgrace in 1758, hastening to implement his plan (the chancellor’s intentions remained undisclosed; he managed to destroy dangerous papers). The Empress herself had no illusions about her successor to the throne and later thought about replacing her nephew with her great-nephew Paul:
Over the next three years, Catherine, who also came under suspicion in 1758 and almost ended up in a monastery, did not take any noticeable political actions, except that she persistently multiplied and strengthened her personal connections in high society.
In the ranks of the guard, a conspiracy against Pyotr Fedorovich took shape in the last months of Elizaveta Petrovna’s life, thanks to the activities of three Orlov brothers, officers of the Izmailovsky regiment brothers Roslavlev and Lasunsky, Preobrazhensky soldiers Passek and Bredikhin and others. Among the highest dignitaries of the Empire, the most enterprising conspirators were N. I. Panin, teacher of the young Pavel Petrovich, M. N. Volkonsky and K. G. Razumovsky, Little Russian hetman, president of the Academy of Sciences, favorite of his Izmailovsky regiment.
Elizaveta Petrovna died without deciding to change anything in the fate of the throne. Catherine did not consider it possible to carry out a coup immediately after the death of the Empress: she was five months pregnant (from Grigory Orlov; in April 1762 she gave birth to a son, Alexei). In addition, Catherine had political reasons not to rush things; she wanted to attract as many supporters as possible to her side for complete triumph. Knowing well the character of her husband, she rightly believed that Peter would soon turn the entire metropolitan society against himself. To carry out the coup, Catherine preferred to wait for an opportune moment.
Peter III's position in society was precarious, but Catherine's position at court was also precarious. Peter III openly said that he was going to divorce his wife in order to marry his favorite Elizaveta Vorontsova. He treated his wife rudely, and on April 30, during a gala dinner on the occasion of the conclusion of peace with Prussia, a public scandal occurred. The Emperor, in the presence of the court, diplomats and foreign princes, shouted to his wife across the table "foll"(stupid); Catherine began to cry. The reason for the insult was Catherine’s reluctance to drink while standing the toast proclaimed by Peter III. The hostility between the spouses reached its climax. On the evening of the same day, he gave the order to arrest her, and only the intervention of Field Marshal Georg of Holstein-Gottorp, the emperor's uncle, saved Catherine.
Peterhof. Cascade "Golden Mountain". 19th century photolithography
By May 1762, the change of mood in the capital became so obvious that the emperor was advised from all sides to take measures to prevent a disaster, there were denunciations of a possible conspiracy, but Pyotr Fedorovich did not understand the seriousness of his situation. In May, the court, led by the emperor, as usual, left the city, to Oranienbaum. There was a lull in the capital, which greatly contributed to final preparations conspirators.
The Danish campaign was planned for June. The emperor decided to postpone the march of the troops in order to celebrate his name day. On the morning of June 28, 1762, on the eve of Peter's Day, Emperor Peter III and his retinue set off from Oranienbaum, his country residence, to Peterhof, where a gala dinner was to take place in honor of the emperor's name day. The day before, a rumor spread throughout St. Petersburg that Catherine was being held under arrest. A great turmoil began in the guard; one of the participants in the conspiracy, Captain Passek, was arrested; the Orlov brothers feared that a conspiracy was in danger of being discovered.
In Peterhof, Peter III was supposed to be met by his wife, who, in the duty of the empress, was the organizer of the celebrations, but by the time the court arrived, she had disappeared. After a short time, it became known that Catherine fled to St. Petersburg early in the morning in a carriage with Alexei Orlov (he arrived in Peterhof to see Catherine with the news that events had taken a critical turn and it was no longer possible to delay). In the capital, the Guard, the Senate and the Synod, and the population swore allegiance to the “Empress and Autocrat of All Russia” in a short time.
The guard moved towards Peterhof.
Peter's further actions show an extreme degree of confusion. Rejecting Minich's advice to immediately head to Kronstadt and fight, relying on the fleet and the army loyal to him stationed in East Prussia, he was going to defend himself in Peterhof in a toy fortress built for maneuvers, with the help of a detachment of Holsteins. However, having learned about the approach of the guard led by Catherine, Peter abandoned this thought and sailed to Kronstadt with the entire court, ladies, etc. But by that time Kronstadt had already sworn allegiance to Catherine. After this, Peter completely lost heart and, again rejecting Minich’s advice to go to the East Prussian army, returned to Oranienbaum, where he signed his abdication of the throne.
The events of June 28, 1762 have significant differences from previous palace coups; firstly, the coup went beyond the “walls of the palace” and even beyond the guards barracks, gaining unprecedented widespread support from various layers of the capital’s population, and secondly, the guard became an independent political force, and not a protective force, but a revolutionary one, which overthrew the legitimate emperor and supported the usurpation of power by Catherine.
Death
Palace in Ropsha. Photo from the early 1970s
The circumstances of the death of Peter III have not yet been fully clarified.
The deposed emperor immediately after the coup, accompanied by a guard of guards led by A.G. Orlov, was sent to Ropsha, 30 versts from St. Petersburg, where he died a week later. According to the official (and most probable) version, the cause of death was an attack of hemorrhoidal colic, worsened by prolonged alcohol consumption, and accompanied by diarrhea. During the autopsy (which was carried out by order of Catherine), it was discovered that Peter III had severe cardiac dysfunction, inflammation of the intestines, and there were signs of apoplexy.
However, the generally accepted version names Alexei Orlov as the killer. Three letters from Alexei Orlov to Catherine of Ropsha have survived, the first two are in the originals. The third letter clearly states the violent nature of the death of Peter III:
The third letter is the only (known to date) documentary evidence of the murder of the deposed emperor. This letter has reached us in a copy taken by F.V. Rostopchin; the original letter was allegedly destroyed by Emperor Paul I in the first days of his reign. Recent historical and linguistic studies disprove the authenticity of the document (the original, apparently, never existed, and the real author of the fake is Rostopchin). Rumors (unreliable) also called the killers Peter G.N. Teplov, Catherine’s secretary, and guards officer A.M. Shvanvich (son of Martin Shvanvits; A.M. Shvanvich’s son, Mikhail, went over to the side of the Pugachevites and became the prototype of Shvabrin in “Captain’s daughter" of Pushkin), who allegedly strangled him with a gun belt. Emperor Paul I was convinced that his father was forcibly deprived of his life, but apparently he was unable to find any evidence of this.
Orlov's first two letters from Ropsha usually attract less attention, despite their undoubted authenticity:
From the letters it only follows that the abdicated sovereign suddenly fell ill; The guards did not need to forcibly take his life (even if they really wanted to) due to the transience of the serious illness.
Already today, a number of medical examinations have been carried out on the basis of surviving documents and evidence. Experts believe that Peter III suffered from manic-depressive psychosis in a weak stage (cyclothymia) with a mild depressive phase; suffered from hemorrhoids, which made him unable to sit in one place for a long time; A “small heart” found at autopsy usually suggests dysfunction of other organs and makes circulatory problems more likely, that is, creates a risk of heart attack or stroke.
Alexey Orlov personally reported to the Empress about the death of Peter. Catherine, according to N.I. Panin, who was present, burst into tears and said: “My glory is lost! My posterity will never forgive me for this involuntary crime.” Catherine II, from a political point of view, was unprofitable by the death of Peter (“too early for her glory,” E. R. Dashkova). The coup (or “revolution”, as the events of June are sometimes defined), which took place with the full support of the guard, nobility and the highest ranks of the empire, protected it from possible attacks on power by Peter and excluded the possibility of any opposition forming around him. In addition, Catherine knew her husband well enough to be seriously wary of his political aspirations.
Chimes of the Peter and Paul Cathedral
Initially, Peter III was buried without any honors in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, since only crowned heads were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the imperial tomb. The full Senate asked the Empress not to attend the funeral.
But, according to some reports, Catherine decided in her own way; She arrived at the Lavra incognito and paid her last debt to her husband. In , immediately after the death of Catherine, by order of Paul I, his remains were transferred first to the house church of the Winter Palace, and then to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Peter III was reburied simultaneously with the burial of Catherine II; At the same time, Emperor Paul personally performed the ceremony of coronation of the ashes of his father.
The head slabs of the buried bear the same date of burial (December 18, 1796), which gives the impression that Peter III and Catherine II lived together for many years and died on the same day.
Life after death
Impostors have not been a new thing in the world community since the time of the False Nero, who appeared almost immediately after the death of his “prototype”. False tsars and false princes of the Time of Troubles are also known in Russia, but among all other domestic rulers and members of their families, Peter III is the absolute record holder for the number of impostors who tried to take the place of the untimely deceased tsar. During Pushkin's time there were rumors about five; According to the latest data, in Russia alone there were about forty false Peter III.
Soon after, the name of the late emperor was appropriated by a fugitive recruit Ivan Evdokimov, who tried to raise an uprising in his favor among the peasants of the Nizhny Novgorod province and a Ukrainian Nikolay Kolchenko in Chernihiv region.
In the same year, shortly after Kremnev’s arrest, in Slobodskaya Ukraine, in the settlement of Kupyanka, Izyum district, a new impostor appears. This time it turned out to be Pyotr Fedorovich Chernyshev, a fugitive soldier of the Bryansk regiment. This impostor, unlike his predecessors, turned out to be smart and articulate. Soon captured, convicted and exiled to Nerchinsk, he did not abandon his claims there either, spreading rumors that the “father-emperor,” who incognito inspected the soldier’s regiments, was mistakenly captured and beaten with whips. The peasants who believed him tried to organize an escape by bringing the “sovereign” a horse and providing him with money and provisions for the journey. However, the impostor was unlucky. He got lost in the taiga, was caught and cruelly punished in front of his admirers, sent to Mangazeya for eternal work, but died on the way there.
In the Iset province, a Cossack Kamenshchikov, previously convicted of many crimes, was sentenced to have his nostrils cut out and eternal exile to work in Nerchinsk for spreading rumors that the emperor was alive, but imprisoned in the Trinity Fortress. At the trial, he showed as his accomplice the Cossack Konon Belyanin, who was allegedly preparing to act as emperor. Belyanin got off with whippings.
An extraordinary person turned out to be Fedot Bogomolov, a former serf who fled and joined the Volga Cossacks under the name Kazin. Strictly speaking, he did not impersonate himself former emperor, but in March-June 1772 on the Volga, in the Tsaritsyn region, when his colleagues, due to the fact that Kazin-Bogomolov seemed too smart and intelligent, suggested that the emperor was hiding in front of them, Bogomolov easily agreed with his “imperial dignity " Bogomolov, following his predecessors, was arrested and sentenced to have his nostrils pulled out, branded and eternal exile. On the way to Siberia he died.
In the same year, a certain Don Cossack, whose name has not been preserved in history, decided to benefit financially from the widespread belief in the “hiding emperor.” Perhaps, of all the applicants, this was the only one who spoke in advance with a purely fraudulent purpose. His accomplice, posing as a secretary of state, traveled around the Tsaritsyn province, taking oaths and preparing the people to receive the “father-tsar”, then the impostor himself appeared. The couple managed to profit enough at someone else’s expense before the news reached other Cossacks and they decided to give everything a political aspect. A plan was developed to capture the town of Dubrovka and arrest all the officers. However, the authorities became aware of the plot and one of the high-ranking military men showed sufficient determination to completely suppress the plot. Accompanied by a small escort, he entered the hut where the impostor was, hit him in the face and ordered his arrest along with his accomplice (“Secretary of State”). The Cossacks present obeyed, but when the arrested were taken to Tsaritsyn for trial and execution, rumors immediately spread that the emperor was in custody and muted unrest began. To avoid an attack, the prisoners were forced to be kept outside the city, under heavy escort. During the investigation, the prisoner died, that is, from the point of view of ordinary people, he again “disappeared without a trace.” In 1774, the future leader of the peasant war Emelyan Pugachev, the most famous of the false Peter III, skillfully turned this story to his advantage, assuring that he himself was the “emperor who disappeared from Tsaritsyn” - and this attracted many to his side. .
"The Lost Emperor" appeared at least four times abroad and enjoyed considerable success there. For the first time it emerged in 1766 in Montenegro, which at that time was fighting for independence against the Turks and the Venetian Republic. Strictly speaking, this man, who came from nowhere and became a village healer, never declared himself emperor, but a certain captain Tanovich, who had previously been in St. Petersburg, “recognized” him as the missing emperor, and the elders who gathered for the council managed to find a portrait of Peter in one from Orthodox monasteries and came to the conclusion that the original is very similar to its image. A high-ranking delegation was sent to Stefan (that was the name of the stranger) with requests to take power over the country, but he flatly refused until internal strife was stopped and peace was concluded between the tribes. So unusual requirements finally convinced the Montenegrins of his “royal origin” and, despite the resistance of the clergy and the machinations of the Russian general Dolgorukov, Stefan became the ruler of the country. He never revealed his real name, giving Yu. V. Dolgoruky, who was seeking the truth, three versions to choose from - “Raicevic from Dalmatia, a Turk from Bosnia and finally a Turk from Ioannina.” Openly recognizing himself as Peter III, he, however, ordered to call himself Stefan and went down in history as Stefan the Small, which is believed to come from the impostor’s signature - “ Stefan, small with small, good with good, evil with evil" Stefan turned out to be an intelligent and knowledgeable ruler. During the short time that he remained in power, civil strife ceased; after short friction, good neighborly relations with Russia were established and the country defended itself quite confidently against the onslaught from both the Venetians and the Turks. This could not please the conquerors, and Turkey and Venice made repeated attempts on Stephen’s life. Finally, one of the attempts was successful: after five years of rule, Stefan Maly was stabbed to death in his sleep by his own doctor, a Greek by nationality, Stanko Klasomunya, bribed by the Skadar Pasha. The impostor’s belongings were sent to St. Petersburg, and his associates even tried to obtain a pension from Catherine for “valiant service to her husband.”
After the death of Stephen, a certain Zenovich tried to declare himself the ruler of Montenegro and Peter III, who once again “miraculously escaped from the hands of murderers,” but his attempt was unsuccessful. Count Mocenigo, who was at that time on the island of Zante in the Adriatic, wrote about another impostor in a report to the Doge of the Venetian Republic. This impostor operated in Turkish Albania, in the vicinity of the city of Arta. How his epic ended is unknown.
The last foreign impostor, appearing in 1773, traveled all over Europe, corresponded with monarchs, and kept in touch with Voltaire and Rousseau. In 1785, in Amsterdam, the swindler was finally arrested and his veins were opened.
The last Russian “Peter III” was arrested in 1797, after which the ghost of Peter III finally disappeared from the historical scene.
Notes
- Peskov A. M. Paul I. The author refers to:
Kamensky A. B. The life and fate of Empress Catherine the Great. - M.: 1997.
Naumov V. P. An amazing autocrat: the mysteries of his life and reign. - M.: 1993.
Ivanov O. A. The mystery of Alexei Orlov's letters from Ropsha // Moscow magazine. - 1995. - № 9. - http://vivovoco.astronet.ru/VV/PAPERS/NYE/CENTURY/CHAPT06.HTM#1
- http://festival.1september.ru/articles/502976/
- http://www.mbnews.ru/content/view/3178/85/
- http://www.simech.ru/index.php?id=1793
- http://www.rustrana.ru/article.php?nid=22182
- Alexey Golovnin. The word is infallible. Magazine "Samizdat" (2007). - Application of methods of structural hermeneutics to the text “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Retrieved December 17, 2008.
Peter and Catherine: a joint portrait by G. K. Groot
There are many individuals in Russian history whose actions make their descendants (and in some cases even their contemporaries) shrug their shoulders in surprise and ask the question: “Have people brought any benefit to this country?”
Unfortunately, among such figures there are also people who, by virtue of their origin, ended up at the very top of the Russian state power, introducing with their actions confusion and discord into the forward movement of the state mechanism, and even openly causing harm to Russia on the scale of the country's development. Such people include the Russian Emperor Peter Fedorovich, or simply Tsar Peter III.
The activities of Peter III as emperor were inextricably linked with Prussia, which was a major European power and played an important role in the major military conflict of that time - the Seven Years' War.
The Seven Years' War can be briefly described as a war against Prussia, which became too strong after the division of the Austrian inheritance. Russia participated in the war as part of the anti-Prussian coalition (consisting of France and Austria according to the Versailles defensive alliance, and Russia joining them in 1756).
During the war, Russia defended its geopolitical interests in the Baltic region and northern Europe, on the territory of which Prussia fixed its greedy gaze. The short reign of Peter III, due to his excessive love for Prussia, had a detrimental effect on Russian interests in this region, and who knows - how would the history of our state have developed if he had stayed on the throne longer? After all, following the surrender of positions in the practically won war with the Prussians, Peter was preparing for a new campaign - against the Danes.
Peter III Fedorovich was the son of the daughter of Peter I Anna and Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich (who was the son of the sister of the Swedish king Charles XII and this created a well-known paradox for the reigning houses of the two powers, since Peter was the heir to both the Russian and Swedish thrones).
Peter's full name sounded like Karl Peter Ulrich. The death of his mother, which followed a week after his birth, left Peter virtually an orphan, since the chaotic and riotous life of Karl Friedrich did not allow him to raise his son properly. And after the death of his father in 1739, his tutor became a certain knight marshal O.F. Brümmer, a stern soldier of the old school, who subjected the boy to all sorts of punishments for the slightest offense, and instilled in him the ideas of Lutheran meekness and Swedish patriotism (which suggests that Peter was originally trained still to the Swedish throne). Peter grew up as an impressionable, nervous man who loved art and music, but most of all he adored the army and everything that was somehow connected with military affairs. In all other areas of knowledge, he remained a complete ignoramus.
In 1742, the boy was brought to Russia, where his aunt, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, took care of him. He was baptized under the name of Peter Fedorovich, and Elizabeth selected a candidate for the role of his wife, the daughter of Christian Augustus Anhalt of Zerbst and Johanna Elisabeth - Sophia Augusta Frederica (in Orthodoxy - Ekaterina Alekseevna).
Peter's relationship with Catherine did not work out from the very beginning: the infantile young man was much inferior in intelligence to his wife, was still interested in children's war games and did not show any signs of attention to Catherine at all. It is believed that until the 1750s there was no relationship between the spouses, but after some operation, Catherine gave birth to a son, Paul, from Peter in 1754. The birth of a son did not help bring people who are essentially strangers closer together; Peter has a favorite, Elizaveta Vorontsova.
Around the same time, Pyotr Fedorovich was assigned a regiment of Holstein soldiers, and he spent almost all his free time on the parade ground, completely devoting himself to military drill.
During his stay in Russia, Peter almost never learned the Russian language, he did not like Russia at all, did not try to learn its history, cultural traditions, and simply despised many Russian customs. His attitude towards the Russian Church was just as disrespectful - according to contemporaries, during church services he behaved inappropriately and did not observe Orthodox rituals and posts.
Empress Elizabeth deliberately did not allow Peter to resolve any political issues, leaving behind him the only position of director of the gentry corps. At the same time, Pyotr Fedorovich did not hesitate to criticize the actions of the Russian government, and after the start of the Seven Years' War he openly showed sympathy for Frederick II, the Prussian king. All this, naturally, did not add either popularity or any little respect to him from the circles of the Russian aristocracy.
An interesting foreign policy prologue to the reign of Pyotr Fedorovich was the incident that “happened” to Field Marshal S. F. Apraksin. Having entered the Seven Years' War, Russia quite quickly seized the initiative from the Prussians in the Livonia direction, and throughout the spring of 1757 it pushed the army of Frederick II to the west. Having driven the Prussian army beyond the Neman River with a powerful onslaught after a general battle near the village of Gross-Jägersdorf, Apraksin suddenly turned the Russian troops back. The Prussians, who woke up only a week later, quickly made up for lost positions and pursued the Russians right up to the Prussian border.
What happened to Apraksin, this experienced commander and veteran warrior, what kind of obsession came over him?
The explanation is the news Apraksin received in those days from Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin from the capital of the Russian Empire about the sudden illness of Elizaveta Petrovna. Logically reasoning that in the event of her death, Peter Fedorovich (who was crazy about Frederick II) would ascend the throne and would definitely not pat him on the head for military actions with the Prussian king, Apraksin (most likely, on the orders of Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who also decided to play it safe ) retreats back to Russia.
That time everything worked out, Elizabeth recovered from her illness, the chancellor, who had fallen out of favor, was sent to the village, and the field marshal was put on trial, which then lasted three years and ended with the sudden death of Apraksin from an apoplexy.
Portrait of Peter III works artist A.P. Antropov, 1762
However, later Elizaveta Petrovna still dies, and on December 25, 1761, Pyotr Fedorovich ascended the throne.
Literally from the very first days after his accession, Peter III developed vigorous activity, as if proving to everyone royal court and to himself that he can rule better than his aunt. According to one of Peter’s contemporaries, “in the morning he was in his office, where he heard reports..., then he hurried to the Senate or collegium. ... In the Senate, he took on the most important matters himself energetically and assertively.” As if in imitation of his grandfather, the reformer Peter I, he envisioned a series of reforms.
In general, during the 186 days of his reign, Peter managed to issue many legislative acts and rescripts.
Among them, some serious ones include the decree on the secularization of church land property and the Manifesto on granting “liberty and freedom to the entire Russian noble nobility” (thanks to which the nobles received an exceptionally privileged position). In addition, Peter seemed to have begun some kind of struggle with the Russian clergy, issuing a decree on the mandatory shaving of the beards of priests and prescribing for them a uniform of clothing very similar to the uniform of Lutheran pastors. In the army, Peter III everywhere imposed Prussian rules of military service.
In order to somehow raise the steadily declining popularity of the new emperor, his entourage insisted on implementing some liberal laws. So, for example, a decree was issued signed by the tsar on the abolition of the Secret Investigation Office of the office.
WITH positive side can be characterized economic policy Peter Fedorovich. He created the State Bank of Russia and issued a decree on the issue of banknotes (which came into force already under Catherine), Peter III made a decision on freedom of foreign trade in Russia - all these undertakings, however, were fully realized already during the reign of Catherine the Great .
As interesting as Peter’s plans were in the economic sector, things were just as sad in the foreign policy sphere.
Soon after the accession of Peter Fedorovich to the throne, the representative of Frederick II, Heinrich Leopold von Goltz, arrived in St. Petersburg, whose main goal was to negotiate a separate peace with Prussia. The so-called “Petersburg Peace” of April 24, 1762 was concluded with Frederick: Russia returned all the eastern lands conquered from Prussia. In addition, the new allies agreed to provide each other with military assistance in the form of 12 thousand infantry and 4 thousand cavalry units in the event of war. And this condition was much more important for Peter III, since he was preparing for war with Denmark.
As contemporaries testified, the murmur against Peter, as a result of all these dubious foreign policy “achievements,” was “nationwide.” The instigator of the conspiracy was the wife of Pyotr Fedorovich, whose relationship with him had recently deteriorated extremely. The speech of Catherine, who declared herself empress on June 28, 1762, was supported among the guards and a number of court nobles - Peter III Fedorovich there was nothing left to do but sign a paper about his own abdication of the throne.
On July 6, Peter, temporarily staying in the town of Ropsha (before being transferred to the Shlissedburg fortress), suddenly dies “from hemorrhoids and severe colic.”
Thus ended the inglorious short reign of Emperor Peter III, who was non-Russian in spirit and deeds.
Peter III (Pyotr Fedorovich, born Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp; February 21, Kiel - July 17, Ropsha) - Russian Emperor in -, the first representative of the Holstein-Gottorp (Oldenburg) branch of the Romanovs on the Russian throne. Since 1745 - sovereign Duke of Holstein.
After a six-month reign, he was overthrown as a result of a palace coup that brought his wife, Catherine II, to the throne, and soon lost his life. Personality and activities of Peter III for a long time historians unanimously regarded them negatively, but then a more balanced approach appeared, noting a number of the emperor’s public services. During the reign of Catherine, many impostors impersonated Pyotr Fedorovich (about forty cases were recorded), the most famous of whom was Emelyan Pugachev.
Childhood, education and upbringing
Peter grew up fearful, nervous, impressionable, loved music and painting and at the same time adored everything military (however, he was afraid of cannon fire; this fear remained with him throughout his life). All his ambitious dreams were connected with military pleasures. He was not in good health, rather the opposite: he was sickly and frail. By character, Peter was not evil; often behaved innocently. Peter's penchant for lies and absurd fantasies is also noted. According to some reports, already in childhood he became addicted to wine.
Heir
At the first meeting, Elizabeth was struck by her nephew’s ignorance and upset by his appearance: thin, sickly, with an unhealthy complexion. His tutor and teacher was academician Jacob Shtelin, who considered his student quite capable, but lazy, at the same time noting in him such traits as cowardice, cruelty towards animals, and a tendency to boast. The heir's training in Russia lasted only three years - after the wedding of Peter and Catherine, Shtelin was relieved of his duties (however, he forever retained Peter's favor and trust). Neither during his studies, nor subsequently, Pyotr Fedorovich never really learned to speak and write in Russian. The Grand Duke's mentor in Orthodoxy was Simon of Todor, who also became a teacher of the law for Catherine.
The heir's wedding was celebrated on a special scale - so that before the ten-day celebrations, “all the fairy tales of the East faded.” Peter and Catherine were granted possession of Oranienbaum near St. Petersburg and Lyubertsy near Moscow.
Peter's relationship with his wife did not work out from the very beginning: she was intellectually more developed, and he, on the contrary, was infantile. Catherine noted in her memoirs:
(In the same place, Catherine mentions, not without pride, that she read the “History of Germany” in eight large volumes in four months. Elsewhere in her memoirs, Catherine writes about her enthusiastic reading of Madame de Sevigne and Voltaire. All memories are from about the same time.)
The Grand Duke's mind was still occupied with children's games and military exercises, and he was not at all interested in women. It is believed that until the early 1750s there was no marital relationship between husband and wife, but then Peter underwent some kind of operation (presumably circumcision to eliminate phimosis), after which in 1754 Catherine gave birth to his son Paul (the future Emperor Paul I) . However, the inconsistency of this version is evidenced by a letter from the Grand Duke to his wife, dated December 1746:
The infant heir, the future Russian Emperor Paul I, was immediately taken away from his parents after birth, and Empress Elizaveta Petrovna herself took up his upbringing. However, Pyotr Fedorovich was never interested in his son and was quite satisfied with the empress’s permission to see Paul once a week. Peter was increasingly moving away from his wife; Elizaveta Vorontsova (sister of E.R. Dashkova) became his favorite. Nevertheless, Catherine noted that for some reason the Grand Duke always had an involuntary trust in her, all the more strange since she did not strive for spiritual intimacy with her husband. In difficult situations, financial or economic, he often turned to his wife for help, calling her ironically "Madame la Resource"(“Mistress Help”).
Peter never hid his hobbies for other women from his wife; Catherine felt humiliated by this state of affairs. In 1756, she had an affair with Stanisław August Poniatowski, then the Polish envoy to the Russian court. For the Grand Duke, his wife’s passion was also no secret. There is information that Peter and Catherine more than once hosted dinners together with Poniatovsky and Elizaveta Vorontsova; they took place in the chambers of the Grand Duchess. Afterwards, leaving with his favorite to his half, Peter joked: “Well, children, now you don’t need us anymore.” “Both couples lived on very good terms with each other.” The grand ducal couple had another child in 1757, Anna (she died of smallpox in 1759). Historians cast great doubt on the paternity of Peter, calling S. A. Poniatovsky the most likely father. However, Peter officially recognized the child as his own.
In the early 1750s, Peter was allowed to order a small detachment of Holstein soldiers (by 1758 their number was about one and a half thousand), and he spent all his free time engaging in military exercises and maneuvers with them. Some time later (by 1759-1760), these Holstein soldiers formed the garrison of the amusement fortress Peterstadt, built at the residence of the Grand Duke Oranienbaum. Peter's other hobby was playing the violin.
During the years spent in Russia, Peter never made any attempt to get to know the country, its people and history better; he neglected Russian customs, behaved inappropriately during church services, and did not observe fasts and other rituals.
It is noted that Peter III was energetically engaged in state affairs (“In the morning he was in his office, where he heard reports<…>, then hurried to the Senate or collegium.<…>In the Senate, he took on the most important matters himself energetically and assertively." His policy was quite consistent; he, in imitation of his grandfather Peter I, proposed to carry out a series of reforms.
The most important affairs of Peter III include the abolition of the Secret Chancellery (Chancellery of Secret Investigative Affairs; Manifesto of February 16, 1762), the beginning of the process of secularization of church lands, the encouragement of commercial and industrial activities through the creation of the State Bank and the issuance of banknotes (Name Decree of May 25), adoption of a decree on freedom of foreign trade (Decree of March 28); it also contains a requirement to respect forests as one of the most important resources of Russia. Among other measures, researchers note a decree that allowed the establishment of factories for the production of sailing fabric in Siberia, as well as a decree that qualified the murder of peasants by landowners as “tyrant torture” and provided for lifelong exile for this. He also stopped the persecution of Old Believers. Peter III is also credited with the intention to carry out a reform of the Russian Orthodox Church along the Protestant model (In the Manifesto of Catherine II on the occasion of her accession to the throne dated June 28, 1762, Peter was blamed for this: “Our Greek Church is already extremely exposed to its last danger, the change of ancient Orthodoxy in Russia and the adoption of a law of other faiths").
Legislative acts adopted during the short reign of Peter III largely became the foundation for the subsequent reign of Catherine II.
The most important document of the reign of Pyotr Fedorovich is the “Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility” (Manifesto of February 18, 1762), thanks to which the nobility became an exclusive privileged class of the Russian Empire. The nobility, having been forced by Peter I to compulsory and universal conscription to serve the state all their lives, and under Anna Ioannovna, having received the right to retire after 25 years of service, now received the right not to serve at all. And the privileges initially granted to the nobility as a service class not only remained, but also expanded. In addition to being exempt from service, nobles received the right to virtually unhindered exit from the country. One of the consequences of the Manifesto was that the nobles could now freely dispose of their land holdings, regardless of their attitude to service (the Manifesto passed over in silence the rights of the nobility to their estates; while the previous legislative acts of Peter I, Anna Ioannovna and Elizaveta Petrovna regarding noble service, linked official duties and landownership rights). The nobility became as free as a privileged class could be free in a feudal country.
The reign of Peter III was marked by the strengthening of serfdom. The landowners were given the opportunity to arbitrarily resettle the peasants who belonged to them from one district to another; serious bureaucratic restrictions arose on the transition of serfs to the merchant class; During the six months of Peter's reign, about 13 thousand people were distributed from state peasants to serfs (in fact, there were more of them: only men were included in the audit lists in 1762). During these six months, peasant riots arose several times and were suppressed by punitive detachments. Noteworthy is the Manifesto of Peter III of June 19 regarding the riots in the Tver and Cannes districts: “We intend to inviolably preserve the landowners on their estates and possessions, and to maintain the peasants in due obedience to them.” The riots were caused by a rumor spreading about the granting of “liberty to the peasantry”, a response to the rumors and a legislative act, which was not accidentally given the status of a manifesto.
The legislative activity of the government of Peter III was extraordinary. During the 186-day reign, judging by the official “Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire,” 192 documents were adopted: manifestos, personal and Senate decrees, resolutions, etc. (These do not include decrees on awards and ranks, monetary payments and regarding specific private issues).
However, some researchers stipulate that measures useful for the country were taken “by the way”; for the emperor himself they were not urgent or important. In addition, many of these decrees and manifestos did not appear suddenly: they were prepared under Elizabeth by the “Commission for the Drawing up of a New Code”, and were adopted at the suggestion of Roman Vorontsov, Peter Shuvalov, Dmitry Volkov and other Elizabethan dignitaries who remained at the throne of Peter Fedorovich.
Peter III was much more interested in internal affairs in the war with Denmark: out of Holstein patriotism, the emperor decided, in alliance with Prussia, to oppose Denmark (yesterday's ally of Russia), with the goal of returning Schleswig, which it had taken from his native Holstein, and he himself intended to go on a campaign at the head of the guard.
| Romanov Dynasty (before Peter III) | |||||||
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| Nikita Ivanovich |
Immediately upon his accession to the throne, Peter Fedorovich returned to the court most of the disgraced nobles of the previous reign, who had languished in exile (except for the hated Bestuzhev-Ryumin). Among them was Count Burchard Christopher Minich, a veteran of palace coups. The emperor's Holstein relatives were summoned to Russia: princes Georg Ludwig of Holstein-Gottorp and Peter August Friedrich of Holstein-Beck. Both were promoted to field marshal general in the prospect of war with Denmark; Peter August Friedrich was also appointed governor-general of the capital. Alexander Vilboa was appointed Feldzeichmeister General. These people, as well as the former educator Jacob Staehlin, appointed personal librarian, formed the emperor's inner circle.
Once in power, Peter III immediately stopped military operations against Prussia and concluded the St. Petersburg Peace Treaty with Frederick II on conditions extremely unfavorable for Russia, returning the conquered East Prussia (which had already been an integral part of the Russian Empire for four years); and abandoning all acquisitions during the actually won Seven Years' War. Russia's exit from the war once again saved Prussia from complete defeat (see also “The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg”). Peter III easily sacrificed the interests of Russia for the sake of his German duchy and friendship with his idol Frederick. The peace concluded on April 24 caused bewilderment and indignation in society; it was naturally regarded as a betrayal and national humiliation. The long and costly war ended in nothing; Russia did not derive any benefits from its victories.
Despite the progressive nature of many legislative measures and unprecedented privileges for the nobility, Peter’s poorly thought-out foreign policy actions, as well as his harsh actions towards the church, the introduction of Prussian orders in the army not only did not add to his authority, but deprived him of any social support; in court circles, his policy only generated uncertainty about the future.
| Society felt prank and caprice in the actions of the government, a lack of unity of thought and a definite direction. The breakdown of the government mechanism was obvious to everyone. All this caused a friendly murmur, which poured down from the highest spheres and became popular. Tongues were loosened, as if not feeling the fear of the policeman; on the streets they openly and loudly expressed dissatisfaction, blaming the sovereign without any fear. |
Finally, the intention to withdraw the guard from St. Petersburg and send it on an incomprehensible and unpopular Danish campaign served as a powerful catalyst for the conspiracy that arose in the guard in favor of Ekaterina Alekseevna.
Palace coup
The first beginnings of the conspiracy date back to 1756, that is, to the time of the beginning of the Seven Years' War and the deterioration of Elizabeth Petrovna's health. The all-powerful Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin, knowing full well about the pro-Prussian sentiments of the heir and realizing that under the new sovereign he was threatened by at least Siberia, hatched plans to neutralize Peter Fedorovich upon his accession to the throne, declaring Catherine an equal co-ruler. However, Alexey Petrovich fell into disgrace in 1758, hastening to implement his plan (the chancellor’s intentions remained undisclosed; he managed to destroy dangerous papers). The Empress herself had no illusions about her successor to the throne and later thought about replacing her nephew with her great-nephew Paul:
| During illness<…>Elisaveta Petrovna I heard that<…>Everyone is afraid of her heir; that he is not loved or respected by anyone; that the empress herself complains about who should entrust the throne; that there is an inclination in her to remove an incapable heir, from whom she herself had annoyance, and to take his seven-year-old son and entrust management to me [that is, Catherine]. |
Over the next three years, Catherine, who also came under suspicion in 1758 and almost ended up in a monastery, did not take any noticeable political actions, except that she persistently multiplied and strengthened her personal connections in high society.
In the ranks of the guard, a conspiracy against Pyotr Fedorovich took shape in the last months of Elizaveta Petrovna’s life, thanks to the activities of three Orlov brothers, officers of the Izmailovsky regiment brothers Roslavlev and Lasunsky, Preobrazhensky soldiers Passek and Bredikhin and others. Among the highest dignitaries of the Empire, the most enterprising conspirators were N. I. Panin, teacher of the young Pavel Petrovich, M. N. Volkonsky and K. G. Razumovsky, Little Russian hetman, president of the Academy of Sciences, favorite of his Izmailovsky regiment.
Elizaveta Petrovna died without deciding to change anything in the fate of the throne. Catherine did not consider it possible to carry out a coup immediately after the death of the Empress: she was five months pregnant (from Grigory Orlov; in April 1762 she gave birth to a son, Alexei). In addition, Catherine had political reasons not to rush things; she wanted to attract as many supporters as possible to her side for complete triumph. Knowing well the character of her husband, she rightly believed that Peter would soon turn the entire metropolitan society against himself. To carry out the coup, Catherine preferred to wait for an opportune moment.
Peter III's position in society was precarious, but Catherine's position at court was also precarious. Peter III openly said that he was going to divorce his wife in order to marry his favorite Elizaveta Vorontsova. He treated his wife rudely, and on April 30, during a gala dinner on the occasion of the conclusion of peace with Prussia, a public scandal occurred. The Emperor, in the presence of the court, diplomats and foreign princes, shouted to his wife across the table "foll"(stupid); Catherine began to cry. The reason for the insult was Catherine’s reluctance to drink while standing the toast proclaimed by Peter III. The hostility between the spouses reached its climax. On the evening of the same day, he gave the order to arrest her, and only the intervention of Field Marshal Georg of Holstein-Gottorp, the emperor's uncle, saved Catherine.
Peterhof. Cascade "Golden Mountain". 19th century photolithography
By May 1762, the change of mood in the capital became so obvious that the emperor was advised from all sides to take measures to prevent a disaster, there were denunciations of a possible conspiracy, but Pyotr Fedorovich did not understand the seriousness of his situation. In May, the court, led by the emperor, as usual, left the city, to Oranienbaum. There was a calm in the capital, which greatly contributed to the final preparations of the conspirators.
The Danish campaign was planned for June. The emperor decided to postpone the march of the troops in order to celebrate his name day. On the morning of June 28, 1762, on the eve of Peter's Day, Emperor Peter III and his retinue set off from Oranienbaum, his country residence, to Peterhof, where a gala dinner was to take place in honor of the emperor's name day. The day before, a rumor spread throughout St. Petersburg that Catherine was being held under arrest. A great turmoil began in the guard; one of the participants in the conspiracy, Captain Passek, was arrested; the Orlov brothers feared that a conspiracy was in danger of being discovered.
In Peterhof, Peter III was supposed to be met by his wife, who, in the duty of the empress, was the organizer of the celebrations, but by the time the court arrived, she had disappeared. After a short time, it became known that Catherine fled to St. Petersburg early in the morning in a carriage with Alexei Orlov (he arrived in Peterhof to see Catherine with the news that events had taken a critical turn and it was no longer possible to delay). In the capital, the Guard, the Senate and the Synod, and the population swore allegiance to the “Empress and Autocrat of All Russia” in a short time.
The guard moved towards Peterhof.
Peter's further actions show an extreme degree of confusion. Rejecting Minich's advice to immediately head to Kronstadt and fight, relying on the fleet and the army loyal to him stationed in East Prussia, he was going to defend himself in Peterhof in a toy fortress built for maneuvers, with the help of a detachment of Holsteins. However, having learned about the approach of the guard led by Catherine, Peter abandoned this thought and sailed to Kronstadt with the entire court, ladies, etc. But by that time Kronstadt had already sworn allegiance to Catherine. After this, Peter completely lost heart and, again rejecting Minich’s advice to go to the East Prussian army, returned to Oranienbaum, where he signed his abdication of the throne.
| Somewhere they got wine, and a general drinking session began. The rioting guards were clearly planning to inflict reprisals on their former emperor. Panin forcibly assembled a battalion of reliable soldiers to surround the pavilion. Peter III was hard to watch. He sat powerless and limp, crying constantly. Seizing a moment, he rushed to Panin and, catching his hand for a kiss, whispered: “I ask one thing - leave Lizaveta [Vorontsova] with me, in the name of the Merciful Lord!” . |
The events of June 28, 1762 have significant differences from previous palace coups; firstly, the coup went beyond the “walls of the palace” and even beyond the guards barracks, gaining unprecedented widespread support from various layers of the capital’s population, and secondly, the guard became an independent political force, and not a protective force, but a revolutionary one, which overthrew the legitimate emperor and supported the usurpation of power by Catherine.
Death
Palace in Ropsha, built during the reign of Catherine II
The circumstances of the death of Peter III have not yet been fully clarified.
The deposed emperor immediately after the coup, accompanied by a guard of guards led by A.G. Orlov, was sent to Ropsha, 30 miles from St. Petersburg, where he died a week later. According to the official (and most probable) version, the cause of death was an attack of hemorrhoidal colic, worsened by prolonged alcohol consumption, and accompanied by diarrhea. During the autopsy (which was carried out by order of Catherine), it was discovered that Peter III had severe cardiac dysfunction, inflammation of the intestines, and there were signs of apoplexy.
However, the generally accepted version considers Peter’s death to be violent and names Alexei Orlov as the killer. This version is based on Orlov’s letter to Catherine from Ropsha, which was not preserved in the original. This letter has reached us in a copy taken by F.V. Rostopchin; the original letter was allegedly destroyed by Emperor Paul I in the first days of his reign. Recent historical and linguistic studies disprove the authenticity of the document (the original, apparently, never existed, and the real author of the fake is Rostopchin).
Already today, a number of medical examinations have been carried out on the basis of surviving documents and evidence. Experts believe that Peter III suffered from manic-depressive psychosis in a weak stage (cyclothymia) with a mild depressive phase; suffered from hemorrhoids, which made him unable to sit in one place for a long time; A “small heart” found at autopsy usually suggests dysfunction of other organs and makes circulatory problems more likely, that is, creates a risk of heart attack or stroke.
Funeral
Chimes of the Peter and Paul Cathedral
Initially, Peter III was buried without any honors in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, since only crowned heads were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the imperial tomb. The full Senate asked the Empress not to attend the funeral.
But, according to some reports, Catherine decided in her own way; She arrived at the Lavra incognito and paid her last debt to her husband. In , immediately after the death of Catherine, by order of Paul I, his remains were transferred first to the house church of the Winter Palace, and then to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Peter III was reburied simultaneously with the burial of Catherine II; At the same time, Emperor Paul personally performed the ceremony of coronation of the ashes of his father.
The head slabs of the buried bear the same date of burial (December 18, 1796), which gives the impression that Peter III and Catherine II lived together for many years and died on the same day.
Life after death
Impostors have not been a new thing in the world community since the time of the False Nero, who appeared almost immediately after the death of his “prototype”. False tsars and false princes of the Time of Troubles are also known in Russia, but among all other domestic rulers and members of their families, Peter III is the absolute record holder for the number of impostors who tried to take the place of the untimely deceased tsar. During Pushkin's time there were rumors about five; According to the latest data, in Russia alone there were about forty false Peter III.
Soon after, the name of the late emperor was appropriated by a fugitive recruit Ivan Evdokimov, who tried to raise an uprising in his favor among the peasants of the Nizhny Novgorod province and a Ukrainian Nikolay Kolchenko in Chernihiv region /
In the same year, shortly after Kremnev’s arrest, in Slobodskaya Ukraine, in the settlement of Kupyanka, Izyum district, a new impostor appears. This time it turned out to be Pyotr Fedorovich Chernyshev, a fugitive soldier of the Bryansk regiment. This impostor, unlike his predecessors, turned out to be smart and articulate. Soon captured, convicted and exiled to Nerchinsk, he did not abandon his claims there either, spreading rumors that the “father-emperor,” who incognito inspected the soldier’s regiments, was mistakenly captured and beaten with whips. The peasants who believed him tried to organize an escape by bringing the “sovereign” a horse and providing him with money and provisions for the journey. However, the impostor was unlucky. He got lost in the taiga, was caught and cruelly punished in front of his admirers, sent to Mangazeya for eternal work, but died on the way there.
An extraordinary person turned out to be Fedot Bogomolov, a former serf who fled and joined the Volga Cossacks under the name Kazin. Strictly speaking, he himself did not impersonate the former emperor, but in March-June 1772 on the Volga, in the Tsaritsyn region, when his colleagues, due to the fact that Kazin-Bogomolov seemed to them too smart and intelligent, assumed that in front of them Emperor in hiding, Bogomolov easily agreed with his “imperial dignity.” Bogomolov, following his predecessors, was arrested and sentenced to have his nostrils pulled out, branded and eternal exile. On the way to Siberia he died.
In the same year, a certain Don Cossack, whose name has not been preserved in history, decided to benefit financially from the widespread belief in the “hiding emperor.” Perhaps, of all the applicants, this was the only one who spoke in advance with a purely fraudulent purpose. His accomplice, posing as a secretary of state, traveled around the Tsaritsyn province, taking oaths and preparing the people to receive the “father-tsar”, then the impostor himself appeared. The couple managed to profit enough at someone else’s expense before the news reached other Cossacks and they decided to give everything a political aspect. A plan was developed to capture the town of Dubrovka and arrest all the officers. However, the authorities became aware of the plot and one of the high-ranking military men showed sufficient determination to completely suppress the plot. Accompanied by a small escort, he entered the hut where the impostor was, hit him in the face and ordered his arrest along with his accomplice (“Secretary of State”). The Cossacks present obeyed, but when the arrested were taken to Tsaritsyn for trial and execution, rumors immediately spread that the emperor was in custody and muted unrest began. To avoid an attack, the prisoners were forced to be kept outside the city, under heavy escort. During the investigation, the prisoner died, that is, from the point of view of ordinary people, he again “disappeared without a trace.” In 1774, the future leader of the peasant war Emelyan Pugachev, the most famous of the false Peter III, skillfully turned this story to his advantage, assuring that he himself was the “emperor who disappeared from Tsaritsyn” - and this attracted many to his side. .
"The Lost Emperor" appeared at least four times abroad and enjoyed considerable success there. For the first time it emerged in 1766 in Montenegro, which at that time was fighting for independence against the Turks and the Venetian Republic. Strictly speaking, this man, who came from nowhere and became a village healer, never declared himself emperor, but a certain captain Tanovich, who had previously been in St. Petersburg, “recognized” him as the missing emperor, and the elders who gathered for the council managed to find a portrait of Peter in one from Orthodox monasteries and came to the conclusion that the original is very similar to its image. A high-ranking delegation was sent to Stefan (that was the name of the stranger) with requests to take power over the country, but he flatly refused until internal strife was stopped and peace was concluded between the tribes. Such unusual demands finally convinced the Montenegrins of his “royal origin” and, despite the resistance of the clergy and the machinations of the Russian general Dolgorukov, Stefan became the ruler of the country. He never revealed his real name, giving Yu. V. Dolgoruky, who was seeking the truth, three versions to choose from - “Raicevic from Dalmatia, a Turk from Bosnia and finally a Turk from Ioannina.” Openly recognizing himself as Peter III, he, however, ordered to call himself Stefan and went down in history as Stefan the Small, which is believed to come from the impostor’s signature - “ Stefan, small with small, good with good, evil with evil" Stefan turned out to be an intelligent and knowledgeable ruler. During the short time that he remained in power, civil strife ceased; after short friction, good neighborly relations with Russia were established and the country defended itself quite confidently against the onslaught from both the Venetians and the Turks. This could not please the conquerors, and Turkey and Venice made repeated attempts on Stephen’s life. Finally, one of the attempts was successful: after five years of rule, Stefan Maly was stabbed to death in his sleep by his own doctor, a Greek by nationality, Stanko Klasomunya, bribed by the Skadar Pasha. The impostor’s belongings were sent to St. Petersburg, and his associates even tried to obtain a pension from Catherine for “valiant service to her husband.”
After the death of Stephen, a certain Zenovich tried to declare himself the ruler of Montenegro and Peter III, who once again “miraculously escaped from the hands of murderers,” but his attempt was unsuccessful. Count Mocenigo, who was at that time on the island of Zante in the Adriatic, wrote about another impostor in a report to the Doge of the Venetian Republic. This impostor operated in Turkish Albania, in the vicinity of the city of Arta. How his epic ended is unknown.
The last foreign impostor, appearing in 1773, traveled all over Europe, corresponded with monarchs, and kept in touch with Voltaire and Rousseau. In 1785, in Amsterdam, the swindler was finally arrested and his veins were opened.
The last Russian “Peter III” was arrested in 1797, after which the ghost of Peter III finally disappeared from the historical scene.
Notes
- Biographies of cavalry guards: N. Yu. Trubetskoy
- Iskul S.N. Year 1762. - St. Petersburg: Information and Publishing Agency "Lik", 2001, p. 43.
- Peskov A. M. Paul I. The author refers to:
Kamensky A. B. The life and fate of Empress Catherine the Great. - M., 1997.
Naumov V. P. An amazing autocrat: the mysteries of his life and reign. - M., 1993.
Ivanov O. A. The mystery of Alexei Orlov's letters from Ropsha // Moscow magazine. - 1995. - № 9. - VIVOS VOCO: N. Y. Eidelman, “YOUR 18TH CENTURY...” (Chapter 6)
- Integrated lesson on the course of Russian history and literature in the 8th... :: Festival “Open Lesson”
- Murmansk MBNEWS.RU - Polar truth number 123 from 08.24.06
- SHIELD and SWORD | A long time ago
- http://www.rustrana.ru/article.php?nid=22182 (inaccessible link - story)
- Alexey Golovnin. The word is infallible. Magazine "Samizdat" (2007). - Application of methods of structural hermeneutics to the text “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
- Count Benevsky. Part four. Runaway Noah's Ark
- http://window.edu.ru/window_catalog/files/r42450/r2gl12.pdf
- :: Russian torture. Political investigation in Russia of the 18th century - Anisimov Evgeniy - Page: 6 - Read - Download for free txt fb2:: (inaccessible link - story)
- Sergey Kravchenko. Crooked Empire. My day is my year!┘
- Pugachev on the Volga | History of Tsaritsyn | History of Volgograd
- Selivanov Kondraty
- How Stephen the Small came to save Montenegro and afterwards | Spectator, The | Find Articles at BNET (unavailable link)
- Stepan (Stefan) Maly. Impostor. Pretended to be Peter III in Montenegro. Books from the 100 Hundred Greats series
- Doubles, impostors or historical figures who lived twice
References
- Klyuchevsky V. O. Historical portraits. - M.: “Pravda”, 1990. - ISBN 5-253-00034-8
