(Peter-Ulrich) - Emperor of All Russia, son of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorn Karl-Friedrich, son of the sister of Charles XII of Sweden, and Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great (born 1728); he was thus the grandson of two rival sovereigns and could, under certain conditions, be a contender for both the Russian and Swedish thrones.
In 1741, after the death of Eleonora Ulrika, he was elected the successor of her husband Frederick, who received the Swedish throne, and on November 15, 1742, he was declared by his aunt Elizaveta Petrovna the heir to the Russian throne.
Weak physically and morally, P. Fedorovich was brought up by Marshal Brummer, who was more of a soldier than a teacher. “The barracks order of life, established by the latter for his pupil, in connection with severe and humiliating punishments, could not but weaken the health of P. Fedorovich and interfered with the development in him of moral concepts and a sense of human dignity.
The young prince was taught a lot, but so clumsily that he got a complete disgust for the sciences: Latin, for example, he got tired of so much that later in St. Petersburg he forbade placing Latin books in his library. They taught him, moreover, preparing him mainly for the occupation of the Swedish throne and, therefore, brought him up in the spirit of the Lutheran religion and Swedish patriotism - and the latter at that time was expressed, by the way, in hatred of Russia.
In 1742, after the appointment of P. Fedorovich as heir to the Russian throne, they began to teach him again, but in a Russian and Orthodox way. However, frequent illnesses and marriage to the princess of Anhalt-Zerbst (the future Catherine II) prevented the systematic conduct of education.
P. Fedorovich was not interested in Russia and superstitiously thought that he would find his death here; Academician Shtelin, his new tutor, despite all efforts, could not inspire him with love for his new fatherland, where he always felt like a stranger. Military affairs - the only thing that interested him - was for him not so much a subject of study as fun, and his reverence for Frederick II turned into a desire to imitate him in small things.
The heir to the throne, already an adult, preferred fun to business, which every day became more and more strange and unpleasantly amazed everyone around him. "P. showed all the signs of a stopped spiritual development," says S. M. Solovyov, "he was an adult child." The empress was struck by the underdevelopment of the heir to the throne.
The question of the fate of the Russian throne seriously occupied Elizabeth and her courtiers, and they came up with various combinations.
Some wished that the empress, bypassing her nephew, would pass the throne to his son Pavel Petrovich, and appoint the leader as regent until he came of age. Princess Ekaterina Alekseevna, wife of P. Fedorovich.
That was the opinion of Bestuzhev, Nick. Iv. Panina, Iv. Iv. Shuvalov.
Others stood for the proclamation of Catherine the heir to the throne.
Elizabeth died without having time to decide on anything, and on December 25, 1761, P. Fedorovich ascended the throne under the name of Emperor P. III. He began his activity by decrees, which, under other conditions, could have brought him popular favor.
Such is the decree of February 18, 1762, on the freedom of the nobility, which removed compulsory service from the nobility and was, as it were, the direct predecessor of Catherine's letter of commendation to the nobility of 1785. This decree could make the new government popular among the nobility; another decree, on the destruction of the secret office, which was in charge of political crimes, should, it would seem, contribute to its popularity among the masses.
It happened, however, differently. Remaining a Lutheran in his soul, P. III treated the clergy with disdain, closed home churches, addressed insulting decrees to the Synod; by this he aroused the people against him. Surrounded by the Holsteiners, he began to remake the Russian army in the Prussian way and thus armed the guard against him, which at that time was almost exclusively noble in composition.
Prompted by his Prussian sympathies, immediately after accession to the throne, P. III refused to participate in the seven-year war and, at the same time, from all Russian conquests in Prussia, and at the end of his reign he began a war with Denmark because of Schleswig, which he wanted to acquire for Holstein.
This aroused the people against him, who remained indifferent when the nobility in the person of the guards openly rebelled against P. III and proclaimed Empress Catherine II (June 28, 1762). P. was removed to Ropsha, where he died on July 7; details of this event are in a letter to Catherine II by Alexei Orlov.
Wed Brikker, "History of Catherine the Great", "Notes of Empress Catherine II" (L., 1888); "Memoirs of the princesse Daschcow" (L., 1840); "Shtelin's Notes" ("Thurs. General. Ist. and Drev. Ros.", 1886, IV); Bilbasov, "History of Catherine II" (vols. 1 and 12). M. P-v. (Brockhaus) Peter III Fedorovich - grandson of Peter the Great, son of his daughter Anna, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (born February 10, 1728), Emperor of All Russia (from December 25, 1761 to June 28, 1762 .). 14 l. P. was summoned from Holstein to Russia by the Emperor Elizaveta Petrovna and declared Heir to the Throne. Aug 21 In 1745, his marriage to the prince took place. Sophia-Frederike of Anhalt-Zerbst, named Vel. Book. Ekaterina Alekseevna (later Emperor Catherine II). Imperial Elizabeth soon became disillusioned with P., because he clearly did not like Russia, surrounded himself with immigrants from Holstein and did not at all show the abilities necessary for the future Emperor. countries.
All the time it was occupied by the military. fun with the sky. Holstein detachment. troops trained in the Prussian. charter of Friedrich W., sincere. whose admirer P. openly showed himself.
Appreciating her nephew, Elizabeth lost all hope of changing him for the better and by the end of her reign "felt sincere hatred for him" (N.K. Schilder.
Imp. Pavel I. S. 13). Choose a friend. she didn’t dare, because those close to her inspired her that “it’s impossible to change without rebellion and disastrous means, that 20 years has been approved by all oaths” (ibid., p. 14), and after her death, P. III was freely proclaimed Imp. It started short, but the original. period 6 months Board P. Of the measures relating to ext. policies were carried out: a) 18 Feb. In 1762, a manifesto on the freedom of the nobility was published: each nobleman can serve or not serve at his own discretion; b) February 21 1762 - Manifesto for the abolition of secrets. Chancellery and the prohibition to continue to pronounce the terrible "word and deed" that has weighed on Russia for so many years.
As far as these two acts should have evoked the gratitude of moderns and posterity, so much has everything remained. activities P. III caused strong. the murmur of the people and prepared the success of the state. coup on June 28, 1762. These events deprived him of support from two important. support of the state authorities: churches and troops. Feb 16 a decree was promulgated on the establishment of a collegium of economy, to which the management of all bishops was to be transferred. and monastic. estates, and the spirit-stvo and monasteries should have been issued according to the approval. states the content is already out of this board.
This decree, depriving the clergy of enormous material. funds, aroused great displeasure among him.
In addition, the Emperor issued an order to close the houses. churches, and then, calling to himself the archbishop.
Novgorod Dmitry Sechenov, the leading member of the Holy Synod, personally ordered him that all images, except for the images of the Savior and the Mother of God, be taken out of the churches and that the priests were ordered to shave their beards, and the priest's cassocks should be replaced by pastors. frock coats.
In the national the consciousness began to penetrate the masses that the Emperor was not Russian, but the throne was occupied by a "German" and a "Luthor". The white clergy, moreover, were irritated by the command to take them into the military. priestly service. and deacon. sons.
Having lost the support of the spirit, P. equally aroused displeasure in the army.
Back in the reign of the Imperial Elizabeth, Holstein appeared in Oranienbaum. troops, and P. was given full. freedom to show their exercising talents and prepare the transformation of Russian. armies to the Prus. sample.
With the accession to the throne, P. set to work with his usual unreasonable enthusiasm.
The label company was dissolved; in the guard, the former, given to her by Peter V., was changed to a Prus. and introduced Prus. exercises, with which the troops were trained from morning to evening. Started daily. watch parades in the presence of the Emperor. A decree followed on the renaming of cavalry and infantry. pp. by the names of the chiefs. Appeared in St. Petersburg, among others Holstein. relatives, uncle Gos-rya, pr. Georg, who acquired a paramount importance in the guard, was made feldm-scrap and, having no merits and talents behind him, aroused the general against himself. hatred.
Preference given generally to Holstein. officers and soldiers, offended the entire Russian. army: not only the guard was humiliated, but the feeling of the people was trampled in her face. pride.
As if in order to finally arouse the Russian against himself. societies. opinion, P. III and external. policy made anti-national.
By the time of the death of the Empress Elizabeth, Prussia was languishing in unequal. fight, and Friedrich W. had to prepare for the full and inevitable. crushing their ambitions. ideas.
P. III immediately upon accession, neglecting Russia's allies and existing treaties, made peace with Prussia and not only returned to her, without any reward, all the conquests obtained by the Russians. blood, but also our foreign. gave the army at the disposal of Frederick.
In addition, he began to intensively prepare for war with Denmark in order to win back Schleswig from her for his beloved Holstein.
Thus, Russia was threatened by a new war that did not promise the Empire any benefits. In vain did Friedrich W. warn his friend against pernicious. hobbies and pointed out the need to quickly be crowned in order to strengthen the position.
The emperor replied that he had given his ill-wishers so much work that they had no time to engage in a conspiracy and that he was completely calm.
Meanwhile, the conspiracy was ripening, and at the head of the movement aimed at the overthrow of P. III, by the force of events, Imp-tsa Ekaterina Alekseevna stood up, insulted as a woman, worried about the fate and future of the Empire, from which she did not separate herself, and her son, to whom The emperor showed contempt. disposition and to which he did not pay any attention.
To the guard. there were already many on the shelves who sympathized with the coup and expressed their readiness to defend the rights of her and the Heir to the Throne, but most. the Orlov brothers were active figures.
After 3 days celebrations. which marked the conclusion of peace with Prussia, P. III with more. yard moved on June 12 to Oranienbaum.
After spending several days alone in the city, on June 17, Ekaterina went to Peterhof, leaving Tses-cha with Hoffm-rom Panin in St. Petersburg. in Letn. palace.
In Oranienbaum, P. III continued his former revelry. life. In the mornings there were watch parades of Holstein. troops, interrupted by outbreaks of unreasonable. anger, and then drinking bouts began, during which the Emperor quite definitely said that he had decided to get rid of Catherine and marry his favorite Elizaveta Vorontsova.
random events hastened the denouement.
The support of the Imp-tsy, the guard, received an order to march against Denmark: not wanting to leave the Imp-tsu defenseless, her adherents began to divulge that her life and usl-ka were in danger; at the same time, on June 27, one of the prominent participants in the conspiracy, capt. Life Guards Transfiguration. Passek shelf.
Assuming that the conspiracy was discovered, they decided not to hesitate any longer.
On the night of June 28, Catherine was awakened by Alexei Orlov, who had galloped to Peterhof, and brought to St. Petersburg, to the Izmail barracks. who swore allegiance to her. From there, joining Semenovsk. Ekaterina arrived in Kazansk. the cathedral, where it was proclaimed the autocratic Empire; then she went to Zimn. the palace, to which the Preobrazhensky and K.-Guards regiments soon concentrated, and here the senate and synod swore allegiance to her. At the head of 14 thousand. troops of the Imperial about 10 o'clock in the evening. moved to Oranienbaum, dressed in the uniform of Transfiguration. p-ka. Meanwhile, in the morning, at the very time when Catherine was proclaimed the autocratic Imperial of All Russia in Kazansk. Cathedral, P. III in Oranienbaum did the usual. Holstein parade. troops, and at 10 o'clock in the morning went with his retinue to Peterhof, intending to dine with the Imperials in Monplaisir.
Having learned here about what happened in St. Petersburg. state coup, P. in desperation did not know what to do; at first he wanted with his Holstein. army to move against Catherine, but, realizing the recklessness of this enterprise, at 10 pm. went to Kronstadt on a yacht, hoping to lean on the fortress.
But here he commanded in the name of the Imperial Catherine adm. Talyzin, who did not allow P. to land on the shore under the threat of opening fire. Finally, having lost his presence of mind, P. after several chimeric. projects (for example, the Minich project: sail to Revel, transfer there to a military ship and go to Pomerania, from where to go to St. Petersburg with an army) decided to return to Oranienbaum and enter into negotiations with the Empire. When P.'s proposal to share power with him was left unanswered by Catherine, he signed the abdication, asking only to let him go to Holstein, but was sent to live in the suburbs. palace in Ropsha. Golshtinsk. the troops were disarmed.
P. III, according to Friedrich W., "allowed himself to be overthrown from the throne, like a child who is sent to sleep." On July 6, the former Emperor died suddenly and, apparently, violently in Ropsha from "severe colic", as was said in the manifesto on this occasion. (Military enc.) Peter III Fedorovich (Karl-Peter Ulrich), Duke of Holstein, imp. All-Russian; R. Feb 10 1728, † July 6, 1762 (Polovtsov)
The short reign of Peter III (December 25, 1741 - June 28, 1762) is often portrayed by historians as "the reign of an idiot." This tradition was founded by Catherine II and her associates, i.e. opponents of Peter III, who led him to death. This alone casts doubt on the objectivity of this assessment. An analysis of the policy of the time of Peter III says that the reign of this monarch was ambiguous.
Of course, it is difficult to assume that the "narrow" heir to Empress Elizabeth suddenly "corrected", but he apparently began to listen to smart advisers, among whom the secretary of the emperor D.V. excelled. Volkov and director of the Cadet Corps A.P. Melgunov. Not without their participation, in May 1762, Peter created the Imperial Council of 9 people to help him rule the country.
In 1761-1762. active government activity began, aimed at solving many urgent problems of domestic policy. The Office of the Secret Investigative Affairs was destroyed. The persecution of dissenters has ceased. Useful for the development of trade and entrepreneurship was the abolition of trade monopolies, the proclamation of freedom of foreign trade. In 1762, the secularization of church lands was announced. On February 18, 1762, the Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility was issued, which freed the nobles from compulsory service to the state.
In foreign affairs, the alliance with Prussia then promised greater benefits than the previous orientation towards the "fickle" Austria. Only the form of Russia's withdrawal from the Seven Years' War was not good.
ECCIDENCES OF PETER III
While most Russian officers considered peace with Prussia ridiculous, the armies announced the introduction of new Prussian-style uniforms, which seemed unusual and uncomfortable. There was talk that soon the guards would be sent out of the capital and sent to fight in Denmark in order to annex Schleswig, captured by the Danes, to Holstein. Publicly, the tsar did not hesitate to compare the Russian Guard with the army of the Turkish Janissaries. Peter III rudely scolded many high-ranking dignitaries. His concept of discipline was reminiscent of admiration for the letter of military regulations. The tsar did not forget to mention the “Russian savagery” on occasion, opposing the “German genius” to it.
Soon, another “original” move followed from the emperor. Raised initially in Protestantism, he commanded to remove all "extra" icons from churches, except for the Savior and the Virgin. This decree was not carried out, but the news of its publication was an unpleasant surprise to many. He transferred a personal quarrel with his wife Catherine to their son Pavel. Peter III wanted to imprison his wife in a monastery, but he did not have the authority of his grandfather, and it was difficult for him to put it into practice - after all, Ekaterina Alekseevna, the favorite of the guards, was the mother of the heir to the throne. Peter III began to publicly assert that he was not the father of Grand Duke Paul.
EKATERINA II
Unlike Peter III, his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna, a former Anhalt-Zerbian princess, sincerely became attached to Russia and found Russian people pleasant. Arriving in Russia as a 15-year-old girl, she seriously studied the Russian language, delved into Orthodox dogmas and surrounded herself with Russian people. The inquisitive, brilliantly educated, affable Grand Duchess endeared herself to many Russians, and even since the mid-1750s. paved her way to power. Brought up on the books of enlighteners, she continued to read a lot. She was even interested in ancient historical and philosophical writings. One foreigner called her "a philosopher at 15."
But Catherine was also distinguished by extreme ambition. She desired power and for its sake at first sought to please her husband. However, the difference in abilities and interests made Catherine's conflict with her husband inevitable. By the beginning of the reign of Peter III, Catherine hated her husband, and he paid her the same coin. Both spouses were not faithful to each other.
KLYUCHEVSKY ABOUT PETER III
“His development stopped before his growth; in the years of courage, he remained the same as he was in childhood, grew up without maturing. His way of thinking and acting gave the impression of something surprisingly ill-conceived and unfinished. He looked at serious things with a childish look, and treated children's undertakings with the seriousness of a mature husband. He was like a child who imagined himself to be an adult; in fact, it was an adult who forever remained a child. Already married in Russia, he could not part with his favorite dolls, behind which he was often caught by court visitors. A neighbor of Prussia by hereditary property, he was fond of the military glory and strategic genius of Frederick II. But since in his miniature mind any great ideal could fit only by being broken into toy trifles, this militant passion led Peter only to an amusing parody of the Prussian hero, to a simple game of soldiers. He did not know and did not want to know the Russian army, and since real, living soldiers were too big for him, he ordered that wax, lead and wooden soldiers be made for himself and placed them in his office on tables with such devices that if you pull the shoelaces stretched across the tables, then sounds were heard that seemed to Peter like quick rifle fire. Sometimes, on a day of service, he would gather his household, put on an elegant general's uniform and make a parade review of his toy troops, pulling the laces and listening with pleasure to the sounds of battle. Once Catherine, who entered her husband, was amazed at the sight that presented itself to her. A large rat was hanging from a rope stretched from the ceiling. When asked by Catherine what this meant, Peter said that the rat had committed a criminal offense, the most severely punishable under military laws: she climbed onto a cardboard fortress that stood on the table and ate two guards made of starch. The criminal was caught, brought to court-martial and sentenced to death by hanging. Elizabeth despaired of the nature and behavior of her nephew and could not spend a quarter of an hour with him without grief, anger, and even disgust. In her room, when the talk came up about him, the empress burst into tears and complained that God had given her such an heir. From her devout language, completely unpious reviews about him broke: “damned nephew”, “my nephew is a freak, the devil take him!” This is what Catherine says in her notes. According to her, at court it was considered likely that Elizabeth at the end of her life would have agreed if she had been offered to send her nephew from Russia, appointing his 6-year-old son Pavel as the heir; but her favorites, who thought of such a step, did not dare to take it and, turning over like a courtier, began to curry favor with the future emperor. Not suspecting the past misfortune, admonished by the ominous reviews of his aunt, this man inside out, whose concepts of good and evil were confused, entered the Russian throne.
UNFLASHED GENERATION
“Elizabeth is dying - who will get the kingdom? The official heir to Peter III, declared throughout the country, of course, has the right: the nephew of the queen, the grandson of Peter I. But the intelligent, albeit eccentric, uneducated Elizabeth every day understands more and more that her nephew is weak, stupid, plays soldiers, hangs rats , relies not so much on the Russian nobility, but on friends, drinking companions from the German principality of Holstein: he was born there, from there he came to Russia ...
Peter III is no good - but to whom is the throne? The dying tsarina changes one plan after another: should the seven-year-old Pavel Petrovich, the son of Peter III and Catherine, be declared tsar? But it is clear that someone will become a regent, will rule for a minor. Who?
Even the idea flashed - to return Ivan VI, who since the fateful night of November 25, 1741 has been under the strictest guard, has long been separated from his brothers, sisters, father and placed in Shlisselburg. But that unfortunate prince seems to be terminally ill, his consciousness is clouded, and it is dangerous to return the Braunschweigs from exile: they will begin to take revenge, blood will be shed ...
Among the projects was the idea to enthrone the heir's smart and energetic wife, Catherine II.
In any case, of course, no one asked the people, and in the furious struggle for power, they were not taken into account. "Winter Palace- continued Herzen, - with its administrative and military machine, it was a special world ... Like a ship that stays on the surface, it entered into direct relations with the inhabitants of the ocean, only eating them. It was a state for a state. Built in the German manner, it imposed itself on the people like a conqueror. In this monstrous barracks, in this vast office, a tense stupor reigned, as in a military camp. Some gave and transmitted orders, others silently obeyed. In only one place, human passions continually burst out, quivering, stormy, and this place in the Winter Palace was a family hearth - not of a nation, but of a state. Behind the triple chain of sentries, in these ponderously decorated living rooms, hectic life was in full swing, with its intrigues and struggles, with its dramas and tragedies. It was there that the fate of Russia was woven, in the darkness of the alcove, among the orgies - on the other side of the scammers and the police ... "
On December 25, 1761, Elizabethan times ended. Since the dying woman did not have time to announce any clear decision, Peter III, naturally, becomes emperor, and Catherine the empress, but so far only the wife of the emperor.
This reign will last only six months. Even the grandson did not have time to be crowned. True, he issued, or rather, signed an important law, which the "noble estate" had long dreamed of. On February 18, 1762, "Liberty of the nobility" was announced - before that, a nobleman was obliged to serve in the army or in the civil service. Now he is free, he can serve, he can retire whenever he wants, and retire to his village. Maybe. Many things can be addressed directly to the tsar, to travel abroad at any time, to own serfs... On the other hand, one cannot be beaten with either a whip or whips (as often happened before)! The rumor about Liberty spread throughout the country, the peasants believed that the freedom of the nobility was sure to be followed by peasant freedom; and, as the famous Russian historian Klyuchevsky sadly noted, the peasants really got freedom, the next day after February 18, "noble day"; the next day February 19, but only ... in 99 years: serfdom will be abolished in the country on February 19, 1861!
In 1762, freedom, civil rights were received by a small part - one or two percent of the population ...
Let's say right away that the backs of the peasants ached from the noble liberty; the bar, willingly returning to their estates, began to demand more and punish more severely ...
But still, for the first time in Russian history, the law forbade flogging at least some part of the population. Before, under Peter the Great, under Biron, of course, the noble gentlemen beat, tortured the lower ones, but very often they were “fallen” with a whip, a rack. "The liberation of the nobility" ... Here it is time to say that people with that personal dignity and honor that we are accustomed to seeing in Pushkin, among the Decembrists could not come straight from ancient, cruel times ... In order for such people to appear, it will take at least two "unwhipped generations".
One of the first acts of the "liberated" nobility was, however, the overthrow ... of the liberator himself, Peter III. Liberty suited dashing guardsmen, but such a king and such a court did not suit them in any way.
Date of publication or update 01.11.2017
Peter III Fedorovich(born Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp)
Years of life: 1728–1762
Russian Emperor in 1761-1762
The first representative of the Holstein-Gottorp (Oldenburg) branch of the Romanovs on the Russian throne. Sovereign Duke of Holstein (since 1745).
Grandson of Peter I, son of Tsesarevna Anna Petrovna and Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich. On his father's side, Peter was the great-nephew of the Swedish king Charles XII and was initially brought up as the heir to the Swedish throne.
Peter was born on February 10 (21), 1728 in the duchy of Holstein (northern Germany). His mother died 1 week after his birth, and in 1739 he also lost his father. Peter grew up as a timid, nervous, impressionable boy, he loved painting and music, but at the same time he adored everything military (at the same time he was afraid of cannon fire). By nature, Peter was not evil. He was not given a good education, but was often punished (flogging, standing on peas). As the probable heir to the Swedish throne, he was brought up in the Lutheran faith and in hatred of Russia, an old enemy of Sweden.
But when his aunt Elizabeth Petrovna ascended the Russian throne, Peter was brought to St. Petersburg in early February 1742 and on November 15 (26), 1742 he was declared her heir. Soon he converted to Orthodoxy and received the name of Peter Fedorovich.
In May 1745 he was proclaimed the ruling duke of Holstein. In August 1745, he married Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst, the future Catherine II. The marriage was unsuccessful, at first there were no children, only in 1754 their son Pavel was born, and in 1756 their daughter Anna, whose paternity was the subject of rumors. The heir-infant Pavel was taken away from his parents immediately after birth, and Empress Elizaveta Petrovna herself was engaged in his upbringing. But Pyotr Fedorovich was never interested in his son.
Peter had a relationship with the maid of honor E.R. Vorontsova, the niece of Chancellor M.I. Vorontsov. Catherine felt humiliated. In 1756, she had an affair with Stanisław August Poniatowski, the Polish envoy to the Russian court. There is evidence that Pyotr Fedorovich and Catherine often arranged joint dinners with Poniatovsky and Elizaveta Vorontsova.
In the early 1750s. Peter was allowed to discharge a small detachment of Holstein soldiers, and all his free time he was engaged in military exercises and maneuvers with them. He also loved playing the violin.
During the years spent in Russia, Pyotr Fedorovich never tried to get to know the country, its people, history better, he neglected Russian customs, behaved inappropriately during church services. Elizaveta Petrovna did not allow Peter to participate in solving political issues and gave him the post of director of the gentry corps. She forgave him a lot as the son of a beloved sister who died early.
Being an admirer of Frederick the Great, Peter Fedorovich publicly expressed during the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763. their pro-Prussian sympathies. Peter's open hostility to everything Russian caused concern in Elizabeth and she created a project for the transfer of the crown to the minor Pavel during the regency of Catherine or Catherine herself. But she did not dare to change the order of succession to the throne.
After the death of Elizabeth on December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762), Peter the Third freely ascended the Russian throne.
In assessing the activities of Peter III Fedorovich, two different approaches are usually encountered. The traditional approach is based on the absolutization of his vices, accentuating his dislike for Russia. And the second approach considers the positive results of his reign.
It is noted that Peter III Fedorovich vigorously engaged in public affairs. His policy was quite consistent and progressive.
He returned from exile I.G. Lestok, B.-K. Minich, E.-I. Biron and other disgraced figures of previous reigns. In domestic politics, Peter Fedorovich carried out a number of important reforms - he abolished the burdensome salt duty, destroyed the sinister Secret Chancellery (the main body of political investigation), the Manifesto of February 16, 1762, granted the nobility the right to be exempted from service (decree of February 18 (March 1), 1762 .). Among the most important deeds of Peter III are the encouragement of commercial and industrial activities through the creation of the State Bank and the issuance of banknotes (Nominal Decree of May 25), the adoption of a decree on freedom of foreign trade (Decree of March 28). It also contains a demand for careful attitude to forests as one of the most important wealth of Russia. Among other measures, researchers note a decree that allowed organizing factories for the production of sailing fabric in Siberia and a decree that qualified the murder of peasants by landowners as “tyrannical torment” and provided for life exile. Peter also stopped the persecution of the Old Believers.
However, these measures did not bring him popularity; moreover, the introduction of the Prussian order in the army caused great irritation in the guard, and the policy of religious tolerance pursued by him restored the clergy against him.
Governing body Peter III Fedorovich marked by the strengthening of serfdom.
The legislative activity of the government of Peter III was extraordinary; during his short reign, 192 documents were adopted.
In his foreign policy, Peter decisively abandoned the anti-Prussian course of Elizabethan diplomacy. Immediately upon accession to the throne, he stopped the war with Frederick II and concluded an agreement with him on April 24 (May 5), 1762, returning to Prussia all the territories taken from her by the Russian troops, and on June 8 (19) entered into a military-political coalition with him against Russia's former allies (France and Austria); The Russian army, Field Marshal Z.G. Chernyshev, was ordered to begin military operations against the Austrians.
Widespread dissatisfaction with these actions contributed to the start of a military coup, which had long been prepared by Catherine's entourage, whose relationship with her husband, Peter III, was on the verge of breaking; the emperor threatened to imprison her in a monastery and marry his favorite E.R. Vorontsova.
On June 28 (July 9), Catherine, with the support of the guards and her fellow conspirators, the three Orlov brothers, officers of the Izmailovsky regiment, the Roslavlev brothers, Passek and Bredikhin, took possession of the capital and proclaimed herself an autocratic empress. Among the highest dignitaries of the Empire, the most active conspirators were N. I. Panin, the tutor of the young Pavel Petrovich, M. N. Volkonsky and K. G. Razumovsky, the Little Russian hetman, president of the Academy of Sciences, a favorite of his Izmailovsky regiment.
In the evening of the same day, Catherine moved with troops to Oranienbaum, where her husband was. Upon learning of this, Peter III Fedorovich made an unsuccessful attempt to occupy Kronstadt. On June 29 (July 10), he returned to Oranienbaum and offered Catherine to share power, but when he was refused, he was forced to abdicate. On the same day he left for Peterhof, where he was arrested and sent to Ropsha.
However, on July 6 (17), having lived in Ropsha for less than a week under the supervision of A.F. Orlov, Peter III Fedorovich died under unclear circumstances. It was announced by the government that he had died from an attack of hemorrhoids. An autopsy revealed that the former Emperor Peter III had severe heart dysfunction, intestinal inflammation, and signs of apoplexy. However, the common version calls the murderer Alexei Orlov, Catherine's illegitimate son, from Grigory Orlov.
Modern research suggests that a possible cause of death could be a stroke.
Catherine II, from a political point of view, was unfavorable for the death of Peter, because with the full support of the guards, her power was unlimited. Upon learning of the death of her husband, she said: “My glory died! Posterity will never forgive me this involuntary crime.
Initially, Peter III Fedorovich was buried without any honors in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, since only crowned persons were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The full Senate asked Empress Catherine not to attend the funeral, but she secretly said goodbye to her husband.
In 1796, immediately after the death of Catherine, by order of Paul I, the remains of Peter Fedorovich 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 himself personally performed the ceremony of crowning the ashes of his father.
During the reign of Catherine, many impostors pretended to be Pyotr Fedorovich (about 40 cases were recorded), the most famous of which was Emelyan Pugachev.
Pyotr Fedorovich was married once.
Wife: Ekaterina Alekseevna (Sophia Frederick Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst).
Children: Pavel, Anna.
Personalities who, by their actions, make descendants (and in some cases even their contemporaries) shrug their shoulders in surprise and ask the question - “Have people brought this country at least some benefit?”
Unfortunately, among such figures there are also people who, by virtue of their origin, fell to the very top of the Russian state power, bringing confusion and discord to the progressive movement of the state mechanism, and even frankly harming Russia on the scale of the country's development. These 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 in the middle of the 18th century 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 had become too strong after the division of the Austrian inheritance. Russia participated in the war within the framework of the anti-Prussian coalition (consisting of France and Austria according to the Versailles Defensive Alliance, and Russia which joined them in 1756).
In 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 the history of our state would have developed if he had lingered on the throne longer? Indeed, following the surrender of positions in the almost 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 the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Charles 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).
The full name of Peter sounded like Karl Peter Ulrich. The death of his mother, which followed a week after his birth, left Peter virtually an orphan, since the disorderly and reckless life of Karl Friedrich did not allow him to properly raise his son. And after the death of his father in 1739, a certain marshal O. F. Brummer, an old-school stern martinet, who subjected the boy to all kinds of punishments for the slightest offense, and instilled in him the ideas of Lutheran meekness and Swedish patriotism (which suggests that Peter was originally prepared still to the Swedish throne). Peter grew up as an impressionable, nervous person who loved art and music, but most of all 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 chose the daughter of Christian-August Anhalt of Zerbst and Johanna-Elizabeth - Sophia Augusta Frederick (in Orthodoxy - Ekaterina Alekseevna) as a candidate for the role of his wife.
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, however, after a certain operation, Catherine gives birth to a son, Pavel, from Peter in 1754. The birth of a son did not help to bring together essentially strangers, Peter has a favorite, Elizaveta Vorontsova.
Around the same time, a regiment of Holstein soldiers was discharged to Pyotr Fedorovich, and he spends almost all his free time on the parade ground, completely surrendering 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, did not observe Orthodox rites and fasts.
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, of course, did not add either popularity or any little respect for him from the circles of the Russian aristocracy.
An interesting foreign policy prologue to the reign of Pyotr Fedorovich was an incident that “happened” with Field Marshal S. F. Apraksin. Russia, which entered the Seven Years' War, quite quickly seized the initiative from the Prussians in the Livonian direction, and throughout the spring of 1757 pushed the army of Frederick II to the west. Having driven the Prussian army across the Neman River with a powerful onslaught after a general battle near the village of Gross-Egersdorf, Apraksin suddenly turned the Russian troops back. The Prussians, who woke up only a week later, quickly made up for their lost positions, and pursued the Russians on the heels 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 received in those days by Apraksin from Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin from the capital of the Russian Empire about the sudden illness of Elizabeth Petrovna. Having logically reasoned that in the event of her death, Pyotr Fedorovich (who was crazy about Frederick II) will take the throne and for military operations with the Prussian king he will definitely not be patted on the head, Apraksin (most likely, on the orders of Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who also decided to play it safe ) retreats back to Russia.
At that time, it worked out, Elizabeth recovered from her illness, the chancellor who fell into disfavor 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 apoplexy.
Portrait of Peter III by artist A. P. Antropov, 1762
However, later Elizaveta Petrovna still dies, and on December 25, 1761, Pyotr Fedorovich ascends the throne.
Literally from the very first days after his accession, Peter III developed a vigorous activity, as if proving to the entire royal court and to himself that he could rule better than his aunt. According to one of Peter's contemporaries, - “already in the morning he was in his office, where he listened to reports ..., then he hurried to the Senate or collegiums. ... In the Senate, he took on the most important cases himself energetically and assertively. As if in imitation of his grandfather, the reformer Peter I, he proposed a series of transformations.
In general, during the 186 days of his reign, Peter managed to issue many legislative acts and rescripts.
Among them, the decree on the secularization of church land property and the Manifesto on granting "liberties and freedom to the entire Russian noble nobility" (thanks to which the nobles received an exceptionally privileged position) can be called somewhat serious. In addition, Peter seemed to have begun some kind of struggle with the Russian clergy, issuing a decree on the obligatory shaving of priests' beards and prescribing for them a dress code very similar to the uniform of Lutheran pastors. In the army, Peter III everywhere imposed the Prussian order of military service.
In order to somehow raise the steadily declining popularity of the new emperor, his confidants insisted on the implementation of certain liberal laws. So, for example, signed by the king, a decree was issued on the abolition of the Secret Investigation Office.
On the positive side, one can characterize the economic policy of Pyotr Fedorovich. He created the State Bank of Russia and issued a decree on the issuance of banknotes (which entered into force already under Catherine), Peter III decided on the freedom of Russia's foreign trade - all these initiatives, however, were fully realized already in 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, a representative of Frederick II, Heinrich Leopold von Goltz, arrives 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 12,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry units in case of war. And this condition was much more important for Peter III, since he was preparing for a war with Denmark.
As contemporaries testified, the grumbling 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, with whom relations have recently worsened utterly. 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 had no choice but to sign a paper on his own abdication.
On July 6, temporarily located in the town of Ropsha (before being transferred to the Shlissedburg fortress), Peter suddenly dies "from hemorrhoidal lapses and severe colic."
Thus ended the inglorious short reign of the non-Russian in spirit and deeds of Emperor Peter III.
In Russian history, perhaps, there is no ruler more blasphemed by historians than Emperor Peter III. Even about the crazy sadist Ivan the Terrible, the authors of historical studies speak better than about the unfortunate emperor. What kind of epithets historians did not reward Peter III with: "spiritual insignificance", "reveler", "drunkard", "Holstein martinet" and so on and so forth. How did the emperor, who reigned for only half a year (from December 1761 to June 1762), guilty of pundits?
Holstein prince
The future Emperor Peter III was born on February 10 (21 - according to the new style) February 1728 in the German city of Kiel. His father was Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, the ruler of the North German land of Holstein, and his mother was the daughter of Peter I, Anna Petrovna. Even as a child, Prince Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp (that was the name of Peter III) was declared heir to the Swedish throne.
Emperor Peter III
However, at the beginning of 1742, at the request of the Russian Empress Elizeveta Petrovna, the prince was taken to St. Petersburg. As the only descendant of Peter the Great, he was declared heir to the Russian throne. The young Duke of Holstein-Gottorp converted to Orthodoxy and was named Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich.
In August 1745, the empress married the heir to the German princess Sophia Frederick Augusta, daughter of the prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, who was in the military service of the Prussian king. Having converted to Orthodoxy, the Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst began to be called Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna.
Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna - future Empress Catherine II
The heir and his wife could not stand each other. Pyotr Fedorovich had mistresses. His last passion was Countess Elizaveta Vorontsova, daughter of General-in-Chief Roman Illarionovich Vorontsov. Ekaterina Alekseevna had three constant lovers - Count Sergei Saltykov, Count Stanislav Poniatovsky and Count Chernyshev.
Soon, the officer of the Life Guards Grigory Orlov became the favorite of the Grand Duchess. However, she often had fun with other guards officers.
September 24, 1754 Catherine gave birth to a son, who was named Paul. It was rumored at court that the real father of the future emperor was Catherine's lover, Count Saltykov.
Pyotr Fyodorovich himself smiled bitterly:
- God knows where my wife gets her pregnancy from. I don't really know if this is my child or if I should take it personally...
Short reign
On December 25, 1761, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna reposed in the Bose. Peter Fedorovich - Emperor Peter III came to the throne.
First of all, the new sovereign stopped the war with Prussia and withdrew Russian troops from Berlin. For this, Peter was hated by the guards officers, who craved military glory and military awards. Dissatisfied with the actions of the emperor and historians: pundits complain that de Peter III "brought to naught the results of Russian victories."
It would be interesting to know what kind of results the respected researchers have in mind?
As you know, the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763 was caused by the intensification of the struggle between France and England for overseas colonies. For various reasons, seven more states were drawn into the war (in particular, Prussia, which was in conflict with France and Austria). But what interests the Russian Empire pursued, speaking in this war on the side of France and Austria, is completely incomprehensible. It turned out that Russian soldiers died for the right of the French to rob the colonial peoples. Peter III stopped this senseless slaughter. For which he received a "severe reprimand with an entry" from grateful descendants.
Soldiers of the army of Peter III
After the end of the war, the emperor settled in Oranienbaum, where, according to historians, he "indulged in drunkenness" with his Holstein companions. However, judging by the documents, from time to time Peter was also involved in state affairs. In particular, the emperor wrote and published a number of manifestos on the transformation of the state system.
Here is a list of the first events that Peter III outlined:
Firstly, the Secret Chancellery was abolished - the famous secret state police, which terrified all the subjects of the empire without exception, from commoners to high-born nobles. According to one denunciation, agents of the Secret Chancellery could seize any person, imprison him in casemates, betray him to the most terrible torture, and execute him. The emperor freed his subjects from this arbitrariness. After his death, Catherine II restored the secret police - under the name "Secret Expedition".
Secondly, Peter declared freedom of religion for all his subjects: "let them pray to whom they want, but not have them in reproach or in a curse." It was an almost unthinkable step for that time. Even in enlightened Europe there was still no complete freedom of religion.
After the death of the emperor, Catherine II, a friend of the French enlighteners and a "philosopher on the throne", canceled the decree on freedom of conscience.
Thirdly, Peter abolished church supervision over the personal lives of subjects: "for the sin of adulterous not to have condemnation for anyone, for even Christ did not condemn." After the death of the king, church espionage was revived.
Fourth, realizing the principle of freedom of conscience, Peter stopped the persecution of the Old Believers. After his death, the government resumed religious persecution.
Fifthly, Peter announced the release of all monastic serfs. He subordinated the monastic estates to civil collegiums, gave arable land to the former monastic peasants for perpetual use and overlaid them with only ruble dues. For the maintenance of the clergy, the king appointed "his own salary."
Sixth, Peter allowed the nobles to freely travel abroad. After his death, the "iron curtain" was restored.
Seventh, Peter announced the introduction of a public court in the Russian Empire. Catherine canceled the publicity of legal proceedings.
Eighth, Peter issued a decree on the "non-silverness of service", forbidding senators and state officials to present gifts with peasant souls and state lands. Only orders and medals were supposed to be signs of encouragement for senior officials. Having ascended the throne, Catherine first of all endowed her associates and favorites with peasants and estates.
One of the manifestos of Peter III
In addition, the emperor prepared a host of other manifestos and decrees, including on limiting the personal dependence of peasants on landlords, on the optionality of military service, on the optionality of observing religious fasts, etc.
And all this was done in less than six months of the reign! Knowing this, how can one believe the fables about the "unrestrained drunkenness" of Peter III?
Obviously, the reforms that Peter intended to implement were far ahead of their time. Could their author, who dreamed of establishing the principles of freedom and civic dignity, be a "spiritual nonentity" and a "Holstein martinet"?
So, the emperor was engaged in state affairs, in between which, according to historians, he smoked in Oranienbaum.
And what was the young empress doing at that time?
Ekaterina Alekseevna with her numerous lovers and hangers-on settled in Peterhof. There she actively intrigued against her husband: she gathered supporters, spread rumors through her lovers and their drinking companions, and attracted officers to her side. By the summer of 1762, a conspiracy arose, the soul of which was the empress.
Influential dignitaries and commanders were involved in the conspiracy:
Count Nikita Panin, Acting Privy Councilor, chamberlain, senator, tutor of Tsarevich Pavel;
his brother Count Pyotr Panin, General-in-Chief, hero of the Seven Years' War;
Princess Ekaterina Dashkova, nee Countess Vorontsova, Ekaterina's closest friend and companion;
her husband, Prince Mikhail Dashkov, one of the leaders of the St. Petersburg Masonic organization; Count Kirill Razumovsky, marshal, commander of the Izmailovsky regiment, hetman of Ukraine, president of the Academy of Sciences;
Prince Mikhail Volkonsky, diplomat and commander of the Seven Years' War;
Baron Korf, head of the St. Petersburg police, as well as numerous officers of the Life Guards, led by the Orlov brothers.
According to a number of historians, influential Masonic circles were involved in the conspiracy. In Catherine's inner circle, the "freemasons" were represented by a certain mysterious "Mr. Odar". According to an eyewitness to the events of the Danish envoy A. Schumacher, under this name the famous adventurer and adventurer Count Saint-Germain was hiding.
Events were accelerated by the arrest of one of the conspirators, Captain-Lieutenant Passek.
Count Alexei Orlov - the murderer of Peter III
On June 26, 1762, the Orlovs and their friends began to solder the soldiers of the capital's garrison. With the money that Catherine borrowed from the English merchant Felten, allegedly to buy jewelry, more than 35 thousand buckets of vodka were bought.
On the morning of June 28, 1762, Catherine, accompanied by Dashkova and the Orlov brothers, left Peterhof and headed for the capital, where everything was already ready. The dead drunken soldiers of the guard regiments swore an oath to "Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna", a heavily drunken crowd of townsfolk greeted the "dawn of a new reign".
Peter III with his retinue was in Oranienbaum. Upon learning of the events in Petrograd, the ministers and generals betrayed the emperor and fled to the capital. Only the old Field Marshal Munnich, General Gudovich and a few close associates remained with Peter.
On June 29, the emperor, struck by the betrayal of the most trusted people and having no desire to get involved in the struggle for the hateful crown, abdicated. He wanted only one thing: to be released to his native Holstein with his mistress Ekaterina Vorontsova and faithful adjutant Gudovich.
However, by order of the new ruler, the deposed king was sent to the palace in Ropsha. On July 6, 1762, the brother of the Empress' lover, Alexei Orlov, and his drinking buddy, Prince Fyodor Baryatinsky, strangled Peter. It was officially announced that the emperor "died of inflammation in the intestines and apoplexy" ...
St. Petersburg poet Viktor Sosnora decided to look into this problem. First of all, he was interested in the question: from what sources did the researchers scoop (and continue to scoop!) Dirty gossip about the "dementia" and "insignificance" of the emperor?
And this is what was discovered: it turns out that the sources of all the characteristics of Peter III, all these gossip and fables are the memoirs of the following persons:
Empress Catherine II - who hated and despised her husband, who was the inspirer of a conspiracy against him, who actually directed the hand of Peter's murderers, who, finally, as a result of a coup, became an autocratic ruler;
Princess Dashkova - a friend and like-minded person of Catherine, who hated and despised Peter even more (contemporaries gossip: because Peter preferred her older sister, Ekaterina Vorontsova), who was the most active participant in the conspiracy, who after the coup became "the second lady of the empire" ;
Count Nikita Panin, a close associate of Catherine, who was one of the leaders and the main ideologist of the conspiracy against Peter, and soon after the coup became one of the most influential nobles and headed the Russian diplomatic department for almost 20 years;
Count Pyotr Panin, brother of Nikita, who was one of the active participants in the conspiracy, and then became a commander trusted and favored by the royal grace (it was Peter Panin that Catherine instructed to suppress the uprising of Pugachev, who, by the way, declared himself "Emperor Peter III").
Even without being a professional historian and not being familiar with the intricacies of source study and criticism of sources, it can be safely assumed that the above-mentioned persons are unlikely to be objective in assessing the person they betrayed and killed.
It was not enough for the Empress and her "accomplices" to overthrow and kill Peter III. To justify their crimes, they had to slander their victim!
And they zealously lied, heaping vile gossip and dirty fiction.
Catherine:
"He spent his time in childishness unheard of ...". "He was stubborn and quick-tempered, was weak and frail in build."
"From the age of ten he was addicted to drunkenness." "He mostly showed disbelief ...". "His mind was childish..."
"He was in despair. This often happened to him. He was a cowardly heart and weak head. He loved oysters..."
In her memoirs, the empress portrayed her murdered husband as a drunkard, a reveler, a coward, a fool, an idler, a tyrant, an imbecile, a debauchee, an ignoramus, an atheist...
"What kind of slop does she pour over her husband just because she killed him!" exclaims Viktor Sosnora.
But, oddly enough, pundits who wrote dozens of volumes of dissertations and monographs did not doubt the veracity of the killers' memories of their victim. Until now, in all textbooks and encyclopedias, one can read about the "insignificant" emperor, who "brought to naught the results of Russian victories" in the Seven Years' War, and then "drunk with the Holsteiners in Oranienbaum."
Lies have long legs...
: https://www.softmixer.com
