Modern research allows us to take a fresh look at the life of the most mysterious ruler of Russia.
Only 220 years separate us from the beginning of the reign of the Russian Emperor Paul the First. And 215 years - from the day of his murder by conspirators in his own bedroom of the Mikhailovsky Castle. The unloved son of Catherine the Great, "Russian Hamlet", "crowned Don Quixote", as his contemporaries called him, "martinet and madcap" according to many historians, ruled Russia for exactly 4 years, 4 months and 4 days. And perhaps there was no more tragic figure among the Russian rulers and at the same time. difficult to access honestly and impartially.
Already at the end of the 19th century, Alexander Ivanovich Herzen wrote in exile about "the reign of Paul, which is completely unknown to us." Even the very fact of the murder of Pavel Petrovich was recognized by the crowned family only 100 years later, in 1901. Prior to this, the official version of the apoplexy was in use. For decades, the government in Tsarist Russia carefully controlled and sometimes even confiscated memoirs and the most important testimonies of the direct participants in the conspiracy, none of whom, by the way, was ever punished...
Is it really so important what caused the death of the unfortunate emperor, whether it was a fatal blow to the temple with a massive snuffbox, or whether Paul was strangled with a silk scarf ... It is much more tragic that “on the night of the murder, Paul the First was not only deprived of his life - he was also biography. After all, history is written by the winners! And to justify the assassination of the monarch, the easiest way was to create an image of an unbalanced, abnormal, dangerous person for Russia and Europe, ”says the famous historian and writer Natalia Zazulina. Recently, the Boslen publishing house published a new book by Natalia Nikolaevna “The Grand Duke's Mission. Journey of Pavel Petrovich in 1781 - 1782, dedicated to one of the most little-studied pages of the life of Pavel, then still a Grand Duke. His trip to Europe, together with his young wife Maria Feodorovna, lasted almost a year and a half! A fascinating story, sometimes reminiscent of a real detective story, full of adventures, diplomatic intrigues and exciting details of the life of all the main royal houses of Europe on the eve of the French Revolution, for the first time made available to readers many documents that had been stored for centuries in the closed archives of the Vatican, Austria, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and personal archives of the heirs of the most high-profile surnames - participants in those events.
Pavel himself is not at all like a stereotyped tyrant - young, inquisitive, fluent in languages, sincerely passionate about art, architecture and the sciences: physics, mathematics, astronomy.
“On this trip, not only Paul studied Europe, but Europe, in turn, studied and evaluated the 28-year-old Grand Duke with great predilection. And she highly appreciated the mind and education of the “unlucky” son of the Russian Empress,” says Natalia Zazulina.
- Natalia Nikolaevna, this is not your first work that is directly connected with the personality of Paul the First and the mysteries of the history of his era.
- There is an expression “Russia is a country with unread history”. I think this is very true. And working on his first big book, The War of 1812. Myths and reality”, I first of all started looking for an answer to the question, why did this war even happen? It quickly became clear that the origins of the war of 1812 must be sought precisely in the era of the reign of Pavel Petrovich. Since this all started.
- Isn't it too far away?
- All of us, thinking that we know history, in fact know only what we are taught concisely from school ... However, read at least French, or German, Dutch, Italian memoirs about the period of the fall of Napoleon's empire - everywhere they write that Russia in late 18th - early 19th century was built into the English system of redistribution of Europe. Of course, we have our own view of ourselves and our history, but, you see, it is interesting and useful to know other points of view, to look at the events from the side of Europe.
By the way, the work in foreign archives was interesting and gave a lot of finds. For example, while working on a book about Pavel Petrovich and looking through informational announcements in the Vatican library, I found, for example, that in 2005 American Catholics turned to the Holy See with a request to canonize Prince Dmitry Golitsyn, a Catholic monk known as Augustine Schmettau (named after his mother). Golitsyn-Shmettau almost 180 years ago became famous for his missionary work among Indian tribes on the North American continent. Distant relatives now living in Europe attributed everything connected with his name (after all, it is flattering to have a Saint in your family!) - thus, I managed to find references to the diaries of his father, the famous diplomat Dmitry Alekseevich Golitsyn. These scattered sheets of notes from different years provided invaluable material that I used when working on the book. The diplomat Golitsyn, by order of Catherine II, accompanied Paul on the French and Dutch parts of his European tour. Then Russia actually changed its main ally in Europe, moving away from Prussia, moving closer to Austria. Golitsyn actually kept an eye on the course of the visit of the Grand Duke at the most difficult stage, which greatly worried Catherine II in St. Petersburg.
Do historians have complete clarity as to what forces were behind the assassination of Paul?
- Yes, this is not hidden ... The conspiracy, as a result of which Paul I was killed, was drawn up by the family of the favorite of Catherine II - the Zubov brothers and guards officers, and paid for with English money. After all, what is 1801 ... Since 1798, Napoleon's troops have been in Egypt. The French actually made a serious step towards the East. Wars do not stop in Europe, but during the Swiss campaign of Suvorov, Russia simultaneously quarreled with both the Austrians and the British. Having lost Holland (a revolution took place there in 1795), the British tried to take revenge, and, as always, by proxy. They persuade Paul, already emperor, to send Russian troops to Holland under English command - and he sends the elite - his Gatchina grenadiers. The British shamefully lost the company. And then, secretly agreeing with the French on surrender, they took the remnants of the Russian expeditionary force to England, to the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, where they were treated even worse than prisoners. Needless to say, Paul was furious! The Austrians betrayed the Russian allies in Italy and Switzerland. Why, by and large, did Russia need the most difficult transition of Suvorov troops through the Swiss Alps?
Realizing that Russia's relations with the allies have deteriorated, Napoleon Bonaparte is doing everything to enter into a coalition with Paul and even persuade him to a military campaign in India, the most precious pearl in the crown of the English colonies. By the way, the stay of the British in India was not serene. Starting from 1767, the bloody Anglo-Mysore and Anglo-Marahat wars continued unabated. The fighting and the predatory policy of the British East India Company gave every chance to the united corps to be met by the maharajas of the Indian principalities, if not with joy, then with some hopes for a change in the balance of power ... The British could not allow this! They feared a war on two fronts. And in the end, they simply went for a political assassination, or rather, they paid for it.
And if the assassination attempt had failed - as in the case of Bonaparte, for example?
- There was also a second, fallback option for eliminating the Russian emperor. Part of the English squadron under the command of Admiral Hyde-Parker was actually already in the Gulf of Finland. The shelling of St. Petersburg from the sea, following the example of the bombing of Copenhagen from the sea, was quite real! In the ensuing confusion, the conspirators would somehow try to finish what they started. It is clear that Paul was doomed.
Moreover, it is no secret that at the time of Pavel's assassination, we had severed diplomatic relations with Great Britain, Pavel expelled Lord Whitworth, the English ambassador, from Russia. By the way, the Russian capital knew about the approach of the English squadron to St. Petersburg. At one time, one of the best specialists in the 19th century, historian Igor Sergeevich Tikhonov, accurately established where Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration and his battalion were during the assassination attempt on Pavel - they took up positions on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, in case of an English landing. It was there that Bagration learned - no, not about the murder, but about the "sudden death" of Emperor Paul. That is, there is a pronounced English trace.
The elimination of the ruler of a vast country was, I think, not cheap.
- It is known that about two million gold rubles were spent on organizing the murder of Pavel Petrovich, for the British at that time - not so much money. But for almost 25 years, that is, for the entire period of the reign of Alexander the First, they got Russia in the wake of their policy.
A direct consequence of the same English policy was the return of Russia to the camp of the anti-Napoleonic coalition and, ultimately, the War of 1812. After Holland, the British never fought anywhere else on the European continent, with the exception of Waterloo, where they, in fact, skimmed all the cream and became - they, not us! - the main winners of Napoleon ...
How did the British manage to subdue Alexander the First so much?
- Alexander I, having become emperor as a result of the murder of his father, all his life was tormented by the consciousness of his involvement and guilt. Nevertheless, what do you think, when Napoleon, already in Moscow, sent his truce envoys to Tarutino, who at the headquarters of the Russian army made the decision whether to meet with the commander-in-chief Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov or not? Alexander the First is in St. Petersburg, communication with him takes time. Decisions were made by the representative of the British command, General Robert Thomas Wilson. The British did not want a separate truce between the Russians and the French. And Wilson did everything possible to prevent the meeting from taking place. And when he still failed to avoid meeting with the Marquis Lariston, he actually nullified all attempts by the French truce to make peace. England needed Napoleon, ideally, to die in Russia, and more importantly, to lose his army.
But has anyone thought about what would happen if we made peace with the French in Moscow? There would have been no fighting near Maloyaroslavets and Krasnoye, there would have been no colossal casualties among both the French and Russian troops on the road to the western border of Russia. Dumped like firewood on the streets of Vilna, Russian soldiers who died of starvation and disease. Alexander I, most likely, would have signed a peace treaty, as in Tilsit, and again would have joined the continental blockade of England. And the French army would have left Russia. But this is precisely what Britain did not want. And she succeeded. As for patriotism... In my opinion, the best patriotism is caring for the people of your country!
Did Alexander not even try to resist such humiliating "guardianship"?
- After the urgent conclusion of a peace treaty with Great Britain, in 1802, so that the young emperor would not have the slightest doubt that England would remove his hand from his throat, an absolutely sinister figure was sent to St. Petersburg as an ambassador. It was John Borlaz Warren - a living legend of Britain, in fact one of the two famous English admirals active at that time. Warren was rude, deaf from his wound, and he spoke to the king as if he were giving orders on a bridge. And Alexander I's knees buckled during their meetings. He was given to understand that if something happens, it will not happen with daddy. It will get worse and faster… By the way, years later, when Napoleon had already been defeated, the Congress of Vienna had ended and Alexander I was resting on his laurels, Warren was again returned to St. Petersburg as an ambassador. He became even more rude and noisy, because he was even more deaf. And as the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Castlereagh, wrote to the Austrian Metternich: “We are sending him an old acquaintance to talk about the Holy Alliance.”
As they say - nothing personal, only diplomacy and the personal interests of England, which she always knew how to observe ...
It turns out that mother Ekaterina made a mistake, giving preference to her grandson. The scale of Pavel Petrovich as a ruler is much steeper ...
- Pavel is a very interesting figure, the son of the Age of Enlightenment, the son of his mother. Impulsive, with a heavy character, but absolutely normal. Attempts to present him as insane should have somehow justified his removal. Pavel is the most educated monarch, who, alas, did practically nothing. He was, one might say, the last Russian emperor brought up by Elizaveta Petrovna in the Orthodox faith. Russian was not a second language for him, but his native language. And he perceived Orthodoxy as a faith, and not as a fashion or self-indulgence.
- But what about Pavel Petrovich's passion for Catholic chivalry, the head of which, as the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, he eventually became?
- This hobby was seriously formed later, after the European tour of the grand ducal couple. And describing it, our authors, in my opinion, exaggerate out of habit. Pavel was the son of his age, the Enlightenment, and was interested in what everyone was interested in then ... Yes, Russia has a thousand-year history, but this is the Muscovite state. And the Russian Empire began its countdown after the Great Northern War. And this is the beginning of the 18th century. Our state repeatedly started counting from scratch, and we absorbed and took all the best from European history, but we always did not have enough time! The whole Renaissance bypassed Russia. And Paul understood this temporal gap well. The Order of Malta, as a powerful and beautiful European tradition brought to our soil, against the background of the confusion that the French Revolution brought, was his hope that this would become a tradition for the domestic nobility ...
But the Russian nobles always looked at these deeds of Paul as a whim. You can’t either beat Europe out of yourself by decree or, on the contrary, hammer it in. A certain naivety of Paul - she was. But, as you know, very soon everything changed again. Emperor Alexander refused the title of Grand Master of the Order of John of Jerusalem. And since 1806, by decree of the king, Malta, which became entirely English, was no longer mentioned among the overseas provinces of the Russian Empire.
- And yet, when sending Paul to Europe, didn’t Catherine try to show everyone that, despite the rumors, everything is in order with them and in relations with the heir?
- And they really were all right! These were absolutely normal relations between the empress and her son for those times. In addition, Pavel Petrovich was the only legitimate heir, if something happened to him in the first years of his mother's reign, Catherine II would immediately become a usurper. And the only legitimate heirs after Pavel are the children of Anna Leopoldovna, the unfortunate Brunswick family, which languished in many years of exile in Kholmogory. By the way, the Kholmogory prisoners were much more noble than the mother herself - the empress, Ekaterina Alekseevna, and her son. The children of the ruler Anna Leopoldovna belonged to the most influential family in Europe in the 18th century - to the Guelphs! No wonder Catherine allowed them to go to Denmark to her aunt only after the birth of her two eldest grandchildren.
- Did you make any discoveries in the character and image of Pavel while working on the book?
- I think, yes. It surprised me, for example, how Paul did not make a penny of debt in 4 years, 4 months and 4 days of his reign! The state debt with which Russia came to the war of 1812 is 100 million gold guilders (80 million were left from Mother Catherine and 20 million debts were made by Alexander the First). I was also surprised by the quickness of his nature, the ability for human and Christian forgiveness. After all, he, in fact, forgave and pardoned everyone who was kept under arrest and under supervision, frightened by the revolutions in Europe, Catherine II. This is Tadeusz Kosciuszko, and Polish aristocrats who protested against the last partition of Poland. Pavel Petrovich took the word of honor from the Poles not to raise weapons against Russia and let them go. The emperor released Nikolai Novikov from the fortress, pardoned Alexander Radishchev - but for some reason no one credits him with this!
"SP": - What else did Pavel Petrovich manage to do for Russia in his 4 years, 4 months and 4 days?
- Emperor Pavel refused to participate in military coalitions, as he did not see any benefit for Russia in them. Despite the difficult relationship with Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, Paul I gave him a state funeral in the Russian capital and took part in them with his sons, paying tribute to the deceased commander. By his order, a monument was erected to Suvorov. For comparison, after the end of the war of 1812, Emperor Alexander not only did not erect a monument to Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov, but on the contrary, passing through Selesia a year after his burial (Kutuzov died in Bunzlau on April 16, 1813) - did not even visit his grave.
On the whole, Paul brought much into our lives from what he saw in Europe. Under him, there was an active expansion of educational institutions, and useful military reforms. Under him, the Russian troops received an overcoat as a uniform, which, in a modified form, has survived to this day. Following the example of France, a corps of gendarmes was created as a body for the protection of order. With his participation in Russia, a tradition arose of the care of widows and orphans by the reigning persons of houses of contempt.
Pavel I is not only Pavlovsk and Gatchina, not only the Maltese Chapel, Mikhailovsky Castle and the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg, which opened its arms to its colonnades following the example of St. Peter's Square in Rome, this is a whole layer in architecture and decor, associated with his name and shaped taste!
However, perhaps the most important achievement of Emperor Paul is that he reoriented the policy of Russia, both external and internal, to the interests of Russia itself. Refusal to participate in a European war is a lot. Having lost his Gatchina grenadiers in Holland, the corps of Rimsky-Korsakov and Rosenberg in Switzerland, Pavel no longer wanted to pave the fields of Europe with Russian soldiers. It is unlikely that such a position of the Russian autocrat deserves the reproach of posterity.
In my opinion, Paul's trouble is that, as a ruler, he simply did not coincide with the interests of a stronger and more dominant state, which England became in Europe after the French Revolution. For all his repeatedly described suspicion, Emperor Paul did not feel the real danger. And Britain simply crushed him with the hands of his own subjects ...
Agree, it's a shame to feel yourself - albeit not for a long time - as a citizen not of a great country, but of a weak state dependent on someone else's external will.
- Personally, it seems to me that there is nothing offensive for the national self-consciousness when studying our history with you, to recognize in this or that historical period the primacy or victory of foreign political interests over the interests of Russia.
It is much more useful to sort this out, to draw some conclusions, and perhaps in the future not to repeat the mistakes once made. Love for one's country and one's history is not in endless exaltation, but in knowledge. Many of the grievances and misunderstandings in politics that Russia faces today - in Poland, in Ukraine - have their origins in a very long history. And I would like to believe that from the discussions and dialogue that have arisen in the course of the historical study of this or that issue, mutual understanding will finally arise.
MAY THE LORD DELIVER US FROM THE SECOND
Of the 46 Roman emperors, 33 were forcibly overthrown; the history of Byzantium has hundreds of conspiracies; there were dozens of "seral coups" in Turkey and the Arab countries. Quickly and often officers, guards, guards change South American dictators. In Russia for 76 years, from 1725 to 1801, according to one account - five, and according to another - eight "palace revolutions".
So, a palace coup is an event as “obscene” as it is common for entire countries, centuries, eras. The conspiracy of March 11, 1801 in this sense is a historical particular ...
However, none of the Russian coups of the XVIII century. So much has not been thought about and written about than about the events of 1801. Let us once again note the interest, the most serious reflections, the historical and artistic ideas of various figures in Russian culture and social thought: Pushkin, Herzen, Tolstoy, Tynyanov; let us recall Vyazemsky's notes, Merezhkovsky's play "Paul I", which thundered at the beginning of this century, and O. Forsh's novel "Mikhailovsky Castle" in Soviet times.
March 1801 is interesting to the historian, artist, and thinker. Some features of this event, which distinguish it from the rest, paradoxically help to get closer to the more general, deep patterns of the Russian XVIII and XIX centuries, to add something serious to the formulation of the problem of power, people, ideology, to consider the tragic collision of goal and means ...
“There is no connection between the two marks, but their proximity is remarkable,” comments S. N. Durylin, “Goethe put work or thought on the most important creation of his genius next to a political event that took place in distant Russia, so it seemed to him important and significant »
Whether Goethe really saw a universal "Faustian" meaning in the events of March 11 remains, of course, a hypothesis. Soon, however, young Pushkin echoes the great German, as usual, speaking a lot in one phrase: "Paul's reign proves that even in enlightened times Caligulas can be born ...".
REGICIDE. FROM M.A. FONVIZINA
When I entered the Guards in 1803, I personally knew many who participated in the conspiracy; many times I heard the details of the criminal catastrophe, which was then still fresh in my memory and served as the subject of the most vivid stories in officer conversations. More than once, standing on guard at the Mikhailovsky Castle, out of curiosity I went into the rooms occupied by Pavel, and into his bedroom, which for a long time remained in its former form; I also saw the hidden staircase along which he descended to his mistress, Princess Gagarina, the former Lopukhina. Eyewitnesses explained to me in the very places how everything happened. Comparing the stories I read in various foreign books about the death of Paul with my own recollections of the one I heard about it, I will begin my story with a list of conspirators whose names I could remember. All of them were up to 60 people, except for most of the guards officers, who, not actually participating in the conspiracy, knew about it existed and, out of hatred for Paul, were ready to contribute to success. These were the faces known to me and everyone at that time: St. Petersburg military governor-general Count von der Pahlen; Vice-Chancellor Count N. P. Panin; Prince Platon Zubov - chief of the 1st Cadet Corps; his brothers: Valerian - chief of the 2nd Cadet Corps and Nikolai; Major General Benigsen and Talyzin - commander of the Preobrazhensky regiment and inspector of the St. Petersburg inspection; regimental chiefs: Kexholmsky - Verderevsky; Senate battalions - Ushakov; 1st Artillery Regiment - Tuchkov; commanders of the guards regiments: Uvarov - Kavalergardsky; Yankovich-Demirievo - Horse Guards; Depreradovich - Semenovsky, and Prince Vyazemsky - chief of the 4th battalion of the Preobrazhensky regiment; of the same regiment, colonels: Zapolsky and Argamakov; Captain Shenshin and Staff Captain Baron Rosen; lieutenants: Marin and Leontiev; two brothers Argamakov; Count Tolstoy - Colonel of the Semyonovsky regiment; Prince Volkonsky - adjutant c. K. Alexander Pavlovich; lieutenants: Savelyev, Kikin, Pisarev, Poltoratsky, Efimovich; Izmailovsky regiment Colonel Mansurov; lieutenants: Volkhovskoy, Skaryatin and; Cavalier Guard Regiment Colonel Golenishchev-Kutuzov; captain Titov; lieutenant Gorbatov; gunners: Colonel Prince Yashvil; Lieutenant Tatarinov; naval captain commander Klokachev. In addition to the military, several courtiers and civilians, and even retired persons, took part in the conspiracy; I don't remember their names.
The soul of the conspiracy and the main agent was Count Palen, one of the smartest people in Russia, courageous, enterprising, with a decisive, unshakable character. A Kurdish native, he entered the Russian service as a cornet in the Horse Guards regiment under Peter III. In the reign of Catherine, Palen zealously contributed to the annexation of Courland to the empire, fell in love with Russia and was wholeheartedly devoted to his new fatherland. With regret and indignation, he looked at the insane autocracy of Paul, at the inconstancy and volatility of his foreign policy, which threatened the prosperity and power of Russia, Paul, at first an enemy of the French revolution, ready to make every sacrifice to suppress it, annoyed by his recent allies, to whom he rightly attributed failures, experienced by his troops - the defeat of the generals: Rimsky-Korsakov in Switzerland and Germany in Holland - after a glorious campaign in Italy, he suddenly completely changes his political system and not only puts up with the first consul of the French Republic, who knew how to deftly flatter him, but becomes an enthusiastic admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte and threatens England with war. The break with it caused inexplicable harm to our foreign trade. England supplied us with products, both manufactory and colonial, for the raw products of our soil. This trade opened the only ways by which everything we needed flowed into Russia. The nobility was provided with a reliable income from their estates, selling grain, ship timbers, masts, lard, hemp, flax, and so on overseas. The break with England, disrupting the material well-being of the nobility, intensified in him hatred for Paul, already aroused by his cruel despotism.
The idea of killing Paul in any way became almost common. Count Pahlen, indiscriminate in the choice of means leading to the goal, decided to carry it out.
Count Palen was in great favor with the emperor, who knew how to appreciate his merits. Clothed with his power of attorney, he was initiated into all the most important affairs of state. As the military governor of the capital, Palen was in charge of the secret police, and through him alone the reports of her agents could reach the king: this was a guarantee of keeping the ongoing conspiracy secret. When the thought of him matured, and Palen, knowing public opinion hostile to the government, could count on many accomplices, he decided to reveal his bold intention to the Vice-Chancellor Count N.P. Panina, whom Pavel loved as the nephew of his tutor, Count N.I. Panin. Brought up by a smart and enlightened uncle, Count N.P. Panin adopted his free way of thinking, hated despotism and desired not only the fall of the insane tsar, but with this fall to establish legally free decrees that would limit the tsarist autocracy. On this score, and Count Palen shared his way of thinking.
The first action of the agreed Palen and Panin was an attempt to reconcile with Pavel Catherine's favorite, Prince Platon Zubov and his brothers, Valerian and Nikolai, who were in disgrace - in which they managed, the Zubovs were accepted into service and arrived in St. Petersburg. Palen and Panin knew in advance their hatred for Pavel and were confident in their zealous assistance: therefore they revealed their intention to them. The Zubovs entered into a conspiracy, and with them several loyal clients, whom they patronized during their power under Catherine. Of these persons, in character and position, they were more important than others: General Baron Benigsen, a Hanoverian who served with distinction in the Polish and Persian wars in our troops, dismissed by Pavel as a man betrayed by Zubov, and accepted back into service at the request of Count Panin, who was friendly with him, and General Talyzin, commander of the Preobrazhensky regiment and inspector of the troops stationed in St. Petersburg.
The acquisition of such an accomplice was all the more important for the success of the case, because Talyzin was loved by his subordinates: as a beloved chief, he was highly respected in all guards regiments and could always carry along not only officers, but also inspire the lower ranks, who were extremely attached to him. .
All dissatisfied with the then order of things, all the best Petersburg society and guards officers gathered at the Zubov brothers and at their sister Zherebtsova, a secular lady who was on friendly terms with the English envoy Lord Whitward and with officials of his embassy, visitors to her living room. From this, the opinion spread in Europe that Lord Whitward was the main culprit of the conspiracy and that he did not spare English money to buy accomplices in order to prevent a break between Russia and England, which threatened the commercial interests of the latter. This opinion has no basis, firstly, because Lord Whitward is too famous for his strict honesty and noble rules to be suspected of such an insidious and immoral act - then the conspiracy against Paul was a purely Russian affair, and for some truly patriotic, and in which, apart from Benigsen, not a single foreigner participated; and Lord Whitward left Petersburg immediately after the break with England, that is, before the beginning of the conspiracy. Evening meetings with the Zubov brothers or Zherebtsova gave rise to real political clubs in which the only subject of conversation was the then situation of Russia, suffering under the yoke of insane autocracy. They talked about the need to put an end to this. It never occurred to anyone to encroach on the life of Paul - there was one common desire: to force him to give up the throne in favor of the heir, beloved by everyone for kindness, education, meek and polite treatment - qualities completely opposite to the indomitable and autocratic character of his father. All these meetings took place, apparently under the auspices of the St. Petersburg military governor, who, as head of the secret police, received daily reports from spies and gave movement only to those of them that did not concern the conspiracy and the persons involved in it. Count Palen gradually prepared Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich for the coup d'état he planned, for the successful completion of which his consent was necessary. Often seeing him, Palen always directed his speech at the difficult and disastrous state of Russia, suffering from the insane acts of his father, and, without drawing any conclusions, called the Grand Duke to frankness.
“STOP BABYING. GO TO REIGN!"
Meanwhile, Alexander, having taken refuge in his ground floor apartment, spent a sleepless night, listening for any unusual noises above his head. The sudden silence that suddenly followed the fleeting commotion chilled his blood. He did not dare to go and find out the news and languished in anxious expectation. His wife was next to him. So, clinging to each other, seized with fear, they sat all night without uttering a single superfluous word. What's going on up there? Did Paul sign the act of renunciation? Have Zubov and Bennigsen achieved a peaceful resignation, as they promised in preparation for this action. Or? .. Cheek to cheek, hand in hand, the Grand Duke and Elizabeth did not allow even the thought of the worst. Alexander was dressed in a ceremonial uniform, but tears involuntarily rolled down from his eyes. Of course, from time to time he timidly glanced at the icon in order to ask her forgiveness for what was happening without his participation, but with his tacit consent.
At last the door suddenly swung open, and Palen appeared on the threshold. With guilty faces, several officers who surrounded Alexander also entered with him. Palen spoke, and from the very first words Alexander broke into sobs. He understood without words about the tragic ending of his father's life and was well aware that even if he did not give the order for such an outcome, he still could not prevent him in any way. And what difference does it make now, how he will look: more guilty, less guilty or truly guilty? Humane laws have every reason to justify him, since they are based on what guided his consciousness. His hands were clean, but his soul was stained forever. As he still continued to sob, buried in his wife's chest, Palin, approaching him two steps, with a mixed expression of firmness and compassion, said in French: “Stop being childish. Go reign. Go show yourself to the guards!” Elizabeth, who was the first to cope with her nerves, encourages Alexander, persuading him, despite his sadness, to pull himself together and show respect to the capital that made its choice.
"EVERYTHING WILL BE WITH ME, AS WITH GRANDMA"
Rising with difficulty, Alexander follows Palen into the courtyard of the Mikhailovsky Castle, where detachments are lined up to guard the imperial dwelling at night. Deathly pale, barely moving his legs, he tries to stay directly in front of the soldiers lined up, shouting greetings. Palen, Bennigsen, Zubovs surround him. His accomplices. And he should still be grateful to them! Overcoming disgust, grief, exhaustion, he exclaims in a voice trembling with tears: “Batiushka suddenly died of an apoplexy. Everything will be with me, as with my grandmother, Empress Catherine. He answers with a loud "Hurrah!". "Maybe it's all for the best," Alexander consoles himself as the officers who killed his father congratulate him. Later, he accepts the congratulations of Konstantin, rude and unbridled, he is glad of the accession of his elder brother. Only Empress Maria Fedorovna sincerely mourns the death of the hated monarch.
Russia, Saint-Petersburg. 1801
Conspiracies against Paul smoldered throughout the years of his reign. He was the grandson of the eldest daughter of Peter the Great, Anna, and, accordingly, the great-nephew of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Apparently, Peter Fedorovich (the future Peter III) was hardly the father of Paul. Catherine herself hinted at the paternity of her favorite Sergei Saltykov. Contemporaries also testified about the portrait resemblance ...
Forty-two years Paul waited for power. His relationship with his mother was, to put it mildly, difficult. Catherine did not allow her son to participate in state affairs. Moreover, in recent years she has nurtured the idea of transferring the throne over the head of Paul to his son Alexander.
The temperament of the “Russian Hamlet,” as Pavel was poetically called, was strange. Having waited for the throne, Pavel began by renaming Sevastopol to Akhti-yar, banning the waltz and wearing whiskers, and, uprooting the memory of the hated mother who had taken the throne from his father, unleashed anger on her favorites - both living and dead.
Pavel received an excellent education for those times, but, like his father, he was fond of the Prussian military order and the personality of King Frederick the Great. He was an ironic, cheerful secular lion, but at times he fell into fits of the wildest irritation, when he shouted at a trifling occasion, stamped his feet, could chase someone who aroused his anger with a cane at the ready. These sharp mood swings gave rise to many legends about the tyranny of the emperor. Paul's first marriage was unsuccessful - Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna cheated on her husband with Count Razumovsky. She died in childbirth and was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The second marriage with the Württemberg princess Sophia Dorothea, who became Maria Feodorovna after the adoption of Orthodoxy, turned out to be quite successful and “fruitful” - the couple had 10 children, the future of the dynasty was secured.
During the four years of his reign, the emperor took a number of measures that were really necessary and were developed in subsequent reigns. But the problem is that the changes were undertaken swiftly, they could be canceled just as quickly, as regulations fell from a cornucopia - including petty ones. What are the famous bans on wearing round hats (a sign of sympathy for the Jacobins!), on the use of certain words, for example, "society", instead of "club" it was ordered to use the word "assembly", "fatherland" - "state", "guard" - "guard", etc.
Contemporaries explained the regicide on March 11, 1801 by the class policy of Paul I: violation of the articles of the Letter of Letters of 1785, repressions against the officer corps, political instability in the country, weakening of the guarantees of noble freedoms and privileges, rupture of diplomatic relations with England, and finally, the inability of the monarch to govern the empire . The government of Paul I indeed formally violated the articles of the Charter of Letters by banning provincial meetings of nobles and introducing corporal punishment for them. But the latter were used in exceptional cases, only on charges of political crimes and only after the deprivation of the title of nobility.
Although there were no more than a dozen nobles punished bodily, all these cases were known and condemned both in high-society salons and in the guards barracks. Rumor associated them exclusively with the despotism of the emperor.
The question of the scale of the then repressions remains unclear. The memoirs of contemporaries are full of evidence of resignations, arrests, executions, deprivation of noble dignity, and finally, exiles, including to Siberia. Information about the number of victims is contradictory: more than 2.5 thousand officers - according to Valishevsky, more than 700 people - according to Schilder; Eidelman's most authoritative estimates: about 300 nobles were imprisoned, sent to hard labor and exile, not counting the mass of others who were less severely punished, while the total number of victims exceeds 1.5 thousand people. Nobles were exiled to Siberia very rarely, more often - to estates, to the provinces, to an army regiment.
The first "conspiracies" against Pavel date back to 1797-1799, and then the heir, Grand Duke Alexander, was already involved in them.
In 1800, a conspiracy began to intertwine, which in the end cost the emperor his life. The main role in it was played by Count Nikita Petrovich Panin, Admiral Osip Mikhailovich de Ribas and Count Peter Alekseevich von der Pahlen.
Apparently, Panin was the ideological inspirer of the conspiracy. In a letter to Maria Feodorovna, he admits to the prominent role he played in the events of March 11, and points out the motives for his participation in them, the most important of which is "he has nothing to be grateful for." It was Panin who tried to involve Alexander in the conspiracy. Saxon resident in St. Petersburg K.-F. Rosenzweig, referring to the oral testimony of Panin himself, reported that in the fall of 1800 he began secret negotiations with Prince Alexander on the introduction of a regency following the example of England, where the crown prince, parliament and cabinet of ministers controlled the mad king George III. Already after Alexander I came to power, the Swedish ambassador to Russia, Stedingk, reported to his government: “The Panin project of a revolution against the late emperor was, in a certain sense, drawn up with the consent of the current reigning emperor and was distinguished by great moderation. He set out to take away the governmental power from Paul, leaving him, however, the representation of the supreme power, as we see it in Denmark. According to Czartorysky, the heir even discussed the details of such a plan: “Paul should have continued to live in the Mikhailovsky Palace and use the royal palaces in the country ... He [Alexander] imagined that in such solitude Paul would have everything that could please him and that he will be contented and happy there.”
But Panin went into exile in November 1800, Ribas died suddenly in early December. By the way, there were rumors that the admiral was poisoned by conspirators who were afraid that the founder of Odessa, known for his cunning, would decide to betray their plans to Pavel. There was only one St. Petersburg military governor, Palen, and, to his credit, he masterfully coped with his work. Russia, it seems, has not yet known such a ramified and brilliantly organized conspiracy, which, moreover, was carried out entirely according to the planned plan. Many details of the Palenovsky enterprise are still shrouded in darkness.
One of the main participants and witnesses of the regicide, General Levin-August-Theophilus von Bennigsen, claims. “Count Panin and General de Ribas were the first to plan this coup. The latter died without waiting for the implementation of this plan, but the former did not lose hope of saving the state. He communicated his thoughts to the military governor, Count Palen. They once again spoke about this to the Grand Duke Alexander and urged him to agree to a coup, because the revolution, caused by general discontent, should break out not today tomorrow, and even then it will be difficult to foresee its consequences.
Alexander at first rejected the proposal, then, yielding to his convictions, promised to pay attention to him and discuss the matter. (His brother, Grand Duke Konstantin, remained uninitiated until the last moment.)
Palen took over the functions of the "technical" leader of the conspiracy. It was he who developed the plan, picked up the right people. After Panin's removal, he negotiated with Alexander. Palen's motives are to maintain his position, which, given the fickle nature of Paul I, was tricky. As for the participation in the conspiracy of the English ambassador, Lord Whitworth, it was expressed in the generous financing of this enterprise. Many saw at Palen gold in guineas. In March 1801, while playing cards, Palen bet 200 thousand rubles in gold. For a modest Courland nobleman, even if he has reached the heights of power, this is a lot of money.
Other participants in the conspiracy include Bennigsen, the brothers Peter, Valerian and Nikolai Zubov, generals Talyzin and Uvarov, Yashvil, Tatarinov, Skaryatin and many others. The total number of conspirators reached 60 people, although, of course, a larger number of people knew about the conspiracy. It is interesting that the high-ranking aristocracy (with rare exceptions), as well as the rank and file of the guards regiments, did not take part in the conspiracy.
Meanwhile, Pavel discharged from Germany the 13-year-old Prince Eugene of Württemberg, expressed his intention to adopt him, and even hinted that he saw his heir in this boy.
The conspirators, led by Palen, launched a campaign to remove the last close associates who remained loyal to Pavel, primarily Rostopchin. After the resignation of Rostopchin, A.B. became vice-chancellor again. Kurakin, and Palen - a member of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, continuing to manage St. Petersburg, the post office and a significant part of the army. The way for the coup was opened.
Palen increasingly frightens the heir with the dangerous prospect of his own future: they say, the increasingly obvious madness of the emperor will pose a dilemma for Alexander - either the throne, or imprisonment and even death. which he himself could not be unaware of. However, Alexander demanded from Palen a preliminary oath that there would be no attempt on his father's life. “I gave him my word: I was not so devoid of meaning as to inwardly take upon myself the obligation to fulfill the impossible thing; but it was necessary to calm the scrupulousness of my future sovereign, and I reassured his intentions, although I was convinced that it would not be fulfilled. I knew perfectly well that it was necessary to complete the revolution or not start it at all, and that if Paul’s life was not terminated, then his doors the dungeons will soon open, there will be a terrible reaction.”
Paul I suspected that Palen had secret relations with Alexander. They really already discussed the details of the action, and the heir vouched for the Semenovsky regiment under his command. Indeed, the officers were "very determined", but, being young and frivolous people, they needed guidance from experienced and energetic people. Among other brothers, the Zubovs and Bennigsen, who were then in disgrace and outside the capital, were considered as such.
According to Palen, he played on the "romantic character" of the emperor, convincing him to generously forgive all disgraced persons. It is difficult to say how things were in reality, but on November 1, 1800, a decree followed, allowing "all who had retired from the service, or expelled ... to join it." As a result, Platon and Valerian Zubov were appointed directors of the 1st and 2nd Cadet Corps, and Nikolai Zubov became the chief of the Sumy Hussar Regiment.
Bennigsen came to St. Petersburg "on his own business", where other participants in the conspiracy, mostly officers, were already or had arrived. Easter was first chosen as the date of execution - March 24, 1801. Then they moved it to the 15th, and after learning about Pavel's intention to fire Palen and replace him with Arakcheev, they stopped on March 11th.
“This is where our conversation continues, Palen, and stopped, I immediately wrote about him to the Grand Duke, urging him to strike the planned blow tomorrow; he forced me to postpone it until the 11th day, when the 8th battalion of the Semenovsky regiment would be on duty, in which he was even more confident than in the others. I agreed to this with difficulty and was not without anxiety for the next two days.
March 11 at 22:00 Pavel receives the pages of the 1st Cadet Corps (Head Platon Zubov). The guard is changed, the horse guards, who caused the emperor's displeasure (the regiment is not involved in the conspiracy, is loyal to Paul), leave the castle. The king goes to his bedchamber. For some time he prays before the icon in the hallway. Then the life doctor Grive gives Pavel some kind of medicine. Doors are closing. The Emperor descends a secret staircase to his mistress Gagarina. The princess's chambers were located under his personal apartments, a special staircase led to her. At Gagarina's, he wrote a note to the ailing - apparently "diplomatically" - Minister of War Kh.A. Lieven: "Your illness is dragging on for too long, and since things cannot be directed depending on whether the flies help you or not, then you will have to transfer the portfolio of the military ministry to Prince Gagarin." It was a gift to her husband's mistress. However, the paper did not reach its destination. That was the last document signed by Paul 1. An hour later, towards midnight, he went up to his room ...
Meanwhile, the conspirators were making final preparations. The participants gathered in different apartments and drank champagne for courage. After eleven libations continued in the annex of the Winter Palace. There were generals Talyzin, Depreradovich, Uvarov, colonels Vyazemsky, Zapolsky, Arseniev, Volkonsky, Mansurov and others - only a few dozen people. Palen, Zubovs, Bennigsen come here. The first one proclaims a toast to the health of the new emperor, Alexander, embarrassing some of the officers. In support of this, Platon Zubov makes a speech. There is also the inevitable question of what to do with Paul. According to a number of sources, Palen responds with a French proverb: "When an omelette is made, eggs are broken." Some people ask for a more complete explanation, and Colonel Bibikov even supposedly suggests getting rid of all the Romanovs at once as the best option. Soon the participants arm themselves with pistols and form, according to the plan, two officer columns in order to close in the Mikhailovsky Castle. At the head of the first Palen, the second - under the leadership of the Zubovs and Bennigsen.
It is reported that the battalions of the Preobrazhensky Regiment are on the way to the Summer Garden, and the battalions of the Semyonovsky Regiment (its guards are guarding around the castle) are on Nevsky Prospekt in the Gostiny Dvor area.
The main task is assigned to the Bennigsen column, with him Plato and Nikolai Zubov. According to Bennigsen's story, the column reached the emperor's chambers without hindrance, but there were 12 of them left, because the rest got lost along the way. In front of the door of the imperial entrance hall, the adjutant of the Preobrazhensky Regiment Argamakov told the valet that he urgently needed to report something. The door opened and they burst in. The valet hid, one of the haiduks who were there rushed at those who entered, but was stopped by a blow to the head with a saber. The noise, of course, woke Pavel, and he still could have escaped through the secret staircase to Gagarina, but, too frightened, he hid in one of the corners of the small screens blocking his bed.
Memoirists describe the emperor in his last moments in different ways. He is demoralized, can hardly speak; he maintains his dignity and even meets the conspirators with a sword in his hand. The Zubovs keep aloof, Bennigsen commands, confusion, the emperor is allegedly offered to abdicate in favor of his son, he refuses, a hitch, the tsar tries to explain himself to Platon Zubov (senior in rank). “You are no longer an emperor,” declares the prince. Pavel gives him a slap. At this moment, Nikolai Zubov strikes the emperor with a golden snuffbox in the temple. The king falls unconscious. The dump starts. The teeth are removed. Bennigsen watches from the side as guards officers beat Pavel. To stop the disgusting scene and finish the job, he suggests using a scarf. According to some sources, it was the scarf of Staff Captain Skaryatin, according to others, they used the scarf of the emperor himself.
Benningsen himself later told Langeron: “We are entering. Platon Zubov runs to the bed, finds no one and exclaims in French: “He ran away!” I followed Zubov and saw where the emperor was hiding. Like everyone else, I was in full dress uniform, with a scarf, a ribbon over my shoulder, a hat on my head, and a sword in my hand. I lowered it and said in French: “Your majesty, your reign is over: Emperor Alexander is proclaimed. On his orders, we will arrest you; you must abdicate. Don't worry about yourself: they don't want to take your life; I am here to guard and protect her, submit to your fate; but if you offer even the slightest resistance, I am not responsible for anything anymore. The emperor did not answer me a word. Platon Zubov repeated to him in Russian what I had said in French. Then he exclaimed: “What have I done to you!” One of the officers of the guard answered: “For four years now, you have been torturing us ...“
Bennigsen says that at that moment a group of officers who had lost their way earlier burst into the hallway. The noise they made frightened Bennigsen's companions, who decided that other guardsmen were hurrying to the rescue of the king, and they fled. Bennigsen alone remained with the emperor and "retained him, impressing with his appearance and his sword." At the meeting of the comrades, the fugitives returned with them to Pavel's bedroom, in the crowd they overturned the screens on the lamp that stood on the floor, it went out. Bennigsen went out for a minute into another room for a candle, and in "the course of that short time, Paul's existence ceased."
Empress Maria Feodorovna reacted violently to the incident, who quickly dressed and demanded to be allowed to the body of her husband. However, the soldiers blocked her path, because the doctors hastily made up the dead.
The Empress continued to demand that she be allowed near the body. Alexander allowed Bennigsen to do this if it would be possible to “do without any noise”, and personally accompanying her, Maria Feodorovna took Bennigsen by the arm and first went to the grand duchesses and together with them moved to the royal chambers. and only with the beginning of dawn got into the carriage.
By decision of the leaders of the conspiracy, on the same night, the commandant of the Mikhailovsky Castle, Kotlubitsky, Chief Marshal Naryshkin, Prosecutor General Obolyaninov, commander of the Izmailovsky Regiment, Lieutenant General Malyutin, cavalry inspector Lieutenant General Kologrivov, who were closest to Paul I, were arrested on the same night.
The arrest also awaited the favorite - Count Kutaisov, for whose detention a squad was sent to the house of his mistress - the actress Chevalier. But this time the count left her earlier than usual. Hearing a noise in the royal chambers, he hurriedly ran out of the palace without shoes and stockings on a secret staircase and so rushed through the city to the house of his friend S S Lansky, where he found temporary shelter. The next day he returned to his own house, pretended to be sick and even begged Palena guards, fearing from the "black" any insults.
How was the revolution received in Russia? Among the people - indifferently, among the nobility - with glee. The well-known publicist freemason N.I. Grech, based on his youthful impressions, draws the following - “It is impossible to depict the amazement, joy, delight excited by this, however, disastrous, vile and shameful incident. Karamzin rightly said in his note on the state of Russia. "Who was more unfortunate than Paul1 Tears about his death shed only in his family." Not only in words, but also in writing, in print, especially in poems, they expressed joyful feelings of liberation from his tyranny.
Decembrist M A Fonvizin wrote: “Decent people in Russia, not approving the means by which they got rid of Paul's tyranny, rejoiced at his fall. In houses, on the streets, people cried, hugged each other, as on the day of the Bright Resurrection This delight was expressed, however, by one nobility, other estates accepted this news rather indifferently.
When asked by the commander whether he would swear allegiance to Alexander after examining the body of the late monarch, Grigory Ivanov, an ordinary life squadron of Sablukov, answered: “Just so, although it would be better for him not to be dead. And, by the way, it’s all the same whoever is a pop is a dad”
On March 12, the manifesto was made public. “The fate of the Almighty was pleased to end the life of our dear parent, Sovereign Emperor Pavel Petrovich, who died suddenly of apoplexy on the night of the 11th to the 12th of this month. according to the laws and according to the heart in Bose of our reposed august grandmother, the Empress Catherine the Great, whose memory will always be kind to us and the whole fatherland, but by walking according to Her wise intentions, we will reach the elevation of Russia to the top of glory and deliver inviolable bliss to all Our faithful subjects, whom through this, we call on them to seal their loyalty to Us by an oath before the face of the all-seeing God, asking Him to give Us the Strength to bear the burden that now lies on Us” Signed by Alexander.
“Despotism, absorbing everything, finally destroys the despot himself,” the future Emperor Paul I wrote in his youth. His words turned out to be prophetic: having come to power and becoming a capricious ruler with the manners of a tyrant, the son of Catherine II soon died at the hands of conspirators.
Hemorrhoidal colic and political affairs
The future emperor was born in the autumn of 1754. Officially, Emperor Peter III Fedorovich is considered his father - who, by the way, after being removed from the throne, according to one version, also died at the hands of enemies (according to the official version, the ruler died due to an attack of hemorrhoidal colic). However, there is a point of view according to which Paul I was conceived by Catherine II from her first favorite, the handsome Sergei Saltykov.
Catherine practically did not take care of her son: the boy grew up surrounded by numerous educators who developed in him arrogance, arrogance, an interest in theatricality, and a passion for mysticism. And soon Catherine II began to see Paul as a political rival and began to keep him away from political affairs.
However, on November 6, 1796, the Empress died unexpectedly, and Paul I, at the age of 42, freely ascended the Russian throne.
Farewell to female empresses
Having become emperor, Paul I set about breaking the rules established by his mother. On the day of the coronation, the ruler promulgated an act of succession to the throne, which drew a line under a century of palace coups and women's rule in Russia. And soon Paul I began to create reforms that weakened the position of the nobility. So, the monarch introduced corporal punishment to the nobility for murder, robbery, drunkenness, debauchery, and official violations. The right of nobles to file complaints was limited, and the right to file collective decisions was also abolished.
Wikimedia Commons Russian Emperor Paul I
In addition, Paul I quickly spoiled relations with the guards and received in society the glory of the "abnormal emperor", giving unpopular and unreasonable orders. “We are on a ship whose captain and crew make up a nation whose language is unfamiliar to us,” diplomat Semyon Vorontsov wrote about the reign of Paul I. I am seasick and can't get out of bed.
You come to announce to me that the hurricane is growing stronger and the ship is dying, because the captain has gone mad, beating the crew, in which there are more than 30 people who do not dare to resist his antics, since he has already thrown one sailor into the sea and killed another.
I think the ship will perish; but you say that there is hope for salvation, since the first mate is a young man, sensible and gentle, who enjoys the confidence of the crew.
I conjure you to go back upstairs and present to the young man and the sailors that they should save the ship, part of which (as well as part of the cargo) belongs to the young man, that they are 30 against one and that it is ridiculous to be afraid of death at the hands of a crazy captain, when soon everyone and he himself will drown because of this madness. You answer me that, not knowing the language, you cannot speak to him, that you go upstairs to see what is happening. You come back to me to announce that the danger is increasing because the madman is still in control, but that you are still hopeful. Farewell! You are happier than me, my friend, because I have no more hope.
How to build your own tomb
Dissatisfaction with the activities of Paul I led to the creation of a coalition of conspirators. At first they intended to declare the emperor mentally ill and establish a regency over him, but then they made a more cruel decision: to massacre the monarch and put a more loyal ruler on the throne.
Among the conspirators were high-ranking courtiers, officials and the military, who switched to active action after the news that Paul I was going to remove his son Alexander from the throne - the future monarch, whom the people would call "Blessed".
“The son of Catherine could be strict and earn the gratitude of the fatherland, to the inexplicable surprise of the Russians, he began to dominate the general horror, not following any charters, except for his whim; considered us not subjects, but slaves; he executed without guilt, rewarded without merit, took away the shame from the treasury, the charm from the award, humiliated the ranks and ribbons with wastefulness in them; thoughtlessly destroyed the fruits of statesmanship, hating in them the work of his mother, - the historian Nikolai Karamzin recalled Paul I. - Heroes accustomed to victories, he taught to march ... having, like a person, a natural inclination for doing good, he fed on the bile of evil: every day he invented ways to frighten people and he himself was more afraid of everyone; thought to build himself an impregnable palace and built a tomb.
How to lock the empress in the chambers
“The story of the assassination of the emperor is surrounded by many rumors,” writes Evgeny Anisimov, Doctor of Historical Sciences. - The most common of them is the assertion that the frightened emperor hid behind the fireplace screen, from where the conspirators pulled him out. Most likely this is a lie. The conspirators instantly broke into the emperor's bedroom, and Pavel jumped out of bed to meet them. It is known that a fierce quarrel ensued between him and the murderers, Paul I threatened them with punishment.
It is unlikely that the cowardly hiding emperor could behave so decisively in front of excited, drunken and armed conspirators. It was Nikolai Zubov, irritated by the emperor's threats, who struck Pavel in the temple with a snuffbox.
The emperor fell, the rest of the conspirators attacked him and, after a long struggle, strangled him with an officer's scarf that belonged to one of the killers. Some of her contemporaries believed that as soon as Empress Maria Feodorovna, who was sleeping in her bedchamber in another wing of the castle, found out about the death of her husband, she allegedly tried to seize power like Catherine II, but the conspirators locked her in the chambers of the palace until she recognized the son of Alexander as emperor.
Despite the tragedy of what happened, the society rejoiced. “In the midst of the many assembled courtiers, the conspirators and murderers of Pavel brazenly walked around,” recalled the writer Denis Fonvizin. - They, who did not sleep the night, half-drunk, disheveled, as if proud of their crime, dreamed that they would reign with Alexander. Decent people in Russia, disapproving of the means by which they got rid of Paul's tyranny, rejoiced at his fall. Historiographer Karamzin says that the news of this event was a message of redemption in the whole state: in houses, on the streets, people cried, hugged each other, as on the day of the Holy Resurrection. This delight was expressed, however, by one nobility, other estates accepted this news rather indifferently.
The official version of the death of the emperor was apoplexy. In society, they immediately began to joke that "Paul I died from an apoplexy blow with a snuffbox to the temple."
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Alexander I burst into tears upon learning of the death of his father. “My father died of apoplexy,” the future emperor announced to the people. “Everything during my reign will be done according to the principles and heart of my beloved grandmother, Empress Catherine!”
Interestingly, after accession to the throne, Alexander I "gradually removed ... the leaders of the coup - removed not because he considered them dangerous, but out of a feeling of disgust and disgust that he experienced at their mere sight."
