Why Peter 3 rules so little. Brief biography of Peter III

February 21, 1728 Count Heinrich Friedrich Bassevich, the first minister of the Holstein court, left a note: “Born between noon and the first hour of the day, healthy and strong. It was decided to name it Carl Peter". The newborn in question is destined to become Russian Emperor Peter III.

We have a misconception about this figure. So much so that one wonders: how did a “national traitor and frankly imbecile drunkard” generally hold out on the Russian throne even for such a short time? Many people get the impression that the main and even the only historical role Peter III- it's time to marry the future Catherine the Great, and then die to clear the way for the brilliant "mother-empress".

1. Works and days

Some find the language of numbers to be the most persuasive. In some ways they are right: this is how you can offhand determine, if not the effectiveness, then the efficiency and activity of the ruler. If you look at Peter III from this point of view, you get an interesting proportion. He spent 186 days on the throne. During this time, he signed 192 laws and decrees: this is not counting any trifles like submissions for awards. On average, about 30 decrees are issued per month, even a little more. Thus, he confidently enters the top 3 rulers of the 18th century. And even takes an honorable second place in it after his son Paul I. He published an average of 42 legislative acts per month. For comparison: Catherine the Great published 12 laws per month, and Peter the Great- 8 each. A curious fact should be especially noted: some of these laws are attributed to the “philanthropy and enlightenment” of Catherine II, his widow. In particular, the "Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility", giving the murder of serfs by the masters the status of "tyrannical torment" and the abolition of the sinister Secret Chancellery. Although, in fact, all the merit of Catherine is only that she did not cancel the orders of her late husband.

2. Not from relatives, but to relatives

One of the hook phrases Bulgakov- Woland's words from The Master and Margarita: “Yes, how bizarrely the deck is shuffled! Blood!" It is fully applicable to Peter III. In his case, however, the deck was shuffled by hand. Several seemingly promising dynastic marriages - and now, if you please, our hero was born. By the way, remember the name given to him at birth? It is also from this series. Carl Peter. Peter - in honor of his maternal grandfather, Russian Emperor Peter I. And Karl - for the reason that on the paternal side the baby was the great-nephew of the Swedish king Charles XII. Two great grandfathers who fought each other for almost a quarter of a century and redrawn the map of Europe. Peter III was well aware of this. Moreover, he behaved in such a way that many people noticed his resemblance to both Peter I and Charles XII at the same time. For example, a French diplomat in Russia Jean-Louis Favier:“He imitates both in the simplicity of his tastes and in clothes ... Immersed in luxury and inactivity, the courtiers are afraid of the time when they will be ruled by the sovereign, equally severe to himself and to others.”

3. Coronation after death: late or never?

One can agree with those who say that Peter III was inferior. But only in one. He, perhaps, really was not a full-fledged emperor during his lifetime. Since he did not live to see the coronation, which marks the fullness of power. In June 1762, the proclaimed but not crowned emperor signed the abdication.

The situation was corrected by Paul I, his son. He did something unique and unprecedented. 34 years after the death of Peter III, the new emperor opened his coffin and crowned the remains of the late father in accordance with all the rules. An elegant touch: the Great Imperial Crown was forced to hold Alexey Orlov, one of the alleged murderers of Peter III. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Count Orlov after that "went into a dark corner and wept sobs, his hands trembled." The coronation of the deceased and at the same time revenge on his killers - this Russian history has not yet known. Peter III is the only Russian tsar who truly became such after his death.

Exhumation of Peter III. Allegorical engraving by Nicholas Ancelin. Source: Public Domain

4. Won Seven Years

Most of all complaints are caused by the termination of the war with Prussia. That same Seven Years' War, where the genius of the future brilliant commanders of the "golden age of Catherine" manifested itself: Petra Rumyantseva and Alexandra Suvorova. Claims are something like this: “Ours took Berlin a year earlier, and all of Prussia was in our pocket. Even Koenigsberg had been a Russian city for four years, and Russian students studied at its university. And then Peter III appeared, servile to the Prussian order and personally to the Prussian King Friedrich. And he let everything go down the drain: ours were obliged to withdraw the troops and give everything they had conquered.

In fact, it was almost the opposite. At the time of the death of Peter III, Russian troops still occupied this entire territory. Moreover, the food depots and their ammunition were replenished, and a Russian squadron was sent to Koenigsberg.

In addition, according to the agreement, Frederick was obliged to recapture from Denmark and transfer to Russia the province of Schleswig. But Peter retained the right to stop the withdrawal of Russian troops "due to ongoing unrest in Europe."

And the withdrawal of troops from East Prussia, and the fact that Russia never got what Frederick promised her, is entirely the work of Catherine II. Rather, the consequences of her inaction. She was so busy first with the coup and the elimination of her husband, and then with the strengthening of her own power, that she did not follow the terms of the contract.

5. Failed Russian breakthrough

In the status of heir to the Russian throne, Peter stayed for almost twenty years. And, speaking frankly, during this time he did not show himself in anything, except for a penchant for drunkenness, playing soldiers and drill according to the Prussian model. In any case, that's how it's supposed to be. As a rule, details are also dispensed with when describing a short time period: from February 1759 to January 1762.

Meanwhile, it was perhaps the brightest stage in the life of the heir. He was finally allowed to do the real thing. Yes, with a big creak and seemingly small business. But still. In February 1759, Peter was appointed general director of the land gentry corps.

Documents associated with this educational institution and signed by the heir to the throne clearly show that he was a reasonable, sober, sane person, capable of thinking on a national scale. The fact that he is primarily concerned with the material base of the corps goes without saying. Expansion and reconstruction of the dormitory barracks, the establishment of a corps printing house, "in order to print all necessary books in Russian, German and French”, an attentive attitude to nutrition and uniforms ... And, besides this, far-reaching ideas. In particular, a large-scale project to create “a complete geographical and historical description of Russia, so that the young people brought up in this building not only foreign lands would thoroughly know the geography that they are really taught, but also have a clear understanding of the state of their fatherland.”

The Russian Emperor Peter III (Peter Fedorovich, born Karl Peter Ulrich Holstein of Gottorp) was born on February 21 (10 old style) 1728 in the city of Kiel in the Duchy of Holstein (now - the territory of Germany).

His father is Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein of Gottorp, nephew of the Swedish King Charles XII, his mother is Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter I. Thus, Peter III was the grandson of two sovereigns and could, under certain conditions, be a pretender to both the Russian and Swedish thrones .

In 1741, after the death of Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden, he was chosen to succeed her husband Frederick, who received the Swedish throne. In 1742, Peter was brought to Russia and declared by his aunt to be the heir to the Russian throne.

Peter III became the first representative of the Holstein-Gottorp (Oldenburg) branch of the Romanovs on the Russian throne, which ruled until 1917.

Peter's relationship with his wife did not work out from the very beginning. He spent all his free time doing military exercises and maneuvers. During the years spent in Russia, Peter never made any attempt to get to know this country, its people and history better. Elizaveta Petrovna did not allow him to participate in the decision political issues and the only position in which he could prove himself was the position of director of the gentry corps. Meanwhile, Peter openly criticized the activities of the government, and during the Seven Years' War he publicly expressed sympathy for the Prussian king Frederick II. All this was widely known not only at the court, but also in the wider strata of Russian society, where Peter did not enjoy either authority or popularity.

The beginning of his reign was marked by numerous favors to the nobility. Returned from exile, the former regent Duke of Courland and many others. The Secret Investigation Office was destroyed. On March 3 (February 18, old style), 1762, the emperor issued a Decree on the Liberty of the Nobility (Manifesto "On the Granting of Liberty and Freedom to All the Russian Nobility").

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

(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, consequently, 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 liberty 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 college.

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.

T. arr., threatened Russia new war, which 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 like 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 series “Catherine” was released on the screens, in connection with this, there is a surge of interest in the controversial figures in the history of Russia, Emperor Peter III and his wife, who became Empress Catherine II. Therefore, I present a selection of facts about the life and reign of these monarchs of the Russian Empire.

Peter and Catherine: a joint portrait by G.K.Groot

Peter III (Peter Fedorovich, born Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp)was a very extraordinary emperor. He did not know the Russian language, he liked to play with soldiers and wanted to baptize Russia according to the Protestant rite. His mysterious death led to the emergence of a whole galaxy of impostors.

Already from birth, Peter could claim two imperial titles: Swedish and Russian. On his father's side, he was the great-nephew of King Charles XII, who himself was too busy with military campaigns to marry. Peter's grandfather on his mother's side was the main enemy of Charles, the Russian Emperor Peter I.

An early orphaned boy spent his childhood with his uncle, Bishop Adolf of Eitinsky, where he was raised to hate Russia. He did not know the Russian language and was baptized according to the Protestant tradition. True, he also did not know other languages ​​\u200b\u200bbesides his native German, he only spoke a little French.

Peter was supposed to take the Swedish throne, but the childless Empress Elizabeth remembered the son of her beloved sister Anna and declared him heir. The boy is brought to Russia to meet the imperial throne and death.

In fact, the sickly young man was not particularly needed by anyone: neither the aunt-empress, nor the tutors, nor, subsequently, his wife. Everyone was only interested in his origin, even the cherished words were added to the official title of the heir: "Grandson of Peter I."

And the heir himself was interested in toys, first of all - soldiers. Can we accuse him of infantilism? When Peter was brought to St. Petersburg, he was only 13 years old! Dolls attracted the heir more than state affairs or a young bride.

True, with age, his priorities do not change. He continued to play, but secretly. Ekaterina writes: “During the day, his toys were hidden in my bed and under it. The Grand Duke went to bed first after dinner, and as soon as we were in bed, Kruse (the maid) locked the door with a key, and then the Grand Duke played until one or two in the morning.

Over time, toys become bigger and more dangerous. Peter is allowed to write a regiment of soldiers from Holstein, whom the future emperor enthusiastically drives around the parade ground. Meanwhile, his wife is learning Russian and studying French philosophers...

In 1745, the wedding of the heir Peter Fedorovich and Ekaterina Alekseevna, the future Catherine II, was magnificently celebrated in St. Petersburg. There was no love between the young spouses - they differed too much in character and interests. The more intelligent and educated Catherine makes fun of her husband in her memoirs: “he doesn’t read books, and if he does, it’s either a prayer book or descriptions of torture and executions.”

Letter from the Grand Duke to his wife. obverse, bottom left: le .. fevr./ 1746
Madame, this night I ask you not to inconvenience yourself - to sleep with me, since the time to deceive me has passed. After living apart for two weeks, the bed was too narrow. This afternoon. Your most unfortunate husband, whom you would never deign to call that Peter.
February 1746, ink on paper

With marital duty, Peter also did not have everything going smoothly, this is evidenced by his letters, where he asks his wife not to share the bed with him, which has become “too narrow”. This is where the legend originates that the future Emperor Paul was born not at all from Peter III, but from one of the favorites of the loving Catherine.

However, despite the coldness in the relationship, Peter always trusted his wife. In difficult situations, he turned to her for help, and her tenacious mind found a way out of any trouble. Therefore, Catherine received from her husband the ironic nickname "Lady Help".

But not only children's games distracted Peter from the matrimonial bed. In 1750, two girls were presented to the court: Elizaveta and Ekaterina Vorontsov. Ekaterina Vorontsova will be a faithful companion of her royal namesake, while Elizabeth will take the place of the beloved of Peter III.

The future emperor could take any court beauty as his favorite, but his choice fell, nevertheless, on this “fat and awkward” maid of honor. Love is evil? However, is it worth trusting the description left in the memoirs of a forgotten and abandoned wife.

The sharp-tongued Empress Elizaveta Petrovna found this love triangle very amusing. She even nicknamed the good-natured, but narrow-minded Vorontsova "Russian de Pompadour."

It was love that became one of the reasons for the fall of Peter. At court, they began to say that Peter was going, following the example of his ancestors, to send his wife to a monastery and marry Vorontsova. He allowed himself to insult and bully Catherine, who, apparently, endured all his whims, but in fact cherished plans for revenge and was looking for powerful allies.

During the Seven Years' War, in which Russia took the side of Austria. Peter III openly sympathized with Prussia and personally with Frederick II, which did not add to the popularity of the young heir.

Antropov A.P. Peter III Fedorovich (Karl Peter Ulrich)

But he went even further: the heir handed over to his idol secret documents, information about the number and location of Russian troops! Upon learning of this, Elizabeth was furious, but she forgave a lot of her near-nephew for the sake of his mother, her beloved sister.

Why is the heir to the Russian throne so openly helping Prussia? Like Catherine, Peter is looking for allies, and hopes to find one of them in the person of Frederick II. Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin writes: “The Grand Duke was convinced that Frederick II loves him and speaks with great respect; therefore, he thinks that as soon as he ascends the throne, the Prussian king will seek his friendship and will help him in everything.

After the death of Empress Elizabeth, Peter III was proclaimed emperor, but was not officially crowned. He showed himself to be an energetic ruler, and in the six months of his reign he managed, contrary to popular opinion, to do a lot. Estimates of his reign vary greatly: Catherine and her supporters describe Peter as a weak-minded, ignorant martinet and Russophobe. Modern historians create a more objective image.

First of all, Peter made peace with Prussia on unfavorable terms for Russia. This caused discontent in army circles. But then his "Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility" gave the aristocracy huge privileges. At the same time, he issued laws prohibiting the torture and murder of serfs, and stopped the persecution of the Old Believers.

Peter III tried to please everyone, but in the end, all attempts turned against him. The reason for the conspiracy against Peter was his ridiculous fantasies about the baptism of Russia according to the Protestant model. The guards, the main support and support of the Russian emperors, took the side of Catherine. In his palace in Orienbaum, Peter signed the abdication.

Tombs of Peter III and Catherine II in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
The headstones of the buried have the same date of burial (December 18, 1796), which gives the impression that Peter III and Catherine II lived together for many years and died on the same day.

Peter's death is one big mystery. It was not in vain that Emperor Paul compared himself with Hamlet: during the entire reign of Catherine II, the shadow of her deceased husband could not find peace. But was the Empress guilty of her husband's death?

According to the official version, Peter III died of an illness. He was no different good health, and the unrest associated with the coup and renunciation could kill a stronger person. But the sudden and so quick death of Peter - a week after the overthrow - caused a lot of talk. For example, there is a legend according to which the favorite of Catherine, Alexei Orlov, was the killer of the emperor.

The illegal overthrow and suspicious death of Peter gave rise to a whole galaxy of impostors. In our country alone, more than forty people tried to impersonate the emperor. The most famous of them was Emelyan Pugachev. Abroad, one of the false Peters even became the king of Montenegro. The last impostor was arrested in 1797, 35 years after the death of Peter, and only after that the shadow of the emperor finally found peace.



Under the reignCatherine II Alekseevna the Great(nee Sophia Augusta Frederick of Anhalt-Zerbst) from 1762 to 1796, the possessions of the empire expanded significantly. Of the 50 provinces, 11 were acquired during the years of her reign. The amount of state revenues increased from 16 to 68 million rubles. 144 new cities were built (more than 4 cities per year throughout the reign). The army almost doubled, the number of ships of the Russian fleet increased from 20 to 67 battleships, not counting other ships. The army and navy scored 78 brilliant victories, which strengthened Russia's international prestige.

Anna Rosina de Gask (née Lisevski) Princess Sophia Augusta Friederike, in the future Catherine II 1742

Access to the Black and Azov Seas was won, Crimea, Ukraine (except for the Lvov region), Belarus, Eastern Poland, and Kabarda were annexed. The annexation of Georgia to Russia began. At the same time, during her reign, only one execution was carried out - the leader of the peasant uprising, Emelyan Pugachev.

Catherine II on the balcony of the Winter Palace, being greeted by the guards and the people on the day of the coup on June 28, 1762

The daily routine of the Empress was far from the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe inhabitants of the royal life. Her day was scheduled by the hour, and its routine remained unchanged throughout her reign. Only the time of sleep changed: if in her mature years Catherine got up at 5, then closer to old age - at 6, and by the end of her life even at 7 in the morning. After breakfast, the empress received high-ranking officials and secretaries of state. Days and hours of each official were constant. The working day ended at four o'clock, and it was time for rest. The hours of work and rest, breakfast, lunch and dinner were also constant. At 10 or 11 pm Catherine finished the day and went to bed.

Every day, 90 rubles were spent on the food of the Empress (for comparison: the salary of a soldier during the reign of Catherine was only 7 rubles a year). Boiled beef with pickles was a favorite dish, and currant juice was used as a drink. For dessert, preference was given to apples and cherries.

After dinner, the empress took up needlework, while Ivan Ivanovich Betskoy read aloud to her at that time. Ekaterina “skillfully sewed on canvas”, knitted on knitting needles. Having finished reading, she moved to the Hermitage, where she sharpened from bone, wood, amber, engraved, played billiards.

Artist Ilyas Faizullin. Visit of Catherine II to Kazan

Catherine was indifferent to fashion. She did not notice her, and sometimes quite deliberately ignored her. On weekdays, the Empress wore a simple dress and did not wear jewelry.

By her own admission, she did not have a creative mind, but she wrote plays, and even sent some of them to Voltaire for “reviewing”.

Catherine came up with a special suit for the six-month-old Tsarevich Alexander, the pattern of which was asked from her by the Prussian prince and the Swedish king for their own children. And for her beloved subjects, the empress invented the cut of the Russian dress, which they were forced to wear at her court.

Portrait of Alexander Pavlovich, Jean Louis Veil

People who knew Ekaterina closely note her attractive appearance not only in her youth, but also in her mature years, her exceptionally friendly appearance, and ease of handling. Baroness Elizabeth Dimsdale, who was first introduced to her with her husband in Tsarskoye Selo at the end of August 1781, described Catherine as follows: “a very attractive woman with lovely expressive eyes and an intelligent look”

Catherine was aware that men liked her and she herself was not indifferent to their beauty and masculinity. “I received from nature a great sensitivity and appearance, if not beautiful, then at least attractive. I liked the first time and did not use any art and embellishment for this.

The empress was quick-tempered, but knew how to control herself, and never made decisions in a fit of anger. She was very polite even with the servants, no one heard a rude word from her, she did not order, but asked to fulfill her will. Her rule, according to the testimony of Count Segur, was "to praise out loud, and to scold on the sly."

Rules hung on the walls of the ballrooms under Catherine II: it was forbidden to stand in front of the empress, even if she approached the guest and spoke to him while standing. It was forbidden to be in a gloomy mood, insult each other. And on the shield at the entrance to the Hermitage there was an inscription: "The mistress of these places does not tolerate coercion."

Catherine II and Potemkin

Thomas Dimsdale, an English physician, was called from London to introduce smallpox inoculation into Russia. Knowing about the resistance of society to innovation, Empress Catherine II decided to set a personal example and became one of the first patients of Dimsdale. In 1768, an Englishman vaccinated her and Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich with smallpox. The recovery of the Empress and her son was a significant event in the life of the Russian court.

The Empress was a heavy smoker. The cunning Ekaterina, not wanting her snow-white gloves to be saturated with a yellow nicotine coating, ordered to wrap the tip of each cigar with a ribbon of expensive silk.

The Empress read and wrote in German, French and Russian, but made many mistakes. Ekaterina was aware of this and once confessed to one of her secretaries that “she could only learn Russian from books without a teacher,” since “Aunt Elizaveta Petrovna told my chamberlain: teach her enough, she’s already smart.” As a result, she made four mistakes in a three-letter word: instead of "more", she wrote "ischo".

Johann Baptist Elder Lampi, 1793. Portrait of Empress Catherine II, 1793

Long before her death, Catherine composed an epitaph for her future tombstone: “Catherine the Second rests here. She arrived in Russia in 1744 to marry Peter III. At fourteen, she made a threefold decision: to please her husband, Elizabeth, and the people. She did not miss anything in order to achieve success in this respect. Eighteen years of boredom and loneliness led her to read many books. Having ascended the Russian throne, she made every effort to give her subjects happiness, freedom and material well-being. She forgave easily and hated no one. She was indulgent, loved life, had a cheerful disposition, was a true republican in her convictions and had a good heart. She had friends. The job was easy for her. She enjoyed secular entertainment and the arts."

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. By different 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 - do 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 treated with royal grace (it was Pyotr 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 became desperate. It often happened to him. He was a cowardly heart and weak in 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 petty 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 Seven Years' War, and then "drank with the Holsteiners in Oranienbaum."
Lies have long legs...
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