The reign of Peter Fedorovich Romanov. The reign of Peter III (briefly)

Peter III Fedorovich, Emperor of All Russia (1761 - 1762), son of the daughter of Peter I Anna and Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich.

He was born on February 10, 1728 in Holstein and received at birth the name of Karl Peter Ulrich. The death of his mother, which followed after 7 days, and the chaotic life of his father, were reflected in the upbringing of the prince, which was extremely stupid and ridiculous. 1739 he remained an orphan. Peter's educator was a rough soldier's temper man von Brumer, who could not give anything good to his pupil. Peter was intended to be the heir to the Swedish throne, as the great-nephew of Charles XII. He was taught the Lutheran catechism, and instilled hatred for Muscovy - the primordial enemy of Sweden. But immediately after her accession to the throne, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna began to take care of her successor, which was necessary to strengthen the throne for herself due to the existence of the Braunschweig family (Anna Leopoldovna and Ivan Antonovich). Peter was brought from his homeland to St. Petersburg in early January 1742. Here, in addition to the Holsteiners Brumer and Berchholtz, Academician Shtelin was assigned to him, who, despite all the labors and efforts, could not correct the prince and put his upbringing to the proper height.

Peter III. Portrait by Pfanzelt, 1762

In November 1742, the prince converted to Orthodoxy and was named Peter Fedorovich, and in 1744 he was married to Princess Sophia August of Anhalt-Zerbst, later Catherine II. In the same year, during a trip with the empress to Kyiv, Peter fell ill with smallpox, which distorted his entire face with mountain ash. His marriage to Catherine took place on August 21, 1745. The life of the young couple was the most unfortunate in terms of the mutual relations of the spouses; at the court of Elizabeth, their situation was rather painful. In 1754, Catherine's son Pavel was born, separated from his parents and taken in by the Empress. In 1756, Catherine gave birth to another daughter, Anna, who died in 1759. At this time, Peter, who did not love his wife, became close to the maid of honor, Count. Elizaveta Romanovna Vorontsova. At the end of her life, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna was very afraid for the future that lay ahead during the reign of her heir, but she died without making any new orders and without officially expressing her last will.

Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich (future Peter III) and Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna (future Catherine II)

Peter III marked the beginning of his reign with a number of favors and preferential state orders. Were returned from exile Minich, Biron, Lestok, Lilienfeld, Natalya Lopukhina and others, a decree was given to abolish the oppressive salt duty, granted charter of liberty of the nobility, the secret office and the terrible “word and deed” were destroyed, the schismatics were returned, who fled from persecution under the empresses Elizabeth and Anna Ioannovna, and now they have received complete freedom of faith. But the reason for the adoption of these measures was not the real concern of Peter III for his subjects, but the desire for the first time to gain popularity. They were carried out inconsistently and did not bring people's love to the new emperor. The military and the clergy became especially hostile to him. In the army, Peter III aroused dissatisfaction with a predilection for the Holsteiners and Prussian orders, the destruction of the noble guards, influential in St. Petersburg, the change of Peter's uniforms to Prussian ones, the naming of regiments by the names of their chiefs, and not as before - by provinces. The clergy were dissatisfied with the attitude of Peter III towards schismatics, the emperor’s disrespect for the Orthodox clergy and icon veneration (there were rumors that he was going to change all Russian priests from cassocks into civilian clothes - according to the Protestant model), and, most importantly, with decrees on the management of bishops and monastic estates, who turned the Orthodox clergy into salaried officials.

Added to this was general dissatisfaction. foreign policy new emperor. Peter III was a passionate admirer of Frederick II and completely submitted to the influence of the Prussian ambassador in St. Petersburg, Baron Goltz. Peter not only stopped Russian participation in the Seven Years' War, which hampered the Prussians to the extreme, but concluded a peace treaty with them to the detriment of all the interests of Russia. The emperor gave Prussia all the Russian conquests (i.e., its eastern provinces) and concluded an alliance with it, according to which the Russians and Prussians were supposed to provide assistance in the event of an attack on any of them in 12 thousand infantry and 4 thousand cavalry. It is said that Frederick the Great personally dictated the terms of this peace treaty with the consent of Peter III. By secret articles of the treaty, the Prussian king undertook to help Peter acquire the duchy of Schleswig from Denmark in favor of Holstein, to assist Prince George of Holstein in the occupation of the ducal throne of Courland and to guarantee the then constitution of Poland. Frederick promised that after the death of the reigning Polish king, Prussia would facilitate the appointment of a successor pleasing to Russia. The last point was the only one that gave some benefit not to Holstein, but to Russia itself. The Russian army, stationed in Prussia under the command of Chernyshev, was ordered to oppose the Austrians, who had previously been allies of Russia in the Seven Years' War.

The troops and Russian society were terribly outraged by all this. The hatred of Russians for the Germans and the new order intensified, thanks to the cruelty, tactlessness of the uncle of the Emperor Georg Holstein, who arrived in Russia and was promoted to field marshal. Peter III began to prepare for a war for Holstein interests with Denmark. Denmark, in response, entered Mecklenburg and occupied the vicinity of Wismar. In June 1762 orders were given to the guards to prepare for the war. The emperor wanted to open a campaign after his name day on the 29th, this time not listening to the advice of Frederick II: to be crowned before the start of the war.

Emperor Peter III. Portrait by Antropov, 1762

Meanwhile, Peter III's relationship with his wife Catherine became increasingly strained. The tsar was not a deeply vicious person, as his wife later wrote about him, but he barely maintained an officially correct relationship with her, often interrupting them with rude antics. There were even rumors that Catherine was threatened with arrest. On June 28, 1762, Peter III was in Oranienbaum, and a conspiracy was already prepared in the troops against him, to which some prominent nobles joined. The accidental arrest of one of its members, Passek, hastened the 28 June coup. On the morning of that day, Catherine went to Petersburg and declared herself empress, and her son, Paul, heir. On the evening of the 28th, at the head of the guard, she moved to Oranienbaum. Confused, Peter went to Kronstadt, which was occupied by the supporters of the Empress, and was not allowed to go there. Not heeding Minich's advice to retire to Revel, and then to Pomerania to the troops, the emperor returned to Oranienbaum and signed the abdication.

On the same day, June 29, Peter III was brought to Peterhof, arrested and sent to Ropsha, chosen for his residence, until a decent apartment in the Shlisselburg fortress was finished for him. Catherine left under Peter her lover Alexei Orlov, Prince Baryatinsky and three guards officers with a hundred soldiers. On July 6, 1762, the emperor suddenly died. The cause of death of Peter III in the manifesto published on this occasion was named with obvious mockery "hemorrhoidal cavities and severe colic." At the burial of Peter III, which took place in the Church of the Annunciation of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, Catherine was not at the request of the Senate, caused by the proposal of Count N. Panin, to postpone her intention to attend for the sake of health

Literature about Peter III

M. I. Semevsky, “Six months from Russian history of the 18th century.” ("Otech. Zap.", 1867)

V. Timiryazev, "The six-month reign of Peter III" ("Historical Bulletin, 1903, Nos. 3 and 4)

V. Bilbasov, "History of Catherine II"

"Notes of Empress Catherine"

Shchebalsky, "The Political System of Peter III"

Brikner, "The life of Peter III before accession to the throne" ("Russian Bulletin", 1883).

Peter III (Peter Fedorovich, Karl Peter Ulrich) (1728-1762), Russian emperor (since 1761).

Born February 21, 1728 in the city of Kiel (Germany). Son of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich and Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter I.

Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, who ascended the throne, appointed her nephew as her heir. The little prince was brought from Germany to Russia and began to be brought up at the Russian court. Mentors and many nobles paid attention to his rudeness, uncouthness, poor physical development, childishness and extreme stubbornness. Peter did not love his new homeland, he despised the Russian people and, although he converted to Orthodoxy, he secretly continued to adhere to Lutheranism. These qualities could not but play a fatal role in the future.

In 1745, Peter married Princess Sophia Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst (future Empress Catherine II). Family life was not happy, the spouses did not love each other, and even a son born nine years later (the future Emperor Paul I) did not bring the grand ducal couple closer. Peter openly expressed doubts that he was his father, and having ascended the throne, he refused to recognize Paul as heir.

After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna (1761), Peter became emperor. He immediately took a number of unpopular measures in Russian noble society. An admirer of the Prussian king Frederick II, the new sovereign emerged from the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763, in which Russia participated together with France and Austria against Prussia. Peace with Frederick and the return of all the conquered lands to him nullified the victory of Russian weapons.

The strong court groups of the Vorontsovs and Shuvalovs, who supported Peter, managed to carry out a number of important reforms. In 1761, the Decree on the Liberty of the Nobility was signed, which allowed representatives of the noble class not to serve the state. In 1762, the Secret Chancellery was abolished - an organ of political investigation. However, other actions of Peter caused a wave of discontent in the army, the Church and at court.

The preparation for the secularization of the monastic lands was perceived in society as the beginning of the transformation of the Orthodox Church into the Lutheran. Disregard for national customs, unpopular foreign policy, the introduction of the Prussian order in the army led to a conspiracy in the guards. At the head of the conspirators was the emperor's wife, Catherine. Peter was deposed from the throne, arrested and sent to the Ropsha manor near St. Petersburg, where he died on July 18, 1762 under unclear circumstances.

Portrait of the future Emperor Peter III by G. K. Groot, 1743

Genealogical tree - proof of family ties between Peter III and Catherine II

The history of the greatest Russian empress begins in 1729 in Stettin. She was born under the name Sophia Augusta Federica of Anhalt-Zerbst. In 1744, Elizabeth Alekseevna invited Catherine II to St. Petersburg, where she converted to Orthodoxy. She did not agree with her fate, but her upbringing and humility took over. Soon, Grand Duke Peter Ulrich was married to a young lady as a bride. The wedding of Peter III and Catherine II took place on September 1, 1745.

Childhood and education

Mother of Peter III - Anna Petrovna

Father of Peter III - Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp

The husband of Catherine II was born in 1728 in the German town of Kiel. They named him Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp, since childhood he was supposed to inherit the Swedish throne. In 1742, Elizaveta Alekseevna declared Karl the heir to the Russian throne, he remained the only descendant of Peter I the Great. Peter Ulrich arrived in St. Petersburg, where he was christened and given the name Pyotr Fedorovich. The procedure went through with great effort, the young heir opposed Orthodoxy and openly declared his dislike for Russia. Upbringing and education were not given importance, this was reflected in the future views of the emperor.

Tsesarevich Pyotr Fedorovich and Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, 1740s G.K. Groot

Portrait of Peter III - Antropov A.P. 1762

The strong-willed, ambitious, fair Empress of Russia was not lucky with her husband. The husband of Catherine II was not a worthy person, not too physically and mentally developed. When Peter III and Catherine II first met, she was outraged by his ignorance and lack of education. But the young people had no choice, the future was predetermined by Elizaveta Petrovna. Marriage did not bring Pyotr Fedorovich to his senses, on the contrary, he expanded the circle of his amusements and hobbies. He was a man with strange preferences. The emperor could run around the room for hours with a whip or gather all the lackeys in order to play soldiers. Pyotr Fedorovich had a genuine interest in military service, but only in a playful way, he was not going to seriously engage in this.

Relationships between spouses

The husband of Catherine the Great turned out to be cold, indifferent and even hostile towards her. For example, he could wake her up at night to eat oysters or talk about the lady he liked. Pyotr Fedorovich was tactless, not only to his wife, but also to those around him. Even after the birth of his son Pavel Petrovich in 1754, Peter remained a big child. Catherine all this time was engaged in self-development and education. Even during the reign of Elizabeth, she occupied her worthy niche at court, where she soon found like-minded people and minions. People saw in her the future for the Russian Empire, many were close to her liberal views. Her husband's inattention was one of the reasons that pushed the future empress into the arms of her first lovers and favorites.

Ekaterina Alekseevna conducted diplomatic correspondence, interfered in state affairs, tried to influence them. And this did not go unnoticed by Elizabeth Petrovna and the husband of Catherine the Great, in order to avoid exile, she began to play her game secretly, convincing the court of her simplicity and harmlessness. If it were not for the sudden death of Pyotr Fedorovich's aunt, he would not have ascended the throne, because the conspiracy already existed. With the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, the old branch of the Romanov family was interrupted.

Peter III with Catherine II and son - G.K. Groot

Sudden reign

Peter III began his reign with the destruction of the "secret office", gave liberties to the nobles in 1762, pardoned many people. But this did not endear the people to the emperor. His desire to reform the church and the return of all the lands conquered from Prussia in the Seven Years' War made the emperor the subject of popular indignation. Catherine II took advantage of her dislike for her husband, all the while preparing a coup, by the day of which there were 10,000 soldiers and supporters among the nobles behind her, including the Orlov brothers. Which, while the husband of Catherine the Great was in Oranienbaum, secretly brought her to St. Petersburg and proclaimed Empress, and Paul I in the future, heir to the Russian crown on July 9, 1762.

The next day, Peter III abdicated the throne. A letter from Peter III to his wife who overthrew him has been preserved.

Despite this request, during his imprisonment in Ropsha, he died under unclear circumstances, according to one version - from a blow to the head during a drinking bout, according to another - he was poisoned. It was announced to the people that he had died of "hemorrhoidal colic." This was the beginning of the era of the reign of Catherine II the Great.

Coronation of Catherine II in the Assumption Cathedral. 1762. According to the drawing by J.-L. Devilly and M. Makhaeva

Versions of the murder

According to one version, Alexei Orlov was called the killer. Three letters of Alexei to Catherine from Ropsha are known, of which the first two exist in the original.

“Our freak became very ill and an unexpected colic seized him, and I’m dangerous that he doesn’t die tonight, but I’m more afraid that he doesn’t come to life ...”

“I’m afraid of your Majesty’s wrath, so that you didn’t deign to think furiously at us and so that we weren’t the parable of the death of your villain<…>he himself is so ill now that I don’t think that he survived until the evening and is almost completely unconscious, which the whole team here knows and prays to God to get out of our hands as soon as possible. »

From these two letters, the researchers realized that the abdicated sovereign suddenly fell ill. The guardsmen did not need to forcibly take his life due to the transience of a serious illness.

The third letter speaks of the violent nature of the death of Peter III:

“Mother, he is not in the world, but no one thought of this, and how can we think of raising our hands against the Sovereign. But, madam, a disaster happened: we were drunk, and he too, he argued with Prince Fyodor [Baryatinsky]; we didn’t have time to separate, but he was gone.”

The third letter is the only documentary evidence known to date of the murder of the deposed emperor. This letter has come down to us in a copy made by F. V. Rostopchin. The original letter was allegedly destroyed by Emperor Paul I in the early days of his reign.

Fate famous people, their pedigree is always of interest to history buffs. Often the interest is in those who tragically died or were killed, especially if it happens at a young age. So, the personality of Emperor Peter III, whose fate was cruel to him from childhood, worries many readers.

Tsar Peter 3

Peter 3 was born on February 21, 1728 in the city of Kiel in the Duchy of Holstein. Today it is the territory of Germany. His father was the nephew of the King of Sweden, and his mother was the daughter of Peter I. Being a relative of two sovereigns, this man could become a contender for two thrones at once. But life decreed otherwise: the parents of Peter 3 left him early, which affected his fate.

Almost immediately, two months after the birth of the child, the mother of Peter 3 fell ill and died. At the age of eleven, he also lost his father: the boy remained in the care of his uncle. In 1742 he was transferred to Russia, where he became the heir to the Romanov dynasty. After the death of Elizabeth, he was on the Russian throne for only six months: he survived the betrayal of his wife and died in prison. Who are the parents of Peter 3 and what is their fate? This question interests many readers.

III Fedorovich

The father of Peter III was Karl-Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. He was born on April 30, 1700 in the city of Stockholm and was the nephew of Charles XII - King of Sweden. He failed to ascend the throne, and in 1721 Karl-Friedrich went to Riga. All the years after the death of his uncle Charles XII and before coming to Russia, the father of Peter III tried to return Schleswig to his possessions. He really hoped for the support of Peter I. In the same year, Karl-Friedrich travels from Riga to Russia, where he receives a salary from the Russian government and expects support for his rights on the throne of Sweden.

In 1724 he was engaged to Anna Petrovna, a Russian princess. He soon died, and the marriage took place already in 1725. These were the parents of Peter 3, who displeased Menshikov and made other enemies in the capital of Russia. Unable to withstand the harassment, in 1727 they left St. Petersburg and returned to Kiel. Here a young couple next year an heir was born, the future Emperor Peter 3. Karl-Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, died in 1739 in Holstein, leaving his eleven-year-old son an orphan.

Anna - mother of Peter 3

Russian princess Anna, mother of Peter III, was born in 1708 in Moscow. She and her younger sister Elizabeth were illegitimate until the father, Peter I, married their mother (Marta Skavronskaya). In February 1712, Anna became the real "Princess Anna" - she signed her letters to her mother and father that way. The girl was very developed and capable: at the age of six she learned to write, then she mastered four foreign languages.

At fifteen, she was considered the first beauty in Europe, and many diplomats dreamed of seeing Princess Anna Petrovna Romanova. She was described as a beautiful brunette of angelic appearance with a beautiful complexion and a slender figure. Father, Peter I, dreamed of intermarrying with Karl-Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp and therefore agreed to the engagement of his eldest daughter Anna with him.

The tragic fate of the Russian princess

Anna Petrovna did not want to leave Russia and part with her close relatives. But she had no choice: her father died, Catherine I ascended the throne, who died unexpectedly two years later. The parents of Peter 3 were harassed and forced to return to Kiel. Through the efforts of Menshikov, the young married couple remained almost impoverished, and in this state they arrived in Holstein.

Anna wrote many letters to her sister Elizabeth, in which she asked to be rescued from there. But she didn't get any answers. And her life was unhappy: her husband, Karl-Friedrich, changed a lot, drank a lot, went down. Spent a lot of time in dubious establishments. Anna was alone in the cold palace: here in 1728 she gave birth to her son. After the birth, a fever occurred: Anna was ill for two months. On May 4, 1728, she died. She was only 20 years old and her son was two months old. So, Peter 3 first lost his mother, and 11 years later, his father.

The parents of Peter 3 had an unfortunate fate, which involuntarily passed on to their son. He also lived a short life and died tragically, having managed to stay as emperor for only six months.

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

There are many personalities in Russian history who, by their actions, make descendants (and in some cases even their contemporaries) shrug their shoulders in surprise and ask the question - “Have people brought this country at least some benefit?”

Unfortunately, among such figures there are also people who, by virtue of their origin, fell to the very top of the Russian state power, bringing confusion and discord to the progressive movement of the state mechanism, and even frankly harming Russia on the scale of the country's development. These people include the Russian Emperor Peter Fedorovich, or simply Tsar Peter III.

The activities of Peter III as emperor were inextricably linked with Prussia, which in the middle of the 18th century was a major European power and played an important role in the major military conflict of that time - the Seven Years' War.

Seven Years' War can be briefly described as a war against Prussia, which had grown too strong after the division of the Austrian inheritance. Russia participated in the war within the framework of the anti-Prussian coalition (consisting of France and Austria according to the Versailles Defensive Alliance, and Russia which joined them in 1756).

In the war, Russia defended its geopolitical interests in the Baltic region and northern Europe, on the territory of which Prussia fixed its greedy gaze. The short reign of Peter III, due to his excessive love for Prussia, had a detrimental effect on Russian interests in this region, and who knows how the history of our state would have developed if he had lingered on the throne longer? Indeed, following the surrender of positions in the almost won war with the Prussians, Peter was preparing for a new campaign - against the Danes.

Peter III Fedorovich was the son of the daughter of Peter I Anna and the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Charles Friedrich (who was the son of the sister of the Swedish king Charles XII and this created a well-known paradox for the reigning houses of the two powers, since Peter was the heir to both the Russian and Swedish thrones).

Full name Petra sounded like Karl Peter Ulrich. The death of his mother, which followed a week after his birth, left Peter virtually an orphan, since the disorderly and reckless life of Karl Friedrich did not allow him to properly raise his son. And after the death of his father in 1739, a certain marshal O. F. Brummer, an old-school stern martinet, who subjected the boy to all kinds of punishments for the slightest offense, and instilled in him the ideas of Lutheran meekness and Swedish patriotism (which suggests that Peter was originally prepared still to the Swedish throne). Peter grew impressionable, nervous person, who loved art and music, but most of all adored the army and everything that was somehow connected with military affairs. In all other areas of knowledge, he remained a complete ignoramus.

In 1742, the boy was brought to Russia, where his aunt, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, took care of him. He was baptized under the name of Peter Fedorovich, and Elizabeth chose the daughter of Christian-August Anhalt of Zerbst and Johanna-Elizabeth - Sophia Augusta Frederick (in Orthodoxy - Ekaterina Alekseevna) as a candidate for the role of his wife.

Peter's relationship with Catherine did not work out from the very beginning: the infantile young man was much inferior in intelligence to his wife, was still interested in children's war games and did not show any signs of attention to Catherine at all. It is believed that until the 1750s there was no relationship between the spouses, however, after a certain operation, Catherine gives birth to a son, Pavel, from Peter in 1754. The birth of a son did not help to bring together essentially strangers, Peter has a favorite, Elizaveta Vorontsova.

Around the same time, a regiment of Holstein soldiers was discharged to Pyotr Fedorovich, and he spends almost all his free time on the parade ground, completely surrendering to military drill.

During his stay in Russia, Peter almost never learned the Russian language, he did not like Russia at all, did not try to learn its history, cultural traditions, and simply despised many Russian customs. His attitude towards the Russian Church was just as disrespectful - according to contemporaries, during church services he behaved inappropriately, did not observe Orthodox rites and fasts.

Empress Elizabeth deliberately did not allow Peter to decide any political issues, leaving behind him the only post of director of the gentry corps. At the same time, Pyotr Fedorovich did not hesitate to criticize the actions of the Russian government, and after the start of the Seven Years' War, he openly showed sympathy for Frederick II, the Prussian king. All this, of course, did not add either popularity or any little respect for him from the circles of the Russian aristocracy.

An interesting foreign policy prologue to the reign of Pyotr Fedorovich was an incident that “happened” with Field Marshal S. F. Apraksin. Russia, which entered the Seven Years' War, quite quickly seized the initiative from the Prussians in the Livonian direction, and throughout the spring of 1757 pushed the army of Frederick II to the west. Having driven the Prussian army across the Neman River with a powerful onslaught after a general battle near the village of Gross-Egersdorf, Apraksin suddenly turned the Russian troops back. The Prussians, who woke up only a week later, quickly made up for their lost positions, and pursued the Russians on the heels right up to the Prussian border.

What happened to Apraksin, this experienced commander and veteran warrior, what kind of obsession came over him?

The explanation is the news received in those days by Apraksin from Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin from the capital of the Russian Empire about the sudden illness of Elizabeth Petrovna. Logically judging that in the event of her death, Pyotr Fedorovich (who was crazy about Frederick II) will take the throne and for military actions with the Prussian king he will definitely not pat him on the head, Apraksin (most likely, on the orders of Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who also decided to play it safe ) retreats back to Russia.

At that time, it worked out, Elizabeth recovered from her illness, the chancellor who fell into disfavor was sent to the village, and the field marshal was put on trial, which then lasted three years and ended with the sudden death of Apraksin from apoplexy.

Portrait of Peter III by artist A. P. Antropov, 1762

However, later Elizaveta Petrovna still dies, and on December 25, 1761, Pyotr Fedorovich ascends the throne.

Literally from the very first days after his accession, Peter III developed a vigorous activity, as if proving to the entire royal court and to himself that he could rule better than his aunt. According to one of Peter's contemporaries, - “already in the morning he was in his office, where he listened to reports ..., then he hurried to the Senate or collegiums. ... In the Senate, he took on the most important cases himself energetically and assertively. As if in imitation of his grandfather, the reformer Peter I, he proposed a series of transformations.

In general, during the 186 days of his reign, Peter managed to issue many legislative acts and rescripts.

Among them, the decree on the secularization of church land property and the Manifesto on granting "liberties and freedom to the entire Russian noble nobility" (thanks to which the nobles received an exceptionally privileged position) can be called somewhat serious. In addition, Peter seemed to have begun some kind of struggle with the Russian clergy, issuing a decree on the obligatory shaving of priests' beards and prescribing for them a dress code very similar to the uniform of Lutheran pastors. In the army, Peter III everywhere imposed the Prussian order of military service.

In order to somehow raise the steadily declining popularity of the new emperor, his confidants insisted on the implementation of certain liberal laws. So, for example, signed by the king, a decree was issued on the abolition of the Secret Investigation Office.

On the positive side, one can characterize the economic policy of Pyotr Fedorovich. He created the State Bank of Russia and issued a decree on the issuance of banknotes (which entered into force already under Catherine), Peter III decided on the freedom of Russia's foreign trade - all these initiatives, however, were fully realized already in the reign of Catherine the Great .

As interesting as Peter's plans were in the economic sector, things were just as sad in the foreign policy sphere.

Soon after the accession of Peter Fedorovich to the throne, the representative of Frederick II, Heinrich Leopold von Goltz, arrives in St. Petersburg, whose main goal was to negotiate a separate peace with Prussia. The so-called "Petersburg Peace" of April 24, 1762 was concluded with Frederick: Russia returned all the eastern lands conquered from Prussia. In addition, the new allies agreed to provide each other with military assistance in the form of 12,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry units in case of war. And this condition was much more important for Peter III, since he was preparing for a war with Denmark.

As contemporaries testified, the grumbling against Peter, as a result of all these dubious foreign policy "achievements", was "nationwide". The instigator of the conspiracy was the wife of Pyotr Fedorovich, with whom relations have recently worsened utterly. The speech of Catherine, who declared herself Empress on June 28, 1762, was supported among the guards and a number of court nobles - Peter III Fedorovich had no choice but to sign a paper on his own abdication.

On July 6, temporarily located in the town of Ropsha (before being transferred to the Shlissedburg fortress), Peter suddenly dies "from hemorrhoidal lapses and severe colic."

Thus ended the inglorious short reign of the non-Russian in spirit and deeds of Emperor Peter III.