Tsar Peter 3. Love relationship between Peter III and Catherine II

The son of the Duke of Holstein and Anna Petrovna received his first name in honor of his grandmother’s brother, Charles XII, and his second name, in honor of his maternal grandfather, Peter the Great. His parents died early, and the little orphan remained the ruler of a small German state in the very north of the German lands (for some time he was considered a potential heir to the Swedish throne). His upbringing was extremely bad. The mentor, Count Otto Brümmer, a narrow-minded and rude man, instilled in Peter a love of military affairs, drills and parades, but cared little about his mental development. Peter read little and mostly adventure novels. He learned to play the violin, and carried this hobby throughout his life. He played, apparently, quite well, and already in Russia he performed as part of the court orchestras.

Russia was always present in his destiny. Already from birth, the name of the grandson of Peter I inevitably “surfaced” in all the dynastic vicissitudes for which the 18th century was so rich. Peter was especially disliked at the court of Anna Ioannovna. There he was nicknamed “the devil,” either because of his nimbleness and restlessness, or because of his stubborn reluctance to consider the little duke, even a potential heir to the throne. So he grew up in the old German traditions of a small noble house. But then Anna’s reign ended, the Brunswick family appeared on the throne, and Aunt Elizabeth came to power. She had no choice - Peter was the only heir. She had high hopes for him.

Already on February 5, 1742, the young Duke was brought to St. Petersburg. They hastily began to prepare him for his future role, taught him the Russian language, baptized him into Orthodoxy with the name Peter Fedorovich, and on November 7, 1742 declared heir to the throne. But there was no way he could become a Russian emperor. He was indifferent to religion, had not outlived his old habits, still revered Frederick the Great and the Prussian army, spent his time hunting and feasting, and selflessly taught his Holstein soldiers to march in formation. It was not that Russia was alien to him, it did not enter his heart and soul. He did not understand that this empire could not be ruled in the same way as he ruled his small duchy. From the outside, everything seemed easy, but as soon as he actually became the head of a huge power, he became confused. And most importantly, he was unable to win the love of his subjects, remaining a complete stranger to both the people and the army. He was not too fond of Elizabeth, seeing that behind the tinsel of court splendor often hidden insignificant content. She answered her nephew in the same way.

Outwardly inconspicuous, he had a not very handsome, but not ugly face, a slender figure, narrow shoulders, and in a Prussian military uniform he seemed awkward. But he was capable of tenderness, friendship, and even love. Catherine was unable to achieve the latter - the spouses were too different in character, lifestyle and interests. He loved the less showy and rude Countess Elizaveta Romanovna Vorontsova (niece of Chancellor M.I. Vorontsov and sister of Princess E.R. Dashkova), and loved her devotedly and faithfully. No wonder in his last notes to his wife he begged not to separate him from Vorontsova and not to take away his dear violin.

But that was later. In the meantime, he stood at the coffin of his aunt and did not believe that he had finally become the All-Russian Emperor Peter III. At the funeral ceremony, he walked behind the coffin at the head of the procession and either quickened his pace or slowed it down. These strange leaps reflected his entire short reign as if in a mirror.

Peter's policy was largely spontaneous. Much of what he started was continued and completed by Catherine, although, of course, she always tried to distance herself from her “half-mad” husband, whose overthrow she considered a blessing for her subjects. Peter began to restore and strengthen the Russian fleet, then Catherine recreated it. Peter issued a Manifesto on the freedom of the nobility, then Catherine confirmed it with her Letter of Commendation. Peter signed a decree on the secularization of church property, and Catherine implemented it just two years later.

Peter's main mistake was his adherence to his idol, Frederick. The emperor dressed the Russian army in Prussian uniforms, concluded a sudden peace with yesterday’s enemy, renouncing all Russian conquests - and this was enough to lose everything. Deep down, Catherine despised her husband. The last straw was his rude shout at her during a gala dinner on June 9, 1762 in the presence of dignitaries, generals and diplomats: “Folle!” - "Stupid!" She couldn't wait for the official breakup. And on June 28, 1762, his reign was interrupted.

Early in the morning of that memorable day, Alexey Orlov woke up Catherine in the Monplaisir Palace in Peterhof with the words: “It’s time to get up, everything is ready to proclaim you!” She got up and went to St. Petersburg, where the entire capital quickly swore an oath of allegiance to the new empress. And the emperor was sitting in Oranienbaum. He rushed to Peterhof, but Catherine was no longer there. Confused, Peter rushed about, sent orders to the loyal (as it seemed to him) troops, but they were intercepted. He didn't know what to do. Field Marshal Minich, returned by him from Siberian exile, offered to appear in St. Petersburg and, with his appearance, like Peter the Great, pacify the rebellion. But how little the current emperor resembled his mighty grandfather! He decided to sail to Kronstadt. When approaching the harbor, when he demanded to let him through, he heard the answer that the emperor was no longer there, but the empress was. He probably could have fled abroad, but he relied on the mercy of his wife. His idol Frederick said: “He allowed himself to be dethroned, like a child sent to bed.”

On June 29, from Oranienbaum, where he returned, Peter sent Catherine a handwritten renunciation. And he was arrested. Together with Vorontsova, they were transported to Peterhof, separated there, and the disgraced emperor was transported to Ropsha, a small estate in the same Petersburg district. Here he was put under guard. Peter asked to go to Holstein. “Your Majesty can be confident in me: I will not think or do anything against your person and against your reign.” It was possible to believe this, but not for a woman like Catherine. She thought of placing him in the Shlisselburg fortress, and transferring Ivan Antonovich, who was already there, to Kexholm. But her comrades prevented the appearance of a second “iron mask” in Russia. On July 6, Alexey Orlov wrote to his empress in tangled scrawls: “Mother, merciful empress! How can I explain, describe what happened: you won’t believe your faithful servant, but before God I will tell the truth. Mother! I’m ready to die, but I don’t know how this disaster happened. We perished when you did not have mercy. Mother, He is not in the world! But no one thought of this, and how can we think of raising our hand against the Emperor! But, Empress, disaster has happened. We were drunk and so was he. He got into an argument at the table with Prince Fyodor (Baryatinsky), and before we had time to separate him, he was already gone. We ourselves don’t remember what we did, but every single one of us is to blame. Worthy of execution. Have mercy on me, at least for my brother. I brought the confession to you - and there is nothing to look for. Forgive me or tell me to finish soon. The light is not kind, they angered you and destroyed your souls forever.”

They were not allowed close to the body displayed for three days in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Peter was lying in the uniform of a Holstein dragoon. According to a contemporary, “the appearance of the body was extremely pitiful and caused fear and horror, since the face was black and swollen, but quite recognizable, and the hair was fluttering in complete disarray from the draft.” They buried him next to the grave of Anna Leopoldovna. Catherine did not attend the funeral at the request of the Senate, saying she was ill.

The wife of Peter III, Catherine II, is an amazing phenomenon in our history. Like Peter I, she remained in it with the epithet “Great”. Only two sovereigns of the Romanov dynasty received such an honor. But the most important thing is that, being a German princess by birth, she, having arrived in Russia, was able not only to take root in it, but to become the most Russian of all Russian empresses. Her time was a time of glorious victories and significant transformations, the “golden age” of the Russian Empire.

Sofia-Frederica-Augusta (her family name was Fike) was born in the castle of Stettin in the family of Prince (that was the title her father bore) Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst. Her mother Johanna Elisabeth was 22 years younger than her husband. According to her father, Fike came from an old and famous dynasty. The Dukes of Anhalt-Zerbst belonged to the House of Ascania, mentioned since the mid-11th century. In particular, among Catherine’s ancestors along this line is the Margrave of Brandenburg Albrecht the Bear, who lived in the 12th century. His successors expanded the boundaries of their possessions and founded the future capital of Germany - Berlin. Then the family divided into several branches: one owned the Principality of Anhalt, the other - the Duchy of Saxony. By the 18th century, only the Anhalt dynasty survived, which in turn was also divided into lines that owned different cities of this land: Zerbst, Dessau, Köthen, etc.

Despite the fact that the family was ancient and noble, the Anhalt-Zerbst princes lived modestly. Fike's father served in the Prussian army, where he had the rank of general, and later rose to the rank of field marshal. Fike's mother came from the Holstein-Gottorp dynasty, which had been known in Russia since the time of Peter the Great. Along this Holstein-Gottorp line, Fike was her future husband's second cousin, and Princess Frederick's uncle became King of Sweden in 1751. In addition, Fike was the fourth cousin of Charlotte Sophia of Brunswick, mother of Peter II.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna chose the young princess as a bride for her nephew, guided primarily by the following considerations: “She would be of the Protestant religion (this, unlike Catholicism, was believed to facilitate the transition to Orthodoxy) and although she is from a noble, but such a small family that neither the connections nor the retinue of the princess aroused special attention or envy of the local people.”

Fike received a very good education. She knew German and French perfectly, could speak Italian and understood English. I've read a lot since childhood. She did not show any talent for music due to a lack of ear for music; much later, Catherine admitted that music for her was nothing more than noise. But from childhood, she had those remarkable qualities that helped her later become a great empress.

On January 1, 1744, Johanna Elisabeth received an invitation to come to Russia with her daughter. Their entry into the territory of the great empire took place on January 26 in Riga. The honorary escort sent by Elizabeth was commanded by Baron K.-F.-I, who later became literary famous. von Munchausen. On February 3, the guests arrived in St. Petersburg, but the Empress was in Moscow, so they also had to go to the old capital. At first sight, Fike charmed Elizabeth.

The princess set herself three tasks: to please Grand Duke Peter, the Empress and the Russian people. She performed the latter brilliantly. She persistently studied Russian, and although she spoke with a barely perceptible accent until the end of her life, it became native to her. On June 28, 1744, she converted to Orthodoxy with the name Ekaterina Alekseevna in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral, and the next day she was engaged to Peter. Catherine loved Russian customs and traditions, sincerely professed the Orthodox faith, and often went out “to the people.” She stubbornly wanted to turn into a Russian Grand Duchess, and she succeeded. In our history there are few such patriots as Catherine. She spared no effort for her new homeland, and did not even think about her German relatives, calling Peter the Great her “grandfather.”

The real grandson of the great emperor was not interesting to her - their tastes, passions and principles were too different. For a long time, the marriage remained formal, and only in 1754 Catherine gave birth to a son, Paul. He was immediately separated from his parents. Having lost her child, and then her husband, who completely separated from her, Catherine was left to her own devices. She did a lot of self-education. “I had good teachers: the misfortune of solitude,” she said. I read entire libraries, especially fell in love with the French encyclopedists. Already when she reigned, she corresponded with Voltaire and Diderot, who considered her their student and lavished countless praises on her. Voltaire called Catherine “the most brilliant star of the North.” But that was later, and for now she was just becoming familiar with the sparkling heights of European thought.

One should not, however, think that the joys of life passed her by. Catherine loved hunting, horse riding, festivals, dancing and masquerades. The first suitors also appeared, but more about Catherine’s personal life a little later.

Life at court taught the Grand Duchess a lot: patience, secrecy, the ability to control oneself and suppress feelings. All this greatly helped her on the imperial throne. This modest and sweet girl had highly developed egoism and ambition. In a letter to the English envoy C. Williams dated August 12, 1756, she formulated her motto of those years: “I will reign or perish.”

In December 1761, Elizabeth died. Catherine did not leave the empress’s coffin and burst into tears. It is difficult to say how sincere her sadness was, but her behavior in the eyes of her subjects differed for the better from Peter’s behavior. The careless policies of the new autocrat ultimately led to his collapse, and, relying on the guard, Catherine almost instantly removed her husband from the throne. The Orlov brothers played a big role in this coup, and above all Gregory, the favorite of the new empress.

Not everything was smooth with the political status of the new empress - Catherine could not be considered a legitimate empress. Elizabeth, Peter’s own daughter, removed the German ruler from the throne, who occupied it contrary to the rules established since ancient times; now a purebred German woman has overthrown an unloved, but still legitimate emperor. Not all ordinary guards knew that on June 28 they were being led to depose Peter III: they were sure that he had died, and they would only have to swear allegiance to the new empress. When the deception was discovered, open protests began in the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky regiments, which had to be suppressed with the most stringent measures. The death of Peter III also caused various rumors. More and more often they began to talk about Ivan Antonovich, who had been imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress for 20 years. Only a narrow circle of people knew that he had lost his mind.

On September 22, 1762, Catherine II was crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Her 34-year reign began.

Her official position was strengthened, but real recognition was still far away. A few days later, it became known about a conspiracy to elevate Ivan Antonovich to the throne. Although everything was limited to conversations, Catherine saw a danger in this. The culmination of the conspiracy was the insane attempt of second lieutenant Vasily Mirovich to free Ivan Antonovich. On July 4, 1764, while on guard, he rebelled, arrested the commandant, but could not do anything more - the officers who were under Ivan Antonovich were ordered to kill the prisoner if they tried to free him, and they carried out the order.

But conspiracies were a lesser evil compared to the claims of those to whom Catherine owed the throne. These people - especially the Orlovs - considered the empress to be something of a successful investment and now wanted to enjoy all possible benefits. They wanted ranks, money and power. At first it was difficult to refuse them. However, Catherine quickly surrounded herself with smart advisers, such as Count Nikita Panin and former chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin. At first, her program was simple - to restore the best of what was lost during previous reigns and to revive the national dignity of Russia. This is what the first government measures were aimed at.

She elevated the art of communication to unattainable heights. She knew how to please, win over people and win them over to her side. She was always polite, attentive to others and encouraged others to do the same: “Study people, try to use them, without trusting them indiscriminately; look for true dignity, even if it is at the end of the world: for the most part it is modest and hidden somewhere in the distance. Valor does not show itself from the crowd, does not strive forward, is not greedy and does not talk about itself.”

The Empress surrounded herself with truly remarkable comrades. She knew how not only to find a worthy person, but also to place him in the place where he could best demonstrate his abilities and bring more benefit. Catherine perfectly understood that there were people smarter and more talented than her, more competent in certain areas - and she was happy about such people, welcoming them. “Oh, how cruelly they make a mistake when they pretend that someone’s dignity frightens me. On the contrary, I would like only heroes to be around me. And I tried in every possible way to instill heroism in everyone in whom I noticed the slightest ability for it.” And she did it superbly. She knew how to praise and note merits, often exaggerating them. “Whoever does not respect merit does not have it himself; He who does not try to find merit and does not discover it is not worthy to reign.” With her favors she encouraged her to new exploits. Here is a typical example. When Suvorov took Prague during the suppression of the Kosciuszko movement, he sent the empress a report consisting of three words: “Hurray! Prague. Suvorov". She replied: “Bravo! Field Marshal. Catherine,” thereby announcing the conferment of a high military rank.

The Empress was forgiving and lenient towards manifestations of weakness. “Live and let others live,” she once said to her secretary G.R. Derzhavin. One day they asked her: “Is Your Majesty happy with all these people?” She replied: “Not really, but I praise loudly and scold quietly.” That is why we will not find almost a single negative review about her from contemporaries. She removed people who failed to fulfill their responsibilities, but she did it tactfully and gently. Under Catherine, there were no those loud overthrows when someone who fell out of favor lost everything and was trampled into the mud, like, for example, Menshikov, Biron or Osterman. “I adhere to the rule that the evil should do as little evil as possible; why follow the example of the evil ones? Why become cruel towards them? This means violating responsibilities to oneself and to society.” Of course, the above does not mean that she calmly tolerated betrayal, deception or criminal inaction, but on the whole she preferred, where possible, to do without excessive harshness.

She knew how to listen to the opinions of her interlocutor, and the conversation with her was interesting and meaningful. Grimm noted: “She always correctly grasped the thoughts of her interlocutor, therefore, she never found fault with inaccurate or bold expression and, of course, was never offended by it.” Catherine was smart, but she spoke about her intellectual abilities with a smile: “I never thought that I had a mind capable of creating, and I often met people in whom I found, without envy, much more intelligence than in myself.”

She loved to take risks. In 1768, she was the first in Russia to agree to have herself and her son Pavel vaccinated against smallpox by the English doctor T. Dimmesdale. She achieved everything she achieved through incessant daily work. Her day began at 6 o'clock in the morning and was scheduled with German pedantry. Like Peter the Great, she firmly believed in the law: “Only the power of the law has unlimited power, and a person who wants to reign autocratically becomes a slave.” She saw her main task in achieving the “common good” - the good for all subjects. She understood her role as serving the state, Russia. “I wish and want only the best for the country to which the Lord brought me. Her glory makes me famous.” “The Russian people are special in the whole world; God gave them properties that are different from others.” And here contradictions appeared.

Catherine considered herself a “republican” and an opponent of serfdom - this was in words, but in reality it was the other way around. Yes, she lived by the ideas of the Enlightenment, but she always remained a realist and pragmatist, perfectly aware of the complexity of governing such a huge country, all the ossified traditionalism of social relations.

Thanks to her natural insight and intuition, Catherine realized all the conventions of big words about freedom, equality and brotherhood. She saw twice what these ideas led to in practice. The first time she was horrified by the “Russian revolt” - the Pugachev uprising: the rampant wild elements, robberies and robberies, bloody murders - and all this for the sake of a Cossack who imagined himself to be the emperor, who ruined half the country with his freemen. Another people, about whose welfare the freedom-loving encyclopedists were so concerned, did no better. He turned the flourishing kingdom into a pile of smoking ruins, and filled the city streets with stinking corpses. The execution after a farcical trial of the legitimate monarch of France shocked all European courts. She also shocked Ekaterina, who did not get out of bed for several days. True, the empress, faithful to the ideals of her youth, still separated Voltaire and other educators from the Girondins and Jacobins. In December 1793, she wrote to Grimm: “The French philosophers, who are considered the preparers of the revolution, were mistaken in one thing: in their sermons they addressed people, assuming in them a good heart and the same will, but instead, prosecutors, lawyers and various scoundrels, so that, under the cover of this teaching (however, they discarded it too) they commit the most terrible crimes of which disgusting villains are capable. With their atrocities they enslaved the Parisian mob: they have never experienced such cruel and senseless tyranny as now, and this is what they dare to call freedom. Famine and plague will bring her to her senses, and when the king’s killers exterminate each other, then only we can hope for a change for the better.”

She now faced the task of preventing revolution in Russia. And for this it was necessary to cut off the air to all distributors of freedom-loving ideas. N.I. Novikov and A.N. Radishchev were arrested, the tragedy of the already deceased Ya. B. Knyazhnin “Vadim Novgorodsky” was banned, and the destruction of the Masonic lodges began, which the Empress had always treated with great prejudice. “If the monarch is evil, then this is a necessary evil, without which there is neither order nor peace,” reports the words of Ekaterina Dashkova. And the empress was firmly convinced that in Russia no form of government other than a monarchy was simply impossible (since it could never take root here).

Potemkin had a great influence on Russian politics and did a lot for the good of his Motherland. There is an assumption that he officially married the empress (although, of course, the marriage remained secret). This probably happened on June 8, 1774. In 1775, Potemkin received the title of Count of the Russian Empire, in 1776 - Prince of the Holy Roman Empire with the title of Serene Highness, in 1784 - the rank of Field Marshal, and in 1787 - the honorary surname Tauride. From the relationship between Catherine and Potemkin, a daughter was born in July 1775 - Elizaveta Grigorievna Tyomkina (died in 1854).

In addition to Pavel and Tyomkina, Catherine also had a daughter, Anna (it is believed that this is a child from Stanislav Poniatovsky). In addition, on April 11, 1762, a son was born from G. G. Orlov. During the birth that took place in the Winter Palace, Catherine's wardrobe master (later valet) V.G. Shkurin set fire to his St. Petersburg house, Peter III went to put out the fire, and the empress was able to give birth calmly. Soon, after the child, wrapped in a beaver fur coat, was taken out of the palace (the same Shkurin hid him in his family), the emperor, who was informed that something was happening in his wife’s chambers, came to her bedroom. But Catherine found the strength to meet Peter already dressed. The son was named Alexei Grigorievich Bobrinsky (he died in 1813, and received his surname from the name of the Bobriki estate in the Tula province). Paul I recognized him as his brother and granted him the title of count. It was from Alexei Grigorievich that the famous family of counts Bobrinsky came from.

And finally, according to some sources, Ekaterina gave birth to another daughter from Orlov - Natalya Alexandrovna Alekseeva (life 1758 or 1759 - July 1808), who was married to Count Fedor Fedorovich Buxgevden, who commanded the Russian army during the Russian-Swedish war of 1808-1809.

“Romantic Emperor” - this is the definition Pushkin gave to Paul I. This is perhaps the most mysterious person among the Romanovs. There were many rumors surrounding Pavel's birth. They said that his real father was Catherine’s favorite S.V. Saltykov, or even that Pavel is a rootless Chukhon boy, replaced in infancy. But all these speculations are not confirmed by anything. From the age of 6, Pavel was raised by the former envoy to Sweden, Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin. The Tsarevich received a good education: he knew German and French, and was well versed in history, geography, and mathematics. He was distinguished by his piety. At the same time, Panin tried to instill in his pupil the idea of ​​​​limiting autocracy and in many ways turned him against his mother.

Catherine understood that it was Paul who, in theory, should have taken the throne after the death of her father, that the Tsarevich was a more legitimate heir than herself. She also knew that some nobles, for example the same Panin, were thinking about the removal of Catherine and the accession of Paul. Perhaps all this influenced the empress’s attitude towards her son.

There was always estrangement between son and mother. At court, Paul felt in the background; Catherine did not allow him to get involved in state affairs, and therefore the Tsarevich could only patiently wait for his time. He waited - literally thirty years and three years. These years developed secrecy and suspicion in his character.

When Pavel's son Alexander was born, and then his second son Konstantin, Catherine decided to correct her mistakes in relation to Pavel and raise her grandchildren in her spirit, so that they would become the successors of her deeds. According to some evidence, she even intended to transfer the throne, bypassing Paul, to her grandson Alexander, but these plans did not come true.

On the morning of November 5, 1796, when Catherine the Great went to her dressing room after morning coffee, she suffered a stroke. The next day at a quarter past ten in the evening the Empress passed away. The sudden death of Catherine made Paul a Russian autocrat.

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

His father is Duke of Holstein Gottorp Karl Friedrich, 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 contender for 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 heir to the Russian throne by his aunt.

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 engaged in military exercises and maneuvers. During the years spent in Russia, Peter never made any attempt to better know this country, its people and history. Elizaveta Petrovna did not allow him to participate in resolving 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 publicly expressed sympathy for the Prussian king Frederick II. All this was widely known not only at court, but also in wider layers of Russian society, where Peter enjoyed neither authority nor popularity.

The beginning of his reign was marked by numerous favors to the nobility. The former regent Duke of Courland and many others returned from exile. 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 the entire Russian nobility”).

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

In the 18th century in the Russian Empire, the stability of the transfer of power from monarch to monarch was seriously disrupted. This period went down in history as the “era of palace coups,” when the fate of the Russian throne was decided not so much by the will of the monarch as by the support of influential dignitaries and the guard.

In 1741, as a result of another coup, she became empress daughter of Peter the Great Elizaveta Petrovna. Despite the fact that Elizabeth was only 32 years old at the time of her accession to the throne, the question arose about who would become the heir to the imperial crown.

Elizabeth did not have legitimate children, and therefore, an heir had to be looked for among other members of the Romanov family.

According to the “Decree on Succession to the Throne,” issued by Peter I in 1722, the emperor received the right to determine his successor himself. However, simply naming the name was not enough - it was necessary to create solid ground for the heir to be recognized by both the highest dignitaries and the country as a whole.

Bad experience Boris Godunov And Vasily Shuisky said that a monarch who does not have firm support can lead the country to turmoil and chaos. Likewise, the absence of an heir to the throne can lead to confusion and chaos.

To Russia, Karl!

In order to strengthen the stability of the state, Elizaveta Petrovna decided to act quickly. She was chosen as her heir son of sister, Anna Petrovna, Karl Peter Ulrich.

Anna Petrovna was married to Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich and in February 1728 she gave birth to his son. Karl Peter lost his mother just a few days after his birth - Anna Petrovna, who did not recover after a difficult birth, caught a cold during the fireworks in honor of the birth of her son and died.

Great-nephew Swedish King Charles XII Karl Peter was initially considered as the heir to the Swedish throne. At the same time, no one was seriously involved in his upbringing. From the age of 7, the boy was taught marching, handling weapons and other military wisdom and traditions of the Prussian army. It was then that Karl Peter became a fan of Prussia, which subsequently had a detrimental effect on his future.

At the age of 11, Karl Peter lost his father. His cousin took up raising the boy, future king of Sweden Adolf Frederick. The teachers assigned to train the boy focused on cruel and humiliating punishments, which made Karl Peter nervous and fearful.

Pyotr Fedorovich when he was Grand Duke. Portrait by G. H. Groot

The envoy of Elizabeth Petrovna, who arrived for Karl Peter, took him to Russia under an assumed name, secretly. Knowing the difficulties with succession to the throne in St. Petersburg, Russia’s opponents could well have prevented this in order to subsequently use Karl Peter in their intrigues.

Bride for a troubled teenager

Elizaveta Petrovna greeted her nephew with joy, but was struck by his thinness and sickly appearance. When it became clear that his training was carried out purely formally, it was time to grab his head.

During the first months, Karl Peter was literally fattened up and put in order. They began to teach him almost all over again, from the basics. In November 1742 he was baptized into Orthodoxy under the name Peter Fedorovich.

The nephew turned out to be completely different from what Elizaveta Petrovna expected him to see. However, she continued her policy of strengthening the dynasty, deciding to marry the heir as soon as possible.

Considering candidates for brides for Peter, Elizaveta Petrovna chose Sophia Augusta Frederica, daughter of Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst, a representative of an ancient princely family.

At my father's Fike, as the girl was called at home, there was nothing but a loud title. Like her future husband, Fike grew up in spartan conditions, even though both her parents were in perfect health. Home schooling was caused by a lack of funds; noble entertainment for the little princess was replaced by street games with boys, after which Fike went to darn her own stockings.

The news that the Russian Empress had chosen Sophia Augusta Frederica as the bride for the heir to the Russian throne shocked Fike's parents. The girl herself very quickly realized that she had a great chance to change her life.

In February 1744, Sofia Augusta Frederica and her mother arrived in St. Petersburg. Elizaveta Petrovna found the bride quite worthy.

Ignorant and clever

On June 28, 1744, Sophia Augusta Frederica converted from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy and received the name Ekaterina Alekseevna. On August 21, 1745, 17-year-old Pyotr Fedorovich and 16-year-old Ekaterina Alekseevna were married. The wedding celebrations were held on a grand scale and lasted 10 days.

It seemed that Elizabeth had achieved what she wanted. However, the result was quite unexpected.

Despite the fact that the phrase “grandson of Peter the Great” was included in the official name of Peter Fedorovich, it was not possible to instill in the heir a love for the empire created by his grandfather.

All efforts of educators to fill the problems in education have failed. The heir preferred to spend time having fun, playing soldiers, rather than studying. He never learned to speak Russian well. His hobby Prussian King Frederick, which already did not add to his sympathy, became completely obscene with the beginning of the Seven Years' War, in which Prussia acted as an opponent of Russia.

Sometimes an irritated Peter would throw out phrases like: “They dragged me to this damned Russia.” And this also did not add to his supporters.

Catherine was the complete opposite of her husband. She studied Russian with such zeal that she almost died from pneumonia, acquired while studying with the window wide open.

Having converted to Orthodoxy, she zealously observed church traditions, and people soon started talking about the piety of the heir's wife.

Ekaterina was actively engaged in self-education, reading books on history, philosophy, jurisprudence, essays Voltaire, Montesquieu, Tacita, Bayle, a large number of other literature. The ranks of admirers of her intelligence grew as rapidly as the ranks of admirers of her beauty.

Empress Elizabeth's backup

Elizabeth, of course, approved of such zeal, but did not consider Catherine as the future ruler of Russia. She was taken so that she would give birth to heirs for the Russian throne, and there were serious problems with this.

The marital relationship of Peter and Catherine did not go well at all. The difference in interests, the difference in temperament, the difference in outlook on life alienated them from each other from the first day of marriage. It didn’t help that Elizabeth introduced a married couple who had lived together for many years as their tutors. In this case, the example was not contagious.

Elizaveta Petrovna hatched a new plan - if it was not possible to re-educate her nephew, then she needed to properly raise her grandson, who would then be given power. But with the birth of a grandson, problems also arose.

Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich and Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna with a page. Source: Public Domain

Only on September 20, 1754, after nine years of marriage, Catherine gave birth to a son Pavel. The Empress immediately took the newborn, limiting the parents' communication with the child.

If this did not excite Peter in any way, then Catherine tried to see her son more often, which greatly irritated the empress.

A conspiracy that failed

After the birth of Paul, the cooling between Peter and Catherine only intensified. Pyotr Fedorovich took mistresses, Catherine – lovers, and both parties were aware of each other’s adventures.

Pyotr Fedorovich, for all his shortcomings, was a rather simple-minded person who did not know how to hide his thoughts and intentions. Peter began to talk about the fact that with his accession to the throne he would get rid of his unloved wife several years before the death of Elizabeth Petrovna. Catherine knew that in this case, a prison awaited her, or a monastery no different from it. Therefore, she secretly begins to negotiate with those who, like herself, would not like to see Pyotr Fedorovich on the throne.

In 1757, during the serious illness of Elizaveta Petrovna Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin prepared a coup with the aim of removing the heir immediately after the death of the empress, in which Catherine was also involved. However, Elizabeth recovered, the conspiracy was revealed, and Bestuzhev-Ryumin fell into disgrace. Catherine herself was not touched, since Bestuzhev managed to destroy the letters compromising her.

In December 1761, a new exacerbation of the disease led to the death of the empress. It was not possible to implement plans to transfer power to Pavel, since the boy was only 7 years old, and Pyotr Fedorovich became the new head of the Russian Empire under the name of Peter III.

Fatal world with an idol

The new emperor decided to begin large-scale government reforms, many of which historians consider very progressive. The Secret Chancellery, which was an organ of political investigation, was liquidated, a decree on freedom of foreign trade was adopted, and the murder of peasants by landowners was prohibited. Peter III issued the “Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility,” which abolished the compulsory military service for nobles introduced by Peter I.

His intention to secularize church lands and equalize the rights of representatives of all religious denominations alarmed Russian society. Peter's opponents spread a rumor that the emperor was preparing to introduce Lutheranism in the country, which did not add to his popularity.

But the biggest mistake of Peter III was concluding peace with his idol, King Frederick of Prussia. During the Seven Years' War, the Russian army utterly defeated Frederick's vaunted army, forcing the latter to think about abdication.

And at this very moment, when the final victory of Russia had already been actually won, Peter not only made peace, but also, without any conditions, returned to Frederick all the territories he had lost. The Russian army, and primarily the guard, was offended by such a step by the emperor. In addition, his intention, together with Prussia, to start a war against yesterday’s ally, Denmark, did not find understanding in Russia.

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

Peter III was a very extraordinary emperor. He did not know the Russian language, loved to play toy soldiers and wanted to baptize Russia according to the Protestant rite. His mysterious death led to the emergence of a whole galaxy of impostors.

Heir to two empires

Already from birth, Peter could lay claim to 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 maternal grandfather was Charles's main enemy, Russian Emperor Peter I.

The boy, who was orphaned early, spent his childhood with his uncle, Bishop Adolf of Eitin, where he was instilled with hatred of Russia. He did not know Russian and was baptized according to Protestant custom. True, he also did not know any other languages ​​besides his native German, and 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.

Soldier games

In fact, no one really needed the sickly young man: neither his aunt-empress, nor his teachers, nor, subsequently, his wife. Everyone was only interested in his origins; 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, primarily soldiers. Can we accuse him of being childish? 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, his priorities do not change with age. He continued to play, but secretly. Ekaterina writes: “During the day, his toys were hidden in and under my bed. The Grand Duke went to bed first after dinner and, as soon as we were in bed, Kruse (the maid) locked the door, and then the Grand Duke played until one or two in the morning.”
Over time, toys become larger and more dangerous. Peter is allowed to order 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...

"Mistress Help"

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 were too different in character and interests. The more intelligent and educated Catherine ridicules 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.”

Peter’s marital duty was also not going smoothly, as 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 not born 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 troubles. That’s why Catherine received the ironic nickname “Mistress Help” from her husband.

Russian Marquise Pompadour

But it was not only children's games that distracted Peter from his marital 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 Peter III’s beloved.

The future emperor could take any court beauty as his favorite, but his choice fell, nevertheless, on this “fat and awkward” maid of honor. Is love 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 funny. 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, tolerated all his whims, but in fact cherished plans for revenge and was looking for powerful allies.

A Spy in Her Majesty's Service

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.

But he went even further: the heir gave his idol secret documents, information about the number and location of Russian troops! Upon learning of this, Elizabeth was furious, but she forgave her dim-witted nephew a lot for the sake of his mother, her beloved sister.
Why does the heir to the Russian throne so openly help 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 loved him and spoke 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.”

186 days of Peter III

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 during the six months of his reign he managed, contrary to everyone’s opinion, to do a lot. Assessments of his reign vary widely: 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 terms unfavorable for Russia. This caused discontent in army circles. But then his “Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility” gave the aristocracy enormous privileges. At the same time, he issued laws prohibiting the torture and killing of serfs, and stopped the persecution of 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 absurd fantasies about the baptism of Rus' according to the Protestant model. The Guard, the main support and support of the Russian emperors, took the side of Catherine. In his palace in Orienbaum, Peter signed a renunciation.

Life after death

Peter's death is one big mystery. It was not for nothing that Emperor Paul compared himself to Hamlet: throughout the entire reign of Catherine II, the shadow of her deceased husband could not find peace. But was the empress guilty of the death of her husband?

According to the official version, Peter III died of illness. He was not in good health, and the unrest associated with the coup and abdication could have killed a stronger person. But the sudden and so quick death of Peter - a week after the overthrow - caused a lot of speculation. For example, there is a legend according to which the emperor’s killer was Catherine’s favorite Alexei Orlov.
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.

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 the name Karl Peter Ulrich at birth. The death of his mother and the chaotic life of his father, which followed 7 days later, affected the upbringing of the prince, which was extremely stupid and absurd. 1739 he was left an orphan. Peter's teacher was a rude, soldier-like 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 was instilled with hatred of Muscovy, the original enemy of Sweden. But Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, immediately after her accession to the throne, began to take care of her successor, which was necessary to strengthen the throne for herself due to the existence of the Brunswick family (Anna Leopoldovna and Ivan Antonovich). Peter was brought from his homeland to St. Petersburg at the beginning of January 1742. Here, in addition to the Holsteiners Brumaire and Berchholz, Academician Shtelin was assigned to him, who, despite all his labors and efforts, could not correct the prince and bring his upbringing to the proper level.

Peter III. Portrait by Pfanzelt, 1762

In November 1742, the prince converted to Orthodoxy and was named Peter Fedorovich, and in 1744 he was matched with Princess Sophia Augusta 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 in terms of the mutual relations of the spouses was most unsuccessful; At Elizabeth's court, their situation was quite difficult. In 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son, Pavel, who was separated from his parents and taken into care 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 Elizabeth 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 Peter 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 government orders. Minich, Biron, and Lestok, Lilienfelds, Natalya Lopukhina and others, a decree was given to abolish the oppressive salt duty, granted certificate of liberty of the nobility, the secret office and the terrible “word and deed” were destroyed, schismatics who fled persecution under the Empresses Elizabeth and Anna Ioannovna were returned, and now received complete freedom of faith. But the reason for taking these measures was not Peter III’s actual concern for his subjects, but his desire to initially gain popularity. They were carried out inconsistently and did not bring popular love to the new emperor. The military and clergy began to be especially hostile towards him. In the army, Peter III aroused displeasure with his passion for the Holsteins and Prussian order, the destruction of the noble guard, influential in St. Petersburg, the change of Peter's uniforms to Prussian ones, and the naming of regiments after the names of their chiefs, and not as before - according to the provinces. The clergy was 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 dress - according to the Protestant model), and, most importantly, with the decrees on the management of bishops’ and monastic estates, turning the Orthodox clergy into salaried officials.

Added to this was general dissatisfaction with the foreign policy of the 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 constrained the Prussians to the extreme, but concluded a peace treaty with them to the detriment of all Russian interests. 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 to provide assistance in the event of an attack on either of them in the amount of 12 thousand infantry and 4 thousand cavalry. They say that the terms of this peace treaty, with the consent of Peter III, were personally dictated by Frederick the Great. By secret articles of the treaty, the Prussian king pledged to help Peter acquire the Duchy of Schleswig from Denmark in favor of Holstein, to assist Prince George of Holstein in occupying 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 contribute to 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 Russians' hatred of the Germans and the new order intensified thanks to the cruelty and tactlessness of the Emperor's uncle 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 responded by entering Mecklenburg and occupying the area around Wismar. In June 1762, orders were given to the guards to prepare to go to war. The Emperor wanted to open the 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, interrupting them often 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 had already been prepared against him among the troops, to which some prominent nobles also joined. The accidental arrest of one of its participants, Passek, precipitated the 28 June coup. On the morning of this day, Catherine went to St. 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 supporters of the Empress, and was not allowed there. Not heeding Minich’s advice to retire to Revel, and then to Pomerania to join the troops, the emperor returned to Oranienbaum and signed his abdication.

On the same day, June 29, Peter III was brought to Peterhof, arrested and sent to Ropsha, his chosen place of residence, until decent apartments were prepared for him in the Shlisselburg fortress. Catherine left with Peter her lover Alexei Orlov, Prince Baryatinsky and three guards officers with a hundred soldiers. On July 6, 1762, the emperor died suddenly. The cause of the death of Peter III in the manifesto published on this occasion was clearly mockingly called “hemorrhoidal sockets and severe colic.” At the burial of Peter III, held in the Annunciation Church 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, “The History of Catherine II”

"Notes of Empress Catherine"

Shchebalsky, “Political system of Peter III”

Brickner, “The Life of Peter III before Accession to the Throne” (“Russian Bulletin”, 1883).