The last palace coup. It should be noted that over the years of palace coups, Russia has weakened in almost all areas

Vasina Anna Yuryevna Lesson “The last palace coup in the history of Russia”

Teacher: Our lesson is dedicated to the last palace coup in Russia. In order to understand the circumstances of this case, remember: what are palace coups; Why did the number of pretenders to the Russian throne increase in the 18th century?

(Students answer questions).

Teacher: Let's turn to the lesson worksheet and complete tasks aimed at developing memory.

(Tasks are attached).

Teacher: At the beginning of the 19th century, the last palace coup took place in Russia. You have already become familiar with what exactly happened on the night of March 11-12, 1801 by listening to audio cassettes (audio cassettes with recordings of educational material prepared by the teacher are distributed in the amount of 3-5 pieces per class 5-7 days before the study this topic). Tell me about it.

(Student's story).

Teacher: We have to find out:

1. 
   Causes of crime.
2. 
   List of participants.
3. 
   The consequences of this coup for the development of Russia.

Why do you think the conspirators committed this crime?

Why did the policies pursued by Paul I cause discontent? After all, Paul I stayed on the Russian throne for only 4 years, 4 months, 4 days. In such a short period of time, he issued 2179 decrees. Why were his efforts not appreciated?

Teacher: Now you will have to work as experts. An envelope arrived at our school containing a very interesting document.

Assignment: Read it and think, could Paul I have drawn up this document?

Who do you think is the author of this document?

Students: Paul I could not write this document, since his policy was directed against the nobles. This document was compiled by Catherine II, as she cared about the privileges of the nobility.

Teacher: Witness which decrees of Paul I were directed against the nobility.

(Homework is checked).

What can be said about the foreign policy pursued by Paul I?

(Student's story).

Teacher: The despotism of Paul I and the discontent of the nobles with the domestic and foreign policies pursued by the emperor led to a palace coup. Now we are ready to answer the first two questions of the memo:

1. 
   Reasons (dissatisfaction of the nobles with the domestic and foreign policies pursued by the emperor).
2. 
   Composition of the conspirators (nobles).

Teacher: We found out the reasons for the conspiracy, the composition of the conspirators, but one more person involved in the murder remained in the shadows. Who is this?

Students: Alexander, son of Paul I.

Teacher: Why did Alexander end up in the camp of the conspirators? Perhaps Alexander’s letter will help us partially understand this.

FROM A LETTER OF THE GRAND DUKE ALEXANDER PAVLOVICH (1797)

“My father, having ascended the throne, wanted to reform everything... Everything was immediately turned upside down. This only increased the already too much disorder in affairs... My unfortunate fatherland is in a situation that defies description. The farmer is offended, trade is constrained, freedom and personal well-being are destroyed.”

Questions for the document:

How did his son Alexander evaluate the reign of Paul I?

Did Pavel trust Alexander?

Teacher: Pavel and Alexander did not trust each other. In many ways, the reasons for the mistrust lie in the attitude of Catherine II towards both of them.

Video (5 minutes) Paul I

Questions after watching the film:

Teacher: How did Catherine II treat Alexander?

How did you feel about Pavel?

(Students answer the questions posed).

Teacher: I propose to solve a logic puzzle. There are three figures in front of you: Catherine II, Paul I, Alexander I. They are arranged in chronological order (there are homemade figures on the study table).

Task: Place these figures in a logical order.

Students: Catherine II, Alexander I, Paul I.

(Explain why they arranged the figures that way.)

Teacher: What colors do you associate with the reign of Catherine II, Paul I, Alexander I?

However, let's start in order.

Teacher: Catherine II?

Student: red color (because Catherine II herself was a bright, intelligent, gifted, extraordinary, strong personality, and during her reign Russia became a powerful power. Catherine forced Europe to take into account the opinion of Russia, and the Russians themselves were proud of their newly won glory and respect yourself).

Teacher takes a brush and red paint and draws a red oval on a piece of paper under the inscription “Catherine II”.

Teacher: Paul I?

Student: ???

Teacher: The great Russian historian V. O. Klyuchevsky will help us figure this out.

This is how he characterized the reign of Paul I:

“The reign of this emperor was characterized by extreme contradictions. On the one hand, relief for the peasants, on the other, restriction of noble rights and privileges, which reached the point of open repressive measures. Against the backdrop of the unpredictability, temper and suspicion of the emperor himself.”

That is, Paul I is changeable like the sea: sometimes calm, sometimes stormy.

What color appears in front of you?

Students: Shades of blue.

Teacher: Absolutely right. This is how the color of the sky changes from azure on a sunny morning to leaden blue before a storm.

Teacher takes a brush, blue paint, and draws a blue oval on a piece of paper under the inscription “Paul I”.

Teacher: We will learn more about the development of Russia during the reign of Alexander in the following lessons. But let's assume what the policy of Alexander I would be, based on the conditions for the formation of his personality?

Student: Alexander is the beloved grandson of Catherine II. Perhaps he will continue her policy, but he is the son of Paul I, which means he will combine red and blue, and this will lead to the birth of a new color.

Teacher: Let's test it and see what happens.

Teacher takes a brush, and on a sheet of paper, under the inscription “Alexander I”, mixes red and blue colors:

As a result, a purple oval appears.

Teacher: Purple is an ambiguous color.

What character traits could be formed in such a person?

Students: The desire for change, but at the same time, duplicity, hypocrisy, slyness, which did not allow him to complete any of the things he started.

Teacher: Please give a statement from contemporaries about Alexander I.

(Students read out homework).

Sayings about Alexander I

1. 
   “In politics, Alexander is as thin as the tip of a pin, sharp as a razor, false as sea foam.” (Swedish diplomat Lagerbilke).
2. 
   “Republican in words and autocrat in deeds” (Turgenev A.I.).
3. 
   “He does everything by half” (Speransky M.M.).
4. 
   “The Emperor loved the external form of freedom, as one can love a performance..., but apart from the forms of appearance, he wanted nothing, and was not in the least inclined to tolerate them turning into reality” (Czartoryski A.).
5. 
   “The crowned Hamlet, who was haunted all his life by the shadow of his murdered father” (Herzen A.I.), etc.

The time has come to take stock. Let's take a look at the reminder:

What consequences did the last palace coup have for Russia?

Students draw a conclusion and write in their notebook:

“As a result of a palace coup, Alexander I ascended the throne. Probably, Alexander’s policies will be of a noble nature, but Alexander cannot do without reforms, since in socio-economic development Russia lagged behind European countries, and Alexander was raised by Catherine II and was an enlightened monarch "

Literature

1. 
   Valkova V.G. Valkova O.A. Rulers of Russia. – M.: Rolf, 1999.
2. 
   Vazhenin A.G. Lesson notes on the history of Russia of the 19th century: 8th grade: Methodological manual. – M.: Publishing house. VLADOS-PRESS, 2001.
3. 
   Encyclopedia for children. T – 5. History of Russia. From palace coups to the era of great reforms. M., 1997.
4. 
   Danilov A.A., Kosulina L.G. Tutorial. M., ed. “Center for Humanitarian Education”, 1998.

Level A

Subject:

Place in chronological order the rulers of Russia who came to power as a result of palace coups:

Catherine I

Catherine II

Elizaveta Petrovna

Rate yourself:

1. 
   If you made no mistakes, give yourself a “4”
2. 
   If you made one mistake, give yourself a “3”
3. 
   If you made more than one mistake, give yourself a “2”

Level B

Subject: “Palace coups in Russia”

Exercise:

Match the names of the rulers with the dates:

Level C

Subject: “Palace coups in Russia”

Exercise:

In the cells on the left, write the name of the ruler who ruled during this period of time:

1. 
   If you made no mistakes, give yourself a “5”
2. 
   If you made one mistake, give yourself a “4”
3. 
   If you made two mistakes, give yourself a “3”
4. 
   If you made more than two mistakes, give yourself a “2”

On the night of March 12, 1801, with the participation of the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexander, the last palace coup in the history of Russia was carried out. At this time, Napoleon declared himself First Consul of France, seeking the restoration of the monarchy and peace with Russia. As a result, Paul made peace with France and broke with England, which had conquered Malta from the French.

During his first years, Pavel grew up under the supervision of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Pavel received a good education and was a capable, knowledge-seeking, romantically inclined boy with an open character, who sincerely believed in the ideals of goodness and justice.

Paul I was killed in the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg as a result of a conspiracy led by P.A. Palen and N.P. Panin

Paul's policy towards the peasantry was contradictory. During the four years of his reign, he gave away gifts to about 600 thousand serfs, sincerely believing that they would live better under the landowner. In the army, Paul sought to introduce Prussian military order. He believed that the army is a machine and the main thing in it is the mechanical coherence of the troops and efficiency.

Certain styles of clothing, hairstyles, and dances, in which the emperor saw manifestations of free-thinking, were prohibited. According to various estimates, from 30 to 70 people took part in this conspiracy. According to one version, Pavel was killed by Nikolai Zubov, the older brother of Platon Zubov, who hit him with a golden snuffbox. A joke subsequently circulated at court: “The Emperor died of apoplexy with a snuff-box blow to the temple.”

In 1876, Russian electrical engineer, military engineer, inventor and entrepreneur Pavel Nikolaevich Yablochkov patented an electric light bulb - “Yablochkov Candle”

The conspirators were not hired killers and therefore acted ineptly and fussily. Yablochkov's candle turned out to be simpler, more convenient and cheaper to operate than A. N. Lodygin's coal lamp; it had neither mechanisms nor springs. Each of the rods was clamped into a separate terminal of the candlestick. The film was screened in Russia with unprecedented success.

The film was also interesting because it contained action scenes, including stunt scenes. So, for example, in one of the episodes it was shown how a little devil crawls out of a half-empty bottle of vodka standing on the table in front of a drunkard (played by Ivan Mozzhukhin).

The coldest day was in 1952, when the average daily temperature in Moscow was -27.1 degrees Celsius, and the warmest was in 1981. That day the temperature rose to +13.8 degrees. Paul used all his strength to strengthen and elevate the royal power. Paul had a certain system of views, according to which he believed that military discipline and police measures would avoid revolution and eradicate the free-thinking of the nobles allowed by Catherine II.

Paul ended the practice of enlisting infants into regiments. With these measures, he wanted to discipline the Russian nobility and remind them of their duties to the throne and the state. Moreover, Paul widely practiced the distribution of state peasants to the nobility as a reward for service, thereby expanding the scope of serfdom. Since 1797, the free movement of privately owned peasants was prohibited in the Don region, in the North Caucasus and in the Novorossiysk provinces (Ekaterinoslav and Tauride).

According to another version, Paul was strangled with a scarf or crushed by a group of conspirators who, leaning on the emperor and each other, did not know exactly what was happening. In 1798, Napoleon captured Malta, the Ionian Islands and Egypt. Catherine II broke off diplomatic and trade relations with France, but under her Russia did not take part in military operations against France, as she was busy resolving the Polish issue.

Paul I (1796-1801) ascended the throne as a mature courtier, an established man. His goal was the complete negation of Catherine’s policy. Paul's peculiar political program boiled down to the idea of ​​unlimited centralized power. The formation of his views was left indelibly imprinted by the fear of revolution and peasant movements: “Remember Louis XVI: he began to condescend and was led to the point that he had to give in... in the end he was led to the scaffold.” Paul used all his strength to strengthen and elevate the royal power. Paul had a certain system of views, according to which he believed that military discipline and police measures would avoid revolution and eradicate the free-thinking of the nobles allowed by Catherine II. In freeing them from compulsory service and in noble self-government, Paul saw a threat to the existing order of things. Hence the magnificent ceremony he introduced, associated with the personality of the autocrat: during coronation celebrations, he commanded a military parade wearing the royal crown; a mandatory procedure was introduced, even for ladies, to leave carriages when meeting with the emperor; everyone passing by the royal palace was obliged to take off their hats even in the St. Petersburg cold. Petty regulation affected the daily life of subjects - their clothing, appearance and pastime. In all these events, the desire to limit the personal freedom of subjects, freedom of opinion, judgment, and lifestyle is clearly visible. The power of the Senate was reduced, the bureaucracy increased; the number of courts was reduced, and the nobles lost some of the privileges granted to them by Catherine II. Thus, in 1799, provincial noble assemblies were abolished, and the service of nobles again became mandatory. The nobility lost the right to submit a collective petition to the emperor, but most of all they were outraged by the extension of corporal punishment to the noble class. Paul ended the practice of enlisting infants into regiments. With these measures, he wanted to discipline the Russian nobility and remind them of their duties to the throne and the state. At the same time, Paul made an attempt to regulate peasant duties legislatively: in 1797, the “Manifesto on the Three-Day Corvee” was published, i.e. on limiting corvee to three days a week. In fact, the issued decree was purely declarative in nature, since it did not provide for any mechanisms to control the actions of landowners. For the central regions, where corvée was almost daily, its limitation meant a softening of landlord oppression, but Russian landowners did not comply with the decree. In Ukraine, where the corvee was two days, the landowners, on the contrary, readily began to fulfill it. Moreover, Paul widely practiced the distribution of state peasants to the nobility as a reward for service, thereby expanding the scope of serfdom. Since 1797, the free movement of privately owned peasants was prohibited in the Don region, in the North Caucasus and in the Novorossiysk provinces (Ekaterinoslav and Tauride). Upon his accession to the throne, Paul issued the “Institution on the Imperial Family,” which canceled Peter’s decree on succession to the throne. The decree continued to be in effect in Russia until 1917. According to this decree, the throne was to pass strictly through the male line from father to son, and in the absence of sons, to the eldest of the brothers. To maintain the imperial house, a ministry of “appanages” was formed, which administered the lands and peasants that belonged to the imperial family. The adoption of the decree was intended to prevent the very possibility of the court elite using dynastic crises in their own interests. Like his father, Peter III, Paul considered the Prussian monarchy to be the ideal government system. By introducing Prussian order in the country, he demonstrated that he intended to put an end to flirting with liberals and the game of “enlightened absolutism” that led France to the revolution of 1789. Paul also carried out a military reform that threw the Russian army back to the times of the Seven Years’ War. The army copied “Prussian military uniforms and military regulations. The latter completely ignored the achievements of Russian military thought, tested on the battlefields during Catherine’s reign. The Prussianization of the Russian army aroused open opposition from patriotic generals and officers, led by Field Marshal A.V. Suvorov. And the Prussian army itself, brought up on the dogmas of Frederick the Great, by this time had become outdated and lost its combat effectiveness, as its clashes with Napoleon soon showed. The news of the beginning of the French Revolution (1789-1793) and the execution of King Louis XVI made a strong impression on the ruling circles of Russia. Catherine I broke off diplomatic and trade relations with France, but under her Russia did not take part in military operations against France, as she was busy resolving the Polish issue. Having come to power, Paul took under his patronage the spiritual knightly Order of Malta as the defender of the thrones. In 1798, Napoleon captured Malta, the Ionian Islands and Egypt. In response, Pavel, feeling personally insulted, accepted the title of Grand Master of the Order of Malta and declared war on France in an alliance with Austria, England and Turkey. Russian Black Sea Fleet under the command of Admiral F.F. Ushakova passed through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles and, together with the Turkish fleet, took the Ionian Islands occupied by the French from the French. Russian ground forces led by A.V. Suvorov, in alliance with the Austrians, liberated Northern Italy from the French and inflicted a series of defeats on them. The result of the Italian campaign of the Russian army (1799) was the triumphant entry into Milan and Turin. Unexpectedly, Pavel, following Austria's lead, ordered the transfer of Suvorov's troops to Switzerland to join with Austrian troops. Then the Russian army made an extremely risky maneuver and crossed the St. Gotthard Pass in the Alps, connecting with the Russian corps in Switzerland (Swiss campaign). At this time, Napoleon declared himself First Consul of France, seeking the restoration of the monarchy and peace with Russia. As a result, Paul made peace with France and broke with England, which had conquered Malta from the French. Wanting to deal England a sensitive blow, Paul sent regiments of Don Cossacks to conquer India; he would have doomed them to certain death if his death had not stopped this enterprise. In his foreign policy, Paul decided to completely break the alliance with England, which caused economic damage to the Russian nobility and merchants, since the bulk of Russian agricultural exports went to England. Thus, the emperor's foreign policy was contrary to the national interests of Russia. His good intentions remained unfulfilled, and his continued stay in power created a serious threat to political stability, when none of his close associates could be confident in their safety. On the night of March 12, 1801, with the participation of the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexander, the last palace coup in the history of Russia was carried out. Paul I was killed in the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg as a result of a conspiracy led by P.A. Palen and N.P. Panin. When Palen brought Alexander the news of Paul’s “sudden death,” he burst into tears, but in response he heard: “Enough of being childish, go reign and show yourself to the guards.” * * * During the 18th century. Based on the feudal mode of production, serious changes occur in the economic development of the country. Manufacture took a strong position, and industrial production techniques were improved. In agriculture, new lands were being developed, attempts were made to intensify farming and develop new crops. Russian agronomic science was born. Trade developed, the activation of which was strengthened by government measures: the abolition of internal customs duties, financial reforms, and the founding of banks. The importance of the merchants has grown, which constitutes them into a special class. Progress has been made in the construction of communication routes, the creation of intra- and interregional transport links, and a regular postal service is being established. At the same time, development proceeded much more slowly than life required, and was contradictory due to the preservation and further strengthening of serfdom. In the second half of the 18th century. The estate system was finally formed with the consolidation of the rights, privileges, duties and institutions of estates and estate groups of society. The return of the original East Slavic lands to Russia, access to the Baltic and Black Seas, the economic development of Siberia and geographical discoveries on the shores of the Pacific Ocean include Russia among the leading countries of the world. © Test questions and assignments 1. Name the main reasons for the formation of the Old Russian state. What influence did the adoption of Christianity by Russia have on this process? 2. What is included in the concept of “Horde yoke over Russia”? 3. Why did Moscow win the fight for the political unification of Russian lands? 4. What was the cost of the reign of Ivan the Terrible for the Russian state? 5. List what new appeared in the political system of Russia in the 17th century. 6. What features of Peter’s innovations prepared the transition to the “era of palace coups”? Was such a transition inevitable? 7. Why is the reign of Catherine II often called the “golden age of the nobility”?

On March 23, 1801, in the Mikhailovsky Castle at night in his own bedroom, Russian Emperor Paul I was strangled and beaten to death by drunken officers. This is exactly how the last palace coup in the history of Russia took place.

Paul of Catherine II and Peter III, was born on October 1, 1754 in St. Petersburg. During his first years, Pavel grew up under the supervision of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Pavel received a good education and was a capable, knowledge-seeking, romantically inclined boy with an open character, who sincerely believed in the ideals of goodness and justice.

Initially, his relationship with his mother after her accession to the throne in 1762 was quite close. However, over time, their relationship deteriorated. Catherine was afraid of her son, who had more legal rights to the throne than herself. The Empress tried to prevent the Grand Duke from participating in discussions of state affairs, and he, in turn, began to evaluate his mother’s policies more and more critically. Paul's rise to power in November 1796 was accompanied by the militarization of the life of the court and St. Petersburg as a whole. The new emperor immediately tried to erase everything that had been done during the 34 years of Catherine II’s reign, and this became one of the most important motives of his policy. The emperor sought to replace the collegial principle of organizing management with an individual one.

An important legislative act of Paul was the law on the order of succession to the throne, published in 1797, which was in force in Russia until 1917. In the field of class politics, his main goal was to transform the Russian nobility into a disciplined, fully serving class. Paul's policy towards the peasantry was contradictory. During the four years of his reign, he gave away gifts to about 600 thousand serfs, sincerely believing that they would live better under the landowner. In the army, Paul sought to introduce Prussian military order. He believed that the army is a machine and the main thing in it is the mechanical coherence of the troops and efficiency. Initiative and independence are harmful and unacceptable. Paul's desire for petty regulation also affected his intervention in the daily life of his subjects. Certain styles of clothing, hairstyles, and dances, in which the emperor saw manifestations of free-thinking, were prohibited. Strict censorship was introduced and the import of books from abroad was prohibited. Paul's policies, combined with his despotic character, unpredictability and eccentricity, caused discontent in various social strata.

Soon after his accession, a conspiracy began to mature against him. According to various estimates, from 30 to 70 people took part in this conspiracy. The organizers of the coup, Count Palen and Prince Platon Zubov, Catherine's former favorite, had personal reasons to hate Paul. In general, the reason was that Paul’s accession led to a drastic breakdown of Catherine’s order, which caused discontent among many noble families. According to one version, Pavel was killed by Nikolai Zubov, the older brother of Platon Zubov, who hit him with a golden snuffbox. A joke subsequently circulated at court: “The Emperor died of apoplexy with a snuff-box blow to the temple.” According to another version, Paul was strangled with a scarf or crushed by a group of conspirators who, leaning on the emperor and each other, did not know exactly what was happening. The conspirators were not hired killers and therefore acted ineptly and fussily. In order to justify this crime, the conspirators slandered the monarch as a “crazy tyrant.”

In 1796, Catherine 2 suddenly died, and her son Pavel Petrovich became the new emperor. The domestic policy of Paul I (1796-1801) was distinguished by contradictions and inconsistency. This was largely explained by Paul’s difficult relationship with his domineering mother, when, after his 18th birthday, Paul was unable to take the throne and, removed from the court, lived for a long time in solitude and inactivity in Gatchina. Having received the throne only at the age of 43, Pavel Petrovich tried with all his might to make up for lost time and destroy the “evil” of Catherine’s previous reign. From the very first days of his reign, Paul began to break the entire system established under Catherine II and impose his own rules.

First of all, on the day of coronation on April 5, 1797, the “Institution on the Imperial Family” was published, which abolished Peter I’s law on succession to the throne and promulgated a new law, according to which the Russian throne was inherited by right of seniority and only through the male line.

Paul began by reforming the army; he wanted to eliminate the numerous abuses that took place in the last years of Catherine's reign. The use of lower ranks in service in private homes was prohibited. Many changes were borrowed from the Prussian military system, as Paul was a fan of it. New regulations and new ranks were introduced into the troops, uniforms were changed, and equipment became heavy and burdensome. Drill and cruelty flourished in the training of troops. Many of Catherine's commanders were dismissed from the army. Among those disgraced, the famous Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov was in exile under house arrest. The reform was characterized by inconsistency and excesses, for example, officers who were not in their regiments at the time of the emperor’s accession to the throne were excluded from service, and gray-haired generals learned to march, level, salute...

Paul 1 was the first of the sovereigns who gave concessions and rights to the peasants. Peasant petitions addressed to the monarch were allowed. A 3-day corvee was introduced, with a mandatory Sunday day of rest. It was forbidden to sell courtyard people and landless peasants under the hammer. On the other hand, to strengthen the existing system in 1797, it was ordered that all landowner peasants, under pain of punishment, remain in obedience and obedience to their masters, and permission was also given to factory owners to buy peasants for their factories, both with land and without land. During his short reign, Pavel managed to distribute about 600 thousand state peasants as property to landowners.

Paul, contrary to Catherine's tradition, did not rely on the guard and the nobility. Under him, corporal punishment of nobles was resumed. Acting “in defiance” of Catherine’s decrees, Paul returned Radishchev, Novikov, and Kosciuszko from exile. But at the same time, there was an active eradication of the “revolutionary infection” from France; in 1800, a decree was issued prohibiting the import of any books from abroad. This decree was also extreme and prohibited the import of even sheet music.

Foreign policy under Paul1 also lacked consistency and clarity. In 1799, an anti-French bloc was created consisting of Russia, England, Turkey, the Kingdom of Naples and Austria. The united armies of Austria and Russia, which were sent to Italy captured by the French, at the request of the Austrian emperor, were commanded by Suvorov (Paul had to return him from exile). The great commander liberated Northern Italy from the French in just 1.5 months, having won brilliant victories over Napoleonic generals in the battles of Trebbia and Novi.

Then the Russian troops hastened to join the corps of Russian troops under the command of A.M. Rimsky-Korsakov, who remained in Switzerland without Austrian allies against an enemy four times superior. In August 1799, Suvorov's heroic Swiss campaign began. Russian troops had to overcome about 150 km. difficult path through the Alps. In the battles of Saint Gotthard and the Devil's Bridge, the defensive detachments of the French troops were defeated... But by this time, Rimsky-Korsakov's corps was also defeated. Suvorov had to leave Switzerland. Pavel was dissatisfied with the actions of the allies and in January 1800 ordered Suvorov to return to Russia. After returning to St. Petersburg, Suvorov received the title of generalissimo for the Swiss campaign, but a few days later he was unexpectedly dismissed. The great commander could not bear the new disgrace; he fell ill and died at the age of 71. During the hostilities, the Russian Black Sea Fleet squadron under the command of F.F. Ushakov took part in the liberation of Malta from the French. Ushakov used amphibious assault to storm the bastions of the fortress on the island of Corfu. Russian Emperor Paul1 became the Master of the Order of Malta. However, the British intercepted this victory and occupied Malta. After this, Paul broke the alliance with Austria, and then with England. Russia, Sweden and Denmark formed the Northern League, directed against England.

In 1799, General Bonaparte came to power in France, and a rapprochement between Russia and France began. One of the main elements of the Russian-French rapprochement was mutual hostility towards England, which the Russian emperor accused of betraying Russia during the campaign of 1798-99. Napoleon captivated Paul with the idea of ​​crushing British rule in India and the East as a whole. A plan was drawn up for a joint military expedition to India. Paul gave the order to the Cossack units to march to India. But he was interrupted by the news of the sudden death of Emperor Paul.

Pavel's pro-French policy did not find support in St. Petersburg society. With the support of the English ambassador, a conspiracy arose against Paul. On the night of March 11-12, 1801, the emperor was killed in the Mikhailovsky Castle by a group of conspirators. This was the last palace coup in Russia. Like all the previous ones, it also did not have a broad social basis and pursued one single goal - the transfer of supreme power from one person to another. Paul's policies turned out to be unacceptable for the majority of the nobility. A sharp change in foreign policy course, a change in the relationship between the authorities and the first estate, and a lack of stability for military and civilian officials led to dissatisfaction with the reign of Paul1 and his downfall.

Russian empire at first XIX century

After the death of Paul 1, his eldest son Alexander 1 Pavlovich (1801-1825) ascended the throne. Alexander was Catherine’s favorite grandson2, and the open enmity between his father and grandmother forced him to move between two courts, wear two ceremonial guises and largely shaped his character. Alexander learned early to be a hypocrite and hide his feelings: “The Sphinx, not solved to the grave,” - this is how A.S. Pushkin wrote about him. At the same time, he was smart, brilliantly educated, and possessed the talent of a diplomat. Contemporaries also noted other traits: suspicion, extreme pride.

The policy of Alexander Pavlovich's reign to a certain extent became a reflection of his character - it was maneuvering between liberal and conservative-protective directions. The beginning of the reign of Alexander1 is characterized by the desire for broad reforms in all spheres of public life, openness, political amnesty, and the repeal of a number of strict laws of Paul1. Restrictions on the import and export of goods and books, trips abroad were abolished, Catherine's Charter to the nobility was confirmed, all officers and officials who suffered under Paul were returned from exile and removed from disgrace, and relations with England were restored.

To discuss state issues in 1801, the Permanent Council was formed under the emperor - an advisory body of 12 people. Gradually, Alexander removed the high-ranking conspirators of his father's murder, so as not to be an obedient weapon in their hands. And Alexander I’s entourage consisted of his friends, the so-called. “Unofficial Committee”, which included Count P. Stroganov, Count N. Novosiltsev, Prince V. Kochubey, Polish Prince A. Czartoryski. They discussed issues of reforming Russia, the abolition of serfdom, and the constitution.

In 1803, a decree “On free cultivators” was issued. In accordance with it, landowners could free serfs with land for a ransom. Decrees of 1804-1805 limited serfdom in the Baltic states. The sale of peasants without land was prohibited. The Manifesto of 1802 reorganized the central government bodies; instead of collegiums, 8 ministries were established. In 1803, a new regulation “On the structure of educational institutions” appeared. During Alexander's reign, 5 new universities were opened. The university charter of 1804 established the autonomy of universities.

In 1808-1812. preparation of the project for the restructuring of the state management system was concentrated in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and was carried out under the leadership of Secretary of State M. M. Speransky. Speransky came from the family of a rural priest and achieved high official positions largely due to his exceptional abilities and hard work. Contemporaries called him the “clerical Napoleon.” In 1809, he presented a draft reform “Introduction to the Code of State Laws.” The project provided for the separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial. The highest legislative body was to be the State Duma, which led the network of volost, district and provincial dumas. The highest executive power was vested in the emperor, under whom the State Council was established as an advisory body. The Senate became the highest judicial body. In fact, this was the first step towards a parliamentary monarchy, which was quite bold for its time and met strong resistance from the government elite.

Of Speransky's numerous proposals, the establishment of the State Council (1810) - a legislative advisory body - was implemented. In 1810, the “General Establishment of Ministries” developed by Speransky was introduced, which determined the composition, limits of power and responsibility of ministries. The dissatisfaction of courtiers and officials was caused by the decree prepared by Speransky in 1809, according to which all persons who had a court rank had to choose some kind of real service, i.e. the court rank turned into only an honorary title and lost the status of a position. Speransky's brilliant talent as a statesman had many applications in different areas (in particular, he implemented a number of measures aimed at improving finances), but also aroused resistance and envy. Therefore, Speransky’s reform activities were interrupted; on charges of spying for Napoleon in 1812, he was dismissed from government service and exiled to Nizhny Novgorod, and then sent by the Siberian governor to Perm.

Russian foreign policy at the beginning of the 19th century. was determined primarily by the situation that was developing in Europe. In 1805, Russia again joined the anti-French coalition. The Russian army under the command of M.I. Kutuzov and its allies was defeated at Austerlitz. In 1806, the battles of Pułtusk and Preussisch-Eylau took place. The Battle of Friedland in 1807 ended this war. In the summer of 1807, Russia and France signed the Treaty of Tilsit and the treaty of alliance against England, according to which Russia joined France’s continental blockade against England. Russia agreed to mediate in negotiations between France and Great Britain, and France assumed the role of mediator in concluding peace between Russia and Turkey. Russia pledged to withdraw its troops from Moldova and Wallachia and recognized the sovereignty of France over the Ionian Islands. The parties agreed to conduct joint actions in the war against any European power.

Great Britain refused Alexander I's offer of mediation. Remaining faithful to the newly signed treaty, Russia declared war on England. The cessation of trade and political ties with England had a detrimental effect on the Russian economy. France, in turn, violated its treaty obligations and secretly encouraged Turkey in military actions against Russia in the Balkans. The formation of the Duchy of Warsaw was a springboard for France on the Russian border.

In 1804, the Russian-Iranian war began over disputed territories. During the campaign of 1804-1806. Russia occupied the khanates north of the river. Araks (Baku, Cuba, Ganja, Derbent, etc.) The transfer of these territories to Russia was secured in the Gulistan Peace Treaty of 1813. During the Russian-Turkish War (1806-1812) in the Dardanelles and Athos naval battles in 1807, the Russian fleet defeated the Turkish squadron. In 1811, General M.I. Kutuzov, newly appointed commander-in-chief, won a decisive victory at Rushchuk. In 1812, the Treaty of Bucharest was signed. Türkiye ceded Bessarabia to Russia, and an autonomous Serbian principality was created.

In 1808-1809 The last Russian-Swedish war in history took place. Its result was the signing of the Treaty of Friedrichsham, according to which all of Finland, together with the Åland Islands, became part of the Russian Empire as a grand duchy. The Russian-Swedish border was established along the Gulf of Bothnia and the Torneo and Muonio rivers.