Peter III Fedorovich (born Karl Peter Ulrich, born February 10 (21), 1728 - died July 6 (17), 1762) - Russian Emperor in 1762. Grandson of Peter I - son of his daughter Anna.
Origin
Peter III's mother, Anna Petrovna, died of consumption two months after his birth in the small Holstein town of Kiel. She was crushed by life there and her unhappy family life. Peter's father, Duke of Holstein Karl Friedrich, nephew of the Swedish king Charles XII, was a weak sovereign, poor, ugly-looking, short in stature and weakly built. He died in 1739, and the guardianship of his son, who was about 11 years old at the time, was taken by his cousin the Duke of Holstein and Bishop of Lübeck Adolf Friedrich, who later ascended the Swedish throne. Peter was by nature a weak, frail and homely-looking child.
Childhood, youth, upbringing
The main educators were the marshal of his court, Brümmer, and the chief chamberlain, Berchholz. None of them were suitable for this role. According to the testimony of the Frenchman Millet, Brümmer was only fit for “raising horses, not princes.” He treated his pupil extremely roughly, subjecting him to humiliating and painful punishments, forcing him to kneel on peas scattered on the floor, leaving him without lunch and even beating him.
Humiliated and embarrassed in everything, the prince acquired bad tastes and habits, became irritable, absurd, stubborn and false, acquired a sad inclination to lie, believing with simple-minded enthusiasm in his own fiction. At the same time, Peter remained puny and unattractive both physically and morally. He possessed a strange, restless soul, contained in a narrow, anemic, prematurely exhausted body. Even in his childhood, he discovered a tendency to drink, which is why teachers were forced to closely monitor him at all appointments.
Heir to the throne
At first, the prince was prepared for his accession to the Swedish throne, while being forced to learn the Lutheran catechism, Swedish and Latin grammar. However, having become the Russian Empress and wanting to ensure succession through her father, she sent Major Korf with instructions to take her nephew from Kiel and deliver him to St. Petersburg at any cost.
Arrival in Russia
Peter arrived in the Russian capital on February 5, 1742 and was soon declared Grand Duke and heir to the Russian throne. After communicating with her nephew, Elizabeth was amazed at his ignorance and ordered him to immediately start studying. Little good came of this good intention. The Russian language teacher Veselovsky appeared rarely from the very beginning, and then, having become convinced of the complete inability of his student, he stopped going completely. Professor Shtelin, who was entrusted with teaching the heir mathematics and history, showed great persistence. And soon he realized that Grand Duke“does not like deep thinking.”
Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich
He brought books with pictures and ancient Russian coins to class and used them to tell the ancient history of Russia. Using medals, Shtelin told about the history of his reign. Reading newspapers to him, he went through universal history.
However, much more important for the empress was the introduction of her nephew to Orthodoxy. On this side they also encountered considerable difficulties, because from childhood Peter learned the rules of the strictest and least tolerant Lutheranism. In the end, after many troubles for himself, he submitted to the will of the empress, but at the same time said several times that it would be more pleasant for him to go to Sweden than to stay in Russia.
One activity that the prince indulged in with selfless persistence was playing toy soldiers. He ordered to make himself a variety of different soldiers: wax, lead and wood, and placed them in his office on tables with such devices that if you pulled the laces stretched across the tables, sounds similar to rapid rifle fire were heard. On service days, Peter gathered his household, put on a general's uniform and performed a parade of his toy troops, pulling the laces and listening with pleasure to the sounds of battle. The Grand Duke retained his love for these childish games for a long time, even after his marriage to Catherine.
Catherine about Peter
From Catherine's notes it is known what kind of fun he liked to indulge in soon after the wedding. In the village, he set up a dog kennel and began training the dogs himself.
“With amazing patience,” wrote Catherine, “he trained several dogs, punishing them with stick blows, shouting hunting terms and walking from one end of his two rooms to the other. As soon as any dog got tired or ran away, he subjected it to cruel torture, which made it howl even louder. When these exercises, unbearable to the ears and peace of mind of his neighbors, finally tired of him, he took up the violin. Peter did not know notes, but had a strong ear and considered the main advantage of playing to be to move the bow as hard as possible and to make the sounds as loud as possible. His playing tore apart the ears, and often the listeners had to regret that they did not dare to cover their ears.
Then the dogs were trained and tortured again, which truly seemed to me extremely cruel. Once I heard a terrible, incessant screech. My bedroom, where I was sitting, was located next to the room where the dog training took place. I opened the door and saw how the Grand Duke lifted one of the dogs by the collar, ordered the Kalmyk boy to hold it by the tail and beat the poor animal with all his might with the thick stick of his whip. I began to ask him to spare the unfortunate dog, but instead he began to beat her even harder. I went to my room with tears in my eyes, unable to bear such a cruel sight. In general, tears and screams, instead of arousing pity in the Grand Duke, only angered him. Pity was a painful and, one might say, unbearable feeling for his soul...”
Through Madame Crouse, Peter got himself dolls and children's trinkets, which he was a passionate hunter for. “During the day he hid them from everyone under my bed,” Ekaterina recalled. “The Grand Duke immediately after dinner went into the bedroom, and as soon as we were in bed, Madame Kruse locked the door, and the Grand Duke began to play until one and two in the morning. I, along with Madame Kruse, whether glad or not, had to take part in this pleasant activity. Sometimes I amused myself with it, but much more often it tired me and even bothered me, because dolls and toys, some very heavy, filled and covered the entire bed.”
Contemporaries about Peter
Is it any wonder that Catherine gave birth to a child only 9 years after the wedding? Although there were other explanations for this delay. Champeau, in a report compiled for the Versailles court in 1758, wrote: “The Grand Duke, without suspecting it, was unable to produce children, due to an obstacle eliminated among eastern peoples through circumcision, but considered incurable by him. The Grand Duchess, who did not love him and was not imbued with the consciousness of having heirs, was not saddened by this.”
For his part, Castera wrote: “He (the Grand Duke) was so ashamed of the misfortune that struck him that he did not even have the determination to admit it, and the Grand Duchess, who accepted his caresses with disgust and was at that time as inexperienced as “he did not think to console him or encourage him to look for means to return him to her arms.”
Peter III and Catherine II
If you believe the same Champeau, the Grand Duke got rid of his shortcoming with the help of Catherine’s lover Sergei Saltykov. It happened like this. Once upon a time the entire court was present at a big ball. The Empress, passing by the pregnant Naryshkina, Saltykov's sister-in-law, who was talking with Saltykov, told her that she should pass on a little of her virtue to the Grand Duchess. Naryshkina replied that this may not be as difficult to do as it seems. Elizabeth began to question her and thus learned about the Grand Duke’s physical disability. Saltykov immediately said that he enjoyed Peter’s trust and would try to persuade him to agree to the operation. The Empress not only agreed to this, but made it clear that by doing this he would be of great service. On the same day, Saltykov arranged a dinner, invited all of Peter’s good friends to it, and in a cheerful moment they all surrounded the Grand Duke and asked him to agree to their requests. The surgeon immediately came in, and in one minute the operation was done and was a great success. Peter was finally able to enter into normal communication with his wife and soon after that she became pregnant.
But even if Peter and Catherine united to conceive a child, after his birth they felt absolutely free from marital obligations. Each of them knew about the other's love interests and treated them with complete indifference. Catherine fell in love with August Poniatowski, and the Grand Duke began to court Countess Elizaveta Vorontsova. The latter soon took full power over Peter.
Contemporaries unanimously expressed bewilderment at this point, because they absolutely could not explain how she could bewitch the Grand Duke. Vorontsova was completely ugly and even more so. “Ugly, rude and stupid,” Masson said about her. Another witness put it even more harshly: “She swore like a soldier, squinted, stank and spat when talking.” There were rumors that Vorontsova encouraged all of Peter's vices, got drunk with him, scolded and even beat her lover. By all accounts, she was an evil and ignorant woman. Nevertheless, Peter wanted nothing more than to marry her, having first divorced Catherine. But while Elizabeth was alive, this could only be a dream.
Everyone who more or less knew the Grand Duke had no doubt that with his coming to power, the politics of Russia would change radically. Peter's Prussian affections were well known, because he did not consider it necessary to hide them (and in general, by his very nature, he could not keep secrets and immediately blurted them out to the first person he met; this vice, more than any other, harmed him in the future).
Accession to the throne of Peter III
1761, December 25 - Elizabeth died. On the very first night of his accession to the throne, Peter sent messengers to different corps of the Russian army with the order to stop enemy actions. On the same day, the favorite of the new emperor, brigadier and chamberlain Andrei Gudovich, was sent to the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst with notification of the accession of Peter III to the throne and took the emperor’s letter to Frederick. In it, Peter III invited Frederick to renew harmony and friendship. Both were received with the greatest gratitude.
Foreign and domestic policy of Peter III
Frederick immediately sent his adjutant, Colonel Goltz, to St. Petersburg. On April 24, peace was concluded, and on the most favorable terms for Frederick: all his lands occupied by Russian troops in the former war were returned to the Prussian king; a separate paragraph proclaimed the desire of both sovereigns to conclude a military alliance, which, obviously, was directed against Russia's former ally Austria.
Elizaveta Vorontsova
Peter behaved in the same radical way in domestic policy. On February 18, a manifesto on the freedom of the nobility was published. From now on, all nobles, no matter what service they were in, military or civil, could continue it or retire. Prince Peter Dolgorukov tells an anecdote about how this famous manifesto was written. One evening, when Peter wanted to cheat on his mistress, he called State Secretary Dmitry Volkov and addressed him with the following words: “I told Vorontsova that I would work with you part of the night on a law of extreme importance. Therefore, I need a decree tomorrow that will be discussed at court and in the city.” After this, Volkov was locked in an empty room with a Danish dog. The unfortunate secretary did not know what to write about; in the end he remembered what Count Roman Larionovich Vorontsov most often repeated to the sovereign - namely, about the freedom of the nobility. Volkov wrote a manifesto, which was approved by the sovereign the next day.
On February 21, a very important manifesto was published, abolishing Secret Chancery, an agency known for its numerous abuses and outright atrocities. On March 21, a decree on the secularization of church property appears. According to it, monasteries were deprived of their numerous land holdings, and monks and priests were given fixed state salaries.
Meanwhile, Goltz, who even after the signing of peace continued to remain in St. Petersburg and had great influence on the sovereign in all matters, anxiously reported to Frederick about the growing discontent against the emperor. Bolotov wrote about the same thing in his notes. Having mentioned some of the decrees of the new reign that aroused the pleasure of the Russians, he further writes:
“But other orders of the emperor that followed aroused strong murmurs and indignation among his subjects, and most of all, he intended to completely change our religion, for which he showed special contempt. He called on the leading bishop (of Novgorod) Dmitry Sechenov and ordered him that only icons of the Savior and the Virgin Mary should be left in the churches, and there would be no others, and that the priests should shave their beards and wear dresses like foreign pastors. It is impossible to describe how amazed Archbishop Dmitry was at this order. This prudent elder did not know how to begin to fulfill this unexpected command, and saw clearly that Peter had the intention of changing Orthodoxy to Lutheranism. He was forced to announce the sovereign’s will to the noblest clergy, and although the matter stopped there for the time being, it produced strong displeasure among the entire clergy.”
Palace coup
To the displeasure of the clergy was added the displeasure of the troops. One of the first acts of the new reign was the dissolution of the Elizabethan life company, in whose place they immediately saw a new, Holstein, guard, which enjoyed the clear preference of the sovereign. This aroused murmurs and indignation in the Russian Guard. As Catherine herself later admitted, she was offered a plan to overthrow Peter III shortly after the death of Elizabeth. But she refused to take part in the conspiracy until June 9. On this day, when peace was being celebrated with the Prussian king, the emperor publicly insulted her at dinner and in the evening gave the order to arrest her. Uncle Prince George forced the sovereign to cancel this order. Catherine remained free, but no longer made excuses and agreed to accept the help of her volunteer assistants. Chief among them were the guards officers the Orlov brothers.
The coup was carried out on June 28, 1762 and was crowned complete success. Having learned that the guard unanimously supported Catherine, Peter was confused and abdicated the throne without further ado. Panin, who was tasked with conveying the will of his wife to the deposed sovereign, found the unfortunate man in the most pitiful state. Peter tried to kiss his hands and begged him not to be separated from his mistress. He cried like a guilty and punished child. The favorite threw herself at the feet of Catherine's envoy and also asked that she be allowed not to leave her lover. But they were still separated. Vorontsova was sent to Moscow, and Peter was assigned as a temporary stay a house in Ropsha, “a very secluded area, but very pleasant,” according to Catherine, and located 30 miles from St. Petersburg. There Peter had to live until such time as it was prepared for him. suitable premises in the Shlisselburg fortress.
Death
But, as it soon became clear, he did not need these apartments. On the evening of July 6, Catherine was given a note from Orlov, written with an unsteady and hardly sober hand. Only one thing could be understood: that day Peter had an argument at the table with one of his interlocutors; Orlov and others rushed to separate them, but did it so awkwardly that the frail prisoner ended up dead. “Before we had time to separate him, he was already gone; We ourselves don’t remember what we did,” Orlov wrote. Catherine, in her words, was touched and even amazed by this death. But none of those responsible for the murder were punished. Peter's body was brought directly to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery and there it was modestly buried next to the former ruler Anna Leopoldovna.
F. Rokotov "Portrait of Peter III"
“But nature was not as favorable to him as fate: the likely heir to two foreign and large thrones, his abilities were not suitable for his own small throne” (V. Klyuchevsky)
Childhood
Before adopting Orthodoxy, the All-Russian Emperor Peter III Fedorovich bore the name Karl-Peter-Ulrich. He was the son of Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp and Tsarevna Anna Petrovna (daughter of Peter I). Thus, he was the grandson of Peter I and the great-nephew of King Charles XII of Sweden. Born in Kiel, the capital of Holstein. He was only 3 weeks old when his mother died and 11 years old when his father died.
His upbringing was entrusted to Court Marshal Brumaire; it was reduced to barracks order and training with the help of a whip. Nevertheless, he was being prepared to take the Swedish throne, and therefore the spirit of Swedish patriotism was instilled in him, i.e. spirit of hatred towards Russia.
The current Empress Elizaveta Petrovna was childless, but wanted the throne to be inherited by a descendant of Peter I, so for this purpose she brings her nephew, Karl-Peter-Ulrich, to Russia. He converts to Orthodoxy and, under the name of Peter Fedorovich, is declared Grand Duke, heir to the throne with the title of Imperial Highness.
L. Pfantselt "Portrait of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich"
In Russia
Peter was sickly and did not receive proper upbringing and education. In addition, he had a stubborn, irritable and deceitful character. Elizaveta Petrovna was amazed at her nephew’s ignorance. She assigned a new teacher to him, but he never achieved significant success from him. And a sharp change in lifestyle, country, situation, impressions and religion (before accepting Orthodoxy, he was a Lutheran) led to the fact that he was completely disoriented in the world around him. V. Klyuchevsky wrote: “... he looked at serious things with a child’s gaze, and treated children’s undertakings with the seriousness of a mature husband.”
Elizaveta Petrovna did not abandon her intention to secure the throne for the descendant of Peter I and decided to marry him. She herself chose his bride - the daughter of an impoverished German prince - Sophia Friederike Augusta (in the future Catherine II). The marriage took place on August 21, 1745. But their family life did not work out from the very first days. Peter insulted his young wife, repeatedly announced that she would be sent abroad or to a monastery, and was carried away by Elizabeth Petrovna’s ladies-in-waiting. He developed a passion for carousing. However, Peter III had two children: a son, Paul (the future Emperor Paul I), and a daughter, Anna. Rumor has it that the children were not his.
G.-K. Groot "Peter Fedorovich and Ekaterina Alekseevna"
Peter's favorite pastimes were playing the violin and war games. Already being married, Peter did not stop playing with soldiers; he had a lot of wooden, wax and tin soldiers. His idol was the Prussian King Frederick II and his army; he admired the beauty of Prussian uniforms and the bearing of the soldiers.
Elizaveta Petrovna, according to V. Klyuchevsky, was in despair at the character and behavior of her nephew. She herself and her favorites were concerned about the fate of the Russian throne; she listened to proposals to replace the heir with Catherine or Pavel Petrovich while maintaining the regency for Catherine until he came of age, but the empress could not finally decide on any proposal. She died - and on December 25, 1761, Peter III ascended the Russian throne.
Domestic policy
The young emperor began his reign by pardoning many criminals and political exiles (Minich, Biron, etc.). He abolished the Secret Chancellery, which had been in operation since the time of Peter I and was engaged in secret investigation and torture. He announced forgiveness to the repentant peasants who had previously disobeyed their landowners. He forbade the persecution of schismatics. Issued a Decree of February 18, 1762, according to which compulsory military service for nobles, introduced by Peter I, was abolished. Historians doubt that all these innovations were dictated by the desire for the good of Russia - most likely, there were more actions of court dignitaries who tried in this way increase the popularity of the new emperor. But it continued to remain very low. He was accused of disrespect for Russian shrines (he did not honor the clergy, ordered house churches to be closed, priests to take off their vestments and dress in secular clothes), as well as concluding a “shameful peace” with Prussia.
Foreign policy
Peter led Russia out of the Seven Years' War; during the hostilities, East Prussia was annexed to Russia.
The negative attitude towards Peter III intensified after he announced his intention to move to recapture Schleswig from Denmark. In his opinion, she oppressed his native Holstein. The guards, who, in fact, supported Catherine in the upcoming coup, were especially worried.
Coup
Having ascended the throne, Peter was in no hurry to be crowned. And although Frederick II in his letters persistently advised Peter to carry out this procedure as quickly as possible, for some reason the emperor did not listen to the advice of his idol. Therefore, in the eyes of the Russian people, he was, as it were, a fake tsar. For Catherine, this moment was the only chance to take the throne. Moreover, the emperor has publicly stated more than once that he intends to divorce his wife and marry Elizaveta Vorontsova, Elizaveta Petrovna’s former maid of honor.
On June 27, 1762, P. Passek, one of the main organizers of the conspiracy, was arrested in the Izmailovo barracks. Early in the morning, the brother of Catherine’s favorite A. Orlov brought Catherine from Peterhof to St. Petersburg, where the Izmailovsky and Semenovsky regiments swore allegiance to her, and her Manifesto was urgently read out in the Winter Palace. Then the rest swore allegiance to her. Peter III at this time was in his favorite castle in Oranienbaum. Having learned about the events that had taken place, he hurried to Kronstadt (on the advice of Minich), but by that time the soldiers there had already sworn allegiance to Catherine. He returned lost and, despite the fact that Minikh offered him various ways out of the situation, did not dare to take any action and rewrote the act of abdication drawn up by Catherine. He was sent first to Peterhof, and then to Ropsha, where he was taken under arrest. While Catherine was thinking about what to do with the deposed emperor, her entourage killed him (by strangulation). It was announced to the people that Peter III died of “hemorrhoidal colic.”
L. Pfanzelt "Portrait of Emperor Peter III"
Frederick II commented on his death: “ He allowed himself to be overthrown like a child being sent to bed.”
Peter III served as Russian Emperor for only 186 days.
Peter III Fedorovich (born Karl Peter Ulrich, German Karl Peter Ulrich). Born on February 10 (21), 1728 in Kiel - died on July 6 (17), 1762 in Ropsha. Russian Emperor (1762), the first representative of the Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov dynasty on the Russian throne. Sovereign Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (1745). Grandson of Peter I.
Karl Peter, the future Emperor Peter III, was born on February 10 (21 according to the new style) 1728 in Kiel (Holstein-Gottorp).
Father - Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp.
Mother - Anna Petrovna Romanova, daughter.
In the marriage contract concluded by his parents back under Peter I in 1724, they renounced any claims to the Russian throne. But the king reserved the right to appoint as his successor “one of the princes born by Divine blessing from this marriage.”
In addition, Karl Friedrich, being the nephew of the Swedish king Charles XII, had rights to the throne of Sweden.
Shortly after Peter's birth, his mother died, catching a cold during a fireworks display in honor of her son's birth. The boy grew up in the provincial surroundings of a tiny North German duchy. The father loved his son, but all his thoughts were aimed at returning Schleswig, which Denmark occupied at the beginning of the 18th century. Having neither military strength nor financial resources, Karl Friedrich pinned his hopes on either Sweden or Russia. Marriage to Anna Petrovna was a legal confirmation of Karl Friedrich's Russian orientation. But after Anna Ioannovna ascended the throne of the Russian Empire, this course became impossible. The new empress sought not only to deprive her cousin Elizaveta Petrovna of the rights to the inheritance, but also to assign it to the Miloslavsky line. Growing up in Kiel, the grandson of Peter the Great was a constant threat to the dynastic plans of the childless Empress Anna Ioannovna, who repeated with hatred: “The little devil still lives.”
In 1732, by a demarche of the Russian and Austrian governments, with the consent of Denmark, Duke Karl Friedrich was asked to renounce the rights to Schleswig for a huge ransom. Karl Friedrich categorically rejected this proposal. The father placed all hopes for restoring the territorial integrity of his duchy on his son, instilling in him the idea of revenge. From an early age, Karl Friedrich raised his son in a military way - in the Prussian way.
When Karl Peter was 10 years old, he was awarded the rank of second lieutenant, which made a huge impression on the boy; he loved military parades.
At the age of eleven he lost his father. After his death, he was brought up in the house of his paternal cousin, Bishop Adolf of Eitinsky, later King Adolf Fredrik of Sweden. His teachers O.F. Brummer and F.V. Berkhgolts were not distinguished by high moral qualities and more than once cruelly punished the child. The Crown Prince of the Swedish Crown was repeatedly flogged and subjected to other sophisticated and humiliating punishments.
The teachers cared little about his education: by the age of thirteen he only spoke a little French.
Peter grew up fearful, nervous, impressionable, loved music and painting and at the same time adored everything military - however, he was afraid of cannon fire (this fear remained with him throughout his life). All his ambitious dreams were connected with military pleasures. Good health he was no different; on the contrary, he was sickly and frail. By character, Peter was not evil; he often behaved simple-mindedly. Already in childhood he became addicted to wine.
Elizabeth Petrovna, who became Empress in 1741, wanted to secure the throne through her father and ordered her nephew to be brought to Russia. In December, soon after the accession of Empress Elizabeth to the throne, Major von Korff (husband of Countess Maria Karlovna Skavronskaya, cousin Empress) and with him G. von Korff, the Russian envoy to the Danish court, to take the young duke to Russia.
Three days after the Duke's departure, they learned about this in Kiel; he was traveling incognito, under the name of the young Count Duker. At the last station before Berlin they stopped and sent the quartermaster to the local Russian envoy (minister) von Brakel, and began to wait for him at the post station. But the night before, Brakel died in Berlin. This accelerated their further journey to St. Petersburg. In Keslin, in Pomerania, the postmaster recognized the young duke. Therefore, they drove all night to quickly leave the Prussian borders.
On February 5 (16), 1742, Karl Peter Ulrich arrived safely in Russia, to the Winter Palace. There was a large crowd of people to see the grandson of Peter the Great. On February 10 (21), the 14th anniversary of his birth was celebrated.
At the end of February 1742, Elizaveta Petrovna went with her nephew to Moscow for her coronation. Karl Peter Ulrich was present at the coronation in the Assumption Cathedral on April 25 (May 6), 1742, in a specially arranged place, next to Her Majesty. After his coronation, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky Guard and wore the uniform of this regiment every day. Also colonel of the First Life Cuirassier Regiment.
At the first meeting, Elizabeth was struck by the ignorance of her nephew and upset by his appearance: thin, sickly, with an unhealthy complexion. Academician Jacob Shtelin became his tutor and teacher, who considered his student quite capable, but lazy. The professor noticed his inclinations and tastes and organized his first classes based on them. He read picture books with him, especially those depicting fortresses, siege weapons, and engineering weapons; did different ones mathematical models in small form and on a large table he arranged complete experiments with them. From time to time he brought ancient Russian coins and, while explaining them, told ancient Russian history, and about the medals of Peter I recent history states. Twice a week I read newspapers to him and quietly explained to him the basis of the history of European states, while entertaining him with the land maps of these states and showing their position on the globe.
In November 1742, Karl Peter Ulrich converted to Orthodoxy under the name Peter Fedorovich. His official title included the words “Grandson of Peter the Great.”
Peter III (documentary)
Height of Peter III: 170 centimeters.
Personal life of Peter III:
In 1745, Peter married Princess Ekaterina Alekseevna (née Sophia Frederica Augusta) of Anhalt-Zerbst, the future empress.
The heir's wedding was celebrated on a special scale. Peter and Catherine were granted possession of palaces - Oranienbaum near St. Petersburg and Lyubertsy near Moscow.
After the Holstein heir Brummer and Berchholtz were removed from the throne, his upbringing was entrusted to the military general Vasily Repnin, who turned a blind eye to his duties and did not prevent the young man from devoting all his time to playing toy soldiers. The heir's training in Russia lasted only three years - after the wedding of Peter and Catherine, Shtelin was relieved of his duties, but forever retained Peter's favor and trust.
The Grand Duke's immersion in military fun caused increasing irritation of the Empress. In 1747, she replaced Repnin with the Choglokovs, Nikolai Naumovich and Maria Simonovna, in whom she saw an example of sincere loving friend friend of the couple. In accordance with the instructions drawn up by Chancellor Bestuzhev, Choglokov tried to limit his ward’s access to games and replaced his favorite servants for this.
Peter's relationship with his wife did not work out from the very beginning. Catherine noted in her memoirs that her husband “bought himself German books, but what books? Some of them consisted of Lutheran prayer books, and the other - of the stories and trials of some highwaymen who were hanged and wheeled.”
It is believed that until the early 1750s there was no marital relationship between husband and wife at all, but then Peter underwent some kind of operation (presumably circumcision to eliminate phimosis), after which in 1754 Catherine gave birth to his son Paul. At the same time, the Grand Duke’s letter to his wife, dated December 1746, suggests that the relationship between them was immediately after the wedding: “Madam, I ask you this night not to bother yourself at all to sleep with me, since it is too late to deceive me , the bed has become too narrow, after a two-week separation from you, this afternoon your unfortunate husband, whom you never honored with this name. Peter".
Historians cast great doubt on the paternity of Peter, calling S. A. Poniatovsky the most likely father. However, Peter officially recognized the child as his own.
The infant heir, the future Russian Emperor Paul I, was immediately taken away from his parents after birth, and Empress Elizaveta Petrovna herself took up his upbringing. Pyotr Fedorovich was never interested in his son and was quite satisfied with the empress’s permission to see Paul once a week. Peter increasingly moved away from his wife; Elizaveta Vorontsova, E.R.’s sister, became his favorite. Dashkova.
Elizaveta Vorontsova - mistress of Peter III
Nevertheless, Catherine noted that for some reason the Grand Duke always had an involuntary trust in her, all the more strange since she did not strive for spiritual intimacy with her husband. In difficult situations, financial or economic, he often turned to his wife for help, calling her ironically “Madame la Ressource” (“Lady Help”).
Peter never hid his hobbies for other women from his wife. But Catherine did not at all feel humiliated by this state of affairs, having by that time a huge number of lovers. For the Grand Duke, his wife’s hobbies were also no secret.
After Choglokov’s death in 1754, General Brockdorff, who arrived incognito from Holstein and encouraged the militaristic habits of the heir, de facto became the manager of the “small court.” In the early 1750s, he was allowed to write out a small detachment of Holstein soldiers (by 1758 their number was about one and a half thousand). All free time Peter and Brockdorff spent time doing military exercises and maneuvers with them. Some time later (by 1759-1760), these Holstein soldiers formed the garrison of the amusing fortress of Peterstadt, built at the residence of the Grand Duke Oranienbaum.
Peter's other hobby was playing the violin.
During the years spent in Russia, Peter never made any attempt to better know the country, its people and history; he neglected Russian customs, behaved inappropriately during church services, and did not observe fasts and other rituals. When in 1751 the Grand Duke learned that his uncle had become the king of Sweden, he said: “They dragged me to this damned Russia, where I must consider myself a state prisoner, whereas if they had left me free, now I would be sitting on the throne civilized people."
Elizaveta Petrovna did not allow Peter to participate in resolving political issues, and the only position in which he could somehow prove himself was the position of director of the gentry corps. Meanwhile, the Grand Duke openly criticized the activities of the government, and during the Seven Years' War publicly expressed sympathy for the Prussian king Frederick II.
The defiant behavior of Peter Fedorovich was well known not only at court, but also in wider layers of Russian society, where the Grand Duke enjoyed neither authority nor popularity.
Personality of Peter III
Jacob Staehlin wrote about Peter III: “He is quite witty, especially in disputes, which was developed and supported in him from his youth by the grumpiness of his chief marshal Brümmer... By nature he judges quite well, but his attachment to sensual pleasures frustrated him more than it developed him judgments, and therefore he did not like deep thinking. Memory is excellent down to the last detail. He willingly read travel descriptions and military books. As soon as a catalog of new books came out, he read it and noted for himself many books that made up a decent library. He ordered his late parent’s library from Kiel and bought Melling’s engineering and military library for a thousand rubles.”
In addition, Shtelin wrote: “Being a Grand Duke and not having room for a library in his St. Petersburg palace, he ordered it to be transported to Oranienbaum and kept a librarian with it. Having become emperor, he instructed state councilor Shtelin, as his chief librarian, to build a library on the mezzanine of his new winter palace in St. Petersburg, for which four large rooms and two for the librarian himself. For this, in the first case, he assigned 3,000 rubles, and then 2,000 rubles annually, but demanded that not a single Latin book be included in it, because pedantic teaching and coercion had disgusted him with Latin from an early age...
He was not a hypocrite, but he also did not like any jokes about faith and the word of God. He was somewhat inattentive during external worship, often forgetting the usual bows and crosses and talking to the ladies-in-waiting and other persons around him.
The Empress did not like such actions very much. She expressed her disappointment to Chancellor Count Bestuzhev, who, on her behalf, on similar and many other occasions, instructed me to give the Grand Duke serious instructions. This was carried out with all care, usually on Monday, regarding such indecency of his actions, both in church and at court or at other public meetings. He was not offended by such remarks, because he was convinced that I wished him well and always advised him how to please Her Majesty as much as possible and thus create his own happiness...
Alien to all prejudices and superstitions. Thoughts regarding faith were more Protestant than Russian; therefore, from an early age, I often received admonitions not to show such thoughts and to show more attention and respect for worship and the rites of faith.”
Shtelin noted that Peter “always had with him a German Bible and a Kiel prayer book, in which he knew by heart some of the best spiritual songs.” At the same time: “I was afraid of thunderstorms. In words he was not at all afraid of death, but in reality he was afraid of any danger. He often boasted that he would not be left behind in any battle, and that if a bullet hit him, he was sure that it was intended for him,” wrote Shtelin.
Reign of Peter III
On Christmas Day, December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762), at three o'clock in the afternoon, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna died. Peter ascended the throne of the Russian Empire. Imitating Frederick II, Peter was not crowned, but planned to be crowned after the campaign against Denmark. As a result, Peter III was posthumously crowned Paul I in 1796.
Peter III did not have a clear political program of action, but he had his own vision of politics, and, imitating his grandfather Peter I, planned to carry out a number of reforms. On January 17, 1762, Peter III, at a meeting of the Senate, announced his plans for the future: “The nobles continue to serve of their own free will, as much and where they wish, and when wartime comes, they must all appear on the same basis as in Livonia with sacrificed by the nobles.”
Several months in power revealed the contradictory nature of Peter III. Almost all contemporaries noted such character traits of the emperor as a thirst for activity, tirelessness, kindness and gullibility.
Among the most important reforms of Peter III:
Abolition of the Secret Chancellery (Chancery of Secret Investigative Affairs; Manifesto of February 16, 1762);
- the beginning of the process of secularization of church lands;
- encouragement of commercial and industrial activities through the creation of the State Bank and the issuance of banknotes (Nominal Decree of May 25);
- adoption of a decree on freedom of foreign trade (Decree of March 28); it also contains a requirement careful attitude to forests as one of the most important resources of Russia;
- a decree that allowed the establishment of factories for the production of sailing fabric in Siberia;
- a decree that qualified the murder of peasants by landowners as “tyrant torture” and provided for lifelong exile for this;
- stopped the persecution of the Old Believers.
Peter III is also credited with the intention to carry out the reform of the Russian Orthodox Church according to the Protestant model (In the Manifesto of Catherine II on the occasion of her accession to the throne dated June 28 (July 9), 1762, Peter was blamed for this: “Our Greek Church is already extremely exposed to its last danger of change ancient Orthodoxy in Russia and the adoption of a heterodox law").
Legislative acts adopted during the short reign of Peter III largely became the foundation for the subsequent reign of Catherine II.
The most important document of the reign of Peter Fedorovich - “Manifesto on the freedom of the nobility” (Manifesto of February 18 (March 1), 1762), thanks to which the nobility became the exclusive privileged class of the Russian Empire.
The nobility, having been forced by Peter I to compulsory and universal conscription to serve the state all their lives, and under Anna Ioannovna, having received the right to retire after 25 years of service, now received the right not to serve at all. And the privileges initially granted to the nobility, as a serving class, not only remained, but also expanded. In addition to being exempt from service, nobles received the right to virtually unhindered exit from the country. One of the consequences of the Manifesto was that the nobles could now freely dispose of their land holdings, regardless of their attitude to service (the Manifesto passed over in silence the rights of the nobility to their estates; while the previous legislative acts of Peter I, Anna Ioannovna and Elizaveta Petrovna regarding noble service, linked official duties and landownership rights).
The nobility became as free as a privileged class could be free in a feudal country.
Under Peter III, a broad amnesty was carried out for persons who had been subjected to exile and other punishments in previous years. Among those returned were the favorite of Empress Anna Ioannovna E.I. Biron and Field Marshal B.K. Minich, close to Peter III.
The reign of Peter III was marked by the strengthening of serfdom. The landowners were given the opportunity to arbitrarily resettle the peasants who belonged to them from one district to another; serious bureaucratic restrictions arose on the transition of serfs to the merchant class; During the six months of Peter's reign, about 13 thousand people were distributed from state peasants to serfs (in fact, there were more: only men were included in the audit lists in 1762). During these six months, peasant riots arose several times and were suppressed by punitive detachments.
The legislative activity of the government of Peter III was extraordinary. During the 186-day reign, judging by the official “Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire,” 192 documents were adopted: manifestos, personal and Senate decrees, resolutions, etc.
Peter III was much more interested in internal affairs in the war with Denmark: the emperor decided, in alliance with Prussia, to oppose Denmark in order to return Schleswig, which it had taken from his native Holstein, and he himself intended to go on a campaign at the head of the guard.
Immediately upon his accession to the throne, Peter Fedorovich returned to the court most of the disgraced nobles of the previous reign, who had languished in exile (except for the hated Bestuzhev-Ryumin). Among them was Count Burchard Christopher Minich, a veteran of palace coups and a master of engineering of his time. The Emperor's Holstein relatives were summoned to Russia: Princes Georg Ludwig of Holstein-Gottorp and Peter August Friedrich of Holstein-Beck. Both were promoted to field marshal general in the prospect of war with Denmark; Peter August Friedrich was also appointed governor-general of the capital. Alexander Vilboa was appointed Feldzeichmeister General. These people, as well as the former teacher Jacob Shtelin, who was appointed personal librarian, formed the emperor's inner circle.
Bernhard Wilhelm von der Goltz arrived in St. Petersburg to negotiate a separate peace with Prussia. Peter III valued the opinion of the Prussian envoy so much that he soon began to “direct the entire foreign policy of Russia.”
Among the negative aspects of the reign of Peter III, the main one is his actual annulment of the results of the Seven Years' War. Once in power, Peter III, who did not hide his admiration for Frederick II, immediately stopped military operations against Prussia and concluded the Peace of St. Petersburg with the Prussian king on extremely unfavorable terms for Russia, returning the conquered East Prussia (which by that time had already been a constituent part of part of the Russian Empire) and abandoning all acquisitions during the Seven Years' War, which was practically won by Russia. All the sacrifices, all the heroism of the Russian soldiers were crossed out in one fell swoop, which looked like a real betrayal of the interests of the fatherland and high treason.
Russia's exit from the war once again saved Prussia from complete defeat. The peace concluded on April 24 was interpreted by the ill-wishers of Peter III as a true national humiliation, since the long and costly war, by the grace of this admirer of Prussia, ended in literally nothing: Russia did not derive any benefits from its victories. However, this did not prevent Catherine II from continuing what Peter III had started, and the Prussian lands were finally liberated from the control of Russian troops and given to Prussia by her. Catherine II concluded a new treaty of alliance with Frederick II in 1764. However, Catherine’s role in ending the Seven Years’ War is usually not advertised.
Despite the progressive nature of many legislative measures and unprecedented privileges for the nobility, Peter’s poorly thought-out foreign policy actions, as well as his harsh actions towards the church, the introduction of Prussian orders in the army not only did not add to his authority, but deprived him of any social support. In court circles, his policy only generated uncertainty about the future.
Finally, the intention to withdraw the guard from St. Petersburg and send it on an incomprehensible and unpopular Danish campaign served as the “last straw”, a powerful catalyst for the conspiracy that arose in the guard against Peter III in favor of Ekaterina Alekseevna.
Death of Peter III
The origins of the conspiracy date back to 1756, that is, to the time of the beginning of the Seven Years' War and the deterioration of Elizabeth Petrovna's health. The all-powerful Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin, knowing full well about the pro-Prussian sentiments of the heir and realizing that under the new sovereign he was threatened with at least Siberia, hatched plans to neutralize Peter Fedorovich upon his accession to the throne, declaring Catherine an equal co-ruler. However, Alexey Petrovich fell into disgrace in 1758, hastening to implement his plan (the chancellor’s intentions remained undisclosed; he managed to destroy dangerous papers). The Empress herself had no illusions about her successor to the throne and later thought about replacing her nephew with her great-nephew Paul.
Over the next three years, Catherine, who also came under suspicion in 1758 and almost ended up in a monastery, did not take any noticeable political actions, except that she persistently multiplied and strengthened her personal connections in high society.
In the ranks of the guard, a conspiracy against Pyotr Fedorovich took shape in the last months of Elizaveta Petrovna’s life, thanks to the activities of three Orlov brothers, officers of the Izmailovsky regiment brothers Roslavlev and Lasunsky, Preobrazhensky soldiers Passek and Bredikhin and others. Among the highest dignitaries of the Empire, the most enterprising conspirators were N. I. Panin, teacher of the young Pavel Petrovich, M. N. Volkonsky and K. G. Razumovsky, Ukrainian hetman, president of the Academy of Sciences, favorite of his Izmailovsky regiment.
Elizaveta Petrovna died without deciding to change anything in the fate of the throne. Catherine did not consider it possible to carry out a coup immediately after the death of the Empress: she was five months pregnant (in April 1762 she gave birth to her son Alexei). In addition, Catherine had political reasons not to rush things; she wanted to attract as many supporters as possible to her side for complete triumph. Knowing well the character of her husband, she rightly believed that Peter would soon turn the entire metropolitan society against himself.
To carry out the coup, Catherine preferred to wait for an opportune moment.
Peter III's position in society was precarious, but Catherine's position at court was also precarious. Peter III openly said that he was going to divorce his wife in order to marry his favorite Elizaveta Vorontsova. He treated his wife rudely, and on June 9, during a gala dinner on the occasion of the conclusion of peace with Prussia, a public scandal occurred. The Emperor, in the presence of the court, diplomats and foreign princes, shouted “folle” (fool) to his wife across the table. Catherine began to cry. The reason for the insult was Catherine’s reluctance to drink while standing the toast proclaimed by Peter III. The hostility between the spouses reached its climax. On the evening of the same day, he gave the order to arrest her, and only the intervention of Field Marshal Georg of Holstein-Gottorp, the emperor's uncle, saved Catherine.
By May 1762, the change of mood in the capital became so obvious that the emperor was advised from all sides to take measures to prevent a disaster, there were denunciations of a possible conspiracy, but Pyotr Fedorovich did not understand the seriousness of his situation. In May, the court, led by the emperor, as usual, left the city, to Oranienbaum. There was a calm in the capital, which greatly contributed to the final preparations of the conspirators.
The Danish campaign was planned for June. The emperor decided to postpone the march of the troops in order to celebrate his name day. On the morning of June 28 (July 9), 1762, on the eve of Peter's Day, Emperor Peter III and his retinue set off from Oranienbaum, his country residence, to Peterhof, where a gala dinner was to take place in honor of the emperor's name day.
The day before, a rumor spread throughout St. Petersburg that Catherine was being held under arrest. Violent unrest began in the guard; one of the participants in the conspiracy, Captain Passek, was arrested. The Orlov brothers feared that the conspiracy was in danger of being exposed.
In Peterhof, Peter III was supposed to be met by his wife, who, in the duty of the empress, was the organizer of the celebrations, but by the time the court arrived, she had disappeared. After a short time, it became known that Catherine fled to St. Petersburg early in the morning in a carriage with Alexei Orlov - he arrived in Peterhof to see Catherine with the news that events had taken a critical turn and it was impossible to delay any longer).
In the capital, the Guard, the Senate and the Synod, and the population swore allegiance to the “Empress and Autocrat of All Russia” in a short time. The guard moved towards Peterhof.
Peter's further actions show an extreme degree of confusion. Rejecting Minich's advice to immediately head to Kronstadt and fight, relying on the fleet and the army loyal to him stationed in East Prussia, he was going to defend himself in Peterhof in a toy fortress built for maneuvers, with the help of a detachment of Holsteins. However, having learned about the approach of the guard led by Catherine, Peter abandoned this thought and sailed to Kronstadt with the entire court, ladies, etc. But by that time Kronstadt had already sworn allegiance to Catherine. After this, Peter completely lost heart and, again rejecting Minich’s advice to go to the East Prussian army, returned to Oranienbaum, where he signed his abdication of the throne.
The circumstances of the death of Peter III have not yet been fully clarified.
The deposed emperor on June 29 (July 10), 1762, almost immediately after the coup, accompanied by a guard of guards led by A.G. Orlov was sent to Ropsha, 30 versts from St. Petersburg, where a week later, on July 6 (17), 1762, he died. By official version The cause of death was an attack of hemorrhoidal colic, aggravated by prolonged alcohol consumption and diarrhea. During the autopsy, which was carried out by order of Catherine, it was discovered that Peter III had severe cardiac dysfunction, inflammation of the intestines and signs of apoplexy.
However, according to another version, Peter’s death is considered violent and Alexei Orlov is called the murderer. This version is based on Orlov’s letter to Catherine from Ropsha, which was not preserved in the original. This letter has reached us in a copy taken by F.V. Rostopchin. The original letter was allegedly destroyed by Emperor Paul I in the first days of his reign. Recent historical and linguistic studies refute the authenticity of the document and name Rostopchin himself as the author of the forgery.
A number of modern medical examinations, based on surviving documents and evidence, have revealed that Peter III suffered bipolar disorder with a mildly expressed depressive phase, suffered from hemorrhoids, which is why he could not sit in one place for a long time. Microcardia discovered at autopsy usually suggests a complex of congenital developmental disorders.
Initially, Peter III was buried without any honors on July 10 (21), 1762 in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, since only crowned heads were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the imperial tomb. The full Senate asked the Empress not to attend the funeral. According to some reports, Catherine nevertheless arrived at the Lavra incognito and paid her last debt to her husband.
In 1796, immediately after the death of Catherine, by order of Paul I, his remains were first transferred to the house church Winter Palace, and then to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Peter III was reburied simultaneously with the burial of Catherine II.
At the same time, Emperor Paul personally performed the ceremony of coronation of the ashes of his father. The head slabs of the buried bear the same date of burial (December 18, 1796), which gives the impression that Peter III and Catherine II lived together for many years and died on the same day.
On June 13, 2014, the world's first monument to Peter III was erected in the German city of Kiel. The initiators of this action were the German historian Elena Palmer and the Kiel Royal Society (Kieler Zaren Verein). The sculptor of the composition was Alexander Taratynov.
Impostors under the name of Peter III
Peter III became the absolute record holder for the number of impostors who tried to take the place of the untimely deceased king. According to the latest data, in Russia alone there were about forty false Peter III.
In 1764, Anton Aslanbekov, a bankrupt Armenian merchant, played the role of false Peter. Detained with a false passport in the Kursk district, he declared himself emperor and tried to rouse the people in his defense. The impostor was punished with whips and sent to eternal settlement in Nerchinsk.
Soon after this, the name of the late emperor was appropriated by the fugitive recruit Ivan Evdokimov, who tried to raise an uprising in his favor among the peasants of the Nizhny Novgorod province, and Nikolai Kolchenko in the Chernigov region.
In 1765, a new impostor appeared in the Voronezh province, publicly declaring himself emperor. Later, arrested and interrogated, he called himself Gavrila Kremnevoy, a private in the Lant-militia Oryol Regiment. Having deserted after 14 years of service, he managed to get himself a horse and lure two serfs of the landowner Kologrivov to his side. At first, Kremnev declared himself “a captain in the imperial service” and promised that from now on, distilling would be prohibited, and the collection of capitation money and recruitment would be suspended for 12 years, but after some time, prompted by his accomplices, he decided to declare his “ royal name" For a short time, Kremnev was successful, the nearest villages greeted him with bread and salt and the ringing of bells, and a detachment of five thousand people gradually gathered around the impostor. However, the untrained and unorganized gang fled at the first shots. Kremnev was captured and sentenced to death penalty, but was pardoned by Catherine and exiled to eternal settlement in Nerchinsk, where his traces were completely lost.
In the same year, shortly after Kremnev’s arrest, in Sloboda Ukraine, in the settlement of Kupyanka, Izyum district, a new impostor appears - Pyotr Fedorovich Chernyshev, a fugitive soldier of the Bryansk regiment. This impostor, unlike his predecessors, was captured, convicted and exiled to Nerchinsk, did not abandon his claims, spreading rumors that the “father-emperor,” who incognito inspected the soldier’s regiments, was mistakenly captured and beaten with whips. The peasants who believed him tried to organize an escape by bringing the “sovereign” a horse and providing him with money and provisions for the journey. The impostor got lost in the taiga, was caught and cruelly punished in front of his admirers, sent to Mangazeya for eternal work, but died on the way there.
In the Iset province, the Cossack Kamenshchikov, previously convicted of many crimes, was sentenced to have his nostrils cut out and eternal exile to work in Nerchinsk for spreading rumors that the emperor was alive, but imprisoned in the Trinity Fortress. At the trial, he showed as his accomplice the Cossack Konon Belyanin, who was allegedly preparing to act as emperor. Belyanin got off with whippings.
In 1768, a second lieutenant of the Shirvan army regiment, Josaphat Baturin, who was kept in the Shlisselburg fortress, in conversations with the soldiers on duty, assured that “Peter Fedorovich is alive, but in a foreign land,” and even with one of the guards he tried to convey a letter for the allegedly hiding monarch. By chance, this episode reached the authorities, and the prisoner was sentenced to eternal exile to Kamchatka, from where he later managed to escape, taking part in the famous enterprise of Moritz Benevsky.
In 1769, near Astrakhan, the fugitive soldier Mamykin was caught, publicly announcing that the emperor, who, of course, managed to escape, “will take over the kingdom again and will give benefits to the peasants.”
An extraordinary person turned out to be Fedot Bogomolov, a former serf who fled and joined the Volga Cossacks under the name Kazin. In March-June 1772 on the Volga, in the Tsaritsyn region, when his colleagues, due to the fact that Kazin-Bogomolov seemed too smart and intelligent to them, suggested that the emperor was hiding in front of them, Bogomolov easily agreed with his “imperial dignity.” Bogomolov, following his predecessors, was arrested and sentenced to have his nostrils pulled out, branded and eternal exile. On the way to Siberia he died.
In 1773, the robber ataman Georgy Ryabov, who had escaped from the Nerchinsk penal servitude, tried to impersonate the emperor. His supporters later joined the Pugachevites, declaring that their deceased chieftain and the leader of the peasant war were one and the same person. The captain of one of the battalions stationed in Orenburg, Nikolai Kretov, unsuccessfully tried to declare himself emperor.
Same year Don Cossack, whose name has not been preserved in history, decided to benefit financially from the widespread belief in the “hiding emperor.” His accomplice, posing as a secretary of state, traveled around the Tsaritsyn district of the Astrakhan province, taking oaths and preparing the people to receive the “father-tsar”, then the impostor himself appeared. The duo managed to profit enough at someone else's expense before the news reached the other Cossacks, and they decided to give everything a political aspect. A plan was developed to capture the town of Dubovka and arrest all the officers. The authorities became aware of the plot, and one of the high-ranking military men, accompanied by a small convoy, arrived at the hut where the impostor was located, hit him in the face and ordered his arrest along with his accomplice. The Cossacks present obeyed, but when the arrested were taken to Tsaritsyn for trial and execution, rumors immediately spread that the emperor was in custody, and muted unrest began. To avoid an attack, the prisoners were forced to be kept outside the city, under heavy escort. During the investigation, the prisoner died, that is, from the point of view of ordinary people, he again “disappeared without a trace.”
In 1773, the future leader of the peasant war, Emelyan Pugachev, the most famous of the false Peter III, skillfully turned this story to his advantage, asserting that he himself was the “emperor who disappeared from Tsaritsyn.”
In 1774, another candidate for emperor came across, a certain Metelka. In the same year, Foma Mosyagin, who also tried to try on the “role” of Peter III, was arrested and deported to Nerchinsk along with the other impostors.
In 1776, the peasant Sergeev paid for the same thing, gathering a gang around himself that was going to rob and burn the landowners' houses. Voronezh governor Ivan Potapov, who managed to defeat the peasant freemen with some difficulty, determined during the investigation that the conspiracy was extremely extensive - at least 96 people were involved in it to one degree or another.
In 1778, a drunken soldier of the Tsaritsyn 2nd battalion, Yakov Dmitriev, told everyone in the bathhouse that “in the Crimean steppes the former third emperor Peter Feodorovich is with the army, who was previously kept on guard, from where he was kidnapped by the Don Cossacks; under him, the Iron Forehead is leading that army, against whom there was already a battle on our side, where two divisions were defeated, and we are waiting for him like a father; and on the border Pyotr Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev stands with the army and does not defend against it, but says that he does not want to defend from either side.” Dmitriev was interrogated under the batogs, and he stated that he heard this story “on the street from unknown people" The Empress agreed with Prosecutor General A.A. Vyazemsky that there was nothing more than drunken recklessness and stupid chatter behind this, and the soldier punished by the batogs was accepted into his former service.
In 1780, after the suppression of the Pugachev rebellion, the Don Cossack Maxim Khanin in the lower reaches of the Volga again tried to raise the people, posing as “the miracle of Pugachev’s escape.” The number of his supporters began to grow rapidly, among them were peasants and rural priests, and panic began among the authorities. On the Ilovlya River, the challenger was captured and taken to Tsaritsyn. Astrakhan Governor-General I.V., who came specially to conduct the investigation. Jacobi subjected the prisoner to interrogation and torture, during which Khanin confessed that back in 1778 he had met in Tsaritsyn with his friend named Oruzheinikov, and this friend convinced him that Khanin was “exactly” like Pugachev-“Peter”. The impostor was shackled and sent to Saratov prison.
The scopal sect had its own Peter III - it was its founder, Kondraty Selivanov. Selivanov wisely neither confirmed nor denied rumors about his identity with the “hidden emperor.” A legend has been preserved that in 1797 he met with Paul I and when the emperor, not without irony, inquired, “Are you my father?” Selivanov allegedly replied, “I am not the father of sin; accept my work (castration), and I recognize you as my son.” What is thoroughly known is that Paul ordered that the osprey prophet be placed in a nursing home for the insane at the Obukhov hospital.
The Lost Emperor appeared abroad at least four times and enjoyed considerable success there. For the first time it appeared in 1766 in Montenegro, which at that time was being fought for independence against the Turks by the Venetian Republic. This man named Stefan, who came from nowhere and became a village healer, never declared himself emperor, but a certain captain Tanovich, who had previously been in St. Petersburg, “recognized” him as the missing emperor, and the elders who gathered for the council managed to find a portrait of Peter in one from Orthodox monasteries and came to the conclusion that the original is very similar to its image. A high-ranking delegation was sent to Stefan with requests to take power over the country, but he flatly refused until internal strife was stopped and peace was concluded between the tribes. Unusual demands finally convinced the Montenegrins of his “royal origin” and, despite the resistance of the Church and the machinations Russian general Dolgorukov, Stefan became the ruler of the country.
He never revealed his real name, leaving Yu.V. Dolgoruky has three versions to choose from - “Raicevic from Dalmatia, a Turk from Bosnia and finally a Turk from Ioannina.” Openly recognizing himself as Peter III, he, however, ordered to be called Stefan and went down in history as Stefan the Small, which is believed to come from the impostor’s signature - “Stephen, small with small ones, good with good, evil with evil.” Stefan turned out to be an intelligent and knowledgeable ruler. In the short time he remained in power, civil strife ceased. After short friction, friendly relations were established with Russia, and the country defended itself quite confidently against the onslaught from both the Venetians and the Turks. This could not please the conquerors, and Turkey and Venice made repeated attempts on Stephen’s life. Finally, one of the attempts succeeded and after five years of rule, Stefan Maly was stabbed to death in his sleep by his own doctor, Stanko Klasomunya, bribed by the Skadar Pasha. The impostor's belongings were sent to St. Petersburg, and his associates tried to receive a pension from Catherine for “valiant service to her husband.”
After the death of Stefan, a certain Stepan Zanovich tried to declare himself the ruler of Montenegro and Peter III, who once again “miraculously escaped from the hands of murderers,” but his attempt was unsuccessful. After leaving Montenegro, Zanovich corresponded with monarchs from 1773 and kept in touch with Voltaire and Rousseau. In 1785 in Amsterdam, the swindler was arrested and his veins were cut.
Count Mocenigo, who was at that time on the island of Zante in the Adriatic, wrote about another impostor in a report to the Doge of the Venetian Republic. This impostor operated in Turkish Albania, in the vicinity of the city of Arta.
The last impostor was arrested in 1797.
The image of Peter III in the cinema:
1934 - The Loose Empress (actor Sam Jaffe as Peter III)
1934 - The Rise of Catherine the Great (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.)
1963 - Catherine of Russia (Caterina di Russia) (Raoul Grassili)
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 heir Russian throne so openly helping Prussia? Like Catherine, Peter is looking for allies, and hopes to find one of them in the person of Frederick II. Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin writes: “The Grand Duke was convinced that Frederick II 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 sudden and so imminent death Petra - a week after the overthrow - caused a lot of talk. 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.
Historical figures, especially when it comes to their native country, are always studied with interest. The reigning persons who stood at the helm of power in Russia exerted their influence on the development of the country. Some of the kings ruled for many years, others for a short time, but all the personalities were noticeable and interesting. Emperor Peter 3 did not reign for long, died early, but left his mark on the history of the country.
Royal roots
The desire of Elizabeth Petrovna, who has reigned on the Russian throne since 1741, to strengthen the throne along the line led to her declaring her nephew as heir. She did not have her own children, but her older sister had a son who lived in the house of Adolf Frederick, the future king of Sweden.
Karl Peter, Elizabeth's nephew, was the son of Peter I's eldest daughter, Anna Petrovna. Immediately after giving birth, she fell ill and died soon after. When Karl Peter was 11 years old, he lost his father. Having lost short biography whom he speaks about this, began to live with his paternal uncle, Adolf Frederick. He did not receive proper upbringing and education, since the main method of educators was the “whip”.
He had to stand in the corner for a long time, sometimes on peas, and the boy’s knees swelled from this. All this left an imprint on his health: Karl Peter was a nervous child and was often sick. By character, Emperor Peter 3 grew up to be a simple-minded man, not evil, and was very fond of military affairs. But at the same time, historians note: when he was a teenager, he loved to drink wine.
Elizabeth's heir
And in 1741, she ascended the Russian throne. From that moment on, the life of Karl Peter Ulrich changed: in 1742 he became the heir of the Empress, and he was brought to Russia. He made a depressing impression on the empress: she saw in him a sickly and uneducated young man. Having converted to Orthodoxy, he was named Peter Fedorovich, and during the days of his reign his official name was Peter 3 Fedorovich.
For three years, educators and teachers worked with him. His main teacher was academician Jacob Shtelin. He believed that the future emperor was a capable young man, but very lazy. After all, during three years of study, he mastered the Russian language very poorly: he wrote and spoke illiterately, and did not study traditions. Pyotr Fedorovich loved to brag and was prone to cowardice - these qualities were noted by his teachers. His official title included the words: “Grandson of Peter the Great.”
Peter 3 Fedorovich - marriage
In 1745, the marriage of Pyotr Fedorovich took place. The princess became his wife. She also received her name after accepting Orthodoxy: her maiden name was Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst. This was the future Empress Catherine II.
A wedding gift from Elizaveta Petrovna was Oranienbaum, near St. Petersburg, and Lyubertsy, Moscow Region. But the marital relationship between the newlyweds does not work out. Although in all important economic and business matters, Pyotr Fedorovich always consulted with his wife and felt trust in her.
Life before the coronation
Peter 3, his short biography speaks of this, did not have a marital relationship with his wife. But later, after 1750, he moved surgery. As a result, they had a son, who in the future became Emperor Paul I. Elizaveta Petrovna was personally involved in raising her grandson, immediately taking him away from his parents.
Peter was pleased with this state of affairs and increasingly moved away from his wife. He was interested in other women and even had a favorite, Elizaveta Vorontsova. In turn, in order to avoid loneliness, she had a relationship with the Polish ambassador - Stanislav August Poniatowski. The couples were on friendly terms with each other.
Birth of a daughter
In 1757, Catherine’s daughter is born, and she is given the name Anna Petrovna. Peter 3, whose short biography proves this fact, officially recognized his daughter. But historians, of course, have doubts about his paternity. In 1759, at the age of two, the child fell ill and died of smallpox. Peter had no other children.
In 1958, Pyotr Fedorovich had a garrison of soldiers numbering up to one and a half thousand under his command. And all his free time he devoted himself to his favorite pastime: training soldiers. The reign of Peter 3 has not yet begun, but he has already aroused the hostility of the nobility and people. The reason for everything was undisguised sympathy for the King of Prussia, Frederick II. His regret that he became the heir of the Russian Tsar, and not the Swedish king, his reluctance to accept Russian culture, his poor Russian language - all together turned the masses against Peter.
Reign of Peter 3
After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, at the end of 1761, Peter III was proclaimed emperor. But he had not yet been crowned. What policy did Peter Fedorovich begin to pursue? In his domestic policy, he was consistent and took as a model the policy of his grandfather, Peter I. Emperor Peter 3, in short, decided to become the same reformer. What he managed to do during his short reign laid the foundation for the reign of his wife, Catherine.
But he made a number of mistakes in foreign policy: he stopped the war with Prussia. And he returned those lands that the Russian army had already conquered to King Frederick. In the army, the emperor introduced the same Prussian rules, was going to carry out the secularization of the lands of the church and its reform, and was preparing for war with Denmark. With these actions of Peter 3 (a short biography proves this), he turned the church against himself.
Coup
Reluctance to see Peter on the throne was expressed before his ascension. Even under Elizaveta Petrovna, Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin began to prepare a conspiracy against the future emperor. But it so happened that the conspirator fell out of favor and did not finish his job. Against Peter, shortly before the death of Elizabeth, an opposition was formed, consisting of: N.I. Panin, M.N. Volkonsky, K.P. Razumovsky. They were joined by officers of two regiments: Preobrazhensky and Izmailovsky. Peter 3, in short, was not supposed to ascend to the throne; instead, they were going to elevate Catherine, his wife.
These plans could not be realized due to Catherine’s pregnancy and childbirth: she gave birth to a child from Grigory Orlov. In addition, she believed that the policies of Peter III would discredit him, but would give her more comrades. According to established tradition, Peter went to Oranienbaum in May. On June 28, 1762, he went to Peterhof, where Catherine was to meet him and organize celebrations in his honor.
But instead she hurried to St. Petersburg. Here she took the oath of allegiance from the Senate, the Synod, the guard and the masses. Then Kronstadt swore allegiance. Peter III returned to Oranienbaum, where he signed his abdication of the throne.
End of the reign of Peter III
He was then sent to Ropsha, where he died a week later. Or was deprived of his life. No one can prove or disprove this. Thus ended the reign of Peter III, which was very short and tragic. He ruled the country for only 186 days.
He was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra: Peter was not crowned, and therefore he could not be buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. But the son, becoming emperor, corrected everything. He crowned the remains of his father and reburied them next to Catherine.