Forgotten Emperor-Passion-bearer John VI Antonovich. Sovereign baby. How Emperor Ivan VI became a crazy prisoner

16.10.2019

The son of the niece of Empress Anna Ioannovna, Princess Anna Leopoldovna of Mecklenburg and Anton-Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, was born on August 23 (12 according to the old style) August 1740. As a baby, Anna Ioannovna's manifesto dated October 16 (5, old style), 1740, he was declared heir to the throne.

On October 28 (17, old style) October 1740, after the death of Anna Ioannovna, John Antonovich was proclaimed emperor, and the manifesto of October 29 (18, old style) announced the transfer of the regency until the age of John to the Duke of Courland.

On November 20 (9 according to the old style) of November of the same year, after the overthrow of Biron by the field marshal, the regency passed to the mother of Ivan Antonovich Anna Leopoldovna.

On the night of December 6 (November 25, old style), 1741, the ruler of Russia with her husband, one-year-old emperor and five-month-old daughter Catherine were arrested in the palace by the daughter of Peter I, who was proclaimed empress.

The entire Brunswick family was placed under supervision in the former palace of Elisabeth. The manifesto dated December 9 (November 28, Old Style), 1741, noted that the whole family would be released abroad and receive a decent allowance.

On December 23 (12 according to the old style) December 1741, Lieutenant General Vasily Saltykov took John with his parents and sister out of St. Petersburg with a large convoy. But Elizabeth decided to detain John in Russia until the arrival of her nephew, Prince Peter of Holstein (later Emperor Peter III), whom she had chosen as heir.

On January 20 (9 according to the old style) January 1742, the Braunschweig surname was brought to Riga, where Anna Leopoldovna, at the request of the Empress, signed an oath of allegiance to Elizabeth Petrovna on behalf of herself and her son.

Biography of the ruler Russian Empire Anna LeopoldovnaAnna Leopoldovna was born on December 18 (7 old style) in 1718 in Rostock (Germany), was baptized according to the rite of the Protestant Church and named Elizabeth-Christina. In 1733, Elizabeth converted to Orthodoxy with the name Anna in honor of the ruling empress.

Rumors about the hostility of Anna Leopoldovna towards the new government and the attempt of the footman Alexander Turchaninov to kill the Empress and the Duke of Holstein, undertaken in favor of John Antonovich in July 1742, made Elizabeth see John as a dangerous pretender, so she decided not to let him out of Russia .

On December 13, 1742, the Braunschweig family was placed in the Dinamunde fortress (now Daugavgriva fortress, Latvia). When Lopukhin's "conspiracy" was discovered in July 1743, in January 1744 it was decided to transfer the entire family to the city of Ranenburg (now Chaplygin, Lipetsk Region).

In June 1744, it was decided to send them to the Solovetsky Monastery, but the family only reached Kholmogor, Arkhangelsk province: accompanying chamberlain Nikolai Korf, referring to the difficulties of the journey and the impossibility of keeping their stay in Solovki a secret, convinced the government to leave them there.

During the reign of Elizabeth and her immediate successors, the very name of Ivan Antonovich was persecuted: the seals of his reign were altered, the coin was overflowed, all business papers with the name of Emperor John were ordered to be collected and sent to the Senate.

With accession to the throne in December 1761 Peter III Ivan Antonovich's situation did not improve - an order was given to kill him in an attempt to free him. In March 1762, the new emperor paid a visit to the prisoner.

After the accession to the throne of Catherine II, a project arose for her marriage to Ivan Antonovich, which would allow her to legitimize (legitimize) her power. According to available assumptions, in August 1762 she visited the prisoner and considered him crazy. After the disclosure in the fall of 1762 of the Guards conspiracy to depose Catherine II, the regime for keeping the captive became tougher, the empress confirmed the previous instructions of Peter III.

On the night of July 16 (5, according to the old style), Vasily Mirovich, a lieutenant of the Smolensk infantry regiment, who was in the garrison of the fortress, attempted to release Ivan Antonovich and proclaim him emperor. Having persuaded the garrison soldiers to his side with the help of false manifestos, he arrested the commandant of the fortress Berednikov and demanded the extradition of John. The officers assigned to John first fought off Mirovich and the soldiers who followed him, but then, when he began to prepare a cannon to break the doors, they stabbed Ivan Antonovich, according to the instructions. After the investigation, Mirovich was executed.

The body of the former emperor was secretly buried according to the Christian rite, presumably on the territory of the Shlisselburg fortress.

In 2008, alleged remains belonging to the Russian Emperor John VI Antonovich were found in Kholmogory.

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

John VI Antonovich

Emperor, b. August 2, 1740, died July 4, 1764. He was the son of Prince Anton-Ulrich of Brunswick-Luneburg and Anna Leopoldovna, daughter of Duke Karl Leopold of Mecklenburg and Catherine Ioannovna, daughter of Tsar John Alekseevich. Empress Anna, after long hesitation, only on the eve of her death, on October 16, 1740, signed a decree appointing the baby John as her successor on the imperial All-Russian throne, under the regency, until he came of age, Duke Ernst John Biron. On the night of November 8-9 of the same year, Biron was overthrown and John's mother, Anna Leopoldovna, became regent, and on the night of November 24-25, 1741, Elizaveta Petrovna overthrew the infant emperor and was herself proclaimed empress. They say that Elizabeth, who personally arrested the ruler, took John in her arms and, kissing him, said: "Poor child! You are not to blame for anything, your parents are to blame." The entire Brunswick family was placed under supervision in the former palace of Elisabeth. The manifesto of November 28, 1741 says that the entire family will be released abroad and will receive a decent content. Elizabeth at first undoubtedly had such intentions. December 12, 1741 Lieutenant General Vas. Fed. Saltykov, with a large convoy, took John with his parents and sister out of St. Petersburg; he was ordered to go as soon as possible. But then various suggestions acted on Elizabeth and she decided to detain John in Russia until the arrival of her nephew, Prince Peter of Holstein (later Emperor Peter III Feodorovich), whom she had chosen as heir. On January 9, 1742, the Brunswick family was brought to Riga and placed in the castle where Biron had lived before; here Anna Leopoldovna, at the request of the Empress, signed the oath to her for herself and for her son; meanwhile, rumors, perhaps even unfounded, about Anna Leopoldovna's hostility towards the new government and Turchaninov's conspiracy (in July 1742), made Elizabeth see John as a dangerous contender, and therefore she decided not to let him out of Russia. On December 13, 1742, the Braunschweig family was placed in the Dinamunde fortress; when in July 1743 was opened new conspiracy, Lopukhin, then in January 1744 it was decided to transfer the entire surname to Ranenburg (now the Ryazan province), and Lieutenant Vyndomsky, who was appointed to deliver Anna Leopoldovna with the family of the guard, at first almost went with them to Orenburg. On July 27, 1744, an order was given to chamberlain Nikolai Andreevich Korf to take the arrested to the Solovetsky Monastery. Arriving in Ranenburg on August 10, Korf found almost the entire family sick; he asked Petersburg what to do, and received an order to immediately execute the order; then Korf already ordered the dispatch of the arrested. The young John Korf was to be given to Major Miller, who was strictly forbidden to show the baby to anyone, even ordered to call him not John, but Gregory. In October, they arrived in Kholmogory and Korf, stopping here, since it was impossible to go to Solovki because of the ice, insisted that the prisoners be kept in Kholmogory, in the bishop's house, imagining that in Solovki it would be more difficult to deliver food to them and keep them in secret. John was placed apart from the whole family and one can think that the rest did not even know that he was almost next to them. Korf left for St. Petersburg in the spring of 1745, handing over supervision of the prisoners to the captain of the Izmailovsky regiment Guryev, with whom Miller and Vyndomsky remained. We have no details about the stay of Ivan Antonovich in Kholmogory; we know that he was kept in the strictest secrecy; only if he was very dangerously ill was a priest allowed to see him; Miller's wife, despite her illness, was not allowed to be released from Kholmogory; everyone who knew about the baby was obliged by an oath not to say anything about him; the government of Elizabeth took all measures to destroy the very memory of the emperorship of John: it was ordered to destroy sworn sheets with his name, to destroy sheets with his title in books, to re-mint coins and medals with his image. It was, of course, forbidden to tell the baby who he was, and it was also forbidden to teach him to read and write; however, John knew his name, knew that he was a prince, and even called himself the sovereign of the country where he was, and if, perhaps, he could not read - as one should think from the words of the decree on his death - then, nevertheless, he was somewhat versed in Holy Scripture, had some information about the works of the church fathers; this fact is attested by the reports of the officer who watched him in Shlisselburg and remains inexplicable.

In 1756, the fugitive criminal Ivan Zubarev was brought to the Secret Chancellery, who, among other things, said that he was in Berlin, through the famous Manstein he saw King Frederick himself and that he was persuaded to raise schismatics in favor of John Antonovich and promised to steal the prince himself from Kholmogory. Even if it was not given faith in this story in its entirety, then from it it became, nevertheless, obvious that the whereabouts of the former emperor became known to many. Therefore, it was decided to transfer him to another, more reliable place, and in 1756, in the dead of night, the life campaign, Sergeant Savin took him to Shlisselburg. He was kept there under the direct supervision of the head of the Secret Chancellery, Alexander Ivanovich Shuvalov, under the closest supervision, first of the Guards, Captain Shubin, and when he fell ill, Captain Ovtsyn; their assistants were two officers Vlasyev and Chekin. Ovtsyn's reports are known and describe to us the state of the prisoner from 1757 to 1761. His whereabouts were carefully concealed; officers were forbidden to tell their relatives where they were in letters; letters to them were to be written simply to the Secret Chancellery. The hopeless conclusion, not to mention the difficult moral situation, had a devastating effect on the prisoner's body. Ovtsyn repeatedly reported his completely abnormal behavior and was more inclined to think that he was really crazy than that he was pretending. The prisoner was extremely irritable and suspicious; it constantly seemed to him that he was being spoiled by whispers and bad looks; he interpreted almost every movement of those around him as directed to his harm and was generally extremely easily irritated, often attempting to beat those around him; he talked to himself a lot, saying absolutely incomprehensible things; he constantly expressed the deepest contempt for everyone around him, called himself a great man, a prince, said that he was incorporeal, that only the spirit of St. Gregory took on his appearance, at times said that he wanted to get a haircut, but refused the name Gervasius offered to him and wanted to take the name Theodosius, thought of being a metropolitan and said that then he would ask God for permission to bow to images and even to some people, and that without this he would not must bow to no one. He was restrained from his occasional fits of rage by depriving him of tea and his best clothes; the presence of officers, who often deliberately teased him, was hard for him. It is sometimes thought that the testimony about the insanity of Ivan Antonovich is not entirely reliable and the reason for distrust is the fact that the most direct and positive evidence in this sense was given by the officers who were supervising the prisoner after his death. But even the earlier reports of Ovtsyn give us undoubted indications of the abnormality of the state of Ivan Antonovich; as for the fact that the prisoner's insanity was especially strongly said after his death, this is quite natural: it was precisely then that this question was raised directly, and besides, it is quite natural that the guards of the prisoner did not consider it necessary in their usual daily reports to constantly repeat about his madness, but directly expressed their conviction in this after his death. Upon accession to the throne, Peter III Feodorovich visited the prisoner in Shlisselburg, accompanied by H. A. Korf, Ungern, Alexander Naryshkin and Volkov; according to Korf, this meeting was transmitted by Busching; John gave the impression of a man physically weak and mentally disturbed; the same is said in the manifesto on the occasion of his death, and it is mentioned that Catherine also saw him; the circumstances of this meeting are completely unknown; but one note from Catherine to N.I. Panin, without indicating the time, gives reason to think that Catherine really went to Shlisselburg (Coll. Imp. Rus. Ist. Ob. VII, 331); according to the general opinion, John was extremely tongue-tied, he spoke, although he supported his lower jaw with his hand, so that it was almost impossible to understand him. Peter III thought to improve the fate of the prisoner and place him in a building specially built for him; but after the overthrow of Peter, this assumption did not come true. Under Catherine, the prisoner was under the direct supervision of N.I. Panin, who during the first period of Catherine's reign took an intimate part in all the most important internal affairs; in the very first days after the accession of the empress, Major General Silin took the prisoner out of Shlisselburg and headed for Kexholm, since it was decided to place Peter Feodorovich in Shlisselburg; but the storm delayed them on the road, and after the death of Peter Feodorovich, John was returned to Shlisselburg. The prisoner remained in the same position; it became even more difficult, because the officers, weighed down by their duty to be inconsistently with the prisoner, treated him more and more hostilely and teased him more. The public knew so little about the prisoner that his whereabouts remained unknown even to people like Senator Yves. Iv. Neplyuev, and that at times there were suggestions and wishes that Elizabeth, and then Catherine, would marry him. John died a violent death. On the night of July 4-5, 1764, Lieutenant V. Ya. Mirovich tried to free the prisoner in order to proclaim him emperor, in the hope of making himself happy. The officers Vlasiev and Chekin assigned to John with their watchmen first fought off Mirovich and the soldiers who followed him, but then, when Mirovich began to prepare a cannon to break the doors, they, fearing that the prisoner would be taken away from them, stabbed him to death, according to the instructions given on such a case by him earlier and confirmed by N.I. Panin. The body of the former emperor was buried somewhere in the Shlisselburg fortress, according to the Christian rite, but secretly. - Political history Russia during the time that Ivan Antonovich was emperor is described in the biography of Anna Leopoldovna, and the details of Mirovich's assassination attempt are in the biography of this latter.

Solovyov, History of Russia, vols. XXI, XXII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI; Brikner, "Emperor Ioann Antonovich and his Relatives", in Russkiy Vestnik, No. 1874 and separately; "Emperor John Antonovich", in "Russian Antiquity" 1879, Nos. 3, 5, 7; M. I. Semevsky, "John Antonovich", in "Otechestv. Zap.", 1866, vol. VII; Bilbasov, "History of Catherine II", I, 189-197; Kovalevsky, "Count Bludov and his time", 222-230; "Readings of Moscow. General History and Ancient", 1860, III, 149-154 and 1861, I, 182-185: Pekarsky, "K. I. Arseniev's Papers", 375-408; Kashpirev, "Monuments of modern Russian history", I, 307-312; "The Eighteenth Century", III, 357-387; "West. Europe", 1808, part 40, 197; " Inner life Russian state from 17 Oct. 1740 to November 25, 1741 ", parts I and II; "Senate Archive", vols. II - IV; Complete collection of Laws, No. 9192, 9197, 12228, 12241; Collection. Imprint Russian General, VII, 331, 364, 365-373.

N. Chechulin.

(Polovtsov)

John VI Antonovich

Sometimes also called I. III (according to the number of kings), the son of the niece of Empress Anna Ioannovna, Princess Anna Leopoldovna of Mecklenburg, and Anton-Ulrich, Duke of Braunschweig-Luneburg, b. On August 12, 1740, and by the manifesto of Anna Ioannovna, dated October 5, 1740, he was declared heir to the throne. Upon the death of Anna Ioannovna (October 17, 1740), I. was proclaimed emperor, and the manifesto on October 18 announced the delivery of the regency until I. came of age, that is, until he was 17 years old. Duke Biron of Courland. Upon the overthrow of Biron by Minich (November 8), the regency passed to Anna Leopoldovna (see the corresponding article), but already on the night of December 25. 1741 ruler with her husband and children, including imp. I., were arrested in the palace by Elizaveta Petrovna and the latter was proclaimed the empress. At first, she intended to send the deposed emperor with his entire family abroad, and on 12 December. In 1741 they were sent from St. Petersburg to Riga, under the supervision of Gen.-Leut. V. F. Saltykov; but then Elizabeth changed her mind and, before reaching Riga, Saltykov received an order to drive as quietly as possible, delaying the trip under various pretexts, and stop in Riga and wait for new orders. The prisoners stayed in Riga until 13 December. 1742, when they were transported to the fortress of Dynamünde. During this time, Elizabeth finally matured the decision not to let I. and his parents, as dangerous applicants, from Russia. In January 1744, a decree was issued on the new transfer of the former ruler with her family, this time to the city of Ranenburg (now the city of Ryazan Province), and the executor of this order, Captain-Lieutenant Vyndomsky, almost brought them to Orenburg . On June 27, 1744, the Chamberlain Baron N. A. Korf was ordered by decree of the Empress to take the family of royal prisoners to the Solovetsky Monastery, and I., both during this trip and during his stay in Solovki, had to be completely separated from his family and no one from outsiders should not have access to it, except only for a specially assigned overseer. Korf took the prisoners, however, only as far as Kholmogory and, presenting to the government the whole difficulty of transporting them to Solovki and keeping them a secret there, convinced them to leave them in this city. Here I. spent about 12 years in complete solitary confinement, cut off from all communication with people; the only person with whom he could see was Major Miller, who was watching him, who, in turn, was almost deprived of the opportunity to communicate with other persons guarding the family of the former emperor. Nevertheless, rumors about I.'s stay in Kholmogory spread, and the government decided to take new precautions. At the beginning of 1756, Savin, a sergeant of the Life Campaign, was ordered to secretly take I. from Kholmogory and secretly deliver him to Shlisselburg, and Colonel Vyndomsky, the chief bailiff for the Brunswick family, was given a decree: “The remaining prisoners should be kept as before, even more strictly and with an increase in the guard, so as not to give a look about the removal of the prisoner; to our office and after the prisoner is sent, report that he is under your guard, as they reported before. In Shlisselburg, secrecy had to be kept no less strictly: the commandant of the fortress himself was not supposed to know who was being held in it under the name of a "famous prisoner"; only three officers guarding him could see I. and knew his name; they were forbidden to tell I. where he was; even a field marshal could not be allowed into the fortress without a decree from the Secret Office. With the accession of Peter III, I.'s position did not improve, but rather changed for the worse, although there were rumors about Peter's intention to release the prisoner. The instruction given by A. I. Shuvalov to the chief bailiff I. (Prince Churmanteev), prescribed, among other things: “If the prisoner begins to fix any disturbances or objections to you, or if he begins to say obscene things, then put him on a chain until he pacifies, and if he will not listen, then beat before your consideration with a stick and a whip. In the decree of Peter III, Churmanteev of January 1, 1762 was commanded: "Beyond our expectations, who would dare to take the prisoner away from you, in this case resist as much as possible and do not give the prisoner alive into your hands." In the instructions given after Catherine's accession to the throne by N.I. Panin, who was entrusted with her main supervision of the maintenance of the Shlisselburg prisoner, this last point was expressed even more clearly: "If, more than expected, it happens that someone comes with a team or alone, even if it was a commandant or some other officer, without a personal order signed by Her I.V. or without a written order from me, and wanted to take a prisoner from you, then do not give it to anyone and consider everything as a forgery or an enemy hand. But if this hand is so strong that it is impossible to escape, then kill the prisoner, and do not give him alive into the hands of anyone. According to some reports, following the accession of Catherine, Bestuzhev drew up a plan for her marriage to I. It is true that Catherine at that time saw I. and, as she later admitted in the manifesto, found him damaged in mind. Crazy or at least easily lost peace of mind depicted I. and the reports of the officers assigned to him. However, I. knew his origin, despite the mystery surrounding him, and called himself a sovereign. Despite the strict prohibition to teach him anything, he learned to read and write from someone, and then he was allowed to read the Bible. The secret of I.'s stay in Shlisselburg was not preserved, and this finally ruined him. Lieutenant of the Smolensk Infantry Regiment Vas. Yak. Mirovich decided to release him and proclaim him emperor; on the night of July 4-5, 1764, he set about fulfilling his plan and, having persuaded the garrison soldiers to his side with the help of false manifestos, arrested the commandant of the fortress Berednikov and demanded the extradition of I. The bailiff at first resisted with the help of his team, but when Mirovich brought on the fortress a cannon, surrendered, previously, according to the exact meaning of the instructions, killing I. After a thorough investigation, which revealed the complete absence of accomplices from Mirovich, the latter was executed. In the reign of Elizabeth and her immediate successors, the very name I; was subjected to persecution: the seals of his reign were altered, the coin shimmered, all business papers with the name of imp. I. was ordered to collect and send to the Senate; manifestos, sworn sheets, church books, forms of commemoration of persons Imp. houses in churches, sermons and passports were ordered to be burned, the rest of the cases to be kept under seal and not to use the title and name of I. when inquiries with them, from which the name of these documents "cases with a well-known title" came from. Only the highest approved on August 19. In 1762, the report of the Senate stopped the further extermination of the cases of I.'s time, which threatened to violate the interests of private individuals. AT recent times the surviving documents were partly published in their entirety, partly processed in the Moscow edition. archive min. justice.

Literature: Solovyov, "History of Russia" (vols. 21 and 22); Hermann, "Geschichte des Russischen Staates"; M. Semevsky, "Ivan VI Antonovich" ("Father's Notes", 1866, vol. CLXV); Brikner, "Imp. John Antonovich and his relatives. 1741-1807" (M., 1874); "Internal Life of the Russian State from October 17, 1740 to November 20, 1741" (published by the Moscow Arch. Ministry of Justice, vol. I, 1880, vol. II, 1886); Bilbasov, "Geschichte Catherine II" (vol. II); some small information is still in the articles "Russian Antiquities": "The Fate of the Family of the Empress Anna Leopoldovna" (1873, vol. VII) and "Emperor John Antonovich" (1879, vols. 24 and 25).

V. M- n.

(Brockhaus)

John VI Antonovich

Emperor of All Russia, son of pr. Anton-Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Anna Leopoldovna - daughter of hertz. Karl-Leopold of Mecklenburg and Catherine Ioannovna (daughter of Tsar John V Alekseevich); genus. Aug 2 1740, was imp-rum from 17 Oct. the same year until the night of November 26. 1741. During his early childhood, the regents ruled: first the Duke of Biron, then his mother. After the overthrow of the Emperor by Elizaveta Petrovna, I. was in exile, initially with his mother and father in Riga, Dynamünde, Ranenburg and Kholmogory, although he was placed separately from them, and from 1756 he was imprisoned in Shlisselburg. fortress until his death, on the night of July 5, 1764, when he was killed. while trying. Mirovich to proclaim him emperor again. I. received almost no education; it seems that he could not even read, but he knew that he was a prince and sovereign. Afterbirth. During the years of his life, I. was greatly upset by his nerves and even mentally abnormal.

(Military Enc.)

Big biographical encyclopedia. 2009 .

The period of almost a quarter of a century in Russian history turned out to be associated with sad fate the emperor, who formally ruled the country before he got on his feet. On August 23, 1740, Sovereign Ioann Antonovich was born.

The struggle for power at court turned his life into a nightmare and drove him crazy. Years of imprisonment and humiliation by the guards - this is what the young emperor paid for the right of succession to the throne.

Decision for a coup

The son of the niece of Empress Anna Ioannovna, Princess Anna Leopoldovna of Macklenburg and Anton Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, was declared the next sovereign a few months after birth. This is how the queen disposed of her manifesto of October 5, 1740.

In fact, this meant that power in the empire for as long as 17 years passed to Anna Ioannovna's lover Ernest Biron. Before her death, the Empress appointed him as regent for the infant John Antonovich. However, Biron was not allowed to rule for many years - the queen's favorite ruled for only 22 days. On the night of November 9, 1740, the diplomat Johann Ernst Minich, having received the consent of Anna Leopoldovna, ordered the arrest of the regent. The coup took place when the body of the Empress had not yet been buried. The next morning, the courtiers read the manifesto, listing the atrocities of Biron, and then the favorite of Anna Ioannovna and his entire family were exiled to Siberia.

Now the regency passed to Anna Leopoldovna. However, she could not govern the state at all. She used power only for an idle way of life: entertainment, balls and discussion fashionable outfits for myself and for my son. Those close to Anna Leopoldovna understood that their position under such a ruler was very precarious. She was offered to urgently take the imperial title. Even the coronation ceremony was scheduled on the empress's birthday - December 7, 1741. More than once she was informed about a conspiracy being prepared by the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth Petrovna, but Anna Leopoldovna believed that her relative was not capable of a coup.

Family of prisoners

On the night of November 24-25, 1741, the future empress prayed, threw on a fur coat and left the palace. Those close to her were already waiting for her. Together they went to the barracks of the grenadier company of the Preobrazhensky regiment. There Elizaveta Petrovna said: “Guys, you know whose daughter I am, follow me! We all suffered a lot from the Germans, let's get rid of our tormentors! Serve me as they served my father!”

The guards answered the call and marched to Winter Palace. The guard showed no resistance. Elizaveta Petrovna resolutely burst into the regent's bedroom. Anna Leopoldovna begged not to harm her offspring, who, against his will, had already become king in the cradle. However, the thirst for power knew no pity.

This coup was followed by numerous arrests - ministers, courtiers and faithful friends The Brunswick family was under threat. By morning, they prepared a manifesto proclaiming Elizabeth Petrovna empress. The newly-made queen made a promise to herself that she would not execute anyone - she kept it. She decided to “consign to oblivion” the former rulers. To do this, on the night of November 30, Anna Leopoldovna, her wife Anton Ulrich, and two children, John and Catherine, accompanied by ladies-in-waiting and servants under escort, more than 300 soldiers and officers were sent to the Riga Castle.

From the moment of his arrival there in January 1742, the little emperor Ivan VI was kept separately. Only the guards saw him. In St. Petersburg, Elizaveta Petrovna ordered to hand over coins with the image of John Antonovich. Ivan VI himself was already called only a prince. The Empress was well aware that while the deposed tsar was alive, there would be people ready to return him to the throne. Then the prisoners were taken further deep into Russia - this time to the Ranenburg fortress. Currently, this is the city of Chaplygin in the Lipetsk region. Ivan VI was taken there under the name of Gregory. It is curious that at that time Anna Leopoldovna gave birth to another daughter - she was named Elizabeth. As if the former holder of power wanted to appease the queen in this way.

In 1744, the prisoners were completely taken to Solovki. This already meant imprisonment until death. Moving there was very difficult. Anna Leopoldovna felt ill several times. She and her husband Anton Ulrich did not even know if their son was traveling with them. The heir to the throne was transported separately and under the strictest secrecy.

Mirovich in front of the body of Ivan VI. Painting by Ivan Tvorozhnikov (1884). Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

As a result, the convoy did not reach Solovki due to difficult weather conditions and stayed in Kholmogory. This confinement was reminiscent of house arrest: they always had food and alcohol, and the rooms were dry and clean. The couple's family also grew. Anna Leopoldovna gave birth to a son, Peter, in 1745. However, the children conceived in captivity were very sick. On March 7, 1747, Anna Leopoldovna died in childbirth. Her body was taken to St. Petersburg and buried in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.

"I am your sovereign!"

The secret prisoner was constantly kept in the cell. According to the prescription, John Antonovich should not have been taught to read and write and try to do everything so that the boy develops with a lag. However, someone did teach him to read and gave him the Bible. Text Holy Scripture he knew almost by heart.

By 1756, another conspiracy was uncovered. They wanted to steal the heir to the throne and take him out of Arkhangelsk by sea. Then Elizaveta Petrovna ordered him to be transferred to the Shlisselburg fortress. In one of the casemates, the 16-year-old prisoner was again placed under the name Grigory. There was always an officer in the cell of the young king. When someone brought food, the prisoner was hidden behind a screen. Only a few guards could see him. John Antonovich was not supposed to know his origin, but someone told him about the title of sovereign. Paper and ink were also not given to the prisoner. In the fortress, Ivan VI's health deteriorated - he began to choke from coughing, his face changed. One day, drops of blood appeared on the pillow.

After a visible recovery, John Antonovich's psyche shook. He rushed to the guard with shouts and threats. It got to the point that even the captain of the guard began to be afraid of him. “I am the prince and your sovereign of the local empire,” Ivan VI once shouted.

Peter III visits Ioan Antonovich in his Shlisselburg cell. Illustration from a German historical magazine from the early 20th century. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

In December 1761, Elizabeth Petrovna was replaced on the throne by Peter III. It was assumed that the situation of the prisoner could improve, but the new tsar instructed to kill Ivan VI in an attempt to free him. spring next year After the coup, Catherine II came to power. There was also a project for the marriage of the Empress with John Antonovich. This would legitimize power. According to some reports, in August 1762 she visited the prisoner and considered him crazy. The instruction of Peter III was left unchanged.

Two years later, Vasily Mirovich, a lieutenant of the Smolensk infantry regiment, tried to free a well-known prisoner to be proclaimed emperor. Then the officers stabbed Ivan Antonovich according to the instructions. The emperor was buried on the territory of the Shlisselburg fortress. He lived only 24 years - almost his entire life was spent in captivity and under the supervision of guards.

On July 1, 1780, the rest of the children of Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich were able to leave Russia forever. They arrived in Denmark and were settled in the town of Gorzens. Danish relatives tried to find mutual language with prisoners, however last representatives The Braunschweig families were dull-witted and ignorant - alas, they were brought up like that in Kholmogory, which they sincerely missed in a foreign land.

The last of the children of Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich - Catherine - died in 1807. None of the Braunschweig surnames left offspring.

On November 20 (9 according to the old style) of November of the same year, after the overthrow of Biron by the field marshal, the regency passed to the mother of Ivan Antonovich Anna Leopoldovna.

Biography of the ruler of the Russian Empire Anna LeopoldovnaAnna Leopoldovna was born on December 18 (7 old style) in 1718 in Rostock (Germany), was baptized according to the rite of the Protestant Church and named Elizabeth-Christina. In 1733, Elizabeth converted to Orthodoxy with the name Anna in honor of the ruling empress.

With the accession to the throne in December 1761 of Peter III, the situation of Ivan Antonovich did not improve - an order was given to kill him while trying to free him. In March 1762, the new emperor paid a visit to the prisoner.

The body of the former emperor was secretly buried according to the Christian rite, presumably on the territory of the Shlisselburg fortress.

In 2008, alleged remains belonging to the Russian Emperor John VI Antonovich were found in Kholmogory.

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

Portrait of the Emperor of Russia Ivan VI Antonovich, author unknown

Years of life: 23 (12 old style) August 1740 - 16 (5 old style) July 1764
Years of government: October 28 (17), 1740 - December 6 (November 25), 1741
Father and mother: Anton Ulrich of Brunswick and.
Spouse: no.
Children: no.

John Antonovich Romanov (August 23 (12), 1740 - July 16 (5), 1764) - Russian emperor who ruled from October 1740 to November 1741. The mother of Ivan VI was Anna Leopoldovna, and the father was Anton Ulrich of Brunswick.

John Antonovich: ascension to the throne and reign

Even before his birth, Ivan VI was appointed heir to the Russian throne. chose him when Ivan was not yet in the world, and his mother was only 13 years old.

On October 28 (17), 1740, Anna Ioannovna died. After her, Ivan VI became the head of state, but since he was still a child, a regent, Ernst Johann Biron, was appointed under him, and Anna also chose him.

But Anna Leopoldovna and her husband plotted against Biron, on November 20 (9) of the same year, Field Marshal Count Christopher Munnich arrested him and his wife. After the trial, Biron was sent into exile.

Anna Leopoldovna became the new regent of Ivan VI. But the new regent was not particularly interested in politics, at first Minich was in charge of the empire, and after his resignation, power went to Osterman.

At this time, supporters were planning a conspiracy. Anna Leopoldovna was informed about this, but she did not believe that Elizabeth could overthrow her.

But already on December 6 (November 25), 1741, the palace coup, as a result of which Elizabeth Petrovna became Empress, and Ivan VI and his entire family were arrested.

Ioann Antonovich: life in exile

Initially, Elizaveta Petrovna decided to exile Ivan and his parents from the Russian Empire. But when Anna Leopoldovna and Anton-Ulrich reached the border, she changed her mind, the whole family was detained in Riga and sent to prison.

On December 13, 1742, the former emperor, together with his parents, was transported to Dunamünde, Ivan Antonovich was placed in the center of the fortress - a powder tower.

At the beginning of 1744, Anna and Anton-Ulrich were transferred to Oranienburg, and in July to Kholmogory.

In 1756, Ivan VI was taken away from his parents and placed in solitary confinement in the Shlisselburg fortress. The name of the former emperor was classified, even the commandant did not know who his prisoner was. Only Miller and his servants could enter the room. Ivan has not seen people for years. Even when someone came to him, the former emperor had to stand behind the screen. The place of his imprisonment was kept secret from everyone, including Ivan himself. Despite the complete isolation, Ivan knew that he was of royal origin, he was taught to read and write. The young man dreamed of life in a monastery.

There is also an opinion that under such conditions Ivan VI went crazy, which she claimed in 1762. In turn, the jailers believed that in fact Ivan was in full mind, and he feigned insanity.

Destruction of evidence of the life of Ivan VI

On December 31, 1742, a decree was issued according to which all coins with the name of the former Emperor Ivan VI must be seized and melted down. They were gradually removed from circulation, after some time such coins lost their value, they were handed over already at a price less than their face value, and from 1745 they became completely illegal. People who kept such coins or used them for payment were accused of treason, for which they were tortured or sent into exile.

Also, the authorities were engaged in the destruction of other evidence of the existence of Ivan VI: portraits, church books, passports, propaganda materials, odes, etc. Not all documents were destroyed, some of them were sealed and placed in the archive.

Only under Catherine II the ban on the name of Ivan VI was terminated. Access to documents relating to the former emperor was opened only in the 1860s.

In 1913, he was mentioned on the Faberge egg at the "Tercentenary of the House of Romanov", and in 1914 - on the Romanovsky obelisk, located in the Alexander Garden.

Ivan VI: the last years of life and death

Despite active prohibitions, attempts to destroy all evidence of the existence of Ivan VI and his complete isolation, there were supporters of the former emperor who tried to release him and return him to the throne.

In 1762, Catherine II found out about a conspiracy against her. She returned the power of the instruction of Peter III, according to which, if necessary, force can be applied to Ivan, put on a chain, and in the event of an attempt to free him, the guards must kill Ivan.

On July 16 (5), 1764, Lieutenant V. Ya. Mirovich, together with part of the garrison, organized a conspiracy. At that time he was serving in the Shlisselburg fortress and wanted to free Ivan. As a result, the guards Captain Vlasyev and Lieutenant Chekin stabbed Ivan VI to death, and Mirovich was executed after the trial.

The exact burial place of Ivan VI is still unknown. But it is believed that he was buried on the territory of the Shlisselburg fortress.

After there were impostors who pretended to be John Antonovich, but their attempts were unsuccessful.