Emperor Pavel Fedorovich Catherine's husband. The reign of Peter III (briefly)

The biography of Peter the 3rd (Karl-Peter-Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp) is full of sharp turns. He was born on February 10 (21), 1728 and was left without a mother early. At the age of 11, he lost his father. The young man was being prepared for the Swedish throne. However, everything changed when, having become empress in 1741, Elizabeth, having no children of her own, in 1742 declared her nephew Peter the 3rd Fedorovich the heir to the Russian throne. He was not very educated and, apart from Latin grammar and the Lutheran catechism, he only knew a little French. made Peter learn the basics Orthodox faith and Russian. In 1745, he was married to the future Empress Catherine 2nd Alekseevna, who bore him an heir -. In 1761 (1762 according to the new calendar), after the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter Fedorovich was declared emperor without a coronation. His reign lasted 186 days. Peter 3rd, who openly expressed sympathy for King Frederick 2nd of Prussia during the Seven Years' War, was not popular in Russian society.

With his most important manifesto of February 18, 1762 (Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility), Tsar Peter the 3rd abolished the obligatory service for the nobles, abolished the Secret Chancellery and allowed the schismatics to return to their homeland. But these decrees did not bring popularity to the king. Per a short time his reign increased serfdom. He ordered the clergy to shave their beards, dress in the manner of Lutheran pastors, and leave only icons in churches. Mother of God and the Savior. The tsar's attempts to remake the Russian army in the Prussian manner are also known.

Admiring the ruler of Prussia, Frederick the 2nd, Peter the 3rd led Russia out of the Seven Years' War and returned to Prussia all the conquered territories, which caused popular indignation. It is not surprising that soon many of his entourage became participants in a conspiracy aimed at overthrowing the king. The initiator of this conspiracy, supported by the guards, was the wife of Peter the 3rd, Ekaterina Alekseevna. This is how 1762 began. G. Orlov, K.G. Razumovsky, M.N. Volkonsky.

In 1762, the Semenovsky and Izmailovsky regiments swore allegiance to Catherine. Accompanied by them, she arrived at the Kazan Cathedral, where she was proclaimed autocratic empress. On the same day, the Senate and the Synod swore allegiance to the new ruler. The reign of Peter the 3rd ended. After the tsar signed the abdication, he was exiled to Ropsha, where he died on July 9, 1762. Initially, his body was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, but later, in 1796, his coffin was placed next to the coffin of Catherine in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. It should be noted that during the reign

(born Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp)

Years of life: 1728–1762
Russian Emperor in 1761-1762

The first representative of the Holstein-Gottorp (Oldenburg) branch of the Romanovs on the Russian throne. Sovereign Duke of Holstein (since 1745).

Grandson, son of Tsesarevna Anna Petrovna and Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich. On his father's side, he was the great-nephew of the Swedish king Charles XII and was initially brought up as the heir to the Swedish throne.

Biography of Peter III

He was born on February 10 (21), 1728 in the Duchy of Holstein (northern Germany). His mother died 1 week after his birth, and in 1739 he lost his father. The child grew up as a timid, nervous, impressionable boy, he loved painting and music, but at the same time he adored everything military (at the same time he was afraid of cannon fire). By nature, the boy was not evil. He was not given a good education, but was often punished (flogging, standing on peas). As the probable heir to the Swedish throne, he was brought up in the Lutheran faith and in hatred of Russia, an old enemy of Sweden.

But when his aunt ascended the Russian throne, the boy was brought to St. Petersburg in early February 1742 and on November 15 (26), 1742 he was declared her heir. Soon he converted to Orthodoxy and received the name of Peter Fedorovich.

In May 1745 he was proclaimed the ruling duke of Holstein. In August 1745
d. married Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst, future. The marriage was unsuccessful, at first there were no children, only in 1754 their son Pavel was born, and in 1756 their daughter Anna, whose paternity was the subject of rumors. The heir-infant Pavel was taken away from his parents immediately after birth, and Empress Elizaveta Petrovna herself was engaged in his upbringing. But Pyotr Fedorovich was never interested in his son.

The future emperor had a connection with the maid of honor E.R. Vorontsova, the niece of Chancellor M.I. Vorontsov. Catherine felt humiliated. In 1756, she had an affair with Stanisław August Poniatowski, the Polish envoy to the Russian court. There is evidence that Peter the Third and his wife often had joint dinners with Poniatowski and Elizaveta Vorontsova.

In the early 1750s. Peter 3 allowed to discharge a small detachment of Holstein soldiers and that's all free time engaged in military exercises and maneuvers with them. He also loved playing the violin.

During the years spent in Russia, Pyotr Fedorovich never tried to get to know the country, its people, history better, he neglected Russian customs, behaved inappropriately during church services. Elizaveta Petrovna did not allow him to participate in the decision political issues and gave him the post of director of the gentry corps. She forgave him a lot as the son of a beloved sister who died early.

Being an admirer of Frederick the Great, Peter Fedorovich publicly expressed during the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763. their pro-Prussian sympathies. His open hostility to everything Russian caused concern in Elizabeth and she created a project for the transfer of the crown to the minor Pavel during the regency of Catherine or Catherine herself. But she did not dare to change the order of succession to the throne.

After the death of Elizabeth on December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762), Peter the Third freely ascended the Russian throne.

Emperor Peter III

In evaluations of its activities, 2 are usually encountered different approaches. The traditional approach is based on the absolutization of his vices, accentuating his dislike for Russia. And the second approach considers the positive results of his reign.

It is noted that Peter III vigorously engaged state affairs. His policy was quite consistent and progressive.
I.G. Lestok, B.-K. Minich, E.-I. Biron and other disgraced figures of previous reigns were returned from exile.

In domestic politics implemented a number of important reforms - abolished the burdensome salt duty, destroyed the ominous Secret Office ( main body political investigation), the Manifesto of February 16, 1762, granted the nobility the right to be exempted from service (decree February 18 (March 1), 1762).

Among the most important things are the encouragement of commercial and industrial activity by creating the State Bank and issuing banknotes (Nominal Decree of May 25), the adoption of a decree on freedom of foreign trade (Decree of March 28). which also requires careful attitude to forests as one of the most important wealth of Russia. Among other measures, researchers note a decree that allowed organizing factories for the production of sailing fabric in Siberia and a decree that qualified the murder of peasants by landowners as “tyrannical torment” and provided for life exile. They also stopped the persecution of the Old Believers.

However, these measures did not bring popularity to the emperor; moreover, the introduction of the Prussian order in the army caused great irritation in the guard, and the policy of religious tolerance pursued by him restored the clergy against him.

The reign of Peter III was marked by the strengthening of serfdom.

The legislative activity of the government was extraordinary; during his short reign, 192 documents were adopted.

Politics during the reign of Peter III

In his foreign policy he resolutely abandoned the anti-Prussian course of Elizabethan diplomacy. Immediately upon accession to the throne, he stopped the war with Frederick II and concluded an agreement with him on April 24 (May 5), 1762, returning to Prussia all the territories taken from her by the Russian troops, and on June 8 (19) entered into a military-political coalition with him against former allies Russia (France and Austria); The Russian army, Field Marshal Z.G. Chernyshev, was ordered to begin military operations against the Austrians.

Widespread dissatisfaction with these actions contributed to the start of a military coup, which had long been prepared by Catherine's entourage, whose relationship with her husband was on the verge of breaking; the emperor threatened to imprison her in a monastery and marry his favorite E.R. Vorontsova.

On June 28 (July 9), Catherine, with the support of the guards and her fellow conspirators, the three Orlov brothers, officers of the Izmailovsky regiment, the Roslavlev brothers, Passek and Bredikhin, took possession of the capital and proclaimed herself an autocratic empress. Among the highest dignitaries of the Empire, the most active conspirators were N. I. Panin, the tutor of the young Pavel Petrovich, M. N. Volkonsky and K. G. Razumovsky, the Little Russian hetman, president of the Academy of Sciences, a favorite of his Izmailovsky regiment.

End of the reign of Peter III

In the evening of the same day, the future empress moved with troops to Oranienbaum, where her husband was. Upon learning of this, he made an unsuccessful attempt to occupy Kronstadt. On June 29 (July 10), he returned to Oranienbaum and offered Catherine to share power, but when he was refused, he was forced to abdicate. On the same day he left for Peterhof, where he was arrested and sent to Ropsha.

However, on July 6 (17), having lived in Ropsha for less than a week under the supervision of A.F. Orlov, he died under unclear circumstances. It was announced by the government that he had died from an attack of hemorrhoids. An autopsy revealed that the former emperor had severe heart dysfunction, intestinal inflammation, and signs of apoplexy. However, the common version calls the murderer Alexei Orlov, Catherine's illegitimate son, from Grigory Orlov.

Modern research shows that possible cause death could be a stroke.

Catherine II, from a political point of view, the death of her husband was disadvantageous, because with the full support of the guards, her power was unlimited. Upon learning of the death of her husband, she said: “My glory died! Posterity will never forgive me this involuntary crime.

Initially, the former emperor was buried without any honors in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, since only crowned persons were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. The full Senate asked the empress not to attend the funeral, but she secretly said goodbye to her husband.

In 1796, immediately after the death of Catherine, by order of Paul I, her remains ex-husband were first transferred to the house church Winter Palace and then to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. He was reburied simultaneously with the burial of Catherine II; At the same time, Emperor Paul himself personally performed the ceremony of crowning the ashes of his father.

During the reign of Catherine, many impostors pretended to be her husband (about 40 cases were recorded), the most famous of which was Emelyan Pugachev.

Pyotr Fedorovich was married once. Wife: Ekaterina Alekseevna (Sophia Frederick Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst). Children: Pavel, Anna.

Emperor Peter III (1728-1762) ruled the Russian Empire from 1761-1762. The term of his reign was only 186 days. He came to the throne on December 25, 1761, and already on June 28, 1762 he was overthrown by his wife Catherine.

This sovereign was the son eldest daughter Peter I to Anna Petrovna (1708-1728), born from the love affair of the emperor-reformer with Marta Skavronskaya (future Empress Catherine I). In 1725, Princess Anna married Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp. In the summer of 1727, the couple left for the capital of Holstein, the city of Kiel, and on February 10, 1728, Anna gave birth to a son, who was named Karl Peter Ulrich. So the future sovereign Peter III was born.

Portrait of Emperor Peter III
Artist L. K. Pfantselt, 1762

The boy's mother died of puerperal fever shortly after the birth. Before her death, she expressed a desire to be buried in St. Petersburg. last will young woman was executed, and she was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

The father paid little attention to his son. He gave him into the hands of ignorant and cruel teachers. Those mocked the child more than gave him knowledge. The boy was flogged with rods for the slightest offense, and he turned into a nervous, timid, but at the same time ingenuous and naive young man.

In 1739, the boy's father Karl Friedrich died. young prince received the title of Duke of Holstein. In 1741, Karl Peter's aunt Elizaveta Petrovna, who was Anna's younger sister, came to power in the Russian Empire. The empress, who ascended the throne, had no children, so she immediately summoned her nephew to her. He was baptized according to the Orthodox rite, named Peter Fedorovich and declared the heir to the Russian throne.

At first, the nephew and aunt developed a good relationship, but then deteriorated. The young man turned out to be indifferent to everything Russian, since the childhood years of his life were spent in Holstein. Therefore, he behaved in a way that the empress did not like. She saw in her nephew a stubborn, unintelligent person and little capable of governing a vast country. The imperial court also treated the heir to the throne as a stranger.

In 1745, Pyotr Fedorovich was married to the Zerbt princess Sophia Frederica Augusta. She was the groom's second cousin. The bride arrived in Russia with her mother in 1744, converted to Orthodoxy and received the name Ekaterina Alekseevna.

At the time of the marriage, the bride was 16 years old, and the groom was 17. In addition, the young husband continued to be a big child. He played with soldiers and other children's games, not paying any attention to his wife. Only in 1754 was a son Pavel born to the grand ducal couple. The baby was immediately taken away from his parents, and the empress herself was engaged in his upbringing. In 1757, Catherine gave birth to a girl, Anna. But she died of smallpox in 1759.

Portrait of Peter III Fedorovich and his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna

The reign of Peter III (1761-1762)

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna died on December 25, 1761, and Emperor Peter III ascended the Russian throne. It should be noted that for short term During his reign, the new sovereign managed to put into practice many important decisions.

He abolished the Secret Office. Became the initiator of the release paper money(banknotes). They appeared in circulation in 1769. Issued a decree on freedom of foreign trade. He put an end to the persecution of the Old Believers. Many legislative acts that were adopted during the reign of Peter III Fedorovich became the foundation on which Catherine II subsequently reigned.

A very important document was adopted - the Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobles. Under Peter I, the nobles served the state all their lives. Under Anna Ioannovna, the term was reduced to 25 years. Now the nobility received the right not to serve at all. public service. However, in the future, those people who ignored the service were treated quite derisively. They were called undergrowth regardless of age or title. Therefore, as a rule, everyone served.

The sovereign stopped hostilities with Prussia, which were extremely successful for Russia under Elizaveta Petrovna. Peace was made with Frederick II. According to it, all the conquered lands in East Prussia, for which Russian soldiers shed their blood, were returned to the enemy. Thus, the Russian Empire emerged from the Seven Years' War practically with nothing.

And although the reforms inside the country were clearly progressive, the emperor turned the guards and the nobility against him. He defiantly neglected the customs and traditions of Russia, introduced the Prussian uniform into the army, and also decided, in alliance with Prussia, to start a war against Denmark. At the same time, it was decided to send a guard to the Danish campaign.

Dissatisfaction with the actions of the emperor grew, and the authority of his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna was strengthened. She made many useful contacts at court, surrounded herself with favorites from the guards, and began to seriously think about the Russian crown. In a word, a conspiracy arose, headed by the wife of the All-Russian autocrat.

Well-wishers have repeatedly told the sovereign that his overthrow is being prepared. But he brushed aside such messages, and in the summer of June 28, 1762, the coup took place. That day, Catherine left early in the morning from Peterhof, where the emperor was with his court.

At the same time, the Orlov guards, loyal to her, revolted. The troops left the barracks on the streets of the capital and welcomed Ekaterina, who had arrived from Peterhof. Then they swore allegiance to her and, together with the newly-made empress, moved to Peterhof.

Upon learning of this, Emperor Peter III tried to hide in Kronstadt. But he had already sworn allegiance to Catherine. Then the sovereign went to Oranienbaum, where the rebel guardsmen soon appeared. They arrested the autocrat, and he meekly signed the abdication. After that, the deposed sovereign was sent under heavy guard to the Ropsha estate. On the territory of the estate on July 6, 1762, he died. Death was mysterious. It is assumed that Peter III was strangled by the guards.

The body was buried without honors in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In 1796, when Catherine II died, the ashes of the emperor were transferred to the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Alexey Starikov

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

Genealogical tree- proof family ties Peter III and Catherine II

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

Childhood and education

Mother of Peter III - Anna Petrovna

Father of Peter III - Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp

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

Tsesarevich Peter Fedorovich and grand duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, 1740s G.K. Groot

Portrait of Peter III - Antropov A.P. 1762

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

Relationships between spouses

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

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

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

Sudden reign

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

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

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

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

Versions of the murder

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Relations between Catherine and Peter III did not work out from the very beginning. The husband not only got himself numerous mistresses, but also openly declared that he intended to divorce his wife for the sake of Elizaveta Vorontsova. There was no need to wait for support from Catherine.

Peter III and Catherine II

A conspiracy against the emperor began to be prepared even before his ascension to the throne. Chancellor Alexei Bestuzhev-Ryumin had the most hostile feelings towards Peter. He was especially annoyed by the fact that the future ruler openly sympathized with the Prussian king. When Empress Elizabeth Petrovna fell seriously ill, the chancellor began to prepare the ground for palace coup and wrote to Field Marshal Apraksin to return to Russia. Elizaveta Petrovna recovered from her illness and deprived the Chancellor of his ranks. Bestuzhev-Ryumin fell out of favor and did not finish his job.

During the reign of Peter III, Prussian orders were introduced in the army, which could not but arouse the indignation of the officers. It is worth noting that the emperor did not make any attempts to get acquainted with Russian customs and ignored Orthodox rites. The conclusion of peace with Prussia in 1762, according to which Russia voluntarily gave East Prussia, became another reason for dissatisfaction with Peter III. In addition, the emperor intended to send the guards to the Danish campaign in June 1762, the goals of which were completely incomprehensible to the officers.

Elizabeth Vorontsova

The conspiracy against the emperor was organized by guard officers, including Grigory, Fedor and Alexei Orlov. Due to the controversial foreign policy Peter III, many officials joined the conspiracy. By the way, the ruler received reports of an impending coup, but he did not take them seriously.

Alexey Orlov

On June 28, 1762 (according to the old style), Peter III went to Peterhof, where his wife was to meet him. However, Catherine was not there - in the early morning she left for St. Petersburg with Alexei Orlov. The guards, the senate and the synod swore allegiance to her. AT critical situation the emperor was at a loss and did not follow sound advice to flee to the Baltic states, where units loyal to him were stationed. Peter III signed the abdication of the throne and, accompanied by the guards, was taken to Ropsha.

On July 6, 1762 (according to the old style), he died. Historians are unanimous in their opinion that Catherine did not give the order to kill Peter, while experts emphasize that she did not prevent this tragedy. According to the official version, Peter died of an illness - an autopsy allegedly revealed signs of heart dysfunction and apoplexy. But most likely his killer was Alexei Orlov. Peter was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Subsequently, several dozen people pretended to be the surviving emperor, the most famous of them was the leader of the Peasant War Emelyan Pugachev.