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Peter III (Pyotr Fedorovich, born Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp; February 21, Kiel - July 17, Ropsha) - Russian Emperor in -, the first representative of the Holstein-Gottorp (Oldenburg) branch of the Romanovs on the Russian throne. Since 1745 - sovereign Duke of Holstein.

After a six-month reign, he was overthrown as a result of a palace coup that brought his wife, Catherine II, to the throne, and soon lost his life. The personality and activities of Peter III were assessed unanimously negatively by historians for a long time, but then a more balanced approach emerged, noting a number of the emperor’s public services. During the reign of Catherine, many impostors impersonated Pyotr Fedorovich (about forty cases were recorded), the most famous of whom was Emelyan Pugachev.

Childhood, education and upbringing

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. He was not in good health, rather the opposite: he was sickly and frail. By character, Peter was not evil; often behaved innocently. Peter's penchant for lying and absurd fantasies is also noted. According to some reports, already in childhood he became addicted to wine.

Heir

At the first meeting, Elizabeth was struck by her nephew’s ignorance and upset by his appearance: thin, sickly, with an unhealthy complexion. His tutor and teacher was academician Jacob Shtelin, who considered his student quite capable, but lazy, at the same time noting in him such traits as cowardice, cruelty towards animals, and a tendency to boast. The heir's training in Russia lasted only three years - after the wedding of Peter and Catherine, Shtelin was relieved of his duties (however, he forever retained Peter's favor and trust). Neither during his studies, nor subsequently, Pyotr Fedorovich never really learned to speak and write in Russian. The Grand Duke's mentor in Orthodoxy was Simon of Todor, who also became a teacher of the law for Catherine.

The heir's wedding was celebrated on a special scale - so that before the ten-day celebrations, “all the fairy tales of the East faded.” Peter and Catherine were granted possession of Oranienbaum near St. Petersburg and Lyubertsy near Moscow.

Peter's relationship with his wife did not work out from the very beginning: she was intellectually more developed, and he, on the contrary, was infantile. Catherine noted in her memoirs:

(In the same place, Catherine mentions, not without pride, that she read the “History of Germany” in eight large volumes in four months. Elsewhere in her memoirs, Catherine writes about her enthusiastic reading of Madame de Sevigne and Voltaire. All memories are from about the same time.)

The Grand Duke's mind was still occupied with children's games and military exercises, and he was not at all interested in women. It is believed that until the early 1750s there was no marital relationship between husband and wife, but then Peter underwent some kind of operation (presumably circumcision to eliminate phimosis), after which in 1754 Catherine gave birth to his son Paul (the future Emperor Paul I) . However, the inconsistency of this version is evidenced by a letter from the Grand Duke to his wife, dated December 1746:

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

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. However, Pyotr Fedorovich was never interested in his son and was quite satisfied with the empress’s permission to see Paul once a week. Peter was increasingly moving away from his wife; Elizaveta Vorontsova (sister of E.R. Dashkova) became his favorite. 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 Resource"(“Mistress Help”).

Peter never hid his hobbies for other women from his wife; Catherine felt humiliated by this state of affairs. In 1756, she had an affair with Stanisław August Poniatowski, then the Polish envoy to the Russian court. For the Grand Duke, his wife’s passion was also no secret. There is information that Peter and Catherine more than once hosted dinners together with Poniatovsky and Elizaveta Vorontsova; they took place in the chambers of the Grand Duchess. Afterwards, leaving with his favorite to his half, Peter joked: “Well, children, now you don’t need us anymore.” “Both couples lived on very good terms with each other.” The grand ducal couple had another child in 1757, Anna (she died of smallpox in 1759). 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.

In the early 1750s, Peter was allowed to order a small detachment of Holstein soldiers (by 1758 their number was about one and a half thousand), and he spent all his free time engaging in military exercises and maneuvers with them. Some time later (by 1759-1760), these Holstein soldiers formed the garrison of the amusement fortress 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 get to know the country, its people and history better; he neglected Russian customs, behaved inappropriately during church services, and did not observe fasts and other rituals.

It is noted that Peter III was energetically engaged in state affairs (“In the morning he was in his office, where he heard reports<…>, then hurried to the Senate or collegium.<…>In the Senate, he took on the most important matters himself energetically and assertively." His policy was quite consistent; he, in imitation of his grandfather Peter I, proposed to carry out a series of reforms.

The most important affairs of Peter III include the abolition of the Secret Chancellery (Chancellery of Secret Investigative Affairs; Manifesto of February 16, 1762), the beginning of the process of secularization of church lands, the encouragement of commercial and industrial activities through the creation of the State Bank and the issuance of banknotes (Name Decree of May 25), adoption of a decree on freedom of foreign trade (Decree of March 28); it also contains a requirement to respect forests as one of the most important resources of Russia. Among other measures, researchers note a decree that allowed the establishment of factories for the production of sailing fabric in Siberia, as well as a decree that qualified the murder of peasants by landowners as “tyrant torture” and provided for lifelong exile for this. He also stopped the persecution of Old Believers. Peter III is also credited with the intention to carry out a reform of the Russian Orthodox Church along the Protestant model (In the Manifesto of Catherine II on the occasion of her accession to the throne dated June 28, 1762, Peter was blamed for this: “Our Greek Church is already extremely exposed to its last danger, the change of ancient Orthodoxy in Russia and the adoption of a law of other faiths").

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 Pyotr Fedorovich is the “Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility” (Manifesto of February 18, 1762), thanks to which the nobility became an 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 service 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.

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 of them: 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. Noteworthy is the Manifesto of Peter III of June 19 regarding the riots in the Tver and Cannes districts: “We intend to inviolably preserve the landowners on their estates and possessions, and to maintain the peasants in due obedience to them.” The riots were caused by a rumor spreading about the granting of “liberty to the peasantry”, a response to the rumors and a legislative act, which was not accidentally given the status of a manifesto.

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. (These do not include decrees on awards and ranks, monetary payments and regarding specific private issues).

However, some researchers stipulate that measures useful for the country were taken “by the way”; for the emperor himself they were not urgent or important. In addition, many of these decrees and manifestos did not appear suddenly: they were prepared under Elizabeth by the “Commission for the Drawing up of a New Code”, and were adopted at the suggestion of Roman Vorontsov, Peter Shuvalov, Dmitry Volkov and other Elizabethan dignitaries who remained at the throne of Peter Fedorovich.

Peter III was much more interested in internal affairs in the war with Denmark: out of Holstein patriotism, the emperor decided, in alliance with Prussia, to oppose Denmark (yesterday's ally of Russia), with the goal of returning Schleswig, which it had taken from his native Holstein, and he himself intended to go on a campaign at the head of the guard.

Romanov Dynasty (before Peter III)

Roman Yuryevich Zakharyin Anastasia , wife of Ivan IV the Terrible Feodor I Ioannovich Peter I the Great (2nd wife Catherine I) Anna Petrovna

Alexander Nikitich Mikhail Nikitich Ivan Nikitich

	Nikita Ivanovich

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. 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 educator Jacob Staehlin, appointed personal librarian, formed the emperor's inner circle.

Once in power, Peter III immediately stopped military operations against Prussia and concluded the St. Petersburg Peace Treaty with Frederick II on conditions extremely unfavorable for Russia, returning the conquered East Prussia (which had already been an integral part of the Russian Empire for four years); and abandoning all acquisitions during the actually won Seven Years' War. Russia's exit from the war once again saved Prussia from complete defeat (see also “The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg”). Peter III easily sacrificed the interests of Russia for the sake of his German duchy and friendship with his idol Frederick. The peace concluded on April 24 caused bewilderment and indignation in society; it was naturally regarded as a betrayal and national humiliation. The long and costly war ended in nothing; Russia did not derive any benefits from its victories.

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.

Society felt prank and caprice in the actions of the government, a lack of unity of thought and a definite direction. The breakdown of the government mechanism was obvious to everyone. All this caused a friendly murmur, which poured down from the highest spheres and became popular. Tongues were loosened, as if not feeling the fear of the policeman; on the streets they openly and loudly expressed dissatisfaction, blaming the sovereign without any fear.

Finally, the intention to withdraw the guard from St. Petersburg and send it on an incomprehensible and unpopular Danish campaign served as a powerful catalyst for the conspiracy that arose in the guard in favor of Ekaterina Alekseevna.

Palace coup

The first beginnings 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 by 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:

During illness<…>Elisaveta Petrovna I heard that<…>Everyone is afraid of her heir; that he is not loved or respected by anyone; that the empress herself complains about who should entrust the throne; that there is an inclination in her to remove an incapable heir, from whom she herself had annoyance, and to take his seven-year-old son and entrust management to me [that is, Catherine].

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, Little Russian 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 (from Grigory Orlov; in April 1762 she gave birth to a 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 April 30, 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 to his wife across the table "foll"(stupid); 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.

Peterhof. Cascade "Golden Mountain". 19th century photolithography

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, 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. A great turmoil began in the guard; one of the participants in the conspiracy, Captain Passek, was arrested; the Orlov brothers feared that there was a threat of the conspiracy being discovered.

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 no longer possible to delay). 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.

Somewhere they got wine, and a general drinking session began. The rioting guards were clearly planning to inflict reprisals on their former emperor. Panin forcibly assembled a battalion of reliable soldiers to surround the pavilion. Peter III was hard to watch. He sat powerless and limp, crying constantly. Seizing a moment, he rushed to Panin and, catching his hand for a kiss, whispered: “I ask one thing - leave Lizaveta [Vorontsova] with me, in the name of the Merciful Lord!” .

The events of June 28, 1762 have significant differences from previous palace coups; firstly, the coup went beyond the “walls of the palace” and even beyond the boundaries of the guards barracks, gaining unprecedented widespread support from various layers of the capital’s population, and secondly, the guard became an independent political force, and not a protective force, but a revolutionary one, which overthrew the legitimate emperor and supported the usurpation of power by Catherine.

Death

Palace in Ropsha, built during the reign of Catherine II

The circumstances of the death of Peter III have not yet been fully clarified.

The deposed emperor immediately after the coup, accompanied by a guard of guards led by A.G. Orlov, was sent to Ropsha, 30 miles from St. Petersburg, where he died a week later. According to the official (and most probable) version, the cause of death was an attack of hemorrhoidal colic, worsened by prolonged alcohol consumption, and accompanied by 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 there were signs of apoplexy.

However, the generally accepted version considers Peter’s death to be violent and names Alexei Orlov as the killer. 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 disprove the authenticity of the document (the original, apparently, never existed, and the real author of the fake is Rostopchin).

Already today, a number of medical examinations have been carried out on the basis of surviving documents and evidence. Experts believe that Peter III suffered from manic-depressive psychosis in a weak stage (cyclothymia) with a mild depressive phase; suffered from hemorrhoids, which made him unable to sit in one place for a long time; A “small heart” found at autopsy usually suggests dysfunction of other organs and makes circulatory problems more likely, that is, creates a risk of heart attack or stroke.

Funeral

Chimes of the Peter and Paul Cathedral

Initially, Peter III was buried without any honors 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.

But, according to some reports, Catherine decided in her own way; She arrived at the Lavra incognito and paid her last debt to her husband. In , immediately after the death of Catherine, by order of Paul I, his remains were transferred first to the house church of the 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.

Life after death

Impostors have not been a new thing in the world community since the time of the False Nero, who appeared almost immediately after the death of his “prototype.” False tsars and false princes of the Time of Troubles are also known in Russia, but among all other domestic rulers and members of their families, Peter III is the absolute record holder for the number of impostors who tried to take the place of the untimely deceased tsar. During Pushkin's time there were rumors about five; According to the latest data, in Russia alone there were about forty false Peter III.

Soon after, the name of the late emperor was appropriated by a fugitive recruit Ivan Evdokimov, who tried to raise an uprising in his favor among the peasants of the Nizhny Novgorod province and a Ukrainian Nikolay Kolchenko in Chernihiv region /

In the same year, shortly after Kremnev’s arrest, in Slobodskaya Ukraine, in the settlement of Kupyanka, Izyum district, a new impostor appears. This time it turned out to be Pyotr Fedorovich Chernyshev, a fugitive soldier of the Bryansk regiment. This impostor, unlike his predecessors, turned out to be smart and articulate. Soon captured, convicted and exiled to Nerchinsk, he did not abandon his claims there either, 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. However, the impostor was not lucky. He 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.

An extraordinary person turned out to be Fedot Bogomolov, a former serf who fled and joined the Volga Cossacks under the name Kazin. Strictly speaking, he himself did not impersonate the former emperor, but in March-June 1772 on the Volga, in the Tsaritsyn region, when his colleagues, due to the fact that Kazin-Bogomolov seemed to them too smart and intelligent, assumed that in front of them Emperor in hiding, 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 the same year, a certain Don Cossack, whose name has not been preserved in history, decided to benefit financially from the widespread belief in the “hiding emperor.” Perhaps, of all the applicants, this was the only one who spoke in advance with a purely fraudulent purpose. His accomplice, posing as a secretary of state, traveled around the Tsaritsyn province, taking oaths and preparing the people to receive the “father-tsar”, then the impostor himself appeared. The couple managed to profit enough at someone else’s expense before the news reached other Cossacks and they decided to give everything a political aspect. A plan was developed to capture the town of Dubrovka and arrest all the officers. However, the authorities became aware of the plot and one of the high-ranking military men showed sufficient determination to completely suppress the plot. Accompanied by a small escort, he entered the hut where the impostor was, hit him in the face and ordered his arrest along with his accomplice (“Secretary of State”). 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 1774, the future leader of the peasant war Emelyan Pugachev, the most famous of the false Peter III, skillfully turned this story to his advantage, assuring that he himself was the “emperor who disappeared from Tsaritsyn” - and this attracted many to his side. .

The Lost Emperor appeared abroad at least four times and enjoyed considerable success there. For the first time it emerged in 1766 in Montenegro, which at that time was fighting for independence against the Turks and the Venetian Republic. Strictly speaking, this man, 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 (that was the name of the stranger) with requests to take power over the country, but he flatly refused until internal strife was stopped and peace was concluded between the tribes. Such unusual demands finally convinced the Montenegrins of his “royal origin” and, despite the resistance of the clergy and the machinations of the Russian general Dolgorukov, Stefan became the ruler of the country. He never revealed his real name, giving Yu. V. Dolgoruky, who was seeking the truth, 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 call himself Stefan and went down in history as Stefan the Small, which is believed to come from the impostor’s signature - “ Stefan, small with small, good with good, evil with evil" Stefan turned out to be a smart and knowledgeable ruler. During the short time that he remained in power, civil strife ceased; after short friction, good neighborly relations with Russia were established and the country defended itself quite confidently against the onslaught from both the Venetians and the Turks. This could not please the conquerors, and Türkiye and Venice made repeated attempts on Stephen’s life. Finally, one of the attempts was successful: after five years of rule, Stefan Maly was stabbed to death in his sleep by his own doctor, a Greek by nationality, Stanko Klasomunya, bribed by the Skadar Pasha. The impostor’s belongings were sent to St. Petersburg, and his associates even tried to obtain a pension from Catherine for “valiant service to her husband.”

After the death of Stephen, a certain Zenovich 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. 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. How his epic ended is unknown.

The last foreign impostor, appearing in 1773, traveled all over Europe, corresponded with monarchs, and kept in touch with Voltaire and Rousseau. In 1785, in Amsterdam, the swindler was finally arrested and his veins were opened.

The last Russian “Peter III” was arrested in 1797, after which the ghost of Peter III finally disappeared from the historical scene.

Notes

1. Biographies of cavalry guards: N. Yu. Trubetskoy
2. Iskul S.N. Year 1762. - St. Petersburg: Information and Publishing Agency "Lik", 2001, p. 43.
3. Peskov A. M. Paul I. The author refers to:
   Kamensky A. B. The life and fate of Empress Catherine the Great. - M., 1997.
   Naumov V. P. An amazing autocrat: the mysteries of his life and reign. - M., 1993.
   Ivanov O. A. The mystery of Alexei Orlov's letters from Ropsha // Moscow magazine. - 1995. - № 9.
4. VIVOS VOCO: N. Y. Eidelman, “YOUR 18TH CENTURY...” (Chapter 6)
5. Integrated lesson on the course of Russian history and literature in the 8th... :: Festival “Open Lesson”
6. Murmansk MBNEWS.RU - Polar truth number 123 from 08/24/06
7. SHIELD and SWORD | A long time ago
8. http://www.rustrana.ru/article.php?nid=22182 (inaccessible link - story)
9. Alexey Golovnin. The word is infallible. Magazine "Samizdat" (2007). - Application of methods of structural hermeneutics to the text “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.” Archived from the original on August 22, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
10. Count Benevsky. Part four. Runaway Noah's Ark
11. http://window.edu.ru/window_catalog/files/r42450/r2gl12.pdf
12. :: Russian torture. Political investigation in Russia of the 18th century - Anisimov Evgeniy - Page: 6 - Read - Download for free txt fb2:: (inaccessible link - story)
13. Sergey Kravchenko. Crooked Empire. My day is my year!┘
14. Pugachev on the Volga | History of Tsaritsyn | History of Volgograd
15. Selivanov Kondraty
16. How Stephen the Small came to save Montenegro and afterwards | Spectator, The | Find Articles at BNET (unavailable link)
17. Stepan (Stefan) Maly. Impostor. Pretended to be Peter III in Montenegro. Books from the 100 Hundred Greats series
18. Doubles, impostors or historical figures who lived twice

References

1. Klyuchevsky V. O. Historical portraits. - M.: “Pravda”, 1990. - ISBN 5-253-00034-8
2. Burovsky A. M. The Russia that could have been. - M.: OLMA-PRESS, 2005. - ISBN 5-224-04971-7

The premiere of the historical series is on Channel One.

Spectacular costumes, large-scale scenery, famous actors - all this and much more awaits viewers in the new historical drama “The Great,” which airs on Channel One this week. The series will take us to the mid-18th century - during the reign of Catherine II, whose role was played by Yulia Snigir.

In particular, the personality of Peter 3 has been revised in the series.

Slander THROUGH THE CENTURIES

In Russian history, there is, perhaps, no ruler more reviled by historians than Emperor Peter III

Even the authors of historical studies speak better about the crazy sadist Ivan the Terrible than about the unfortunate emperor. What kind of epithets did historians bestow upon Peter III: “spiritual insignificance”, “reveler”, “drunkard”, “Holstein martinet” and so on and so forth.

Usually in our textbooks Peter 3 is presented as a fool who spits on the interests of Russia, leading to the idea that Catherine 2 did the right thing by overthrowing him and killing him.

What did the emperor, who reigned for only six months (from December 1761 to June 1762), do wrong before the learned men?

Holstein Prince

The future Emperor Peter III was born on February 10 (21 - according to the new style) February 1728 in the German city of Kiel. His father was Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, the ruler of the North German state of Holstein, and his mother was the daughter of Peter I, Anna Petrovna. Even as a child, Prince Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp (that was the name of Peter III) was declared heir to the Swedish throne.

Emperor Peter III

However, at the beginning of 1742, at the request of the Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the prince was taken to St. Petersburg. As the only descendant of Peter the Great, he was declared heir to the Russian throne. The young Duke of Holstein-Gottorp converted to Orthodoxy and was named Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich.

In August 1745, the Empress married the heir to the German Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta, daughter of the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, who was in the military service of the Prussian king. Having converted to Orthodoxy, Princess Anhalt-Zerbst began to be called Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna.

Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna - future Empress Catherine II

The heir and his wife could not stand each other. Pyotr Fedorovich had mistresses. His last passion was Countess Elizaveta Vorontsova, daughter of Chief General Roman Illarionovich Vorontsov. Ekaterina Alekseevna had three constant lovers - Count Sergei Saltykov, Count Stanislav Poniatovsky and Count Chernyshev. Soon the Life Guards officer Grigory Orlov became the favorite of the Grand Duchess. However, she often had fun with other guards officers.

On September 24, 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son, who was named Pavel. It was rumored at court that the real father of the future emperor was Catherine’s lover, Count Saltykov. Pyotr Fedorovich himself smiled bitterly:
- God knows where my wife gets her pregnancy from. I don't really know if this is my child and if I should take it personally...

Short reign

On December 25, 1761, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna rested in Bose. Peter Fedorovich, Emperor Peter III, ascended the throne.

First of all, the new sovereign ended the war with Prussia and withdrew Russian troops from Berlin. For this, Peter was hated by the guards officers, who craved military glory and military awards. Historians are also dissatisfied with the actions of the emperor: pundits complain that Peter III “negated the results of Russian victories.”

It would be interesting to know exactly what results the respected researchers have in mind?

As you know, the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763 was caused by the intensification of the struggle between France and England for overseas colonies. For various reasons, seven more states were drawn into the war (in particular, Prussia, which was in conflict with France and Austria). But what interests the Russian Empire pursued when it acted on the side of France and Austria in this war is completely unclear. It turned out that Russian soldiers died for the French right to rob colonial peoples. Peter III stopped this senseless massacre. For which he received a “severe reprimand with a note” from grateful descendants.

Soldiers of the army of Peter III

After the end of the war, the emperor settled in Oranienbaum, where, according to historians, he “indulged in drunkenness” with his Holstein companions. However, judging by the documents, from time to time Peter was also involved in government affairs. In particular, the emperor wrote and published a number of manifestos on the transformation of the state system.

Here is a list of the first events that Peter III outlined:

Firstly, there was The Secret Chancellery was abolished- the famous secret state police, which terrified all subjects of the empire without exception, from commoners to high-born nobles. With one denunciation, agents of the Secret Chancellery could seize any person, imprison him in dungeons, subject him to the most terrible torture, and execute him. The emperor freed his subjects from this arbitrariness. After his death, Catherine II restored the secret police - called the Secret Expedition.

Secondly, Peter declared freedom of religion for all his subjects: “let them pray to whomever they want, but not to have them reproached or cursed.” This was an almost unthinkable step at that time. Even in enlightened Europe there was not yet complete freedom of religion. After the death of the emperor, Catherine II, a friend of the French enlightenment and “philosopher on the throne,” repealed the decree on freedom of conscience.

Thirdly, Peter canceled church supervision over the personal lives of his subjects: “no one should condemn the sin of adultery, for Christ did not condemn.” After the death of the Tsar, church espionage was revived.

Fourthly, realizing the principle of freedom of conscience, Peter stopped persecuting Old Believers. After his death, government authorities resumed religious persecution.

Fifth, Peter announced liberation of all monastery serfs. He subordinated the monastic estates to civil colleges, gave arable land to the former monastic peasants for eternal use and imposed only ruble dues on them. To support the clergy, the tsar appointed “his own salary.”

Sixth, Peter allowed the nobles unhindered travel abroad. After his death, the Iron Curtain was restored.

Seventh, Peter announced the introduction in the Russian Empire public court. Catherine abolished the publicity of the proceedings.

Eighth, Peter issued a decree about " silverlessness of service", prohibiting senators and government officials from giving gifts of peasant souls and state lands. Only orders and medals were to be signs of encouragement for senior officials. Having ascended the throne, Catherine first of all presented her associates and favorites with peasants and estates.

One of the manifestos of Peter III

In addition, the emperor prepared mass other manifestos and decrees, including those on limiting the personal dependence of peasants on landowners, on the optionality of military service, on the optionality of observing religious fasts, etc.

And all this was done in less than six months of reign! Knowing this, how can one believe the fables about Peter III’s “heavy drinking”?
It is obvious that the reforms that Peter intended to implement were long ahead of their time. Could their author, who dreamed of establishing the principles of freedom and civic dignity, be a “spiritual nonentity” and a “Holstein martinet”?

CONSPIRACY

So, the emperor was engaged in state affairs, in between which, according to historians, he smoked in Oranienbaum.

What was the young empress doing at this time?

Ekaterina Alekseevna and her many lovers and hangers-on settled in Peterhof. There she actively intrigued against her husband: she gathered supporters, spread rumors through her lovers and their drinking companions, and attracted officers to her side.

By the summer of 1762, a conspiracy arose, the soul of which was the empress. Influential dignitaries and generals were involved in the conspiracy:

Count Nikita Panin, actual privy councilor, chamberlain, senator, tutor of Tsarevich Pavel;

His brother Count Pyotr Panin, general-in-chief, hero of the Seven Years' War;

Princess Ekaterina Dashkova, nee Countess Vorontsova, Ekaterina's closest friend and companion;

Her husband is Prince Mikhail Dashkov, one of the leaders of the St. Petersburg Masonic organization;

Count Kirill Razumovsky, marshal, commander of the Izmailovsky regiment, hetman of Ukraine, president of the Academy of Sciences;

Prince Mikhail Volkonsky, diplomat and commander of the Seven Years' War;

Baron Korf, chief of the St. Petersburg police, as well as numerous officers of the Life Guards led by the Orlov brothers.

According to a number of historians, influential Masonic circles were involved in the conspiracy. In Catherine’s inner circle, the “free masons” were represented by a certain mysterious “Mr. Odar.” According to an eyewitness to the events of the Danish envoy A. Schumacher, the famous adventurer and adventurer Count Saint-Germain was hiding under this name.

Events were accelerated by the arrest of one of the conspirators, Lieutenant Captain Passek.

Count Alexey Orlov - killer of Peter III

On June 26, 1762, the Orlovs and their friends began to solder the soldiers of the capital's garrison. With the money that Catherine borrowed from the English merchant Felten, allegedly to buy jewelry, more than 35 thousand buckets of vodka were purchased.

On the morning of June 28, 1762, Catherine, accompanied by Dashkova and the Orlov brothers, left Peterhof and headed to the capital, where everything was ready. Deadly drunk soldiers of the guards regiments took the oath to “Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna,” and a very inebriated crowd of ordinary people greeted the “dawn of a new reign.”

Peter III and his retinue were in Oranienbaum. Having learned about the events in Petrograd, ministers and generals betrayed the emperor and fled to the capital. Only the old Field Marshal Minich, General Gudovich and several close associates remained with Peter.
On June 29, the emperor, struck by the betrayal of his most trusted people and having no desire to get involved in the fight for the hated crown, abdicated the throne. He wanted only one thing: to be released to his native Holstein with his mistress Ekaterina Vorontsova and his faithful adjutant Gudovich.
However, by order of the new ruler, the deposed king was sent to the palace in Ropsha. On July 6, 1762, the brother of the Empress's lover Alexei Orlov and his drinking companion Prince Fyodor Baryatinsky strangled Peter. It was officially announced that the emperor “died of inflammation in the intestines and apoplexy”...

Slander

So, the facts do not give any reason to consider Peter III a “nonentity” and a “soldier.” He was weak-willed, but not weak-minded. Why do historians so persistently blaspheme this sovereign? St. Petersburg poet Viktor Sosnora decided to look into this problem. First of all, he was interested in the question: from what sources did researchers draw (and continue to draw!) dirty gossip about the “dementia” and “insignificance” of the emperor?

And this is what was discovered: it turns out that the sources of all the characteristics of Peter III, all these gossip and fables are the memoirs of the following persons:

Empress Catherine II - who hated and despised her husband, who was the mastermind of the conspiracy against him, who actually directed the hand of Peter's killers, who finally, as a result of the coup, became an autocratic ruler;

Princess Dashkova - a friend and like-minded person of Catherine, who hated and despised Peter even more (contemporaries gossiped: because Peter preferred her older sister, Ekaterina Vorontsova), who was the most active participant in the conspiracy, who after the coup became the “second lady of the empire” ;

Count Nikita Panin, a close associate of Catherine, who was one of the leaders and main ideologist of the conspiracy against Peter, and soon after the coup he became one of the most influential nobles and headed the Russian diplomatic department for almost 20 years;

Count Peter Panin - Nikita's brother, who was one of the active participants in the conspiracy, and then became a commander trusted and favored by the monarch (it was Peter Panin that Catherine instructed to suppress the uprising of Pugachev, who, by the way, declared himself "Emperor Peter III").

Even without being a professional historian and not being familiar with the intricacies of source study and criticism of sources, it is safe to assume that the above-mentioned persons are unlikely to be objective in assessing the person they betrayed and killed.

It was not enough for the Empress and her “accomplices” to overthrow and kill Peter III. To justify their crimes, they had to slander their victim!

And they zealously lied, piling up vile gossip and dirty lies.

Catherine:

“He spent his time in unheard of childish activities...” “He was stubborn and hot-tempered, and had a weak and frail build.”
"From the age of ten he was addicted to drinking." “He mostly showed disbelief...” "His mind was childish...".
“He fell into despair. This often happened to him. He was cowardly at heart and weak in head. He loved oysters...”

In her memoirs, the empress portrayed her murdered husband as a drunkard, a carouser, a coward, a fool, a slacker, a tyrant, a weak-minded, a debauchee, an ignoramus, an atheist... “What kind of slop she pours on her husband just because she killed him!” - Viktor Sosnora exclaims.

But, oddly enough, the learned men who wrote dozens of volumes of dissertations and monographs did not doubt the veracity of the killers’ memories of their victim. To this day, in all textbooks and encyclopedias you can read about the “insignificant” emperor who “negated the results of Russian victories” in the Seven Years’ War, and then “drank with the Holsteiners in Oranienbaum.”

Lies have long legs...

February 21, 1728 Count Heinrich Friedrich Bassevich, the first minister of the Holstein court, left a note: “Born between noon and the first hour of the day, healthy and strong. It was decided to call him Karl Peter" The newborn in question will be destined to become Russian Emperor Peter III.

We have a wrong idea about this figure. So much so that one wonders: how did “a national traitor and frankly weak-minded drunkard” even last on the Russian throne for such a short time? Many people have the impression that the main and even the only historical role of Peter III was to marry his future wife on time. Catherine the Great, and then die to clear the way for the brilliant “Mother Empress.”

1. Works and days

Some people find the language of numbers most persuasive. In some ways they are right: this is how you can determine offhand, if not the effectiveness, then the efficiency and activity of the ruler. If you look at Peter III from this point of view, you get an interesting proportion. He spent 186 days on the throne. During this time, he signed 192 laws and decrees: this is not counting all the little things like nominations for awards. On average, about 30 decrees are issued per month, even a little more. Thus, he is confidently among the top 3 rulers of the 18th century. And he even takes an honorable second place in it after his son Paul I. He issued an average of 42 legislative acts per month. For comparison: Catherine the Great issued 12 laws per month, and Peter the Great- according to 8. A curious fact should be especially noted: some of these laws are attributed to the “philanthropy and enlightenment” of Catherine II, his widow. In particular, the “Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility”, giving the murder of serfs by masters the status of “tyrannical torment” and the abolition of the sinister Secret Chancellery. Although in fact, Catherine’s entire merit lies only in the fact that she did not cancel the orders of her late husband.

2. Not from relatives, but into relatives

One of the hook phrases Bulgakov— Woland’s words from “The Master and Margarita”: “Yes, how intricately the deck is shuffled! Blood!" It is fully applicable to Peter III. In his case, however, the deck was shuffled by hand. Several dynastic marriages that seemed promising - and then, if you please, our hero was born. By the way, remember the name given to him at birth? It is also from this series. Karl Peter. Peter - in honor of his maternal grandfather, Russian Emperor Peter I. And Karl - for the reason that on his father’s side the baby was the great-nephew of the Swedish king Charles XII. Two great grandfathers who fought each other for almost a quarter of a century and redrew the map of Europe. Peter III was well aware of this. Moreover, he behaved in such a way that many noticed his similarity with both Peter I and Charles XII. For example, a French diplomat in Russia Jean-Louis Favier:“He imitates both in the simplicity of his tastes and in his clothes... The courtiers, immersed in luxury and inaction, fear the time when they will be ruled by a sovereign who is equally harsh towards himself and towards others.”

3. Coronation after death: late or never?

We can agree with those who say that Peter III was inferior. But only in one thing. He, perhaps, really was not a full-fledged emperor during his lifetime. Because he never lived to see the coronation, which marks the fullness of power. In June 1762, the proclaimed but not crowned emperor signed his abdication.

The situation was corrected by Paul I, his son. He committed a unique, unprecedented act. 34 years after the death of Peter III, the new emperor opened his coffin and crowned the remains of the late priest according to all the rules. A neat touch: the Great Imperial Crown was forced to be held Alexey Orlov, one of the alleged murderers of Peter III. According to the recollections of contemporaries, Count Orlov after this “went into a dark corner and burst into tears, his hands trembling.” The coronation of the deceased and at the same time revenge on his killers - Russian history has never seen anything like this. Peter III is the only Russian Tsar who truly became such after his death.

Exhumation of Peter III. Allegorical engraving by Nicholas Anselen. Source: Public Domain

4. Won Seven Years

The most controversial issue is the end of the war with Prussia. That same Seven Years' War, where the genius of the future brilliant commanders of the “golden age of Catherine” manifested itself: Petra Rumyantseva And Alexandra Suvorova. The claims are something like this: “Ours took Berlin a year earlier, and all of Prussia was in our pocket. Even Koenigsberg had been a Russian city for four years, and Russian students studied at its university. And then Peter III appeared, subservient to the Prussian order and the Prussian personally King Frederick. And he let everything go down the drain: ours pledged to withdraw their troops and give back everything they had conquered.”

In fact, it was almost the opposite. At the time of the death of Peter III, Russian troops still occupied this entire territory. Moreover, food warehouses and ammunition were replenished, and a Russian squadron was sent to Konigsberg.

In addition, according to the agreement, Frederick undertook to recapture the province of Schleswig from Denmark and transfer it to Russia. But Peter retained the right to stop the withdrawal of Russian troops “in view of the ongoing unrest in Europe.”

Both the withdrawal of troops from East Prussia and the fact that Russia never got what Frederick promised it were entirely the work of Catherine II. Or rather, the consequences of her inaction. She was so busy first with the coup and the elimination of her husband, and then with strengthening her own power, that she did not monitor compliance with the terms of the agreement.

5. The failed Russian breakthrough

Peter remained in the status of heir to the Russian throne for almost twenty years. And, speaking frankly, during this time he did not show himself to be anything other than a penchant for drunkenness, playing toy soldiers and drilling according to the Prussian model. In any case, that is what is commonly believed. As a rule, details are avoided when describing a short time period: from February 1759 to January 1762.

Meanwhile, this was, perhaps, the brightest stage in the life of the heir. He was finally admitted to the real case. Yes, with a lot of creaking and the matter seems to be small. But still. In February 1759, Peter was appointed director general of the Land Noble Corps.

Documents associated with this educational institution and signed by the heir to the throne clearly show that he was a reasonable, sober, sensible person, capable of thinking on a national scale. The fact that he is primarily concerned with the material base of the corps goes without saying. Expansion and reconstruction of the barracks-dormitory, the establishment of a corps printing house, “in order to print all the necessary books in Russian, German and French,” careful attention to food and uniforms... And, besides this, far-reaching plans. In particular, a large-scale project to create “a complete geographical and historical description of Russia, so that the young people brought up in this building not only know the geography of foreign lands that they are actually taught, but also have a clear understanding of the state of their fatherland.”

Peter III, born Karl Peter Ulrich, was born on February 21, 1728 in Kiel, in the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany. The only son of Anna Petrovna and Karl Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, the boy was also the grandson of two emperors, Peter the Great and Charles XII of Sweden. Karl's parents died when the boy was still just a child, leaving him in the care of educators and nobles of the Holstein court, who were preparing him for the Swedish throne. Karl grew up amid the cruelty of his mentors, who severely punished him for his poor academic performance: the boy, while showing an interest in art, lagged behind in almost all academic sciences. He loved military parades and dreamed of becoming a world-famous warrior. When the boy turned 14 years old, his aunt Catherine, who became empress, transports him to Russia and, giving him the name Peter Fedorovich, declares him heir to the throne. Peter did not like living in Russia, and he often complained that the Russian people would never accept him.

Ill-advised marriage

On August 21, 1745, Peter marries Sophia Frederica Augusta, Princess of Anhalt-Serbst in Saxony, who takes the name Catherine. But the marriage, arranged by Peter's aunt for political purposes, becomes a disaster from the very beginning. Catherine turned out to be a girl of amazing intelligence, while Peter was only a child in a man’s body. They had two children: a son, the future Emperor Paul I, and a daughter who did not live to be 2 years old. Later, Catherine would declare that Paul was not Peter’s son, and that she and her husband never entered into marital relations. During their 16 years of marriage, both Catherine and Pavel had numerous lovers and mistresses.

It is believed that Empress Elizabeth fenced Peter off from state affairs, probably suspecting the meagerness of his mental abilities. He hated life in Russia. He remained loyal to his homeland and Prussia. He did not care in the slightest about the Russian people, and the Orthodox Church was disgusting. However, after the death of Elizabeth, on December 25, 1961, Peter ascended to the throne of the Russian Empire. Most of what we know about Peter III comes from the memoirs of his wife, who described her husband as an idiot and a drunkard, prone to cruel jokes, with the only love in life - playing at being a soldier.

Controversial politics

Once on the throne, Peter III radically changes his aunt's foreign policy, leading Russia out of the Seven Years' War and concluding an alliance with its enemy, Prussia. He declares war on Denmark and recaptures the lands of his native Holstein. Such actions were regarded as a betrayal of the memory of those who died for their homeland, and were the cause of the alienation that arose between the emperor and the military and powerful palace cliques. But while traditional history views such actions as treason against the country's interests, recent scholarship has suggested that it was only part of a very pragmatic plan to expand Russia's influence westward.

Peter III carries out a whole series of internal reforms, which, from the point of view of today, can be called democratic: he declares freedom of religion, dissolves the secret police and imposes punishment for the murder of serfs by landowners. It is he who opens the first state bank in Russia and encourages the merchants by increasing grain exports and imposing an embargo on the import of goods that can be replaced by domestic ones.

Many controversies arise around his abdication of the throne. It is traditionally believed that with his reforms he displeased the Orthodox Church and a good half of the nobility, and that since his policies, as well as his personality, were seen as alien and unpredictable, representatives of the church and noble cliques went to Catherine for help and entered into a conspiracy with her against the emperor. But recent historical research exposes Catherine as the mastermind of the conspiracy, who dreamed of getting rid of her husband, fearing that he might divorce her. On June 28, 1762, Peter III was arrested and forced to abdicate the throne. He is transported to the town of Ropsha near St. Petersburg, where on July 17 of the same year he is allegedly killed, although the fact of murder has never been proven and there is evidence that the former emperor could have committed suicide.

Reign of Peter III (briefly)

Reign of Peter 3 (short story)

There are many sharp turns in the biography of Peter the Third. He was born on the tenth of February 1728, but very soon he lost his mother, and eleven years later his father. From the age of eleven, the young man was prepared to rule Sweden, but everything changed when the new ruler of Russia, Empress Elizabeth, declared him her successor in 1742. Contemporaries note that Peter the Third himself was not very educated for a ruler and knew only a little Latin, French and Lutheran catechism.

At the same time, Elizabeth insisted on re-education of Peter and he persistently studied the Russian language and the foundations of the Orthodox faith. In 1745, he was married to Catherine II, the future Russian empress, who bore him a son, Paul I, the future heir. Immediately after the death of Elizabeth, Peter was declared Russian Emperor without coronation. However, he was destined to rule for only one hundred and eighty-six days. During his reign, Peter the Third openly expressed sympathy for Prussia during the era of the Seven Years' War and for this reason was not very popular in Russian society.

With his most important manifesto of February 18, 1762, the monarch abolishes compulsory noble service, dissolves the Secret Chancellery, and also issues permission for schismatics to return to their homeland. But even such innovative, bold orders could not bring Peter popularity in society. During the short period of his reign, serfdom was significantly strengthened. In addition, according to his decree, the clergy were to shave their beards, leaving only icons of the Savior and the Mother of God in the churches, and from now on dress like Lutheran shepherds. Also, Tsar Peter the Third tried to remake the regulations and life of the Russian army in the Prussian manner.

Admiring Frederick the Second, who was the ruler of Prussia at that time, Peter the Third withdraws Russia from the Seven Years' War on unfavorable terms, returning to Prussia all the lands conquered by the Russians. This caused general outrage. Historians believe that it was after this important decision that most of the king’s entourage became participants in a conspiracy against him. The initiator of this conspiracy, which was supported by the guards, was the wife of Peter the Third herself, Ekaterina Alekseevna. It was with these events that the palace coup of 1762 began, which ended with the overthrow of the Tsar and the accession of Catherine II.