Awards:

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 lies 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, Alexei 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 a conspiracy was in danger of 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 unlucky. 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 an intelligent 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 Turkey 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 reign of Peter III can hardly be called terrible, but there was little good in it. I will not re-list the pros and cons of it that have been listed, I will only comment on them. One of the respondents said that the end of the Seven Years' War was simply an end to the bloodshed and Peter was great for doing so. It’s hard not to agree that the Seven Years’ War was not necessary for Russia’s interests, although there is a certain basis for this (Strengthening Prussia in the region), but the way out of the war, when Berlin had almost fallen, when our troops shed their blood, won (let’s not say here about the reasons why we got involved in the war, etc.), and then the tyrant Peter, a fan of Frederick II, came and crossed out all the works, all the sacrifices with a separate peace with Prussia (moreover, violating agreements with other powers). Not only did many people die in vain, government funds were wasted. funds and so on, it is also worth considering that Frederick, despite such a luxurious “gift” (and it really was luxurious, Russia almost destroyed Prussia), did not care about this and about Russia incl. There are no friends in politics and it is foolish to expect that Frederick or Prussia would help us in anything for what we have done. As for the manifesto on the freedom of the nobility, the picture is as follows: the peasants, who are already suffering a lot, in fact almost powerless slaves, who make up the bulk of the population, which is unacceptable for a civilizational country, receive this manifesto from Peter. Instead of thinking about the process of emancipation of the peasants and starting to implement it, because serfdom, as we know, is an ineffective and inhumane system in the state, the emperor gives the ruling elite, the nobles, a bunch of more privileges, which leads to even greater inhibition of the peasants, on whom So much has already been shouldered. The manifesto on the freedom of the nobility is an ineffective inhumane reform that serves to roll the country back, made only to cover the imperial head. I would also like to remind you that Peter III also wanted to send a corps of the Russian army to war in Holstein in order to protect it, sacrifice people and state. means for the sake of a piece of land that Russia and its interests certainly do not need. The introduction of Prussian orders in the army by the emperors is doubtful, because Russia defeated them and will continue to defeat them with its army orders; later Suvorov will say: “We have always beaten the Prussians, so what can we adopt?” In addition to all of the above, as was already written in one of the answers, Peter did not want to rule Russia and he did not care at all about it, which he showed with his attitude, and such a person cannot be a normal (not to mention a good) emperor, at least At least in his case exactly.

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.

The future Peter III was born in Kiel, in the Duchy of Holstein, to whose ruler, Duke Karl Friedrich, Peter's eldest daughter, Tsarevna Anna Petrovna, was married in 1725. Immediately after the birth of a boy named Karl Peter Ulrich, 20-year-old Anna died. The father did not pay attention to his son, completely placing him in the hands of rude and ignorant teachers. In 1739, Duke Karl Friedrich died and the young prince became Duke of Holstein. Immediately after coming to power in 1741, Empress Elisabeth - Karl Peter Ulrich's aunt - summoned him to Russia.

Here in 1742 he was baptized according to the Orthodox rite, named Peter Fedorovich and declared heir to the Russian throne. At first, Empress Elizabeth doted on her nephew, but she did not like many of the young man’s features, and gradually the empress grew cold towards Peter and alienated him from herself.

One of the reasons for the cooling was that the grandson of Peter the Great turned out to be completely indifferent to Russia and everything Russian. He yearned for Holstein and often acted contrary to and even in spite of his aunt’s wishes. From an early age, Peter showed himself to be a stubborn, stupid person, with little ability to govern the country. Capricious and childish, Peter was not an evil or cruel person. At the Russian court, he felt like a stranger, he was constantly secretly watched and immediately reported to the empress about all his actions and words.

It is not surprising that the heir to the throne did not like to be at court, but sought to go to his estate Oranienbaum near St. Petersburg. There he could hide from his aunt’s spies and live the way he wanted. In the picturesque park of Oranienbaum, architect Antonio Rinaldi built a cozy palace for Pyotr Fedorovich. Nearby stood the elegant Chinese Palace and the Rolling Hill pavilion, a place for winter festivities.

But Peter’s true joy was the special military unit brought for the heir to the throne directly from Holstein. Its soldiers and officers were stationed in the small fortress of Petershants. Only here, behind the earthen fortifications of the fortress, among the Holstein officers, did Peter feel safe, in his native environment.

From an early age, Peter III considered the Prussian king Frederick II as a role model. During the Seven Years' War with Prussia, Peter did not hide his sympathies for Russia's enemy. And the first thing Peter did when he ascended the Russian throne was to make peace with Frederick and thereby actually save him from defeat by the allies. Moreover, at the beginning of 1762, Peter III signed a defensive alliance with Frederick and gave the order to prepare the Russian army for a campaign against Denmark, a state at the beginning of the 18th century. which grabbed a large piece of territory from Peter’s beloved Holstein.

Preparation for a new war, completely unnecessary for Russia, became one of the reasons for the coup, as a result of which Peter III was overthrown.

February 18, 1762 – Manifesto on “granting liberty and freedom to the entire Russian nobility”

During his short reign, Peter III issued several important laws that remained in the memory of his contemporaries. With one decree, he prohibited the use of the expression “Word and deed!”, by uttering which informers drew the attention of the authorities to a committed or planned state crime. This custom terrorized society and gave rise to false denunciations. The decree says: “The hateful expression, namely “Word and deed,” should henceforth mean nothing, and we prohibit the use of it, and if anyone from now on uses it, in drunkenness or in a fight, or avoiding beatings and punishment, they will be punished immediately just as the police punish mischievous and disorderly persons.”

By another decree, the tsar eliminated the terrible Secret Chancellery - the political police, a place of torture and secret executions. In fact, no one canceled denunciations, it was just that now they had to be submitted without shouting, in writing, and the functions of the odious Secret Chancery were transferred to the Secret Expedition of the Senate, to which all employees of the former Secret Chancery were transferred. Peter III signed several more important decrees: he banned the persecution of Old Believers, abolished a number of monopolies, and established the State Bank. All these measures indicated that the new sovereign, despite his extravagance, could become a major statesman. But this was not destined to come true - he was overthrown by his own wife.

But the most important state act of the time of Peter III was the manifesto on “granting liberty and freedom to the entire Russian nobility.” It is possible that it was prepared under Elizabeth. According to the manifesto, the nobles for the first time received freedom from compulsory service; they were given the right to retire, travel freely abroad, and even enter the service of other sovereigns. With this manifesto, important class reforms began, which were continued during the reign of Catherine II. Their essence is the liberation of the nobility from the all-pervasive power of the autocratic state, the development among the nobility of a sense of honor, human dignity, freedom of thought and speech.

(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 Tsarevna 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 raised as the heir to the Swedish throne.

Biography of Peter the Third

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 fearful, nervous, impressionable boy, loved painting and music, but at the same time adored everything military (at the same time he was afraid of cannon fire). The boy was not evil by nature. He was not given a good education, but was often subjected to punishment (flogging, standing on peas). As the likely heir to the Swedish throne, he was raised in the Lutheran faith and in hatred of Russia, Sweden's longtime enemy.

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, was declared her heir. Soon he converted to Orthodoxy and received the name Peter Fedorovich.

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

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

In the early 1750s. Peter 3 They allowed us to send out a small detachment of Holstein soldiers and spent all our free time engaged in military exercises and maneuvers with them. He also really 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, and behaved inappropriately during church services. Elizaveta Petrovna did not allow him to participate in resolving political issues and gave him the position of director of the Gentile 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 transferring the crown to the young Paul during the regency of Catherine or Catherine herself. But she never decided to change the order of succession to the throne.

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

Emperor Peter III

In assessing its activities, two different approaches usually collide. The traditional approach is based on the absolutization of his vices, emphasizing his dislike for Russia. And the second approach considers the positive results of his reign.

It is noted that Peter III energetically engaged in government 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, he carried out a number of important reforms - abolished the burdensome salt duty, destroyed the sinister Secret Chancellery (the main body of political investigation), Manifesto of February 16, 1762, granted the nobility the right to be exempt from service (decree of February 18 (March 1), 1762) .

The most important matters include the promotion of commercial and industrial activities through the creation of the State Bank and the issuance of banknotes (Nominal Decree of May 25), the adoption of a decree on freedom of foreign trade (Decree of March 28). Which 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 and a decree that qualified the murder of peasants by landowners as “tyrant torture” and provided for lifelong exile. They also stopped the persecution of Old Believers.

However, these measures did not bring popularity to the emperor; Moreover, the introduction of Prussian orders into the army caused severe irritation in the guard, and the policy of religious tolerance he pursued turned the clergy against him.

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

The government's legislative activity was extraordinary; during its short reign, 192 documents were adopted.

Politics during the reign of Peter III

In his foreign policy, he decisively 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 it by Russian troops, and on June 8 (19) he entered into a military-political coalition with him against Russia's former allies (France and Austria); The Russian army of 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 guard 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, 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.

End of the reign of Peter III

In the evening of the same day, the future empress moved with her troops to Oranienbaum, where her husband was located. Having learned about this, he made an unsuccessful attempt to occupy Kronstadt. On June 29 (July 10) he returned to Oranienbaum and invited Catherine to share power, but upon receiving a refusal, he was forced to abdicate the throne. 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. The government announced that he had died from an attack of hemorrhoids. An autopsy revealed that the former emperor had severe cardiac dysfunction, inflammation of the intestines, and signs of apoplexy. However, the generally accepted version names the murderer as Alexei Orlov, Catherine’s illegitimate son from Grigory Orlov.

Modern research shows that a possible cause of death could have been a stroke.

Catherine II, from a political point of view, had no benefit from her husband’s death, because with the full support of the guard, her power was unlimited. Having learned about the death of her husband, she said: “My glory is lost! My posterity will never forgive me for this involuntary crime.”

Initially, the former emperor was buried without any honors in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, since only crowned heads 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, the remains of her ex-husband were transferred first to the house church of the Winter Palace, and then to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. He was reburied simultaneously with the burial of Catherine II; Emperor Paul himself personally performed the ceremony of coronation of his father’s ashes.

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

Pyotr Fedorovich was married once. Spouse: Ekaterina Alekseevna (Sofia Frederika Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst). Children: Pavel, Anna.