(Peter-Ulrich) - Emperor of All Russia, son of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorn Karl-Friedrich, son of the sister of Charles XII of Sweden, and Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great (born 1728); he was thus the grandson of two rival sovereigns and could, under certain conditions, be a contender for both the Russian and Swedish thrones.

In 1741, after the death of Eleonora Ulrika, he was elected the successor of her husband Frederick, who received the Swedish throne, and on November 15, 1742, he was declared by his aunt Elizaveta Petrovna the heir to the Russian throne.

Weak physically and morally, P. Fedorovich was brought up by Marshal Brummer, who was more of a soldier than a teacher. “The barracks order of life, established by the latter for his pupil, in connection with severe and humiliating punishments, could not but weaken the health of P. Fedorovich and interfered with the development in him of moral concepts and a sense of human dignity.

The young prince was taught a lot, but so clumsily that he got a complete disgust for the sciences: Latin, for example, he got tired of so much that later in St. Petersburg he forbade placing Latin books in his library. They taught him, moreover, preparing him mainly for the occupation of the Swedish throne and, therefore, brought him up in the spirit of the Lutheran religion and Swedish patriotism - and the latter at that time was expressed, by the way, in hatred of Russia.

In 1742, after the appointment of P. Fedorovich as heir to the Russian throne, they began to teach him again, but in a Russian and Orthodox way. However, frequent illnesses and marriage to the princess of Anhalt-Zerbst (the future Catherine II) prevented the systematic conduct of education.

P. Fedorovich was not interested in Russia and superstitiously thought that he would find his death here; Academician Shtelin, his new tutor, despite all efforts, could not inspire him with love for his new fatherland, where he always felt like a stranger. Military affairs - the only thing that interested him - was for him not so much a subject of study as fun, and his reverence for Frederick II turned into a desire to imitate him in small things.

The heir to the throne, already an adult, preferred fun to business, which every day became more and more strange and unpleasantly amazed everyone around him. "P. showed all the signs of a stopped spiritual development," says S. M. Solovyov, "he was an adult child." The empress was struck by the underdevelopment of the heir to the throne.

The question of the fate of the Russian throne seriously occupied Elizabeth and her courtiers, and they came up with various combinations.

Some wished that the empress, bypassing her nephew, would pass the throne to his son Pavel Petrovich, and appoint the leader as regent until he came of age. Princess Ekaterina Alekseevna, wife of P. Fedorovich.

That was the opinion of Bestuzhev, Nick. Iv. Panina, Iv. Iv. Shuvalov.

Others stood for the proclamation of Catherine the heir to the throne.

Elizabeth died without having time to decide on anything, and on December 25, 1761, P. Fedorovich ascended the throne under the name of Emperor P. III. He began his activity by decrees, which, under other conditions, could have brought him popular favor.

Such is the decree of February 18, 1762, on the liberty of the nobility, which removed compulsory service from the nobility and was, as it were, the direct predecessor of Catherine's letter of commendation to the nobility of 1785. This decree could make the new government popular among the nobility; another decree, on the destruction of the secret office that was in charge of political crimes, it would seem, should have contributed to its popularity among the masses.

It happened, however, differently. Remaining a Lutheran in his soul, P. III treated the clergy with disdain, closed home churches, addressed insulting decrees to the Synod; by this he aroused the people against him. Surrounded by the Holsteiners, he began to remake the Russian army in the Prussian way and thus armed the guard against him, which at that time was almost exclusively noble in composition.

Prompted by his Prussian sympathies, immediately after accession to the throne, P. III refused to participate in the seven-year war and, at the same time, from all Russian conquests in Prussia, and at the end of his reign he began a war with Denmark because of Schleswig, which he wanted to acquire for Holstein.

This aroused the people against him, who remained indifferent when the nobility in the person of the guards openly rebelled against P. III and proclaimed Empress Catherine II (June 28, 1762). P. was removed to Ropsha, where he died on July 7; details of this event are in a letter to Catherine II by Alexei Orlov.

Wed Brikker, "History of Catherine the Great", "Notes of Empress Catherine II" (L., 1888); "Memoirs of the princesse Daschcow" (L., 1840); "Shtelin's Notes" ("Thurs. General. Ist. and Drev. Ros.", 1886, IV); Bilbasov, "History of Catherine II" (vols. 1 and 12). M. P-v. (Brockhaus) Peter III Fedorovich - grandson of Peter the Great, son of his daughter Anna, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (born February 10, 1728), Emperor of All Russia (from December 25, 1761 to June 28, 1762 .). 14 l. P. was summoned from Holstein to Russia by the Emperor Elizaveta Petrovna and declared Heir to the Throne. Aug 21 In 1745, his marriage to the prince took place. Sophia-Frederike of Anhalt-Zerbst, named Vel. Book. Ekaterina Alekseevna (later Emperor Catherine II). Imperial Elizabeth soon became disillusioned with P., because he clearly did not like Russia, surrounded himself with immigrants from Holstein and did not at all show the abilities necessary for the future Emperor. countries.

All the time it was occupied by the military. fun with the sky. Holstein detachment. troops trained in the Prussian. charter of Friedrich W., sincere. whose admirer P. openly showed himself.

Appreciating her nephew, Elizabeth lost all hope of changing him for the better and by the end of her reign "felt sincere hatred for him" (N.K. Schilder.

Imp. Pavel I. S. 13). Choose a friend. she didn’t dare, because those close to her inspired her that “it’s impossible to change without rebellion and disastrous means, that 20 years has been approved by all oaths” (ibid., p. 14), and after her death, P. III was freely proclaimed Imp. It started short, but the original. period 6 months Board P. Of the measures relating to ext. policies were carried out: a) 18 Feb. In 1762, a manifesto on the freedom of the nobility was published: each nobleman can serve or not serve at his own discretion; b) February 21 1762 - Manifesto for the abolition of secrets. Chancellery and the prohibition to continue to pronounce the terrible "word and deed" that has weighed on Russia for so many years.

As far as these two acts should have evoked the gratitude of moderns and posterity, so much has everything remained. activities P. III caused strong. the murmur of the people and prepared the success of the state. coup on June 28, 1762. These events deprived him of support from two important. support of the state authorities: churches and troops. Feb 16 a decree was promulgated on the establishment of a collegium of economy, to which the management of all bishops was to be transferred. and monastic. estates, and the spirit-stvo and monasteries should have been issued according to the approval. states the content is already out of this board.

This decree, depriving the clergy of enormous material. funds, aroused great displeasure among him.

In addition, the Emperor issued an order to close the houses. churches, and then, calling to himself the archbishop.

Novgorod Dmitry Sechenov, the leading member of the Holy Synod, personally ordered him that all images, except for the images of the Savior and the Mother of God, be taken out of the churches and that the priests were ordered to shave their beards, and the priest's cassocks should be replaced by pastors. frock coats.

In the national the consciousness began to penetrate the masses that the Emperor was not Russian, but the throne was occupied by a "German" and a "Luthor". The white clergy, moreover, were irritated by the command to take them into the military. priestly service. and deacon. sons.

Having lost the support of the spirit, P. equally aroused displeasure in the army.

Back in the reign of the Imperial Elizabeth, Holstein appeared in Oranienbaum. troops, and P. was given full. freedom to show their exercising talents and prepare the transformation of Russian. armies to the Prus. sample.

With the accession to the throne, P. set to work with his usual unreasonable enthusiasm.

The label company was dissolved; in the guard, the former, given to her by Peter V., was changed to a Prus. and introduced Prus. exercises, with which the troops were trained from morning to evening. Started daily. watch parades in the presence of the Emperor. A decree followed on the renaming of cavalry and infantry. pp. by the names of the chiefs. Appeared in St. Petersburg, among others Holstein. relatives, uncle Gos-rya, pr. Georg, who acquired a paramount importance in the guard, was made feldm-scrap and, having no merits and talents behind him, aroused the general against himself. hatred.

Preference given generally to Holstein. officers and soldiers, offended the entire Russian. army: not only the guard was humiliated, but the feeling of the people was trampled in her face. pride.

As if in order to finally arouse the Russian against himself. societies. opinion, P. III and external. policy made anti-national.

By the time of the death of the Empress Elizabeth, Prussia was languishing in unequal. fight, and Friedrich W. had to prepare for the full and inevitable. crushing their ambitions. ideas.

P. III immediately upon accession, neglecting Russia's allies and existing treaties, made peace with Prussia and not only returned to her, without any reward, all the conquests obtained by the Russians. blood, but also our foreign. gave the army at the disposal of Frederick.

In addition, he began to intensively prepare for war with Denmark in order to win back Schleswig from her for his beloved Holstein.

Thus, Russia was threatened by a new war that did not promise the Empire any benefits. In vain did Friedrich W. warn his friend against pernicious. hobbies and pointed out the need to quickly be crowned in order to strengthen the position.

The emperor replied that he had given his ill-wishers so much work that they had no time to engage in a conspiracy and that he was completely calm.

Meanwhile, the conspiracy was ripening, and at the head of the movement aimed at the overthrow of P. III, by the force of events, Imp-tsa Ekaterina Alekseevna stood up, insulted like a woman, worried about the fate and future of the Empire, from which she did not separate herself, and her son, to whom The emperor showed contempt. disposition and to which he did not pay any attention.

To the guard. there were already many on the shelves who sympathized with the coup and expressed their readiness to defend the rights of her and the Heir to the Throne, but most. the Orlov brothers were active figures.

After 3 days celebrations. which marked the conclusion of peace with Prussia, P. III with more. yard moved on June 12 to Oranienbaum.

After spending several days alone in the city, on June 17, Ekaterina went to Peterhof, leaving Tses-cha with Hoffm-rom Panin in St. Petersburg. in Letn. palace.

In Oranienbaum, P. III continued his former revelry. life. In the mornings there were watch parades of Holstein. troops, interrupted by outbreaks of unreasonable. anger, and then drinking bouts began, during which the Emperor quite definitely said that he had decided to get rid of Catherine and marry his favorite Elizaveta Vorontsova.

random events hastened the denouement.

The support of the Imp-tsy, the guard, received an order to march against Denmark: not wanting to leave the Imp-tsu defenseless, her adherents began to divulge that her life and usl-ka were in danger; at the same time, on June 27, one of the prominent participants in the conspiracy, capt. Life Guards Transfiguration. Passek shelf.

Assuming that the conspiracy was discovered, they decided not to hesitate any longer.

On the night of June 28, Catherine was awakened by Alexei Orlov, who had galloped to Peterhof, and brought to St. Petersburg, to the Izmail barracks. who swore allegiance to her. From there, joining Semenovsk. Ekaterina arrived in Kazansk. the cathedral, where it was proclaimed the autocratic Empire; then she went to Zimn. the palace, to which the Preobrazhensky and K.-Guards regiments soon concentrated, and here the senate and synod swore allegiance to her. At the head of 14 thousand. troops of the Imperial about 10 o'clock in the evening. moved to Oranienbaum, dressed in the uniform of Transfiguration. p-ka. Meanwhile, in the morning, at the very time when Catherine was proclaimed the autocratic Imperial of All Russia in Kazansk. Cathedral, P. III in Oranienbaum did the usual. Holstein parade. troops, and at 10 o'clock in the morning went with his retinue to Peterhof, intending to dine with the Imperials in Monplaisir.

Having learned here about what happened in St. Petersburg. state coup, P. in desperation did not know what to do; at first he wanted with his Holstein. army to move against Catherine, but, realizing the recklessness of this enterprise, at 10 pm. went to Kronstadt on a yacht, hoping to lean on the fortress.

But here he commanded in the name of the Imperial Catherine adm. Talyzin, who did not allow P. to land on the shore under the threat of opening fire. Finally, having lost his presence of mind, P. after several chimeric. projects (for example, the Minich project: sail to Revel, transfer there to a military ship and go to Pomerania, from where to go to St. Petersburg with an army) decided to return to Oranienbaum and enter into negotiations with the Empire. When P.'s proposal to share power with him was left unanswered by Catherine, he signed the abdication, asking only to let him go to Holstein, but was sent to live in the suburbs. palace in Ropsha. Golshtinsk. the troops were disarmed.

P. III, according to Friedrich W., "allowed himself to be overthrown from the throne, like a child who is sent to sleep." On July 6, the former Emperor died suddenly and, apparently, violently in Ropsha from "severe colic", as was said in the manifesto on this occasion. (Military enc.) Peter III Fedorovich (Karl-Peter Ulrich), Duke of Holstein, imp. All-Russian; R. Feb 10 1728, † July 6, 1762 (Polovtsov)

story character

SLANDER
THROUGH THE AGES

Peter III -
unknown Russian emperor

The poet gives a lesson to historians

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

Even about the crazy sadist Ivan the Terrible, the authors of historical studies speak better than about the unfortunate emperor. What kind of epithets historians did not reward Peter III with: "spiritual insignificance", "reveler", "drunkard", "Holstein martinet" and so on and so forth.
How did the emperor, who reigned for only half a year (from December 1761 to June 1762), guilty of pundits?

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 land 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 Elizeveta 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 Frederick Augusta, daughter of the prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, who was in the military service of the Prussian king. Having converted to Orthodoxy, the Princess of 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 General-in-Chief Roman Illarionovich Vorontsov. Ekaterina Alekseevna had three constant lovers - Count Sergei Saltykov, Count Stanislav Poniatovsky and Count Chernyshev. Soon, the officer of the Life Guards Grigory Orlov became the favorite of the Grand Duchess. However, she often had fun with other guards officers.
September 24, 1754 Catherine gave birth to a son, who was named Paul. It was rumored at court that the real father of the future emperor was Catherine's lover, Count Saltykov. Pyotr Fyodorovich himself smiled bitterly:
- God knows where my wife gets her pregnancy from. I don't really know if this is my child or if I should take it personally...

Short reign

On December 25, 1761, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna reposed in the Bose. Peter Fedorovich - Emperor Peter III came to the throne.
First of all, the new sovereign stopped 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. Dissatisfied with the actions of the emperor and historians: pundits complain that de Peter III "brought to naught the results of Russian victories."
It would be interesting to know what kind of 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, speaking in this war on the side of France and Austria, is completely incomprehensible. It turned out that Russian soldiers died for the right of the French to rob the colonial peoples. Peter III stopped this senseless slaughter. For which he received a "severe reprimand with an entry" 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 state 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, the Secret Chancellery was abolished - the famous secret state police, which terrified all the subjects of the empire without exception, from commoners to high-born nobles. According to one denunciation, agents of the Secret Chancellery could seize any person, imprison him in casemates, betray 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 - under the name "Secret Expedition".
Secondly, Peter declared freedom of religion for all his subjects: "let them pray to whom they want, but - do not have them in reproach or in a curse." It was an almost unthinkable step for that time. Even in enlightened Europe there was still no complete freedom of religion. After the death of the emperor, Catherine II, a friend of the French enlighteners and a "philosopher on the throne", canceled the decree on freedom of conscience.
Thirdly, Peter abolished church supervision over the personal lives of subjects: "for the sin of adulterous not to have condemnation for anyone, for even Christ did not condemn." After the death of the king, church espionage was revived.
Fourth, realizing the principle of freedom of conscience, Peter stopped the persecution of the Old Believers. After his death, the government resumed religious persecution.
Fifthly, Peter announced the release of all monastic serfs. He subordinated the monastic estates to civil collegiums, gave arable land to the former monastic peasants for perpetual use and overlaid them with only ruble dues. For the maintenance of the clergy, the king appointed "his own salary."
Sixth, Peter allowed the nobles to freely travel abroad. After his death, the "iron curtain" was restored.
Seventh, Peter announced the introduction of a public court in the Russian Empire. Catherine canceled the publicity of legal proceedings.
Eighth, Peter issued a decree on the "non-silverness of service", forbidding senators and state officials to present gifts with peasant souls and state lands. Only orders and medals were supposed to be signs of encouragement for senior officials. Having ascended the throne, Catherine first of all endowed her associates and favorites with peasants and estates.

One of the manifestos of Peter III

In addition, the emperor prepared a host of other manifestos and decrees, including on limiting the personal dependence of peasants on landlords, 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 the reign! Knowing this, how can one believe the fables about the "unrestrained drunkenness" of Peter III?
Obviously, the reforms that Peter intended to implement were far 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"?

So, the emperor was engaged in state affairs, in between which, according to historians, he smoked in Oranienbaum.
And what was the young empress doing at that time?
Ekaterina Alekseevna with her numerous 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 commanders were involved in the conspiracy:
Count Nikita Panin, Acting 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, 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, head 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 "freemasons" were represented by a certain mysterious "Mr. Odar". According to an eyewitness to the events of the Danish envoy A. Schumacher, under this name the famous adventurer and adventurer Count Saint-Germain was hiding.
Events were accelerated by the arrest of one of the conspirators, Captain-Lieutenant Passek.

Count Alexei Orlov - the murderer 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 bought.
On the morning of June 28, 1762, Catherine, accompanied by Dashkova and the Orlov brothers, left Peterhof and headed for the capital, where everything was already ready. The dead drunken soldiers of the guard regiments swore an oath to "Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna", a heavily drunken crowd of townsfolk greeted the "dawn of a new reign".
Peter III with his retinue was in Oranienbaum. Upon learning of the events in Petrograd, the ministers and generals betrayed the emperor and fled to the capital. Only the old Field Marshal Munnich, General Gudovich and a few close associates remained with Peter.
On June 29, the emperor, struck by the betrayal of the most trusted people and having no desire to get involved in the struggle for the hateful crown, abdicated. He wanted only one thing: to be released to his native Holstein with his mistress Ekaterina Vorontsova and 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' lover, Alexei Orlov, and his drinking buddy, Prince Fyodor Baryatinsky, strangled Peter. It was officially announced that the emperor "died of inflammation in the intestines and apoplexy" ...

So, the facts do not give any grounds to consider Peter III as a "nonentity" and a "martinet". He was weak-willed, but not weak-minded. Why do historians so stubbornly 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 the researchers scoop (and continue to scoop!) 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 inspirer of a conspiracy against him, who actually directed the hand of Peter's murderers, who, finally, as a result of a coup, became an autocratic ruler;
Princess Dashkova - a friend and like-minded person of Catherine, who hated and despised Peter even more (contemporaries gossip: 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 the main ideologist of the conspiracy against Peter, and soon after the coup became one of the most influential nobles and headed the Russian diplomatic department for almost 20 years;
Count Pyotr Panin, brother of Nikita, who was one of the active participants in the conspiracy, and then became a commander trusted and treated with royal grace (it was Pyotr 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 can be safely assumed 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, heaping vile gossip and dirty fiction.

Catherine:

"He spent his time in childishness unheard of ...". "He was stubborn and quick-tempered, was weak and frail in build."
"From the age of ten he was addicted to drunkenness." "He mostly showed disbelief ...". "His mind was childish..."
"He despaired. It often happened to him. He was a cowardly heart and weak in head. He loved oysters..."

In her memoirs, the empress portrayed her murdered husband as a drunkard, a reveler, a coward, a fool, an idler, a tyrant, an imbecile, a debauchee, an ignoramus, an atheist...
"What kind of slop does she pour over her husband just because she killed him!" exclaims Viktor Sosnora.
But, oddly enough, pundits who wrote dozens of volumes of dissertations and monographs did not doubt the veracity of the killers' memories of their victim. Until now, in all textbooks and encyclopedias, one can read about the "insignificant" emperor, who "brought to naught the results of Russian victories" in the Seven Years' War, and then "drunk with the Holsteiners in Oranienbaum."
Lies have long legs...

In preparing this article
used the work of Viktor Sosnora

"SAVIOR OF THE HOMELAND"
from the collection "Lords and Fates.
Literary variants of historical events" (L., 1986)

Peter III Fedorovich Romanov

Peter III (Pyotr Fyodorovich Romanov , birth nameCarl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp; February 21, 1728, Kiel - July 17, 1762, Ropsha- Russian emperor in 1761-1762, the first representative of the Holstein-Gottorp (or rather: Oldenburg dynasty, Holstein-Gottorp branches, officially bearing the name "Imperial House of the Romanovs")on the Russian throne, husband of Catherine II, father of Paul I

Peter III (in the uniform of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, 1762)

Peter III

The short reign of Peter III lasted less than a year, but during this time the emperor managed to turn against himself almost all the influential forces in Russian noble society: the court, the guards, the army and the clergy.

He was born on February 10 (21), 1728 in Kiel in the Duchy of Holstein (northern Germany). The German prince Karl Peter Ulrich, who received the name Peter Fedorovich after the adoption of Orthodoxy, was the son of Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp and the eldest daughter of Peter I Anna Petrovna.

Karl Friedrich Holstein-Gottorp

Anna Petrovna

Having ascended the throne, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna summoned the son of her beloved sister to Russia and appointed her heir in 1742. Karl Peter Ulrich was brought to St. Petersburg in early February 1742 and on November 15 (26) was declared her heir. Then he converted to Orthodoxy and received the name of Peter Fedorovich

Elizaveta Petrovna

As a teacher, Academician J. Shtelin was assigned to him, who could not achieve any significant success in the education of the prince; he was fascinated only by military affairs and playing the violin.

Pyotr Fedorovich when he was the Grand Duke. Job portrait G. H. Groot

In May 1745 the prince was proclaimed the ruling duke of Holstein. In August 1745 he married Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst, the future Catherine II.

Pyotr Fedorovich (Grand Duke) and Ekaterina Alekseevna (Grand Duchess

Tsarevich Pyotr Fedorovich and Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna. 1740s Hood. G.-K. Groot.

The marriage was unsuccessful, only in 1754 their son Pavel was born, and in 1756 their daughter Anna, who died in 1759. He had a connection with the maid of honor E.R. Vorontsova, niece of Chancellor M.I. Vorontsov. Being an admirer of Frederick the Great, he publicly expressed his pro-Prussian sympathies during the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763. Peter's open hostility to everything Russian and his apparent inability to deal with state affairs caused Elizabeth Petrovna to worry. In court circles, projects were put forward to transfer the crown to the young Paul during the regency of Catherine or Catherine herself.

Portrait of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich as a child ( Rokotov F. S., )

Peter and Catherine were granted the possession of Oranienbaum near Petersburg

However, the empress did not dare to change the order of succession to the throne. The former duke, who was trained from birth to take the Swedish throne, since he was also the grandson of Charles XII, studied the Swedish language, Swedish law and Swedish history, was accustomed from childhood to treat Russia with prejudice. A zealous Lutheran, he could not reconcile himself to being forced to change his faith, and at every opportunity tried to emphasize his contempt for Orthodoxy, the customs and traditions of the country he was to rule. Peter was neither evil nor treacherous; on the contrary, he often showed gentleness and mercy. However, his extreme nervous imbalance made the future sovereign dangerous, as a person who concentrated absolute power over a vast empire in his hands.

Peter III Fedorovich Romanov

Elizaveta Romanovna Vorontsova, favorite of Peter III

Having become the new emperor after the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter quickly angered the courtiers against himself, attracting foreigners to government posts, the guard, canceling the Elizabethan liberties, the army, making a peace unfavorable for Russia with defeated Prussia, and, finally, the clergy, ordering all the icons to be taken out of the churches , except for the most important ones, to shave their beards, take off their vestments and change into frock coats in the likeness of Lutheran pastors.

Empress Catherine the Great with her husband Peter III of Russia and their son, the future Emperor Paul I

On the other hand, the emperor softened the persecution of the Old Believers, signed in 1762 a decree on the freedom of the nobility, abolishing the compulsory service for representatives of the noble class. It seemed that he could count on the support of the nobles. However, his reign ended tragically.

Peter III is depicted on horseback among a group of soldiers.The emperor wears the orders of St. Andrew the First-Called and St. Anne.Snuffbox decorated with miniatures

Many were not happy that the emperor entered into an alliance with Prussia: shortly before, under the late Elizabeth Petrovna, Russian troops won a number of victories in the war with the Prussians, and the Russian Empire could count on considerable political benefits from the successes achieved on the battlefields. The alliance with Prussia crossed out all such hopes and violated good relations with Russia's former allies - Austria and France. Even greater dissatisfaction was caused by the involvement of numerous foreigners in the Russian service by Peter III. At the Russian court there were no influential forces whose support would ensure the stability of the reign of the new emperor.

Portrait of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich

Unknown Russian artist PORTRAIT OF EMPEROR PETER III Last third of the 18th century.

Taking advantage of this, a strong court party, hostile to Prussia and Peter III, in alliance with a group of guards, carried out a coup.

Pyotr Fedorovich was always afraid of Catherine. When, after the death of Empress Elizabeth, he became the Russian Tsar Peter III, almost nothing connected the crowned spouses, but they shared a lot. Rumors reached Catherine that Peter wanted to get rid of her by imprisoning her in a monastery or depriving her of her life, and declare their son Paul illegitimate. Catherine knew how harshly the Russian autocrats treated hateful wives. But for many years she had been preparing to ascend the throne and was not going to give it up to a man whom everyone did not like and "slandered out loud without trembling."

Georg Christoph Groot.Portrait of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich (later Emperor Peter III

Six months after Peter III ascended the throne on January 5, 1762, a group of conspirators led by Catherine's lover Count G.G. Orlov took advantage of Peter's absence at court and issued a manifesto on behalf of the imperial guard regiments, according to which Peter was deprived of his throne, and Catherine was proclaimed empress. She was crowned bishop of Novgorod, while Peter was imprisoned in a country house in Ropsha, where he was killed in July 1762, apparently with the knowledge of Catherine. According to a contemporary of those events, Peter III "allowed himself to be overthrown from the throne, like a child who is sent to sleep." His death soon finally freed Catherine the way to power.

in the Winter Palace, the coffin was placed next to the coffin of Empress Catherine II (the hall was designed by the architect Rinaldi)

After official ceremonies, the ashes of Peter III and Catherine II were transferred from the Winter Palace to the Cathedral of the Peter and Paul Fortress

This allegorical engraving by Nicholas Anselin is dedicated to the exhumation of Peter III

Tombs of Peter III and Catherine II in the Peter and Paul Cathedral

Hat of Emperor Peter III. 1760s

Ruble of Peter III 1762 St. Petersburg silver

Portrait of Emperor Peter III (1728-1762) and a view of the monument to Empress Catherine II in St. Petersburg

Unknown North Russian carver. Plaquette with a portrait of Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich. St. Petersburg (?), Ser. 19th century. Mammoth tusk, relief carving, engraving, drilling

Series of messages " ":
Part 1 - Peter III Fedorovich Romanov

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

Genealogical tree - proof of family ties between Peter III and Catherine II

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

Childhood and education

Mother of Peter III - Anna Petrovna

Father of Peter III - Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp

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

Tsesarevich Pyotr Fedorovich and Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, 1740s G.K. Groot

Portrait of Peter III - Antropov A.P. 1762

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

Relationships between spouses

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

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

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

Sudden reign

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

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

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

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

Versions of the murder

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The fate of famous personalities, their pedigree is always of interest to history buffs. Often the interest is in those who tragically died or were killed, especially if it happens at a young age. So, the personality of Emperor Peter III, whose fate was cruel to him from childhood, worries many readers.

Tsar Peter 3

Peter 3 was born on February 21, 1728 in the city of Kiel in the Duchy of Holstein. Today it is the territory of Germany. His father was the nephew of the King of Sweden, and his mother was the daughter of Peter I. Being a relative of two sovereigns, this man could become a contender for two thrones at once. But life decreed otherwise: the parents of Peter 3 left him early, which affected his fate.

Almost immediately, two months after the birth of the child, the mother of Peter 3 fell ill and died. At the age of eleven, he also lost his father: the boy remained in the care of his uncle. In 1742 he was transferred to Russia, where he became the heir to the Romanov dynasty. After the death of Elizabeth, he was on the Russian throne for only six months: he survived the betrayal of his wife and died in prison. Who are the parents of Peter 3 and what is their fate? This question interests many readers.

III Fedorovich

The father of Peter III was Karl-Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. He was born on April 30, 1700 in the city of Stockholm and was the nephew of Charles XII - King of Sweden. He failed to ascend the throne, and in 1721 Karl-Friedrich went to Riga. All the years after the death of his uncle Charles XII and before coming to Russia, the father of Peter III tried to return Schleswig to his possessions. He really hoped for the support of Peter I. In the same year, Karl-Friedrich travels from Riga to Russia, where he receives a salary from the Russian government and expects support for his rights on the throne of Sweden.

In 1724 he was engaged to Anna Petrovna, a Russian princess. He soon died, and the marriage took place already in 1725. These were the parents of Peter 3, who displeased Menshikov and made other enemies in the capital of Russia. Unable to withstand the harassment, in 1727 they left St. Petersburg and returned to Kiel. Here, the next year, the young couple had an heir, the future Emperor Peter 3. Karl-Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, died in 1739 in Holstein, leaving his eleven-year-old son an orphan.

Anna - mother of Peter 3

Russian princess Anna, mother of Peter III, was born in 1708 in Moscow. She and her younger sister Elizabeth were illegitimate until their father, Peter I, married their mother (Marta Skavronskaya). In February 1712, Anna became the real "Princess Anna" - she signed her letters to her mother and father that way. The girl was very developed and capable: at the age of six she learned to write, then she mastered four foreign languages.

At fifteen, she was considered the first beauty in Europe, and many diplomats dreamed of seeing Princess Anna Petrovna Romanova. She was described as a beautiful brunette of angelic appearance with a beautiful complexion and a slender figure. Father, Peter I, dreamed of intermarrying with Karl-Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp and therefore agreed to the engagement of his eldest daughter Anna with him.

The tragic fate of the Russian princess

Anna Petrovna did not want to leave Russia and part with her close relatives. But she had no choice: her father died, Catherine I ascended the throne, who died unexpectedly two years later. The parents of Peter 3 were harassed and forced to return to Kiel. Through the efforts of Menshikov, the young married couple remained almost impoverished, and in this state they arrived in Holstein.

Anna wrote many letters to her sister Elizabeth, in which she asked to be rescued from there. But she didn't get any answers. And her life was unhappy: her husband, Karl-Friedrich, changed a lot, drank a lot, went down. Spent a lot of time in dubious establishments. Anna was alone in the cold palace: here in 1728 she gave birth to her son. After the birth, a fever occurred: Anna was ill for two months. On May 4, 1728, she died. She was only 20 years old and her son was two months old. So, Peter 3 first lost his mother, and 11 years later, his father.

The parents of Peter 3 had an unfortunate fate, which involuntarily passed on to their son. He also lived a short life and died tragically, having managed to stay as emperor for only six months.