3rd Empress of All Russia November 25 (December 6) 1741 - December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762)
Coronation:
Predecessor:
Successor:
Birth:
Dynasty:	Romanovs (Welfs)
	Catherine I
	A. G. Razumovsky
Autograph:
Monogram:

Before taking the throne

Accession to the throne

Reign

Social unrest

Foreign policy

Seven Years' War (1756-1763)

Personal life

succession to the throne

Interesting Facts

Literature

Interesting Facts

(December 18 (29), 1709, Kolomenskoye - December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762), St. Petersburg) - Russian Empress from November 25 (December 6), 1741 from the Romanov dynasty, daughter of Peter I and his mistress Ekaterina Alekseevna (future Empress Catherine I).

Childhood, education and upbringing

Elizabeth was born in the village of Kolomenskoye on December 18, 1709. This day was solemn: Peter I entered Moscow, wishing to celebrate his victory over Charles XII in the old capital; he was followed by Swedish prisoners. The sovereign intended to immediately celebrate the Poltava victory, but upon entering the capital he was informed of the birth of his daughter. “Let's postpone the celebration of victory and hasten to congratulate my daughter on her ascension into the world,” he said. Peter found Catherine and the newborn baby healthy and, in joy, arranged a feast.

Being only eight years old, Princess Elizabeth already drew attention to herself with her beauty. In 1717, both daughters, Anna and Elizabeth, met Peter, returning from abroad, dressed in Spanish attire. Then the French ambassador noticed that the youngest daughter of the sovereign seemed unusually beautiful in this outfit. In the following year, 1718, assemblies were introduced, and both princesses appeared there in dresses of different colors, embroidered with gold and silver, in headdresses that shone with diamonds. Everyone admired the art of Elizabeth in dancing. In addition to ease of movement, she was distinguished by resourcefulness and ingenuity, constantly inventing new figures. The French envoy Levi noticed at the same time that Elizabeth could be called a perfect beauty if her hair were not reddish.

The upbringing of the princess could not be particularly successful, especially since her mother was completely illiterate. But she was taught in French, and Catherine constantly insisted that there were important reasons for her to know French better than other subjects of study. This reason, as you know, was the strong desire of her parents to marry Elizabeth to one of the persons of the French royal blood. However, to all persistent proposals to intermarry with the French Bourbons, they answered with a polite but decisive refusal.

In all other respects, Elizabeth's education was a little burdensome; she never received a decent systematic education. Her time was filled with horseback riding, hunting, rowing and caring for her beauty.

Before taking the throne

After the marriage of her parents, she bore the title of princess. The will of Catherine I in 1727 provided for the rights of Elizabeth and her offspring to the throne after Peter II and Anna Petrovna. In the last year of the reign of Catherine I and at the beginning of the reign of Peter II, there was a lot of talk at court about the possibility of marriage between an aunt and a nephew, who at that time had friendly relations. After the death of Peter II, betrothed to Ekaterina Dolgorukova, from smallpox in January 1730, Elizabeth, despite the will of Catherine I, was not actually considered as one of the contenders for the throne, which was transferred to her cousin Anna Ioannovna. During her reign (1730-1740), Tsesarevna Elizabeth was in disgrace; those dissatisfied with Anna Ioannovna and Biron had high hopes for the daughter of Peter the Great.

Accession to the throne

Taking advantage of the decline in authority and influence of power during the regency of Anna Leopoldovna, on the night of November 25 (December 6), 1741, 32-year-old Elizabeth, accompanied by Count M. I. Vorontsov, the life physician Lestok and her music teacher Schwartz, said “Guys! You know whose daughter I am, follow me! As you served my father, serve me with your fidelity!” raised a grenadier company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment behind her. Encountering no resistance, with the help of 308 loyal guardsmen, she proclaimed herself the new queen, ordering the young Ivan VI to be imprisoned in the fortress and the entire Braunschweig family (Anna Ioannovna's relatives, including the regent of Ivan VI - Anna Leopoldovna) and her adherents to be arrested. The favorites of the former Empress Minich, Levenwolde and Osterman were sentenced to death, replaced by exile in Siberia - in order to show Europe the tolerance of the new autocrat.

Reign

Elizabeth almost did not deal with state affairs, entrusting them to her favorites - the brothers Razumovsky, Shuvalov, Vorontsov, A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin.

Elizabeth proclaimed a return to the Petrine reforms as the main principles of domestic and foreign policy. The role of the Senate, the Berg and Manufacture Colleges, and the Chief Magistrate were restored. The Cabinet of Ministers has been abolished. The Senate received the right of legislative initiative. During the Seven Years' War, a permanent meeting arose, standing above the Senate - the Conference at the highest court. The conference was attended by the heads of the military and diplomatic departments, as well as persons specially invited by the Empress. The activities of the Secret Chancellery became invisible. The significance of the Synod and the clergy increased (the confessor of the Empress Fyodor Dubyansky acquired special influence at court), and schismatics were severely persecuted. The synod took care of the material support of the clergy, monasteries, and the spread of spiritual education among the people. During the reign of Elizabeth, work was completed on a new Slavic translation of the Bible, which had begun under Peter I in 1712. The Elizabethan Bible, published in 1751, is still used with minor changes in the services of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1741, the empress adopted a decree allowing Buddhist lamas to preach their teachings on the territory of the Russian Empire. All lamas who wished to come to Russia were sworn allegiance to the empire. The decree also exempted them from paying taxes. At the same time, on December 2, 1742, a decree was adopted on the expulsion of all citizens of the Jewish faith, with permission to remain only for those who want to convert to Orthodoxy.

In 1744-1747, the second census of the taxable population was carried out.

In the late 1740s - the first half of the 1750s, on the initiative of Pyotr Shuvalov, a number of serious transformations were carried out. In 1754, the Senate adopted a resolution developed by Shuvalov on the abolition of internal customs duties and petty fees. This led to a significant revival of trade relations between the regions. The first Russian banks were founded - Noble (Loan), Merchant and Copper (State).

A taxation reform was implemented, which made it possible to improve the country's financial situation: the fees for concluding foreign trade transactions were increased to 13 kopecks from 1 ruble (instead of the previously charged 5 kopecks). The tax on salt and wine was raised.

In 1754, a new commission was created to draw up the Code, which completed its work by the end of the reign of Elizabeth, but the process of transformation was interrupted by the Seven Years' War (1756-1762).

In social policy, the line of expanding the rights of the nobility continued. In 1746, the right to own land and peasants was assigned to the nobles. In 1760, the landlords received the right to exile the peasants to Siberia, counting them instead of recruits. Peasants were forbidden to conduct monetary transactions without the permission of the landowner.

In 1755, factory peasants were assigned as permanent (session) workers at the Ural factories.

The death penalty was abolished (1756), and the mass practice of sophisticated torture was stopped.

Under Elizabeth, military schools were reorganized. In 1744, a decree was issued to expand the network of primary schools. The first gymnasiums were opened: in Moscow (1755) and Kazan (1758). In 1755, on the initiative of I. I. Shuvalov, Moscow University was founded, and in 1760, the Academy of Arts. August 30, 1756 - a decree was signed on the beginning of the creation of the structure of the Imperial Theaters of Russia. Outstanding cultural monuments were created (Catherine's Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, etc.). Support was provided to MV Lomonosov and other representatives of Russian science and culture. In the last period of her reign, Elizabeth was less involved in issues of state administration, entrusting it to P. I. and I. I. Shuvalov, M. I. and R. I. Vorontsov, and others.

In general, the domestic policy of Elizabeth Petrovna was characterized by stability and focus on increasing the authority and power of state power. According to a number of signs, we can say that the course of Elizabeth Petrovna was the first step towards the policy of enlightened absolutism, which was then carried out under Catherine II.

Empress Elizabeth was the last ruler of Russia, who was Romanova "by blood."

Social unrest

At the turn of the 50-60s. 18th century there were more than 60 uprisings of monastic peasants.

In the 30-40s. twice there were uprisings in Bashkiria.

In 1754-1764. unrest was observed at 54 factories in the Urals (200 thousand ascribed peasants).

Foreign policy

Russo-Swedish war (1741-1743)

In 1740, the Prussian king Frederick II decided to take advantage of the death of the Austrian emperor Charles VI to seize Silesia. The War of the Austrian Succession began. Hostile to Austria, Prussia and France tried to persuade Russia to take part in the conflict on their side, but they were also satisfied with non-intervention in the war. Therefore, French diplomacy tried to push Sweden and Russia in order to divert the attention of the latter from European affairs. Sweden declared war on Russia.

Russian troops under the command of General Lassi defeated the Swedes in Finland and occupied its territory. The Abo peace treaty (Abo peace) of 1743 ended the war. The treaty was signed on August 7, 1743 in the city of Abo (now Turku, Finland) on the part of Russia by A. I. Rumyantsev and I. Luberas, on the part of Sweden by G. Zederkreis and E. M. Nolken. During the negotiations, Russia agreed to limit its territorial claims on the condition that the Holstein Prince Adolf Fredrik, cousin of the Russian heir Peter III Fedorovich, be elected heir to the Swedish throne. On June 23, 1743, Adolf was elected heir to the Swedish throne, which paved the way for a final agreement.

Article 21 of the peace treaty established eternal peace between countries and obligated them not to enter into hostile alliances. The Treaty of Nystad in 1721 was confirmed. The Kymenegorsk province with the cities of Friedrichsgam and Wilmanstrand, part of the Savolak province with the city of Neishlot, departed to Russia. The border runs along the river. Kymmene.

The beginning of the accession of Kazakhstan to Russia

Back in 1731, Anna Ioannovna signed a letter of acceptance of the Junior Kazakh Zhuz into Russia. Khan Zhuz Abulkhair and the foremen swore allegiance to Russia.

In 1740-1743. Russia voluntarily included the Middle Zhuz; Orenburg was built (1743) and a fortress on the river. Yaik.

Seven Years' War (1756-1763)

In 1756-1763 the Anglo-French war for the colonies. Two coalitions participated in the war: Prussia, England and Portugal against France, Spain, Austria, Sweden and Saxony with the participation of Russia.

In 1756 Frederick II attacked Saxony without declaring war. In the summer of that year, he forced her to capitulate. On September 1, 1756, Russia declared war on Prussia. In 1757, Friedrich defeated the Austrian and French troops and sent the main forces against Russia. In the summer of 1757, the Russian army under the command of Apraksin entered East Prussia. On August 19, the Russian army was surrounded at the village. Gross-Egersdorf and only with the support of the reserve brigade P. A. Rumyantsev escaped from the encirclement. The enemy lost 8 thousand people. and stepped back. Apraksin did not organize the persecution, and he himself retreated to Courland. Elizabeth removed him and put him under investigation. The Englishman V. V. Fermor was appointed the new commander.

At the beginning of 1758, Russian troops captured Koenigsberg, then all of East Prussia, whose population even swore allegiance to the empress. East Prussia received the status of a province of Russia. In August 1758, a battle took place near the village of Zondorf, in which the Russians won. Some rulers of Germany often raised a toast to the Germans who won at Zondorf, but these statements were erroneous, because the army that occupied the battlefield after the battle is considered the winner. The battlefield was occupied by the Russian army (this battle is described in detail by Valentin Pikul in the novel "Pen and Sword"). At the beginning of the battle, Fermor, together with the Austrian ambassador to the Russian army, fled from the battlefield. The victory was won by an army without a commander-in-chief. Fermor was subsequently suspended. During the battle, Frederick II said the famous phrases:

The army was headed by P.S. Saltykov. On August 1, 1759, the 58,000-strong Russian army fought a general battle against the 48,000 Prussian army near the village of Kunersdorf. The army of Frederick II was destroyed: only 3 thousand soldiers remained. Seydlitz's cavalry was also destroyed. Saltykov, for his defiant attitude towards the Austrian troops and the delay in the advance, is removed and A. B. Buturlin is appointed.

On September 28, 1760, the capture of Berlin took place; it was briefly captured by the corps of General Z. G. Chernyshev, who seized military depots. However, as Frederick approached, the corps retreated.

In December 1761, Elizabeth died of throat bleeding due to a chronic illness unidentified by medicine at that time.

Peter III ascended the throne. The new emperor returned to Frederick all the conquered lands and even offered military assistance. Only a new palace coup and the accession to the throne of Catherine II prevented Russia's military actions against the former allies - Austria and Sweden.

Personal life

According to some contemporaries, Elizabeth was in a secret marriage with Alexei Razumovsky. She most likely did not have children, which is why she took under her personal guardianship two sons orphaned in 1743 and the daughter of the chamber junker Grigory Butakov: Peter, Alexei and Praskovya. However, after the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, many impostors appeared who called themselves her children from marriage with Razumovsky. Among them, the most famous figure was the so-called Princess Tarakanova.

The reign of Elizabeth is a period of luxury and excess. At the court, masquerade balls were regularly held, and in the first ten years, so-called "metamorphoses" were also held, when ladies dressed up in men's costumes, and men in women's costumes. Elizaveta Petrovna herself set the tone and was a trendsetter. The Empress' wardrobe included up to 15,000 dresses.

succession to the throne

On November 7 (November 18), 1742, Elizabeth appointed her nephew (Anna's sister's son), the Duke of Holstein Karl-Peter Ulrich (Peter Fedorovich), as the official heir to the throne. His official title included the words "Grandson of Peter the Great".

In the winter of 1747, the empress issued a decree, referred to in history as the "hair establishment", commanding all court ladies to cut their hair bald, and gave everyone "black disheveled wigs" to wear until they grow their own. City ladies were allowed by decree to leave their hair, but wear the same black wigs on top. The reason for the appearance of the order was that the empress could not remove the powder from her hair and decided to dye it black. However, this did not help and she had to cut her hair completely and wear a black wig.

Memory

Literature

• Klyuchevsky, Vasily Osipovich Course of Russian History (Lectures I-XXXII, rtf)

• V. Pikul "Word and deed"
• Coronation album of Elizabeth Petrovna
• Soboleva I. A. German princesses - Russian fates. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2008. - 413 p.

To the cinema

• "Young Catherine" (" Young Catherine"), (1991). Elizabeth is played by Vanessa Redgrave.
• “Vivat, midshipmen!” (1991), “Midshipmen - III” (1992). In the role of Elizabeth - Natalia Gundareva.
• "Secrets of palace coups" (1-5th films, (2000-2003)). In the role of Elizabeth - Ekaterina Nikitina.
• Feather and sword (2008). In the role of Elizabeth - Olga Samoshina.

• In the winter of 1747, the empress issued a decree, referred to in history as the "hair establishment", commanding all ladies of the court to cut their hair bald, and gave everyone "black disheveled wigs" to wear until they grow their own. City ladies were allowed by decree to leave their hair, but wear the same black wigs on top. The reason for the appearance of the order was that the empress could not remove the powder from her hair and decided to dye it black. However, this did not help and she had to cut her hair completely and wear a black wig.

• Elizaveta Petrovna had a snub nose, and this nose (under pain of punishment) was painted by artists only from the front, from its best side. And in profile, there are almost no portraits of Elizabeth, except for a random medallion on the bone by Rastrelli.

• On December 22, 2009, the exhibition “Vivat, Elizabeth” was opened in the Catherine Palace, organized by the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum-Reserve together with the State Museum of Ceramics and the “Kuskovo Estate of the 18th Century” and timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. One of the most interesting exhibits of the exhibition was a paper sculpture depicting the ceremonial dress of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The sculpture was made specially for the exhibition by the order of the museum by the world-famous Belgian artist Isabelle de Borchgrave.

The reign of "Peter's daughter" has long been considered the "golden age" of the history of the Russian Empire. This is not true - the country at that time was faced with many problems, and Elizabeth Petrovna cannot be considered a great monarch. But it is also indisputable that the “merry queen” has serious political achievements.

Daughter of Peter the Great

Elizabeth was born in 1709, and in order to celebrate this fact, Peter 1 even postponed the celebrations on the occasion of the defeat of the Swedes in Ukraine (the Battle of Poltava and the events that followed it). Formally, at birth, the girl was a bastard, since Peter was not married. But the marriage ended after 2 years, and the birth of Elizabeth was legalized.

The girl received a court education, spoke excellent French, danced beautifully and rode horseback, but she could not really be called educated. She was good-looking, but her dubious origins narrowed the circle of possible suitors. The French Bourbons diplomatically evaded Peter's proposals to intermarry. Another candidate for the hand of Elizabeth died shortly before the wedding.

The dubious birth also became a formal reason for the removal of Elizabeth Petrovna from the throne after the death of her parents and nephew,. Under Anna, she lived in a semi-disgraced position, having fun hunting and riding. Physical dexterity, free behavior and a disadvantaged position aroused sympathy for her among many nobles who were dissatisfied with Anna Ioannovna, and especially among the officers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The princess was listed among them at the same time as the daughter of the revered founder of the guards unit, and as almost a comrade in the service. Therefore, the Preobrazhenians willingly became the main force behind the coup d'etat on November 25 (December 6), 1741, which secured the Russian throne for Elizabeth. Anna Leopoldovna, regent for her young son Ivan 6, was overthrown and a new stage began in the biography of Elizabeth Petrovna.

Great Expectations

Anna Ioannovna evoked strong rejection in Russia, and everyone accepted Elizabeth's reign with enthusiasm. The population believed that the daughter of the Great would be the ruler of his scale. Lomonosov reflected these expectations in an ode to the accession of the empress to the throne.

To justify these expectations, Elizabeth was not given. Nevertheless, her reign (1741-1761) was quite successful for Russia. Inside the country, the development of new lands (Trans-Urals and Siberia) was actively going on, several banks were opened, internal duties were abolished and the tax system was generally reformed, the first attempts were made to establish a police service. In foreign policy, the Empress sought to make Russia a weighty international player, participating on an equal footing in solving world problems. During her reign, the war with Sweden (1741-1743) was won and military operations were successfully conducted within the framework of the Seven Years' War (a zero result is no longer on the conscience of Elizabeth, but of her successor Peter III).

Elizabeth also encouraged the development of sciences and arts in Russia, Moscow University was created under her, the discoveries of Bering and Lomonosov were made, the first gymnasiums appeared, the imperial theater was created (based on the Yaroslavl Volkov troupe). In architecture, experts distinguish the style of the Elizabethan Baroque; thanks to the empress, such architectural masterpieces as the Winter Palace (Hermitage) and St. Andrew's Church in Kyiv appeared.

Merry Queen

According to contemporaries, Elizabeth was distinguished by a generally good-natured character, although she was prone to fits of rudeness and even cruelty. She loved balls, masquerades, dances and other entertainments. She led an extremely unhealthy lifestyle, drank and ate a lot and with taste, had no idea about the daily routine.

She was not officially married and had no children, but she kept her lovers openly, which is why in the minds of her descendants her reign is firmly associated with the phenomenon of favoritism. Yes, this is a fact, but the men of the Shuvalov, Razumovsky, Vorontsov families not only enriched themselves personally, but also did a lot for the country. The Chancellor of Elizabeth A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin expressed himself most precisely on this occasion: “I serve Russia, and then myself.”

There is a persistent legend about the secret marriage of Elizabeth with Alexei Razumovsky and the fact that she has several children from him. Of the "children of Elizabeth" the most famous is Princess Tarakanova. But this is historical gossip.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna died of throat bleeding of unknown origin on December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762). Some modern scientists suspect chronic syphilis. But what's the difference? Elizabeth's policy will not change from this.

Russian empress
Romanova
Years of life: December 18 (29), 1709, p. Kolomenskoye, near Moscow - December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762, St. Petersburg)
Years of government: 1741-1762

From the Romanov dynasty.

Brief biography of Elizabeth Petrovna

From childhood, unusually beautiful, she spent her adolescence and youth in balls and entertainment. She grew up in Moscow, and in the summer she left for Pokrovskoye, Preobrazhenskoye, Izmailovskoye or Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. She rarely saw her father in childhood, his sister, Princess Natalya Alekseevna, or the family of A.D. Menshikov, was engaged in the upbringing of the future empress. She was taught dance, music, foreign languages, dressing, ethics.

After the marriage of her parents, she began to bear the title of princess. The testament of Catherine I of 1727 provided for the rights of the princess and her offspring to the throne after Anna Petrovna. In the last year of the reign of Catherine I, at court they often talked about the possibility of a marriage between Elizabeth Petrovna and her nephew Peter II, who was selflessly in love with her. After the sudden death of the young emperor from smallpox in January 1730, she, despite the will of Catherine I, being still actually illegitimate, was not considered in high society as one of the contenders for the throne, which her cousin occupied. During her reign (1730-1740), the princess was in disgrace, but those dissatisfied with Anna Ioannovna and Biron had high hopes for her.

Taking advantage of the decline in authority and influence of power during the regency of Anna Leopoldovna, on the night of November 25, 1741, the 32-year-old Tsesarevna Elizaveta Petrovna, accompanied by Count M.I. Vorontsov, life physician Lestok and music teacher Schwartz with the words “Guys! You know whose daughter I am, follow me! As you served my father, serve me with your fidelity!” raised a grenadier company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment behind her. Thus, a coup d'état was carried out during which his mother, the ruler-regent Anna Leopoldovna, was overthrown.

The course of state affairs during the entire reign was influenced by her favorites - the Razumovsky brothers, Shuvalovs, Vorontsovs, A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin.
The first document signed by the future empress was a manifesto, which proved that after the death of the previous emperor, only she was the only legitimate heir to the throne. She also wished to arrange coronation celebrations in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, and on April 25, 1742, she laid the crown on herself.

Domestic policy of Elizabeth Petrovna

The new empress proclaimed a return to Peter's reforms as the main principles of domestic and foreign policy. She abolished the state institutions that arose after the death of her father (the Cabinet of Ministers, etc.), restored the role of the Senate, collegiums, and the Chief Magistrate.

In 1741, the Empress adopted a Decree, which recognized the existence of the "Lamai faith", Buddhism was officially adopted as the state religion in the Russian Empire.

In 1744-1747. the 2nd census of the taxable population was carried out.

In 1754, domestic customs were liquidated, which led to a significant revival of trade relations between the regions.

The first Russian banks were founded - Noble (Loan), Merchant and Copper (State).

A tax reform was implemented, which made it possible to improve the financial situation of the country.

In social policy, the line of expanding the rights of the nobility continued. In 1746, the nobles were given the right to own land and peasants. In 1760, the landowners received the right to exile peasants to Siberia, with their offset instead of recruits. And the peasants were forbidden to conduct monetary transactions without the permission of the landowners.

The death penalty was abolished (1756), and the mass practice of sophisticated torture was stopped.

Under Elizabeth Petrovna, military educational institutions were reorganized. In 1744, a decree was issued to expand the network of elementary schools. The first gymnasiums were opened: in Moscow (1755) and Kazan (1758). In 1755, on the initiative of her favorite I.I. Shuvalov founded Moscow University, and in 1760 - the Academy of Arts. Outstanding famous cultural monuments have been created (Catherine's Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, etc.). Support was provided to M. V. Lomonosov and other representatives of Russian culture and science. In 1755, the Moskovskie Vedomosti newspaper began to appear, and since 1760, the first Moscow magazine, Useful Entertainment, began to appear.

In general, the domestic policy of the empress was distinguished by stability and a focus on increasing the authority and power of state power. Thus, the course of Elizabeth Petrovna was the first step towards the policy of enlightened absolutism.

Foreign policy of Elizabeth Petrovna

The state's foreign policy was also active. During the Russian-Swedish war of 1741-1743, Russia received a significant part of Finland. Trying to resist Prussia, the ruler abandoned relations with France and entered into an anti-Prussian alliance with Austria. Russia successfully participated in the Seven Years' War of 1756–1763. After the capture of Koenigsberg, the empress issued a decree on the annexation of East Prussia to Russia. The culmination of the military glory of Russia under her was the capture of Berlin in 1760.

The foreign policy was based on the recognition of 3 alliances: with the "sea powers" (England and Holland) for the sake of trade benefits, with Saxony - in the name of advancing to the north-west and western lands that were part of the Commonwealth, and with Austria - to counter the Ottoman Empire and the strengthening of Prussia.
In the last period of her reign, the empress dealt less with issues of state administration, entrusting it to P. I. and I. I. Shuvalov, M. I. and R. I. Vorontsov and others.

In 1744, she entered into a secret morganatic marriage with A.G. Razumovsky, a Ukrainian Cossack, who made a dizzying career with her from a court chorister to a steward of the royal estates and the actual spouse of the empress. According to contemporaries, she gave birth to several children, but data on them is unknown. This was the reason for the appearance of impostors who called themselves her children from this marriage. Among them, the most famous figure was Princess Tarakanova.

After the issued decrees on peasants and landlords, at the turn of the 50-60s. In the 18th century, more than 60 uprisings of monastic peasants (Bashkiria, the Urals) took place, which were suppressed by her decree with exemplary cruelty.

The reign of Elizabeth Petrovna

The period of her reign is a period of luxury and excesses. Masquerade balls were constantly held at the court. Elizaveta Petrovna herself was a trendsetter. The Empress' wardrobe contains up to 12-15 thousand dresses, which today form the basis of the textile collection of the State Historical Museum in Moscow.

Since 1757, hysterical seizures began to haunt her. She often lost consciousness, and at the same time, non-healing wounds on her legs and bleeding were opened. During the winter of 1760-1761, the empress was only once on a big exit. Her beauty was quickly destroyed, she did not communicate with anyone, feeling depressed. Soon the hemoptysis intensified. She confessed and took communion. Elizaveta Petrovna died on December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762 according to the new style).

The ruler managed to appoint her nephew Karl-Peter-Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp (the son of Anna's sister) as the official heir to the throne, who converted to Orthodoxy under the name and made peace with Prussia.

The body of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna was buried on February 5, 1762 in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Many artists painted her portraits, marveling at the beauty of the Empress.

Her image is reflected in the cinema: in the films “Young Catherine”, 1991; "Vivat, midshipmen!"; "Secrets of palace coups", 2000-2003; "Pen and sword", 2008.

She had a practical mind and skillfully led her court, maneuvering between various political factions. Generally years of the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna became a time of political stability in Russia, the strengthening of state power and its institutions.

Download abstract.

“Looking at the affairs of Petrova,
To the hail, to the fleet and to the shelves
And it's good for your shackles,
The power of someone else's hand is strong,
Russia sighed earnestly
And every hour she cried out with her heart
To you, your Defender:
Deliver, cast down our burden,
Raise up to us the Petrovo Tribe,
Comfort, comfort your people,

Cover the Fatherly laws,
Regiments of nasty otzheni
And the sanctity of Your Crown
Strangers touch the taboo;
Turn away taxes from the church:
Monarchs are waiting for you,
Porphyry, Scepter and Throne;
The Almighty will go before You
And with your strong hand
It will protect everyone from terrible evils.

IRONIC POEMS by A.K. TOLSTOY

"Merry queen
Elizabeth was:
Sing and have fun
There is just no order."

RUSSIA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 18TH CENTURY

“In ... a vast space in the 40-50s of the XVIII century. only 19 million people of both sexes lived. They were extremely unevenly distributed throughout the country. If the population of the Central Industrial Region, which covered only Moscow and the provinces adjacent to it, numbered at least 4.7 million people, then the population of Siberia and the North was no more than 1 million people.

No less curious is the social structure of the population of Russia at that time. No more than 600 thousand people lived in cities, or less than 4% of the total population. The peasant population was divided into two main groups: the possessing peasants (landlords, palaces, monasteries) and the state, whose overlord was the state. In the total mass taken into account in the second revision (census) of 1744-1747. the peasant population (7.8 million male souls) of the landlord peasants was 4.3 million souls, or 50.5%. In general, the serf population accounted for 70% of the peasant and 63.2% of the total population. Such a significant predominance of serfs quite convincingly testifies to the nature of the Russian economy in the middle of the 18th century.

The Petrine era of reforms contributed to the intensive industrial development of the country. In the first half of the XVIII century. outstanding achievements were made in the iron and steel industry. Back in 1700, Russia smelted 5 times less iron than England, which was advanced at that time (respectively, 2.5 thousand tons and 12 thousand tons). But already in 1740, the output of pig iron in Russia reached 25 thousand tons, and it left England far behind, which smelted 17.3 thousand tons. Later on, this gap continued to widen, and in 1780 Russia already smelted 110 thousand tons. tons of pig iron, and England - only 40 thousand tons. And only at the end of the 18th century. the industrial revolution that began in England put an end to the economic power of Russia, built on manufacturing production and semi-serf labor organization.

In the second quarter of the XVIII century. there is no need to talk about the crisis of the Russian economy. In just 15 years (from 1725 to 1740) the output of cast iron and iron in the country more than doubled (from 1.2 million to 2.6 million poods). In those years, other industries, as well as trade, developed. During the Elizabethan period, heavy industry was further developed. Thus, the smelting of pig iron from 25 thousand tons in 1740 increased to 33 thousand tons in 1750 and by 1760 amounted to 60 thousand tons. According to experts, the 50s were truly a record for the metallurgical industry throughout the entire XVIII in".

Anisimov E.V. Russia in the middleXVIIIcentury. M., 1986

ANGER AND MERCY

On November 25, 1741, a new coup took place. At night, guards soldiers, led by their daughter Elizabeth, dressed in a cuirass, burst into the bedroom of the ruling Brunswick family. The little emperor and his parents were arrested. The soldier who was carrying Ivan VI dropped him on the stairs. The overthrown family was first intended to be sent abroad. Then they considered it too dangerous. The captives were sent to Kholmogory, to the north. The brothers and sisters of Ivan VI were born there. Anna Leopoldovna and Anton of Brunswick died in exile. Their children, who were even banned from being taught to read and write, eked out a miserable existence. Ivan VI was kept separately from the age of four - in the Shlisselburg fortress. In 1764, he was killed by guards during an attempt to free him by the adventurer Mirovich.

During the overthrow of the Brunswick family, Minich and Osterman were arrested. They were sent into exile in Siberia. But Elizabeth remembered the "merits" of Biron. In 1730-1740. The Duke of Courland did not allow Empress Anna Ioannovna to imprison Elizabeth in a monastery. (Biron hoped to marry his son to Elizabeth.) Elizabeth allowed Biron to return from Siberia and live in Yaroslav.

The company of the Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment that carried out the coup was named label company. Non-noble soldiers received hereditary nobility from it. All life-companies were granted estates. In the future, the Life Company did not play a prominent role in the Elizabethan reign.

The Life Company and other participants in the coup received 18,000 peasants and about 90,000 rubles. But in general, from 1741 to 1761, 800 thousand souls of both sexes were given to the nobles.

PRIVILEGED ESTATE

The nobles were not only freely released into retirement after 25 years of service, but they were not particularly monitored for whether they came to the service at a certain age. Under Elizabeth, the custom spread to record the nobles in the regiments as minors - from 3-4 years old, while the children, of course, lived in the homes of their parents, but the ranks and length of service were already on. When the young nobles really began to serve, they were already in officer ranks and they did not have long to serve before the expiration of the 25-year term.

The officer service in the guards regiments did not have the former strictness and was a pleasant and prestigious entertainment, which, however, required a lot of money.

In order to raise the income of the nobility, Elizabeth in 1754 declared distillation (vodka production) a monopoly of the nobles. This meant that only nobles could now produce such a salable commodity. Merchants who owned distilleries were ordered to break them down or sell them to the nobles within six months.

The state-owned factories of the Urals also began to be transferred to the nobles. In 1754, the Noble Bank was organized, which gave the nobles a loan at a low interest rate (6% against the traditional 30% for that time).

In 1746, Elizabeth issued a decree forbidding anyone other than nobles to buy serfs with or without land. Even the personal nobles who had served themselves out were forbidden to have serfs. In 1754, the General land surveying began. Non-nobles (including wealthy merchants) were generally forbidden to have estates with serfs. In 6 months they had to sell their estates. As a result, the "gentry" acquired an additional 50 million acres of land.

In the same 1754, internal customs were abolished in Russia, from which everyone who was engaged in trade, especially merchants, benefited.

In 1760, the landowners received the right to exile their peasants under the age of 45 to Siberia. Each exile was counted as a recruit, so the nobles widely used their right, exiling objectionable, poor or sick peasants and retaining the best workers. From 1760 to 1765 more than 20,000 serfs were exiled to the Tobolsk and Yenisei provinces.

Serfdom intensified. Serfs were almost not considered human beings: Elizabeth even excluded them from the oath taken by her subjects.

Elizabeth all the time emphasized that she was the daughter of Peter I and would rule like him. But the queen did not possess the genius of her father, so the similarity of these manifestations was only external. Elizabeth restored the system of institutions of central power that was under Peter I. The Cabinet of Ministers was abolished, but at the end of the reign of Elizabeth, when the empress began to get sick often, a body arose that, in fact, repeats it and stands above the Senate and collegiums - the Conference at the Imperial Court . The conference included the presidents of the military and diplomatic departments and persons appointed by the empress.

EMPRESS ELIZABETH

“The nineteen-year reign of this empress gave the whole of Europe the opportunity to get acquainted with her character. They are accustomed to seeing in her an empress full of kindness and humanity, magnanimous, liberal and generous, but frivolous, carefree, disgusted with business, loving above all pleasure and entertainment, faithful rather to her tastes and habits than to passions and friendship, extremely trusting and always under someone else's influence.

All this is still true to a certain extent, but the years and disordered health, having made gradual changes in her body, were also reflected in her moral state. Thus, for example, love for pleasures and noisy festivities gave way in her to a disposition to silence and even solitude, but not to work. To this latter, Empress Elisaveta Petrovna feels more disgust than ever. For her, any reminder of business is hateful, and those close to her often happen to wait half a year for a convenient minute to persuade her to sign a decree or a letter.

IN. KLYUCHEVSKY ABOUT ELIZAVETA PETROVNA

Her reign was not without glory, not even without benefit.<…>Peaceful and carefree, she was forced to fight for almost half of her reign, defeated the first strategist of that time, Frederick the Great, took Berlin, laid the abyss of soldiers on the fields of Zorndorf and Kunersdorf; but since the reign of Princess Sophia, life in Russia has never been so easy, and not a single reign before 1762 left such a pleasant memory. With two great coalition wars that exhausted Western Europe, it seemed that Elizabeth, with her 300,000-strong army, could become the arbiter of European destinies; the map of Europe lay before her at her disposal, but she looked at it so rarely that for the rest of her life she was sure of the possibility of traveling to England by land; and she also founded the first real university in Russia - Moscow. Lazy and capricious, frightened by any serious thought, abhorred by any business occupation, Elizabeth could not enter into the complex international relations of the then Europe and understand the diplomatic intricacies of her chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin. But in her inner chambers, she created for herself a special political environment of hangers-on and storytellers, gossips, headed by an intimate solidarity cabinet, where the prime minister was Mavra Yegorovna Shuvalova, the wife of the inventor and projector known to us, and Anna Karlovna Vorontsova, nee Skavronskaya, was the prime minister, a relative of the Empress, and some just Elizaveta Ivanovna, who was called the Minister of Foreign Affairs. “All cases were submitted to the empress through her,” a contemporary notes.<…>For all that, in her, not like in her Courland predecessor, somewhere deep under a thick crust of prejudices, bad habits and spoiled tastes, there still lived a man who sometimes broke through to the outside in a vow before seizing the throne not to execute anyone by death and in fulfilling this vow decree of May 17, 1744, which actually abolished the death penalty in Russia, then in the failure to approve the ferocious criminal part of the Code, drawn up in the Commission of 1754 and already approved by the Senate, with exquisite types of the death penalty, then in preventing the obscene petitions of the Synod about the need to abandon this empress of vow, then, finally, in the ability to cry from an unjust decision, torn out by the intrigues of the same Synod. Elizabeth was a smart and kind, but disorderly and capricious Russian lady of the 18th century, who, according to Russian custom, was scolded by many during her lifetime and, according to Russian custom, everyone mourned after her death.

COURT LIFE 30-50 18th century

Elizabeth's court was buried in luxury and exquisite nightly entertainment (the queen was afraid to sleep at night, because she was afraid of conspiracies carried out in Russia usually at night). The customs of Elizabeth's court differed little from European court life. Pleasant music played at the balls, performed by excellent orchestras, Elizaveta Petrovna shone with beauty and dresses. At the court, masquerade balls were regularly held, and in the first ten years, so-called "metamorphoses", when ladies dressed up in men's costumes, and men in women's costumes. Elizaveta Petrovna herself set the tone and was a trendsetter. Her wardrobe included 15 thousand dresses. The queen did not wear any of them twice. Nevertheless, V.O. Klyuchevsky noted: Having ascended the throne, she wanted to fulfill her girlish dreams into a magical reality; performances, pleasure trips, courts, balls, masquerades stretched out in an endless string, striking with dazzling brilliance and luxury to the point of nausea. Sometimes the whole courtyard turned into a theatrical foyer: from day to day they talked only about the French comedy, about the Italian comic opera and its landlord Locatelli, about intermezza, etc. But the living rooms, where the palace inhabitants left the lush halls, were struck by crampedness, squalor conditions, slovenliness: the doors did not close, the windows blew; water ran over the wall-boards, the rooms were extremely damp; Grand Duchess Ekaterina had huge cracks in her bedroom in the oven; near this bedroom, 17 servants crowded in a small chamber; the furniture was so meager that mirrors, beds, tables and chairs were transported as needed from palace to palace, even from St. Petersburg to Moscow, broken, beaten and placed in temporary places in this form. Elizabeth lived and reigned in gilded poverty; she left behind in her wardrobe too 15,000 dresses, two chests of silk stockings, a bunch of unpaid bills, and the unfinished huge Winter Palace, which had already absorbed more than 10 million rubles from our money from 1755 to 1761. Shortly before her death, she really wanted to live in this palace; but in vain she tried in vain to have the builder Rastrelli hasten to finish at least her own living rooms. French haberdashery shops sometimes refused to release newfangled goods to the palace on credit..

An integral feature of the Russian autocracy in the 1725-1750s. became favoritism. The rulers changed, but everyone had favorites who had great power and influence in the state, even if they did not hold high government posts. These favorites, "nobles in case," cost the treasury a lot of money. They were constantly showered with a golden rain of gifts, thousands, and even tens of thousands of serfs were given. Under Elizabeth Petrovna, Alexey Razumovsky and Ivan Shuvalov enjoyed a special location. Relatives and people close to the favorites also possessed colossal weight.

ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MOSCOW UNIVERSITY AND TWO GYMNASIUMS

WITH THE APPENDIX OF THE HIGHEST APPROVED PROJECT ON THIS SUBJECT

1755, January 12

When immortal glory in Bose resting, our dearest parent and sovereign Peter the Great, the great emperor and renovator of his fatherland, immersed in the depths of ignorance and weakened in strength, Russia led to the knowledge of true prosperity for the human race, that works believed, not only Russia feels, but most of the world is a witness to it; and although during the life of only the highly glorious monarch, our father and sovereign, we did not reach perfection in his all-useful enterprise, but we have the Almighty favor, from our accession to the All-Russian throne, we have hourly care and work, both for the fulfillment of all his glorious enterprises, so and about the production of everything that can only serve for the benefit and well-being of the entire fatherland, which indeed, in many matters, all loyal subjects of our motherly mercies are now using and will continue to be used by descendants, which times and actions daily prove. Following this, from our true patriots and knowing enough that our only desire and will is to produce the well-being of the people to the glory of the fatherland, exercising in that, to our perfect pleasure, we applied our diligence and labor for the benefit of the whole people; but as all good comes from an enlightened mind, and, on the contrary, evil is rooted out, therefore, it is necessary to strive to ensure that all useful knowledge grows in our vast empire in the way of decent sciences; which, imitating for the glory of the common fatherland, our Senate, and recognizing it as very useful for the general well-being of the people, most submissively reported to us that our real chamberlain and gentleman Shuvalov submitted a report to the Senate, with the application of a project and staff on the establishment in Moscow of one university and two gymnasiums, imagined the following: how science is needed and useful everywhere, and how the enlightened peoples are exalted and glorified over people living in the darkness of ignorance, in which is the visible evidence of our age from God bestowed, to the well-being of our empire, the parent of our sovereign Emperor Peter the Great proves that divine his enterprise had fulfillment through science, his immortal glory left in eternal times, reason surpassing deeds, in only a short time a change in mores and customs and ignorance, approved for a long time, the construction of cities and fortresses, the establishment of an army, the establishment of a fleet, the correction of uninhabited lands, the establishment waterways, all for the benefit of the common human life, and that, finally, all the bliss of human life, in which the countless fruits of every good are presented to the senses in part; and that our vast empire established here by our dearest parent, Sovereign Peter the Great, the St. Petersburg Academy, which we, among the many well-being of our subjects with mercies of a considerable amount against the former, for the greatest benefit and for the reproduction and encouragement of sciences and arts, mercifully granted, although it with foreign glory and produces its fruits with the benefit of the local, but cannot be content with one academic corps, in such a reasoning that, beyond the distance, many nobles and raznochintsy have obstacles to coming to St. , in addition to the Academy, in the Land and Naval Cadet Corps, in Engineering and Artillery, they have an open path, but for teaching the higher sciences to those who wish to nobles, or those who are not recorded in the above places for any reason, and for general training of raznochintsy, our mentioned real chamberlain and cavalier Shuvalov, on the establishment of the above-announced in Mo a university square for nobles and raznochintsy, following the example of European universities, where people of all ranks freely use science, and two gymnasiums, one for nobles, the other for raznochintsy, except for serfs ...

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RUSSIAN THEATER

We now ordered the establishment of a Russian theater for the performance of tragedies and comedies, for which the Golovninsky stone house, on Vasilevsky Island, near the Cadet House, should be given.

And for this, it was ordered to recruit actors and actresses: actors from the students of Yaroslavl and singers in the Cadet Corps, who will also be needed, and in addition to them, actors from other non-serving people, as well as a decent number of actresses.

For the maintenance of this theater, according to the force of our decree, from now on, a sum of money of 5,000 rubles should be determined per year, which should always be released from the State Office at the beginning of the year after the signing of our decree. To supervise the house, Alexei Dyakonov is appointed from the life company's cops, whom we granted as an army lieutenant with a salary of 250 rubles a year from the amount put on the theater. Determine in this house, where the theater is established, a decent guard.

The directorate of that Russian theater is entrusted from us to foreman Alexander Sumarokov, who is determined from the same amount in addition to his foreman's salary of 1,000 rubles ... the yard is given a register.

- (1709 1761/1762), Russian empress since 1741, daughter of Peter I. She was enthroned by the guards as a result of a palace coup, during which the young emperor Ivan VI Antonovich was deposed and imprisoned in the fortress. In the reign of Elizabeth ... Russian history

Elizaveta Petrovna- Russian Empress from November 25, 1741 to December 24, 1761, daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine I (born December 18, 1709). She spent her childhood and youth in the villages of Preobrazhensky and Izmailovsky near Moscow, thanks to which Moscow and her ... ... Biographical Dictionary

Elizaveta Petrovna- Elizaveta Petrovna. ELIZAVETA PETROVNA (1709 1761/62), Russian Empress (since 1741). Daughter of Peter I and Catherine I. Secretly married (1744) with A.G. Razumovsky. Relying on the guard, she removed Anna Leopoldovna and Ivan VI from power. Returned to... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Elizaveta Petrovna- (1709-1761), Empress (since 1741), daughter of Peter I, ascended the throne as a result of a palace coup, overthrowing the infant emperor Ivan VI Antonovich. In 1742, Elizaveta Petrovna appointed her great nephew the heir to the throne ... ... Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg"

ELIZAVETA PETROVNA- (1709 1761/62) Russian Empress from 1741, daughter of Peter I. Enthroned by the guards. During her reign, significant success was achieved in the development of the economy, culture of Russia and in foreign policy, which was facilitated by the activities of M.V. ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Elizaveta Petrovna- (1709 1761), Empress (since 1741), daughter of Peter I, ascended the throne as a result of a palace coup, overthrowing the infant emperor Ivan VI Antonovich. In 1742, E. P. appointed her nephew Grand Duke Peter as heir to the throne ... ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

Elizaveta Petrovna- (Elizabeth Petrovna) (1709 62), Empress of Russia (1741 62). The unmarried daughter of Peter I the Great, a beautiful, frivolous woman, was enthroned by the guards as a result of a palace coup, during which the young Ivan VI was overthrown ... The World History

ELIZAVETA PETROVNA- Imp. Elizabeth Petrovna. 1754 Artist. GG Prenner (TG) Imp. Elizabeth Petrovna. 1754 Artist. G. G. Prenner (TG) (December 18, 1709, the village of Kolomenskoye, Moscow Province. December 25, 1761, St. Petersburg), imp. All-Russian (since November 25, 1741), daughter of imp. Petra… … Orthodox Encyclopedia

Elizaveta Petrovna- Russian Empress (1741 December 24, 1761), daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine I (born December 18, 1709). From the day of the death of Catherine I, Grand Duchess E. Petrovna went through a difficult school. Especially dangerous was her position under Anna Ioannovna and Anna ... ... Big biographical encyclopedia

Elizaveta Petrovna- (1709 1761/1762), Russian empress since 1741, daughter of Peter I. She was enthroned by the guards as a result of a palace coup, during which the young emperor Ivan VI Antonovich was deposed and imprisoned in the fortress. During the reign of Elizabeth... encyclopedic Dictionary

Books

• Elizaveta Petrovna, Shishov A. Historical monograph dedicated to one of the most prominent women on the Russian throne, the daughter of the great Peter the Great, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The fate of women who had the supreme ... Buy for 582 rubles
• Elizaveta Petrovna, K. A. Pisarenko. Elizaveta Petrovna remained in the shadow of her great father for a long time. In addition, the daughter of Peter I is constantly compared with his nephew's wife, Catherine II, who also earned a "title" from her descendants ...