External aggressions against Rus' chronology. The fight against external aggression in the 13th century

She stopped all the reforms that penetrated public life. Officials at the very top seemed unprepared for the death of the monarch. One of the most interesting periods in Russian history begins - the Palace Revolutions.

The era of palace coups in short is a period of changing emperors on the Russian throne with the active participation of the guard and court groups.

WITH the death forced many people close to the state to look for a place in the sun. Everyone began to fight for power. It soon became clear that society was divided in two. On the one hand, those who were frightened by the environment, who were disgusted by it. And on the other hand, those people who grew up on his transformations are the so-called “Chicks of Petrov’s Nest.”

The hottest debates flared up around the future monarch. It is absolutely clear that he was alone in the male line - the son of Alexei Petrovich. And according to women, the wife had the most rights - .

The era of palace coups during the reign of Catherine I

It seems that everything is clear - choose any candidate from the two, but... Misunderstandings also arose due to the decree on succession to the throne. This document completely abolished all orders of succession to the throne that had existed before. Only the monarch himself could appoint an heir.

Activities of a close friend and like-minded person A.D. Menshikova has borne fruit. He was able to attract a large number of people to the side of the candidacy. In addition, he was supported by the guard, which even then played a huge role. That is, it was the guard who decided in favor of the palace coup. This will happen not only this time. The first revolution of the era was accomplished.

In short, during the reign of the new empress, Menshikov was in charge. Catherine was just having fun and enjoying the company. Her face faded, she was constantly at balls, having fun, apparently never got over the loss of her beloved husband. This continued until 1727. She had been ill for three months. And the court stakeholders again cared only about their future position in the state.

The era of palace coups - the reign of Peter II briefly

After her death, a second palace coup took place - he ascended the throne, he was only eleven. Naturally, there is no question of sound government management in such a situation when the monarch is very young. And his nanny-regents are only interested in how to fill their pockets.

Menshikov has already thought of everything. His plan was to marry the emperor to his daughter Maria, even though she was older than him. But I miscalculated. I didn’t notice how close the Dolgorukys were to the sovereign.Over time, they began to have great influence over. Menshikov fell out of favor and was exiled to Ryazan.

All the favorites from the Dolgorukys received tasty places at court. And new feasts, revelries and outrages began. Ivan Dolgoruky, being older, very early accustomed him to truly masculine amusements, which led to the fact that by the age of 13 the teenager turned out to be very immoral.

A new idea arose - to marry Ivan’s sister Ekaterina Dolgorukaya. Thus, the Dolgorukys wanted to be closer to the imperial family. And also in the event of a new coup, they will still retain power. The betrothal of the young emperor took place. But there was no planned wedding. Everything coincided extremely tragically - after a cold he fell ill with smallpox and died two weeks later. This was the result of this brief stage of the era of palace coups...

Palace noble coup

A new page of this adventure act has begun - the next in line in the period of palace coups was. The daughter of the already somewhat forgotten brother Ivan V. She lived very quietly and poorly in Courland, by 1730 she had already lost her husband and was trying to survive.

In 1730, St. Petersburg was hot. The fuss and fuss began again, officials tried to stay in the state game again. They liked the candidacy - stupid by nature, without education. At the age of 17, she left Russia due to diplomatic plans. She was married to the Duke of Courland. And a couple of years had not passed since her husband died; she had been living in Courland since she was 19 years old.

Her candidacy for the Russian throne was ideal. But she was not just invited to the throne, the leaders insured themselves - “conditions” were drawn up - a special document limiting the political rights of the monarch. But it was also not as simple as it seemed.

After the coup, she arrived in Moscow. As soon as a grain of doubt appeared in this document among the guards, they immediately tore them apart. Anna needed to strengthen her position on the throne. Therefore, she canceled a number of decrees that were not pleasing to the nobility. The Dolgorukys, like the Menshikovs in their time, were not welcome at court; all their wealth was taken away from them and they were driven away.

The reign has begun. Palace life is remembered only for large-scale parties and balls. There are holidays and masquerades all the time. Moreover, their duration was not regulated; sometimes this bacchanalia lasted ten days or more. This led to an increase in the cost of maintaining the yard several times. The most famous event was the wedding of the mad jester Golitsyn in the Ice House. But there were other events during her reign. The term “Bironovism” often comes up here.

Ernst Biron was her favorite; she brought him from Courland. He was always the center of attention, and the empress was absorbed in him. This man even outdid Menshikov and Dolgoruky in plunder and lawlessness. A lot of foreigners appeared at court; moreover, they did not respect the Russian nobility and engaged in outright arbitrariness. This caused discontent among the Russian aristocracy.

By 1740, the Empress fell ill. But the question of the heir had already been resolved. He became the son of the niece of Empress Anna Leopoldovna - Ivan VI Antonovich. When Ivan died, he was only six months old. Biron became regent under the young emperor. But he was only for three weeks, then, as a result of the coup, Ivan’s mother, Anna Leopoldovna, received the regency.

Palace Guards coup briefly

But Anna Leopoldovna was not with Valsti for long. appeared on the horizon. From a young age she was friends with the guards. In November, the guard called for a new palace coup, and she decided to do so. In short, this palace coup included an assault on the Winter Palace. But this was not required. Everyone went over to Elizabeth's side voluntarily.

As for Ivan, until the age of sixteen he grew up far outside the city under supervision. And then he was transferred to the Shlisselburg fortress. He grew up there in terrible conditions, this affected the psyche of the young man.

Once on the throne, she immediately began a flurry of activity, some organs were abolished, and new ones were created. She, like her predecessor, loved holidays, flattery, and dressing beautifully. She wore all her dresses only once; the second time, none of the clothes were worn.

At the beginning of her reign, she tried to actively delve into palace affairs and state affairs. In November 1742, she appointed her nephew as heir. But over time, the empress became less and less interested in what was happening in the country. But she looked after Peter’s heir very much.

The death of Peter the Great marked the end of one era - the period of revival, transformations and reforms, and the beginning of another, which went down in history under the name "the era of palace coups", which is studied in History of Russia in the 7th grade. What happened during this period of time - 1725-1762 - is what we are talking about today.

Factors

Before speaking briefly about the era of palace coups in Russia, it is necessary to understand what the term “palace coup” means. This stable combination is understood as a forceful change of power in the state, which is carried out through a conspiracy by a group of courtiers and relies on the help of a privileged military force - the guard. As a result, the current monarch is overthrown and a new heir from the ruling dynasty, a protégé of a group of conspirators, is installed on the throne. With the change of sovereign, the composition of the ruling elite also changes. During the period of coups d'etat in Russia - 37 years, six sovereigns were replaced on the Russian throne. The reasons for this were the following events:

• After Peter I, there were no direct heirs in the male line: son Alexei Petrovich died in prison, convicted of treason, and the youngest son Peter Petrovich died at an early age;
• Adopted by Peter I in 1722, the “Charter on the Succession to the Throne”: according to this document, the decision on the heir to the throne is made by the ruling monarch himself. Thus, various groups of supporters gathered around possible contenders for the throne - noble factions that were in confrontation;
• Peter the Great did not have time to draw up a will and indicate the name of the heir.

Thus, according to the definition of the Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky, the beginning of the era of palace coups in Russia is considered to be the date of death of Peter I - February 8 (January 28), 1725, and the end - 1762 - the year Catherine the Great came to power.

Rice. 1. Death of Peter the Great

Distinctive features

The palace coups of 1725-1762 had several characteristic common features:

• Favoritism : a group of favorites was formed around a possible contender for succession to the throne, whose goal was to be closer to power and have influence on the balance of power. In fact, the nobles close to the sovereign concentrated all power in their hands and completely controlled the sovereign (Menshikov, Biron, princes Dolgoruky);
• Reliance on the Guards Regiment : Guards regiments appeared under Peter I. In the Northern War, they became the main striking force of the Russian army, and then were used as the personal guard of the sovereign. In other words, their privileged position and proximity to the king played a decisive role in their “fate”: their support was used as the main striking force in palace coups;
• Frequent change of monarchs ;
• Appeal to the legacy of Peter the Great : each new heir claiming the throne demonstrated his intention to strictly follow the course of Peter I in foreign and domestic policy. However, what was promised often ran counter to current affairs and deviations from his program were observed.

Rice. 2. Portrait of Anna Ioannovna

Chronological table

The following chronological table presents all six Russian rulers, whose reign in history is associated with the era of palace coups. The first line answers the question of which ruler opened the gap in question in the political life of Russia in the 18th century - Catherine I. Other monarchs follow in chronological order. In addition, it is indicated with the help of what forces and court groups each of them came to power.

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Some historians believe that the era of palace coups does not end with the arrival of Catherine II. They name other dates - 1725-1801, related to the administration of the state of Alexander I.

Rice. 3. Catherine the Great

The era of palace coups led to the fact that noble privileges expanded significantly.

What have we learned?

According to the new decree of Peter I on changes in the order of succession to the throne, the person entitled to inherit the royal throne in Russia was indicated as the current monarch. This document did not contribute to the establishment of order and stability in the state, but on the contrary, it led to an era of palace coups that lasted 37 years. The activities of six monarchs date back to this period.

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1. General characteristics of the era of palace coups

The overstrain of the country's forces during the years of Peter's reforms, the destruction of traditions, and violent methods of reform caused an ambiguous attitude of various circles of Russian society towards Peter's legacy and created conditions for political instability.

From 1725 after the death of Peter I and until Catherine II came to power in 1762, six monarchs and many political forces behind them replaced the throne. This change did not always take place peacefully and legally, which is why this period of V.O. Klyuchevsky did not quite accurately, but figuratively and aptly called " era of palace coups".

2. Prerequisites for palace coups

The main reason that formed the basis of the palace coups was the contradictions between various noble groups in relation to Peter's legacy. It would be a simplification to consider that the split occurred along the lines of acceptance and non-acceptance of reforms. Both the so-called “new nobility”, which emerged during the years of Peter thanks to their official zeal, and the aristocratic party tried to soften the course of reforms, hoping in one form or another to give a respite to society, and, first of all, to themselves. But each of these groups defended their narrow-class interests and privileges, which created fertile ground for internal political struggle.

Palace coups were generated by an intense struggle between various factions for power. As a rule, it most often came down to the nomination and support of one or another candidate for the throne.

At this time, the guard began to play an active role in the political life of the country, which Peter raised as a privileged “support” of the autocracy, which, moreover, took upon itself the right to control the conformity of the personality and policies of the monarch with the legacy that its “beloved emperor” left.

The alienation of the masses from politics and their passivity served as fertile ground for palace intrigues and coups.

To a large extent, palace coups were provoked by the unresolved problem of succession to the throne in connection with the adoption of the Decree of 1722, which broke the traditional mechanism of transfer of power,

3. The struggle for power after the death of Peter I

Dying, Peter did not leave an heir, having only managed to write with a weakening hand: “Give everything...”. Opinion at the top about his successor was divided. "Chicks of Peter's Nest" (A.D. Menshikov, P.A. Tolstoy , I.I. Buturlin , P.I. Yaguzhinsky etc.) spoke out for his second wife Catherine, and representatives of the noble nobility (D.M. Golitsyn , V.V. Dolgoruky and others) defended the candidacy of their grandson, Pyotr Alekseevich. The outcome of the dispute was decided by the guards who supported the empress.

accession Catherine 1 (1725-1727) led to a sharp strengthening of the position of Menshikov, who became the de facto ruler of the country. Attempts to somewhat curb his lust for power and greed with the help of the Supreme Privy Council (SPC) created under the empress, to which the first three collegiums, as well as the Senate, were subordinate, led nowhere. Moreover, temporary worker planned to strengthen his position through the marriage of his daughter with Peter’s young grandson. P. Tolstoy, who opposed this plan, ended up in prison.

In May 1727, Catherine 1 died and, according to her will, 12-year-old Peter II (1727-1730) became emperor under the regency of the VTS. Menshikov's influence at court increased, and he even received the coveted rank of generalissimo. But, having alienated old allies and not gaining new ones among the noble nobility, he soon lost influence on the young emperor and in September 1727 he was arrested and exiled with his entire family to Berezovoye, where he soon died.

A significant role in discrediting Menshikov’s personality in the eyes of the young emperor was played by Dolgoruky, as well as a member of the Military Technical Cooperation, the Tsar’s educator, nominated for this position by Menshikov himself - A.I. Osterman - a deft diplomat who knew how, depending on the balance of power and the political situation, to change his views, allies and patrons.

The overthrow of Menshikov was, in essence, an actual palace coup, because the composition of the military-technical cooperation changed, in which aristocratic families began to predominate (Dolgoruky and Golitsyn), and A.I. began to play a key role. Osterman; the regency of the military-technical cooperation was put to an end, Peter II declared himself a full-fledged ruler, surrounded by new favorites; a course was outlined aimed at revising the reforms of Peter I.

Soon the court left St. Petersburg and moved to Moscow, which attracted the emperor due to the presence of richer hunting grounds. The sister of the Tsar's favorite, Ekaterina Dolgorukaya, was engaged to Peter II, but during preparations for the wedding, he died of smallpox. And again the question of the heir to the throne arose, because With the death of Peter II, the Romanov male line was cut short, and he did not have time to appoint a successor.

4. Supreme Privy Council (SPC)

In the conditions of a political crisis and timelessness, the Military Technical Council, which by that time consisted of 8 people (5 seats belonged to the Dolgorukys and Golitsyns), decided to invite the niece of Peter I, Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna, to the throne, since back in 1710 she was married by Peter to the Duke of Courland , was widowed early, lived in cramped material conditions, largely at the expense of the Russian government.

It was also extremely important that she had no supporters or any connections in Russia. As a result, this made it possible, luring her with an invitation to the brilliant St. Petersburg throne, to impose her own conditions and obtain her consent to limit the power of the monarch.

D.M. Golitsyn took the initiative to compile really limiting autocracy " condition ", according to which:

1) Anna pledged to rule together with the military-technical cooperation, which was actually turning into the highest governing body of the country.

2) Without the approval of the military-technical cooperation, it could not legislate, impose taxes, manage the treasury, declare war or make peace.

3) The Empress did not have the right to grant estates and ranks above the rank of colonel, or to deprive them of estates without a trial.

4) The Guard was subordinate to the military-technical cooperation.

5) Anna undertook not to marry and not to appoint an heir, and if any of these conditions were not fulfilled, she was deprived of the “Russian crown.”

There is no consensus among scientists in assessing the nature and significance of the “rulers’ plot.” Some see in the “conditions” a desire to establish an “oligarchic” form of government instead of autocracy, which would meet the interests of a narrow layer of high-born nobility and lead Russia back to the era of “boyar self-will.” Others believe that this was the first constitutional project to limit the arbitrariness of the despotic state created by Peter, from which all segments of the population, including the aristocracy, suffered.

Anna Ioannovna after a meeting in Mitau with V.L. Dolgoruky, sent by the military-technical cooperation for negotiations, accepted these conditions without further hesitation. However, despite the desire of members of the military-technical cooperation to hide their plans, their content became known to the guard and the general public." nobility ".

From this environment new projects for the political reorganization of Russia began to emerge (the most mature belonged to Peru V.N. Tatishchev ), which gave the nobility the right to elect representatives of the highest authorities and expanded the composition of the military-technical cooperation. Specific demands were also put forward aimed at facilitating the conditions of service of the nobles. D.M. Golitsyn, realizing the danger of isolating the military-technical cooperation, met these wishes halfway and developed a new project that involved limiting autocracy to a system of elected bodies. The highest of them remained the VTS of 12 members. Previously, all issues were discussed in the Senate of 30 people, the Chamber of Nobility of 200 ordinary nobles and the House of Citizens, two representatives from each city. In addition, the nobility was exempt from compulsory service.

Supporters of the inviolability of the principle of autocracy, led by A. Osterman and F. Prokopovich, who attracted the guard, were able to take advantage of the disagreements between adherents of the constitutional limitation of the monarchy. As a result, having found support, Anna Ioannovna broke the “conditions” and restored autocracy in full.

The reasons for the failure of the “supreme leaders” were the short-sightedness and selfishness of the majority of members of the military-technical cooperation, who sought to limit the monarchy not for the sake of the interests of the entire country, or even the nobility, but for the sake of preserving and expanding their own privileges. Inconsistency of actions, political inexperience and mutual suspicion of individual noble groups, who were supporters of the constitutional order, but feared to strengthen the military-technical cooperation with their actions, also contributed to the restoration of autocracy. The bulk of the nobility was not ready for radical political changes.

The final word belonged to the guard, which, after some hesitation, ultimately supported the idea of ​​an unlimited monarchy.

Finally, not the least role was played by the foresight and unprincipledness of Osterman and Prokopovich, the leaders of the party that supported the preservation of autocracy.

5. Reign of Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740)

From the very beginning of her reign, Anna Ioannovna tried to erase even the memory of “conditions” from the consciousness of her subjects. She liquidated the military-technical cooperation, creating in its place a Cabinet of Ministers headed by Osterman. Since 1735, the signature of the 3rd cabinet of ministers, by her decree, was equal to the signature of the empress. Dolgoruky, and later Golitsyn, were repressed.

Gradually, Anna went to satisfy the most urgent demands of the Russian nobility: their service life was limited to 25 years; that part of the Decree on Single Inheritance was cancelled, which limited the right of nobles to dispose of the estate when it was transferred by inheritance; making it easier to obtain an officer's rank. For these purposes, a cadet corps of nobles was created, upon completion of which an officer rank was awarded; It was allowed to enroll nobles in the service from infancy, which gave them the opportunity to receive an officer rank “based on length of service” upon reaching adulthood.

An accurate description of the personality of the new empress was given by V.O. Klyuchevsky: “Tall and corpulent, with a face more masculine than feminine, callous by nature and even more callous during early widowhood... amidst court adventures in Courland, where she was pushed around like a Russian-Prussian-Polish toy, she, already 37 years old , brought to Moscow an angry and poorly educated mind with a fierce thirst for belated pleasures and rough entertainment".

Anna Ioannovna's amusements were very expensive for the treasury, and although she, unlike Peter, could not stand alcohol, the maintenance of her courtyard cost 5-6 times more. Most of all, she loved to watch the jesters, among whom were representatives of the most noble families - Prince M.A. Golitsyn, Count A.P. Apraksin, Prince N.F. Volkonsky. It is possible that in this way Anna continued to take revenge on the aristocracy for her humiliation by “conditions”, especially since the Military-Technical Cooperation did not at one time allow her Kurland member to enter Russia favorite - E. Biron.

Not trusting the Russian nobility and not having the desire, or even the ability, to delve into state affairs herself, Anna Ioannovna surrounded herself with people from the Baltic states. The key role at court passed into the hands of her favorite E. Biron.

Some historians call the period of Anna Ioannovna's reign "Bironovshchina", believing that its main feature was the dominance of the Germans, who neglected the interests of the country, demonstrated contempt for everything Russian and pursued a policy of arbitrariness towards the Russian nobility.

However, the government course was determined by Biron’s enemy - A. Osterman, and the arbitrariness was rather carried out by representatives of the domestic nobility, led by the head of the Secret Chancellery A.I. Ushakov. And the Russian nobles caused no less damage to the treasury than foreigners.

Favorite, hoping to weaken the vice-chancellor's influence A. Osterman , managed to introduce his protege into the Cabinet of Ministers - A. Volynsky . But the new minister began to pursue an independent political course, developed a “Project for the Improvement of Internal State Affairs,” in which he advocated for the further expansion of the privileges of the nobility and raised the issue of the dominance of foreigners. By this he displeased Biron, who, teaming up with Osterman, managed to get Volynsky charged with “insulting her imperial majesty” and bring him to the chopping block in 1740.

Soon Anna Ioannovna died, appointing her niece's son as successor Anna Leopoldovna , Duchess of Brunswick, infant Ivan Antonovich under the regency of Biron.

In the face of general discontent among the nobility and especially the guard, which the regent tried to disband, the head of the military college, Field Marshal Minich carried out another coup d'etat. But Minich himself, famous for the words: "The Russian state has the advantage over others that it is governed by God himself, otherwise it is impossible to explain how it exists", soon miscalculated his own strength and ended up in retirement, letting Osterman take first place.

6. Reign of Elizabeth Petrovna (1741-1761)

On November 25, 1741, the “daughter” of Peter the Great, relying on the support of the guard, carried out another coup d’etat and seized power. The peculiarities of this coup were that Elizaveta Petrovna had broad support from ordinary people of the city and the lower guards (only 17.5% of the 308 guards participants were nobles), who saw in her the daughter of Peter, all the hardships of whose reign had already been forgotten, and the personality and actions began to be idealized. The coup of 1741, unlike others, had a patriotic overtones, because was directed against the dominance of foreigners.

Foreign diplomacy tried to take part in the preparation of the coup, seeking to obtain political and even territorial dividends through its assistance to Elizabeth. But all the hopes of the French ambassador Chetardy and the Swedish ambassador Nolken ultimately turned out to be in vain. The coup was accelerated by the fact that the ruler Anna Leopoldovna became aware of Elizabeth’s meetings with foreign ambassadors, and the threat of forced tonsure as a nun hung over the lover of balls and entertainment.

Having seized power, Elizaveta Petrovna proclaimed a return to her father’s policies, but she was hardly able to rise to such a level. She managed to repeat the era of the reign of the great emperor more in form than in spirit. Elizabeth began by restoring the institutions created by Peter 1 and their status. Having abolished the Cabinet of Ministers, she returned to the Senate the significance of the highest state body, and restored the Berg and Manufactory Collegium.

The German favorites under Elizabeth were replaced by Russian and Ukrainian nobles, who were more interested in the affairs of the country. So, with the active assistance of her young favorite I.I. Shuvalova Moscow University was opened in 1755. On the initiative of his cousin, from the late 1740s. de facto head of government P.I. Shuvalova , in 1753 a decree was issued “on the abolition of internal customs and petty duties,” which gave impetus to the development of trade and the formation of an internal all-Russian market. By decree of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1744, the death penalty was actually abolished in Russia.

At the same time, its social policy was aimed at transformation of the nobility from the service class into the privileged class and the strengthening of serfdom. She instilled luxury in every possible way, which led to a sharp increase in the costs of the nobles for themselves and the maintenance of their court.

These expenses fell on the shoulders of the peasants, who in the era of Elizabeth finally turned into “baptized property”, which could be sold without the slightest remorse, exchanged for a purebred dog, etc. The attitude of the nobles towards the peasants as “talking cattle” was caused and ended by that time a cultural split in Russian society, as a result of which Russian nobles, who spoke French, no longer understood their peasants. The strengthening of serfdom was expressed in the landowners obtaining the right to sell their peasants as conscripts (1747), as well as to exile them without trial to Siberia (1760).

In her domestic and foreign policy, Elizaveta Petrovna took national interests into account to a greater extent. In 1756, Russia, on the side of a coalition of Austria, France, Sweden and Saxony, entered the war with Prussia, supported by England. Russia's participation in " Seven Years' War "1756-1763 brought the army of Frederick II to the brink of disaster.

In August 1757, at the Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf, the Russian army S.F. Apraksin as a result of the successful actions of the detachment of General P.A. Rumyantseva achieved her first victory. In August 1758, General Fermor at Zorndorf, having suffered significant losses, managed to achieve a “draw” with Frederick’s army, and in August 1759 at Kunersdorf the troops of P.S. Saltykov was defeated.

In the fall of 1760, Russian-Austrian troops captured Berlin and only the death of Elizabeth Petrovna on December 25, 1761 saved Prussia from complete disaster. Her heir, Peter III, who idolized Frederick II, left the coalition and concluded a peace treaty with him, returning to Prussia everything lost in the war.

Despite the fact that Elizaveta Petrovna, unlike her father, used unlimited power not so much in the interests of the state, but to satisfy her own needs and whims (after her death, 15 thousand dresses remained), she, wittingly or unwittingly, prepared the country and society for the next era of transformation. During the 20 years of her reign, the country managed to “rest” and accumulate strength for a new breakthrough, which occurred in the era of Catherine II.

7. Reign of Peter III

Elizaveta Petrovna's nephew, Peter III (the son of Anna's elder sister and the Duke of Holstein) was born in Holstein and from childhood was brought up in hostility to everything Russian and respect for everything German. By 1742 he found himself an orphan. Childless Elizabeth invited him to Russia and soon appointed him as her heir. In 1745 he was married to a stranger and unloved Anhalt-Zerbst Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta (named Ekaterina Alekseevna in Orthodoxy).

The heir had not yet outlived his childhood, continuing to play with tin soldiers, while Catherine was actively engaged in self-education and thirsted for love and power.

After the death of Elizabeth, Peter antagonized the nobility and the guard with his pro-German sympathies, unbalanced behavior, the signing of peace with Frederick II, the introduction of Prussian uniforms, and his plans to send the guard to fight for the interests of the Prussian king in Denmark. These measures showed that he did not know, and most importantly, did not want to know the country he led.

At the same time, on February 18, 1762, he signed the manifesto “On the granting of liberty and freedom to the entire Russian nobility,” which freed nobles from compulsory service, abolished corporal punishment for them and turned them into a truly privileged class. Then the terrifying Secret Investigation Office was abolished. He stopped the persecution of schismatics and decided to secularize church and monastic land ownership, and prepared a decree on the equalization of all religions. All these measures met the objective needs of Russia's development and reflected the interests of the nobility. But his personal behavior, indifference and even dislike for Russia, mistakes in foreign policy and insulting attitude towards his wife, who managed to gain respect from the nobility and the guard, created the preconditions for his overthrow. In preparing the coup, Catherine was guided not only by political pride, the thirst for power and the instinct of self-preservation, but also by the desire to serve her new homeland.

8. Results of the era of palace coups

Palace coups did not entail changes in the political, much less social, system of society and boiled down to a struggle for power among various noble groups pursuing their own, most often selfish, interests. At the same time, the specific policies of each of the six monarchs had their own characteristics, sometimes important for the country. In general, the socio-economic stabilization and foreign policy successes achieved during the reign of Elizabeth created the conditions for more accelerated development and new breakthroughs in foreign policy that would occur under Catherine II.

Romanovs - female dynasty

The royal dynasty of the Romanovs in the 17th century was a predominantly female dynasty. The number of children was large: the first Romanov, Mikhail Fedorovich, had 10 children, his son Alexei Mikhailovich - 16. At the same time, infant mortality took up a significant percentage of the number of births, although it decreased over time. But most importantly, more girls were born than boys (by the way, there was an interesting pattern in the Romanov family - the birth of four girls in a row in one family).

Men had a lower average life expectancy than women. Thus, of the Romanov tsars in the 17th century, none exceeded the 50-year mark: Mikhail Fedorovich lived 49 years, Alexey Mikhailovich - 46, Fyodor Alekseevich did not live to see 21 years, Ivan Alekseevich lived 29 years. By today's standards, all the tsars of the Romanov dynasty in the 17th century were relatively young or mature, but by no means old people. The life expectancy of princesses ranges between 42 (Tsarevna Natalya Alekseevna) and 70 (Tsarevna Tatyana Mikhailovna) years. However, only two princesses did not live to be 50 years old - Natalya Alekseevna and Sofya Alekseevna (lived 46 years), while the majority crossed the 50-year mark. Physically, the women of the Romanov family were, apparently, much stronger than the men.

Despite the presence of a large number of young women, the Romanov dynasty was in absolute international genealogical isolation. An insurmountable obstacle stood in the way of dynastic marriages with foreign ruling families. A Russian tsar (or prince) could marry a person of lower status (a “simple” noblewoman), thereby elevating her. The princess could not marry a person below her in status - therefore, only an equal marriage was possible. In this case, the groom had to be Orthodox (and there were almost no other Orthodox kingdoms besides Russia) or convert to Orthodoxy before marriage and remain in Russia.

Mikhail Fedorovich attempted to marry his eldest daughter Irina to the illegitimate son of the Danish king, Duke Voldemar, but the question of the groom’s conversion to Orthodoxy turned out to be the stumbling block over which all plans were dashed. This unsuccessful attempt, apparently, discouraged the Romanovs from looking for other suitors for their princesses - be that as it may, until 1710, not a single princess from the Romanov family ever got married, and most of them lived until their death in the royal mansion unmarried virgins (the opinion that they took monastic tonsure en masse does not correspond to reality; in fact, such cases were isolated).

Safe marriages to noblewomen

Only once, the very first, the Romanovs tried to become related to the Russian aristocracy - the princes Dolgorukovs, but this first marriage of Mikhail Fedorovich was very short-lived. Subsequently, the Romanovs became related to the “ordinary”, not very noble nobility, which existed far from palace intrigues.

The choice of a bride from, as they say, “broad layers of the noble masses” probably symbolized the connection of the royal family with their subjects, with the then “society” from which the Russian queens came. In the 17th century, the Romanovs became related to the nobles Streshnevs, Miloslavskys, Naryshkins, Grushetskys, Apraksins, Saltykovs and Lopukhins. Subsequently, many relatives of the queens, even very distant ones, such as, for example, Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy Petr Andreevich Tolstoy(1645-1729) - associate of Peter the Great, statesman and diplomat, active privy councilor. or Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev(1686-1750) - Russian historian, geographer, economist and statesman; author of "Russian History". Founder of Yekaterinburg, Perm and other cities., took important places in the state life of the country. In other words, the matrimonial policy of the royal dynasty remained deeply unique.

How Peter I inherited the throne

After the death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, the struggle between two branches of the Romanov family for the throne was clearly revealed. The eldest branch represented the descendants of Alexei Mikhailovich from his first marriage, with Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna (Miloslavskaya), the youngest - the descendants from his second marriage, with Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna (Naryshkina). Since the only man in the senior branch, Tsarevich Ivan Alekseevich, was of little capacity, and the only man in the junior branch, Tsarevich Pyotr Alekseevich, reached only ten years of age, relatively young women of the royal family came to the forefront of political life - the princess Sofya Alekseevna, who was 24 years old at that time, and her stepmother Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, aged 30.

As you know, victory in the events of 1682 remained with Princess Sophia, who actually became the real ruler under two kings - Ivan and Peter. The situation of two kingdoms was unique to Muscovite Rus', although it had some basis in the previous Rurik tradition and the more distant dynastic tradition of Byzantium. In 1689, young Peter Alekseevich was able to remove Princess Sophia from power, and after the death of his brother Ivan in 1696, he remained the sole sovereign of Russia. Thus began a new era in the history of the country and in the history of the House of Romanov.

The 18th century saw the royal dynasty in the following composition: two men (Tsar Peter Alekseevich and his ten-year-old son and heir Alexei Petrovich) and fourteen (!) women - three queens, two of them widows (Marfa Matveevna, the widow of Fyodor Alekseevich, and Praskovya Fedorovna, the widow of Ivan Alekseevich) and one who was “out of work” and tonsured a nun (Peter’s first wife, Evdokia Fedorovna) and eleven princesses - the seven sisters of the Tsar (six half-blooded, including Sofya Alekseevna, imprisoned in a monastery, and one relative; almost all of them left from the usual childbearing age for that time), one aunt of the tsar (Tatyana Mikhailovna, the last of the children of Mikhail Fedorovich) and three nieces of the tsar (daughters of Ivan Alekseevich and Praskovya Fedorovna). Accordingly, only in relation to the last three women could one hope for marriage and continuation of offspring. Due to this situation, the royal family found itself under a certain threat. Peter I made fundamental changes in dynastic politics and changed the dynastic situation itself.

An extraordinary phenomenon was the actual divorce of the tsar and his second marriage to a rootless native of Livonia, Marta Skavronskaya, who in Orthodoxy received the name Ekaterina Alekseevna. The marriage took place in 1712, and by that time the couple had two premarital daughters (who survived among other children who died in infancy) - Anna (born in 1708) and Elizabeth (born in 1709). They became “married”, which, however, did not remove the question of the legality of their origin. Subsequently, Peter and Catherine had several more children, but they all died in infancy or childhood. By the end of the reign of Peter I, there was no hope left for continuation of the family line through the male line from the second marriage of the tsar (emperor).

Peter I

Three dynastic marriages, breakthrough to the West

A breakthrough phenomenon was the marriage with representatives of foreign ruling dynasties. This turned out to be possible thanks to a tolerant attitude towards the issue of religion - at first it was not even necessary for one of the spouses to convert to the faith of the other. A breakthrough into Europe also meant recognition of the royal dynasty as a European dynasty, and this could not have happened without appropriate matrimonial unions.

The first foreign marriage among the Romanovs was the marriage of Princess Anna Ioannovna (niece of Peter I and the future Russian Empress) with the Duke of Courland Friedrich Wilhelm, concluded in 1710. It had great geopolitical significance, since Courland was a prominent Baltic state that played a significant role in the region. The borders of Russia came into direct contact with the borders of Courland after the annexation of Livonia as a result of the Northern War. Despite the fact that the Duke died two and a half months after the wedding, Anna, remaining the Dowager Duchess of Courland, at the behest of Peter, went to her new homeland, where she lived for almost twenty years (let us note that she remained Orthodox).

The second marriage, concluded under Peter, had even greater dynastic significance. In 1711, Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, who was the heir to the throne, married in Europe Charlotte Christina Sophia, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (neither the bride nor the groom changed their religion). The most significant aspect of this marriage was that the bride’s sister, Elizabeth Christina, was the wife of the Austrian Prince Charles, who in the same 1711 became Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation under the name Charles VI (it was to his brother-in-law that Alexei Petrovich later fled) .

The Holy Roman Empire was the leading and highest status state of the then European world. The twinning with its rulers (even through property) placed Russia in the rank of leading European countries and strengthened its status in the international arena. The heir to the Russian throne became the brother-in-law of the Holy Roman Emperor, and the future sovereigns turned out to be directly related (this was actually the case - Peter II was the cousin of the future Empress Maria Theresa; however, they ruled at different times and Peter did not leave offspring). So, thanks to the marriage of Tsarevich Alexei, the Russian dynasty became related to the Habsburgs.

The third dynastic marriage took place in 1716: Peter's niece Ekaterina Ivanovna married Karl Leopold, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. The territory of this state occupied the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, and this union further strengthened Russia’s position in the Baltic region. Finally, after the death of Peter, the previously prepared marriage of the Tsar’s eldest daughter Anna Petrovna and the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich was concluded. Holstein was the northernmost German duchy, bordering the Kingdom of Denmark and also facing the Baltic Sea. However, the important point was that Karl Frederick on his mother’s side was the nephew of the Swedish king Charles XII, which means that his descendants could lay claim to the Swedish throne. And so it happened: the son born to Anna Petrovna, Karl Peter, named after Charles XII and Peter the Great, was for some time considered the heir to the Swedish throne. Thus, under a favorable set of circumstances, the Swedish throne could be occupied by the descendants of Peter I, that is, representatives of the Romanov dynasty.

So Peter the Great covered almost the entire Baltic region with dynastic marriages. To the southwest of the territory of the Russian Empire was the Duchy of Courland, where his niece ruled. Further west, the southern coast of the Baltic Sea was occupied by the Duchy of Mecklenburg, whose ruler was the husband of another niece and where her offspring could subsequently rule. Further, the southern part of the Baltic was closed by Holstein, where Peter’s son-in-law ruled, whose descendants had rights not only to the Holstein throne, but also to the Swedish one - and the longtime enemy of the Northern War could in the future become not only an ally, but also a relative of the Romanovs. And the territory of Sweden (in its Finnish part), as is known, adjoined the lands of the Russian Empire from the northwest. In other words, having entered the Baltic and established a territorial position there, Peter I simultaneously consolidated Russia dynastically in almost the entire Baltic region. But this did not help solve the main problem - the problem of succession to the throne in Russia itself.

Problems of succession to the throne. Tsarevich Alexey. Catherine I

The dramatic conflict of Peter's reign was the notorious case of Tsarevich Alexei. Accused of treason, the king's son and heir was imprisoned, where he was interrogated and tortured, as a result of which he died in 1718 (his wife died even earlier). At that time, in the male generation, Peter's offspring consisted of two three-year-old children - a grandson (son Alexei), Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, and a son from Catherine, Tsarevich Peter Petrovich.

It was Pyotr Petrovich who was declared the next heir to the throne. However, he died before he was four years old, in April 1719. Peter had no more sons from Catherine. From that moment on, the dynastic situation in the royal family became threatening. In addition to Peter and Catherine, the royal family consisted of Peter's grandson and granddaughter through his son Alexei - Peter and Natalya, two daughters from Catherine (the third, Natalya, who lived to a relatively adult age, died a little over a month after the death of Peter himself) and three nieces - Catherine , Anna and Praskovya (their mother, Tsarina Praskovya Fedorovna, died in 1723). (We do not take into account Peter’s first wife, Evdokia Feodorovna, Elena in monasticism, who, of course, did not play any role.) Anna was in Courland, and Ekaterina Ivanovna left her husband in 1722 and returned to Russia with her daughter Elizaveta Ekaterina Christina, a Lutheran religion (the future Anna Leopoldovna).

In a situation where the circle of potential heirs is extremely narrow, and the heir himself theoretically may not justify the trust of the monarch (as happened, according to Peter, in the case of Tsarevich Alexei), Peter I made a radical decision by issuing the Charter on the succession to the throne in 1722. According to this document, the sovereign had the right, at his own discretion, to appoint an heir from any of his relatives by will. One might think that in that situation this was the only way out to continue the continuity of power in the fading Romanov dynasty. The previous order of succession to the throne from father to eldest son was abolished, and the new one became, contrary to the wishes of its founder, one of the factors in the frequent changes of power on the Russian throne, which in historiography was called the “era of palace coups.”

But Peter I did not have time to exercise his right of testament. The famous legend that he allegedly wrote before his death: “Give everything,” but to whom he did not have time to finish writing, is a fiction. At the time of his death in 1725, the only male heir was his grandson Pyotr Alekseevich, nine years old. In addition to him, the Romanov dynasty consisted of Peter’s widow Ekaterina Alekseevna; their daughters - Anna, who was a bride at that time, and Elizabeth; three nieces, one of whom was in Courland, and two in Russia (one with her daughter), as well as Peter’s granddaughter, Natalya Alekseevna (she would die in 1728 during the reign of her younger brother Peter II). Perhaps anticipating difficulties in the event of his death, Peter crowned his wife Catherine as empress back in 1724, giving her the absolutely legal status of empress consort. However, by the beginning of 1725, Ekaterina Alekseevna lost Peter’s trust.

There were two possible contenders for the throne - Peter's widow, Ekaterina Alekseevna, and his grandson, Peter Alekseevich. Catherine was supported mainly by Peter's associates, primarily the Menshikovs; Peter - representatives of old boyar families from the royal circle, such as princes Golitsyn, Dolgorukov, Repnin. The intervention of the guards decided the outcome of the confrontation, and Catherine I was proclaimed empress.

The era of palace coups

Catherine I (1725-1727)

Catherine's family itself consisted of two daughters - Anna, who married the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and the unmarried Elizabeth. There remained the direct heir of Peter I in the male line - Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich. In addition to him, the royal family included: his elder sister Natalya Alekseevna and three nieces of Peter I - the daughters of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich, one of whom was outside Russia. The potential heir was Pyotr Alekseevich (there was even a plan to “reconcile” the two lines of descendants of Peter I - the marriage of Pyotr Alekseevich to Elizaveta Petrovna).

At the insistence of Menshikov, who planned the marriage of Peter with his daughter Maria, a testament was signed on behalf of Catherine I shortly before her death - a will, according to which Peter Alekseevich became the heir to the throne. In the event of his childless death, Anna Petrovna and her descendants would then inherit, then Elizaveta Petrovna and her possible descendants, then Peter Alekseevich's elder sister Natalya Alekseevna and her possible descendants. Thus, for the first time, due to factual circumstances, this document assumed the transfer of rights to the throne through the female line.

It is significant that the throne was assigned only to the descendants of Peter I, and the descendants of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich were excluded from the line of succession to the throne. In addition, provision was made for the exclusion from the order of succession to the throne of persons of non-Orthodox religion, as well as those who occupied other thrones. Due to the young age of the heir, his reign was initially supposed to take place under the tutelage of the Supreme Privy Council, the highest government body in the empire, created in 1726. After the death of Catherine I in May 1727, Peter II was proclaimed emperor in accordance with her will.

Peter II (1727-1730)

Soon after the accession to the throne of Peter II, the eldest daughter of Peter I and Catherine I, Anna Petrovna, together with her husband, the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, left Russia. She died in 1728, giving birth to a son, Karl Peter (the future Peter III). In 1728, Peter II’s elder sister Natalya Alekseevna also died childless. The question of the emperor's possible marriage was acute. Menshikov's plans to marry Peter to his daughter collapsed as a result of court intrigues. Representatives of the family of princes Dolgorukov had a great influence on the young emperor, at whose insistence Peter was betrothed to the daughter of Alexei Dolgorukov, Ekaterina. The young emperor died suddenly from smallpox in January 1730, on the eve of the announced wedding, and did not leave a will. The attempt of the Dolgorukov princes to present the emperor's false will in favor of his bride as genuine failed. With the death of Peter II, the Romanov family in the direct male line came to an end.

By the time of the death of Peter II, the line of descendants of Peter I was represented only by the grandson of Peter I - the Holstein prince Karl Peter (two years old), who was in the Holstein capital Kiel, and the daughter of Peter I, the unmarried Elizabeth Petrovna. The line of descendants of Ivan Alekseevich was represented by three daughters of Tsar Ivan and one granddaughter of the Lutheran faith. The circle of potential heirs has narrowed to five people.

The issue of succession to the throne was decided at a meeting of the Supreme Privy Council headed by Prince Golitsyn. The testament of Catherine I, according to which, in the event of the childless death of Peter II, the throne should have passed to the offspring of Anna Petrovna (however, the Lutheran religion of Karl Peter could probably serve as an obstacle in this), and then to Elizabeth Petrovna, was ignored. The offspring of Peter I and Catherine I were perceived by members of the Council as premarital, and therefore not entirely legitimate.

At the suggestion of Prince Golitsyn, the empress was to become the Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna, the middle of three sisters - the daughters of Tsar Ivan (which again contradicted the testament of Catherine I - also because Anna was the regent of a foreign throne). The main factor in choosing her candidacy was the opportunity to realize the plan of the members of the Supreme Privy Council to limit autocracy in Russia. Under certain conditions (conditions), Anna Ioannovna was invited to take the Russian throne.

Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740)

At the very beginning of her reign, Anna Ioannovna, as is known, rejected plans to limit autocratic power. In 1731 and 1733, her sisters, Praskovya and Ekaterina, died. The only relative of the Empress through Ivan Alekseevich was her niece, the daughter of Catherine’s sister, who in the same 1733, shortly before her mother’s death, converted to Orthodoxy with the name Anna (Anna Leopoldovna).

The offspring of Peter the Great still consisted of two people - a grandson, Karl Peter, who became the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp in 1739, and a daughter, Elizaveta Petrovna. To secure succession to the throne for her line, Anna Ioannovna already in December 1731 signed a manifesto “On taking the oath of allegiance to the Heir to the All-Russian Throne, who will be appointed by Her Imperial Majesty.” Thus, the principle of Peter the Great's Charter on the succession to the throne was fully restored - the exclusively testamentary nature of the Russian succession to the throne.

The future son of Anna Leopoldovna (niece of Anna Ioannovna) was supposed to be the heir. Only in 1739 was Anna Leopoldovna married to Anton Ulrich, Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, who had been in Russian service since 1733. His candidacy as the husband of the Empress's niece was lobbied by Austria. Through his mother, Antoinette Amalia, the prince was the nephew of Elizabeth Christina, the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, and also of Charlotte Christina Sophia, the wife of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich. Consequently, he was a cousin of both Empress Maria Theresa and Peter II. In addition, the prince's younger sister, Elisabeth Christina, was the wife of the Prussian heir to the throne, Frederick (later the Prussian king Frederick II the Great), from 1733. In August 1740, Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich had their first child, who was named by the dynastic name of this line of the Romanov family - Ivan (John).

A few days before her death, Anna Ioannovna signed a will in favor of Ivan Antonovich, and then appointed the Duke of Courland Biron as regent until he came of age. In the event of the premature death of Ivan Antonovich, who left no offspring, the next potential son of Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich became the heir.

John VI (1740-1741)

The short reign of Emperor John VI (officially he was called John III, since the account at that time was kept from the first Russian Tsar, Ivan the Terrible; later it began to be told from Ivan Kalita) was marked by the quick elimination and arrest of Biron as a result of a conspiracy organized by Field Marshal Minich. Anna Leopoldovna was proclaimed ruler under the young emperor. In July 1741, Ivan Antonovich's sister Catherine was born. On November 25, 1741, Ivan Antonovich was overthrown from the throne as a result of a coup led by the daughter of Peter the Great, Elizaveta Petrovna.

Elizaveta Petrovna (1741-1761)

During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, the “Brunswick family” - Anna Leopoldovna, Anton Ulrich, Ivan Antonovich and their other children (Ekaterina and Elizabeth, Peter and Alexey, who were born later) were imprisoned and exiled (Anna Leopoldovna died in 1746). The only heir of the unmarried empress was her nephew, Duke of Holstein Karl Peter. In 1742, he arrived in St. Petersburg, where in November of the same year he converted to Orthodoxy with the name Peter Fedorovich and was officially declared heir to the throne. In 1745, Peter Fedorovich married Ekaterina Alekseevna (before the adoption of Orthodoxy, Sophia Frederick Augustus), daughter of Prince Anhalt-Zerbst. On her mother’s side, Catherine also came from the family of the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp and was her husband’s second cousin. Catherine's maternal uncle became the heir to the Swedish throne in 1743, and then the Swedish king, and his son, the Swedish king Gustav III, was Catherine's cousin. Another uncle was once Elizaveta Petrovna’s fiancé, but died of smallpox on the eve of the wedding. From the marriage of Pyotr Fedorovich and Ekaterina Alekseevna in 1754, a son was born - Pavel Petrovich. After the death of Elizaveta Petrovna, the last representative of the Romanov family proper, in December 1761 Peter Fedorovich became emperor under the name of Peter III.

Peter III (1761-1762) and Catherine II (1762-1796)

The unpopular Emperor Peter III was overthrown on June 28, 1762 in a coup led by his wife, who became the Russian Empress Catherine II.

At the beginning of the reign of Catherine II, during an attempt to liberate (in accordance with a certain order), the former Emperor John Antonovich, who was imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress, was killed. Anton Ulrich died in exile in 1776, four of his children were sent by Catherine to their aunt, the Danish queen, in 1780 (the last of them, Catherine Antonovna, died in Denmark in 1807).

Catherine's heir, Pavel Petrovich, was married twice. From her second marriage, with Maria Feodorovna (nee Princess of Württemberg), three sons and six daughters were born during Catherine’s lifetime (another son was born after Paul I’s accession to the throne). The future of the dynasty was assured. Having become Russian Emperor after the death of his mother in 1796, Paul I adopted a new law on succession to the throne, which established a clear order of succession to the throne in order of seniority in a direct male descendant line. With its adoption, Peter's Charter of 1722 finally lost force.

In the Russian Empire, the change of power occurred mainly through palace coups carried out by noble groups with the assistance of guards regiments. In Russian historiography, this period is called the era of palace coups.

The beginning of the era is considered to be February 8 (January 28, old style) 1725, when Emperor Peter I died without leaving an heir and without having time to implement his decree of 1722, according to which the tsar had the right to appoint his own successor. Among the contenders for the throne were the grandson of Peter I - the young Tsarevich Pyotr Alekseevich, the wife of the late Tsar Ekaterina Alekseevna and their daughters - the Tsarevnas Anna and Elizabeth. It is believed that at first Peter I was going to leave the throne to Anna, but then he changed his mind and for the first time in Russian history he crowned his wife Catherine. However, shortly before the death of the king, the relationship between the spouses deteriorated sharply. Each of the contenders had their own supporters. On the day of the emperor’s death, Alexander Menshikov, who supported Catherine, configured the guards regiments accordingly, lined them up under the windows of the palace - this is how he achieved the proclamation of the queen as an autocratic empress. The way the issue was resolved anticipated subsequent events.

In 1727, during the reign of Peter the Great’s grandson Peter II, Menshikov himself became a victim of the coup, having by that time concentrated all power in his hands and completely controlled the young tsar. Menshikov’s unexpected illness was taken advantage of by his political opponents, princes Dolgoruky and Andrei Osterman, who managed to gain influence on the tsar and achieve a decree first on the resignation and then on Menshikov’s exile to Siberia.