"Age of Golden" Catherine

1. "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Having ascended the throne by a coup on November 25, 1741, Elizaveta Petrovna did not
feel strongly enough on it. The secretary of the French embassy in St. Petersburg, Ruliere
testified that "she never relied on the safety of the crown she wears." The Empress did not
forget about the legitimate Russian Tsar John YI - the main reason for her fears, although
she was not going to break her vow to save his life. To strengthen her own positions and put
an end to the claims of the supporters of the Brunswick family, Elizaveta Petrovna already
on November 28, 1741 hastened to proclaim the son of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl
Friedrich and Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great Karl-Peter-Ulrich, the heir to the
Russian throne.

On February 5, 1742, the 14-year-old prince of Kiel was brought to St. Petersburg, baptized
according to the Orthodox rite and has already been officially declared the heir to the
Russian crown by Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich.

Interesting is the fact that if on the maternal side the named Peter Fedorovich was the
native grandson of Peter the Great, then on the side of his father he was the grand-nephew
of the Swedish king Charles XII. The two opponents were thus reconciled in the offspring.

Under certain circumstances, Karl-Peter could lay claim to the Swedish throne. But when in
November 1742 a delegation from Stockholm appeared in St. Petersburg to notify of the
election of Karl-Peter as heir to the Swedish crown, it was disappointed - a person with that
name no longer existed.

While still in Holstein, physically and morally weak, Pyotr Fedorovich was brought up by the
knight marshal Brumaire, who was more of a soldier than a teacher, "more a groom than a
teacher" (according to S. Platonov). The young prince was taught a lot, but so ineptly that he
received a complete disgust for the sciences: Latin, for example, bored him so much that
later in Petersburg he forbade placing Latin books in his library. They taught him the same,
preparing mainly for the occupation of the Swedish throne, and, consequently, brought up
in the spirit of the Lutheran religion and Swedish patriotism - and the latter at that time was
expressed, among other things, in hatred of Russia.

To rectify the situation in St. Petersburg, experienced teachers were urgently assigned to
the future emperor, and Elizaveta Petrovna entrusted the duties of an educator to
Academician Shtelin. Noting Peter's abilities and excellent memory, Shtelin later recalled
that the heir was not particularly interested in the humanities, and fortification and artillery
were his favorite subjects. And although, according to Shtelin, by the end of 1743 Peter
already knew the foundations of Russian history and could list all the sovereigns of Russia
from Rurik to Peter the Great, the new educator could not inspire him with love for his new
fatherland, where he always felt like a stranger.
In February 1745, Pyotr Fedorovich turned 17 years old, and on August 25 of the same year,
the heir to the Russian throne married 16-year-old Anhalt princess Sophia Friderica Augusta,
who was named Ekaterina Alekseevna in Orthodoxy. The main role in the conclusion of this
marriage was played by political calculation: on the one hand, Elizabeth believed that the
seedy German princess would not give her any special troubles in the future (and therefore
rejected other applicants, in particular the daughters of the Polish and French kings). on the
other hand, the Prussian king Frederick II worked hard for Sophia Frederica, believing that
she was "most suitable for Russia and in line with Prussian interests." Ekaterina Alekseevna
herself was well aware that she did not need Peter (who, by the way, was her second
cousin), but the imperial crown. Later, she wrote about her condition before the wedding:
"My heart did not bode well for me; ambition alone supported me."

This ambition, 17 years later, helped her to become the autocratic ruler of Russia, and it also
made Catherine in her manifestos of late June-early July 1762, and then in the Notes, draw
an ugly grotesque image of a deceived husband. To stake out this image in the public
consciousness and descendants, Catherine's associates and foreigners who sympathize with
her did a lot.

Tendentious information also migrated to the works of later historians. SM Solovyov called
Pyotr Fedorovich "an alien sovereign", "a sworn enemy of Russia," a being physically and
spiritually weak. For V.O. Klyuchevsky, Peter III was "the most unpleasant of all the
unpleasant things that Empress Elizabeth left behind," a limited, insignificant, deceitful,
drunken man, a hater of everything Russian. All these assessments have migrated to
modern historiography, primarily to Marxist, and they are especially tenacious in fiction and
cinematography: it is enough to recall the magnificent, but far from objective British film
Young Catherine.

True, one cannot ignore the positive judgments about Peter, found in historical works of
different times. In particular, V.N. Tatishchev, N.M. Karamzin, and in modern times S.M.
Kashtanov, S.O. Schmidt, America Kan researchers M. Raef, K. Leonard demonstrated a
more robust approach to the problem.

Particularly noteworthy is the attempt to give an unbiased characterization of Peter III of a

person and statesman, undertaken in 1991 by A. S. Mylnikov, who published in the journal
Voprosy istorii the article Peter III and the monograph Temptation by a Miracle: The Russian
Prince, His Prototypes and self-styled doubles. " Without idealizing Pyotr Fedorovich,
Mylnikov, however, notes that he was by no means a rude soldier: he loved Italian music
and played the violin well, had a collection of violins; loved painting, books; kept a rich
personal library and took care of its constant replenishment. The catalog of his numismatic
cabinet has been preserved. Peter the Great Duke showed a steady interest in the needs of
the University of Keele (in his native Holstein) and the St. Petersburg land nobility cadet
corps, the "commander-in-chief" of which he was appointed in February 1759, he
demonstrated simplicity of behavior. He willingly communicated with ordinary people,
soldiers. After becoming emperor, Peter traveled and walked around Petersburg alone,
without protection, visiting his former servants at home. He was characterized by such
qualities as openness, kindness, observation, passion and wit in arguments, but also hot
temper, anger, haste in actions.
Apparently, the feeling of duality of origin (Russian about his mother and German by his
father) gave rise to a certain complex of double self-awareness in Pyotr Fedorovich. "Still,
even if he felt himself to be largely a German, - writes A. S. Mylnikov, - then - a German in
the Russian service."

Peter had his own view on key issues of domestic and foreign policy of Russia: differences
on them with Elizaveta Petrovna led to the fact that their personal relationships became
strained and even alienated. In a narrow circle of courtiers, even the possibility of expelling
the Grand Duke to Holstein with the announcement of his young son Paul as emperor was
discussed.

Maybe it would have happened, but on Christmas, December 25, 1761, Empress Elizabeth,
having reigned for exactly twenty years and died for one month, and Peter Fedorovich
ascended the throne under the name of Peter III. In his first manifesto, he promised "in
everything to follow the footsteps of the wise sovereign, our grandfather Peter the Great."

From the very first weeks of his reign, Peter III paid special attention to the strengthening of
order and discipline in the highest public places, himself setting an example.

The emperor usually got up at 7 o'clock in the morning, listened from 8 to 10 the reports of
the dignitaries; at 11 o'clock he personally conducted a watch parade (divorce of the palace
guard), before and after which he sometimes made trips to government offices or inspected
industrial establishments. Although initially he decided to liquidate the Elizabethan
Conference at the highest court, but then nevertheless ordered it "to leave on the same
basis." Continuity in the activities of Peter III was also manifested in the selection of leading
personnel. His closest associates were N. Yu. Trubetskoy, an active participant in the coup of
1741, MI Vorontsov, one of Elizabeth's favorites, patron of Lomonosov, II Shuvalov. An
important role was played by his secretary D.V. Volkov, Prosecutor General of the Senate
A.I.Glebov, director of the Cadet Corps A.P. Melgunov, who enjoyed the emperor's
confidence.

The insufficiently educated, weak-willed Peter, of course, could not independently cover the
interests of a huge country, and he had little desire for that. However, he was often open to
goodness, and prompted by favorable circumstances, he gladly signed a manifesto or decree
promising some kind of "favor." The three above-mentioned proxies largely stimulated the
lawmaking activity of the new autocrat. When there was no such stimulation, Peter could
engage in such activities on his own. So, returning at night from Anichkov Palace from
Hetman Kirill Razumovsky on horseback, he was attacked by stray dogs. The next day, in the
name of Chief of Police General Korf, a personalized imperial decree was issued with the
following content: "To exterminate the dogs available in St. Petersburg near the palace."

In just 186 days of the reign of Peter III, he issued 192 decrees, and most of them were still
far from extravagant.

The general course of the country's government was pro-noble. On February 18, 1762, a
manifesto was issued on the granting of liberty to the Russian nobility - the nobles were
exempted from compulsory civil service, and could now continue or stop serving at their
own will and at any time.

It is noteworthy that at the same time, the training duty imposed on him by Peter the Great
was left on the nobility. The manifesto of February 18 obliged the nobleman to send his sons
to a state school or to prepare them further for the exam according to the established
program, "so that no one would dare to educate their children without teaching the
sciences decent to the noble nobility." Peter I ordered to study for the service, and under
the grandson of Peter I, the nobility was released from service, but they continued to force
them to study, i.e. learning was made a new obligatory service for him.

The development of self-esteem among the nobles should have been facilitated by the
abolition of the Secret Chancellery on February 21: "... the hated" word and deed "should
not mean anything from now on, and we forbid anyone to use it; either in a fight, or,
avoiding beatings and punishment, they should be punished immediately as the police
punish mischievous and outrageous people. " Extrajudicial arbitrariness in cases of a political
nature was replaced from now on by ordinary court proceedings.

A number of decrees were devoted to a more humane treatment of serfs. So, by the decree
of February 7 "for innocent patience of torturing courtyard people" the landowner Zotova
was tonsured into a monastery, and her property was confiscated to pay compensation to
the victims; By the decree of February 25, Voronezh lieutenant V. Nesterov was forever
exiled to Nerchinsk for bringing to death a courtyard. At the same time, for the first time in
Russian legislation, the murder of serfs was first qualified as "tyrannical torment".

The decree of March 21, 1762 on the complete secularization of immovable church property
was the relief of the fate of the church-monastery peasants; church and monastery peasants
were freed from their previous duties, were given land and transferred to the jurisdiction of
the state with the payment of an annual poll tax, which in 1762 was set at the rate of one
ruble per male soul. The decree was drawn up by D. Volkov in a clever, ironic form:
“Combining piety with the benefit of the fatherland ... ".

The legislation of Peter III contains a series of acts aimed at encouraging the activities of
merchants and industrialists. The decree on commerce of March 28 provided for the
expansion of the export of bread and other agricultural products; at the same time, it was
forbidden to import into the country sugar, raw materials for cotton-printing enterprises
and other goods, the production of which was established in Russia. a number of decrees
were aimed at expanding the use of hired labor in factories, at providing benefits to
merchants, etc.

By a decree of January 29, 1762, the emperor put an end to the persecution of Old Believers
for their faith, and the manifesto of February 28 to people who fled abroad "of various
ranks, also schismatics, merchants, landlord peasants, courtyard people and military
deserters" were allowed to return to Russia until January 1, 1763 d. "without any fear and
fear." After this decree, the schismatics began to venerate (and still revered) Peter III as
their intercessor, and cases of self-immolation associated with persecutions for the old faith
ceased. There is no doubt that it was this decree that played a significant role in the
movement of E. Pugachev, having favored a significant number of schismatics in his favor.

The government of Peter III thought about measures to raise the combat capability of the
army and navy. The emperor is taking steps to strengthen military discipline in the guards.
His attitude towards the guardsmen was negative: he called them "janissaries", incapable of
either work or military service, and considered them dangerous for the government. Peter
did not hide his intention in the future to abolish the Guards regiments altogether, but first
to send them to fight with Denmark in order to take away Schleswig from her for his
beloved Holstein. The army hastily rebuilt in the Prussian way, a new uniform was
introduced, the names of the regiments were changed, senior commanders, up to the
generals who had become unaccustomed to this, were ordered to personally conduct drill
exercises. All this could not but give rise to opposition to Peter III among the officers,
primarily among the guards. Both the clergy and part of the nobility were dissatisfied,
shocked by some of the emperor's antics, disregard for the rules of court etiquette.

Ekaterina Alekseevna took advantage of the dissatisfaction of these very circles, who, in her
own words, was indifferent to many things, but not to the imperial crown. The Orlov
brothers, P. Passek, S. Bredikhin, the Roslavlev brothers, the Little Russian hetman and the
president of the Academy of Sciences, the commander of the Izmailovsky regiment, Count
Razumovsky, E. Dashkova, and others played an active role in the conspiracy. In total,
through the officers who participated in the conspiracy, Ekaterina could count on the
support of about 10 thousand. Guardsmen. "One can think," writes S.F. Platonov, "that
these high-ranking officials had their own plan of a coup and, dreaming of the accession of
Pavel Petrovich, assimilated his mother Ekaterina Alekseevna only guardianship and regency
until he came of age." To increase the number of Catherine's supporters, the conspirators
spread gossip about Peter's intention to imprison his lawful wife in the Shlisselburg fortress
and even kill her, and then marry his favorite Elizabeth Dashkova, marry Holstein and
Prussians into court ladies, dress up Orthodox pastors and Lutheran clothes shave their
beards, etc. etc.

On June 29, the day of the most important apOstolov Peter and Paul according to the
Orthodox calendar, Peter Fedorovich, who had already been arriving in Oranienbaum for
several days, set his name day in Peterhof, where his wife was to await him. But on the
night of the 28th, a few hours before his arrival there, Catherine left for the capital. Relying
on the guards regiments, she proclaimed herself an autocrat, and her husband deposed.
Peter III was taken by surprise by these events. He missed time hour after hour, and in the
end he missed everything. On the morning of the 29th, the troops loyal to the empress
surrounded the Peterhof palace and the emperor, who was captured by his own wife,
meekly signed a manifesto of abdication drawn up in advance by the Catherine nobles. "...
He allowed himself to be overthrown from the throne like a child who is sent to sleep" - the
Prussian king Frederick II will later remark on this.

The deposed emperor was taken to Ropsha under the close supervision of F. Baryatinsky, A.
Orlov, P. Passek and others. The guards guessed the empress's secret desire - on July 6,
1762, the great grandson of Peter the Great was gone.
Philosopher on the throne. "Enlightened absolutism" by Catherine II

Ekaterina Alekseevna ended up on the Russian throne without having any rights to do so.
She, according to V.O. Klyuchevsky, "made a double seizure: she took power from her
husband and did not transfer it to her son, the natural heir of his father." The overthrow of
Peter III was a complete surprise for his subjects, far from court intrigues. When the
manifesto on the accession of Catherine II to the throne was received in Moscow and the
governor, having read it out in front of the military garrison and residents of the city, called
out a toast in honor of the new autocrat, she hung in silence: the soldiers and the people
were silent. There were rumors about Catherine as a "false" queen, in fact - a self-
proclaimed one. In the northern capital, there was an increase in moods in favor of Ivan
Antonovich, who was languishing in the Shlisselburg fortress, up to the possible marriage of
the new empress with him.

Being a naturally gifted woman, possessing a stubborn will and a rare ability to understand
people and influence them, Catherine II relatively quickly mastered the situation. In the
manifestos of June 28 and July 6, she tried to justify her actions, justifying them by the
"danger to the entire Russian state" arising from the treacherous policy of Peter III, by the
will of "all our loyal subjects" and God himself. Catherine in every possible way emphasized
her commitment to the new homeland, its language, customs and faith. She went from
Moscow on foot on pilgrimage to the Trinity-Sergeeva Lavra, to Rostov to venerate the relics
of Saint Dm. Rostovsky, went to Kiev and worshiped the Pechora saints.

The new empress also decided to start disavowing a number of actions of her predecessor:
she canceled the peace treaty with Prussia and re-started negotiations, the service of the
nobles was again declared compulsory, but the secularization of church property was only
suspended (Catherine was not going to refuse at all from this seductive idea for the state).
However, the coming events have shown that there can be no talk of a complete break with
the previous policy.

But perhaps especially important is that the new government only took into account the
good examples of its predecessors, but led the state according to its own program. And a
significant place in this program was occupied not only by the tasks arising from the
practical needs of the time (strengthening the power of the empire, strengthening the state
system and the positions of the nobility in it, etc.), but also abstract theories assimilated by
the empress mainly from French literature - Voltaire, Diderot, Montesquieu , Delambera.

This last circumstance allows us to characterize its time as a period of "enlightened

absolutism".