coups"
History of Russia in the second quarter of the 18th century. characterized by a sharp struggle of noble groups for power. From 1725 to 1762, seven people changed on the Russian throne, and V.O. Klyuchevsky called this period "the era palace coups».
The Russian Guard began to play a special role in the political life of the country, including in the change of monarchs. It is characteristic that this role was largely predetermined by Peter 1 not only by the creation of guards regiments in Russia, but also by the problem of succession to the throne that arose through his fault.
Tsarevich Alexei, Peter's son from his first wife, Evdokia Lopukhina, was opposed to his father's transformations. For conspiring against the king, he was sentenced to death penalty and died under unclear circumstances on June 26, 1718.
From his second wife, Marta Skavronskaya (born 1684 in the family of a Lithuanian peasant), Peter had children. In 1719, son Pyotr Petrovich, the minor heir, died.
In total, by this time, out of 11 children, only two daughters survived - Anna (b. 1708) and Elizabeth (b. 1709).
In 1722, Peter abolished the previous order of succession (from father to eldest son) and established that the sovereign is free to appoint his own successor.
But his choice was extremely narrow. Grandson - Peter Alekseevich, son of Tsarevich Alexei (born in 1715) was still small. In addition, the king was afraid that he would follow the path of his father.
Peter loved his daughters Anna and Elizabeth, but did not consider them capable of governing Russia, where a firm and experienced hand was needed. In addition, Anna was declared the bride of the Duke of Holstein, and Peter wanted to marry Elizabeth to the French King Louis XV.
Therefore, Peter stopped his choice on his wife, Ekaterina Alekseevna. In May 1724 she was proclaimed empress. It is likely that Peter I would have transferred the Russian throne to her. But in November, he found out that his wife was cheating on him with 28-year-old chamberlain Willim Mons, the brother of Peter's former favorite. On November 16, V. Mons was executed on charges of “tricking, illegal actions and bribery”.
January 28, 1725 first Russian emperor died without appointing an heir. (The tsar had a rather serious illness - uremia, kidney failure, but it cannot be ruled out that his death was hastened by Catherine and Menshikov.)
The real contenders for the Russian throne were Catherine and Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich. Behind each of them were representatives of warring factions who sought to put their own candidate on the throne.
Catherine was supported by Prince Menshikov, Count Tolstoy, Admiral General Apraksin, Archbishop Feofan Prokopovich. All of them at one time signed the death warrant for Tsarevich Alexei, and the accession to the throne of his son did not promise them bright prospects.
10-year-old Peter was supported by representatives of the old boyar families - princes Dolgorukov, prince Golitsyn, Saltykov, Field Marshal Nikita Ivanovich Repnin. They also thought little about the interests of the state, they needed power that could be used in their own interests.
The outcome of the controversy over the imperial crown was decided very simply. Guards officers entered the hall where the question of a successor was being discussed. They behaved modestly and respectfully, politely promising to break the head of everyone if Catherine was not proclaimed empress. Under the windows of the palace in the ranks were both guards regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky. At the suggestion of Count Tolstoy, it was unanimously decided to consider Catherine the Empress.
Thus, the main force influencing power in Russia was the guard, which would influence the succession to the throne more than once.
Catherine I was empress from 1725 to 1727. But the struggle over the throne continued. A split also arose among Catherine's supporters - A.D. Menshikov and P.A. Tolstoy.
Menshikov's desire to use the benefits of his position and his influence on the empress (he wanted to become the duke of Courland and receive the rank of generalissimo) caused strong discontent among other nobles.
In order to extinguish the discontent that had arisen and reach a compromise, it was decided to establish a new supreme government body - the Supreme Privy Council, to which the Senate and all collegiums were subordinate. Its members were A.D. Menshikov, P.A. Tolstoy, G.I. Golovnin, A.I. Osterman, F.M. Apraksin, D.M. Golitsyn.
At the beginning of 1727, Catherine fell ill. HELL. Menshikov comes up with a clever move: he persuades Catherine to give her blessing for the marriage of his daughter with Pyotr Alekseevich. At the same time, he sets the queen against his recent allies Tolstoy, Buturlin and Devier, who wanted to put Anna or Elizabeth on the throne. The main organizers of the conspiracy were sent into exile (Tolstoy - to Solovki, Devier - to Siberia, Buturlin - to the village). Menshikov felt like a winner.
But on May 6, at the age of 43, Catherine I died, and on May 7, 11-year-old Peter II became king. At first, Menshikov played the role of the chief adviser to Peter II. He even, unable to bear it, appointed himself Generalissimo. But Menshikov's impatience, his desire to become the king's father-in-law as soon as possible played a cruel joke on him. His opponent, Vice Chancellor A.I. Osterman, turned the tsar against Menshikov. On September 8, 1727, Menshikov was arrested, exiled to Chaplygin, and then to Berezov, where he died on November 12, 1729.
Gradually, the clan of princes Dolgorukov, primarily Prince A.G., acquires influence at court. Dolgorukov and his son Ivan. The yard moved to Moscow. Almost all the time the tsar spent either hunting (from February 1728 to November 1729 - 243 days) or on the estate of Alexei Grigorievich Dolgorukov, who planned to marry 14-year-old Peter to his 17-year-old daughter Catherine. The wedding was scheduled for January 18, 1730, but Peter caught a cold while hunting, fell ill with smallpox and died on the planned day of his wedding. The Dolgorukovs made a will, according to which Peter II allegedly appointed his bride as his successor on the throne, but they failed to sign it.
On the night of January 18-19, 1730, the Supreme Privy Council discussed the question of the heir to the throne.
The “Verkhovniki” decided to invite Anna Ivanovna, the fourth daughter of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich, the half-brother of Peter I, to the Russian throne.
She was born in 1693. In autumn 1710, Peter I married her to the Duke of Courland Friedrich Wilhelm. On January 9, 1711, the duke died, and the widow lived in Mitau as a middle-class landowner.
In an effort to limit the power of the empress, the "supreme leaders" drew up the conditions that Anna Ivanovna had to sign before accession to the throne, the so-called "Conditions". According to them, the future empress pledged not to resolve issues of war and peace without the consent of the Supreme Council, not to appoint senior officials, not to manage finances, etc. Having ascended the throne, Anna Ivanovna soon broke the "Conditions" and became formally sovereign queen. But really everyone internal affairs empire was in charge of her favorite Ernest Biron, and in foreign policy the main violin was played by Count Andrei Ivanovich Osterman. A significant role at the court was also played by Russian aristocrats - relatives of Tsarina Saltykov and her associates - Bestuzhev Ryumin and Ushakov.
During this period, a completely wild form of political investigation spread in Rus', the so-called "word and deed of the sovereign." It was enough to say this phrase and point to any person to be sent to the Secret Chancellery. The investigation always began with torture.
Anna Ioannovna had no direct heirs, and she did not want to cede the throne to the descendants of Peter I. On the advice of Osterman, even in the first years of her reign, she declared one of the future children of her niece Anna Leopoldovna to be the heir.
Anna Leopoldovna, daughter of Anna Ivannovna's sister Ekaterina, was born in 1718 in Mecklenburg. In 1722 she returned to Russia with her mother. In May 1733, she converted to Orthodoxy and received a new name (instead of Elizabeth, she became Anna Leopoldovna). Before that, in February 1733, she was engaged to Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick. Anna Leopoldovna did not like the ugly groom (and he was the nephew of the wife of the Austrian emperor), and she continued to meet with her lover, the Saxon ambassador Moritz Linar. In the summer of 1735, the tsarina personally whipped her niece on the cheeks, the ambassador was sent to Dresden, but the wedding took place only on July 3, 1739. On August 12, 1740, the spouses had a son, Ivan, who was the Russian tsar for a short time and a life-long prisoner of Shlisselburg, which fortress.
On October 5, 1740, Anna Ioannovna declared Ivan Antonovich her heir. Biron was appointed regent. On October 6, Anna Ioannovna died. Biron was arrested 22 days later (he spent 22 years in exile in Yaroslavl). In 1762, Peter III returned him from exile, and Catherine II transferred him the actual power in Courland. Biron died in 1772 at the age of 82.
Anna Leopoldovna was proclaimed ruler. First of all, she returned Moritz Linar to St. Petersburg. Field Marshal Munnich became the first minister in the empire.
The strengthening of the pro-German orientation of the government caused discontent in Russian society. Around the daughter of Peter Elizabeth in 1741 a circle of people arose who planned to put her on the throne. Anna Leopoldovna became aware of the conspiracy, but she hesitated to arrest Elizabeth and decided to first send guards regiments to the Swedish front. On November 24, 1741, the regiments were announced to be sent to the front. On the night of November 25, officers and soldiers of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment carried out a bloodless palace coup. On November 25, 1741, a manifesto was issued on the accession to the throne of Elizabeth Petrovna.
From the first days of her reign, she decided not to cede the crown to any of the descendants of Ivan V. On November 15, 1742, she announced her nephew, the son of Anna's elder sister, Karl-Peter-Ulrich, as his successor. Anna was married to the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl-Friedrich, the son of the sister of Charles XII. Thus, Karl-Peter-Ulrich could formally claim both the Russian and the Swedish throne.
Karl-Peter-Ulrich was born in 1728. In 1742 he arrived in Russia. In 1744, the 15-year-old Princess Anhalt-Zerbstskaya Sophia-Augusta-Frederica (Ekaterina Alekseevna in Orthodoxy) was invited to Russia as his bride. The wedding took place on August 21, 1745. But the desired heir was not there for a long time. Elizabeth was tired of this, and in 1752 two young men were assigned to the court of the Grand Duchess - Sergei Saltykov and Lev Naryshkin. Ekaterina chose Saltykov. After two unsuccessful pregnancies, she gave birth in September 1754 to a son, who was named Pavel. (Judging by his appearance, he could not be the son of Saltykov, most likely, his father is still Peter III.)
After the death of Elizabeth on December 25, 1761, Peter III was proclaimed emperor. On June 30, 1762, as a result of a coup d'état, Catherine II became empress. After her death on November 6, 1796, Paul I was on the throne. In March 1801, he was strangled by conspirators and his eldest son Alexander I became emperor.
CONTENT
Introduction………….…….…….……..…………..…………….……….….…..…….3
1. The legacy of Peter 1 and the era of palace coups. ………………...………..4
2. The policy of "Enlightened absolutism". Catherine II. ……….….……….8
3. Main goals and directions foreign policy Russia. Russian-Turkish wars. …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…………..……….………..………16
Conclusion. …….…….…….…………..…….…….…….…….…….…….…........19
Bibliography. …….…………………...….…….…….…….…………..……21
Introduction
The middle and second half of the 18th century went down in the history of Russia as a continuation of the "Petersburg period", as the time of our country's transformation into a great European power. The reign of Peter the Great ushered in a new era. Russia acquired Europeanized features state structure: management and jurisdiction, the army and navy were reorganized in a Western way. This time was a period of great upheavals (mass unrest of peasants in the middle of the century, the Plague Riot, the Pugachev uprising), but also of serious transformations. The need to strengthen the social basis of "autocratic absolutism" forced the Russian monarchs to change the forms of cooperation with estate structures. As a result, the nobility was given estate management and guarantees of property.
The history of Russia in the second quarter and the middle of the 18th century was characterized by a sharp struggle of noble groups for power, which led to frequent changes in the reigning persons on the throne, to rearrangements in their immediate environment. With a light hand, V.O. Klyuchevsky, the term "the era of palace coups" was assigned to this period. IN. Klyuchevsky associated the onset of political instability after the death of Peter I with the "autocracy" of the latter, who, in particular, decided to break the traditional order of succession to the throne. The throne turned out to be given "to the will of chance and became his toy" - it was not the law that determined who should sit on the throne, but the guard, which at that time was the "dominant force."
The era was characterized by the transition to the path of gradual elimination of the general enslavement of the population by the state (initially, this process affected the nobility); a departure from the idea of the omnipotence of the king; recognition of certain rights for a person; strengthening the positions of both the local bureaucracy and the local nobility in the local administration and courts; strengthening the idea of cooperation, activation of local forces. An essential place in the ideology of the Enlightenment was occupied by the concept of an "enlightened sovereign" who cares about the welfare of his subjects. In an "enlightened" state, laws established for the good of the people were to be placed at the forefront in state institutions and in politics. The ruler, recognizing unlimited and free in his powers in relation to society, had to follow the laws of his society and be guided by them.
1. The legacy of Peter 1 and the era of palace coups.
By the law of 1722, the usual order of succession to the throne, which was in force in Muscovite Rus', was abolished, and the monarch was given the right to appoint heirs. In this order, the will of the monarch was of great importance. But Peter died of an accidental cold that broke his health, shattered by labors, died only 52 years old and did not leave any will. The nobles and "gentlemen of the Senate", who gathered in the palace on the night of January 28, 1725 in view of the imminent death of Peter, learned from Makarov's office secretary that Peter had not expressed his will about the heir. I had to think about who to replace the dying emperor ..........
Conclusion
What were the main results of the 18th century for Russia?
In the 18th century, Russian autocracy was at the height of its historical development, having defended the monopoly on power in the fight against the oligarchic claims of the aristocracy and subordinating the church to direct state control. In the second half of the 18th century, church land ownership was virtually eliminated: its share was reduced from 12% to 2%.
A powerful economic base became one of the factors in establishing a certain independence of the autocracy from all classes. At the same time, this independence, which allowed the autocracy to maneuver between the estates, exercising, so to speak, a “above-class function”, certainly had its limits, which was clearly shown by the repeated palace coups that various factions of the nobility arranged in St. Petersburg without much difficulty between 1725 and 1801. for years.
By its feudal nature, the Russian autocracy was most obscurely associated with the nobility, on which it largely depended and in which it saw its main support. Petersburg autocrats, to a much greater extent than their Muscovite predecessors, cared about strengthening this social support. According to the established tradition, this was done by distributing populated lands to the nobles who distinguished themselves before the throne, as well as by deliberately expanding the nobility at the expense of distinguished military men, the most capable officials and wealthy entrepreneurs. During the 18th century from state fund more than 2.5 million peasants were sent into private ownership. Often, lands and peasants were given to the "new" nobles in addition to the noble title they received for service or other merits. By the end of the 18th century Russian nobility updated by more than 20% of people from other classes, which, of course, strengthened the social base of the autocracy.
At the same time, it was in the 18th century, or rather, at its end, that the legality of the Russian autocracy and its moral viability were first called into question. This was the inevitable logical result of the penetration into Russia of the ideology of the Enlightenment and the ideas of the French Revolution.
The 18th century is the time of approval in Russia secular culture spread, however, only to the privileged and educated part of society. A new Russian culture is being formed, National language, there is a professional theatrical, musical and art. Russian science reached a high level of scientific knowledge at that time.
But all these innovations only to a very minimal extent affected 90% of the population of peasant Russia, who continued to live according to the customs of their ancestors. As a result of forced Europeanization, it was precisely in the 18th century that a cultural and civilizational split occurred in Russian society, which finally separated its top from the masses, defining a growing mutual misunderstanding between them for a century ahead.
One way or another, but in the 18th century, on the site of the equally original, as well as archaic Muscovite Rus', a semi-Europeanized Russian Empire arose - an authoritarian-bureaucratic state that established itself as a result of numerous wars as a great European power. Russia, with short breaks, fought for almost the entire duration of the 18th century. No one knows how many human and material losses she suffered in these wars. The expansionism of the Russian Empire inspired serious concern in Europe, nourishing anti-Russian sentiments there.
Regardless of the motives for the sharp intensification of Russia's external expansion with early XVIII century, generated by the need to gain access to the Baltic and Black Seas, Russian foreign policy objectively turned into a factor destabilizing the existing balance in Europe, which caused inevitable opposition to this expansion from the leading European powers. True, by the end of the 18th century, political map Europe, a new "violator" of the European balance appeared - revolutionary, and then Napoleonic France, against which all the legitimate monarchies of the Old World, including the Russian Empire, united.
St. Petersburg's one-sided political and cultural orientation towards Western Europe throughout the 18th century was not unconditionally positive, since at that time Russia lost some of its traditional spiritual values. In this sense, the 18th century for Russia can be considered a transitional and even a turning point in its historical development.
Bibliography
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P.N. Zyryanov, A.N. Bokhanov, M.: OOO Publishing House AST-LTD, 1997-554s
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collected works, M.: 1979. (Vol. No. 3)
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M.: Intern. relations, 1994. - 448s.
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higher educational institutions, M.: Miros, 1994. - 424 p.
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Descendants of Peter the Great. Fight for the throne
After the death of Peter the Great, who left neither a written will nor an oral order about who should be given the throne, several people claimed legal power over the empire. These were the widowed Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna, the grandson of Peter - Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich, the two daughters of the emperor - Anna Petrovna, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, and Princess Elizaveta Petrovna, as well as the daughters of the late Tsar Ivan Alekseevich and Tsarina Praskovia Feodorovna (Saltykova) - Ekaterina Ioannovna , Princess of Mecklenburg-Schverinskaya, Anna Ioannovna, Duchess of Courland, and Princess Praskovya Ioannovna. For the first time in the history of Russia, among the seven potential heirs, six were women, and three of them were married to foreign rulers. But seriously, the Romanov family and the court considered only two candidates: the widow of the empress and the young grandson of the emperor. There was no unanimous opinion in the high society of the then Russia on this issue.
The new nobility, the so-called "chicks of Petrov's nest", stood for Catherine. With her help, they hoped to maintain their former power and influence. In addition, it seemed to many of the “new” Russian people (perhaps not unreasonably) that, officially crowning Catherine with an imperial crown, Peter Great topics had already made her his direct heir. But this candidacy also had two significant shortcomings. Catherine was a woman. Prior to this, there were no precedents for female reign in Russia. An attempt by Princess Sophia a few decades before to take possession of the royal crown ended for her in a personal tragedy. Many were also embarrassed by the low origin of Ekaterina Alekseevna, who, before Tsar Peter's marriage to her, was a simple Latvian peasant woman, Marta Skavronskaya. A man of such a "vile" origin also never occupied the Russian throne. All this caused hesitation even in the camp of the former associates of Peter I.
The grandson of the emperor, Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich, was supported by the old tribal aristocracy - the descendants of the Rurikovichs and Gediminoviches: the Golitsyns, Repnins, Trubetskoys, Dolgorukovs - as well as the relatives of the Romanovs, who had risen under the former sovereigns, the Naryshkins and Saltykovs. Peter Alekseevich was the offspring of Peter's eldest son, Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, born to his first wife, Tsarina Evdokia Feodorovna (Lopukhina). Peter's divorce from Evdokia, her exile to a monastery and the condemnation to death of Tsarevich Alexei as an enemy of the state and a traitor to his father did not deprive their grandson and son of legitimate rights to the imperial crown in the eyes of society. Tsarevich Pyotr Alekseevich enjoyed the favor of his grandfather and lived at the imperial court, the emperor's sister, Princess Natalya Alekseevna, was appointed his tutor. He was handsome, intelligent, charming, unfailingly kind to relatives and courtiers. Finally, noble blood flowed in the veins of the prince not only of the Romanovs and other famous princely and noble families of Russia, but also of German sovereign families (his mother was Crown Princess Sophia Charlotte of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel). Well, why is Peter Alekseevich not the emperor of all Russia? The ten-year age of the prince was not a serious obstacle to taking the throne. After all, exactly the same teenager his grandfather and namesake was proclaimed Tsar Peter I. If you believe the notes of the Holstein resident in Russia, Count Gening Friedrich von Bassevich, even during the last illness and death of Peter the Great, a conspiracy arose among the nobility, the purpose of which was to conclude Ekaterina Alekseevna with daughters to the monastery, and to raise Tsarevich Peter to the throne. During the coup, the conspirators intended to rely on the army stationed in Ukraine under the command of Prince Mikhail Golitsyn. But the conspiracy became known to Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, and he hastened to take his measures.
Since there was no consensus on the succession to the throne, the Senate had to finally decide the issue. Empress Catherine, seeing that her husband is dying and no hopes for favorable outcome or that he would come to his senses and announce his last will on succession to the throne, she instructed Menshikov and Count Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy to take care of protecting her rights. They immediately began to persuade the guards regiments located in St. Petersburg in favor of Catherine. It didn't cost them much. The guards adored Emperor Peter the Great, and part of this love went to the empress, who in the eyes of the guards officers was a “real colonel”: brave and strict, but fair and generous at the same time. Catherine hastened to approve the guards and the capital's garrison in the best feelings for herself, promising to pay all debts (at that time, the salaries of officers were already delayed for 16 months). Having received support in the troops, Catherine and her supporters began to act boldly and decisively.
On the night of January 28, 1725, senators and other important dignitaries and military officials gathered in one of the rooms of the imperial palace. There was no unity among those present. The head of the Military Collegium, Prince Repnin, supported the candidacy of Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, and the commander of the fleet, General Admiral Apraksin, and the commander of the guard, General Buturlin, stood for Catherine. Prince Dmitry Golitsyn and his supporters proposed a compromise solution: to enthrone Peter Alekseevich, and to declare Catherine regent until he came of age. Count Tolstoy sharply opposed this. He stated that such a compromise would lead to civil strife, since in Russia there is no law where it would be written when the tsar or emperor comes of age. Part of the nobility may want Peter Alekseevich to rule right now, but he is small, and Russia, in order to continue the course of reforms of Emperor Peter the Great, needs a strong and wise ruler, which can only be Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna, who learned from her husband the art of government. Tolstoy's words were supported by the approving roar of voices of the Guards officers, who stood modestly in one of the corners of the hall. None of the dignitaries present dared to ask what they were doing here: it was clear to everyone that they had come at the request of the empress and her supporters. Just then a drumbeat came from the street. It turned out that both imperial guard regiments were standing near the palace with weapons and unfurled banners. Catherine's opponents realized that they had lost, and gradually began to take her side.
Admiral General Apraksin put an end to the confrontation between the dignitaries. As the eldest of the senators, he invited the cabinet secretary of the dying Emperor Makarov and asked if there were any orders from the tsar regarding a successor. Makarov replied that there was nothing. Then Apraksin announced that since the empress had already been crowned and she had been sworn in by various ranks of the state, the Senate proclaimed her empress and autocrat of all Russia with all the rights and privileges that her husband enjoyed. This decision was written down on paper and sealed with the signatures of all senators and dignitaries.
After that, all the nobles went to the chambers of the dying Emperor Peter to be present at his death. When the death of the emperor was recorded, everyone returned to the previous room and began to wait for the empress to leave. Catherine appeared accompanied by the official groom of her eldest daughter Anna, the Duke of Holstein. She addressed the senators and dignitaries with a heartfelt speech, interrupted by sobs, calling herself an orphan and a widow and asking for support. Catherine expressed the hope that the senators would not interfere with the marriage of Princess Anna with the Duke of Holstein, as the emperor himself wanted. At the same time, Catherine pretended that she knew nothing about the decision of the Senate regarding the succession to the throne.
As soon as the empress finished speaking, Apraksin knelt before her and announced the will of the Senate. Enthusiastic cries of Catherine's supporters were heard in the hall. Outside the windows, on the street, the guards saluted her. The death of Emperor Peter and the accession to the throne of Empress Catherine was announced to the population of the capital almost simultaneously. The time of the first women's government in the history of Russia began.
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From the book Family Tragedies of the Romanovs. Difficult choice author Sukina Lyudmila BorisovnaPart III Revival of the branch of Peter the Great
THE HERITAGE OF PETER I AND THE "AGE OF PALACE COUPS"
History of Russia in the second quarter of the 18th century. characterized by a sharp struggle of noble groups for power. From 1725 to 1762, seven people changed on the Russian throne, and V. O. Klyuchevsky called this period "the era of palace coups." The Russian Guard began to play a special role in the political life of the country, including in the change of monarchs. It is characteristic that this role was largely predetermined by Peter I not only by the creation of guards regiments in Russia, but also by the problem of succession to the throne that arose through his fault. Tsarevich Alexei, Peter's son from his first wife, Evdokia Lopukhina, was opposed to his father's transformations. For participation in a conspiracy against the king, he was sentenced to death, but did not wait for it and died in a cell under unclear circumstances on June 26, 1718.
From his second wife, Marta Skavronskaya (b. 1684 in the family of a Lithuanian peasant), Peter had 11 children. In 1719, the son of Peter Petrovich, the minor heir, died. In total, by this time, out of 11 children, only two daughters survived - Anna (b. 1708) and Elizabeth (b. 1709).
In 1722, Peter abolished the previous order of succession (from father to eldest son) and established that the sovereign is free to appoint his own successor. But his choice was extremely narrow. Grandson - Peter Alekseevich, son of Tsarevich Alexei (b. 1715) was still small. In addition, the king was afraid that he would follow the path of his father. Peter loved his daughters Anna and Elizabeth, but did not consider them capable of governing Russia, where a firm and experienced hand was needed. In addition, Anna was declared the bride of the Duke of Holstein, and Peter wanted to marry Elizabeth to the French King Louis XV.
Therefore, Peter stopped his choice on his wife, Ekaterina Alekseevna. In May 1724 she was proclaimed empress. It is likely that Peter I would have handed over the Russian throne to her. But in November he found out that his wife was cheating on him with 28-year-old chamberlain Willim Mons, the brother of Peter's former favorite. On November 16, Monet was executed on charges of “tricking, illegal actions and bribery”.
On January 28, 1725, the first Russian emperor died without appointing an heir. (The tsar had a rather serious illness - uremia, kidney failure, but some historians do not exclude that his death was hastened by Catherine and Peter's favorite Alexander Menshikov.) The real contenders for the Russian throne were Catherine and Tsarevich Peter Alekseevich. Behind each of them were representatives of warring groups who sought to put their own candidate on the throne. Catherine was supported by Prince Menshikov, Count Tolstoy, Admiral General Apraksin, Archbishop Feofan Prokopovich. All of them at one time signed the death warrant for Tsarevich Alexei, and the accession to the throne of his son did not promise them bright prospects.
Supporters of the ten-year-old Peter were representatives of the old boyar families - the princes Dolgorukovs, Prince Golitsyn, Saltykovs, Field Marshal Repnin, striving for power. The outcome of the controversy over the imperial crown was decided very simply. Guards officers entered the hall where the question of a successor was being discussed. They behaved modestly and respectfully, politely promising to break the head of everyone if Catherine was not proclaimed empress. Under the windows of the palace in the ranks were both guards regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky. At the suggestion of Count Tolstoy, it was unanimously decided to consider Catherine the Empress.
Thus, the main force influencing power in Russia was the guard, which would influence the succession to the throne more than once. Catherine I was empress from 1725 to 1727. But the struggle over the throne continued. A split also arose among Catherine's supporters - A.D. Menshikov and P.A. Tolstoy. Menshikov's desire to use the benefits of his position and his influence on the empress (he wanted to become the duke of Courland and receive the rank of generalissimo) caused strong discontent among other nobles. In order to extinguish the discontent that had arisen and reach a compromise, it was decided to establish a new supreme government body - the Supreme Privy Council, to which the Senate and all collegiums were subordinate. Its members were A.D. Menshikov, P.A. Tolstoy, G.I. Golovnin, A.I. Osterman, F.M. Apraksin, D.M. Golitsyn.
At the beginning of 1727, Catherine fell ill, Menshikov tried to persuade Catherine to give her blessing for the marriage of his daughter with the young heir. At the same time, he sets the queen against his recent allies Tolstoy, Buturlin and Devier, who wanted to put Anna or Elizabeth on the throne. The main organizers of the conspiracy were sent into exile (Tolstoy - to Solovki, Devier - to Siberia, Buturlin - to the village). Menshikov felt like a winner.
But on May 6, at the age of 43, Catherine I died, and on May 7, 11-year-old Peter II became king. At first, Menshikov was the main adviser to Peter II, he eventually received the title of generalissimo and longed to become the father-in-law of Peter II, i. de facto ruler of Russia. However, his opponent, Vice-Chancellor A. I. Osterman, managed to turn the tsar against Menshikov. On September 8, 1727, Menshikov was arrested, exiled to Chaplygin, and then to Berezov, where he died on November 12, 1729.
Gradually, the clan of princes Dolgorukov, primarily Prince A.G. Dolgorukov and his son Ivan, gained influence at court. The yard moved to Moscow. Almost all the time the tsar spent either hunting (from February 1728 to November 1729 - 243 days), or on the estate of Alexei Grigoryevich Dolgorukov, who planned to marry the 14-year-old
Petra on her 17-year-old daughter Ekaterina. The wedding was scheduled for January 18, 1730, but Peter caught a cold while hunting, fell ill with smallpox and died on the day of the failed wedding. The Dolgorukovs prudently made a will, according to which Peter II appointed his bride as his successor on the throne, but they could not get the tsar's signature.
On the night of January 19, 1730, the Supreme Privy Council discussed the question of the heir to the throne. The “Verkhovniki” decided to invite Anna Ioannovna (b. 1693), the fourth daughter of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich, the half-brother of Peter I, to the Russian throne. died, and the widow lived in Mitava as a middle-class landowner. In an effort to maintain their influence and limit the imperial power, the "supreme leaders" drew up the so-called "Conditions", according to which Anna Ioannovna did not have the right to decide questions about war and peace, appoint senior officials, manage finances, etc. without the consent of the Supreme Council.
Having ascended the throne, Anna Ioannovna soon broke the “Conditions” and formally became the sovereign queen. But in reality, her favorite Ernest Biron was in charge of all the internal affairs of the empire, and Count Andrei Ivanovich Osterman was the first violin in foreign policy. A significant role at the court was also played by Russian aristocrats - relatives of the tsarina - the Saltykovs and her close associates - Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Ushakov.
During this period, a completely wild form of political investigation spread in Russia, the so-called "word and deed of the sovereign." It was enough to say this phrase and point to any person to be sent to the Secret Chancellery. The investigation always began with torture.
Anna Ioannovna had no direct heirs, and she did not want to cede the throne to the descendants of Peter I. On the advice of Osterman, even in the first years of her reign, she declared one of the future children of her niece Anna Leopoldovna to be the heir. Anna Leopoldovna, daughter of Anna Ioannovna Catherine's sister, was born in 1718 in Mecklenburg. In 1722 she returned to Russia with her mother. In May 1733, she converted to Orthodoxy and received a new name (instead of Elizabeth, she became Anna Leopoldovna). Before that, in February 1733, she was engaged to Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick, the nephew of the wife of the Austrian emperor. Ugly fiance Anna
Leopoldovna did not like it, and she continued to meet with her lover, the Saxon ambassador Moritz Linar.
In the summer of 1735, the tsarina whipped her niece on the cheeks, the ambassador was sent to Dresden, but the wedding with the prince took place only on July 3, 1739. fortresses.
On October 5, 1740, Anna Ioannovna declared Ivan Antonovich her heir. Biron was appointed regent. On October 6, Anna Ioannovna died. Biron was arrested 22 days later. Anna Leopoldovna was proclaimed ruler. First of all, she returned Moritz Linar to St. Petersburg. Field Marshal Munnich became the first minister in the empire.
The strengthening of the pro-German orientation of the government caused discontent in Russian society. Around the daughter of Peter Elizabeth in 1741 a circle of people arose who planned to put her on the throne. Anna Leopoldovna became aware of the conspiracy, but she hesitated to arrest Elizabeth and decided to first send the guards regiments to the Swedish front. On November 24, 1741, the regiments were announced to be sent to the front. On the night of November 25, officers and soldiers of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment carried out a bloodless palace coup. On November 25, 1741, a manifesto was issued on the accession to the throne of Elizabeth Petrovna.
Elizabeth, without delaying her affairs, put an end to the dominance of the Germans at court and handed out the highest government posts to the military, on whose bayonets she ascended the throne (these were Russian nobles - the Shuvalovs, Vorontsovs, Trubetskoys and others; A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin). The morganatic spouse of Elizabeth, a Cossack from Little Russia, Alexei Razumovsky, who failed to prove himself in the state field, was elevated to the dignity of a count and made a field marshal and holder of all orders, disappointed the princess and fell into disgrace.
In the plans of Elizabeth Petrovna, it was to continue the traditions laid down by her great father for the benefit of the Russian state, and indeed, domestic and Western historians had an opinion about her reign rather favorable than critical.
At first, he vigorously transformed various collegiums, established "ministerial and generals" assemblies that dealt with foreign affairs, and endowed the Senate with such broad powers (it became the highest judicial authority, appointed governors and the entire highest provincial administration, etc.) that it actually controlled everything internal affairs in Russia, Elizabeth gradually withdrew from state affairs, spending all her time in entertainment. The extravagance of the court drained the treasury.
In the country there was a permanent "small Civil War”: more and more impoverished peasants ran away from the landowners, formed robber groups, they were caught, returned to the landlords, but popular indignation grew and then resulted in the uprising of Emelyan Pugachev.
The twenty years of the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna (from 1841 to 1861) is notable for the fact that she proclaimed the abolition of the death penalty, Moscow University (1755) and the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg (1757) were opened under her. The first curator of the university and the first president of the Academy was the philanthropist I.I. Shuvalov, who patronized M.V. Lomonosov.
In 1756 in northern capital The theater was opened to the public.
Magistrates were restored in Russia, and the territory was divided into five recruiting districts, which somewhat streamlined the recruitment system for the army. The system of monopolies was also developing: on May 1, 1747, the empress issued a decree, by which significant territories of the south Western Siberia were turned into royal estates. The southern outskirts were settled, they invited not Gentiles, but Orthodox Slavs - Serbs to resettle there. The trend towards the development of the all-Russian market continued through the destruction of internal customs (the merchants deeply appreciated the reform efforts of Elizabeth, presenting her with a 56-carat diamond on a gold platter).
In the field of foreign policy, it was notable:
- 1) the end of the war with Sweden (1741-1743) with a favorable peace for Russia in the city of Abo, according to which Sweden confirmed the results of the Northern War and ceded part of Finland to Russia;
- 2) Russia's participation in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). Two coalitions of European powers participated in the war: Prussia, England and Portugal against France, Spain, Austria, Sweden, Saxony and Russia (since Prussia began to threaten Russia's interests in Poland and the Baltic states, in 1757 she entered the war). In the battles of the Seven Years' War, the formation of talented Russian commanders P.A. Rumyantsev and A.V. Suvorov. However, the change in the foreign policy of Russia during the time of Peter III nullified the successes of the Russian troops (Peter III, a great admirer of Frederick II, concluded on April 24, 1762 separate peace with Prussia and returned to her all the conquered territories).
From the very first days of her reign, Elizabeth decided not to cede the crown to any of the descendants of Ivan V. On November 15, 1742, she announced her nephew, the son of Anna's elder sister, Karl Peter Ulrich (Peter III), who was born in 1728, as the successor. year he arrived in Russia. In 1744, the 15-year-old Princess Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst (Ekaterina Alekseevna in Orthodoxy) was invited to Russia as his bride. The wedding took place on August 21, 1745.
After the death of Elizabeth on December 25, 1761, Peter III was proclaimed emperor. On June 30, 1762, as a result of a coup d'état, Catherine I became empress.
The "age of Catherine" was called "brilliant" and "golden", in these epithets not only an echo of the unprecedented luxury that the imperial court and nobles lived, but also recognition of those achievements of Russia that took place over more than 30 years of the reign of Catherine II (1729-1796 ).
Russia achieved victories on land and at sea in the wars with Turkey (1768-1774 and 1867-1791), where P.A. Rumyantsev, A.V. Suvorov, F.F. Ushakov and Ekaterina's favorite G. A. Potemkin. As a result, Russia annexed the territories of the northern Black Sea region, dealt with Crimean Khanate and founded the cities of Kherson, Odessa, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk, and others near the Black Sea.
During the reign of Catherine, three partitions of Poland were carried out - together with Austria and Prussia, Russia completely fragmented this once sovereign state, Georgia was taken under the protection of Russia (Georgievsky Treaty of 1873)
Church lands were cut by the sovereign's power, more than 100 thousand serfs were distributed to the courtiers as a token of gratitude for their faithful service. No concessions were made to the peasants. The uprising of Emelyan Pugachev (1773-1776) was brutally suppressed, the first Russian democrats A.N. Radishchev, N.I. Novikov, F.N. Krechetov. (More about the "enlightened absolutism" of the times of Catherine II we will talk below.)
At the end of Catherine's reign, as A.N. Herzen, a "heavy, old woman's, suffocating atmosphere" was created, which "Pavel cleared".
After the death of Catherine on November 6, 1796, Paul I ended up on the throne. In March 1801, he was strangled by conspirators, and his eldest son Alexander I became emperor.
- The further fate of Biron is remarkable: he spent 22 years in exile in Yaroslavl, in 1762 Peter III returned him from exile, then Catherine II gave him actual power in Courland. Biron died in 1772 at the age of 82.
- Anna was married to Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, son of Charles XII's sister. Thus, Karl Peter Ulrich could formally claim both the Russian and Swedish thrones.
After the death of Peter 1, for 10 years, the change of power took place through palace coups. They did not change the essence of the social and political system. After the sudden death of the king in 1725 g. the question is who will become the heir. Tsarevich Alexei Peter personally brought to trial and tortured. 2 candidates are being considered - Empress Catherine and the grandson of Peter - Tsarevich Peter. For Peter, the Moscow nobility advocated for Catherine, Peter's associates. Catherine is the first Russian tsarina to be crowned. The first palace coup takes place. In all coups, the main role is played by the guard. 1727 Ekaterina dies of tuberculosis. The young Peter 2 is put on the throne. Initially, Menshikov influences him, then the princes Dolgoruky. Menshikov betroths the tsar to his daughter, but then falls ill and does not appear in the palace for several weeks. During this time, the princes Dolgoruky turn the young Peter against Menshikov. Menshikov falls into disgrace - his wealth is taken away, he is exiled with his whole family, where he dies. Dolgoruky also betrothed him to his daughter. IN 1730 Peter 2 dies of smallpox, he is about 14 years old. The Supreme Privy Council, established under Catherine, proposes to invite Anna Ioanovna (niece of Peter 1) to the throne, subject to the signing of concessions (a document limiting the power of the monarch). The Empress has no right to declare war, to give and take lands, to appoint to positions without the knowledge of the Privy Council. She agrees, but upon arrival in Moscow breaks the concession. Dissolves the Privy Council, and subsequently exposes its members to persecution. Her favorite is Biron the groom. Adventurers of all classes come to Moscow. Anna reigns until 1740 at she has no heirs and she invites her niece and husband Anton Brushveitsky from Germany. He marries them, they have a son, Ivan Antonovich, whom Anna Ioanovna appoints as heir. Biron served as regent under him. But after her death, he does not rule for even a week - another palace coup takes place - Peter's daughter Elizabeth comes to power. Under Elizabeth, the Seven Years' War begins 1756-1763 . England and Prussia are fighting against Austria, France and Russia. Russian troops take Konigsberg and Berlin. Elizabeth has no children. She discharges her nephew Pyotr Fedorovich from Germany and marries him to Ekaterina Alekseevna. 1761 Catherine is dying. Peter ascends the throne, makes peace with Prussia and enters into an alliance with her. Gives a company of grenadiers, begins to prepare for war with Denmark, returns Koenigsberg. He is trying to reform Orthodoxy: he bans icons, prays only to the Mother of God and Jesus. Under him, a decree on the freedom of the nobility is adopted, the nobles are exempt from taxes and have the right not to serve in the army. IN 1761 Catherine, with the support of her favorite Count Orlov, makes a coup.
15 The policy of "Enlightened absolutism" of Catherine II.
In Russia, the works of enlighteners began to be published, newspaper and magazine business flourished. No censorship. But later Catherine assesses the danger of these enlighteners and forbids them. Russians are forbidden to travel to France. The persecution of Radishchev began. Catherine collects the established commission for the creation of a new Cathedral Code. This commission assigns her the title of Mother of All Russia. Catherine's time, the heyday of serfdom. Catherine confirms the manifesto on the freedom of the nobility with a letter to the nobility. Peasants are forbidden to complain about the landowner. The landowner may exile serfs at will. Under Catherine there was a large number of riots and uprisings. In the 70s, the Pugachev uprising takes place. He returns from seven years war and asks for a pension, but they do not give him, he is offended and spreads rumors that he is Tsar Peter (shows everyone the royal sign) He is arrested, on the way he drunk the guards and runs to the Don. Pugachev raises the Cossacks on the Don and sends letters that it is necessary to overthrow Catherine. He wants to make the Cossacks a new elite. The tsarist troops could not cope with it for some time, but in the end the uprising was crushed. He flees to the Don, but there he is caught and handed over to the authorities, subsequently executed. The Yarik River was renamed the Ural to erase the memory of this uprising.
