The conspiracy against Paul 1 began to mature hardly from the first days of his reign. The conspirators justified their plan to remove the emperor by the fact that he ended up on the throne against the will of Empress Catherine, i.e. took the throne illegally and almost by force. In addition, it was rumored that his father was not Peter III at all, but Saltykov, the then favorite of the queen.
In the plot against Paul, it is striking how cold-bloodedly and prudently the murderers weaved their net. Here, for the first time, a weapon was tested that in a hundred years would be used against Nicholas II: lies, slander, stirring up passions, bringing the Emperor’s orders to absurdity, spreading jokes, discrediting, gossip, rumors about supposedly preparing repressions and disgrace.
The faithful servant of the Sovereign, Prince Alexander Suvorov, who appeared in St. Petersburg in the halo of European glory, was terrible for the conspirators. His authority alone, his presence alone made the coup d'état planned by the conspirators impossible. Paul 1's cunning disgrace to Suvorov was thus only one of the links in the chain of the conspiracy.
On the fateful evening of March 11, Emperor Pavel was in a depressed mood. Sad news has just arrived from Vienna. There, his beloved daughter Alexandra died in childbirth, who became the wife of Archduke Joseph after an unsuccessful engagement with the Swedish king Gustav 1U. Added to this was the influence of bad damp weather (there was a thaw) and the memory of a recent incident.
Having finished the working day, before going to bed, Emperor Pavel Petrovich prayed for a long time on his knees in his bedchamber in front of the image. However, it seems that he did not intend to go to bed, otherwise why did not he take off his clothes? It can be seen that a disturbing premonition overcame his soul, haunted by gloomy thoughts.
Hot is his prayer, destined to be a dying prayer for the Chalice. The soul is torn from the earthly shell to the eternal merging with the Eternal God. The anointed one asks for the good and happiness of the people entrusted to him, and for himself strength and help...
At the same time, the conspirators completed their plans. Burdened with wine vapours, after a heavy drink for courage, they go about their business. They suddenly rush in all directions, frightened by the loud cawing of a flock of crows that suddenly took off from the roof of the Mikhailovsky Castle. And since then, according to the folk tale, every year at the hour of regicide, a flock of werewolf ravens flies from nowhere - the black souls of the murderers of Emperor Pavel Petrovich.
Having broken the door, the regicides rushed into the room, but the emperor was not in it. The search began, but they ended unsuccessfully. The door to the Empress's bedchamber was also locked from the inside. The search continued for several minutes until General Bennigsen entered. He approached the fireplace, leaned against it, and at that time saw the emperor standing behind the screen in prayer. The conspirators found Pavel behind a screen.
Alone against the drunken gang, Pavel stands unarmed, peering at his executioners in the twilight of the bedchamber. He fearlessly strokes the eyes of death. Prince Platon Zubov, acting as orator and chief leader of the conspiracy, addressed the emperor with a speech. Distinguished as a rule by great nervousness, Pavel, however, this time did not seem particularly agitated, and, maintaining full dignity, asked what they all needed.
Platon Zubov replied that his "despotism" had become so difficult for the nation that they came to demand his abdication.
Emperor Paul, filled with a sincere desire to bring happiness to his people, to preserve the laws inviolably and to establish justice everywhere, entered into an argument, gesturing strongly. Drunken murderers, insolently walking around his chambers, the sovereign put up fierce resistance. He drew a sword from its scabbard with the words: "I will die your emperor!" The master of the horse, Count Nikolai Zubov, a man of enormous stature and extraordinary strength, being completely drunk, hit Pavel on the arm and said: “Why are you shouting like that?”
At this insult, the emperor indignantly pushed left hand Zubov, what is the last one, clenching a massive golden snuffbox, with all his might struck with his right hand a blow to the left temple of the emperor. He fell unconscious to the floor. Brutal Zubov, swinging, strikes a heavy golden snuffbox, Catherine's gift, on Pavel Petrovich's temple, and he falls with a loud groan. All at once, like predators smelling blood, the regicides pounce on him. With a bulldog death grip, Palen digs into his throat with both hands. Thus, he entered into an unequal battle and accepted a martyr's death for his feat of royal service.
Thus perished the most humane Sovereign, who wanted nothing but the good of Russia and the people. Approximately until the 900s, i.e. centenary of the death of Emperor Paul the First in Russia, it was strictly forbidden to touch in print on the circumstances of the regicide on March 11, 1801. Emperor Paul the First reigned for four years, four months and four days, and was killed in the forty-seventh year of his life.
With his ascetic life and martyrdom, Paul 1, as it were, atoned for the former sins of the dynasty. The Romanov clan, which disappeared after Peter the Great, grew under Paul 1 and became one of the most prolific royal families in Europe. Everyone knows that abundant offspring is a sign of God's blessing, especially for royal families. We can safely say that Paul 1 became the new ancestor of the Russian tsars. He forever stopped the struggle for the royal throne within the family, issuing his famous "Law on the Succession to the Throne", which clearly defined who should take the throne after the monarch. In his descendants, true nobility, loftiness of spirit, devotion to the Orthodox faith and the ideals of serving the Fatherland are noticeable, which was most evident in our last Sovereign Nicholas II.
In the last post about the ghosts of the Mikhailovsky Castle, I began a story about the tragedy of Emperor Paul I. The stories about the circumstances of Paul's death immediately turned out to be contradictory. The killers tried to cover their tracks. The overthrow of Paul was witnessed by the German journalist August Kotzebue, who in his notes tried to restore the chronology of the fateful night. The foreigner sympathizes with the dead emperor.
The room in the Mikhailovsky Castle where Paul I was killed. The interior has changed.
Contemporaries of Paul said that the emperor foresaw his death:
S. M. Golitsyn in his memoirs described last night Emperor and his gloomy forebodings: “Dinner, as usual, ended at half past ten. It was customary that everyone went out into another room and said goodbye to the sovereign, who at 10 o’clock was already in bed. That evening he also went out into another room, but did not say goodbye to anyone and said only: "What will be, will not be avoided." This is the presentiment that Emperor Paul had.”
According to an unknown eyewitness: “After supper, the emperor looked at himself in the mirror, which had a defect and made faces crooked. He laughed at this and said to me: “Look, what a funny mirror; I see myself in it with my neck on the side.” It was an hour and a half before his death.” The conspirators first stunned Pavel with a blow from a snuffbox, and then strangled him with a belt.
In daylight, the presence of a ghost is not felt.
Matvey Muravyov-Apostol, son of the conspirator Ivan Muravyov-Apostol and brother of the famous Decembrist, spoke about the Emperor's premonition. Before his death, Pavel said goodbye to Mikhail Kutuzov, who would become famous for his victory over Napoleon: “On March 11, Paul I approached the palace mirrors all day and found that his face was reflected in them with a twisted mouth. The courtiers from this repeated remark concluded that the head of the palaces, Prince Yusupov, had fallen out of favor. On the same date, in the evening, Pavel had a long conversation with M.I. Kutuzov. Finally, the conversation between them turned to death. “To go to the next world is not to sew knapsacks,” were the farewell words of Paul I to Kutuzov ... "
Guard “... Agapeev said that on that night Paul I prayed for a long time on his knees in front of the image before entering the bedroom”- story by M.I. Muravyov-Apostol, written by his pupil A.P. Sozonovich.
The main conspirators against Paul I were the Zubov family. Platon Zubov was the last favorite of Catherine the Great, after whose death he fell out of favor with her heir. Paul removed most of his mother's associates. It was said that Catherine did not want to pass the throne to Paul, but to his son Alexander, who was her favorite grandson.
Platon Zubov, the favorite of Catherine the Great, lost his privileges during the reign of Paul.
Nikolai Zubov, son-in-law of Suvorov, helped his brother take revenge
Platon Zubov was supported by his brother Nikolai Zubov, the son-in-law of the late Suvorov, and his sister Olga Zherebtsova. The adventuress Zherebtsova, thanks to her connection with the English Lord Whitworth, spread information about Paul's madness throughout Europe. "The Emperor is literally out of his mind"- said the dispatch to London.
Adventurer and spy Olga Zherebtsova, sister of the Zubov brothers
Other organizers were Vice-Chancellor Nikita Panin, who was expelled from St. Petersburg on the eve of fatal events, the Governor-General of St. Petersburg Peter Palen.
They were joined by General Leonty Benigsen, diplomat Ivan Muravyov-Apostol, Prince Yashvil and Colonel Mansurov, these names are mentioned in the historical chronicles of the fateful night of March 11. Thirteen conspirators entered the emperor's bedroom, the total number of rebels was about 300 people.
Ivan Muravyov-Apostol with his daughter, father of the famous Decembrist. Family of hereditary conspirators.
Historians argue about the involvement of Alexander I in the death of his father. Most likely, he supported the conspirators and wanted to get the crown, but did not plan to become a parricide.
General Bennigsen claimed that they did not intend to kill the emperor
The conspirator Bennigsen wrote: “It was decided to take possession of the special emperor and take him to a place where he could be under proper supervision, and where he would be deprived of the opportunity to do evil.”
Emperor Paul did not have the opportunity to leave the palace on the night of the conspiracy, the conspirators placed their soldiers in the corridors.
A. B. Lobanov-Rostovsky wrote about the preparation of the conspiracy: “Officers who were in a conspiracy were placed in the corridors, at the doors, at the stairs for observation. So, I know that D. V. Arseniev, who was then in the Preobrazhensky Regiment ... stood in the corridor with a pistol. Risking their heads, the conspirators, in all likelihood, decided not to allow the sovereign to either escape or raise alarms. (...) If Paul had the opportunity to escape from his rooms (...) then his life would inevitably be in the greatest danger at every step, since the conspirators took possession of this half of the castle.
Staircase leading to Paul's room
In the center is the door through which the conspirators entered
The chronicle of the events of the murder, told by the conspirators, is inconsistent in places. Everyone tried to present themselves in a noble manner. Descriptions of Paul's behavior when meeting with the rebels differ. According to one version, he immediately agreed to abdicate the throne, according to another, he resisted the conspirators because of which he was killed in a brawl.
An interesting chronicle of events described by the German writer and journalist August Kotzebue, who learned about the tragedy the next morning from eyewitnesses. Pavel highly appreciated the work of Kotzebue. As a token of his mercy, he gave the writer an estate in Livonia (Estonia) and generously paid for literary works.
August Kotzebue became an observer of the fateful night. After Paul's death, he left Russia. At home, Kotzebue was especially popular as a political journalist. He was killed by a revolutionary student. The murder of Kotzebue was the most high-profile crime in Germany in the first half of the 19th century.
Kotzebue tries to be impartial, describing the chronicle of events, noting all the contradictions in the testimony of eyewitnesses.
According to one version, as Kotzebue writes, Paul himself opened the door to his bedroom for the conspirators:
“Meanwhile, the conspirators approached the emperor’s bedroom. It was a large room that had only one entrance and exit; another door that led to the empress’s front rooms, and through which, in the opinion of many, he could have escaped, was, like myself in I was convinced of this a few days before the incident, it was firmly locked, because it remained unused. The door through which they entered Paul's room was double; inside it, to the right and left, other small doors were made, behind which were: on the right side a small space without exit, into which banners were placed, or, as some assure, the swords of arrested officers, and on the left side a hidden staircase (escalier derobe), along which one could descend into the rooms of Princess Gagarina and from there go to the church. If Pavel had gone through this door , or would still have been able to get out through it, then, of course, it can be assumed that he would have been saved.
But in order to leave the secret staircase at his disposal, he had to keep the outer door open. Meanwhile, the noise in the hall had already awakened him; several times he asked: who is there? Finally, he jumped out of bed and, hearing the voice of his adjutant, he himself opened the door to his murderers.
The conspirators demanded that the emperor abdicate in favor of his son Alexander.
“According to other stories, the door opened was one of the chamber hussars sleeping in front of the bedroom inside the double door; Entering the bedroom, the conspirators did not find Pavel in bed for the first minute; Benngsen found him behind the screens.
Of course, no one would be surprised if at that moment, as many assured, the sovereign was struck by an apoplectic stroke. And, indeed, he could hardly speak the language, but he gathered his courage and very clearly said: “Non, non! je ne souscrirai point!" (no, no, I disagree) He was unarmed; his sword lay on a stool by the bed. It was easy for him to get it, but what would be the use of protection against this crowd? The hidden staircase might have saved him, but he remembered it too late.
In vain did he try to inspire fear in the conspirators, in order to later hide from them through a small staircase. Nikolai Zubov grabbed him and pushed him hard, saying to others: "Pourquoi vous amusez-vous a parler a cet effrene" (Why do you have fun being nice to this madman?). - Argamakov, on the other hand, hit him in the temple with the butt of a pistol. The poor man staggered and fell. Bennigsen said that while this was happening, he, Bennigsen, turned away to listen to the noise coming from the hall.
In his fall, Paul wanted to hold on to the bars that adorned the nearby desk and was carved from ivory by the Empress herself. Small vases (also made of ivory) were attached to the lattice. Some of them broke off, and the next day I sadly saw their fragments.
The act of renunciation, or rather a manifesto in the name of Pavel, was drawn up, as Benigsen said, by Troshchinsky at a dinner the same evening before at Talyzin's.
Everyone rushed at him. Yashvil and Mansurov threw a scarf around his neck and began to choke him. With a very natural movement, Pavel immediately thrust his hand between his neck and scarf; he held it so tightly that it was impossible to tear it off. Then some monster took him by the most sensitive parts of the body and squeezed them. The pain forced him to move his hand there, and the scarf was tightened. Following this came Count Pahlen. Many claimed that he was eavesdropping at the door.”
Kotzebue clarifies that the stories of Paul begging the conspirators for mercy are fiction:
“Subsequently, many fables were spread. They assured that Pavel begged on his knees to save his life and received from Zubov in response: “For four years you have shown no mercy to anyone; now you don’t expect mercy for yourself”; as if he swore to make the people happy, to forgive the conspirators, to reign with meekness, etc.”
The German chronicler confidently declares that the emperor behaved with dignity:
“It is certain, however, that until his last breath he retained all his dignity. One of the most terrible moments for him was, no doubt, the one in which he heard the soldiers in the yard shout too early: "Hurrah!" and one of the conspirators rushed into the room with the words: "Depechez-vous, il ll" a pas un moment a perdre! (Hurry, there is not a minute to lose).
Death itself did not reconcile these rude monsters with him. Many officers rushed to inflict some kind of insult on his corpse, until finally Prince Zubov said to them indignantly: “Gentlemen, we have come here to save the fatherland, and not to give vent to such low revenge.”
“Regarding how long the torment of the emperor continued, the testimony is contradictory: some say - an hour, and some - half an hour; others even say that everything was a matter of one minute.
Ceremonial portrait of Paul. The emperor's costume is complemented by a wide belt. Presumably, Pavel was strangled with such a belt.
So in the notes of Kotzebue there is no mention of a blow with a snuffbox that stunned Paul. The emperor, when he was strangled, was conscious and resisted.
The snuffbox is mentioned in the notes of Fonvizin, Nikolai Zubov struck, Pavel resisted the conspirators: “... Several threats that escaped from the unfortunate Pavel called Nikolai Zubov, who was athletic. He held a golden snuffbox in his hand and struck Pavel in the temple with a swing, this was the signal at which Prince Yashvil, Tatarinov, Gordonov and Skaryatin violently rushed at him, pulled the sword out of his hands: a desperate struggle began with him. Paul was strong and strong; they threw him to the floor, trampled on him, broke his head with a sword hilt, and finally crushed Skaryatin with a scarf. At the beginning of this vile, disgusting scene, Bennigsen went into the pre-bedroom, on the walls of which there were paintings, and with a candle in his hand calmly examined them. Amazing coolness!"
Snuffbox Zubov
The Prussian historian Bernhardi, in the words of the same Bennigsen, wrote: “Paul was trying to pave the way for an escape. "Arrested! What do you mean, arrested!” he shouted. He was held by force, and especially unceremoniously, Prince Yashvil and Major Tatarinov. Bennigsen exclaimed twice: “Do not resist, sir, this is about your life!” The unfortunate man tried to break through and kept repeating his words ... There was a hot hand-to-hand fight, the screen overturned. One officer shouted: “Four years ago we should have finished with you.”
Hearing a noise in the hallway, many wanted to run, but Bennigsen ran to the door and in a loud voice threatened to stab anyone who tried to run. “It’s too late to retreat now,” he said. Paul took it into his head to call for help in a loud voice. There was no doubt about how this melee with the king would end. Bennigsen ordered the young drunken prince Yashvil to guard the sovereign, and he himself ran out into the hallway to arrange for the placement of sentries ... "
Ants-Apostol explains why they had to deal with the emperor. According to the conspirators, the deposed monarch could gather his supporters around him, which would lead to civil war and embarrassment:
“One of the conspirators hastened to notify Bennigsen of this [renunciation], who remained in the adjacent room and, with a candlestick in his hand, examined the paintings hung on the walls. Hearing about the denial of Paul, Bennigsen took off his scarf and gave it to an accomplice, saying: “We are not children, so as not to understand the disastrous consequences that our nightly visit to Pavel will have, disastrous for Russia and for us. How can we be sure that Paul will not follow the example of Anna Ioannovna? With this, the death sentence was decided. After listing all the evil inflicted on Russia, Count Zubov hit Pavel in the temple with a golden snuffbox, and strangled him with a Bennigsen scarf made of silver thread.
Count Pahlen informing Alexander of his father's death
August Kotzebue writes how Count Pahlen went to Alexander's heir to tell him the news of his father's death. The journalist discusses whether the prince knew about the conspiracy:
“...Then he went for a new emperor. When he entered the hall, Alexander, already dressed, came out of his bedroom to meet him: he was very pale and trembling. These details were transmitted by the servant, who was sleeping in the ante-room and woke up only at that moment. From this it was concluded that Grand Duke knew about everything. It seemed that it could not be otherwise: for if the Grand Duke had been in the dark about what was being done, how did it happen that he was completely dressed without being awakened?
For an explanation of this important circumstance, I turned to Count Palen himself and received from him the following satisfactory answer.
When the conspirators had already gone to Paul, Count Palen reasoned that in such cases every minute was precious, and that it was necessary to show the new emperor to the troops immediately after the end of the enterprise! Familiar with all the entrances and exits of the palace, he went to the Grand Duchess' chamberlain, who were sleeping behind the Grand Duke's bedroom, woke them up and ordered them to wake the Grand Duke and his wife as well, but to tell them only that something important was happening, and that they gotta get up and get dressed. And so it was done. This explains why Alexander could go out dressed into the hall when the count entered it through an ordinary door, and why, on the other hand, the servants should have assumed that he did not go to bed at all.
Alexander was in for a terrible moment. The count hurriedly led him to the troops and
exclaimed: “Guys, the sovereign has died; here is your new emperor!" It was only then that Alexander found out about the death of his father: he almost fainted, and they had to support him. With difficulty he returned to his rooms. “Then only,” he himself told his sister, “I came to myself again!”
Young Alexander I
Reliable people say that even earlier, after repeated futile attempts to get his consent to the coup, Count Pahlen, with all the authority of a firm and experienced man, began to convince him and finally announced to him that, without a doubt, it was his will to agree or not, but that things could no longer remain in this position, to which Alexander seemed to answer in despair: “Spare only his life.”
All the testimonies positively agree that he knew nothing about the execution of the plot and did not want the death of his father.
According to eyewitnesses, Pavel's wife, Maria Feodorovna, having learned about her husband's death, showed her character by declaring a claim to the crown, but the conspirators locked her in a room.
Velyaminov-Zernov wrote: Suddenly, Empress Maria Fedorovna bursts in the door and shouts: “Let me go, let me go!” Someone from the Zubovs said: “Get this woman out.” Yevsey Gordanov, a strong man, grabbed her in an armful and brought her as a burden back to her bedroom. She then tries to break through to the balcony and address the troops, but is stopped by Palen. The last attempt of Maria Feodorovna is to go to the body of her husband in other rooms through the location of Poltoratsky, who does not let her to the body for a long time, but finally receives permission from Bennigsen, who, however, told the Empress "Madame, do not play a comedy."
“Empress Maria Feodorovna, hearing a noise, hurried to her husband, to the door of the dressing room. But the guards, following this order, crossed their guns in front of her. The Empress became ill. They rolled up a chair and gave her a glass of water. She held out her hand to him. Perekrestov hurried to grab a glass from the tray, drank half and, putting it back, said: “Now drink, mother queen, if you must die, I will die with you.” In 1814, upon his return from Paris, Perekrestov, after serving an extra summer, retired. Maria Fedorovna remembered him, and Perekrestov was appointed a footman at her court ”- according to the story of Muravyov-Apostol.
Emperor's widow in mourning dress
August Kotzebue describes the experience of a widow who suspected her son of murder:
“At first, she also had a painful suspicion for her mother that her son knew about everything, and therefore her first meeting with the emperor gave rise to the most touching scene. "Sasha!" she cried out as soon as she saw him: "are you really an accomplice!" - He threw himself on his knees before her and said with noble fervor: "Mother, as sure as the fact that I hope to appear before the judgment of God, I am not guilty of anything!" - "Can you swear?" she asked. He immediately raised his hand and swore. Grand Duke Konstantin did the same. Then she brought her younger children to the new emperor and said: "Now you are their father." She made the children kneel before him and wanted to do the same herself. He warned her, raised, sobbing, children; sobbing, swore to be their father, hung on the neck of his mother and did not want to tear himself away from her. Count Saltykov came to call him; he wanted to go, and again rushed into the arms of his mother.
Her grief was for a long time inexpressible. Everywhere she thought she saw blood; she asked everyone who entered: is he faithful to her? She certainly wanted to know all the murderers of her husband; she herself asked about them the wounded chamber hussar, whom she showered with blessings; but the blow he received stunned him to such an extent that he could not name any of the conspirators.
Portrait of Emperor Paul with his sons and the Hungarian prince.
Sablukov describes the conversation between mother and son at the body of the murdered Pavel:
“Alexander Pavlovich, who now for the first time saw his father’s mutilated face, made up and smeared, was amazed and stood in a dumb stupor. Then the empress mother turned to her son with an expression of deep grief and with an air of full dignity said: “Now I congratulate you - you are an emperor.” At these words, Alexander, like a sheaf, fell unconscious.
The traveler and connoisseur of crowd psychology, Kotzebue, describes the popular rejoicing at the news "of the death of a tyrant":
“The blinded mob indulged in the most unbridled joy. People who did not know each other at all hugged each other in the streets and congratulated each other. The greengrocers, who sold their goods from house to house, congratulated "on the change," just as they usually congratulate on major holidays. Postal keepers on the Moscow road sent couriers for nothing. But many asked with fear: "Yes, is he really dead?" Some even demanded to be told whether the body had already been embalmed; only when he was assured of this did he take a deep breath and say, "Thank God."
Even people who had no reason to complain about Paul and received only benefits from him were in the same mood ...
... In the evening, a small society gathered at my place. We stood in a circle in the middle of the room and chatted. Meanwhile, it was almost completely dark. I accidentally turned to the window and saw with horror that the city was illuminated. There were no orders for illumination, but it was more brilliant than usual on major holidays. One only Winter Palace stood in a dark mass in front of me and represented a majestic contrast. Sadness took over all of us.
Mikhailovsky Castle in summer at dusk
Then, as usual, the crowd begins to commemorate the deceased sovereign as a benefactor, which Kotzebue also mentions:
“It cannot, however, be silent that this first intoxication soon passed. The people began to come to their senses. He remembered the quick and speedy justice that Emperor Paul had rendered him; he began to fear the arrogance of the nobles, which was about to awaken again, and almost everyone said: Paul was our father. At the first parade, when the soldiers gathered in the exercise room, the officers went among them to walk, congratulating them, and saying: "Rejoice, brothers, the tyrant is dead." - Then they answered: "For us, he was not a tyrant, but a father."
This mood was greatly facilitated by the fact that the officers of the regiment of the new emperor boasted, exhibited, as a great merit, their participation in the coup and thereby irritated the officers of other regiments against themselves. Not everything went as it should; but an explosion of displeasure could not be feared ... "
Rumors about the overthrown tyranny were quickly spread by the victors, Kotzebue notes that there was talk among the people about the instruments of torture that Paul allegedly installed on the fortress:
“They said that Grand Duke Konstantin himself went to the fortress, saw with horror all the instruments of torment and ordered them to be burned. This is not true. Art. owls. Sutgof, on duty, was in the fortress and found in it only rods; the rooms of the secret expedition seemed to him, however, decent and with sufficient air, only the so-called "cachots" aroused his horror.
Kotzebue's notes mention the habit of Emperor Alexander I to walk unguarded along the embankment:
“Alexander walked daily along the embankment, accompanied by only one footman; everyone crowded to him, everyone breathed freely. In Millionnaya he once found a soldier who was fighting with a footman. - "Will you disperse?" he shouted to them: "The police will see you and take both of you under arrest." - He was asked whether pickets should be placed in the palace, as under his father. - "For what?" he answered: "I do not want to torture people in vain. You yourself know better what this precaution served my father for."
Oval boudoir next to Paul's room
Kotzebue described the body of the murdered emperor from the words of the life physician Grive:
“There were many traces of violence on the body. A wide band around the neck, a strong bruise on the temple (from a blow ... inflicted by a pistol blow), a red spot on the side, but not a single wound from a sharp weapon, two red scars on both thighs; significant injuries on his knees and far near them, which prove that he was forced to kneel to make it easier to strangle. In addition, the whole body was generally covered with small smudges; they probably came from blows inflicted after death.
“When the emperor was lying in a coffin, his triangular hat was pulled over his forehead so as to hide, as far as possible, his left eye and bruised temple,” eyewitnesses noted.
On the walls commemorative plaques with the names of the dead graduates of the Engineering School, which was located in the Mikhailovsky Castle after the death of Pavel.
N. I. Grech wrote how the ceremony of farewell to Pavel took place: “ As soon as you enter the door, they pointed to another with an exhortation: if you please, go through. I went to the Mikhailovsky Castle ten times out of nothing to do and could only see the soles of the emperor’s over the knee boots and the brim of a wide hat pulled down over my forehead.
“The official version of Paul's death was an apoplexy (stroke). Therefore, there was a joke that he died from an apoplexy blow with a snuffbox to the temple.
The ghost of Paul persistently reminded his descendants of himself.
“In 1852, a monument to Paul I was opened in Gatchina. During the solemn ceremony, Emperor Nicholas I burst into tears: “The covers were removed, but the rope remained on the neck of the statue and the sovereign son, seeing this, began to cry. Everyone was amazed by this accident."(Notes of participants and contemporaries, Published by A.S. Suvorin, 1908.)
Paul's grandson, Alexander II, ordered that the church "Peter and Paul" be built in the room of the murdered ancestor, where he came to pray every year on March 11. The altar of the church was on the site of Paul's bed.
Through the Summer Garden, from the window of the Mikhailovsky Castle, I saw the Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood, built on the site of the death of Alexander II. As Anna Akhmatova wrote:
Between the tombs of grandson and grandfather
The tousled garden is lost.
Emerging from prison delirium,
Funerary lanterns are burning.
Kotzebue mentions that the legend about the ghost of the murdered emperor arose immediately: "superstition has already divulged about a ghost that appeared in the Mikhailovsky Castle and loudly demanded revenge."
“... the ghost of the emperor killed by the conspirators could not leave the place of his death. The ghost of the king began to be seen by a platoon of soldiers of the capital's garrison, transporting military equipment, the new inhabitants of the palace - the breeding corporal of the school Lyamin and passers-by who noticed a luminous figure in the windows.
The deceased emperor left legends and conjectures about his tragic figure to his descendants. He ruled for a short time and did not have time to carry out his plans.
“For me there are no parties, no interests, except for the interests of the state, and with my character it’s hard for me to see that things are going awry and that the reason for this is negligence and personal views. I would rather be hated for a just cause than loved for a wrong.” Pavel said.
Quotes from the memoirs of Kotzebue are taken from the edition (spelling preserved):
Kotzebue A.F.F. background. Notes of August Kotzebue. Unpublished work of August Kotzebue on Emperor Paul I / Transl., note. A.B. Lobanov-Rostovsky // Regicide on March 11, 1801. Notes of participants and contemporaries. - Ed. 2nd. - St. Petersburg: A.S. Suvorin, 1908.
Although, because of his father's jokes on the topic "it is not known where his wife has children," many consider Ekaterina Alekseevna's favorite, Sergei Saltykov, to be the father of Paul I. Moreover, the first-born was born only after 10 years of marriage. However, the outward resemblance of Paul and Peter should be seen as a response to such rumors. The childhood of the future autocrat cannot be called happy. Because of political struggle the current Empress Elizabeth I Petrovna was afraid for Paul the First, protected him from communication with his parents and surrounded real army nannies and teachers who curried favor with high-ranking persons more than worried about the boy.
Pavel the First in childhood | Runiverse
Biography of Paul I claims that he received better education which was only possible at the time. An extensive library of Academician Korf was placed at his personal disposal. The teachers taught the heir to the throne not only the traditional Law of God, foreign languages, dancing and fencing, but also painting, as well as history, geography, arithmetic and even astronomy. Interestingly, none of the lessons included anything related to military affairs, but the inquisitive teenager himself became interested in this science and mastered it quite well. high level.
Pavel the First in his youth | Arguments and Facts When Catherine II ascended the throne, she allegedly signed an obligation to transfer the reign to her son Paul I when he came of age. This document has not reached us: perhaps the Empress destroyed the paper, or maybe it's just a legend. But it was precisely this statement that all the rebels, including Yemelyan Pugachev, who were dissatisfied with the rule of the “iron German”, always referred to. In addition, there was talk that already on her deathbed, Elizaveta Petrovna was going to transfer the crown to her grandson Paul I, and not to her nephew Peter III, but the corresponding order was not made public and this decision did not affect the biography of Paul the First.
Emperor
Paul the First sat on the throne Russian Empire only at the age of 42. Right during the coronation, he announced changes in the succession to the throne: now only men could rule Russia, and the crown was passed only from father to son. By this, Paul unsuccessfully hoped to prevent the frequent Lately palace revolutions. By the way, for the first time in history, the coronation procedure took place simultaneously for both the emperor and the empress on the same day.
The disgusting relationship with his mother led to the fact that Paul I chose the method of governing the country in fact by contrasting his decisions with her previous ones. As if "in spite" of the memory of Ekaterina Alekseevna, Pavel the First returned freedom to the condemned radicals, reformed the army and began to fight serfdom.
Pavel the First | Petersburg history But in reality, all these ideas did not lead to anything good. The liberation of the radicals after many years will backfire in the form of an uprising of the Decembrists, the reduction of corvee remained only on paper, and the fight against corruption in the army turned into a series of repressions. Moreover, both the highest ranks, who one after another lost their posts, and ordinary military personnel remained dissatisfied with the emperor. They grumbled about the new uniform, modeled on the Prussian army, which turned out to be incredibly uncomfortable. In foreign policy, Paul the First became famous for his fight against the ideas of the French Revolution. He introduced the strictest censorship in book publishing; french books, French fashion, including round hats.
Pavel the First | Wikipedia During the reign of Paul I, thanks to the commander Alexander Suvorov and Vice Admiral Fyodor Ushakov, the Russian army and navy achieved many significant victories, cooperating with the Prussian and Austrian troops. But later, Paul I showed his fickle character, broke off relations with the allies and formed an alliance with Napoleon. It was in Bonaparte that the Russian emperor saw the force that could stop the anti-monarchist revolution. But he was mistaken strategically: Napoleon did not become a winner even after the death of Paul the First, but because of his decision and the economic blockade of Great Britain, Russia lost its largest sales market, which had a very significant impact on the standard of living in the Russian Empire.
Personal life
Officially, Paul the First was married twice. His first wife, Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna, was a German princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt by birth. She died two years after the wedding during childbirth. The first son of Paul I was born dead. In the same year, the future emperor remarried. The wife of Paul the First, Maria Feodorovna, was called Sophia Maria Dorothea of Württemberg before marriage, and she was destined to become the mother of two rulers at once, Alexander I and Nicholas I.
Princess Natalya Alekseevna, first wife of Paul I | pinterest Interestingly, this marriage was not only beneficial for the state, Pavel really fell in love with this girl. As he wrote to his relatives, "this blonde with a pleasant face captivated a widower." In total, in alliance with Maria Feodorovna, the emperor had 10 children. In addition to the two autocrats mentioned above, it is worth noting Mikhail Pavlovich, who founded the first Russian Artillery School in St. Petersburg. By the way, he is the only child born precisely during the reign of Paul the First.
Pavel I and Maria Fyodorovna surrounded by children | Wikipedia But falling in love with his wife did not prevent Paul the First from following the generally accepted rules and getting himself a favorite. Two of them, ladies-in-waiting Sofya Ushakova and Mavra Yuryeva, even gave birth to illegitimate children from the emperor. It is also worth noting Ekaterina Nelidova, who had a huge influence on the emperor and it is believed that she tried to lead the country through the hands of her lover. Personal life Paul I and Ekaterina Nelidova was more intellectual than carnal. In it, the emperor realized his ideas of romantic chivalry.
Favorites of Paul I, Ekaterina Nelidova and Anna Lopukhina When those close to the court realized how much the power of this woman had increased, they arranged a “replacement” for the favorite of Paul I. Anna Lopukhina became his new lady of the heart, and Nelidova was forced to retire to Lode Castle, on the territory of present-day Estonia. It is curious that Lopukhina was not happy with this state of affairs, she was burdened by the status of the mistress of the ruler Paul the First, his "chivalrous" manifestations of attention and was annoyed that these relations were put on display.
Death
During the several years of the reign of Paul the First, despite the change in inheritance, at least three conspiracies were organized against him, the last of which was crowned with success. Almost a dozen officers, commanders of the most famous regiments, as well as statesmen on the night of March 24, 1801, they entered the emperor's bedroom in the Mikhailovsky Castle and committed the murder of Paul I. The official cause of his death was apoplexy. It should be noted that the nobles and simple people greeted the news of death with badly broken jubilation.
Engraving "The Assassination of Emperor Paul I", 1880 | Wikipedia The perception of Paul the First by subsequent generations is ambiguous. Some historians, especially during the reign of his heir Alexander I, and then in Soviet time, created the image of a tyrant and a petty tyrant. Even the poet in the ode "Liberty" called him "a crowned villain." Others try to emphasize the heightened sense of justice of Paul the First, calling him "the only romantic on the throne" and "Russian Hamlet". The Orthodox Church even at one time considered the possibility of canonizing this man. Today it is generally accepted that Paul the First does not fit into the system of any known ideology.
MAY THE LORD DELIVER US FROM THE SECOND
Of the 46 Roman emperors, 33 were forcibly overthrown; the history of Byzantium has hundreds of conspiracies; there were dozens of "seral coups" in Turkey and the Arab countries. Quickly and often officers, guards, guards change South American dictators. In Russia for 76 years, from 1725 to 1801, according to one account - five, and according to another - eight "palace revolutions".
So, palace coup- an event as “obscene” as it is common for entire countries, centuries, eras. The conspiracy of March 11, 1801 in this sense is a historical particular ...
However, none of the Russian coups of the XVIII century. So much has not been thought about and written about than about the events of 1801. Let us once again note the interest, the most serious reflections, the historical and artistic ideas of various figures in Russian culture and social thought: Pushkin, Herzen, Tolstoy, Tynyanov; let us recall Vyazemsky's notes, Merezhkovsky's play "Paul I", which thundered at the beginning of this century, and O. Forsh's novel "Mikhailovsky Castle" in Soviet times.
March 1801 is interesting to the historian, artist, and thinker. Some features of this event, which distinguish it from the rest, paradoxically help to get closer to the more general, deep patterns of the Russian XVIII and XIX centuries, to add something serious to the formulation of the problem of power, people, ideology, to consider the tragic collision of goal and means ...
“There is no connection between the two marks, but their proximity is remarkable,” comments S. N. Durylin, “Goethe put work or thought on the most important creation of his genius next to a political event that took place in distant Russia, so it seemed to him important and significant »
Whether Goethe really saw a universal "Faustian" meaning in the events of March 11 remains, of course, a hypothesis. Soon, however, young Pushkin echoes the great German, as usual, speaking a lot in one phrase: "Paul's reign proves that even in enlightened times Caligulas can be born ...".
REGICIDE. FROM M.A. FONVIZINA
When I entered the Guards in 1803, I personally knew many who participated in the conspiracy; many times I heard the details of the criminal catastrophe, which was then still fresh in my memory and served as the subject of the most vivid stories in officer conversations. More than once, standing on guard at the Mikhailovsky Castle, out of curiosity I went into the rooms occupied by Pavel, and into his bedroom, which for a long time remained in its former form; I also saw the hidden staircase along which he descended to his mistress, Princess Gagarina, the former Lopukhina. Eyewitnesses explained to me in the very places how everything happened. Comparing the stories I read in various foreign books about the death of Paul with my own recollections of the one I heard about it, I will begin my story with a list of conspirators whose names I could remember. All of them were up to 60 people, except for most of the guards officers, who, not actually participating in the conspiracy, knew about it existed and, out of hatred for Paul, were ready to contribute to success. These were the faces known to me and everyone at that time: St. Petersburg military governor-general Count von der Pahlen; Vice-Chancellor Count N. P. Panin; Prince Platon Zubov - chief of the 1st Cadet Corps; his brothers: Valerian - chief of the 2nd Cadet Corps and Nikolai; Major General Benigsen and Talyzin - commander of the Preobrazhensky regiment and inspector of the St. Petersburg inspection; regimental chiefs: Kexholmsky - Verderevsky; Senate battalions - Ushakov; 1st Artillery Regiment - Tuchkov; commanders of the guards regiments: Uvarov - Kavalergardsky; Yankovich-Demirievo - Horse Guards; Depreradovich - Semenovsky, and Prince Vyazemsky - chief of the 4th battalion of the Preobrazhensky regiment; of the same regiment, colonels: Zapolsky and Argamakov; Captain Shenshin and Staff Captain Baron Rosen; lieutenants: Marin and Leontiev; two brothers Argamakov; Count Tolstoy - Colonel of the Semyonovsky regiment; Prince Volkonsky - adjutant c. K. Alexander Pavlovich; lieutenants: Savelyev, Kikin, Pisarev, Poltoratsky, Efimovich; Izmailovsky regiment Colonel Mansurov; lieutenants: Volkhovskoy, Skaryatin and; Cavalier Guard Regiment Colonel Golenishchev-Kutuzov; captain Titov; lieutenant Gorbatov; gunners: Colonel Prince Yashvil; Lieutenant Tatarinov; naval captain commander Klokachev. In addition to the military, several courtiers and civilians, and even retired persons, took part in the conspiracy; I don't remember their names.
The soul of the conspiracy and the main agent was Count Pahlen, one of smartest people in Russia, bold, enterprising, with a decisive, unshakable character. A Kurdish native, he entered the Russian service as a cornet in the Horse Guards regiment under Peter III. In the reign of Catherine, Palen zealously contributed to the annexation of Courland to the empire, fell in love with Russia and was wholeheartedly devoted to his new fatherland. With regret and indignation, he looked at the insane autocracy of Paul, at the inconstancy and volatility of his foreign policy, which threatened the prosperity and power of Russia, Paul, at first an enemy of the French revolution, ready to make every sacrifice to suppress it, annoyed by his recent allies, to whom he rightly attributed failures, experienced by his troops - the defeat of the generals: Rimsky-Korsakov in Switzerland and Germany in Holland - after a glorious campaign in Italy, suddenly completely changes his political system and not only puts up with the first consul of the French Republic, who knew how to deftly flatter him, but becomes an enthusiastic admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte and threatens England with war. The break with it caused inexplicable harm to our foreign trade. England supplied us with products, both manufactory and colonial, for the raw products of our soil. This trade opened the only ways by which everything we needed flowed into Russia. The nobility was provided with a reliable income from their estates, selling grain, ship timbers, masts, lard, hemp, flax, and so on overseas. The break with England, violating the material well-being of the nobility, intensified in him hatred for Paul, already aroused by his cruel despotism.
The idea of killing Paul in any way became almost common. Count Pahlen, indiscriminate in the choice of means leading to the goal, decided to carry it out.
Count Palen was in great favor with the emperor, who knew how to appreciate his merits. Clothed with his power of attorney, he was initiated into all the most important affairs of state. As the military governor of the capital, Palen was in charge of the secret police and through him alone the reports of her agents could reach the king: this was a guarantee of keeping the ongoing conspiracy secret. When the thought of him matured, and Palen, knowing public opinion, hostile to the government, could count on many accomplices, decided to reveal his bold intention to Vice-Chancellor Count N.P. Panina, whom Pavel loved as the nephew of his tutor, Count N.I. Panin. Brought up by a smart and enlightened uncle, Count N.P. Panin adopted his free way of thinking, hated despotism and desired not only the fall of the insane tsar, but with this fall to establish legally free decrees that would limit the tsarist autocracy. On this score, and Count Palen shared his way of thinking.
The first action of the agreed Palen and Panin was an attempt to reconcile with Pavel Catherine's favorite, Prince Platon Zubov and his brothers, Valerian and Nikolai, who were in disgrace - in which they managed, the Zubovs were accepted into service and arrived in St. Petersburg. Palen and Panin knew in advance their hatred for Pavel and were confident in their zealous assistance: therefore they revealed their intention to them. The Zubovs entered into a conspiracy, and with them several loyal clients, whom they patronized during their power under Catherine. Of these persons, in character and position, they were more important than others: General Baron Benigsen, a Hanoverian who served with distinction in the Polish and Persian wars in our troops, dismissed by Pavel as a man betrayed by Zubov, and accepted back into service at the request of Count Panin, who was friendly with him, and General Talyzin, commander of the Preobrazhensky regiment and inspector of the troops stationed in St. Petersburg.
The acquisition of such an accomplice was all the more important for the success of the case, because Talyzin was loved by his subordinates: as a beloved chief, he was highly respected in all guards regiments and could always carry along not only officers, but also inspire the lower ranks, who were extremely attached to him. .
All dissatisfied with the then order of things, all the best Petersburg society and guards officers gathered at the Zubov brothers and at their sister Zherebtsova, a secular lady who was on friendly terms with the English envoy Lord Whitward and with officials of his embassy, visitors to her living room. From this, the opinion spread in Europe that Lord Whitward was the main culprit of the conspiracy and that he did not spare English money to buy accomplices in order to prevent a break between Russia and England, which threatened the commercial interests of the latter. This opinion has no basis, firstly, because Lord Whitward is too famous for his strict honesty and noble rules to be suspected of such an insidious and immoral act - then the conspiracy against Paul was a purely Russian affair, and for some truly patriotic, and in which, apart from Benigsen, not a single foreigner participated; and Lord Whitward left Petersburg immediately after the break with England, that is, before the beginning of the conspiracy. Evening meetings with the Zubov brothers or Zherebtsova gave rise to real political clubs in which the only subject of conversation was the then situation of Russia, suffering under the yoke of insane autocracy. They talked about the need to put an end to this. It never occurred to anyone to encroach on the life of Paul - there was one common desire: to force him to give up the throne in favor of the heir, beloved by everyone for kindness, education, meek and polite treatment - qualities completely opposite to the indomitable and autocratic character of his father. All these meetings took place, apparently under the auspices of the St. Petersburg military governor, who, as head of the secret police, received daily reports from spies and gave movement only to those of them that did not concern the conspiracy and the persons involved in it. Count Palen gradually prepared Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich for the coup d'état he planned, for the successful completion of which his consent was necessary. Often seeing him, Palen always directed his speech at the difficult and disastrous state of Russia, suffering from the insane acts of his father, and, without drawing any conclusions, called the Grand Duke to frankness.
“STOP BABYING. GO TO REIGN!"
Meanwhile, Alexander, having taken refuge in his ground floor apartment, spent a sleepless night, listening for any unusual noises above his head. The sudden silence that suddenly followed the fleeting commotion chilled his blood. He did not dare to go and find out the news and languished in anxious expectation. His wife was next to him. So, clinging to each other, seized with fear, they sat all night without uttering a single superfluous word. What's going on up there? Did Paul sign the act of renunciation? Have Zubov and Bennigsen achieved a peaceful resignation, as they promised in preparation for this action. Or? .. Cheek to cheek, hand in hand, the Grand Duke and Elizabeth did not allow even the thought of the worst. Alexander was dressed in a ceremonial uniform, but tears involuntarily rolled down from his eyes. Of course, from time to time he timidly glanced at the icon in order to ask her forgiveness for what was happening without his participation, but with his tacit consent.
At last the door suddenly swung open, and Palen appeared on the threshold. With guilty faces, several officers who surrounded Alexander also entered with him. Palen spoke, and from his first words, Alexander went into sobs. Without words, he understood about the tragic ending of his father's life and was well aware that even if he did not give the order for such an outcome, he still could not prevent him in any way. And what difference does it make now, how he will look: more guilty, less guilty or truly guilty? Humane laws have every reason to justify him, since they are based on what guided his consciousness. His hands were clean, but his soul was stained forever. As he still continued to sob, buried in his wife's chest, Palin, approaching him two steps, with a mixed expression of firmness and compassion, said in French: “Stop being childish. Go reign. Go show yourself to the guards!” Elizabeth, who was the first to cope with her nerves, encourages Alexander, persuading him, despite his sadness, to pull himself together and show respect to the capital that made its choice.
"EVERYTHING WILL BE WITH ME, AS WITH GRANDMA"
Rising with difficulty, Alexander follows Palen into the courtyard of the Mikhailovsky Castle, where detachments are lined up to guard the imperial dwelling at night. Deathly pale, barely moving his legs, he tries to stay directly in front of the soldiers lined up, shouting greetings. Palen, Bennigsen, Zubovs surround him. His accomplices. And he should still be grateful to them! Overcoming disgust, grief, exhaustion, he exclaims in a voice trembling with tears: “Batiushka suddenly died of an apoplexy. Everything will be with me, as with my grandmother, Empress Catherine. He answers with a loud "Hurrah!". "Maybe it's all for the best," Alexander consoles himself as the officers who killed his father congratulate him. Later, he accepts the congratulations of Konstantin, rude and unbridled, he is glad of the accession of his older brother. Only Empress Maria Fedorovna sincerely mourns the death of the hated monarch.
03/12/1801 (03/25). - The assassination of Emperor Paul I by conspirators in the Mikhailovsky Castle on the night of March 11-12
Assassination of Paul I
Emperor Paul I (09/20/1754–03/12/1801) was the son of Ekaterina Alekseevna (future). Immediately after his birth, he was taken to her, intending to transfer the royal throne to him after her death. With his mother, who occupied the Throne after the deposition of his father, Paul had a strained relationship, so Catherine II intended to transfer the Throne after her death to Paul's eldest son Alexander.
Pavel was first married to Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt (Natalya Alekseevna in Orthodox baptism), who died in childbirth, the second wife was Princess Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg (Maria Feodorovna in Orthodox baptism). In this marriage, many children appeared, among them - the future Emperors and. The four daughters became spouses of foreign monarchs and left the Romanov offspring in four German dynasties. From 1783, Pavel Petrovich and his wife lived away from the Imperial Court, mainly in Gatchina. There he created his own garrison, led the palace routine and his army.
Ascended to the Throne after the death of his mother Empress Catherine II on November 17, 1796, took place in Moscow on April 5, 1797, on the first day of Holy Pascha. At the end of the wedding to the Tsardom, the Emperor read from the height of the throne compiled by him, thus restoring the traditional rules of Russian succession to the throne,.
On the night of March 11-12, 1801, the Russian Emperor Paul I was assassinated as a result of a Masonic conspiracy involving England. The conspirators had internal (Paul's reforms) and external reasons for this.
Already on the day of his coronation, Paul published the Manifesto on the landlord peasants, which marked the beginning of the restriction: “so that no one under any circumstances would dare to force the peasants to work on Sundays.” Corvee was reduced to three days a week. A special decree forbade selling separately the serfs of the same peasant family. For the first time in the history of Russia, the peasant class was sworn in. A special peasant administration was created, allotments were established for state peasants, and all peasants were given the right to appeal against decisions of court cases.
Another important circumstance could have contributed to the improvement of the condition of the peasants in Little Russia and Belorussia, if it had been possible to cope with it. By order of Sovereign Paul I, the senator conducted a thorough study of the reasons for the hatred of the local population towards Jews, setting out his findings in a remarkable document (1800). Unfortunately, Pavel was not given time to solve this problem...
Emperor Paul I treated the Orthodox clergy with care. He strove for the priesthood to have a more “image and state corresponding to the importance of the rank.” Salaries were increased for priests on a regular salary, and where no salary was established, the parishioners were entrusted with the care of cultivating church land, which was then replaced by an appropriate grain contribution in kind or in cash. To encourage the clergy to a more zealous performance of their ministry, signs of external distinction were introduced. The clergy received awards, on the personal initiative of the Sovereign, an award pectoral cross was again established for them. The Emperor also took care of the enlightenment of the clergy. Under him, several seminaries and theological academies were established in St. Petersburg and Kazan.
Having alleviated the position of the peasants and the clergy, Paul demanded that the nobility restore the spirit of service. This caused discontent among many and set the stage for a conspiracy. Rumors began to spread about the Emperor as "unbalanced" and even "crazy". Of course, he was not such, and his sincere, largely naive decisions aimed at supporting good against evil were taken for "imbalance".
In particular, one can still meet his criticism for his support, which Paul I allowed to stay in Russia as refugees from the anti-monarchist French Revolution and from papal arbitrariness. They gained confidence in the Emperor by talking about the desirable unification of the efforts of the churches to resist the ideas of a godless revolution. The noble Russian Tsar, not particularly delving into the essence of the activities of the "Christian" order, believed the Jesuits and allowed them educational activities in the western provinces of Russia, where there were many Catholics.
For the same reason, Paul gave patronage to the Order of Malta. This Sovereign Military Hospice Order of St. John was created in the 11th century as an outpost of Christian European powers against the Mohammedans, but in 1792 he was expelled from revolutionary France and then by Napoleon from his residence on about. Malta. To protect the "Christian order" from further persecution, Emperor Paul ordered to add the words "and Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem" to his Imperial title. Before the imagination of the Emperor, the image of an ideal knightly alliance was drawn to resist the revolutionary ideas emanating from France, on the basis of strict Christian piety. According to Emperor Paul, the Order of Malta, which had fought so long and successfully against the Mohammedans who were oppressing Christianity, was to unite all the best defensive forces of Europe and serve as a powerful bulwark against revolutionary movements.
Often the Order of Malta is incorrectly identified with Freemasonry. Probably, Masons were also members of the order, but the order itself did not become part of Freemasonry, and in this case this is not relevant. As you know, Empress Catherine II, frightened by the French Revolution, in 1792 persecuted and banned. Under Paul I, Masons were not officially allowed, but they stopped hiding (apparently, they also managed to mislead the pious Emperor with Novikov's "Christian" publications, as well as the utopian concept of the peaceful rebirth of the modern unjust world into the future kingdom of world brotherhood).
However, the Masons' hopes for control over the Emperor did not come true. Paul I in practice opposed all Masonic trends. In an effort to limit the destructive influence of foreign customs and the spirit of the French Revolution, the Emperor forbade the wearing of French-style clothes. In general, the accession of Paul led to a sharp break in the liberal Catherine's order, which caused dissatisfaction with many noble families.
Added to this were foreign policy reasons. In 1798, Russia joined the coalition of European powers against revolutionary France: "Go save the kings!" - Paul advised on the famous campaign in Europe in 1799. But in 1800, due to the perfidious policy of England, it was necessary to break off trade relations with her and conclude an agreement with Napoleon in order to limit the ubiquitous British intrigues. A campaign against India was planned, which would undermine English power. This was the death sentence for the Sovereign.
A conspiracy was formed against Paul I, headed by the Governor-General of St. Petersburg Palen and General von Bennigsen. They acted with the tacit consent of Tsarevich Alexander Pavlovich, who was misled about the allegedly destructive policy of his father and assured that it was only a forced transfer of the throne from father to son. The headquarters of the conspiracy was the salon of Zherebtsova, the sister of the three Zubov brothers, the future killers, standing behind her English ambassador Sir Charles Whitworth. Through Zherebtsova, two million gold was distributed to the participants in the murder. On the night of March 12, 1801, the conspirators broke into the Emperor's bedroom (Mikhailovsky Castle) and killed him.
Thus, in the desire to eliminate the pious Emperor, the selfish interests of the Russian pro-Masonic nobility and the English Freemasons coincided: they jointly organized the assassination of the monarch, in addition, he was then slandered as a "crazy tyrant" in order to justify this crime, - noted Boris Bashilov ("Paul I and the Freemasons").
“The attitude of Emperor Paul I towards the Church was such that only the revolution of 1917 interrupted the work on his canonization, however, by the consciousness of the Russian people, Emperor Paul had long since been canonized. The marvelous signs of God's favor to the Righteous, performed by the Providence of the Lord at his tomb, in the last years before the revolution, not only attracted crowds of believers to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, but also prompted the clergy to publish a whole book of signs and wonders of God, poured out on believers by the prayers of the Blessed Emperor Paul I "( book N. D. Zhevakhov "Memories").
Discussion: 15 comments
Spasi Gospodi ja segodnja tschital o Imperatore u o. Lva Lebedeva toze samoe
Do not consider it annoying, but you need to add brief descriptions of the Glorious Military Victories in the Reign of Paul I, and also add detailed description strained relations with England. In general, the article is wonderful!
How difficult it is to find at least a small grain of truth in a muddy stream of lies. Now people who know and are not afraid to speak the Truth are national Heroes.
Does this mean that the Emperor-Martyr Paul is a locally venerated saint? And his canonization is a matter of time? I believe that Sovereign Paul I will be canonized (just as the monks of Optina Hermitage killed for Christ in 1993, the warrior Eugene and many others will be canonized).
Emperor Paul really was different, different from the image of a petty tyrant (and only that was formed mainly under the influence of murderers. However, canonization? And what about the Order of Malta? . grand masters in the Order of Malta "(B. Bashilov)
And how do you combine the piety of the almost canonized Paul I in your worldview with the fact that he was the Grand Master of the Catholic Order of Malta? EXPLAIN?
And tell me why in an article about this historical fact politically correct, in the spirit of Caesaropapism, is it silent?
Did I understand you correctly that a Catholic who stands at a high degree of the Catholic hierarchy can be canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church, just because he is a king?
How many writers have so many opinions, but the truth is one ... Where is it (truth) and isn't it time to look for modern Palens robbing and killing Russia and us its people ?????
H.I.V. Emperor Paul was eliminated in order to pit Russia against Napoleonic France, just as in the early 20th century they pitted Russia against the continental powers. Then, in the 19th century, Russia not only survived, but also, having created the "Holy Union", held the whole of Europe. Alas, not for long - at the suggestion of England, everything ended with the "Crimean War", but England learned its lesson and in the 20th century everything ended very tragically.
That's really nothing but "God punish England" and it is impossible to say.
I see the reason for the murder of Paul 1 not in the Indian campaign, but in his decision to separate Georgia from Russia and withdraw Russian troops from Georgia. At that moment, there was a dynastic turmoil in Georgia, and Paul did not want Russia to have a Georgian stone hanging around his neck. It is no coincidence that as soon as Alexander 1 became king, he immediately canceled this very decision of Paul 1.
Sovereign Paul 1 is undoubtedly a saint, his veneration began almost immediately after his martyrdom. I believe that he will be canonized, but by modern apostates and traitors.
At the beginning of perestroika, I heard a quote from Napoleon on the radio. He said: "I do not need Russia and its lands, I need to destroy the Russian bureaucracy, which prevents not only my country, but the whole of Europe from flourishing." It was shortly after the assassination of Paul, with which Napoleon was going to attack India and weaken the insidious Masonic viper - England. But the Russian bureaucracy "helped" the British remove Pavel. Consequences - war with France, and a little later, after 30 years - Crimean War. I have no Russophobia, I love Russia and hate its enemies, but I have long cursed the Russian bureaucracy and criminal oligarchs along with the Masons and the Illuminati.
In many respects we can agree with you. However, Napoleon was an anti-Christian revolutionary Freemason (as were his father and four brothers: of these, Joseph became "King of Spain" and Grand Master of the French Grand Orient; Louis - "King of Holland" and Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Scottish Rite, and then the Grand Orient; Jerome - "King of Westphalia" - data from the Masonic dictionary: Internationales Freimaurer-Lexikon. Wien. 1932. S. 1090-1092). Masons were also all his confidants and marshals. It was Napoleon who first transformed Freemasonry from secret society to undermine the Christian monarchies, as it was before, into a new official state religion, uniting all the lodges around the "Great East". He erected an obelisk with a five-pointed red star (the main symbol of Freemasonry) at the place of execution of the French monarch Louis XVI, eliminated his legitimate heir and crowned himself "emperor" of the whole West in Notre Dame Cathedral in the presence of the chief rabbi and the Pope. Napoleon's attempt to conquer Russia (holding the Third Rome) had an important goal for him: to be crowned in Moscow as the "emperor of the universe."
