In which palace was Paul 1 killed? Why was Paul I overthrown?

Paul the First went down in history as a cruel reformer. Liberal views and European tastes were persecuted, censorship was established, and a ban on the import of foreign literature into the country was established. The Emperor, having received the throne, largely limited the rights of the nobility. Maybe that's why his reign was so short.

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Childhood

Peter the Third, Paul's father, was on the Russian throne for only 186 days, although he planned that many years of rule lay ahead of him. After the palace coup, the emperor signed an abdication of the throne, which passed to his wife (Princess Anhalt-Zerbst).

Catherine built her reign on expanding the rights and privileges of the noble class, as well as enslaving the peasants. During her reign borders of the Russian Empire were moved to the south and west.

The first son of Peter and Catherine, named Pavel, was born on September 20, 1754. During this period, there was a political struggle in the palace, so the boy was deprived of the love and care of his parents. At the age of eight he lost his father. Paul's mother hired a staff of the best nannies and teachers, after which she withdrew from raising the future heir to the throne.

Boy's teacher became Fedor Bekhteev- a diplomat distinguished by incredible discipline and rigor. He published a newspaper where the slightest misdeeds of the pupil were described. The second mentor was Nikita Panin, thanks to whom the boy began to study a wide range of subjects - natural history, the Law of God, music, dance.

The immediate environment also had an influence on the formation of the personality of the heir to the throne, but communication with peers was kept to a minimum - only children of noble families were allowed to interact with him.

Ekaterina bought it for her son the huge library of academician Korf. The boy studied many foreign languages, arithmetic, astronomy, history, geography, learned to draw, dance and fencing, and studied the Law of God. The boy was not taught military discipline; Catherine did not want her son to get carried away with it.

The heir had an impatient character and was a restless child, but could boast of a rich imagination and love of reading. His education was as high quality as possible at that time.

Personal life of the future emperor

The first wife of the future ruler died during childbirth, and the second chosen one was Sophia Dorothea of ​​Württemberg (Maria Fedorovna).

Children of Paul I– firstborn Alexander (1777), Konstantin (1779), Alexandra (1783), Elena (1784), Maria (1786), Catherine (1788), Olga (1792, died in infancy), Anna (1795), Nikolai (1796) ), Mikhail (1798).

Despite having many children and almost constant pregnancies, Maria Fedorovna took care of the house and regularly participated in social events. However, she was not of particular importance at court due to her husband’s discord with his mother.

Maria Feodorovna was a submissive princess, who followed the postulates that she had learned in her youth, but due to circumstances beyond her control, her personal life with her husband came to discord after 20 years. After the birth of her last son, the obstetrician forbade her to become pregnant, as it could cost the woman her life.

The Emperor was disappointed by this circumstance and started a relationship with another woman, his favorite Anna Lopukhina. Maria Feodorovna herself became involved in charity work and began managing orphanages, streamlining the work of institutions for homeless and abandoned children. She also actively addressed issues of women's education and founded a number of educational institutions for them.

Rise to power

When Paul I reigned? He ascended the throne at the age of 42 on November 6, 1796, when Catherine II, his mother, died. This late date is explained by the complex relationship between the future emperor and his mother. They almost completely moved away from each other, realizing that they were people with opposing views. At first, the boy was raised as a future heir to the throne, but the older he became, the further they tried to keep him from matters of national importance.

Important! Many people had high hopes for Pavel Petrovich. His name was often on the lips of rebels, for example, . During the reign of Catherine II, many were dissatisfied with her decrees and laws.

Transformations

Numerous reforms characterize the reign of Paul 1: domestic and foreign policy underwent a number of changes.

What important steps have been taken:

• amendments were introduced to the procedure of succession to the throne, which was developed. The rights to the throne began to be enjoyed exclusively by the sons or brothers of the ruling dynasty in a descending line, or by seniority;
• the emperor's associates received the titles of senior officials or senators;
• comrades of Catherine II were removed from their posts;
• the activities of the highest government bodies have undergone changes for the better;
• a petition box was placed next to the palace, and reception days were also established for peasants who could openly leave complaints against their owners;
• corporal punishment has been abolished for older people over 70 years of age;
• Instead of the grain duty, which was burdensome for peasants, a financial tax was introduced. Debts of 7 million rubles were written off;
• it was forbidden to force peasants to work on holidays and weekends;
• corvee was limited - now it lasted 3 days a week;
• the sale of landless peasants and household servants was banned. If the owner treated the serfs inhumanely, the governors were obliged to carry out secret arrests and send the offenders to the monastery.
• over 4 years, 6,000 thousand state peasants were transferred to the nobles, since the emperor believed that their life was worse than that of the serfs;
• the cost of salt and food products in stores was reduced - the shortfall was compensated for by money from the treasury.

When Paul came to power, one of the the most important areas His activities turned out to be an infringement of the privileges and rights of the nobles.

He ordered all noble children who were enrolled in them to return to the regiments, and prohibited the unauthorized transfer to civilian service from the army without the permission of the Senate, approved by him personally.

The nobles had to pay new taxes, the money from which was sent to support the local administration.

The right according to which a nobleman addressed him with complaints and requests was abolished: now this was allowed to be done only with the permission of the governor. Punishment of noble people with sticks was reintroduced.

Immediately after ascending the throne, the emperor declared an amnesty, but multiple punishments soon followed. Decrees of Paul the First, limiting the power of the nobility, aroused anger and enmity on the part of the privileged class. Over time, the first conspiracies began to appear in the highest guards circles to overthrow the autocrat.

Features of foreign policy

Initially, it was announced at court that neutrality would be observed towards France. He always dreamed that wars would be fought solely for the purpose of defense. However, he was an opponent of the revolutionary sentiments of this country. Friendly relations were concluded with countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Prussia, which was the result of the creation of an anti-French coalition consisting of:

• Russia,
• Kingdom of Naples,
• Austria,
• England.

In Italy, commander A.V. Suvorov headed the domestic expeditionary force. In just six months, he won a victory in Italy over French troops, after which he entered Sweden, where he joined the corps of General A.M. Rimsky-Korsakov.

During the same period, the squadron F.F. Ushakova achieved several naval victories, as a result of which the Ionian Islands became free. However, the Russian-English corps located in Holland was unable to achieve its plans, as a result of which it returned. At the same time, only Russia's allies reaped the fruits of victories over Napoleon, which caused the severance of allied ties with Austria and England. The Emperor, outraged by England's position, decided to move closer to France.

Cause of the Emperor's death

A conspiracy was formed against the ruling emperor. It was headed by the Zubov brothers, the military governor of St. Petersburg P.A.

Palen and a number of others. The reason for the conspiracy is the internal policy of the autocrat, because he eased the situation of the peasants and at the same time limited the rights and privileges of the noble class.

Among the conspirators was Alexander Pavlovich, who was promised that his father would be left alive.

Led by Count Palen on the night of March 12, 1801 The conspirators broke into the Mikhailovsky Castle, reached the imperial chambers and put forward a demand to leave the throne. Having heard Paul's refusal to abdicate the throne, the conspirators killed the autocrat.

There were several conspiracies during the life and reign of the emperor. Thus, three cases of unrest among the troops were recorded. After the coronation of the new emperor, the Canal Workshop was formed - a secret organization whose members sought to kill the ruler. After the discovery of this conspiracy, all those who took part in it were sent to hard labor or exiled. All materials related to the investigation into the conspiracy were destroyed.

It was officially announced that Emperor Paul 1 had died from apoplexy.

Paul 1st - reign of the Tsar, reforms

The reign of Tsar Paul 1st - domestic and foreign policy, results

Results of the board

How long did Paul 1 reign?? His reign lasted several years, years of reign: from April 5, 1797. to March 12, 1801. In such a short period of time, no significant changes occurred in Russian society, although the emperor tried to introduce as many new measures as possible. At the beginning of the reign, favorable conditions were created for the development of industry and trade, but by the end of the reign, internal trade was in chaos and ruin, and external trade was almost completely destroyed.

Attention! The state was in a sad state when Paul I was killed.

Who ruled after Paul 1? The heir to the throne was his first-born Alexander 1. His reign turned out to be more successful: the first step was taken, the State Council was created, and a victory was won over Napoleon in 1812; the Russian army distinguished itself in other foreign campaigns. was more successful.

Conspiracy against Paul I.

Introduction
1. Reasons for the conspiracy
2.Main steps:


3.Conclusion
4.Conclusion
5. List of literature and sources

Introduction.
Paul I, Russian Emperor (1796-1801). Son of Peter III and Catherine II. He had sons Alexander (future Emperor Alexander I), Constantine, Nicholas (future Emperor Nicholas I), Mikhail and six daughters: Olga, Anna, Catherine, Maria, Elena, Alexandra. From 1783 he lived in Gatchina, estranged from his mother due to hostility towards her, where he had his own courtyard and a small army. At the beginning of his reign, Paul I changed many of Catherine’s orders, but essentially the internal policy of Paul I continued the course of Catherine II. Frightened by the Great French Revolution and the ongoing crusades in Russia, Paul I pursued a policy of extreme reaction. The strictest censorship was introduced, private printing houses were closed (1797), the import of foreign books was prohibited (1800), and emergency police measures were introduced to persecute progressive social thought. In the conditions of the aggravated crisis of the feudal system, Paul I defended the interests of the serf-owners and distributed more than 600,000 peasants to them. In the fight against the crusades, he used punitive expeditions and some legislative acts that supposedly limited the exploitation of the peasantry, such as the 1797 decree on three-day corvee. He introduced centralization and petty regulation at all levels of the state apparatus. He carried out reforms in the army according to the Prussian model, which caused discontent among many officers and generals. In his activities, Paul I relied on temporary favorites A. A. Arakcheev and I. P. Kutaisov.
Continuing the foreign policy of Catherine II, Paul I took part in the wars against France. Under pressure from the allies - the Austrians and the British - he put A.V. Suvorov at the head of the Russian army, under whose command the heroic Italian and Swiss campaigns were carried out in 1799. However, the strife between Paul I and his allies, the hope of the Russian emperor that the gains of the French Revolution would be nullified by Napoleon Bonaparte himself, led to a rapprochement with France. Paul I's petty pickiness and unbalanced character caused discontent among the courtiers. It intensified due to changes in foreign policy, which disrupted trade ties with England. A conspiracy has matured among the guards officers. On the night of March 11-12, 1801, conspirators killed Paul I in the Mikhailovsky Castle.
1. Reasons for the conspiracy.
In many character traits, Paul I resembled his father: he was also quick-tempered, impulsive, unpredictable and despotic. As during the reign of Peter III, courtiers, dignitaries and generals did not know what awaited them tomorrow: rapid rise or disgrace.
At the request of the Knights of the Order of Malta, Paul I took upon himself the chain of the master of this order, who had been knocked out of his possessions by the French. Having stood at the head of the exiles from Malta, Paul could take them under his protection. Many Maltese who fled from the French found refuge in Russia. This would not have caused discontent among the people if not for the constant haste of the emperor. If he had accepted the title of master after the victories of Suvorov and Ushakov, no one would have blamed him for this. But Paul became master of the order before these victories, and the emperor’s enemies took advantage of this by spreading rumors about Paul I’s renunciation of Orthodoxy, since the order was formally subordinate to the Pope. His unexpected alliance with Napoleon in 1800 brought even more harm to the king’s authority.
The emperor’s passion for the military, his desire to introduce Prussian orders and discipline into the Russian army caused sharp rejection among the military, not only in the guard, but throughout the entire army. In the last years of the reign of Catherine II, military discipline was weakened to the extreme. Struggling to strengthen it, Pavel went too far. He introduced the Prussian system of troop training, based on drills and meaningless steps, on repeated repetition of the same exercises, intended only for parade parades. Finally, this led to a decline in the authority of the emperor in the army. Meanwhile, it was the army, in particular the guard, that installed and overthrew monarchs in Russia for almost the entire 18th century. Paul I did not trust Russian officers; he brought the Germans closer to him, considering them more devoted and faithful subjects.
In my opinion, it was these facts of history that led to the tragic events of March 11, 1801. For example, an anti-government circle consisting of officers was located in Smolensk. When dissatisfaction with the tyrant Tsar became general, a new conspiracy against Paul I matured in St. Petersburg.

2.Main stages.
Support of Grand Duke Alexander.
Discontent against Emperor Paul I grew more and more every day. A close person of Paul I, Count Peter Alekseevich von der Palen, became one of the main organizers of the coup.
For the greatest success of the enterprise, the conspirators had to enlist the support of Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, which they received by apparently promising him that they would not cause physical harm to Paul, but would only force him to sign an abdication of the throne. This support was necessary for the conspirators, because Alexander was loved by the people much more than his father. And the conspirators also hoped to rule the country through the future emperor, realizing that he was an indecisive, two-faced, suspicious egomaniac, but they did not take into account that Alexander was also an intelligent and well-educated diplomat who could figure them out, but after the death of his father.
Alexander agreed to participate in the conspiracy.

Regicide in Mikhailovsky Castle.
From the very beginning of his reign, Paul I was afraid of conspiracies and tried to protect himself and his family from repeating the history of Peter I I I. For himself, he built the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, which was more like a conqueror’s fortress than a monarch’s palace. The castle was built in such a way that people unfamiliar with Paul I could easily get confused in the labyrinth of halls and passages. But death lay in wait for Paul precisely within these walls, since the danger came from people close to the throne.
On March 11, 1801, the leaders of the conspiracy - Count Palen, the Zubov brothers and General Bennigsen - gathered the participants in the murder. Many of them were pretty drunk. The conspirators divided into two groups. One was commanded by Bennigsen and Zubov, the other by Palen. Thanks to the betrayal of the guards from the Preobrazhensky Regiment, the conspirators easily entered the palace. The arrangement of the rooms was well known to Count Palen. He led the killers to the emperor's chambers. The guards tried to resist, but it was quickly broken by the conspirators.
When a group of officers burst into the emperor's bedroom, they found the frightened Paul I hiding behind a screen.
A dispute ensued: the emperor was demanded to abdicate the throne in favor of Tsarevich Alexander Pavlovich, but he refused. Then the conspirators presented him with an arrest order, allegedly signed by Alexander. Pavel refused to obey, because of this Nikolai Zubov hit the emperor in the temple with a heavy gold snuffbox. One of the attackers began to strangle Pavel with a white officer's scarf... Soon it was all over.

3.Conclusion

Assessing the activities of Paul I, we must admit that he brought mainly benefits to the Russian state, but with his distrust and suspicion of everything he won the dislike of the people. The emperor should have tried to gain the respect of his contemporaries, but instead he, on the contrary, pushed them away from himself. Paul I's fear for his own life reached the point of persecution mania: being a hot-tempered person, he could, for a completely insignificant reason or outright slanderous denunciation, brutally deal with any courtier, deprive him of all ranks and titles, and send him into exile. No one was immune from this. The reign of Paul I led the country into a state of extreme nervous disorder, where everyone felt under suspicion. If he were so sure that he would suffer the fate of Peter III, it would not have befallen him.
I believe that Paul I was a good tsar and diplomat; if he had not introduced Prussian rules into the army, then what would have remained of the great land and naval forces of Russia would have been a small, worthless handful of soldiers. Perhaps people simply did not understand his policies, and Paul I was cruel, suspicious and distrustful, but he was able to return the troops to the same state as they were during the reign of Peter I. Those who underestimated his contribution to the development of the Great Russian Power themselves read and executed death sentence for Paul I.

On March 12, 1801, the new Russian Emperor Alexander I came to power.
None of the murderers were punished, and no investigation was even launched into the murder of Paul I. Only a few of the conspirators were sent into exile, the rest escaped with a slight fright and soon reappeared at court. The era of Paul I ended with the last palace coup in Russian history.
In my opinion, Alexander I should have sent all the conspirators into exile, because Paul I, after all, was his father, and at least a drop of respect and love for the murdered emperor should have remained in him. In truth, if I were Alexander I, I would simply send all the conspirators to death, so that they would experience what death is like.

5. List of literature and sources.

Schilder N.K., Emperor Paul the First. Historical and biographical sketch, St. Petersburg, 1901; Regicide on March 11, 1801. Notes of participants and contemporaries, 2nd ed., St. Petersburg, 1908;
History of the USSR from ancient times to the present day;
Encyclopedic Dictionary of a Young Historian, Pedagogy-Press, 1997.

“Despotism, absorbing everything, finally destroys the despot himself,” wrote the future Emperor Paul I in his youth. His words turned out to be prophetic: having come to power and becoming a capricious ruler with the habits of a tyrant, the son of Catherine II soon died at the hands of the conspirators.

Hemorrhoidal colic and political affairs

The future emperor was born in the fall of 1754. Officially, Emperor Peter III Fedorovich is considered his father - who, by the way, after being removed from the throne, according to one version, also died at the hands of his enemies (according to the official version, the ruler died due to an attack of hemorrhoidal colic). However, there is a point of view according to which Paul I was conceived by Catherine II from her first favorite, the handsome Sergei Saltykov.

Catherine practically did not take care of her son: the boy grew up surrounded by numerous educators who developed in him pompousness, arrogance, an interest in theatricality, and a passion for mysticism. And soon Catherine II began to see Paul as a political rival and began to keep him away from political affairs.

However, on November 6, 1796, the Empress died unexpectedly, and Paul I, at the age of 42, ascended the Russian throne without hindrance.

Farewell to female empresses

Having become emperor, Paul I began to break the order established by his mother. On the day of coronation, the ruler promulgated the act of succession to the throne, which drew a line under a century of palace coups and female rule in Russia. And soon Paul I began to create reforms that weakened the position of the nobility. Thus, the monarch introduced corporal punishment to the nobility for murder, robbery, drunkenness, debauchery, and official violations. The right of nobles to file complaints was limited, and the right to file collective decisions was also abolished.

Wikimedia Commons Russian Emperor Paul I

In addition, Paul I quickly spoiled relations with the guard and gained fame in society as an “abnormal emperor”, giving unpopular and unreasonable orders. “We are on a ship whose captain and crew make up a nation whose language is unfamiliar to us,” diplomat Semyon Vorontsov wrote about the reign of Paul I. — I'm seasick and I can't get out of bed.

You come to announce to me that the hurricane is getting stronger and the ship is dying, because the captain has gone crazy, beating the crew, which contains more than 30 people who do not dare to resist his antics, since he has already thrown one sailor into the sea and killed another.

I think the ship will be lost; but you say that there is hope for salvation, since the first mate is a young man, reasonable and gentle, who enjoys the confidence of the crew.

I conjure you to return upstairs and present to the young man and the sailors that they must save the ship, part of which (as well as part of the cargo) belongs to the young man, that there are 30 of them against one and that it is ridiculous to be afraid of death at the hands of a crazy captain when soon everyone and he himself will drown because of this madness. You answer me that, not knowing the language, you cannot speak to him, that you go upstairs to see what is happening. You return to me to announce that the danger is increasing because the madman is still in control, but that you still have hope. Farewell! You are happier than me, my friend, since I no longer have hope.”

How to build yourself a tomb

Dissatisfaction with the activities of Paul I led to the creation of a coalition of conspirators. At first they intended to declare the emperor mentally ill and establish a regency over him, but then they made a more cruel decision: to inflict reprisals on the monarch and place a more loyal ruler on the throne.

Among the conspirators were high-ranking courtiers, officials and military men who took active action after the news that Paul I was going to remove his son Alexander, the future monarch, whom the people would call “The Blessed,” from the succession to the throne.

“Catherine’s son could be strict and earn the gratitude of the fatherland, to the inexplicable surprise of the Russians, he began to reign in universal horror, not following any regulations except his own whim; considered us not subjects, but slaves; executed without guilt, rewarded without merit, took away the shame from the treasury, took away the charm from the reward, humiliated ranks and ribbons with wastefulness in them; frivolously destroyed the fruits of state wisdom, hating the work of his mother in them, historian Nikolai Karamzin recalled about Paul I. “He taught heroes, accustomed to victories, to march... having, as a person, a natural inclination to do good, he fed on the bile of evil: every day he invented ways to frighten people and he himself was more afraid of everyone; I thought of building myself an impregnable palace and built a tomb.”

How to lock the empress in her chambers

“The story of the assassination of the emperor is surrounded by many rumors,” writes Doctor of Historical Sciences Evgeniy Anisimov. “The most common of them is the assertion that the frightened emperor hid behind the fireplace screen, from where the conspirators pulled him out. Most likely this is a lie. The conspirators instantly burst into the emperor's bedroom, and Pavel jumped out of bed to meet them. It is known that a fierce quarrel ensued between him and the murderers; Paul I threatened them with punishment.

It is unlikely that the cowardly hiding emperor could have behaved so decisively in front of the excited, drunk and armed conspirators. It was one of the participants in the conspiracy, Nikolai Zubov, irritated by the emperor’s threats, who hit Pavel in the temple with a snuffbox.

The emperor fell, the rest of the conspirators attacked him and, after a long struggle, strangled him with an officer's scarf that belonged to one of the killers. Some of his contemporaries believed that as soon as Empress Maria Feodorovna, who was sleeping in her bedchamber in the other wing of the castle, learned about the death of her husband, she allegedly tried to seize power like Catherine II, but the conspirators locked her in the chambers of the palace until she recognized Alexander's son as emperor."

Despite the tragedy of the incident, society rejoiced. “In the midst of the many assembled courtiers, the conspirators and murderers of Paul walked brazenly,” recalled writer Denis Fonvizin. “They, who had not slept at night, half-drunk, disheveled, as if proud of their crime, dreamed that they would reign with Alexander. Decent people in Russia, not approving the means by which they got rid of Paul's tyranny, rejoiced at his fall. Historiographer Karamzin says that the news of this event was a message of redemption throughout the whole state: in houses and on the streets people cried, hugged each other, as on the day of the Holy Resurrection. However, only the nobility expressed this delight; other classes accepted this news rather indifferently.”

The official version of the emperor's death was apoplexy. Society immediately began to joke that “Paul I died from an apoplectic blow to the temple with a snuff box.”

According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Alexander I burst into tears upon learning of his father’s death. “My father died of apoplexy,” the future emperor announced to the people. “Everything during my reign will be done according to the principles and heart of my beloved grandmother, Empress Catherine!”

It is interesting that after ascending the throne, Alexander I “gradually removed... the leaders of the coup - removed not because he considered them dangerous, but out of the feeling of disgust and disgust that he experienced at the mere sight of them.”

Coat of arms of Paul I

The last palace coup in Russia

On March 23, 1801, in the Mikhailovsky Castle at night in his own bedroom, Russian Emperor Paul I was strangled and beaten to death by drunken officers.

This is exactly how the last palace coup in Russian history took place.
Paul I, son of Catherine II and Peter III, was born on October 1, 1754 in St. Petersburg.

Emperor Peter III

Empress Catherine II

During his first years, Pavel grew up under the supervision of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna

Pavel received a good education and was a capable, knowledge-seeking, romantically inclined boy with an open character, who sincerely believed in the ideals of goodness and justice.

Pavel received an excellent education in the spirit of the French enlightenment. He knew foreign languages, had knowledge of mathematics, history, and applied sciences. In 1758, Fyodor Dmitrievich Bekhteev was appointed his teacher, who immediately began teaching the boy to read and write. In June 1760, Nikita Ivanovich Panin was appointed chief chamberlain under Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, Pavel’s tutor and mathematics teacher was Semyon Andreevich Poroshin, a former aide-de-camp of Peter III, and the teacher of the law (since 1763) was Archimandrite Platon, hieromonk of the Trinity. Sergius Lavra, later Moscow Metropolitan.

Initially, his relationship with his mother after her accession to the throne in 1762 was quite close. However, over time, their relationship deteriorated. Catherine was afraid of her son, who had more legal rights to the throne than herself. The Empress tried to prevent the Grand Duke from participating in discussions of state affairs, and he, in turn, began to evaluate his mother’s policies more and more critically.
Paul's rise to power in November 1796 was accompanied by the militarization of the life of the court and St. Petersburg as a whole. The new emperor immediately tried to erase everything that had been done during the 34 years of Catherine II’s reign, and this became one of the most important motives of his policy.
The emperor sought to replace the collegial principle of organizing management with an individual one. An important legislative act of Paul was the law on the order of succession to the throne, published in 1797, which was in force in Russia until 1917.
In the field of class politics, his main goal was to transform the Russian nobility into a disciplined, fully serving class. Paul's policy towards the peasantry was contradictory. During the four years of his reign, he gave away gifts to about 600 thousand serfs, sincerely believing that they would live better under the landowner.
In the army, Paul sought to introduce Prussian military order. He believed that the army is a machine and the main thing in it is the mechanical coherence of the troops and efficiency.

Initiative and independence are harmful and unacceptable.
Paul's desire for petty regulation also affected his intervention in the daily life of his subjects. Certain styles of clothing, hairstyles, and dances, in which the emperor saw manifestations of free-thinking, were prohibited. Strict censorship was introduced and the import of books from abroad was prohibited.
Paul's policies, combined with his despotic character, unpredictability and eccentricity, caused discontent in various social strata. Soon after his accession, a conspiracy began to mature against him. According to various estimates, from 30 to 70 people took part in this conspiracy. The organizers of the coup, Count Palen and Prince Platon Zubov, Catherine's former favorite, had personal reasons to hate Paul.

Pyotr Alekseevich Palen

Platon Aleksandrovich Zubov

In general, the reason was that Paul’s accession led to a drastic breakdown of Catherine’s order, which caused discontent among many noble families.
According to one version, Pavel was killed by Nikolai Zubov, the older brother of Platon Zubov, who hit him with a golden snuffbox.

Nikolai Alexandrovich Zubov

A joke subsequently circulated at court: “The Emperor died of apoplexy with a blow to the temple with a snuff box.”

snuffbox

According to another version, Paul was strangled with a scarf or crushed by a group of conspirators who, leaning on the emperor and each other, did not know exactly what was happening.

Chronology March 11

• The king gets up between four and five in the morning and works from five to nine. Palen's morning report on international affairs.
• At 9 o'clock, Pavel, accompanied by the heir, goes to “inspect the troops.” At 10 o'clock - the usual parade ground.

parade ground

• Sablukov writes how Palen answers the emperor’s question about security measures: “Nothing else is required. Unless, Your Majesty, remove these Jacobins” (at the same time he pointed to the door behind which there was a guard from the Horse Guards) “and order this door to be boarded up” (leading to the Empress’s bedroom). The ill-fated monarch did not fail to carry out both of these pieces of advice, as is known, “to his own destruction.”
• Velyaminov-Zernov: Having gathered the guard officers at his apartment (as often happened), Palen announced the sovereign’s particular displeasure with their service and a threat to exile everyone. “Everyone left with sad faces and despondency in their hearts. Everyone wanted change."
• From 11 o'clock Pavel goes for a ride on horseback with Kutaisov.
• The Emperor dines with his entourage at one o'clock in the afternoon. Palen, meanwhile, is sending out invitation cards to dinner at his place to insiders.
• Removal of the troops loyal to Paul: “at night, when the dawn had already broken, the Semenovsky 3rd battalion [its chief was Tsarevich Alexander] was ordered to dress; he was taken to the Mikhailovsky Castle to relieve the Preobrazhensky battalion, which was occupying guard duty in the castle. This change took place under the pretext that the next day, March 12, Paul I would be early to watch the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The Semenovites occupied all the posts in the castle, except for the internal infantry guard, located near the hall called the restroom, adjacent to the bedroom of Paul I. This guard was left out of fear that the movement of the shift would not wake the emperor.”

guard

• J.I. de Sanglen writes in his memoirs that on this day “Paul made the entire imperial family, with the exception of minors, swear an oath not to enter into any connection with the conspirators.”

Paul I with his family

• Afterwards, the emperor allowed his sons (who were under arrest) to have dinner with him. At 9 o'clock Pavel goes out for dinner. Invited: Alexander and Konstantin with their wives, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna; the wife of the main conspirator, Lady Palen, and her daughter, Lady Palen, Maid of Honor Protasova, Lady Kutuzova 2nd, Lady Renne, Lady Countess Lieven; Kutuzov, Stroganov, Naryshkin, Chief Chamberlain Count Sheremetev, Master of Horse Mukhanov, Senator Prince Yusupov. At half past ten, dinner ended, and the sovereign went to his room, having the habit of going to bed at ten.
• Lunch at Platon Zubov's at 10 o'clock. Bennigsen: “From Palen I went to Prosecutor General Obolyaninov to say goodbye, from there at 10 o’clock I arrived to Zubov. I found with him only his brother, Count Nicholas, and three persons initiated into the secret. (...) Prince Zubov told me the agreed upon plan, saying that a coup would take place at midnight. My first question was: who is at the head of the conspiracy? When this person [the Tsarevich] was named to me, I did not hesitate to join the conspiracy.” According to another account of Bennigsen's story, there were not three people there, but thirty.
• At the eleventh hour, Paul sends pages with letters and goes around some posts in the Mikhailovsky Castle.
• The king closes the outer door; the guard soldier Agapeev will remember that the tsar prayed at the icon in the hallway.
• Life physician Grivet gives the emperor some drink
• Pavel spends an hour with his favorite Gagarina, going down a secret staircase to her.

Anna Petrovna Lopukhina (Gagarina)

• There he may also communicate with her husband, and also write an irritated note intended for the sick Lieven.
• The conspirators are having dinner at Palen's. He orders everyone to come in parade, in uniform, with ribbons and orders. “We found a room full of officers,” says Bennigsen, “they were having dinner with the general, and most of them were drunk.” “Everyone was at least excited by the champagne that Palen ordered to serve them (he forbade me to drink and did not drink it himself).” There were about 40-60 people there (who had gathered on tickets sent out by Palen). Platon Zubov, to whom his high position during his previous reign attaches special significance, announces to those gathered (from the 2nd and 3rd categories of conspirators) about the true plans of the gathering - or rather, about the plan for the overthrow and arrest of the emperor, indicating that Alexander gave permission for this, and Catherine from the very I started wanting to pass the throne to my grandson. Sablukov writes: “At the end of the dinner, as they say, Palen seemed to say: “I remind you, gentlemen, that in order to eat scrambled eggs, you must first break the eggs.” Kozlovsky points out: “The conspirators asked Palen what to do with the emperor. To this he answered them with a French proverb: “When preparing an omelet, break the eggs.” It was previously decided to imprison him in Shlisselburg .

Shlisselburg fortress

The conspirators enter the castle

• Having received a signal about the movement of the regiments, Palen suggests that the officers divide into two groups. Velyaminov-Zernov writes: “Palen said: “For now, gentlemen, you need to split up - some will go with me, others with Prince Platon Alexandrovich.” Separate yourself...” No one moved. “Ah, I understand,” said Palen and began to arrange them indiscriminately in turns, one to the right, one to the left, except for the generals. Then, turning to Zubov, he said: “These gentlemen will go with you, and the others with me; we will go into different rooms. Let's go." Everyone went to the Mikhailovsky Castle."

Mikhailovsky Castle

• Palen's group goes to the main entrance to the palace (this is an “official” group, with it there is a governor-general with the right to stop any accident, for example, to arrest any supporter of Paul “in the name of the law”), Zubov is assigned a strike group.
• The Zubov-Bennigsen column follows Captain Argamakov through Sadovaya to the Nativity Gate of the Mikhailovsky Castle. Another, led by Palen, across Nevsky Prospekt, through the main entrance under the Resurrection Gate. As a result, when approaching the second floor, the thinned group of killers is 10-12 people.
• 0:00. The conspirators enter the palace. They make a noise, and the troops try to raise the alarm (2 alarms: Preobrazhenskaya, which is calmed by S. Marin, and Semenovskaya, calmed by K.M. Poltoratsky).
• The conspirators approach the royal rooms. “In the dark corridor, at the door of Paul I’s bedroom, there was an icon; Private Agapeev stood guard next to her. When the conspirators entered the corridor, one of them, namely Count Zubov, hit Agapeev on the back of the head with a saber so hard that he fell, bleeding profusely. Then they knocked on the bedroom door. The indoor hussar [Kirillov], having opened the door slightly to find out who was knocking, suffered the fate of Agapeev.” (Both victims survived).
• Argamakov, who had the right of free access to the palace as a regimental adjutant, knocked on the locked doors of the hallway. Having waited for the sleepy valet to answer, he told him that it was already six o’clock and it was time to report to the sovereign on the condition of the regiment. “It’s like six o’clock,” the valet objected, “it’s not even twelve yet, we just went to bed.” “You are mistaken,” answered Argamakov, “your watch has probably stopped, now it’s more than six o’clock. Because of you I will be put under arrest, unlock it quickly.” The deceived valet unlocked the door. According to another version, a fire was reported. At this moment, Platon Zubov begins to be afraid and tries to hide, but Benningsen stops him.

Leonty Leontyevich Bennigsen

• Czartoryski writes: “...When screams raised by Paul’s chamberlains were heard in the palace, Zubov, who was walking at the head of the detachment, was confused and was about to hide, dragging others with him, but at that time General Bennigsen approached him and, grabbing him by the hand, said : "How? You yourself brought us here and now you want to retreat? This is impossible, we have come too far to listen to your advice, which is leading us to destruction. The die has been cast, we must act. Forward". I later heard these words from Bennigsen himself.”
• Pavel, hearing the noise, tried to escape through the doors that led to Maria Fedorovna's rooms. It was a sliding door that closed the secret staircase leading to his wife's chambers. But the doors turned out to be locked (according to another version, he himself ordered them to be sealed, having entered into a relationship with the actress).
• Then he rushed to the window and hid behind the curtain (option: behind the fireplace screen). “Paul jumped up, and if he had retained his presence of mind, he could easily have escaped, however, he could not do this through the Empress’s rooms, but he could go down to Gagarina and escape from there. But apparently he was too frightened to think, and huddled in one of the corners of the small screens that blocked the simple, uncurtained bed on which he slept.” Eidelman points out that Palen knew about this staircase, and the emperor certainly would not have been saved.
  • A. B. Lobanov-Rostovsky: “The officers who were in the conspiracy were placed in the corridors, at the doors, at the stairs for observation. So, I know that D.V. Arsenyev, 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 great danger at every step, since the conspirators took possession of this half of the castle.”

The conspirators enter the bedroom

Nightgown of Paul I and a guards scarf (similar to the murder weapon).

Paul's slippers prove that he had small narrow feet

• 0:30: At half past midnight, 12 conspirators broke into the emperor's bedroom.
• Not finding the emperor in bed, the conspirators were confused. Platon Zubov said that the bird had flown away (“I’oiseau s’est envolé”), but “Bennigsen with satanic composure approached the bed, felt it with his hand and said: “The nest is warm, the bird is not far.” "". The room was searched and Pavel was found in a nightgown (according to another version, his boots gave him away).
• “They took him out from behind the fireplace, put him to bed and demanded that he sign his abdication of the throne. Pavel did not agree to this for a long time, but finally gave in to urgent demands.” “Paul did not answer anything; in the light of the lamp one could see all the confusion and horror that were expressed on his face. Bennigsen, without wasting time, made a thorough inspection of his rooms ... "
• Platon Zubov had left the room at that moment, some of the officers fell behind, others, frightened by distant screams in the palace, jumped out, and for some time Bennigsen was alone with Pavel (from 10 to 45 minutes, according to various sources). Then the room fills with people again: Bennigsen leaves and returns with the stragglers.
• A. Kotzebue writes: “Zubov takes an act of renunciation out of his pocket. Of course, no one would be surprised if at that moment, as many claimed, the sovereign was struck with an apoplexy. And indeed, he could barely speak the language and said very clearly: “No, no, I won’t sign.” “What have I done to you?” Mistaking one of the conspirators for the son of Constantine, he exclaims: “And Your Highness is here?” Czartoryski: “Paul is taken out of hiding, and General Bennigsen, wearing a hat and with a naked sword in his hand, says to the emperor: “Sire, you are my prisoner, and your reign has come to an end; renounce the throne and immediately sign an act of abdication in favor of Grand Duke Alexander."
• The Emperor was informed that he was under arrest. M. Fonvizin: “Pavel crumpled the paper... answered sharply. He pushes Platon Zubov away, denounces his ingratitude and all his insolence. “You are no longer an emperor,” the prince replies, “Alexander is our sovereign.” Offended by this insolence, Paul struck him; this courage stops them and for a moment reduces the courage of the villains. Bennigsen noticed this, he said, and his voice inspired them: “It’s about us, if he is saved, we are lost.” Leontyev retells Yashvil’s exclamation: “Prince! Stop talking! Now he will sign whatever you want, and tomorrow our heads will fly on the scaffold.” According to Sanglen, Nikolai Zubov says similar words: “What do you want? Civil war? The Gatchinaskys are committed to him. Everything must end here." They point out that the tsar loudly answered Zubov, and they hit him, exclaiming: “Why are you shouting like that?” (according to Sablukov).

Murder

On the emperor's belt is an officer's scarf "made of silver thread with three narrow black and orange stripes and black and orange tassel centers." It was with such a scarf that he was strangled - either his own or Skaryatin’s

Gold snuff boxes of the 18th century were very weighty objects. However, although the snuff box is the most common version, there are references to the hilt, the handle of a pistol, and just a fist

Paul was killed between 0:30 And 2:00 , narrowing the chronological framework - between 0:45 And 1:45 .

Information about the murder itself is contradictory in some details:

• N.A. Sablukov: “The Emperor, filled with a sincere desire to bring happiness to his people, to preserve inviolably the laws and regulations of the empire and to establish justice everywhere, entered into an argument with Zubov, which lasted about half an hour and which, in the end, took on a violent character. At this time, those of the conspirators who drank too much champagne began to express impatience, while the emperor, in turn, spoke more and more loudly and began to gesticulate strongly. At this time, the horsemaster Count Nikolai Zubov, a man of enormous stature and extraordinary strength, being completely drunk, hit Pavel on the hand and said: “Why are you shouting like that!” At this insult, the emperor indignantly pushed away Zubov’s left hand, to which the latter, squeezing fist, a massive golden snuff-box, with all his might he struck the emperor’s left temple with his hand, as a result of which he fell senseless to the floor. At the same moment, Zubov’s French valet jumped up with his feet on the emperor’s stomach, and Skaryatin, an officer of the Izmailovsky regiment, took off the emperor’s own scarf hanging over the bed and strangled him with it. Thus they finished him off..."

Basically, the contradictions stem from what Bennigsen said, trying to whitewash himself and prove that he was not in the room at the time of the murder.

· Testimony of Bennigsen: “...My fugitives meanwhile met with their accomplices and returned to Paul’s room. There was a terrible crush, the screen fell on the lamp, and it went out. I went out to get some fire from the next room. In this short period of time, Paul passed away...” Langeron, who recorded Bennigsen’s story from his own words, continues: “Apparently, Bennigsen witnessed the death of the sovereign, but did not take a direct part in the murder... The killers rushed at Paul, who only weakly defended himself, asked for mercy and begged to be given time to pray... He noticed a young officer, very similar to the Grand Duke Constantine, and said to him, like Caesar to Brutus: “How, is your Highness here?” The Prussian historian Bernhardi, from the words of the same Bennigsen, wrote: “ Pavel tried to pave the way for escape. “Arrested! What do you mean, arrested!” he shouted. He was restrained by force, and Prince Yashvil and Major Tatarinov were especially unceremonious.

• Bennigsen exclaimed twice: “Do not resist, sir, this is about your life!” The unfortunate man tried to break through and kept repeating his words... A hot hand-to-hand fight occurred, the screen overturned. One officer shouted: “We should have put an end to you four years ago.” Hearing a noise in the hallway, many wanted to run, but Bennigsen jumped to the door and in a loud voice threatened to stab anyone who tried to escape. “Now it’s too late to retreat,” he said. Pavel decided to call for help in a loud voice. There was no doubt how this hand-to-hand fight with the king would end. Bennigsen ordered the young, intoxicated Prince Yashvil to guard the sovereign, and he himself ran out into the hallway to give orders about the placement of the sentries...”
• M. Fonvizin: “...Several threats that escaped from the unfortunate Pavel summoned Nikolai Zubov, who was of athletic strength. He held a golden snuffbox in his hand and struck Pavel in the temple with a swing, this was the signal by which Prince Yashvil, Tatarinov, Gordonov and Skaryatin furiously rushed at him, tore the sword out of his hands: a desperate struggle began with him. Paul was strong and strong; they knocked him to the floor, trampled him, broke his head with a sword hilt, and finally crushed him with Skaryatin’s scarf. At the beginning of this vile, disgusting scene, Bennigsen went into the bedroom room, on the walls of which pictures were hung, and, with a candle in his hand, calmly examined them. Amazing composure!
• “One of the conspirators hastened to notify Bennigsen of this [renunciation], who remained in the adjacent room and, with a candlestick in his hand, was looking at the paintings hanging on the walls. Hearing about Paul’s renunciation, 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 night visit to Paul 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 evils inflicted on Russia, Count Zubov hit Pavel in the temple with a golden snuffbox, and strangled him with Bennigsen’s scarf.”

The conspirators were not hired killers and therefore acted ineptly and fussily. In order to justify this crime, the conspirators slandered the monarch as a “crazy tyrant.”

funeral procession

grave of Paul I in the Peter and Paul Cathedral

monument to Paul I in St. Petersburg

monument to Paul I in Pavlovsk

The assassination attempt on Paul I had been prepared for a long time. Many of his nobility subjects saw Paul's continued reign as a threat to their class interests and even their lives. He arrested, exiled, expelled from the army in large numbers, deprived of ranks and nobility. At the same time, he was guided by suspicions and whim. The army was dissatisfied with the sudden change in military laws, the tightening of discipline, continuous drills and shift parades. Among the conspirators were high-ranking courtiers, officials and military personnel. Their decisive actions began when it became known that Paul I intended to remove Alexander Pavlovich from succession to the throne. Namely, the conspirators were guided by him, as a kind, humane man, the beloved grandson of Catherine II. However, it remains unclear whether Alexander knew about the conspiracy.

Assassination of Emperor Paul I

Despite the good goals of establishing order, establishing justice, suppressing theft, etc., the reign of Paul I - his style, rough tricks, sudden unpredictable decisions and turns in politics - seemed unusually despotic and cruel. N. M. Karamzin, a contemporary of the events, well conveyed the feelings of that time:

Catherine's son could be strict and earn the gratitude of the fatherland, to the inexplicable surprise of the Russians, he began to reign in universal horror, not following any regulations except his own whim; considered us not subjects, but slaves; executed without guilt, rewarded without merit, took away the shame of execution, the beauty of reward, humiliated ranks and ribbons with wastefulness in them; he frivolously destroyed the fruits of state wisdom, hating the work of his mother in them... He taught heroes accustomed to victories to march... having, as a person, a natural inclination to do good, he fed on the bile of evil: every day he invented ways to frighten people and he himself was more afraid of everyone; I thought of building myself an impregnable palace and built a tomb.

Legends and rumors

How did Paul I die?

The story of the assassination of the emperor is surrounded by many rumors. The most common of them is the claim that the frightened emperor hid behind the fireplace screen, from where the conspirators pulled him out. Most likely this is a lie. The conspirators instantly burst into the emperor's bedroom, and Pavel jumped out of bed to meet them. It is known that a fierce quarrel ensued between him and the murderers; Paul I threatened them with punishment. It is unlikely that the cowardly hiding emperor could have behaved so decisively in front of the excited, drunk and armed conspirators.

It was one of the participants in the coup, Nikolai Zubov, irritated by the emperor’s threats, who hit Pavel in the temple with a snuffbox. The emperor fell, the rest of the conspirators attacked him and, after a long struggle, strangled him with an officer's scarf that belonged to one of the killers. Some of his contemporaries believed that as soon as Empress Maria Feodorovna, who was sleeping in her bedchamber in the other wing of the castle, learned about the death of her husband, she allegedly tried to seize power like Catherine II, but the conspirators locked her in the chambers of the palace until she recognized Emperor's son Alexander.

The society was in fear and confusion. Paul I lost his sense of reality, rushed from one extreme to another, became maniacally suspicious, removed people truly devoted to him from himself, but all this only contributed to the emergence of a conspiracy among the guards officers and court circles. This conspiracy led to a bloody outcome - the murder of the emperor on the night of March 11, 1801. Thanks to the betrayal of one of the security officers, a detachment of conspirators entered the strictly guarded Mikhailovsky Castle and went up to the emperor’s bedroom. The conspirators tricked their way in and killed the emperor. Despite the tragedy of the incident, society breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out as Paul wrote in his youth, condemning autocracy: “Despotism, absorbing everything, finally destroys the despot himself.”