When Peter III was born. Alien Tsar - Peter III

Story Character

SLANDER
THROUGH THE CENTURIES

Peter III -
unknown Russian emperor

The poet gives a lesson to historians

In Russian history, there is, perhaps, no ruler more reviled by historians than Emperor Peter III

Even the authors of historical studies speak better about the crazy sadist Ivan the Terrible than about the unfortunate emperor. What kind of epithets did historians bestow upon Peter III: “spiritual insignificance”, “reveler”, “drunkard”, “Holstein martinet” and so on and so forth.
What did the emperor, who reigned for only six months (from December 1761 to June 1762), do wrong before the learned men?

Holstein Prince

The future Emperor Peter III was born on February 10 (21 - according to the new style) February 1728 in the German city of Kiel. His father was Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, the ruler of the North German state of Holstein, and his mother was the daughter of Peter I, Anna Petrovna. Even as a child, Prince Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp (that was the name of Peter III) was declared heir to the Swedish throne.

Emperor Peter III

However, at the beginning of 1742, at the request of the Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the prince was taken to St. Petersburg. As the only descendant of Peter the Great, he was declared heir to the Russian throne. The young Duke of Holstein-Gottorp converted to Orthodoxy and was named Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich.
In August 1745, the Empress married the heir to the German Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta, daughter of the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, who was in the military service of the Prussian king. Having converted to Orthodoxy, Princess Anhalt-Zerbst began to be called Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna.

Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna - future Empress Catherine II

The heir and his wife could not stand each other. Pyotr Fedorovich had mistresses. His last passion was Countess Elizaveta Vorontsova, daughter of Chief General Roman Illarionovich Vorontsov. Ekaterina Alekseevna had three constant lovers - Count Sergei Saltykov, Count Stanislav Poniatovsky and Count Chernyshev. Soon the Life Guards officer Grigory Orlov became the favorite of the Grand Duchess. However, she often had fun with other guards officers.
On September 24, 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son, who was named Pavel. It was rumored at court that the real father of the future emperor was Catherine’s lover, Count Saltykov. Pyotr Fedorovich himself smiled bitterly:
- God knows where my wife gets her pregnancy from. I don't really know if this is my child and if I should take it personally...

Short reign

On December 25, 1761, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna rested in Bose. Peter Fedorovich, Emperor Peter III, ascended the throne.
First of all, the new sovereign ended the war with Prussia and withdrew Russian troops from Berlin. For this, Peter was hated by the guards officers, who craved military glory and military awards. Historians are also dissatisfied with the actions of the emperor: pundits complain that Peter III “negated the results of Russian victories.”
It would be interesting to know exactly what results the respected researchers have in mind?
As you know, the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763 was caused by the intensification of the struggle between France and England for overseas colonies. For various reasons, seven more states were drawn into the war (in particular, Prussia, which was in conflict with France and Austria). But what interests the Russian Empire pursued when it acted on the side of France and Austria in this war is completely unclear. It turned out that Russian soldiers died for the French right to rob colonial peoples. Peter III stopped this senseless massacre. For which he received a “severe reprimand with a note” from grateful descendants.

Soldiers of the army of Peter III

After the end of the war, the emperor settled in Oranienbaum, where, according to historians, he “indulged in drunkenness” with his Holstein companions. However, judging by the documents, from time to time Peter was also involved in government affairs. In particular, the emperor wrote and published a number of manifestos on the transformation of the state system.
Here is a list of the first events that Peter III outlined:
Firstly, the Secret Chancellery was abolished - the famous secret state police, which terrified all subjects of the empire without exception, from commoners to high-born nobles. With one denunciation, agents of the Secret Chancellery could seize any person, imprison him in dungeons, subject him to the most terrible torture, and execute him. The emperor freed his subjects from this arbitrariness. After his death, Catherine II restored the secret police - called the Secret Expedition.
Secondly, Peter declared freedom of religion for all his subjects: “let them pray to whomever they want, but not to have them reproached or cursed.” This was an almost unthinkable step at that time. Even in enlightened Europe there was not yet complete freedom of religion. After the death of the emperor, Catherine II, a friend of the French enlightenment and “philosopher on the throne,” repealed the decree on freedom of conscience.
Thirdly, Peter abolished church supervision over the personal lives of his subjects: “no one should condemn the sin of adultery, for Christ did not condemn.” After the death of the Tsar, church espionage was revived.
Fourthly, implementing the principle of freedom of conscience, Peter stopped the persecution of the Old Believers. After his death, government authorities resumed religious persecution.
Fifthly, Peter announced the liberation of all monastic serfs. He subordinated the monastic estates to civil colleges, gave arable land to the former monastic peasants for eternal use and imposed only ruble dues on them. To support the clergy, the tsar appointed “his own salary.”
Sixth, Peter allowed the nobles to travel abroad unhindered. After his death, the Iron Curtain was restored.
Seventh, Peter announced the introduction of a public court in the Russian Empire. Catherine abolished the publicity of the proceedings.
Eighth, Peter issued a decree on the “silverlessness of service,” prohibiting the presentation of gifts of peasant souls and state lands to senators and government officials. The only signs of encouragement for senior officials were orders and medals. Having ascended the throne, Catherine first gifted her associates and favorites with peasants and estates.

One of the manifestos of Peter III

In addition, the emperor prepared a lot of other manifestos and decrees, including those on limiting the personal dependence of peasants on landowners, on the optionality of military service, on the optionality of observing religious fasts, etc.
And all this was done in less than six months of reign! Knowing this, how can one believe the fables about Peter III’s “heavy drinking”?
It is obvious that the reforms that Peter intended to implement were long ahead of their time. Could their author, who dreamed of establishing the principles of freedom and civic dignity, be a “spiritual nonentity” and a “Holstein martinet”?

So, the emperor was engaged in state affairs, in between which, according to historians, he smoked in Oranienbaum.
What was the young empress doing at this time?
Ekaterina Alekseevna and her many lovers and hangers-on settled in Peterhof. There she actively intrigued against her husband: she gathered supporters, spread rumors through her lovers and their drinking companions, and attracted officers to her side.
By the summer of 1762, a conspiracy arose, the soul of which was the empress. Influential dignitaries and generals were involved in the conspiracy:
Count Nikita Panin, actual privy councilor, chamberlain, senator, tutor of Tsarevich Pavel;
his brother Count Pyotr Panin, general-in-chief, hero of the Seven Years' War;
Princess Ekaterina Dashkova, nee Countess Vorontsova, Ekaterina’s closest friend and companion;
her husband Prince Mikhail Dashkov, one of the leaders of the St. Petersburg Masonic organization;
Count Kirill Razumovsky, marshal, commander of the Izmailovsky regiment, hetman of Ukraine, president of the Academy of Sciences;
Prince Mikhail Volkonsky, diplomat and commander of the Seven Years' War;
Baron Korf, chief of the St. Petersburg police, as well as numerous officers of the Life Guards led by the Orlov brothers.
According to a number of historians, influential Masonic circles were involved in the conspiracy. In Catherine’s inner circle, the “free masons” were represented by a certain mysterious “Mr. Odar.” According to an eyewitness to the events of the Danish envoy A. Schumacher, the famous adventurer and adventurer Count Saint-Germain was hiding under this name.

Events were accelerated by the arrest of one of the conspirators, Lieutenant Captain Passek.

Count Alexei Orlov - assassin of Peter III
On June 26, 1762, the Orlovs and their friends began to solder the soldiers of the capital's garrison. With the money that Catherine borrowed from the English merchant Felten, allegedly to buy jewelry, more than 35 thousand buckets of vodka were purchased.
On the morning of June 28, 1762, Catherine, accompanied by Dashkova and the Orlov brothers, left Peterhof and headed to the capital, where everything was ready. Deadly drunk soldiers of the guard regiments took the oath to “Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna,” and a very inebriated crowd of ordinary people greeted the “dawn of a new reign.”
On June 29, the emperor, struck by the betrayal of his most trusted people and having no desire to get involved in the fight for the hated crown, abdicated the throne. He wanted only one thing: to be released to his native Holstein with his mistress Ekaterina Vorontsova and his faithful adjutant Gudovich.
However, by order of the new ruler, the deposed king was sent to the palace in Ropsha. On July 6, 1762, the brother of the Empress's lover Alexei Orlov and his drinking companion Prince Fyodor Baryatinsky strangled Peter. It was officially announced that the emperor “died of inflammation in the intestines and apoplexy”...

So, the facts do not give any reason to consider Peter III a “nonentity” and a “soldier.” He was weak-willed, but not weak-minded. Why do historians so persistently blaspheme this sovereign?
St. Petersburg poet Viktor Sosnora decided to look into this problem. First of all, he was interested in the question: from what sources did researchers draw (and continue to draw!) dirty gossip about the “dementia” and “insignificance” of the emperor?
And this is what was discovered: it turns out that the sources of all the characteristics of Peter III, all these gossip and fables are the memoirs of the following persons:
Empress Catherine II - who hated and despised her husband, who was the mastermind of the conspiracy against him, who actually directed the hand of Peter's killers, who finally, as a result of the coup, became an autocratic ruler;
Princess Dashkova - a friend and like-minded person of Catherine, who hated and despised Peter even more (contemporaries gossiped: because Peter preferred her older sister, Ekaterina Vorontsova), who was the most active participant in the conspiracy, who after the coup became the “second lady of the empire” ;
Count Nikita Panin, a close associate of Catherine, who was one of the leaders and main ideologist of the conspiracy against Peter, and soon after the coup he became one of the most influential nobles and headed the Russian diplomatic department for almost 20 years;
Count Peter Panin - Nikita's brother, who was one of the active participants in the conspiracy, and then became a commander trusted and favored by the monarch (it was Peter Panin that Catherine instructed to suppress the uprising of Pugachev, who, by the way, declared himself "Emperor Peter III").
Even without being a professional historian and not being familiar with the intricacies of source study and criticism of sources, it is safe to assume that the above-mentioned persons are unlikely to be objective in assessing the person they betrayed and killed.
It was not enough for the Empress and her “accomplices” to overthrow and kill Peter III. To justify their crimes, they had to slander their victim!
And they zealously lied, piling up vile gossip and dirty lies.

Catherine:

“He spent his time in unheard of childish activities...” “He was stubborn and hot-tempered, and had a weak and frail build.”
"From the age of ten he was addicted to drinking." “He mostly showed disbelief...” "His mind was childish..."
“He fell into despair. This often happened to him. He was cowardly at heart and weak in head. He loved oysters...”

In her memoirs, the empress portrayed her murdered husband as a drunkard, a reveler, a coward, a fool, a slacker, a tyrant, a weak-minded person, a debauchee, an ignoramus, an atheist...
“What kind of slop does she pour on her husband just because she killed him!” - Viktor Sosnora exclaims.
But, oddly enough, the learned men who wrote dozens of volumes of dissertations and monographs did not doubt the veracity of the killers’ memories of their victim. To this day, in all textbooks and encyclopedias you can read about the “insignificant” emperor who “negated the results of Russian victories” in the Seven Years’ War, and then “drank with the Holsteiners in Oranienbaum.”
Lies have long legs...

In preparing this article
used the work of Victor Sosnora

"SAVIOR OF THE FATHERLAND"
from the collection "Lords and Fates.
Literary versions of historical events" (L., 1986)

Peter III Fedorovich


Coronation:	Not crowned
Predecessor:	Elizaveta Petrovna
Successor:	Catherine II
Birth:

Buried:	Alexander Nevsky Lavra, in 1796 reburied in the Peter and Paul Cathedral
Dynasty:	Romanovs (Holstein-Gottorp branch)
	Karl Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp
	Anna Petrovna
	Ekaterina Alekseevna (Sofia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst)
Autograph:	Pavel, Anna

Heir

Sovereign

Palace coup

Life after death

Peter III (Pyotr Fedorovich, born Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp; February 21, 1728, Kiel - July 17, 1762, Ropsha) - Russian emperor in 1761-1762, the first representative of the Holstein-Gottorp (Oldenburg) branch of the Romanovs on the Russian throne. Since 1745 - sovereign Duke of Holstein.

After a six-month reign, he was overthrown as a result of a palace coup that brought his wife, Catherine II, to the throne, and soon lost his life. The personality and activities of Peter III were assessed unanimously negatively by historians for a long time, but then a more balanced approach emerged, noting a number of the emperor’s public services. During the reign of Catherine, many impostors pretended to be Pyotr Fedorovich (about forty cases were recorded), the most famous of whom was Emelyan Pugachev.

Childhood, education and upbringing

Grandson of Peter I, son of Tsarevna Anna Petrovna and Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich. On his father's side, he was the great-nephew of the Swedish King Charles XII and was initially raised as heir to the Swedish throne.

Mother of a boy named at birth Karl Peter Ulrich, died shortly after his birth, having caught a cold during fireworks in honor of the birth of her son. At the age of 11, he lost his father. After his death, he was brought up in the house of his paternal great-uncle, Bishop Adolf of Eiten (later King Adolf Fredrik of Sweden). His teachers O.F. Brummer and F.V. Berkhgolts were not distinguished by high moral qualities and more than once cruelly punished the child. The Crown Prince of the Swedish Crown was flogged several times; many times the boy was placed with his knees on the peas, and for a long time - so that his knees swollen and he could hardly walk; subjected to other sophisticated and humiliating punishments. The teachers cared little about his education: by the age of 13, he only spoke a little French.

Peter grew up fearful, nervous, impressionable, loved music and painting and at the same time adored everything military (however, he was afraid of cannon fire; this fear remained with him throughout his life). All his ambitious dreams were connected with military pleasures. He was not in good health, rather the opposite: he was sickly and frail. By character, Peter was not evil; often behaved innocently. Peter's penchant for lies and absurd fantasies is also noted. According to some reports, already in childhood he became addicted to wine.

Heir

Having become empress in 1741, Elizaveta Petrovna wanted to secure the throne through her father and, being childless, in 1742, during the coronation celebrations, declared her nephew (the son of her older sister) heir to the Russian throne. Karl Peter Ulrich was brought to Russia; he converted to Orthodoxy under the name Peter Fedorovich, and in 1745 he was married to Princess Catherine Alekseevna (née Sophia Frederik August) of Anhalt-Zerbst, the future Empress Catherine II. His official title included the words "Grandson of Peter the Great"; when these words were omitted from the academic calendar, Prosecutor General Nikita Yuryevich Trubetskoy considered this “an important omission for which the academy could be subject to a great response.”

At the first meeting, Elizabeth was struck by her nephew’s ignorance and upset by his appearance: thin, sickly, with an unhealthy complexion. His tutor and teacher was academician Jacob Shtelin, who considered his student quite capable, but lazy, while noting in him such traits as cowardice, cruelty towards animals, and a tendency to boast. The heir's training in Russia lasted only three years - after the wedding of Peter and Catherine, Shtelin was relieved of his duties (however, he forever retained Peter's favor and trust). Neither during his studies, nor subsequently, Pyotr Fedorovich never really learned to speak and write in Russian. The Grand Duke's mentor in Orthodoxy was Simon of Todor, who also became a teacher of the law for Catherine.

The heir's wedding was celebrated on a special scale - so that before the ten-day celebrations, “all the fairy tales of the East faded.” Peter and Catherine were granted possession of Oranienbaum near St. Petersburg and Lyubertsy near Moscow.

Peter's relationship with his wife did not work out from the very beginning: she was intellectually more developed, and he, on the contrary, was infantile. Catherine noted in her memoirs:

(In the same place, Catherine mentions, not without pride, that she read the “History of Germany” in eight large volumes in four months. Elsewhere in her memoirs, Catherine writes about her enthusiastic reading of Madame de Sevigne and Voltaire. All memories are from about the same time.)

The Grand Duke's mind was still occupied with children's games and military exercises, and he was not at all interested in women. It is believed that until the early 1750s there was no marital relationship between husband and wife, but then Peter underwent some kind of operation (presumably circumcision to eliminate phimosis), after which in 1754 Catherine gave birth to his son Paul (the future Emperor Paul I) . However, the inconsistency of this version is evidenced by a letter from the Grand Duke to his wife, dated December 1746:

The infant heir, the future Russian Emperor Paul I, was immediately taken away from his parents after birth, and Empress Elizaveta Petrovna herself took up his upbringing. However, Pyotr Fedorovich was never interested in his son and was quite satisfied with the empress’s permission to see Paul once a week. Peter was increasingly moving away from his wife; Elizaveta Vorontsova (sister of E.R. Dashkova) became his favorite. Nevertheless, Catherine noted that for some reason the Grand Duke always had an involuntary trust in her, all the more strange since she did not strive for spiritual intimacy with her husband. In difficult situations, financial or economic, he often turned to his wife for help, calling her ironically "Madame la Resource"(“Mistress Help”).

Peter never hid his hobbies for other women from his wife; Catherine felt humiliated by this state of affairs. In 1756, she had an affair with Stanisław August Poniatowski, then the Polish envoy to the Russian court. For the Grand Duke, his wife’s passion was also no secret. There is information that Peter and Catherine more than once hosted dinners together with Poniatovsky and Elizaveta Vorontsova; they took place in the chambers of the Grand Duchess. Afterwards, leaving with his favorite to his half, Peter joked: “Well, children, now you don’t need us anymore.” “Both couples lived on very good terms with each other.” The grand ducal couple had another child in 1757, Anna (she died of smallpox in 1759). Historians cast great doubt on the paternity of Peter, calling S. A. Poniatovsky the most likely father. However, Peter officially recognized the child as his own.

In the early 1750s, Peter was allowed to order a small detachment of Holstein soldiers (by 1758 their number was about one and a half thousand), and he spent all his free time engaging in military exercises and maneuvers with them. Some time later (by 1759-1760), these Holstein soldiers formed the garrison of the amusement fortress Peterstadt, built at the residence of the Grand Duke Oranienbaum. Peter's other hobby was playing the violin.

During the years spent in Russia, Peter never made any attempt to better know the country, its people and history; he neglected Russian customs, behaved inappropriately during church services, and did not observe fasts and other rituals.

When in 1751 the Grand Duke learned that his uncle had become king of Sweden, he said:

Elizaveta Petrovna did not allow Peter to participate in resolving political issues, and the only position in which he could somehow prove himself was the position of director of the gentry corps. Meanwhile, the Grand Duke openly criticized the activities of the government, and during the Seven Years' War publicly expressed sympathy for the Prussian king Frederick II. Moreover, Peter secretly helped his idol Frederick, passing on information about the number of Russian troops in the theater of military operations.

Chancellor A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin explained the manic passion of the heir to the throne as follows:

The defiant behavior of Peter Fedorovich was well known not only at court, but also in wider layers of Russian society, where the Grand Duke enjoyed neither authority nor popularity. In general, Peter shared his condemnation of anti-Prussian and pro-Austrian policies with his wife, but expressed it much more openly and boldly. However, the empress, despite her growing hostility towards her nephew, forgave him a lot as the son of his beloved sister who died early.

Sovereign

After the death of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna on December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762 according to the new style), he was proclaimed emperor. Ruled for 186 days. Didn't get crowned.

In assessing the activities of Peter III, two different approaches usually collide. The traditional approach is based on the absolutization of his vices and blind trust in the image that is created by the memoirists who organized the coup (Catherine II, E. R. Dashkova). He is characterized as ignorant, weak-minded, and his dislike for Russia is emphasized. Recently, attempts have been made to examine his personality and activities more objectively.

It is noted that Peter III was energetically involved in government affairs (“In the morning he was in his office, where he heard reports, then hurried to the Senate or collegiums. In the Senate, he took on the most important matters himself energetically and assertively”). His policy was quite consistent; he, in imitation of his grandfather Peter I, proposed to carry out a series of reforms.

Among the most important affairs of Peter III are the abolition of the Secret Chancellery (Chancellery of Secret Investigative Affairs; Manifesto of February 16, 1762), the beginning of the process of secularization of church lands, the encouragement of commercial and industrial activities through the creation of the State Bank and the issuance of banknotes (Name Decree of May 25), adoption of a decree on freedom of foreign trade (Decree of March 28); it also contains a requirement to respect forests as one of the most important resources of Russia. Among other measures, the researchers note a decree that allowed the establishment of factories for the production of sailing fabric in Siberia, as well as a decree that qualified the murder of peasants by landowners as “tyrant torture” and provided for lifelong exile for this. He also stopped the persecution of the Old Believers. Peter III is also credited with the intention to carry out a reform of the Russian Orthodox Church along the Protestant model (In the Manifesto of Catherine II on the occasion of her accession to the throne dated June 28, 1762, Peter was blamed for this: “Our Greek Church is already extremely exposed to its last danger, the change of ancient Orthodoxy in Russia and the adoption of a law of other faiths").

Legislative acts adopted during the short reign of Peter III largely became the foundation for the subsequent reign of Catherine II.

The most important document of the reign of Pyotr Fedorovich is the “Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility” (Manifesto of February 18, 1762), thanks to which the nobility became an exclusive privileged class of the Russian Empire. The nobility, having been forced by Peter I to compulsory and universal conscription to serve the state all their lives, and under Anna Ioannovna, having received the right to retire after 25 years of service, now received the right not to serve at all. And the privileges initially granted to the nobility as a service class not only remained, but also expanded. In addition to being exempt from service, nobles received the right to virtually unhindered exit from the country. One of the consequences of the Manifesto was that the nobles could now freely dispose of their land holdings, regardless of their attitude to service (the Manifesto passed over in silence the rights of the nobility to their estates; while the previous legislative acts of Peter I, Anna Ioannovna and Elizaveta Petrovna regarding noble service, linked official duties and landownership rights). The nobility became as free as a privileged class could be free in a feudal country.

The reign of Peter III was marked by the strengthening of serfdom. The landowners were given the opportunity to arbitrarily resettle the peasants who belonged to them from one district to another; serious bureaucratic restrictions arose on the transition of serfs to the merchant class; During the six months of Peter's reign, about 13 thousand people were distributed from state peasants to serfs (in fact, there were more of them: only men were included in the audit lists in 1762). During these six months, peasant riots arose several times and were suppressed by punitive detachments. Noteworthy is the Manifesto of Peter III of June 19 regarding the riots in the Tver and Cannes districts: “We intend to inviolably preserve the landowners on their estates and possessions, and to maintain the peasants in due obedience to them.” The riots were caused by a rumor spreading about the granting of “liberty to the peasantry”, a response to the rumors and a legislative act, which was not accidentally given the status of a manifesto.

The legislative activity of the government of Peter III was extraordinary. During the 186-day reign, judging by the official “Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire,” 192 documents were adopted: manifestos, personal and Senate decrees, resolutions, etc. (These do not include decrees on awards and ranks, monetary payments and regarding specific private issues).

However, some researchers stipulate that measures useful for the country were taken “by the way”; for the emperor himself they were not urgent or important. In addition, many of these decrees and manifestos did not appear suddenly: they were prepared under Elizabeth by the “Commission for the Drawing up of a New Code”, and were adopted at the suggestion of Roman Vorontsov, Pyotr Shuvalov, Dmitry Volkov and other Elizabethan dignitaries who remained at the throne of Pyotr Fedorovich.

Peter III was much more interested in internal affairs in the war with Denmark: out of Holstein patriotism, the emperor decided, in alliance with Prussia, to oppose Denmark (yesterday's ally of Russia), in order to return Schleswig, which it had taken from his native Holstein, and he himself intended to go on a campaign at the head of the guard.

Immediately upon his accession to the throne, Peter Fedorovich returned to the court most of the disgraced nobles of the previous reign, who had languished in exile (except for the hated Bestuzhev-Ryumin). Among them was Count Burchard Christopher Minich, a veteran of palace coups. The Emperor's Holstein relatives were summoned to Russia: Princes Georg Ludwig of Holstein-Gottorp and Peter August Friedrich of Holstein-Beck. Both were promoted to field marshal general in the prospect of war with Denmark; Peter August Friedrich was also appointed governor-general of the capital. Alexander Vilboa was appointed Feldzeichmeister General. These people, as well as the former teacher Jacob Shtelin, who was appointed personal librarian, formed the emperor's inner circle.

Heinrich Leopold von Goltz arrived in St. Petersburg to negotiate a separate peace with Prussia. Peter III valued the opinion of the Prussian envoy so much that he soon began to “direct the entire foreign policy of Russia.”

Once in power, Peter III immediately stopped military operations against Prussia and concluded the St. Petersburg Peace Treaty with Frederick II on conditions extremely unfavorable for Russia, returning the conquered East Prussia (which had already been an integral part of the Russian Empire for four years); and abandoning all acquisitions during the actually won Seven Years' War. Russia's exit from the war once again saved Prussia from complete defeat (see also “The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg”). Peter III easily sacrificed the interests of Russia for the sake of his German duchy and friendship with his idol Frederick. The peace concluded on April 24 caused bewilderment and indignation in society; it was naturally regarded as a betrayal and national humiliation. The long and costly war ended in nothing; Russia did not derive any benefits from its victories.

Despite the progressiveness of many legislative measures, the unprecedented privileges for the nobility, Peter’s poorly thought-out foreign policy actions, as well as his harsh actions towards the church, the introduction of Prussian orders in the army not only did not add to his authority, but deprived him of any social support; in court circles, his policy only generated uncertainty about the future.

Finally, the intention to withdraw the guard from St. Petersburg and send it on an incomprehensible and unpopular Danish campaign served as a powerful catalyst for the conspiracy that arose in the guard in favor of Ekaterina Alekseevna.

Palace coup

The first beginnings of the conspiracy date back to 1756, that is, to the time of the beginning of the Seven Years' War and the deterioration of Elizabeth Petrovna's health. The all-powerful Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin, knowing full well about the pro-Prussian sentiments of the heir and realizing that under the new sovereign he was threatened with at least Siberia, hatched plans to neutralize Peter Fedorovich upon his accession to the throne, declaring Catherine an equal co-ruler. However, Alexei Petrovich fell into disgrace in 1758, hastening to implement his plan (the chancellor’s intentions remained undisclosed; he managed to destroy dangerous papers). The Empress herself had no illusions about her successor to the throne and later thought about replacing her nephew with her great-nephew Paul:

Over the next three years, Catherine, who also came under suspicion in 1758 and almost ended up in a monastery, did not take any noticeable political actions, except that she persistently multiplied and strengthened her personal connections in high society.

In the ranks of the guard, a conspiracy against Pyotr Fedorovich took shape in the last months of Elizaveta Petrovna’s life, thanks to the activities of three Orlov brothers, officers of the Izmailovsky regiment brothers Roslavlev and Lasunsky, Preobrazhensky soldiers Passek and Bredikhin and others. Among the highest dignitaries of the Empire, the most enterprising conspirators were N.I. Panin, teacher of the young Pavel Petrovich, M.N. Volkonsky and K.G. Razumovsky, Little Russian hetman, president of the Academy of Sciences, favorite of his Izmailovsky regiment.

Elizaveta Petrovna died without deciding to change anything in the fate of the throne. Catherine did not consider it possible to carry out a coup immediately after the death of the Empress: she was five months pregnant (from Grigory Orlov; in April 1762 she gave birth to her son Alexei). In addition, Catherine had political reasons not to rush things; she wanted to attract as many supporters as possible to her side for complete triumph. Knowing well the character of her husband, she rightly believed that Peter would soon turn the entire metropolitan society against himself. To carry out the coup, Catherine preferred to wait for an opportune moment.

Peter III's position in society was precarious, but Catherine's position at court was also precarious. Peter III openly said that he was going to divorce his wife in order to marry his favorite Elizaveta Vorontsova.

He treated his wife rudely, and on April 30, during a gala dinner on the occasion of the conclusion of peace with Prussia, a public scandal occurred. The Emperor, in the presence of the court, diplomats and foreign princes, shouted to his wife across the table "foll"(stupid); Catherine began to cry. The reason for the insult was Catherine’s reluctance to drink while standing the toast proclaimed by Peter III. The hostility between the spouses reached its climax. On the evening of the same day, he gave the order to arrest her, and only the intervention of Field Marshal Georg of Holstein-Gottorp, the emperor's uncle, saved Catherine.

By May 1762, the change of mood in the capital became so obvious that the emperor was advised from all sides to take measures to prevent a disaster, there were denunciations of a possible conspiracy, but Pyotr Fedorovich did not understand the seriousness of his situation. In May, the court, led by the emperor, as usual, left the city, to Oranienbaum. There was a calm in the capital, which greatly contributed to the final preparations of the conspirators.

The Danish campaign was planned for June. The emperor decided to postpone the march of the troops in order to celebrate his name day. On the morning of June 28, 1762, on the eve of Peter's Day, Emperor Peter III and his retinue set off from Oranienbaum, his country residence, to Peterhof, where a gala dinner was to take place in honor of the emperor's namesake. The day before, a rumor spread throughout St. Petersburg that Catherine was being held under arrest. A great turmoil began in the guard; one of the participants in the conspiracy, Captain Passek, was arrested; the Orlov brothers feared that there was a threat of the conspiracy being discovered.

In Peterhof, Peter III was supposed to be met by his wife, who, in the duty of the empress, was the organizer of the celebrations, but by the time the court arrived, she had disappeared. After a short time, it became known that Catherine fled to St. Petersburg early in the morning in a carriage with Alexei Orlov (he arrived in Peterhof to see Catherine with the news that events had taken a critical turn and it was no longer possible to delay). In the capital, the Guard, the Senate and the Synod, and the population swore allegiance to the “Empress and Autocrat of All Russia” in a short time.

The Guard moved towards Peterhof.

Peter's further actions show an extreme degree of confusion. Rejecting Minich's advice to immediately head to Kronstadt and fight, relying on the fleet and the army loyal to him stationed in East Prussia, he was going to defend himself in Peterhof in a toy fortress built for maneuvers, with the help of a detachment of Holsteins. However, having learned about the approach of the guard led by Catherine, Peter abandoned this thought and sailed to Kronstadt with the entire court, ladies, etc. But by that time Kronstadt had already sworn allegiance to Catherine. After this, Peter completely lost heart and, again rejecting Minich’s advice to go to the East Prussian army, returned to Oranienbaum, where he signed his abdication of the throne.

The events of June 28, 1762 have significant differences from previous palace coups; firstly, the coup went beyond the “walls of the palace” and even beyond the boundaries of the guards barracks, gaining unprecedented widespread support from various layers of the capital’s population, and secondly, the guard became an independent political force, and not a protective force, but a revolutionary one, which overthrew the legitimate emperor and supported the usurpation of power by Catherine.

Death

The circumstances of the death of Peter III have not yet been fully clarified.

The deposed emperor immediately after the coup, accompanied by a guard of guards led by A.G. Orlov, was sent to Ropsha, 30 versts from St. Petersburg, where he died a week later. According to the official (and most probable) version, the cause of death was an attack of hemorrhoidal colic, worsened by prolonged alcohol consumption, and accompanied by diarrhea. During the autopsy (which was carried out by order of Catherine), it was discovered that Peter III had severe cardiac dysfunction, inflammation of the intestines, and there were signs of apoplexy.

However, the generally accepted version names Alexei Orlov as the killer. Three letters from Alexei Orlov to Catherine of Ropsha have survived, the first two are in the originals. The third letter clearly states the violent nature of the death of Peter III:

The third letter is the only (known to date) documentary evidence of the murder of the deposed emperor. This letter has reached us in a copy taken by F.V. Rostopchin; the original letter was allegedly destroyed by Emperor Paul I in the first days of his reign.

Recent historical and linguistic studies disprove the authenticity of the document (the original, apparently, never existed, and the real author of the fake is Rostopchin). Rumors (unreliable) also called the killers Peter G.N. Teplov, Catherine’s secretary, and guards officer A.M. Shvanvich (son of Martin Shvanvits; A.M. Shvanvich’s son, Mikhail, went over to the side of the Pugachevites and became the prototype of Shvabrin in “Captain’s daughter" of Pushkin), who allegedly strangled him with a gun belt. Emperor Paul I was convinced that his father was forcibly deprived of his life, but apparently he was unable to find any evidence of this.

Orlov's first two letters from Ropsha usually attract less attention, despite their undoubted authenticity:

From the letters it only follows that the abdicated sovereign suddenly fell ill; The guards did not need to forcibly take his life (even if they really wanted to) due to the transience of the serious illness.

Already today, a number of medical examinations have been carried out on the basis of surviving documents and evidence. Experts believe that Peter III suffered from manic-depressive psychosis in a weak stage (cyclothymia) with a mild depressive phase; suffered from hemorrhoids, which made him unable to sit in one place for a long time; A “small heart” found at autopsy usually suggests dysfunction of other organs and makes circulatory problems more likely, that is, creates a risk of heart attack or stroke.

Alexey Orlov personally reported to the Empress about the death of Peter. Catherine, according to the testimony of N.I. Panin, who was present, burst into tears and said: “My glory is lost! My posterity will never forgive me for this involuntary crime.” Catherine II, from a political point of view, was unprofitable by the death of Peter (“too early for her glory,” E.R. Dashkova). The coup (or “revolution”, as the events of June 1762 are sometimes defined), which took place with the full support of the guard, nobility and the highest ranks of the empire, protected it from possible attacks on power by Peter and excluded the possibility of any opposition forming around him. In addition, Catherine knew her husband well enough to be seriously wary of his political aspirations.

Initially, Peter III was buried without any honors in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, since only crowned heads were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, the imperial tomb. The full Senate asked the Empress not to attend the funeral.

But, according to some reports, Catherine decided in her own way; She arrived at the Lavra incognito and paid her last debt to her husband. In 1796, immediately after the death of Catherine, by order of Paul I, his remains were transferred first to the house church of the Winter Palace, and then to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Peter III was reburied simultaneously with the burial of Catherine II; At the same time, Emperor Paul personally performed the ceremony of coronation of the ashes of his father.

The head slabs of the buried bear the same date of burial (December 18, 1796), which gives the impression that Peter III and Catherine II lived together for many years and died on the same day.

Life after death

Impostors have not been a new thing in the world community since the time of the False Nero, who appeared almost immediately after the death of his “prototype.” False tsars and false princes of the Time of Troubles are also known in Russia, but among all other domestic rulers and members of their families, Peter III is the absolute record holder for the number of impostors who tried to take the place of the untimely deceased tsar. During Pushkin's time there were rumors about five; According to the latest data, in Russia alone there were about forty false Peter III.

In 1764, he played the role of false Peter Anton Aslanbekov, a bankrupt Armenian merchant. Detained with a false passport in the Kursk district, he declared himself emperor and tried to rouse the people in his defense. The impostor was punished with whips and sent to eternal settlement in Nerchinsk.

Soon after, the name of the late emperor was appropriated by a fugitive recruit Ivan Evdokimov, who tried to raise an uprising in his favor among the peasants of the Nizhny Novgorod province and a Ukrainian Nikolay Kolchenko in Chernihiv region.

In 1765, a new impostor appeared in the Voronezh province, publicly declaring himself emperor. Later, arrested and interrogated, he “revealed himself as a private of the Lant-militia Oryol regiment Gavrila Kremnev.” Having deserted after 14 years of service, he managed to get himself a horse under saddle and lure two serfs of the landowner Kologrivov to his side. At first, Kremnev declared himself “a captain in the imperial service” and promised that from now on, distilling would be prohibited, and the collection of capitation money and recruitment would be suspended for 12 years, but after some time, prompted by his accomplices, he decided to declare his “royal name.” For a short time, Kremnev was successful, the nearest villages greeted him with bread and salt and the ringing of bells, and a detachment of five thousand people gradually gathered around the impostor. However, the untrained and unorganized gang fled at the first shots. Kremnev was captured and sentenced to death, but was pardoned by Catherine and exiled to eternal settlement in Nerchinsk, where his traces were completely lost.

In the same year, shortly after Kremnev’s arrest, a new impostor appeared in Slobodskaya Ukraine, in the settlement of Kupyanka, Izyum district. This time it turned out to be Pyotr Fedorovich Chernyshev, a fugitive soldier of the Bryansk regiment. This impostor, unlike his predecessors, turned out to be smart and articulate. Soon captured, convicted and exiled to Nerchinsk, he did not abandon his claims there either, spreading rumors that the “father-emperor,” who incognito inspected the soldier’s regiments, was mistakenly captured and beaten with whips. The peasants who believed him tried to organize an escape by bringing the “sovereign” a horse and providing him with money and provisions for the journey. However, the impostor was unlucky. He got lost in the taiga, was caught and cruelly punished in front of his admirers, sent to Mangazeya for eternal work, but died on the way there.

In the Iset province, a Cossack Kamenshchikov, previously convicted of many crimes, was sentenced to have his nostrils cut out and eternal exile to work in Nerchinsk for spreading rumors that the emperor was alive, but imprisoned in the Trinity Fortress. At the trial, he showed as his accomplice the Cossack Konon Belyanin, who was allegedly preparing to act as emperor. Belyanin got off with whippings.

In 1768, a second lieutenant of the Shirvan army regiment, held in the Shlisselburg fortress Josaphat Baturin in conversations with the soldiers on duty, he assured that “Peter Fedorovich is alive, but in a foreign land,” and even with one of the guards he tried to deliver a letter for the allegedly hiding monarch. By chance, this episode reached the authorities and the prisoner was sentenced to eternal exile to Kamchatka, from where he later managed to escape, taking part in the famous enterprise of Moritz Benevsky.

In 1769, a fugitive soldier was caught near Astrakhan Mamykin, publicly announcing that the emperor, who, of course, managed to escape, “will take over the kingdom again and will give benefits to the peasants.”

An extraordinary person turned out to be Fedot Bogomolov, a former serf who fled and joined the Volga Cossacks under the name Kazin. Strictly speaking, he himself did not pretend to be the former emperor, but in March-June 1772 on the Volga, in the Tsaritsyn region, when his colleagues, due to the fact that Kazin-Bogomolov seemed to them too smart and intelligent, assumed that in front of them Emperor in hiding, Bogomolov easily agreed with his “imperial dignity.” Bogomolov, following his predecessors, was arrested and sentenced to have his nostrils pulled out, branded and eternal exile. On the way to Siberia he died.

In 1773, a robber ataman, who had escaped from Nerchinsk hard labor, tried to impersonate the emperor. Georgy Ryabov. His supporters later joined the Pugachevites, declaring that their deceased chieftain and the leader of the peasant war were one and the same person. The captain of one of the battalions stationed in Orenburg tried unsuccessfully to declare himself emperor. Nikolay Kretov.

In the same year, a certain Don Cossack, whose name has not been preserved in history, decided to benefit financially from the widespread belief in the “hiding emperor.” Perhaps, of all the applicants, this was the only one who spoke in advance with a purely fraudulent purpose. His accomplice, posing as the Secretary of State, traveled around the Tsaritsyn province, taking oaths and preparing the people to receive the “Father Tsar”, then the impostor himself appeared. The couple managed to profit enough at someone else’s expense before the news reached other Cossacks and they decided to give everything a political aspect. A plan was developed to capture the town of Dubrovka and arrest all the officers. However, the authorities became aware of the plot and one of the high-ranking military men showed sufficient determination to completely suppress the plot. Accompanied by a small escort, he entered the hut where the impostor was, hit him in the face and ordered his arrest along with his accomplice (“Secretary of State”). The Cossacks present obeyed, but when the arrested were taken to Tsaritsyn for trial and execution, rumors immediately spread that the emperor was in custody and muted unrest began. To avoid an attack, the prisoners were forced to be kept outside the city, under heavy escort. During the investigation, the prisoner died, that is, from the point of view of ordinary people, he again “disappeared without a trace.” In 1774, the future leader of the peasant war, Emelyan Pugachev, the most famous of the false Peter III, skillfully turned this story to his advantage, assuring that he himself was the “emperor who disappeared from Tsaritsyn” - and this attracted many to his side.

In 1774, another candidate for emperor came across, a certain Panicle. Same year Foma Mosyagin, who also tried to try on the “role” of Peter III, was arrested and exiled to Nerchinsk following the rest of the impostors.

In 1776, the peasant Sergeev paid for the same thing, gathering a gang around himself that was going to rob and burn the landowners' houses. The Voronezh governor Potapov, who managed to defeat the peasant freemen with some difficulty, during the investigation determined that the conspiracy was extremely extensive - at least 96 people were involved in it to one degree or another.

In 1778, a soldier of the Tsaritsyn 2nd battalion, Yakov Dmitriev, drunk, in a bathhouse, told everyone who would listen to him that “In the Crimean steppes, the former third emperor Peter Feodorovich is with the army, who was previously kept on guard, from where he was kidnapped Don Cossacks; under him, the Iron Forehead is leading that army, against whom there was already a battle on our side, where two divisions were defeated, and we are waiting for him like a father; and on the border Pyotr Aleksandrovich Rumyantsev stands with the army and does not defend against it, but says that he does not want to defend from either side.” Dmitriev was interrogated under guard, and he stated that he heard this story “on the street from unknown people.” The Empress agreed with Prosecutor General A. A. Vyazemsky that there was nothing behind this except drunken recklessness and stupid chatter, and the soldier punished by the batogs was accepted into his former service.

In 1780, after the suppression of the Pugachev rebellion, the Don Cossack Maxim Khanin in the lower reaches of the Volga he again tried to raise the people, posing as “the miraculously saved Pugachev” - that is, Peter III. The number of his supporters began to grow rapidly, among them were peasants and rural priests, and a serious commotion began among those in power. However, on the Ilovlya River the challenger was captured and taken to Tsaritsyn. Astrakhan Governor-General I.V. Jacobi, who specially came to conduct the investigation, subjected the prisoner to interrogation and torture, during which Khanin admitted that back in 1778 he had met in Tsaritsyn with his friend named Oruzheinikov, and this friend convinced him that Khanin was “exactly Exactly" looks like Pugachev-"Peter". The impostor was shackled and sent to Saratov prison.

His own Peter III was also in the scopal sect - it was its founder Kondraty Selivanov. Selivanov wisely neither confirmed nor denied rumors about his identity with the “hidden emperor.” A legend has been preserved that in 1797 he met with Paul I and, when the emperor, not without irony, inquired, “Are you my father?” Selivanov allegedly replied, “I am not the father of sin; accept my work (castration), and I recognize you as my son.” What is thoroughly known is that Paul ordered that the osprey prophet be placed in a nursing home for the insane at the Obukhov hospital.

"The Lost Emperor" appeared at least four times abroad and enjoyed considerable success there. For the first time it emerged in 1766 in Montenegro, which at that time was fighting for independence against the Turks and the Venetian Republic. Strictly speaking, this man, who came from nowhere and became a village healer, never declared himself emperor, but a certain captain Tanovich, who had previously been in St. Petersburg, “recognized” him as the missing emperor, and the elders who gathered for the council managed to find a portrait of Peter in one from Orthodox monasteries and came to the conclusion that the original is very similar to its image. A high-ranking delegation was sent to Stefan (that was the name of the stranger) with requests to take power over the country, but he flatly refused until internal strife was stopped and peace was concluded between the tribes. Such unusual demands finally convinced the Montenegrins of his “royal origin” and, despite the resistance of the clergy and the machinations of the Russian general Dolgorukov, Stefan became the ruler of the country. He never revealed his real name, giving Y. V. Dolgoruky, who was seeking the truth, a choice of three versions - “Raicevic from Dalmatia, a Turk from Bosnia, and finally a Turk from Ioannina.” Openly recognizing himself as Peter III, he, however, ordered to call himself Stefan and went down in history as Stefan the Small, which is believed to come from the impostor’s signature - “ Stefan, small with small, good with good, evil with evil" Stefan turned out to be an intelligent and knowledgeable ruler. During the short time that he remained in power, civil strife ceased; after short friction, good neighborly relations with Russia were established and the country defended itself quite confidently against the onslaught from both the Venetians and the Turks. This could not please the conquerors, and Türkiye and Venice made repeated attempts on Stephen’s life. Finally, one of the attempts was successful: after five years of rule, Stefan Maly was stabbed to death in his sleep by his own doctor, a Greek by nationality, Stanko Klasomunya, bribed by the Skadar Pasha. The impostor’s belongings were sent to St. Petersburg, and his associates even tried to obtain a pension from Catherine for “valiant service to her husband.”

After the death of Stephen, a certain Zenovich tried to declare himself the ruler of Montenegro and Peter III, who once again “miraculously escaped from the hands of murderers,” but his attempt was unsuccessful. Count Mocenigo, who was at that time on the island of Zante in the Adriatic, wrote about another impostor in a report to the Doge of the Venetian Republic. This impostor operated in Turkish Albania, in the vicinity of the city of Arta. How his epic ended is unknown.

The last foreign impostor, appearing in 1773, traveled all over Europe, corresponded with monarchs, and kept in touch with Voltaire and Rousseau. In 1785, in Amsterdam, the swindler was finally arrested and his veins were opened.

The last Russian “Peter III” was arrested in 1797, after which the ghost of Peter III finally disappeared from the historical scene.

The fate of famous personalities and their genealogy are always of interest to history buffs. People who have died or been killed tragically are often of interest, especially if this happens at a young age. Thus, the personality of Emperor Peter III, whose fate was cruel to him from childhood, worries many readers.

Tsar Peter 3

Peter 3 was born on February 21, 1728 in the city of Kiel, Duchy of Holstein. These days it is German territory. His father was a nephew and his mother was the daughter of Peter I. Being a relative of two sovereigns, this man could become a contender for two thrones at once. But life decreed otherwise: Peter 3’s parents left him early, which affected his fate.

Almost immediately, two months after the birth of the child, the mother of Peter 3 fell ill and died. At the age of eleven, he also lost his father: the boy was left in the care of his uncle. In 1742 he was transported to Russia, where he became the heir to the Romanov dynasty. After the death of Elizabeth, he was on the Russian throne for only six months: he survived his wife’s betrayal and died in prison. Who are the parents of Peter 3 and what is their fate? This question interests many readers.

III Fedorovich

The father of Peter 3 was Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. He was born on April 30, 1700 in the city of Stockholm and was the nephew of Charles XII, King of Sweden. He failed to ascend the throne, and in 1721 Karl Friedrich went to Riga. All the years after the death of his uncle Charles XII and before his arrival in Russia, the father of Peter 3 tried to return Schleswig to his possessions. He really hoped for the support of Peter I. That same year, Karl-Friedrich travels from Riga to Russia, where he receives a salary from the Russian government and expects support for his rights on the throne of Sweden.

In 1724 he was engaged to Anna Petrovna, a Russian princess. He soon died, and the marriage took place already in 1725. It was the parents of Peter 3 who displeased Menshikov and made other enemies in the capital of Russia. Unable to withstand the oppression, in 1727 they left St. Petersburg and returned to Kiel. Here the young couple gave birth to an heir the following year, the future Emperor Peter III. Karl-Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, died in 1739 in Holstein, leaving his eleven-year-old son an orphan.

Anna - mother of Peter 3

Russian Princess Anna, mother of Peter III, was born in 1708 in Moscow. She and her younger sister Elizabeth were illegitimate until their father, Peter I, married their mother (Marta Skavronskaya). In February 1712, Anna became the real “Princess Anne” - she signed her name in letters to her mother and father. The girl was very developed and capable: at the age of six she learned to write, then mastered four foreign languages.

At the age of fifteen, she was considered the first beauty in Europe, and many diplomats dreamed of seeing Princess Anna Petrovna Romanova. She was described as a beautiful brunette of angelic appearance with a beautiful skin color and a slender figure. The father, Peter I, dreamed of becoming related to Karl-Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp and therefore agreed to the engagement of his eldest daughter Anna.

The tragic fate of the Russian princess

Anna Petrovna did not want to leave Russia and part with her close relatives. But she had no choice: her father died, Catherine I ascended the throne, but two years later she unexpectedly dies. The parents of Peter 3 were subjected to oppression and were forced to return to Kiel. Through the efforts of Menshikov, the young couple was left almost destitute, and in this state they arrived in Holstein.

Anna wrote to her sister Elizabeth many letters in which she asked to get her out of there. But I received no answers. But her life was unhappy: her husband, Karl-Friedrich, had changed a lot, drank a lot, and became a deteriorator. Spent a lot of time in dubious establishments. Anna was alone in the cold palace: here in 1728 she gave birth to her son. After giving birth, she developed a fever: Anna was ill for two months. On May 4, 1728 she died. She was only 20 years old, and her son was two months old. So, Peter 3 first lost his mother, and after 11 years his father.

The parents of Peter 3 had an unfortunate fate, which was involuntarily passed on to their son. He also lived a short life and died tragically, having served as emperor for only six months.

Peter III (Karl Peter Ulrich) - Russian emperor. Father - Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, mother Anna Petrovna, second daughter of Catherine I (Martha Samuilovna Skavronskaya) and Emperor Peter the Great (First). Ruled Russia from December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762) to June 28 (July 9), 1762

Rarely have contemporaries and descendants given such contradictory assessments to a sovereign. On the one hand - a “stupid martinet”, “limited tyrant”, “Frederick II’s lackey”, “hater of everything Russian”, “chronic drunkard”, “idiot” and “incapable husband” of Catherine II. On the other hand, respectful judgments belonged to prominent representatives of Russian culture who personally knew him - V.N. Tatishchev, M.V. Lomonosov, Ya.Ya. Shtelin. The freethinker F.V. Krechetov, imprisoned for life by Catherine II in the Peter and Paul Fortress in 1793, intended to “explain the greatness of the deeds of Peter Fedorovich,” and the poet A.F. Voeikov at the beginning of 1801 put the name of Peter III “beside the names of the greatest legislators” (A. S. Mylnikov “Peter III”

Brief biography of Peter the Third

1728, February 10 (21) - born in the city of Kiel (Holstein, Germany).
1737, June 24 - for accurate shooting at a target on Midsummer's Day, he was awarded this year the honorary title of leader of the shooters of the Oldenburg Guild of St. Johann in Holstein
1738, February - the reigning Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Karl Friedrich, awarded his son the rank of second lieutenant
1742, February 5 - arrived in St. Petersburg.
1742, November - after accepting Orthodoxy, Karl Peter received the name Peter Fedorovich and was declared All-Russian Grand Duke and heir to the throne.
1742–1745 - classes with teachers under the guidance of the teacher - academician Y. Shtelin
1743 - the Grand Duke received Oranienbaum as a gift from Empress Elizabeth Petrovna
1745, May 7 - the Polish king and Elector of Saxony Augustus III, as vicar of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, declared the Grand Duke as having reached his majority as the reigning Duke of Holstein
1745, August 25 - marriage with Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (future Catherine II)

“description of the scene of Catherine’s acquaintance with Peter in 1739. In an early edition of her memoirs (“Notes of Catherine II”), even before accession to the throne, Catherine wrote: “Then I first saw the Grand Duke, who was truly handsome, kind and well-mannered. They told downright miracles about the eleven-year-old boy.” The coverage of the same scene changes decisively in the latest edition of the Notes: “Here I heard how the gathered relatives were interpreting among themselves that the young Duke was prone to drunkenness, that those close to him did not allow him to get drunk at the table” (A. S. Mylnikov “Peter III ")

1746 - at the request of the Grand Duke, the library of his father Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp was transported to St. Petersburg
1746–1762 - took an active part in planning and carrying out construction work in Oranienbaum, collects books, art and musical objects, other rarities
1755 - took part in the creation of a singing and ballet school in Oranienbaum for the training of Russian artists, opened the Picture House, which consisted of a theater hall, an art gallery, a library and a cabinet of curiosities.
1756–1757 - member of the Conference at the Supreme Court
1759, February 12 - Elizaveta Petrovna appointed the Grand Duke as the Chief Director of the Land Noble Corps in St. Petersburg.
1759, May 5 - as Chief Director, enters the Governing Senate with a petition to expand the range of publishing activities of the Corps and use the profits for the needs of the printing house and library
1760, December 2 - addressed the Governing Senate with a plan to create a geographical description of the Russian state and to send questionnaires to localities for this purpose
1761, March 7 - transferred to the Government Senate a project for the creation of a vocational school to train “national craftsmen”.
1761, December 25 - the death of Elizaveta Petrovna and the accession of Pyotr Fedorovich to the Russian throne

“The emperor usually got up at 7 o’clock in the morning and listened to the reports of dignitaries from 8 to 10 o’clock. At 11 o'clock he personally conducted military exercises, and at one o'clock in the afternoon he had dinner - either in his apartments, where he invited people who interested him, regardless of their position, or going to his close associates or foreign diplomats.

The evening hours were devoted to court games and entertainment (he especially loved concerts, in which he himself willingly played the violin). After a late dinner, to which sometimes up to a hundred people were convened, he, together with his advisers, was again engaged in state affairs until late at night. He often used the morning hours before the shift parade and the afternoon for inspection trips to government agencies and government institutions (for example, manufactories)” (A. S. Mylnikov)

1762, March 22 - secret trip to Shlisselburg to meet with the prisoner - the deposed Emperor Ivan Antonovich, then handed over to him through Adjutant General Baron K.K. Ungerna gifts (clothes, shoes..)
1762, June 29 - arrest, signing of abdication, imprisonment under heavy security in the Ropshinsky Palace
1762, July 3 - killed (strangled) presumably on this day. (The official date of death is July 6)

Government of Peter III

1762, May 20 - decree on those closest to the emperor: “So that many of his emperors. For the benefit and glory of his empire and for the well-being of his loyal subjects, the adopted intentions could be carried out in the best possible way and could be put into action more quickly, then they elected him as emperor. to work under his own empire. leadership and supervision over many previously owned affairs of His Highness Duke George, His Grace the Prince of Holstein-Beck, Field Marshal General Minich, Field Marshal General Prince Trubetskoy, Chancellor Count Vorontsov, Feldzeichmeister General Vilboa, Lieutenant General Prince Volkonsky, Lieutenant General Melgunov and acting. State Statistics Committee, Advisor to Secret Secretary Volkov"

—

He entered Russian history as an outstanding military and economic figure, an invincible field marshal, and a successor to the work of Peter the Great. Under the military leadership of Minich, the Russian army always won victories; Field Marshal Minich entered military history as the winner of the Turks and Crimeans.

Minikh carried out colossal work on the qualitative improvement of the Russian army, serfdom and rear services; Minikh’s enormous creative activity also concerned the strengthening of the state system of the Russian Empire. in 1741, with the accession of Elizabeth Petrovna, he was put on trial and sentenced to death on false charges of treason, aiding Biron, as well as bribery and embezzlement.

—

Activities of the government of Peter the Third

“On January 17, the emperor arrived at the Senate, where he remained from 10 to 12 hours. Here he signed decrees on the return from exile of Mengden, Lilienfeld, Minikhov, Lopukhina; then he deigned to indicate: in the sale of salt, the price should be reduced and set to moderate, if it is impossible to do completely free trade, which is for the Senate to discuss. The Kronstadt harbor, which is very damaged, so that it is difficult for ships to land, can be immediately repaired by deepening it and lining it with stone. The Senate should discuss how to complete the Rogerwitz harbor with free people, and transfer the convicts to Nerchinsk.

Immediately the proposal of the late Count Peter Iv was reported to Peter. Shuvalov about water communication from the Volkhov River to Rybnaya Sloboda; the proposal said: from the Rybnaya settlement through Tver, Borovitsky rapids, Novgorod to Novaya Ladoga, ships go 1120 versts, and there is another water route from the Rybnaya settlement to Novaya Ladoga, namely: from Rybnaya by the Volga, Mologa, Chagodoshcheya, Goryun, Lake Sominsky rivers , the Somina River, the Bolchinka River, Lake Krupin, the Tikhvina River, Syasya, and from Syasya there should be a canal to the Volkhov River and opposite the Ladoga Canal right at seven miles; This route is only 592 versts. The Senate reported at the same time that Lieutenant General Ryazanov, who had already fulfilled his assignment, was sent to examine and describe this tract. The Emperor reviewed the plans, approved and ordered all this work to be carried out by free people" (Soloviev, "History of Russia since ancient times")

1762, January 28 - Personal decree on the dissolution of the Court Conference with the transfer of its affairs to the Senate and the Foreign Collegium: “from now on there will be no special Council or Conference, but each college has its own affairs to send”
1762, January 29 - to expedite the consideration of complaints and applications accumulated from the previous reign and newly received ones, the Appellate Department and similar departments were created under the Senate at the Justice College, the Patrimonial Collegium and the Judicial Order, and on March 4 the ban on filing petitions and petitions was repeated back in 1700 directly to the monarch
1762, January 29 - decree that the sovereign allows schismatics who fled to Poland and other foreign countries to return to Russia and settle in Siberia, in the Barabinsk steppe and other similar places, and they should not be given any obstacles in the content of the law according to their custom and old printed books, for “within the All-Russian Empire, even those of other faiths, such as Mohammedans and idolaters, are, and those schismatics are Christians, precisely in one long-standing superstition and stubbornness, which should not be turned away by coercion and grief.
1762, February 12 - on the personal initiative of the emperor, the Declaration on the Establishment of Peace in Europe was sent to the European powers. In order to avoid “further shedding of human blood,” the parties had to stop hostilities and voluntarily abandon territorial acquisitions made during the Seven Years’ War
(The Declaration of Peace was presented to foreign diplomats)
1762, February 16, March 6 - decrees aimed at strengthening the army and navy
1762, February 16, March 21 - decrees on the secularization of the lands of the Russian Orthodox Church
1762, February 18 - the manifesto “On the granting of liberty and freedom to the entire Russian nobility” was announced.

“All nobles, no matter what service they were in, military or civil, could continue it or retire; but the military could not ask to resign and take leave during the campaign and three months before it began. A non-serving nobleman could freely travel abroad and enter the service of foreign sovereigns, but was obliged to return as quickly as possible at the first call of the government.

“We hope,” the manifesto said, “that all the noble Russian nobility, feeling so much of our generosity towards them and their descendants, will be prompted by their all-subject loyalty and zeal to us not to retire from service, but with jealousy and desire to do so.” to enter into it and, in an honest and shameless manner, to continue it at the very least possible, and no less to teach their children decent sciences with diligence and zeal” (Soloviev)

1762, February 21 - a manifesto was announced on the abolition of the Office of Secret Investigative Affairs and the transfer of its duties to the Senate

“The above-mentioned Secret Investigation Office is being destroyed from now on forever, and its cases will be taken to the Senate, but will be placed in the archives under seal to eternal oblivion. The hateful expression, namely “word and deed,” should henceforth mean nothing, and we forbid that anyone should use it.”

1762, February 28, June 3 - Peter III approved the reports of the First Life Physician, Archiatr - Head of the Medical Chancellery and all medical institutions of the Russian Empire J. Manzei on the reorganization of the medical service: all doctors and pharmacists in Russia received ranks, corresponding privileges and regular salaries paid, retired doctors - pensions; to combat epidemics, the position of provincial and provincial doctors was established to help city, provincial and provincial doctors
1762, March 5 - decree banning the construction of house churches

“The house church was then a permanent fixture of every wealthy estate, even of a wealthy city courtyard. This custom has been practiced since ancient times, and already in the Moscow era, adherents of good church order complained about its abuse.

At Avr. Palitsyn we find a description of what house churches were: a small hut, a poor iconostasis, wooden utensils, linen vestments and half-starved; in the square, hired for one service, or for one need, a “placeless” priest... The easier it was to start and the cheaper it was to maintain “your own” church, the stronger and more widespread was the desire for “your own” church. Peter III stood against this deep-rooted aspiration in everyday life” (Platonov “Complete course of lectures on Russian history”)

1762, April 24 (May 5) - a peace treaty was signed between Russia and Prussia (Petersburg Peace)

“The plan of Peter the Third, prepared by a peace treaty with Prussia, was enshrined in three secret articles of the June treaty. According to the first of them, Frederick II recognized the validity of Peter III’s claims to Schleswig and expressed his readiness to “really and in all ways help him.”

If further negotiations with Denmark (and they were scheduled for the beginning of July of the same year) did not lead to the desired goal, the king undertook to “put into the disposition of His Imperial Majesty the All-Russian corps of his troops, consisting of 15 thousand infantry and 5 thousand men cavalry", retaining it for Peter III until "until His Imperial Majesty is completely satisfied with the Danish court"

With the next two secret articles, Frederick II pledged to support the election of the emperor’s uncle, Prince George Ludwig, as Duke of Courland (instead of the odious Biron), and to the royal throne of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - a candidate friendly to Russia” (Mylnikov)

1762, May 25 - decree “On the establishment of the State Bank”

The decree ordered to stop the issue of copper money and limit its circulation, as well as to begin issuing banknotes. The decree consisted of an introductory part and fourteen paragraphs, which outlined the plan for the creation and basis of the activities of the State Bank.

The bank was supposed to consist of two branches, in St. Petersburg and in Moscow, and issue loans to people of all classes, for which it would issue its own notes “as the best means, tried and tested by many examples in Europe.”

The fixed capital of 2 million rubles was to be allocated from the state treasury and, in addition, gradually up to 3 million rubles were supposed to be deposited into the bank from the state treasury to form reserve capital; Accordingly, it was necessary to issue on “special and specially made paper” for 5 million rubles “bank notes” in denominations of 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rubles, which were given circulation “on a par with specie”, for which it is allowed it was accepted to accept them when paying taxes, all government fees, not excluding customs.

(Peter-Ulrich) - Emperor of All Russia, son of Duke of Holstein-Hottorn Karl-Friedrich, son of the sister of Charles XII of Sweden, and Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great (born 1728); He was thus the grandson of two rival sovereigns and could, under certain conditions, be a contender for both the Russian and Swedish thrones.

In 1741, after the death of Eleanor Ulrika, he was elected successor to her husband Frederick, who received the Swedish throne, and on November 15, 1742, he was declared heir to the Russian throne by his aunt Elizaveta Petrovna.

Weak physically and morally, P. Fedorovich was raised by Marshal Brümmer, who was more of a soldier than a teacher. “The barracks order of life, established by the latter for his pupil, in connection with strict and humiliating punishments, could not help but weaken P. Fedorovich’s health and interfered with the development in him of moral concepts and a sense of human dignity.

The young prince was taught a lot, but so ineptly that he received a complete aversion to science: Latin, for example, bothered him so much that later in St. Petersburg he forbade placing Latin books in his library. They taught him, moreover, preparing him mainly for the occupation of the Swedish throne and, therefore, raised him in the spirit of the Lutheran religion and Swedish patriotism - and the latter at that time was expressed, among other things, in hatred of Russia.

In 1742, after P. Fedorovich was appointed heir to the Russian throne, they began to teach him again, but in the Russian and Orthodox way. However, frequent illnesses and marriage to the Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst (the future Catherine II) prevented the systematic implementation of education.

P. Fedorovich was not interested in Russia and superstitiously thought that he would find his death here; Academician Shtelin, his new teacher, despite all his efforts, could not instill in him love for his new fatherland, where he always felt like a stranger. Military affairs - the only thing that interested him - was for him not so much a subject of study as amusement, and his reverence for Frederick II turned into a desire to imitate him in small things.

The heir to the throne, already an adult, preferred fun to business, which became more and more strange every day and unpleasantly amazed everyone around him. “P. showed all the signs of arrested spiritual development,” says S. M. Solovyov, “he was an adult child.” The Empress was struck by the underdevelopment of the heir to the throne.

The question of the fate of the Russian throne seriously occupied Elizabeth and her courtiers, and they came to various combinations.

Some wanted the empress, bypassing her nephew, to transfer the throne to his son Pavel Petrovich, and appoint the leader as regent until he came of age. Princess Ekaterina Alekseevna, wife of P. Fedorovich.

That was Bestuzhev's opinion, Nick. Iv. Panina, Iv. Iv. Shuvalova.

Others were in favor of proclaiming Catherine heir to the throne.

Elizabeth died without having time to decide on anything, and on December 25, 1761, P. Fedorovich ascended the throne under the name of Emperor P. III. He began his activities with decrees that, under other conditions, could have won him popular favor.

This is the decree of February 18, 1762 on the freedom of the nobility, which removed compulsory service from the nobility and was, as it were, a direct predecessor of Catherine’s charter to the nobility of 1785. This decree could make the new government popular among the nobility; another decree on the destruction of the secret office in charge of political crimes should, it would seem, promote his popularity among the masses.

What happened, however, was different. Remaining a Lutheran at heart, P. III treated the clergy with disdain, closed home churches, and addressed the Synod with offensive decrees; with this he aroused the people against himself. Surrounded by the Holsteins, he began to remake the Russian army in the Prussian way and thereby armed the guard against himself, which at that time was almost exclusively noble in composition.

Prompted by his Prussian sympathies, P. III immediately after ascending the throne refused to participate in the Seven Years' War and at the same time from all Russian conquests in Prussia, and at the end of his reign he began a war with Denmark over Schleswig, which he wanted to acquire for Holsteins.

This incited the people against him, who remained indifferent when the nobility, represented by the guard, openly rebelled against P. III and proclaimed Catherine II empress (June 28, 1762). P. was removed to Ropsha, where he died on July 7; Details about this event are found in a letter to Catherine II by Alexei Orlov.

Wed. Bricker, “The History of Catherine the Great”, “Notes of Empress Catherine II” (L., 1888); "Memoirs of the princesse Daschcow" (L., 1840); "Notes of Shtelin" ("Reader. General History and Ancient Russia.", 1886, IV); Bilbasov, “The History of Catherine II” (vol. 1 and 12). M. P-v. (Brockhaus) Peter III Fedorovich - grandson of Peter the Great, son of his daughter Anna, Hertz of Holstein-Gottorp (born February 10, 1728), Emperor of All Russia (from December 25, 1761 to June 28, 1762 .). 14 l. from birth, P. was summoned from Holstein to Russia by Imperial Elizaveta Petrovna and declared Heir to the Throne. Aug 21 In 1745 his marriage to the prince took place. Sophia-Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst, named Vel. Book Ekaterina Alekseevna (later Empress Catherine II). Imperial Elizabeth soon became disillusioned with P., because he clearly did not like Russia, surrounded himself with people from Holstein and did not at all display the abilities necessary for the future Emperor. countries.

All the time he was occupied by the military. fun with sky Holstein detachment. troops trained in Prussian style. Charter of Friedrich V., sincerely. P. openly showed himself to be an admirer.

Having appreciated her nephew, Elizabeth lost all hope of changing him for the better and by the end of her reign “had sincere hatred for him” (N.K. Schilder.

Imp. Paul I. S. 13). Choose a friend. She did not dare to inherit it, because those close to her inspired her that “it is not possible to change without rebellion and disastrous means, which was confirmed by all oaths for 20 years” (ibid., p. 14), and after her death P. III was proclaimed Imperator without any hindrance. It started short-lived, but original. period 6 months. Board P. From measures relating to internal. policies were implemented: a) 18 Feb. In 1762, a manifesto on noble freedom was published: every nobleman can serve or not serve at his own discretion; b) 21 Feb. 1762 - manifesto on the abolition of secrets. office and a ban on uttering the terrible “word and deed” that has weighed on Russia for so many years.

To the extent that these two acts should have evoked the gratitude of contemporaries and posterity, so much has remained. P. III's activities caused a strong the murmur of the people and prepared the success of the state. coup on June 28, 1762. These measures deprived him of support from two important. support of the state authorities: churches and troops. 16 Feb. a decree was promulgated on the establishment of a college of economy, to which the management of all bishops was to pass. and monastic estates, and the clergy and monasteries should have been issued according to approval. states content already from this board.

This decree deprived the clergy of enormous material. funds, aroused strong displeasure among him.

In addition, the Emperor issued an order to close houses. churches, and then, calling the archbishop.

Dmitry Sechenov of Novgorod, the leading member of the Holy Synod, personally ordered him that all images, except for the images of the Savior and the Mother of God, should be removed from the churches and that priests should be ordered to shave their beards and priestly cassocks should be replaced by pastoral ones. frock coats.

In folk The consciousness began to penetrate the masses that the Emperor was not Russian, and that the throne was occupied by a “German” and a “Luthor.” The white clergy was moreover irritated by the command to take into the military. priestly service and deacon. sons.

Having lost the support of the clergy, P. equally aroused displeasure in the army.

Even during the reign of Imperial Elizabeth, Holsteins appeared in Oranienbaum. troops, and P. was provided in full. freedom to demonstrate one’s exercisirmeister talents and prepare for the transformation of Rus. armies against Prussian sample.

With the accession to the throne, P. set to work with his characteristic unreasonable enthusiasm.

The label company was dissolved; in the guard, the previous uniform given to it by Peter V. has been changed to Prussian. and Prussians were introduced. exercises, which the troops trained from morning to evening. Started daily. shift parades in the presence of the Emperor. A decree followed on the renaming of cavalry and infantry. pp. by the names of the bosses. Appeared in St. Petersburg, among others, Holstein. relatives, Uncle Gos-rya, Ave. George, who acquired primary importance in the guard, was made a sergeant-major and, not having any merits or talents behind him, aroused the general public against himself. hatred.

Preference is generally given to the Holstein. officers and soldiers, insulted all of Russia. army: not only the guard was humiliated, but in its person the feeling of the people was trampled. pride.

As if in order to finally arouse the Russians against themselves. society opinion, P. III and ext. made politics anti-national.

By the time of the death of Imperial Elizabeth, Prussia was exhausted in unequal conditions. struggle, and Friedrich V. had to prepare for the complete and inevitable. the ruin of your ambitions. plans.

P. III immediately upon his accession to the throne, neglecting Russia's allies and existing treaties, made peace with Prussia and not only returned to it without any reward all the conquests gained by the Russians. blood, but also ours abroad. He placed the army at the disposal of Frederick.

In addition, he began to intensively prepare for war with Denmark in order to recapture Schleswig for his beloved Holstein.

Thus, Russia was threatened by a new war, which did not promise the Empire any benefits. In vain did Friedrich V. warn his friend against the evil. hobbies and pointed out the need to quickly be crowned to strengthen the position.

The Emperor replied that he had given so much work to his ill-wishers that they had no time to engage in conspiracy and that he was completely calm.

Meanwhile, the conspiracy matured, and at the head of the movement aimed at the overthrow of P. III, by the force of events, Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna stood up, insulted as a woman, worried about the fate and future of the Empire, from which she did not separate herself, and her son, to whom The Emperor showed contempt. dislike and to which he did not pay any attention.

To the guard. There were already many in the regiments who sympathized with the coup and expressed their readiness to the Emperor to defend the rights of her and the Heir to the throne, but most. The Orlov brothers were active figures.

After 3 days celebrations which marked the conclusion of peace with Prussia, P. III with the great. yard moved on June 12 to Oranienbaum.

After spending several days alone in the city, Catherine went to Peterhof on June 17, leaving Tsescha with Mr. Panin in St. Petersburg. in Letn. palace

In Oranienbaum, P. III continued his former revelry. life. In the mornings there were Holstein shift parades. troops, interrupted by outbreaks of unreasonable anger, and then drinking began, during which the Emperor quite definitely said that he had decided to get rid of Catherine and marry his favorite Elizaveta Vorontsova.

Random. events hastened the denouement.

The Imperial's support, the guard, received an order to set out on a campaign against Denmark: not wanting to leave the Imperial defenseless, her followers began to divulge that her life and that of her successor were in danger; at the same time, on June 27, one of the Vidn. participants in the conspiracy, cap. Life Guards Preobrazh. Shelf Passek.

Assuming that the conspiracy had been discovered, they decided not to delay any longer.

On the night of June 28, Catherine was awakened by Alexei Orlov, who had arrived in Peterhof, and brought to St. Petersburg, to the Izmail barracks. p., who swore allegiance to her. From there, annexing Semenovsk. p., Catherine arrived in Kazansk. the cathedral, where she was proclaimed autocratic Empress; then she went to Zimn. the palace, to which the Preobrazhensky and K. Guards regiments soon concentrated, and here the Senate and Synod swore allegiance to her. At the head of 14 thousand. Imperial troops around 10 p.m. moved to Oranienbaum, dressed in the Preobrazh uniform. p-ka. Meanwhile, that morning, at the very time when Catherine was proclaimed the autocratic All-Russian Empress in Kazansk. cathedral, P. III in Oranienbaum did the usual. Holstein parade troops, and at 10 a.m. he went with his retinue to Peterhof, intending to dine with the Imperial in Monplaisir.

Having learned here about what happened in St. Petersburg. state coup, P. in despair did not know what to do; At first he wanted with his Holstein. army to move against Catherine, but, realizing the recklessness of this enterprise, at 10 p.m. went to Kronstadt on a yacht, hoping to rely on the fortress.

But here the adm. was in charge in the name of Empress Catherine. Talyzin, who did not allow P. to land on the shore under the threat of opening fire. Having finally lost his presence of mind, P. after several chimeric. projects (for example, Minich’s project: sail to Revel, transfer there to a military ship and go to Pomerania, from where to go with the army to St. Petersburg) decided to return to Oranienbaum and enter into negotiations with the Imperial. When P.'s proposal to share power with him was left unanswered by Catherine, he signed an abdication of the throne, asking only to be released to Holstein, but was sent to live in the countryside. palace in Ropsha. Golshtinsk. the troops were disarmed.

P. III, according to Frederick W., “allowed himself to be overthrown from the throne, like a child who is sent to bed.” On July 6, the former Emperor suddenly and, apparently, died violently in Ropsha from “severe colic,” as was said in the manifesto on this occasion. (Military enc.) Peter III Fedorovich (Karl-Peter Ulrich), Duke of Holstein, imp. All-Russian; R. 10 Feb 1728, † July 6, 1762 (Polovtsov)