A foreigner by birth, she sincerely loved Russia and cared about the welfare of her subjects. Having occupied the throne through a palace coup, the wife of Peter III tried to implement the best ideas of the European Enlightenment into the life of Russian society. At the same time, Catherine opposed the outbreak of the Great French Revolution (1789-1799), outraged by the execution of the French king Louis XVI Bourbon (January 21, 1793) and predetermining Russia's participation in the anti-French coalition of European states at the beginning of the 19th century.
Catherine II Alekseevna (née Sophia Augusta Frederika, Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst) was born on May 2, 1729 in the German city of Stettin (present-day Poland), and died on November 17, 1796 in St. Petersburg.
The daughter of Prince Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst and Princess Johannes-Elizabeth (nee Princess of Holstein-Gottorp), who was in the Prussian service, was related to the royal houses of Sweden, Prussia and England. She received a home education, the course of which, in addition to dancing and foreign languages, also included the basics of history, geography and theology.
In 1744, she and her mother were invited to Russia by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, and baptized according to the Orthodox tradition under the name of Ekaterina Alekseevna. Soon it was announced about her engagement with the Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich (future Emperor Peter III), and in 1745 they got married.
Catherine understood that the court loved Elizabeth, did not accept many of the oddities of the heir to the throne, and, perhaps, after Elizabeth's death, it was she, with the support of the court, to ascend the Russian throne. Catherine studied the works of figures French Enlightenment, as well as jurisprudence, which had a significant impact on her worldview. In addition, she made as much effort as possible to study, and possibly understand the history and traditions of the Russian state. Because of her desire to learn everything Russian, Catherine won the love not only of the court, but of the whole of Petersburg.
After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, the relationship between Catherine and her husband, never distinguished by warmth and understanding, continued to deteriorate, taking on clearly hostile forms. Fearing arrest, Catherine, with the support of the Orlov brothers, N.I. Panin, K.G. Razumovsky, E.R. Dashkova on the night of June 28, 1762, when the emperor was in Oranienbaum, made a palace coup. Peter III was exiled to Ropsha, where he soon died under mysterious circumstances.
Starting her reign, Catherine tried to implement the ideas of the Enlightenment and organize a state in accordance with the ideals of this most powerful European intellectual movement. Almost from the first days of her government, she has been actively involved in public affairs, proposing reforms that are significant for society. On her initiative, in 1763, a reform of the Senate was carried out, which significantly increased the efficiency of its work. Wishing to increase the dependence of the church on the state, and to provide additional land resources to the nobility supporting the policy of reforming society, Catherine carried out the secularization of church lands (1754). The unification of territorial management began Russian Empire, and the hetmanate in Ukraine was abolished.
The champion of the Enlightenment Catherine creates a number of new educational institutions, including for women (Smolny Institute, Catherine School).
In 1767, the empress convened a commission, which included representatives of all strata of the population, including peasants (except for serfs), to compose a new code - a code of laws. To direct the work of the Legislative Commission, Catherine wrote the "Order", the text of which was based on the writings of educational authors. This document, in fact, was the liberal program of her reign.
After the end of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. and the suppression of the uprising led by Yemelyan Pugachev, a new stage of Catherine's reforms began, when the Empress independently developed the most important legislative acts and, using the unlimited power of her power, implemented them.
In 1775, a manifesto was issued that allowed the free opening of any industrial enterprises. In the same year was carried out provincial reform, which introduced a new administrative-territorial division of the country, which remained until 1917. In 1785, Catherine issued letters of gratitude to the nobility and cities.
In the foreign policy arena, Catherine II continued to pursue an offensive policy in all directions - north, west and south. The results of foreign policy can be called the strengthening of Russia's influence on European affairs, the three sections of the Commonwealth, the strengthening of positions in the Baltic States, the annexation of Crimea, Georgia, participation in countering the forces of revolutionary France.
The contribution of Catherine II to Russian history is so significant that many works of our culture keep her memory.
Without exaggeration, the most influential and famous Russian empress is Catherine II. From 1762 to 1796 she ruled powerful empire- thanks to her efforts, the country flourished. I wonder what was the personal life of Catherine the Great? Let's find out.
The future Russian empress was born on April 21, 1729 in Prussia. At birth, she received the name Sophia Frederica Auguste. Her father was the prince of the town of Stettin, in which the empress was born.
The parents, unfortunately, did not pay much attention to the girl. They loved their son Wilhelm more. But Sofia had a warm relationship with her governess.
Her Empress of Russia often remembered when she ascended the throne. The wise nanny taught the girl religion (Lutheranism), history, French and German. In addition, since childhood, Sofia knew Russian and loved music.
Marriage to the heir to the throne
At home, the future Empress of Russia was very bored. The small town in which she lived was not at all interesting for a girl with big ambitions. But as soon as she grew up, Sofia's mother decided to find her a rich groom and thus improve the social status of the family.
When the girl turned fifteen, she was invited from the capital of the Russian Empire by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna herself. She did this in order for Sophia to marry the heir to the Russian throne - Grand Duke Peter. Arriving in a foreign country, Sofia fell ill with pleurisy and nearly died. But, thanks to the help of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, she soon managed to overcome a serious illness.
Immediately after her recovery, in 1745, Sophia married a prince, became Orthodox and received a new name. So she became Catherine.
Political marriage was not at all happy for the young princess. The husband did not want to devote his time to her and liked to have fun more. Catherine at this time, read books, studied law and history.
You cannot tell briefly about the personal life of Catherine the Great. It is full of intriguing events. There is information that the spouse of the future mistress of the Russian Empire had a girlfriend on the side. In turn, the Princess was seen in close contact with Sergei Saltykov, Grigory Orlov ... She had many favorites.
In 1754, Catherine's son, Pavel, was born. Of course, the courtiers spread rumors that it is not known who the real father of this child is. Soon the child was given to Elizaveta Petrovna to take care of him. Catherine was practically not allowed to see her son. Of course, she did not like this circumstance at all. Then the thought appeared in the princess's head that it would be good to ascend the throne herself. Moreover, she was an energetic, interesting person. Catherine was still reading books with enthusiasm, especially in French. In addition, she was actively interested in politics.
Soon, the daughter of the Empress Anna was born, who died as an infant. Catherine's husband was not interested in children, he believed that they might not be from him at all.
Of course, the princess tried to dissuade her husband from this, but she tried not to catch his eye - she spent almost all of her time in her boudoir.
In 1761, Elizaveta Petrovna left for another world, then Catherine's husband became Emperor, and Catherine herself became Empress. State affairs did not bring the couple closer. In political matters, Peter III preferred to consult with his favorites, and not with his wife. But Catherine the Great dreamed that one day she would rule a great power.
The young empress tried in every possible way to prove to the people that she was devoted to him and the Orthodox faith. Thanks to cunning and intelligence, the girl achieved her goal - the people began to support her in everything. And once, when she offered to overthrow her husband from the throne, the subjects did so.
Ruler of the empire
To realize her plan, Catherine made an appeal to the soldiers in the Izmailovsky regiment. She asked them to protect her from her husband - a tyrant. Then the guards forced the emperor to abdicate the throne.
Soon after Peter abdicated, he was strangled. There is no evidence of Catherine's guilt in what happened, but many openly suspect the Empress of this audacious act.
Stills from the movie "Great"
In the first years of her reign, Catherine the Great tried in every possible way to prove that she was a wise, just sovereign. She dreamed of receiving universal support. In addition, Catherine decided to pay special attention to domestic politics, not conquest. It was necessary to solve the problems that had accumulated in the country. From the very beginning, the queen knew exactly what she wanted and began to actively implement the political tasks facing her.
Personal life of the empress
Catherine the Great, after the death of her spouse, could not marry again. This could negatively affect her power. But many researchers write that the attractive Ekaterina Alekseevna had many favorites. She gave wealth to her entourage, generously distributed honorary titles... Even after the relationship ended, Catherine continued to help the favorites, ensure their future.
The stormy personal life of Catherine the Great led to the fact that she had children from her beloved. When Peter the Third just ascended the throne, his wife carried the child of Grigory Orlov under her heart. This baby was born in secret from everyone on April 11, 1762.
Catherine's marriage at that time was almost completely ruined, the emperor was not ashamed to appear with his girls in public. The child Catherine gave up to her chamberlain Vasily Shkurin and his wife for upbringing. But when the empress ascended the throne, the child was returned to the palace.
Catherine and Gregory took care of their son, who was named Alexei. And Orlov even decided with the help of this child to become the husband of the empress. Catherine pondered Gregory's proposal for a long time, but the state was dearer to her. She never got married.
Stills from the movie "Great"
Reading about the personal life of Catherine the Great is really interesting. When the son of Catherine and Grigory Orlov grew up, he went abroad. The young man stayed abroad for about ten years, and when he returned, he settled in an estate donated by the great empress.
The Empress's favorites managed to become outstanding politicians. For example, in 1764 her beloved Stanislav Poniatowski became the king of Poland. But on public policy None of the men could influence Russia. The empress preferred to deal with these matters herself. An exception to this rule was Grigory Potemkin, whom the empress loved very much. They say that in 1774 a marriage was concluded between them, in secret from everyone.
Catherine devoted almost all her free time to government affairs. She worked a lot to remove the accent from her speech, read books about Russian culture with pleasure, listened to customs and, of course, carefully studied historical works.
Catherine the Great was a highly educated ruler. The borders of the country, during her reign, increased to the south and west. In the southeastern part of Europe, the Russian Empire became a real leader. It is no coincidence that many films and TV series are being shot about Empress Catherine the Great and her personal life.
Thanks to numerous victories, the country stretched to the Black Sea coast. In 1768, the government of the Empire began issuing paper money for the first time.
The empress was engaged not only in her education. She also did a lot so that the men and women in the country could study. In addition, the empress carried out many educational reforms, adopting the experience of other countries. Schools were also opened in the Russian provinces.
For a long time, Empress Catherine the Great ruled the country alone, refuting the theory that women cannot hold important political posts.
When the time came to transfer power into the hands of her son Paul, she did not want to do this. The empress had a strained relationship with Paul. She decided instead to make Alexander's grandson heir to the throne. Since childhood, Catherine has been preparing the child for ascension to the throne, and made sure that he devotes a lot of time to his studies. In addition, she found a wife for her beloved grandson so that he could become an emperor before reaching the age of majority.
But after the death of Catherine, her son Pavel took the throne. He ruled after Catherine the Great for five years.
Doctor historical sciences M.RAKHMATULLIN.
During the long decades of the Soviet era, the history of the reign of Catherine II was presented with obvious bias, and the image of the empress herself was deliberately distorted. From the pages of a few publications, a cunning and vain German princess appears, cunningly seizing the Russian throne and most of all concerned about satisfying her sensual desires. Such judgments are based on either an openly politicized motive, or purely emotional memories of her contemporaries, or, finally, the tendentious intention of her enemies (especially from among foreign opponents), who tried to discredit the empress's tough and consistent defense of Russia's national interests. But Voltaire in one of his letters to Catherine II called her "Semiramis of the North", likening the heroine Greek mythology, whose name is associated with the creation of one of the seven wonders of the world - the Hanging Gardens. Thus, the great philosopher expressed his admiration for the work of the empress to transform Russia, her wise rule. In the proposed essay, an attempt has been made to tell with an open mind about the affairs and personality of Catherine II. "I did my task pretty well."
Crowned Catherine II in all the splendor of her coronation attire. The coronation traditionally took place in Moscow on September 22, 1762.
Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, who reigned from 1741 to 1761. Portrait of the mid-18th century.
Peter I married his eldest daughter, the crown princess Anna Petrovna, to the Duke of Holstein Karl-Friedrich. Their son became the heir to the Russian throne, Peter Fedorovich.
Matushka Catherine II Johann-Elizabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst, who secretly tried to intrigue from Russia in favor of the Prussian king.
The Prussian king Frederick II, whom the young Russian heir tried to imitate in everything.
Science and Life // Illustrations
Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna and Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich. Their marriage was extremely unsuccessful.
Count Grigory Orlov is one of the active organizers and performers of the palace coup, which elevated Catherine to the throne.
The most ardent part in the coup of June 1762 was taken by a very young princess Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova.
A family portrait of a royal couple, taken shortly after the accession to the throne of Peter III. Next to his parents is the young heir Pavel in an oriental costume.
The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, where dignitaries and nobles took the oath to Empress Catherine II.
The future Russian Empress Catherine II Alekseevna, nee Sophia Frederica Augusta, Princess of Anhaltzerbst, was born on April 21 (May 2), 1729 in the provincial Stettin (Prussia) at that time. Her father, the unremarkable prince Christian Augustus, made a good career with his devoted service to the Prussian king: regiment commander, commandant of Stettin, governor. In 1727 (he was then 42 years old) he married the 16-year-old Holstein-Gottorp princess Johann Elizabeth.
A somewhat eccentric princess, who had an irrepressible addiction to entertainment and short-distance travel to numerous and, unlike her, rich relatives, did not put family concerns in the first place. Among the five children, the first-born daughter Fikkhen (that was the name of all the household Sophia Frederica) was not her favorite - they were expecting a son. "My birth was not particularly joyfully welcomed," Ekaterina would write later in her Notes. The power-hungry and strict parent, out of a desire to "beat out pride", often rewarded her daughter with slaps in the face for innocent childish pranks and for childish perseverance of character. Little Fikkhen found solace from her good-natured father. Constantly engaged in the service and practically did not interfere in the upbringing of children, he nevertheless became for them an example of conscientious service in the state arena. “I have never met a more honest person, both in the sense of principles and in terms of actions,” - Ekaterina will say about her father at a time when she already got to know people well.
Lack of material resources prevented parents from hiring expensive experienced teachers and governess. And here fate smiled generously at Sophia Frederica. After a change of several careless governesses, the French emigrant Elizabeth Kardel (nicknamed Babet) became her good mentor. As Catherine II later wrote about her, she "knew almost everything without learning anything; she knew like the back of her hand all comedies and tragedies and was very funny." The heartfelt response of the pupil paints Babet "as a model of virtue and prudence - she had a naturally elevated soul, a developed mind, an excellent heart; she was patient, meek, cheerful, fair, constant."
Perhaps the main merit of the clever Kardel, who had an exceptionally balanced character, can be called the fact that she inspired the stubborn and secretive at first (the fruits of her previous upbringing) Fikkhen to read, in which the capricious and wayward princess found true pleasure. A natural consequence of this hobby is the soon arisen interest of a precocious girl in serious works of philosophical content. It is no coincidence that already in 1744 one of the enlightened friends of the family, the Swedish Count Güllenborg, jokingly, but not without reason, called Fikchen "a fifteen-year-old philosopher." It is curious that Catherine II herself admitted that her mother's acquisition of "intelligence and dignity" was aided by the belief that "I was completely ugly," which kept the princess from empty secular entertainments. Meanwhile, one of her contemporaries recalls: "She was perfectly built, from infancy she was distinguished by a noble posture and was taller than her years. Her expression was not beautiful, but very pleasant, and an open look and a kind smile made her whole figure very attractive."
However, the further fate of Sofia (like many later German princesses) was determined not by her personal merits, but by the dynastic situation in Russia. The childless Empress Elizabeth Petrovna immediately after accession began to look for an heir worthy of the Russian throne. The choice fell on the only direct successor of the family of Peter the Great, his grandson - Karl Peter Ulrich. The son of Peter I's eldest daughter Anna and Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Karl Friedrich was already an orphan at the age of 11. The prince was raised by pedantic German teachers, led by the pathologically cruel knight marshal Count Otto von Brummer. The duke's son, who was sickly from birth, was sometimes kept from hand to mouth, and for any offense they were forced to kneel on peas for hours, often and painfully flogged. "I will order you to be whipped," Brummer went into a shout, "that the dogs will lick blood." The boy found an outlet in his passion for music, addicted to a pitiful sounding violin. His other passion was playing with the tin soldiers.
The humiliations to which he was subjected from day to day yielded results: the prince, as his contemporaries note, became "hot-tempered, false, loved to brag, learned to lie." He grew up to be a cowardly, secretive, capricious man without measure and thought of himself a lot. Here is a laconic portrait of Peter Ulrich painted by our brilliant historian V.O. Klyuchevsky: “His way of thinking and acting gave the impression of something surprisingly half-thought and unfinished. He looked like a child who imagined himself to be an adult; in fact, he was an adult who was forever a child. "
Such a "worthy" heir to the Russian throne in January 1742 was hastily (so that he would not be intercepted by the Swedes, whose king he, by his ancestry, could also become) was brought to St. Petersburg. In November of the same year, the prince was converted to Orthodoxy against his will and named Peter Fedorovich. But in his heart he always remained a devout German Lutheran, who did not show any desire to master the language of his new homeland with any tolerance. In addition, the heir was not lucky with his studies and upbringing in St. Petersburg. His main mentor, Academician Yakov Shtelin, was completely lacking any pedagogical talents, and he, seeing the amazing inability and indifference of the student, preferred to please the constant whims of an ignoramus, and not teach him properly.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Pyotr Fedorovich has already found a bride. What was the decisive factor in the choice of Princess Sophia by the Russian court? The Saxon resident Pezold wrote about this: being, although "from a noble, but of such a small family," she would be an obedient wife without any claims to participate in big politics. In this case, Elizaveta Petrovna's elegiac memories of her failed marriage with her mother's elder brother, Sophia, Karl August (shortly before the wedding, he died of smallpox), and the portraits of the pretty princess delivered to the empress, who even then "liked everyone at first sight, also played a role. "(so without false modesty Catherine II will write in her" Notes ").
At the end of 1743, Princess Sophia was invited (with Russian money) to Petersburg, where she arrived accompanied by her mother in February of the following year. From there they went to Moscow, where at that time the royal court was located, and on the eve of the birthday (February 9) of Peter Fedorovich, a pretty and dressed up (for the same money) bride appeared before the empress and the grand duke. J. Shtelin writes about Elizaveta Petrovna's sincere delight at the sight of Sophia. And the mature beauty, the become and the greatness of the Russian tsarina made an indelible impression on the young provincial princess. As if they liked each other and the betrothed. In any case, the mother of the future bride wrote to her husband that "the Grand Duke loves her." Fikkhen herself was assessing more and more soberly: "To tell the truth, I liked the Russian crown more than him (the groom. - M.R.) person ".
Indeed, the idyll, if it did arise at the beginning, did not last long. Further communication between the Grand Duke and the princess showed a complete dissimilarity of both characters and interests, and outwardly they were strikingly different from each other: the lanky, narrow-shouldered and frail groom lost even more against the background of an unusually attractive bride. When the Grand Duke suffered smallpox, his face was so disfigured by fresh scars that Sofia, seeing the heir, could not restrain herself and was frankly horrified. However, the main thing was different: the stunning infantilism of Pyotr Fedorovich was opposed by the active, purposeful, ambitious nature of Princess Sophia Frederica, who knows her worth, who was named in Russia in honor of the mother of Empress Elizabeth, Ekaterina (Alekseevna). This happened with her adoption of Orthodoxy on June 28, 1744. The Empress gave the new convert noble gifts - a diamond cufflink and a necklace worth 150 thousand rubles. The next day, the official betrothal took place, which brought Catherine the titles of Grand Duchess and Imperial Highness.
Evaluating later the situation that arose in the spring of 1744, when Empress Elizabeth, having learned about the frivolous attempts of the intriguing mother Sophia, Princess Johannes Elizabeth, to act (secretly from the Russian court) in the interests of the Prussian king Frederick II, almost sent her and her daughter back , "to his home" (which the groom, how sensitively the bride grasped, would perhaps be glad), Catherine expressed her feelings as follows: "He was almost indifferent to me, but the Russian crown was not indifferent to me."
On August 21, 1745, the wedding ceremony began for ten days. Lavish balls, masquerades, fireworks, a sea of wine and mountains of treats for the common people on the Admiralty Square in St. Petersburg exceeded all expectations. However, the family life of the newlyweds began with disappointments. As Catherine herself writes, her husband, who had a hearty dinner that evening, "lay down beside me, dozed off and slept safely until the morning." And so it went on from night to night, from month to month, from year to year. Pyotr Fyodorovich, as before the wedding, selflessly played with dolls, trained (or rather tortured) a pack of his dogs, arranged daily reviews for a comic company of court gentlemen of his own age, and at night with passion taught his wife "gun exercise", bringing her to complete exhaustion. It was then that he first discovered an excessive addiction to wine and tobacco.
It is not surprising that Catherine began to feel physical disgust for her nominal husband, finding consolation in reading a wide variety of serious books and in horse riding (she used to spend on horseback up to 13 hours a day). A strong influence on the formation of her personality, as she recalled, had the famous "Annals" of Tacitus, and newest work French enlightener Charles Louis Montesquieu "On the Spirit of the Laws" became her reference book. She is absorbed in studying the works of French encyclopedists and already at that time intellectually outgrew everyone around her.
Meanwhile, the aging Empress Elizaveta Petrovna was waiting for the heir and that he did not appear, she blamed Catherine. In the end, at the prompting of confidants, the empress arranged a medical examination of the married couple, the results of which we learn from the reports of foreign diplomats: "The Grand Duke was not able to have children because of the obstacle removed among the Eastern peoples by circumcision, but which he considered incurable." The news of this plunged Elizaveta Petrovna into shock. “Struck by this news, like a thunderous blow,” writes one of the eyewitnesses, “Elizabeth seemed speechless, for a long time she could not utter a word, and finally she burst into tears.”
However, tears did not prevent the empress from agreeing to an immediate operation, and in case of her failure, she ordered to find a suitable "gentleman" for the role of the father of the unborn child. It was "handsome Serge", 26-year-old chamberlain Sergei Vasilyevich Saltykov. After two miscarriages (in 1752 and 1753) on September 20, 1754, Catherine gave birth to the heir to the throne, named Pavel Petrovich. True, evil tongues at court almost aloud said that the child should have been called Sergeevich. Doubted about his paternity and safely got rid of the disease by that time, Peter Fedorovich: "God knows where my wife gets her pregnancy, I do not really know if this is my child and should I take it personally?"
Meanwhile, time has shown the groundlessness of suspicions. Pavel inherited not only the specific features of Peter Fedorovich's appearance, but, more importantly, the features of his character - including mental instability, irritability, a tendency to unpredictable actions and an irrepressible love for the senseless drill of soldiers.
The heir, immediately after birth, was excommunicated from his mother and placed under the supervision of nannies, and Sergei Saltykov was sent from Catherine, who was in love with him, to Sweden on an invented diplomatic mission. As for the grand-ducal couple, Elizaveta Petrovna, having received the long-awaited heir, lost her previous interest in her. Because of his unbearable tricks * and foolish antics, she could not stay with her nephew "even a quarter of an hour so as not to feel disgust, anger or grief." For example, he drilled holes in the wall of the room where the aunt-empress received the favorite Alexei Razumovsky, and not only watched what was happening there, but also invited "friends" from his entourage to look through the peephole. One can imagine the power of Elizaveta Petrovna's anger when she found out about the trick. From now on, the aunt-empress often calls him a fool, a freak, and even a "damned nephew" in her hearts. In such a situation, Ekaterina Alekseevna, who secured the heir to the throne, could calmly reflect on her future fate.
On August 30, 1756, the twenty-year-old Grand Duchess informs the English ambassador to Russia, Sir Charles Herbert Williams, with whom she had a secret correspondence, that she had decided to “perish or reign”. The life attitudes of young Catherine in Russia are simple: to please the Grand Duke, to please the Empress, to please the people. Recalling this time, she wrote: "Truly, I did not neglect anything in order to achieve this: obsequiousness, obedience, respect, the desire to please, the desire to do what should be done, sincere affection - everything on my part was constantly used from 1744 to 1761. I confess that when I lost hope of success in the first paragraph, I redoubled my efforts to complete the last two; it seemed to me that I did more than once in the second, but the third was a success for me in all its volume, without any limitation of any time, and therefore I think I did my task quite well. "
The methods of acquiring “the power of attorney of the Russians” by Catherine did not contain anything original and, in their simplicity, perfectly matched the mental mood and the level of enlightenment of the St. Petersburg high society. Let's listen to her herself: "They attribute this to a deep mind and a long study of my position. Not at all! I owe this to Russian old women.<...>And in solemn meetings, and at simple gatherings and parties, I approached old women, sat down beside them, asked about their health, advised them what remedies to use in case of illness, patiently listened to their endless stories about their young years, about their current boredom, about the frivolity of young people; I myself asked their advice in various matters and then sincerely thanked them. I knew the name of their mosek, lapdogs, parrots, fools; knew when which of these ladies was the birthday girl. On that day, my valet came to her, congratulated her on my behalf and brought flowers and fruits from the Oranienbaum greenhouses. Less than two years later, the warmest praise to my mind and heart was heard from all sides and spread throughout Russia. In the simplest and most innocent way, I made myself a resounding glory, and when it came to the occupation of the Russian throne, a significant majority found myself on my side. "
On December 25, 1761, after a long illness, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna passed away. Senator Trubetskoy, who announced this long-awaited news, immediately proclaimed the accession to the throne of Emperor Peter III. As the remarkable historian S.M. Soloviev writes, “the answer was sobbing and groaning for the whole palace<...>The majority greeted the new reign gloomily: they knew the character of the new sovereign and did not expect anything good from him. " , then, being at that time in the fifth month of pregnancy, she practically could not actively intervene in the course of events.
Perhaps it was for the better for her - during the six months of his reign, Peter III was able to turn the capital's society and the nobility as a whole against himself to such an extent that he practically opened the way for his wife to power. Moreover, the attitude towards him was not changed either by the abolition of the hated Secret Chancellery with its dungeons filled with prisoners at the infamous cry: "The word and deed of the sovereign!" compulsory public service and giving them the freedom to choose their place of residence, occupation and the right to travel abroad. The last act aroused such an enthusiasm among the nobility that the Senate even set out to erect a monument of pure gold to the Tsar-benefactor. However, the euphoria did not last long - everything was outweighed by the extremely unpopular actions of the emperor in society, which greatly hurt the national dignity of the Russian people.
The adoration of the Prussian king Frederick II, deliberately advertised by Peter III, was subjected to angry condemnation. He loudly proclaimed himself his vassal, for which he received the nickname "Frederick the monkey" among the people. The degree of public discontent rose especially sharply when Peter III made peace with Prussia and returned the lands won by the blood of Russian soldiers to her without any compensation. This step practically nullified all the successes of the Seven Years War for Russia.
Peter III was able to turn the clergy against himself, because, according to his decree of March 21, 1762, they began to hastily implement the decision made during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna to secularize church lands: the treasury, devastated by a long-term war, demanded replenishment. Moreover, the new tsar threatened to deprive the clergy of their usual magnificent vestments, replacing them with black clerical robes, and shave off the beards of the priests.
The addiction to wine did not add glory to the new emperor. It did not go unnoticed how extremely cynical he behaved in the days of mournful farewell to the late empress, allowing obscene antics, jokes, loud laughter at her coffin ... According to contemporaries, Peter III did not have these days "a more cruel enemy than himself, because he does not neglect anything that could harm him. " This is confirmed by Catherine: her husband "in the whole empire had no more fierce enemy than himself." As you can see, Peter III thoroughly prepared the ground for the coup.
It is difficult to say exactly when the concrete outline of the conspiracy emerged. With a high degree of probability, its occurrence can be attributed to April 1762, when Catherine, after giving birth, received the physical opportunity for real action. The final decision on the conspiracy, apparently, was confirmed after the family scandal that happened in early June. At one of the solemn dinners, Peter III in the presence of foreign ambassadors and about 500 guests publicly called his wife a fool several times in a row. Then the adjutant was ordered to arrest his wife. And only the persistent persuasion of Prince George Ludwig Holstein (he was the uncle of the imperial couple) extinguished the conflict. But they did not change the intention of Peter III by any means to get rid of his wife and fulfill his long-standing desire - to marry his favorite, Elizaveta Romanovna Vorontsova. According to the opinions of people close to Peter, she "swore like a soldier, mowed, smelled foul and spat while talking." Pockmarked, fat, with an exorbitant bust, she was just the type of woman who liked Pyotr Fyodorovich, who loudly called his girlfriend "Romanov" during drinking. Catherine was threatened with imminent tonsure as a nun.
There was no time left for organizing a classic conspiracy with lengthy preparation and thinking through all the details. Everything was decided according to the situation, almost at the level of improvisation, however, compensated by the decisive actions of Ekaterina Alekseevna's supporters. Among them was her secret admirer, the Ukrainian hetman K. G. Razumovsky, at the same time the commander of the Izmailovsky regiment, a favorite of the guards. Explicit sympathy was shown to her and those close to Peter III, Chief Prosecutor A.I. Glebov, General Feldzheikhmeister A.N. Vilboa, Director of Police Baron N.A. The 18-year-old princess E.R. Dashkova (the favorite of Peter III was her sister), who had extensive connections in the world due to her closeness to N.I. Panin and the fact that Chancellor MI Vorontsov was her uncle.
It was through the sister of the favorite, who did not arouse any suspicion, that the officers of the Preobrazhensky regiment - P. B. Passek, S. A. Bredikhin, brothers Alexander and Nikolai Roslavlev, were attracted to participate in the coup. Through other reliable channels, contacts were established with other energetic young guard officers. All of them paved the way for Catherine a relatively easy path to the throne. Among them, the most active and active - "who stood out from the crowd of comrades in beauty, strength, courageousness, sociability" 27-year-old Grigory Grigorievich Orlov (who had long been in love with Catherine - the boy born to her in April 1762 was their son Alexei). Favorite Catherine in everything was supported by two of his same brave brothers-guards - Alexei and Fyodor. It was the three Orlov brothers who were actually the mainspring of the conspiracy.
V horse guard"they directed everything prudently, boldly and actively" the future favorite of Catherine II, 22-year-old non-commissioned officer GA Potemkin and his peers F. A. Khitrovo. By the end of June, according to Catherine, her "accomplices" in the guard were up to 40 officers and about 10 thousand privates. One of the main inspirers of the conspiracy was the tutor of Tsarevich Pavel N.I. Panin. True, he pursued goals different from Catherine's: the removal of Pyotr Fedorovich from power and the establishment of a regency under his pupil, the juvenile Tsar Pavel Petrovich. Catherine knows about this, and, although such a plan is absolutely unacceptable for her, she, not wanting to split the forces, when talking with Panin, confines herself to the non-binding phrase: "It is more pleasant for me to be a mother than the wife of the sovereign."
The chance brought the fall of Peter III closer: the reckless decision to start a war with Denmark (with a completely empty treasury) and command the troops himself, although the emperor's inability to engage in military affairs was the talk of the town. His interests here were limited to a love of colorful uniforms, to endless drill and the assimilation of rough soldier manners, which he considered an indicator of masculinity. Even the insistent advice of his idol Frederick II - not to go to the theater of military operations before the coronation - had no effect on Peter. And now the guard, spoiled under Empress Elizabeth Petrovna by the free life of the capital, and now, at the whim of the tsar, dressed in the hated uniforms of the Prussian model, receive an order to urgently prepare for a campaign that did not meet Russia's interests at all.
The immediate signal for the beginning of the actions of the conspirators was the accidental arrest on the evening of June 27 of one of the conspirators, Captain Passek. The danger was great. Alexei Orlov and the guards lieutenant Vasily Bibikov on the night of June 28, hastily galloped to Peterhof, where Catherine was. The brothers Gregory and Fyodor who remained in St. Petersburg prepared everything for a fitting "royal" meeting for her in the capital. At six o'clock in the morning on June 28, Alexei Orlov woke Catherine up with the words: "It's time to get up: everything is ready for your proclamation." "Like what?" - says Catherine asleep. "Passek has been arrested," was A. Orlov's answer.
And now the hesitations were discarded, Catherine with the chamber lady-in-waiting got into the carriage in which Orlov had arrived. V.I.Bibikov and the camera-lackey Shkurin are accommodated on the heels, Alexei Orlov is on the box next to the coachman. Grigory Orlov meets them five miles before the capital. Catherine is transferred to his carriage with fresh horses. In front of the barracks of the Izmailovsky regiment, the guardsmen take the oath of allegiance to the new empress in delight. Then the carriage with Catherine and a crowd of soldiers, led by a priest with a cross, head to the Semyonovsky regiment, which met Catherine with a thunderous "Hurray!" Accompanied by the troops, she goes to the Kazan Cathedral, where a prayer service immediately begins and at the litanies "the autocratic Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna and the heir to the Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich were proclaimed." From the cathedral, Catherine, already an empress, leaves for the Winter Palace. Here, the two regiments of the guard were joined by the guardsmen of the Preobrazhensky regiment, who were a little late and terribly upset by this. By noon, army units pulled up.
Meanwhile, members of the Senate and Synod, and other high officials of the state are already crowding in the Winter Palace. They without any delay took the oath to the Empress according to the text hastily drawn up by the future Secretary of State of Catherine II G.N. Teplov. The Manifesto on the accession to the throne of Catherine "at the request of all our subjects" was also promulgated. Residents of the northern capital are jubilant, wine from the cellars of private wine merchants flows like a river at public expense. Hot drunk, the common people rejoice heartily and expect blessings from the new queen. But she is not up to them yet. To the exclamations of "Hurray!" the Danish campaign was canceled. To attract the fleet to its side, a reliable man was sent to Kronstadt - Admiral I. L. Talyzin. The decrees on the change of power were prudently sent to the part of the Russian army located in Pomerania.
And what about Peter III? Did he suspect the threat of a coup and what was happening in his inner circle on the unfortunate day of June 28? The surviving documentary evidence unequivocally shows that he did not even think about the possibility of a coup, confident in the love of his subjects. Hence his disregard for the previously received, though vague, warnings.
Having sat down for a late dinner the night before, Peter arrives at Peterhof on June 28 at noon to celebrate his upcoming name days. And he discovers that Catherine is not in Monplaisir - she unexpectedly left for St. Petersburg. Messengers were urgently sent to the city - N. Yu. Trubetskoy and A. I. Shuvalov (one - Colonel Semenovsky, the other - Preobrazhensky regiment). However, neither one nor the other returned, without hesitation swearing allegiance to Catherine. But the disappearance of the messengers did not give decisiveness to Peter, who from the very beginning was morally crushed by the complete, in his opinion, hopelessness of the situation. Finally, a decision was made to move to Kronstadt: according to the report of the commandant of the fortress P. A. Devier, they were supposedly ready to receive the emperor. But while Peter and his people sailed to Kronstadt, Talyzin had already arrived there and, to the joy of the garrison, led everyone to an oath of allegiance to Empress Catherine II. Therefore, at the first hour of the night, the flotilla of the deposed emperor (one galley and one yacht) approached the fortress and had to turn back to Oranienbaum. Peter did not accept the advice of the aged Count B. Kh. Minikh, who was returned from exile, to act "like a king," without hesitation for an hour, to go to the troops in Revel and move with them to St. Petersburg.
Meanwhile, Catherine once again demonstrates her decisiveness, ordering to pull up to Peterhof up to 14 thousand troops with artillery. The task of the conspirators who seized the throne is complex and at the same time simple: to achieve a "voluntary" decent abdication of Peter from the throne. And on June 29, General M.L. Izmailov delivers to Catherine a pitiful message from Peter III asking for forgiveness and relinquishing his rights to the throne. He also expressed his readiness (if permitted), together with E.R. Vorontsova, adjutant A.V. Gudovich, a violin and his beloved pug, to go to live in Holstein, if only he was allocated a boarding house sufficient for a comfortable existence. From Peter demanded "written and handwritten certificate" of renunciation of the throne "voluntarily and naturally." Peter agreed to everything and in writing meekly declared "solemnly to the whole world": "I renounce the government of the Russian state for my whole century."
By noon, Peter was arrested, taken to Peterhof, and then transferred to Ropsha - a small country palace 27 miles from Petersburg. Here he was placed "under a strong guard" allegedly until the premises in Shlisselburg were ready. Alexei Orlov was appointed the main "guard". So, the whole coup, which did not shed a single drop of blood, took less than two days - June 28 and 29. Frederick II later, in a conversation with the French envoy in St. Petersburg, Count L.-F. Segur gave the following review of the events in Russia: “Lack of courage in Peter III ruined him: he allowed himself to be overthrown like a child sent to sleep".
In this situation, the physical elimination of Peter was the surest and most trouble-free solution to the problem. As ordered, this is exactly what happened. On the seventh day after the coup d'etat, under circumstances that have not yet been fully clarified, Peter III was killed. It was officially announced to the people that Pyotr Fedorovich died of hemorrhoidal colic, which happened "by the will of divine Providence."
Naturally, contemporaries, as later historians, were burningly interested in the question of Catherine's involvement in this tragedy. There is different opinions on this score, but they are all based on guesses and assumptions, and there are simply no facts that incriminate Catherine in this crime. Apparently, the French envoy Beranger was right when, hot on the heels of events, he wrote: "I do not suspect such a terrible soul in this princess as to think that she participated in the death of the king, but since the deepest secret will probably always be hidden from the general the information of the real author of this terrible murder, suspicion and vileness will remain with the Empress. "
AI Herzen spoke more definitely: "It is very likely that Catherine did not give the order to kill Peter III. We know from Shakespeare how these orders are given - with a glance, a hint, a silence." It is important to note here that all the participants in the "accidental" (as A. Orlov explained in his penitential note to the Empress) the murders of the deposed emperor not only did not incur any punishment, but were then superbly rewarded with money and serfs. Thus, Catherine, willingly or unwillingly, took this grave sin upon herself. Perhaps that is why the empress showed no less mercy in relation to her recent enemies: practically not one of them was not only sent into exile according to the established Russian tradition, but was not punished at all. Even the metress of Peter, Elizaveta Vorontsova, was just quietly brought into her father's house. Moreover, later Catherine II became the godmother of her first child. Truly generosity and forgivingness are the faithful weapons of the strong, always bringing them glory and loyal admirers.
On July 6, 1762, the Manifesto on the accession to the throne, signed by Catherine, was announced in the Senate. On September 22, a solemn coronation took place in Moscow, which greeted her coolly. This is how the 34-year reign of Catherine II began.
Coming to characterize the long reign of Catherine II and her personality, let us turn our attention to one paradoxical fact: the illegality of Catherine's accession to the throne had its undoubted advantages, especially in the first years of her reign, when she “had to redeem with hard work, great services and donations that that lawful kings have no difficulty. This very necessity was partly the spring of her great and brilliant deeds. " This was not only the opinion of the famous writer and memoirist N.I. Grech, to whom the above judgment belongs. In this case, he only reflected the opinion of the educated part of society. V.O. Klyuchevsky, speaking about the tasks facing Catherine, who took, and did not receive power according to the law, and noting the extreme complexity of the situation in Russia after the coup, emphasized the same point: "Power seized always has the character of a bill, according to which waiting for payment, and according to the mood of Russian society, Catherine had to justify various and dissenting expectations. " Looking ahead, let us say that this promissory note was repaid by her on time.
Historical literature has long noted the main contradiction of Catherine's “Age of Enlightenment” (though not shared by all experts): the Empress “wanted so much enlightenment and such light so as not to fear its“ inevitable consequence. ”In other words, Catherine II was faced with an explosive dilemma: enlightenment or slavery? And since she never solved this problem, leaving serfdom intact, it seemed to give rise to further bewilderment as to why she did not. But the above formula ("enlightenment - slavery") causes natural questions: were there at that time in Russia the appropriate conditions for the abolition of "slavery" and whether the then society realized the need for a radical change in social relations in the country? Let's try to answer them.
Determining the course of her domestic policy, Catherine relied primarily on the book knowledge she had acquired. But not only. At first, the empress's transformative ardor was fueled by her initial assessment of Russia as a "not yet plowed country" where it would be best to carry out all kinds of reforms. That is why on August 8, 1762, just the sixth week of her reign, Catherine II, by a special decree, confirmed the March decree of Peter III banning the purchase of serfs by industrialists. The owners of factories and mines must henceforth be content with the labor of civilian workers, paid under the contract. It seems that she generally had an intention to abolish forced labor and to do so in order to rid the country of the "shame of slavery", as demanded by the spirit of Montesquieu's teachings. But this intention is not yet strong enough for her to decide on such a revolutionary step. Moreover, Catherine did not yet have any complete understanding of Russian reality. On the other hand, as one of the smartest people of the Pushkin era, Prince PA Vyazemsky, when the deeds of Catherine II had not yet become a "deep tradition", she "loved reforms, but gradual, transformations, but not abrupt", without breaking.
By 1765, Catherine II came to the idea of the need to convene the Legislative Commission to bring "in better order" the existing legislation and in order to reliably find out "the needs and sensitive shortcomings of our people." Let us recall that attempts to convene the current legislative body - the Legislative Commission - have been made more than once before, but all of them, for various reasons, ended in failure. Taking this into account, Catherine, endowed with a remarkable mind, resorted to an act unprecedented in the history of Russia: she personally drew up a special "Order", which is a detailed program of actions of the Commission.
As follows from a letter to Voltaire, she believed that the Russian people are "excellent soil on which good seed grows quickly; but we also need axioms that are undeniably recognized as true." And these axioms are well known - the ideas of the Enlightenment, which it used as the basis for the new Russian legislation. Even V.O. Klyuchevsky specially highlighted the main condition for the implementation of Catherine's transformational plans, which she summarized in her "Instruction": "Russia is a European power; Peter I, introducing European customs and I did not expect it myself. The conclusion followed by itself: the axioms, which are the last and best fruit of European thought, will find the same comfort in this people. "
For a long time in the literature about the "Order" there has been an opinion about the purely compilation nature of this main Catherine's political work. Justifying such judgments, they usually refer to her own words spoken to the French philosopher and educator D "Alambert:" You will see how I robbed President Montesquieu for the benefit of my empire, without naming him. "And indeed, out of 526 articles of the" Order ", Divided into 20 chapters, 294 go back to the work of the famous French educator Montesquieu "On the Spirit of Laws," and 108 - to the work of the Italian legal scholar Cesare Beccaria "On Crimes and Punishments." Catherine also made extensive use of the works of other European thinkers. a simple translation into Russian of the works of eminent authors, and their creative rethinking, an attempt to apply the ideas inherent in them to Russian reality.
(To be continued.)
Empress of All Russia (June 28, 1762 - November 6, 1796). Her reign is one of the most remarkable in Russian history; and the dark and light sides of him had a tremendous influence on subsequent events, especially on the mental and cultural development country. The wife of Peter III, nee Princess of Anhalt-Zerbtskaya (born April 24, 1729), was naturally gifted with a great mind, a strong character; on the contrary, her husband was a weak, ill-mannered man. Not sharing his pleasures, Catherine devoted herself to reading and soon moved from novels to historical and philosophical books. Around her, an elected circle was formed, in which Catherine's greatest confidence was enjoyed first by Saltykov, and then by Stanislav Ponyatovsky, later the King of Poland. Her relationship to Empress Elizabeth was not particularly cordial: when Catherine had a son, Paul, the empress took the child with her and rarely allowed her mother to see him. Elizabeth died on December 25, 1761; with the accession to the throne of Peter III, Catherine's position became even worse. A coup on June 28, 1762 elevated Catherine to the throne (see Peter III). The harsh school of life and a huge natural mind helped Catherine herself to get out of a very difficult situation, and to bring Russia out of it. The treasury was empty; monopoly crushed trade and industry; factory peasants and serfs were agitated by rumors of freedom, which were continually renewed; peasants from the western border fled to Poland. Under such circumstances, Catherine ascended the throne, the rights to which belonged to her son. But she understood that this son would become a plaything of parties on the throne, like Peter II. Regency was a fragile affair. The fate of Menshikov, Biron, Anna Leopoldovna was remembered by everyone.
Catherine's penetrating gaze dwelt equally attentively on the phenomena of life both at home and abroad. Having learned, two months after accession to the throne, that the famous French Encyclopedia had been condemned by the Parisian parliament for atheism and its continuation was prohibited, Catherine invited Voltaire and Diderot to publish the encyclopedia in Riga. This proposal alone won over the best minds to the side of Catherine, who then gave direction to public opinion throughout Europe. In the fall of 1762, Catherine was crowned and spent the winter in Moscow. In the summer of 1764, Second Lieutenant Mirovich conceived to elevate to the throne John Antonovich, the son of Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig, who was held in shlisselburg fortress ... The plan failed - John Antonovich, during an attempt to free him, was shot dead by one of the guard soldiers; Mirovich was executed by court order. In 1764, Prince Vyazemsky, sent to pacify the peasants assigned to factories, was ordered to investigate the question of the benefits of free labor over hired ones. The same question was proposed to the newly established Economic Society (see Free Economic Society and Serfdom). First of all, the question of the monastic peasants had to be resolved, which had taken on a particularly acute character even during the reign of Elizabeth. Elizabeth at the beginning of her reign returned the estates to monasteries and churches, but in 1757 she, with the dignitaries around her, came to the conviction of the need to transfer the management of church property into secular hands. Peter III ordered the fulfillment of Elizabeth's destiny and the transfer of the management of church property to the college of economy. In the reign of Peter III, inventories of the monastic property were made extremely roughly. At the accession of Catherine II to the throne, the bishops filed complaints with her and asked for the return of the administration of church property to them. Catherine, on the advice of Bestuzhev-Ryumin, satisfied their desire, canceled the collegium of economy, but did not abandon her intention, but only postponed its implementation; she then ordered the 1757 commission to resume its studies. It was ordered to make new inventories of the monastery and church property; but the clergy were also dissatisfied with the new inventories; the Rostov Metropolitan Arseny Matseevich especially rebelled against them. In his report to the synod, he expressed himself sharply, arbitrarily interpreting church historical facts, even distorting them and making comparisons that were offensive to Catherine. The Synod presented the case to the Empress, in the hope (as Soloviev thinks) that Catherine II will show her usual gentleness this time too. The hope did not come true: Arseny's report caused such irritation in Catherine, which was not noticed in her either before or after. She could not forgive Arseny for comparing her with Julian and Judas and the desire to make her a violator of her word. Arseny was sentenced to exile in the Arkhangelsk diocese, to the Nikolaevsky Korelsky monastery, and then, as a result of new charges, to deprivation of monastic dignity and life imprisonment in Revel (see Arseny Matseevich). The following case from the beginning of her reign is characteristic of Catherine II. A case was reported on allowing Jews to enter Russia. Catherine said that starting the reign with a decree granting free entry to Jews would be a bad way to calm the minds; it is impossible to recognize the entry as harmful. Then Senator Prince Odoevsky suggested looking at what Empress Elizabeth wrote in the margins of the same report. Catherine demanded a report and read: "I do not wish selfish profit from the enemies of Christ." Turning to the Attorney General, she said: "I wish this case was postponed."
The increase in the number of serfs through huge distributions to the favorites and dignitaries of the inhabited estates, the establishment of serfdom in Little Russia, completely fall on the memory of Catherine II. However, one should not lose sight of the fact that the underdevelopment of Russian society was evident at that time at every step. So, when Catherine II conceived the idea of abolishing torture and proposed this measure to the Senate, the senators expressed concern that if torture was abolished, no one, going to bed, would be sure whether he would get up alive in the morning. Therefore, Catherine, not destroying torture publicly, sent out a secret instruction so that in cases where torture was used, the judges base their actions on Chapter X of the Instruction, in which torture is condemned as a cruel and extremely stupid matter. At the beginning of the reign of Catherine II, an attempt was renewed to create an institution resembling the Supreme Privy Council or the Cabinet replacing it, in a new form, under the name of the Empress's Permanent Council. The author of the project was Count Panin. General Feldzheichmeister Villebois wrote to the Empress: "I do not know who the author of this draft is, but it seems to me that he, under the guise of protecting the monarchy, is more subtly inclined towards aristocratic rule." Villebois was right; but Catherine II herself understood the oligarchic nature of the project. She signed it, but kept it under the shelter, and it was never made public. Thus, Panin's idea of a council of six permanent members remained one dream; the private council of Catherine II always consisted of successive members. Knowing how the transition of Peter III to the side of Prussia irritated public opinion, Catherine ordered the Russian generals to maintain neutrality and thereby helped to end the war (see Seven Years' War). The internal affairs of the state demanded special attention: what was most striking was the lack of justice. Catherine II expressed herself energetically on this matter: “the covetousness has increased to such an extent that there is hardly the smallest place of government in which the court would go without infection of this ulcer; whether anyone is looking for a place - pays; whether anyone defends himself from slander - defends himself with money; Whether someone slanders whom - he backs up all his cunning intrigues with gifts. " Catherine was especially amazed when she learned that within the current Novgorod province they were taking money from peasants for swearing allegiance to her. This state of justice forced Catherine II to convene in 1766 a commission to publish the Code. To this commission, Catherine II presented the Order, which she was to be guided by when drawing up the Code. The order was drawn up on the basis of the ideas of Montesquieu and Beccaria (see Order [ Big] and the Commission of 1766). Polish affairs, the first Turkish war and internal unrest that arose from them suspended the legislative activity of Catherine II until 1775. Polish affairs caused the partition and fall of Poland: according to the first section of 1773, Russia received the present provinces of Mogilev, Vitebsk, part of Minsk, i.e. most of Belarus (see Poland). The first Turkish war began in 1768 and ended in peace in Kuchuk-Kainardzhi, which was ratified in 1775. According to this peace, the Porta recognized the independence of the Crimean and Budjak Tatars; ceded to Russia Azov, Kerch, Yenikale and Kinburn; opened free passage for Russian ships from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean; granted forgiveness to Christians who took part in the war; admitted Russia's petition on Moldovan affairs. During the first Turkish war, a plague raged in Moscow, causing a plague riot; in the east of Russia, an even more dangerous riot broke out, known as the Pugachevshchina. In 1770, the plague from the army penetrated into Little Russia, in the spring of 1771 it appeared in Moscow; Commander-in-Chief (currently - Governor-General) Count Saltykov left the city to its own devices. The retired General Yeropkin voluntarily assumed the heavy duty of maintaining order and using preventive measures to weaken the plague. The townsfolk did not fulfill his instructions and not only did not burn the clothes and linen from those who died from the plague, but hid their very death and buried them in the backyards. The plague intensified: at the beginning of the summer of 1771, 400 people died every day. The people crowded in horror at the Barbarian Gate, in front of the miraculous icon. The infection from crowding the people, of course, intensified. The then Moscow archbishop Ambrose (see), an enlightened man, ordered to remove the icon. A rumor immediately spread that the bishop, along with the doctors, had conspired to destroy the people. The ignorant and fanatical crowd, distraught with fear, killed the worthy archpastor. There were rumors that the rebels were preparing to set fire to Moscow, to exterminate doctors and nobles. Yeropkin, with several companies, managed, however, to restore calm. In the last days of September, Count Grigory Orlov, then the closest person to Catherine, arrived in Moscow: but at this time the plague was already weakening and in October it stopped. This plague killed 130,000 people in Moscow alone.
The Pugachev rebellion was raised by the Yaik Cossacks, dissatisfied with the changes in their Cossack life. In 1773, the Don Cossack Emelyan Pugachev (see) took the name of Peter III and raised the banner of rebellion. Catherine II entrusted the suppression of the rebellion to Bibikov, who immediately understood the essence of the matter; it is not Pugachev that is important, he said; what is important is the general displeasure. The Bashkirs, Kalmyks, Kirghiz joined the Yaik Cossacks and the mutinous peasants. Bibikov, giving orders from Kazan, moved detachments from all sides to more dangerous places; Prince Golitsyn liberated Orenburg, Mikhelson - Ufa, Mansurov - Yaitsky town. At the beginning of 1774 the revolt began to subside, but Bibikov died of exhaustion, and the revolt flared up again: Pugachev captured Kazan and threw himself on the right bank of the Volga. Count P. Panin took Bibikov's place, but did not replace him. Mikhelson defeated Pugachev near Arzamas and blocked his way to Moscow. Pugachev rushed south, took Penza, Petrovsk, Saratov and hung nobles everywhere. From Saratov, he moved to Tsaritsyn, but was repulsed and at Cherny Yar was again defeated by Mikhelson. When Suvorov arrived at the army, the impostor held on a little and was soon betrayed by his accomplices. In January 1775, Pugachev was executed in Moscow (see Pugachevshchina). Since 1775, the legislative activity of Catherine II was resumed, however, it did not stop before. So, in 1768, the commercial and noble banks were abolished and the so-called banknote or change bank was established (see. Assignations). In 1775, the existence of the Zaporizhzhya Sich, which was already tending to fall, was terminated. In the same 1775, the transformation of the provincial government began. An institution for the administration of provinces was published, which was introduced for twenty years: in 1775 it began with the Tver province and ended in 1796 with the establishment of the Vilna province (see Gubernia). Thus, the reform of provincial government, begun by Peter the Great, was brought out of the chaotic state by Catherine II and completed by her. In 1776, Catherine commanded in her petitions the word slave replace with the word loyal. By the end of the first Turkish war, Potemkin gained particular importance, striving for great deeds. Together with his collaborator, Bezborodko, he drew up a project known as the Greek one. The grandeur of this project - destroying the Ottoman Port, restoring the Greek Empire, to the throne of which to elevate Konstantin Pavlovich - liked E. Opponent of Potemkin's influence and plans, Count N. Panin, educator of Tsarevich Paul and President of the College of Foreign Affairs in order to distract Catherine II from the Greek project , brought her a draft of armed neutrality, in 1780 Armed neutrality (see) was intended to patronize the trade of neutral states during the war and was directed against England, which was disadvantageous for Potemkin's plans. Pursuing his broad and useless plan for Russia, Potemkin prepared an extremely useful and necessary task for Russia - the annexation of Crimea. In Crimea, since the recognition of its independence, two parties worried - the Russian and the Turkish. Their struggle gave rise to the occupation of the Crimea and the Kuban region. The manifesto of 1783 announced the annexation of the Crimea and the Kuban region to Russia. The last khan Shagin-Girey was sent to Voronezh; Crimea was renamed into Taurida province; raids of the Crimeans stopped. It is believed that due to the raids of the Crimeans, Great and Little Russia and part of Poland, from the 15th century. until 1788, lost from 3 to 4 million population: captives were turned into slaves, captives filled harems or became, like slaves, in the ranks of female servants. In Constantinople, the Mamelukes had Russian nurses and nurses. In the XVI, XVII and even in the XVIII centuries. Venice and France used shackled Russian slaves bought in the markets of the Levant as galley workers. The pious Louis XIV tried only to ensure that these slaves did not remain schismatics. The annexation of Crimea put an end to the shameful trade in Russian slaves (see V. Lamansky in the "Historical Bulletin" for 1880: "The power of the Turks in Europe"). Following this, Irakli II, the king of Georgia, recognized the protectorate of Russia. The year 1785 is marked by two important pieces of legislation: Certificate of honor to the nobility(see Nobility) and City regulation(see City). The charter of public schools on August 15, 1786 was implemented only on a small scale. Projects on the founding of universities in Pskov, Chernigov, Penza and Yekaterinoslav were postponed. In 1783 the Russian Academy was founded to study the native language. The founding of the institutes was the beginning of the education of women. Orphanages were established, smallpox vaccination was introduced, and Pallas's expedition was equipped to explore the remote outskirts.
Potemkin's enemies interpreted, not understanding the importance of the acquisition of Crimea, that Crimea and Novorossiya were not worth the money spent on their arrangement. Then Catherine II decided to explore the newly acquired land herself. Accompanied by the ambassadors of Austria, England and France, with a huge retinue, in 1787 she set off on a journey. The Archbishop of Mogilev, Georgy Konissky, met her in Mstislavl with a speech that was famous by his contemporaries as an example of eloquence. The whole character of speech is determined by its beginning: "Let's leave the astronomers to prove that the Earth revolves around the Sun: our sun walks around us." In Kanev met Catherine II Stanislav Poniatovsky, the king of Poland; near Keidan - Emperor Joseph II. He and Catherine laid the first stone of the city of Yekaterinoslav, visited Kherson and examined the Black Sea fleet just created by Potemkin. During the trip, Joseph noticed theatricality in the setting, saw how people were hastily herded into the supposedly under construction villages; but in Kherson he saw the real thing - and gave justice to Potemkin.
The second Turkish war under Catherine II was waged, in an alliance with Joseph II, from 1787 to 1791. In 1791, on December 29, peace was concluded in Iasi. For all the victories, Russia received only Ochakov and the steppe between the Bug and the Dnieper (see Turkish Wars and the Yassy Peace). At the same time, there was, with varying happiness, the war with Sweden, declared by Gustav III in 1789 (see Sweden). It ended on August 3, 1790 with the Peace of Verela (see), on the basis of the status quo. During the 2nd Turkish War, a coup took place in Poland: on May 3, 1791, a new constitution was promulgated, which led to the second partition of Poland, in 1793, and then to the third, in 1795 (see Poland). In the second section, Russia received the rest of the Minsk province, Volyn and Podolia, in the third - Grodno voivodeship and Courland. In 1796, in the last year of the reign of Catherine II, Count Valerian Zubov, appointed commander-in-chief in the campaign against Persia, conquered Derbent and Baku; his successes were stopped by the death of Catherine.
The last years of the reign of Catherine II were darkened, since 1790, by a reactionary trend. Then the French revolution broke out, and with our domestic reaction a pan-European, Jesuit-oligarchic reaction entered into an alliance. Her agent and tool was Catherine's last favorite, Prince Platon Zubov, together with his brother, Count Valerian. European reaction wanted to drag Russia into a struggle against revolutionary France — a struggle alien to Russia's direct interests. Catherine II spoke kind words to the representatives of the reaction and did not give a single soldier. Then the undermining of the throne of Catherine II intensified, accusations were renewed that she illegally occupied the throne belonging to Pavel Petrovich. There is reason to believe that in 1790 an attempt was being prepared to elevate Pavel Petrovich to the throne. The expulsion from St. Petersburg of Prince Friedrich of Württemberg was probably connected with this attempt. Domestic reaction at the same time accused Catherine of alleged excessive free-thinking. The basis for the accusation was, among other things, the permission to translate Voltaire and participation in the translation of Belisarius, Marmontel's story, which was found anti-religious, because it does not indicate the difference between Christian and pagan virtue. Catherine II grew old, there was almost no trace of her former courage and energy - and so, under such circumstances, in 1790 Radishchev's book "A Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow" appeared, with a project for the emancipation of the peasants, as if written out of the published articles of her Order. The unfortunate Radishchev was punished by exile to Siberia. Perhaps this cruelty was the result of the fear that the exclusion of the articles on the emancipation of the peasants from the Order would be considered hypocrisy on the part of Catherine. In 1792 Novikov was planted in Shlisselburg, who served so much to Russian education. The secret motive of this measure was Novikov's relations with Pavel Petrovich. In 1793 Knyazhnin suffered cruelly for his tragedy "Vadim". In 1795, even Derzhavin came under suspicion in a revolutionary direction, for transcribing 81 psalms, entitled "Sovereigns and Judges." This is how the enlightening reign of Catherine II, which raised the national spirit, ended. great husband(Cathérine le grand). Despite the reaction of recent years, the name of the educational one will remain with him in history. From this reign in Russia, they began to realize the importance of humane ideas, they began to talk about the human right to think for the benefit of their own kind [We almost did not touch on the weaknesses of Catherine II, recalling the words of Renan: had a great influence on the general course of affairs. " Under Catherine the influence of Zubov was harmful, but only because he was an instrument of a harmful party.].
Literature. Works of Kolotov, Sumarokov, Lefort - panegyrics. Of the new ones, Brickner's work is more satisfactory. Bilbasov's very important work is not finished; only one volume was published in Russian, two in German. S. M. Soloviev in XXIX volumes of his history of Russia dwelled on peace in Kuchuk-Kainardzhi. The foreign works of Rulier and Caster cannot be ignored only for undeserved attention to them. Of the countless memoirs, the memoirs of Khrapovitsky are especially important (the best edition is N.P. Barsukov). See Waliszewski's most recent essay: "Le Roman d" une impératrice. Essays on specific issues are indicated in the respective articles. The editions of the Imperial Historical Society are extremely important.
E. Belov.
Gifted with literary talent, receptive and sensitive to the phenomena of life around her, Catherine II took an active part in the literature of her time. The literary movement she sparked was dedicated to the development of the educational ideas of the 18th century. Thoughts about education, briefly outlined in one of the chapters of the "Order", were later developed in detail by Catherine in allegorical tales: "About Tsarevich Chlor" (1781) and "About Tsarevich Fevey" (1782), and mainly in "Instructions to Prince N. Saltykov ", given when he was appointed as a tutor to the Grand Dukes Alexander and Konstantin Pavlovich (1784). The pedagogical ideas expressed in these works, Catherine mainly borrowed from Montaigne and Locke: from the first she took a general view of the goals of education, the second she used when developing particulars. Guided by Montaigne, Catherine II put forward in the first place in education the moral element - the rooting in the soul of humanity, justice, respect for laws, indulgence towards people. At the same time, she demanded that the mental and physical aspects of education should be properly developed. Personally leading the upbringing of her grandchildren until the age of seven, she compiled a whole educational library for them. Catherine also wrote "Notes on Russian history" for the great dukes. In purely fictional works, to which journal articles and dramatic works belong, Catherine II is much more original than in works of a pedagogical and legislative nature. Pointing to the factual contradictions to the ideals that existed in society, her comedies and satirical articles were supposed to greatly contribute to the development of public consciousness, making it clearer the importance and expediency of the reforms undertaken by her.
The beginning of the public literary activity Catherine II refers to 1769, when she was an active collaborator and inspirer of the satirical magazine "Vsyakaya Vsyachina" (see). The patronizing tone adopted by "Anything and everything" in relation to other magazines, and the instability of its direction soon armed against it almost all the magazines of the time; her main opponent was the brave and direct "Drone" by NI Novikov. The latter’s sharp attacks on judges, governors and prosecutors strongly disliked “Anything”; Whoever conducted the polemic against the "Drone" in this journal cannot be said positively, but it is reliably known that one of the articles directed against Novikov belongs to the empress herself. In the period from 1769 to 1783, when Catherine again acted as a journalist, she wrote five comedies, and between them her best plays: "About the Time" and "The Name Day of Mrs. Vorchalkina." The purely literary merits of Catherine's comedies are not high: there is little action in them, the intrigue is too simple, the denouement is monotonous. They are written in the spirit and pattern of modern French comedies, in which the servants are more developed and intelligent than their masters. But at the same time, purely Russian social vices are mocked in Catherine's comedies and Russian types appear. Bigotry, superstition, bad upbringing, pursuit of fashion, blind imitation of the French - these are the themes that were developed by Catherine in her comedies. These themes had already been outlined earlier by our satirical journals of 1769 and, by the way, "Anything and everything"; but what was presented in magazines in the form of separate pictures, characteristics, sketches, in the comedies of Catherine II received a more integral and vivid image... The types of the avaricious and heartless bigot Khanzhakhina, the superstitious gossip Vestnikova in the comedy "About Time", the petimeter Firlyufyushkov and the projecter Nekopeikov in the comedy "The Name Day of Mrs. Vorchalkina" are among the most successful in Russian comic literature of the last century. Variations of these types are repeated in the rest of Catherine's comedies.
By 1783, Catherine took an active part in the "Interlocutor of the Lovers of the Russian Word", published at the Academy of Sciences, edited by Princess E. R. Dashkova. Here Catherine II placed a number of satirical articles, entitled by the common name "Bylei and Fables". The initial goal of these articles was, apparently, a satirical depiction of the weaknesses and funny sides of the modern empress of society, and the originals for such portraits were often taken by the empress from among those close to her. Soon, however, "There Were Fables" began to serve as a reflection of the magazine life of "Interlocutor". Catherine II was the unofficial editor of this magazine; as can be seen from her correspondence with Dashkova, she read many of the articles that were sent for publication in the magazine in the manuscript; some of these articles offended her: she entered into polemics with their authors, often made fun of them. It was not a secret for the reading public that Catherine's participation in the magazine was; articles of the letter in which rather transparent hints were made were often sent to the address of the writer of Bylei and Fables. The Empress tried, whenever possible, to maintain her composure and not to betray her incognito; just once, angered by Fonvizin's "audacious and reprehensible" questions, she so clearly expressed her irritation in "Byli and Fables" that Fonvizin considered it necessary to hasten with a letter of repentance. In addition to Bylei and Fables, the Empress placed in The Interlocutor several small polemical and satirical articles, for the most part ridiculing the pompous compositions of the occasional collaborators of the Interlocutor - Lyuboslov and Count SP Rumyantsev. One of these articles ("The Daily Note of the Society of the Unknown"), in which Princess Dashkova saw a parody of the meetings of the Russian academy that had just been founded, in her opinion, was the reason for the termination of Catherine's participation in the journal. In the following years (1785-1790), Catherine wrote 13 plays, not counting the dramatic proverbs in French intended for the Hermitage theater.
Freemasons have long attracted the attention of Catherine II. If you believe her words, she took the trouble to familiarize herself in detail with the enormous Masonic literature, but found nothing in Freemasonry but "extravagance." Stay in St. Petersburg. (in 1780) Cagliostro, whom she described as a scoundrel worthy of the gallows, armed her even more against the Freemasons. Receiving alarming news about the ever-increasing influence of the Moscow Masonic circles, seeing among her confidants many followers and defenders of the Masonic doctrine, the empress decided to fight this "extravagance" with a literary weapon, and within two years (1785-86) wrote, one after the other, three comedies ("The Deceiver", "The Seduced" and "The Siberian Shaman"), in which she ridiculed Freemasonry. Only in the comedy "Seduced" are there, however, life features reminiscent of Moscow masons. The "Deceiver" is directed against Cagliostro. In "Shaman Siberian" Catherine II, obviously unfamiliar with the essence of Masonic teaching, did not hesitate to reduce it to the same level with shamanic tricks. Undoubtedly, the satire of Catherine did not have much effect: Freemasonry continued to develop, and in order to inflict a decisive blow on it, the empress no longer resorted to meek methods of correction, as she called her satire, but to abrupt and decisive administrative measures.
In all likelihood, Catherine's acquaintance with Shakespeare, in French or German translations, also belongs to the indicated time. She remade "Windsor Gossips" for the Russian stage, but this remake turned out to be extremely weak and very little resembles the real Shakespeare. In imitation of his historical chronicles, she composed two plays from the life of the ancient Russian princes - Rurik and Oleg. The main significance of these "Historical representations", literally extremely weak, lies in those political and moral ideas that Catherine puts into the mouth actors... Of course, these are not the ideas of Rurik or Oleg, but the thoughts of Catherine II herself. In comic operas, Catherine II did not pursue any serious goal: these were situational plays in which the musical and choreographic side played the main role. The empress took the plot for these operas, for the most part, from folk tales and epics, known to her from handwritten collections. Only "Woe-Bogatyr Kosometovich", despite its fabulous character, contains an element of modernity: this opera exhibited in a comic light the Swedish king Gustav III, who at that time opened hostile actions against Russia, and was removed from the repertoire immediately after the conclusion of peace with Sweden. Catherine's French plays, the so-called "proverbs", are small one-act plays, the plots of which were, for the most part, episodes from modern life. They are of no particular importance, repeating themes and types already deduced in other comedies of Catherine II. Catherine herself did not attach importance to her literary activity. "I look at my compositions," she wrote to Grimm, "as if they were trinkets. I like to do experiments in all kinds, but it seems to me that everything I wrote is rather mediocre, why, apart from entertainment, I did not attach any importance to it."
Writings of Catherine II published by A. Smirdin (St. Petersburg, 1849-50). Exclusively literary works Catherine II was published twice in 1893, under the editorship of V.F.Solntsev and A.I. Vvedensky. Selected articles and monographs: P. Pekarsky, "Materials for the history of journalistic and literary activities of Catherine II" (St. Petersburg, 1863); Dobrolyubov, Art. about "Interlocutor of lovers of the Russian word" (X, 825); "Works of Derzhavin", ed. J. Grota (St. Petersburg, 1873, v. VIII, pp. 310-339); M. Longinov, "The Dramatic Works of Catherine II" (Moscow, 1857); G. Gennadi, "More about the dramatic works of Catherine II" (in "Bible. Zap.", 1858, no. 16); P. K. Schebalsky, "Catherine II as a writer" ("Dawn", 1869-70); his own, "The Dramatic and Moral Descriptive Works of Empress Catherine II" (in the "Russian Bulletin", 1871, v. XVIII, No. 5 and 6); N. S. Tikhonravov, "Literary trivia of 1786" (in a scientific and literary collection, published by "Russian Vedomosti" - "Help to the hungry", M., 1892); ES Shumigorsky, "Essays from Russian history. I. Empress-publicist" (St. Petersburg, 1887); P. Bessonova, "On the influence of folk art on the dramas of Empress Catherine and on the whole Russian songs inserted here" (in the magazine "Zarya", 1870); V. S. Lebedev, "Shakespeare in the alterations of Catherine II" (in the Russian Bulletin "(1878, No. 3); N. Lavrovsky," On the pedagogical significance of the works of Catherine the Great "(Kharkov, 1856); A. Brikner," Comic opera Catherine II "Woe-hero" ("Zh. M.N. Pr.", 1870, No. 12); A. Galakhov, "There were fables, the work of Catherine II" ("Notes of the Fatherland" 1856, No. 10).
V. Solntsev.
Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst was born on April 21 (May 2), 1729 in the German Pomeranian city of Stettin (now Szczecin in Poland). My father came from the Zerbst-Dornburg line of the Anhalt house and was in the service of the Prussian king, was a regimental commander, commandant, then governor of the city of Stettin, ran for the Dukes of Courland, but unsuccessfully, finished his service as a Prussian field marshal. Mother - from the Holstein-Gottorp clan, was the great-aunt of the future Peter III. Maternal uncle Adolf-Friedrich (Adolf Fredrik) from 1751 was king of Sweden (elected heir in the city). The family tree of Catherine II's mother goes back to Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the first Duke of Schleswig-Holstein and the founder of the Oldenburg dynasty.
Childhood, education and upbringing
The family of the Duke of Zerbst was not rich, Catherine was educated at home. Studied German and French, dance, music, the basics of history, geography, theology. She was brought up in severity. She grew up inquisitive, inclined to outdoor games, persistent.
Ekaterina continues to educate herself. She reads books on history, philosophy, jurisprudence, the works of Voltaire, Montesquieu, Tacitus, Beyle, a large number of other literature. The main entertainment for her was hunting, horse riding, dancing and masquerades. The lack of conjugal relations with the Grand Duke contributed to the appearance of lovers for Catherine. Meanwhile, Empress Elizabeth expressed her dissatisfaction with the absence of children from the spouses.
Finally, after two unsuccessful pregnancies, on September 20 (October 1), 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son, who was immediately taken away from her, called Paul (the future Emperor Paul I) and deprived of the opportunity to educate, but only allowed to see it occasionally. A number of sources claim that the true father of Paul was Catherine's lover S.V. Saltykov. Others - that such rumors are groundless, and that Peter underwent an operation that eliminated the defect that made conception impossible. The question of paternity was of interest to society as well.
After the birth of Paul, relations with Peter and Elizabeth Petrovna finally deteriorated. Peter openly made mistresses, however, without interfering with doing this and Catherine, who during this period had a relationship with Stanislav Poniatowski - the future king of Poland. On December 9 (20), 1758, Catherine gave birth to her daughter Anna, which aroused strong discontent with Peter, who said at the news of a new pregnancy: “God knows where my wife is getting pregnant; I don’t know for sure whether this child is mine and whether I should recognize him as mine. ” At this time, the condition of Elizaveta Petrovna worsened. All this made real the prospect of Catherine's expulsion from Russia or her imprisonment in a monastery. The situation was aggravated by the fact that Catherine's secret correspondence with the disgraced field marshal Apraksins and the British ambassador Williams, dedicated to political issues, was revealed. Her previous favorites were removed, but a circle of new ones began to form: Grigory Orlov, Dashkova and others.
The death of Elizabeth Petrovna (December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762)) and the accession to the throne of Peter Fedorovich under the name of Peter III further alienated the spouses. Peter III began to live openly with his mistress Elizaveta Vorontsova, settling his wife at the other end of the Winter Palace. When Catherine became pregnant from Orlov, this could no longer be explained by accidental conception from her husband, since the communication of the spouses had completely ceased by that time. Catherine hid her pregnancy, and when it came time to give birth, her devoted valet Vasily Grigorievich Shkurin set fire to his house. A lover of such spectacles, Peter with the courtyard left the palace to look at the fire; at this time, Catherine gave birth safely. This is how the first in Russia Count Bobrinsky was born - the founder of the famous surname.
Coup on June 28, 1762
- It is necessary to educate the nation, which should be governed.
- It is necessary to introduce good order in the state, to support society and force it to comply with the laws.
- It is necessary to establish a good and accurate police force in the state.
- It is necessary to promote the flourishing of the state and make it abundant.
- It is necessary to make the state formidable in itself and inspiring respect for its neighbors.
The policy of Catherine II was characterized by progressive, without sharp hesitation, development. After accession to the throne, she carried out a number of reforms (judicial, administrative, etc.). The territory of the Russian state increased significantly due to the annexation of fertile southern lands - Crimea, the Black Sea region, as well as the eastern part of the Commonwealth, etc. The population increased from 23.2 million (in 1763) to 37.4 million (in 1796), Russia became the most populated European country (it accounted for 20% of the population of Europe). As Klyuchevsky wrote, “The army from 162 thousand people was strengthened to 312 thousand, the fleet, which in 1757 consisted of 21 ships of the line and 6 frigates, in 1790 counted 67 ships of the line and 40 frigates, the amount of state revenues from 16 million rubles. rose to 69 million, that is, more than quadrupled, the success of foreign trade: Baltic; in an increase in import and export, from 9 million to 44 million rubles., Black Sea, Catherine and created, - from 390 thousand in 1776 to 1900 thousand rubles. in 1796, the growth of internal turnover was indicated by the issue of coins in the 34 years of the reign for 148 million rubles, while in the 62 previous years it was issued only for 97 million. "
The Russian economy continued to be agrarian. The share of the urban population in 1796 was 6.3%. At the same time, a number of cities were founded (Tiraspol, Grigoriopol, etc.), pig iron smelting increased more than 2 times (in which Russia took 1st place in the world), and the number of sail-linen manufactures increased. In total, by the end of the 18th century. there were 1200 large enterprises(in 1767 there were 663 of them). The export of Russian goods to European countries has significantly increased, including through the created Black Sea ports.
Domestic policy
Catherine's adherence to the ideas of the Enlightenment determined the nature of her domestic policy and the direction of reforming various institutions of the Russian state. The term "enlightened absolutism" is often used to characterize the internal politics of Catherine's time. According to Catherine, based on the works of the French philosopher Montesquieu, the vast Russian spaces and the severity of the climate determine the regularity and necessity of autocracy in Russia. Proceeding from this, under Catherine, the autocracy was strengthened, the bureaucratic apparatus was strengthened, the country was centralized and the management system was unified.
Stacked commission
An attempt was made to convene the Legislated Commission, which would systematize the laws. The main goal is to clarify the needs of the people in order to carry out comprehensive reforms.
More than 600 deputies took part in the commission, 33% of them were elected from the nobility, 36% from the townspeople, which also included nobles, 20% from the rural population (state peasants). The interests of the Orthodox clergy were represented by a deputy from the Synod.
As a guiding document of the Commission of 1767, the Empress prepared the "Order" - a theoretical substantiation of enlightened absolutism.
The first meeting was held in the Faceted Chamber in Moscow
Due to the conservatism of the deputies, the Commission had to be disbanded.
Soon after the coup, the statesman N.I. Panin proposed to create an Imperial Council: 6 or 8 high dignitaries rule together with the monarch (as in 1730). Ekaterina rejected this project.
According to another project of Panin, the Senate was transformed - on December 15. 1763 It was divided into 6 departments, headed by chief prosecutors, at the head was the prosecutor general. Each department had specific powers. The general powers of the Senate were reduced, in particular, it lost the legislative initiative and became a body for control over the activities of the state apparatus and the highest court. The center of legislative activity moved directly to Ekaterina and her office with state secretaries.
Provincial reform
7 nov. In 1775, the "Institution for the administration of the provinces of the All-Russian Empire" was adopted. Instead of a three-tier administrative division - a province, a province, a district, a two-tier administrative division began to operate - a province, a district (which was based on the principle of the size of the taxable population). Out of the previous 23 provinces, 50 were formed, each of which had a population of 300-400 thousand dm. Provinces were divided into 10-12 counties, each with 20-30 thousand dm.
Thus, the further need to preserve the presence of the Zaporozhye Cossacks in their historical homeland to protect the southern Russian borders disappeared. At the same time, their traditional way of life often led to conflicts with the Russian authorities. After repeated pogroms of Serbian settlers, as well as in connection with the support of the Pugachev uprising by the Cossacks, Catherine II ordered the disbandment of the Zaporizhzhya Sich, which was done by order of Grigory Potemkin to pacify the Zaporozhye Cossacks by General Peter Tekeli in June 1775.
The Sich was bloodlessly disbanded, and then the fortress itself was destroyed. Most of the Cossacks were disbanded, but after 15 years they were remembered and the Army of the Faithful Zaporozhians was created, later the Black Sea Cossack army, and in 1792 Catherine signed a manifesto that gives them the Kuban for eternal use, where the Cossacks moved, founding the city of Yekaterinodar.
The reforms on the Don created a military civilian government modeled on the provincial administrations of central Russia.
The beginning of the annexation of the Kalmyk Khanate
As a result of common administrative reforms 70s, aimed at strengthening the state, it was decided to annex the Kalmyk Khanate to the Russian Empire.
By her decree of 1771, Catherine liquidated the Kalmyk Khanate, thereby starting the process of annexing the Kalmyk state to Russia, which had previously had a vassal relationship with the Russian state. A special Expedition of Kalmyk Affairs, established at the office of the Astrakhan governor, began to be in charge of Kalmyk affairs. Under the rulers of the uluses, bailiffs were appointed from among the Russian officials. In 1772, at the Expedition of Kalmyk Affairs, a Kalmyk court - Zargo was established, consisting of three members - one representative each from three main uluses: torgouts, derbets and khoshouts.
This decision of Catherine was preceded by the empress's consistent policy to limit the khan's power in the Kalmyk Khanate. So, in the 60s, the crisis intensified in the khanate associated with the colonization of Kalmyk lands by Russian landowners and peasants, the reduction of pasture lands, the infringement of the rights of the local feudal elite, the interference of tsarist officials in Kalmyk affairs. After the establishment of the fortified Tsaritsyn line, thousands of Don Cossack families began to settle in the area of the main Kalmyk nomads, and cities and fortresses began to be built throughout the Lower Volga. The best pasture lands were allocated for arable land and hayfields. The nomadic area was constantly narrowing, which in turn exacerbated internal relations in the khanate. The local feudal elite was also dissatisfied with the missionary activity of the Russian Orthodox Church to Christianize the nomads, as well as the outflow of people from the uluses to the cities and villages to work. Under these conditions, among the Kalmyk noyons and zaisangs, with the support of the Buddhist Church, a conspiracy has matured with the aim of leaving the people for their historical homeland - in Dzungaria.
On January 5, 1771, the Kalmyk feudal lords, dissatisfied with the empress's policy, raised the uluses that roamed along the left bank of the Volga, and set off on a dangerous journey to Central Asia. Back in November 1770, the army was assembled on the left bank under the pretext of repelling the raids of the Kazakhs of the Younger Zhuz. The bulk of the Kalmyk population lived at that time on the meadow side of the Volga. Many noyons and zaisangs, realizing the disaster of the campaign, wanted to stay with their uluses, but the army coming from behind drove everyone forward. This tragic campaign turned into a terrible disaster for the people. A small Kalmyk ethnos lost on the way about 100,000 people killed in battles, from wounds, cold, hunger, disease, as well as prisoners, lost almost all livestock - the main wealth of the people. ,,.
These tragic events in the history of the Kalmyk people are reflected in the poem by Sergei Yesenin "Pugachev".
Regional reform in Estonia and Livonia
The Baltic states as a result of the regional reform in 1782-1783. was divided into 2 provinces - Riga and Revel - with institutions that already existed in other provinces of Russia. In Estland and Livonia, a special Baltic order was eliminated, which provided for more extensive rights of local nobles to work and the personality of a peasant than that of Russian landowners.
Provincial reform in Siberia and the Middle Volga region
Under the new protectionist tariff of 1767, the import of those goods that were or could be produced within Russia was completely prohibited. Duties from 100 to 200% were imposed on luxury goods, wine, grain, toys ... Export duties amounted to 10-23% of the value of imported goods.
In 1773, Russia exported goods worth 12 million rubles, which was 2.7 million rubles more than imports. In 1781, exports already amounted to 23.7 million rubles against 17.9 million rubles of imports. Russian merchant ships began sailing in the Mediterranean as well. Thanks to the policy of protectionism in 1786, the country's exports amounted to 67.7 million rubles, and imports - 41.9 million rubles.
At the same time, Russia under Catherine went through a series of financial crises and was forced to make foreign loans, the amount of which by the end of the empress's reign exceeded 200 million silver rubles.
Social politics
Moscow Orphanage
In the provinces there were orders of public charity. In Moscow and St. Petersburg - Orphanages for street children (currently the building of the Moscow Orphanage is occupied by the Peter the Great Military Academy), where they received education and upbringing. The Widows Treasury was created to help widows.
Compulsory smallpox vaccination was introduced, and Catherine was the first to receive such a vaccination. Under Catherine II, the fight against epidemics in Russia began to take on the character of state measures that were directly part of the responsibilities of the Imperial Council and the Senate. By order of Catherine, outposts were created, located not only at the borders, but also on the roads leading to the center of Russia. The "Charter of Border and Port Quarantines" was created.
New directions of medicine for Russia developed: hospitals for the treatment of syphilis, psychiatric hospitals and orphanages were opened. A number of fundamental works on medicine have been published.
National policy
After the annexation of the lands that had previously been part of the Commonwealth to the Russian Empire, about a million Jews turned out to be in Russia - a people with a different religion, culture, way of life and way of life. To prevent their resettlement to the central regions of Russia and attach them to their communities for the convenience of collecting state taxes, Catherine II in 1791 established the Pale of Settlement, outside of which Jews had no right to live. The Pale of Settlement was established in the same place where the Jews had lived before - on the lands annexed as a result of the three partitions of Poland, as well as in the steppe regions near the Black Sea and sparsely populated areas east of the Dnieper. The conversion of Jews to Orthodoxy removed all restrictions on living. It is noted that the Pale of Settlement contributed to the preservation of Jewish national identity, the formation of a special Jewish identity within the Russian Empire.
Having ascended the throne, Catherine canceled the decree of Peter III on the secularization of lands near the church. But already in February. 1764 she again issued a decree depriving the Church of land property. Monastic peasants numbering about 2 million people. of both sexes were removed from the jurisdiction of the clergy and transferred to the management of the College of Economics. The jurisdiction of the state included the estates of churches, monasteries and bishops.
In Ukraine, the secularization of monastic possessions was carried out in 1786.
Thus, the clergy became dependent on the secular authorities, since they could not carry out independent economic activities.
Catherine achieved from the government of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth an equalization in the rights of religious minorities - Orthodox and Protestants.
Under Catherine II, the persecution ceased Old Believers... The Empress initiated the return from abroad of the Old Believers, the economically active population. They were specially assigned a place on the Irgiz (modern Saratov and Samara regions). They were allowed to have priests.
The free resettlement of Germans to Russia led to a significant increase in the number of Protestants(mostly Lutherans) in Russia. They were also allowed to build churches, schools, and freely perform divine services. At the end of the 18th century, there were more than 20 thousand Lutherans in St. Petersburg alone.
Expanding the boundaries of the Russian Empire
Partitions of Poland
The federal state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth included Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus.
The reason for the interference in the affairs of the Commonwealth was the question of the position of dissidents (that is, the non-Catholic minority - Orthodox and Protestants), so that they would be equalized with the rights of Catholics. Catherine exerted strong pressure on the gentry in order to elect her protege Stanislav August Poniatowski to the Polish throne, who was elected. Part of the Polish gentry opposed these decisions and organized an uprising in the Bar Confederation. It was suppressed by Russian troops in alliance with the Polish king. In 1772, Prussia and Austria, fearing the strengthening of Russian influence in Poland and its successes in the war with the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), offered Catherine to partition the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in exchange for ending the war, otherwise threatening a war against Russia. Russia, Austria and Prussia brought in their troops.
In 1772 took place 1st section of the Commonwealth... Austria received all of Galicia with its districts, Prussia - West Prussia (Pomorie), Russia - the eastern part of Belarus to Minsk (Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces) and part of the Latvian lands that were previously part of Livonia.
The Polish Sejm was forced to agree with the partition and abandon claims for the lost territories: it lost 3,800 km² with a population of 4 million people.
Polish noblemen and industrialists contributed to the adoption of the Constitution of 1791. The conservative part of the population of the Targovitsa Confederation turned to Russia for help.
In 1793 the 2nd section of the Commonwealth, approved at the Grodno Diet. Prussia received Gdansk, Torun, Poznan (part of the land along the Warta and Vistula rivers), Russia - Central Belarus with Minsk and the Right-Bank Ukraine.
The wars with Turkey were marked by major military victories of Rumyantsev, Suvorov, Potemkin, Kutuzov, Ushakov, and the establishment of Russia in the Black Sea. As a result, they ceded to Russia the Northern Black Sea region, Crimea, the Kuban region, strengthened its political positions in the Caucasus and the Balkans, strengthened Russia's prestige on the world stage.
Relations with Georgia. Georgievsky treatise
Georgievsky treatise of 1783
Catherine II and the Georgian tsar Irakli II in 1783 signed the Georgievsky treatise, according to which Russia established a protectorate over the Kartli-Kakhetian kingdom. The treaty was concluded in order to protect Orthodox Georgians, since Muslim Iran and Turkey threatened the national existence of Georgia. The Russian government took Eastern Georgia under its patronage, guaranteed its autonomy and protection in case of war, and during peace negotiations pledged to insist on the return to the Kartli-Kakhetian kingdom of possessions that had long belonged to it and illegally taken away by Turkey.
The result of the Georgian policy of Catherine II was a sharp weakening of the positions of Iran and Turkey, which formally destroyed their claims to Eastern Georgia.
Relations with Sweden
Taking advantage of the fact that Russia entered the war with Turkey, Sweden, supported by Prussia, Britain and Holland, unleashed a war with her for the return of previously lost territories. The troops that entered the territory of Russia were stopped by General-in-Chief V.P. Musin-Pushkin. After a series of naval battles that did not have a decisive outcome, Russia defeated the Swedish line fleet in the battle of Vyborg, but because of the oncoming storm it suffered a heavy defeat in the battle of rowing fleets at Rochensalm. The parties signed the Verela Peace Treaty in 1790, according to which the border between the countries did not change.
Relations with other countries
After the French Revolution, Catherine was one of the initiators of the anti-French coalition and the establishment of the principle of legitimism. She said: “The weakening of monarchical power in France endangers all other monarchies. For my part, I am ready to resist with all my might. It's time to act and take up arms. " However, in reality, she withdrew from participation in hostilities against France. According to popular belief, one of the real reasons for the creation of the anti-French coalition was to divert the attention of Prussia and Austria from Polish affairs. At the same time, Catherine refused all the agreements concluded with France, ordered to expel all suspected sympathizers for the French Revolution from Russia, and in 1790 issued a decree on the return of all Russians from France.
During the reign of Catherine, the Russian Empire acquired the status of a "great power". As a result of two successful Russian-Turkish wars in 1768-1774 and 1787-1791 for Russia. the Crimean peninsula and the entire territory of the Northern Black Sea region were annexed to Russia. In 1772-1795. Russia took part in three sections of the Commonwealth, as a result of which it annexed the territories of present-day Belarus, Western Ukraine, Lithuania and Courland. The Russian Empire also included Russian America - Alaska and the West coast of the North American continent (the current state of California).
Catherine II as a figure of the Age of Enlightenment
Ekaterina - writer and publisher
Catherine belonged to a small number of monarchs who would communicate so intensively and directly with their subjects by drawing up manifestos, instructions, laws, polemical articles and indirectly in the form of satirical works, historical dramas and pedagogical opuses. In her memoirs, she confessed: "I cannot see a blank pen without not feeling the urge to immediately dip it in ink."
She had an extraordinary talent for writing, leaving behind a large collection of works - notes, translations, librettos, fables, fairy tales, comedy "Oh, time!" “The Invisible Bride” (-), essays, etc., participated in the weekly satirical magazine “Anything and everything”, published in the city. The Empress turned to journalism in order to influence public opinion, therefore the main idea of the magazine was to criticize human vices and weaknesses ... Other subjects of irony were the superstitions of the population. Catherine herself called the magazine "Satire in a smiling spirit."
Ekaterina - philanthropist and collector
Development of culture and art
Catherine considered herself a "philosopher on the throne" and favored the European Enlightenment, was in correspondence with Voltaire, Diderot, d "Alambert.
Under her, the Hermitage and the Public Library appeared in St. Petersburg. She patronized various fields of art - architecture, music, painting.
It is impossible not to mention the mass settlement of German families in various regions, initiated by Catherine. modern Russia, Ukraine, as well as the Baltic countries. The goal was to "infect" Russian science and culture with European ones.
Courtyard of the times of Catherine II
Features of personal life
Ekaterina was a brunette of average height. She combined high intelligence, education, statesmanship and commitment to "free love".
Catherine is known for her connections with numerous lovers, whose number (according to the list of the authoritative Catherine scholar P.I.Bartenev) reaches 23. The most famous of them were Sergei Saltykov, G.G. Orlov (later Count), Horse Guards Lieutenant Vasilchikov, G.A. Potemkin (later prince), hussar Zorich, Lanskoy, the last favorite was the cornet Platon Zubov, who became the count of the Russian Empire and a general. With Potemkin, according to some sources, Catherine was secretly married (). After she planned a marriage with Orlov, however, on the advice of those close to her, she abandoned this idea.
It should be noted that Catherine's "debauchery" was not such a scandalous phenomenon against the background of the general licentiousness of the 18th century. Most kings (with the possible exception of Frederick the Great, Louis XVI and Charles XII) had numerous mistresses. Catherine's favorites (with the exception of Potemkin, who possessed state abilities) did not influence politics. Nevertheless, the institution of favoritism had a negative effect on the higher nobility, which sought benefits through flattery to a new favorite, tried to lead “their own man” into lovers to the empress, etc.
Catherine had two sons: Pavel Petrovich () (it is suspected that his father was Sergei Saltykov) and Alexei Bobrinsky (- the son of Grigory Orlov) and two daughters: Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna (1757-1759, who died in infancy, possibly the daughter of the future king) Poland Stanislav Poniatovsky) and Elizaveta Grigorievna Tyomkina (- Potemkin's daughter).
Famous figures of Catherine's era
The reign of Catherine II was characterized by the fruitful activity of outstanding Russian scientists, diplomats, military, statesmen, cultural and art workers. In 1873 in St. Petersburg, in the park in front of the Alexandrinsky Theater (now Ostrovsky Square), an impressive multi-figured monument to Catherine was erected, designed by M.O. Mikeshin by sculptors A.M. Opekushin and M.A. Chizhov and architects V.A. Schreter and D. I. Grimm. The foot of the monument consists of a sculptural composition, the characters of which are prominent personalities of the Catherine's era and associates of the Empress:
The events of the last years of the reign of Alexander II - in particular, the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 - prevented the implementation of the plan to expand the memorial to the Catherine era. DI Grimm developed a project for the construction of bronze statues and busts depicting the leaders of the glorious reign in the park next to the monument to Catherine II. According to the final list, approved a year before the death of Alexander II, six bronze sculptures and twenty-three busts on granite pedestals were to be placed next to the monument to Catherine.
In growth were to be depicted: Count N.I. Panin, Admiral G.A. Spiridov, writer D.I.Fonvizin, Prosecutor General of the Senate Prince A.A. Vyazemsky, Field Marshal Prince N.V. Repnin and General A. I. Bibikov, former chairman Stacking commissions. In the busts - publisher and journalist N.I. Novikov, traveler P.S.Pallas, playwright A.P. Sumarokov, historians I.N.Boltin and Prince M.M.Shcherbatov, artists D.G. Levitsky and V.L Borovikovsky, architect A.F.Kokorinov, favorite of Catherine II Count G.G. Orlov, admirals F.F.Ushakov, S.K. Greig, A.I.Kruz, military leaders: Count Z.G. Chernyshev, Prince V. M. Dolgorukov-Krymsky, Count IE Ferzen, Count VA Zubov; Moscow Governor-General Prince M. N. Volkonsky, Novgorod Governor Count Y. E. Sivers, diplomat Y. I. Bulgakov, suppressor of the "plague riot" of 1771 in Moscow