The era of palace coups
The era of palace coups is considered the time from 1725 to 1862 - approximately 37 years. In 1725, Peter I died, without transferring the throne to anyone, after which a struggle for power began, which was marked by a number of palace coups.
The author of the term "palace coups" is the historian IN. Klyuchevsky. He designated another time period for this phenomenon in Russian history: 1725-1801, since in 1801 the last palace coup in the Russian Empire took place, ending with the death of Paul I and the accession of Alexander I Pavlovich.
To understand the reason for the series of palace coups of the 18th century, one should return to the era of Peter I, or rather, to 1722, when he issued the Decree on the succession to the throne. The decree abolished the custom of transferring the royal throne to direct descendants in the male line and provided for the appointment of an heir to the throne at the will of the monarch. Peter I issued a Decree on the succession to the throne due to the fact that his son, Tsarevich Alexei, was not a supporter of the reforms he was carrying out and grouped the opposition around him. After the death of Alexei in 1718, Peter I was not going to transfer power to his grandson Peter Alekseevich, fearing for the future of his reforms, but he himself did not have time to appoint a successor.
N. Ge "Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich in Peterhof"
After his death, his widow was proclaimed empress Catherine I, which relied on one of the court groups.
Catherine I occupied the Russian throne for a little over two years, she left a will: she appointed Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich as her successor and outlined in detail the order of succession to the throne, and all copies of the Decree on succession to the throne under Peter II Alekseevich were confiscated.
But Peter II died, also without leaving a will and heir, and then the Supreme Privy Council (established in February 1726 with members: Field Marshal His Serene Highness Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, General Admiral Count Fyodor Matveevich Apraksin, State Chancellor Count Gavriil Ivanovich Golovkin, Count Peter Andreevich Tolstoy, Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn, Baron Andrei Ivanovich Osterman, and then Duke Karl Friedrich Holstein - as we can see, almost all the "chicks of Petrov's nest") were elected empress Anna Ioannovna.
Before her death, she appointed her successor John Antonovich, also describing in detail the further line of inheritance.
Deposed John Elizaveta Petrovna relied in substantiating her rights to the throne on the will of Catherine I.
A few years later, her nephew Pyotr Fedorovich was appointed Elizabeth's heir ( Peter III), after the accession to the throne of which his son became the heir PaulI Petrovich.
But soon after that, as a result of the coup, power passed to the wife Peter III Catherine II, referring to the "will of all subjects", while Paul remained the heir, although Catherine, according to a number of data, considered the option of depriving him of the right to inherit.
Having ascended the throne, in 1797, on the day of his coronation, Paul I published the Manifesto on the succession to the throne, compiled by him and his wife Maria Feodorovna during the life of Catherine. According to this manifesto, which canceled Peter's decree, "the heir was determined by the law itself" - Paul's intention was to exclude in the future the situation of removal of legitimate heirs from the throne and the exclusion of arbitrariness.
But the new principles of succession to the throne are still for a long time were not perceived not only by the nobility, but even by members of the imperial family: after the murder of Paul in 1801, his widow Maria Feodorovna, who drafted the Manifesto of Succession with him, cried out: “I want to reign!”. The manifesto of Alexander I on accession to the throne also contained the Petrine wording: “and his Imperial Majesty’s heir, who will be appointed”, despite the fact that, according to the law, Alexander’s heir was his brother Konstantin Pavlovich, who secretly renounced this right, which also contradicted the Manifesto of Paul I.
The Russian succession to the throne stabilized only after the accession to the throne of Nicholas I. Here is such a long preamble. And now in order. So, EkaterinaI, PeterII, Anna Ioannovna, Ioann Antonovich, Elizaveta Petrovna, PeterIII, CatherineII, PavelI…
EkaterinaI
Catherine I. Portrait of an unknown artist
PeterII Alekseevich
Emperor of All Russia, son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and Princess Charlotte-Sophia of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, grandson of Peter I and Evdokia Lopukhina. He was born on October 12, 1715. He lost his mother at the age of 10, and his father fled to Vienna with the serf of his teacher N. Vyazemsky, Efrosinya Fedorovna. Peter I returned the recalcitrant son, forced him to renounce the right to the throne and sentenced him to death. There is a version that Aleksey Petrovich was strangled in Peter and Paul Fortress without waiting for its execution.
Peter I did not care about his grandson, as he assumed in him, as in his son, an opponent of reforms, an adherent of the old Moscow way of life. Little Peter was taught not just “something and somehow”, but also anyone, so he practically did not receive education by the time he ascended the throne.
I. Wedekind "Portrait of Peter II"
But Menshikov had his own plans: he convinced Catherine I in her will to appoint Peter as heir, and after her death he ascended the throne. Menshikov betrothed him to his daughter Maria (Peter was only 12 years old), moved him to his house and in fact began to run the state himself, regardless of the opinion of the Supreme Privy Council. Baron A. Osterman, as well as Academician Goldbach and Archbishop F. Prokopovich, were appointed to train the young emperor. Osterman was a clever diplomat and a talented teacher, he captivated Peter with his witty lessons, but at the same time set him up against Menshikov (the struggle for power in a different version! Osterman “put” on Dolgoruky: a foreigner in Russia, albeit crowned with the glory of a skilled diplomat, can manage its policy only in close alliance with the Russians). It all ended with the fact that Peter II removed Menshikov from power, taking advantage of his illness, deprived him of his ranks and fortune, and exiled him with his family, first to the Ryazan province, and then to Berezov, Tobolsk province.
So, the mighty Menshikov fell, but the struggle for power continued - now, as a result of intrigues, the princes Dolgoruky get the championship, who involve Peter in a wild life, revelry, and, having learned about his passion for hunting, take him away from the capital for many weeks.
On February 24, 1728, the coronation of Peter II takes place, but he is still far from state affairs. Dolgoruky betrothed him to Princess Ekaterina Dolgoruky, the wedding was scheduled for January 19, 1730, but he caught a cold, fell ill with smallpox and died on the morning of the proposed wedding, he was only 15 years old. So the Romanov family was cut off in the male line.
What can be said about the personality of Peter II? Let's listen to the historian N. Kostomarov: “Peter II did not reach the age when a person's personality is determined. Although contemporaries praised his abilities, natural mind and kind heart, but these were only hopes for a good future. His behavior did not give the right to expect from him in time a good ruler of the state. He not only disliked teaching and deeds, but hated both; nothing fascinated him in the state sphere; he was completely absorbed in fun, being all the time under someone's influence.
During his reign, the Supreme Privy Council was mainly in power.
Board results: decrees on streamlining the collection of poll tax from the population (1727); restoration of the hetman's power in Little Russia; promulgation of the Bill Charter; ratified a trade agreement with China.
Anna Ioannovna
L. Caravak "Portrait of Anna Ioannovna"
After the untimely death of Peter II, the issue of succession to the throne is again on the agenda. There was an attempt to enthrone the bride of Peter II, Catherine Dolgoruky, but she was unsuccessful. Then the Golitsyns, rivals of the Dolgoruky, put forward their own candidate - the niece of Peter I, Anna of Kurland. But Anna came to power by signing the terms. What is it - the "conditions" (conditions) of Anna Ioannovna?
This is an act that was drawn up by the members of the Supreme Privy Council and which Anna Ioannovna had to fulfill: not to marry, not to appoint an heir, not to have the right to declare war and conclude peace, introduce new taxes, reward and punish subordinate high officials. The main author of the conditions was Dmitry Golitsyn, but the document, drawn up immediately after the death of Peter II, was read out only on February 2, 1730, so the bulk of the nobility could only guess about its content and be content with rumors and assumptions. When the conditions were made public, there was a split among the nobility. On January 25, Anna signed the conditions proposed to her, but when she arrived in Moscow, she accepted a deputation of opposition nobles, concerned about the strengthening of the power of the Supreme Privy Council, and with the help of officers of the guards regiments, on February 28, 1730, she swore the nobility as a Russian autocrat, and also publicly refused from conditions. On March 4, she abolishes the Supreme Privy Council, and on April 28 she solemnly crowns herself and appoints her favorite E. Biron as chief chamberlain. The era of Bironovism begins.
A few words about the personality of Anna Ioannovna.
She was born on January 28, 1693, was the fourth daughter of Tsar Ivan V (brother and co-ruler of Peter I) and Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna Saltykova, granddaughter of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Raised in an extremely adverse environment: her father was a weak-minded man, and she did not get along with her mother from the very beginning early childhood. Anna was haughty and not of a high mind. Her teachers could not even teach the girl to write correctly, but she achieved "bodily well-being." Peter I, guided by political interests, married his niece to the Duke of Courland Friedrich Wilhelm, the nephew of the Prussian king. Their marriage took place on October 31, 1710 in St. Petersburg, in the palace of Prince Menshikov, and after that the couple spent a long time in feasts in the capital of Russia. But, as soon as he left St. Petersburg for his possessions at the beginning of 1711, Friedrich-Wilhelm died on the way to Mitava - as they suspected, due to immoderate excesses. So, not having time to be a wife, Anna becomes a widow and moves to her mother in the village of Izmailovo near Moscow, and then to St. Petersburg. But in 1716, by order of Peter I, she left for permanent residence in Courland.
And now she is the All-Russian Empress. Her reign, according to the historian V. Klyuchevsky, “is one of the darkest pages of our empire, and the most dark spot on it is the Empress herself. Tall and obese, with a face more masculine than feminine, callous by nature and even more hardened during her early widowhood amid diplomatic intrigues and court adventures in Courland, she brought to Moscow an evil and poorly educated mind with a fierce thirst for belated pleasures and entertainment. Her courtyard was full of luxury and bad taste and was filled with crowds of jesters, tricksters, buffoons, storytellers ... Lazhechnikov tells about her "amusements" in the book "Ice House". She loved horseback riding and hunting, in Peterhof in her room there were always loaded guns ready for shooting from the window at flying birds, and in the Winter Palace they specially arranged an arena for her, where they drove wild animals, which she shot.
She was completely unprepared to govern the state, besides, she did not have the slightest desire to govern it. But she surrounded herself with foreigners completely dependent on her, who, according to V. Klyuchevsky, "fell down into Russia, like cheese from a holey bag, stuck around the courtyard, sat down on the throne, climbed into all profitable places in management."
Portrait of E. Biron. Unknown artist
All affairs under Anna Ioannovna were run by her favorite E. Biron. The cabinet of ministers created by Osterman was subordinate to him. The army was commanded by Munnich and Lassi, and the yard was commanded by the bribe taker and passionate gambler Count Levenvold. In April 1731, a secret investigative office(torture chamber), which supported the authorities with denunciations and torture.
Board results: the position of the nobility was significantly facilitated - they were assigned the exclusive right to own peasants; military service lasted 25 years, and by a manifesto of 1736, one of the sons, at the request of his father, was allowed to stay at home to manage the household and train him in order to be fit for civil service.
In 1731, the law on single inheritance was repealed.
In 1732 the first cadet corps for the education of the nobility.
The subjugation of Poland continued: the Russian army under the command of Minich took Danzig, while losing more than 8 thousand of our soldiers.
In 1736-1740. there was a war with Turkey. The reason for it was the constant raids of the Crimean Tatars. As a result of the campaigns of Lassi, who took Azov in 1739, and Minikh, who captured Perekop and Ochakov in 1736, won a victory at Stauchany in 1739, after which Moldavia accepted Russian citizenship, the Belgrade peace was concluded. As a result of all these military operations, Russia lost about 100 thousand people, but still did not have the right to keep a navy in the Black Sea, and could only use Turkish ships for trade.
To keep the royal court in luxury, it was necessary to introduce raids, extortionate expeditions. Many representatives of ancient noble families were executed or sent into exile: Dolgorukovs, Golitsyns, Yusupovs and others. Chancellor A.P. Volynsky, together with like-minded people, in 1739 drew up a "Project for the Correction of State Affairs", which contained demands for the protection of the Russian nobility from the dominance of foreigners. According to Volynsky, the reign in Russian Empire should be monarchical with broad participation of the nobility as the leading class in the state. The next governmental instance after the monarch should be the senate (as it was under Peter the Great); then comes the lower government, from representatives of the lower and middle nobility. Estates: spiritual, urban and peasant - received, according to Volynsky's project, significant privileges and rights. All were required to be literate, and the clergy and nobility were required to be more educated, the hotbeds of which were to serve as academies and universities. Many reforms were also proposed to improve justice, finance, trade, etc. For this they paid with execution. Moreover, Volynsky was sentenced to a very cruel execution: impaled alive, having previously cut out his tongue; to quarter his like-minded people and then cut off their heads; confiscate the estates and send Volynsky's two daughters and son into eternal exile. But then the sentence was reduced: three were beheaded, and the rest were exiled.
Shortly before her death, Anna Ioannovna found out that her niece Anna Leopoldovna had a son, and declared the two-month-old baby Ivan Antonovich the heir to the throne, and before he came of age, she appointed E. Biron as regent, who at the same time received “power and authority to manage all state affairs as internal, as well as foreign ones.
IvanVI Antonovich: Biron's regency - Minich's coup
Ivan VI Antonovich and Anna Leopoldovna
Biron's regency lasted about three weeks. Having received the right to regency, Biron continues to fight with Munnich, and in addition, spoils relations with Anna Leopoldovna and her husband Anton Ulrich. On the night of November 7-8, 1740, another palace coup took place, organized by Munnich. Biron was arrested and sent into exile in the province of Tobolsk, and the regency passed to Anna Leopoldovna. She recognized herself as the ruler, but did not take an actual part in state affairs. According to contemporaries, "... she was not stupid, but she was disgusted with any serious occupation." Anna Leopoldovna constantly quarreled and did not speak to her husband for weeks, who, in her opinion, “had a good heart, but no mind.” Disagreements between spouses naturally created conditions for court intrigues in the struggle for power. Taking advantage of the carelessness of Anna Leopoldovna and the dissatisfaction of Russian society with the continued German dominance, Elizaveta Petrovna enters the game. With the help of the guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment devoted to her, she arrested Anna Leopoldovna along with her family and decided to send them abroad. But the chamber-page A. Turchaninov made an attempt to make a counter-coup in favor of Ivan VI, and then Elizaveta Petrovna changed her mind: she arrested the entire family of Anna Leopoldovna and sent him to Ranenburg (near Ryazan). In 1744, they were taken to Kholmogory, and at the direction of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, Ivan VI was isolated from his family and, 12 years later, secretly transferred to Shlisselburg, where he was kept in solitary confinement under the name of a "famous prisoner."
In 1762, Peter III secretly examined former emperor. He disguised himself as an officer and entered the casemates where the prince was kept. He saw “a rather tolerable dwelling, and sparsely furnished with the poorest furniture. The prince's clothes were also very poor. He was completely clueless and spoke incoherently. Either he claimed that he was Emperor John, then he assured that the emperor was no more in the world, and his spirit passed into him ... ".
Under Catherine II, his guards were instructed to persuade the prince to monasticism, but in case of danger, "kill the prisoner, and not give the living into the hands of anyone." Lieutenant V. Mirovich, who learned the secret of the secret prisoner, tried to free Ivan Antonovich and proclaim him emperor. But the guards followed the instructions. The body of Ivan VI was exhibited for a week in Shlisselburg fortress"for the news and worship of the people", and then buried in Tikhvin in the Bogoroditsky Monastery.
Anna Leopoldovna died in 1747 from childbed fever, and Catherine II allowed Anton Ulrich to leave for her homeland, since he did not pose a danger to her, not being a member of the Romanov family. But he refused the offer and stayed with the children in Kholmogory. But their fate is sad: Catherine II, after strengthening the dynasty with the birth of two grandchildren, allowed the children of Anna Leopoldovna to move to her aunt, the dowager queen of Denmark and Norway. But, as N. Eidelman writes, “ironically, they lived in their homeland - in prison, and then abroad - in freedom. But they yearned for that prison in their homeland, not knowing any language other than Russian.”
Empress Elizabeth Petrovna
S. van Loo "Portrait of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna"
PeterIII Fedorovich
A.K. Pfantzelt "Portrait of Peter III"
Read about it on our website:.
EkaterinaII Alekseevna the Great
A. Antropov "Catherine II the Great"
Empress of All Russia. Before the adoption of Orthodoxy - Princess Sophia-Frederica-Augusta. She was born in Stettin, where her father, Christian-August, Duke of Anhalt-Zerbst-Bernburg, at that time served as a major general in the Prussian army. Her mother, Johanna Elisabeth, for some reason disliked the girl, so Sophia (Fike, as her family called her) lived in Hamburg with her grandmother from early childhood. She received a mediocre upbringing, tk. the family was in constant need, its teachers were random people. The girl did not stand out for any talents, except for a penchant for command and for boyish games. Fike was secretive and prudent from childhood. By a happy coincidence, during a trip to Russia in 1744, at the invitation of Elizabeth Petrovna, she became the bride of the future Russian Tsar Peter III Fedorovich.
Catherine already in 1756 was planning her future seizure of power. During a serious and prolonged illness of Elizabeth Petrovna, the Grand Duchess made it clear to her "English comrade" H. Williams that one should only wait for the death of the Empress. But Elizabeth Petrovna died only in 1761, and her legitimate heir, Peter III, husband of Catherine II, ascended the throne.
Teachers of the Russian language and the Law of God were assigned to the princess, she showed enviable perseverance in learning in order to prove her love for a foreign country and adapt to a new life. But the first years of her life in Russia were very difficult, besides, she experienced neglect from her husband and courtiers. But the desire to become a Russian empress outweighed the bitterness of trials. She adapted to the tastes of the Russian court, only one thing was missing - an heir. And that is exactly what was expected of her. After two unsuccessful pregnancies she finally gave birth to a son, the future Emperor Paul I. But by order of Elizabeth Petrovna, he was immediately separated from his mother, showing for the first time only after 40 days. Elizaveta Petrovna herself raised her grandson, and Catherine took up self-education: she read a lot, and not only novels - her interests included historians and philosophers: Tacitus, Montesquieu, Voltaire, etc. Thanks to her diligence and perseverance, she was able to achieve respect for herself, with her not only well-known Russian politicians, but also foreign ambassadors began to be considered. In 1761, her husband, Peter III, ascended the throne, but he was unpopular in society, and then Catherine, with the help of the guardsmen of the Izmailovsky, Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments, overthrew her husband from the throne in 1762. She also stopped attempts to appoint her regent under her son Pavel , which N. Panin and E. Dashkova sought, and got rid of Ivan VI. Read more about the reign of Catherine II on our website:
Known as an enlightened queen, Catherine II was unable to achieve love and understanding from her own son. In 1794, despite the opposition of the courtiers, she decided to remove Paul from the throne in favor of her beloved grandson Alexander. But a sudden death in 1796 prevented her from achieving what she wanted.
Emperor of All Russia PavelI Petrovich
S. Schukin "Portrait of Emperor Paul I"
The overexertion of the country's forces during the years of Peter the Great's reforms, the destruction of traditions, and the violent methods of reform caused an ambiguous attitude of various circles of Russian society towards the Peter's heritage and created the conditions for political instability.
From 1725, after the death of Peter I and until Catherine II came to power in 1762, six monarchs and many political forces behind them. This change did not always take place in a peaceful and legal way, which is why this period of V.O. Klyuchevsky is not entirely accurate, but figuratively and aptly named era of palace revolutions.
2. prerequisites for palace coups.
2.1. Contradictions between various noble factions in relation to the Peter's heritage. It would be a simplification to consider that the split occurred along the lines of acceptance and rejection of reforms. Both the so-called new nobility, which had come to the fore in the years of Peter the Great thanks to their service zeal, and the aristocratic party tried to soften the course of reforms, hoping in one form or another to give a respite to society, and first of all, to themselves. But each of these groups defended its narrow class interests and privileges, which created a fertile ground for internal political struggle.
2.2. An intense struggle between various factions for power, which most often boiled down to the nomination and support of one or another candidate for the throne.
2.3. Active position of the guard, which Peter brought up as a privileged support of autocracy, which, moreover, took upon itself the right to control the conformity of the personality and policy of the monarch to the legacy that her beloved emperor left.
2.4. The passivity of the masses, absolutely far from political life capital Cities.
- Exacerbation of the problem of succession to the throne in connection with the adoption of the Decree of 1722, which broke the traditional mechanism for the transfer of power.
- spiritual atmosphere , emerging as a result of the emancipation of the noble consciousness from traditional norms of behavior and morality, pushed for an active, often unprincipled political activity, instilled hope in good luck and an all-powerful chance that opens the way to power and wealth.
3. The struggle for power after the death of Peter I
3.1. Catherine I. Dying, Peter did not leave an heir, having only managed to write with a weakening hand, according to one of the versions,: Give everything .... The opinion of the leaders about his successor was divided. Chicks of Petrov's nest (A.D. Menshikov, P.A. Tolstoy, I.I. Buturlin, P.I. Yaguzhinsky etc.) advocated for his second wife Catherine, and representatives of the noble nobility (D.M. Golitsyn, V.V. Dolgoruky and others) defended the candidacy of their grandson - Peter Alekseevich. The outcome of the dispute was decided by the guards, who supported the empress.
accession Catherine I(1725-1727) led to a sharp strengthening of the position of Menshikov, who became the de facto ruler of the country. Attempts to somewhat curb his lust for power and greed with the help of the Supreme Privy Council (VTS) created under the Empress, to which the first three colleges, as well as the Senate, were subordinate, did not lead to anything. Moreover, temporary worker decided to strengthen his position through the marriage of his daughter with the young grandson of Peter. P. Tolstoy, who opposed this plan, ended up in prison.
3.2. Peter II. In May 1727, Catherine died and, according to her will, 12-year-old Peter II (1727-1730) became emperor under the regency of the VTS. Menshikov's influence at court increased and he even received the coveted rank of generalissimo. But, pushing away old allies and not acquiring new ones among the noble nobility, he soon lost influence on the young emperor and in September 1727 was arrested and exiled with his whole family to Berezovo, where he soon died.
A significant role in discrediting the personality of Menshikov in the eyes of the young emperor was played by the Dolgoruky, as well as a member of the military-technical cooperation, the tutor of the tsar, nominated to this position by Menshikov himself - A.I. Osterman- a clever diplomat who, depending on the alignment of forces and the political situation, was able to change his views, allies and patrons.
The overthrow of Menshikov was, in essence, an actual palace coup, since:
- the composition of the military-technical cooperation changed, in which aristocratic families began to prevail (Dolgoruky and Golitsyn), and the key role began to play A.I. Osterman;
- the regency of military-technical cooperation was put an end to, Peter I1 declared himself a full-fledged ruler, who was surrounded by new favorites;
A course has been outlined aimed at correcting the reforms of Peter I.
Soon the court left St. Petersburg and moved to Moscow, which attracted the emperor by the presence of richer hunting grounds. The sister of the tsar's favorite, Ekaterina Dolgorukaya, was betrothed to Peter 11, but while preparing for the wedding, he died of smallpox. And again the question of the heir to the throne arose, because. with the death of Peter I1, the male line of the Romanovs came to an end, and he did not have time to appoint a successor.
4. The trick of the leaders
4.1. Reasons for inviting the Duchess of Courland. In the conditions of a political crisis and timelessness, the military-technical cooperation, which by that time consisted of 8 people (5 seats belonged to the Dolgoruky and Golitsyn), decided to invite the niece of Peter I, the Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna, to the throne because:
Back in 1710, she was married off by Peter to the Duke of Courland, widowed early, lived in cramped material conditions, largely at the expense of the Russian government;
She had no supporters and no connections in Russia;
As a result, this made it possible, beckoning with an invitation to the brilliant St. Petersburg throne, to impose their own conditions and get her consent to limit the power of the monarch.
4.2. Conditions. D.M. Golitsyn came up with the initiative to draw up really limited autocracy conditions, according to which:
- Anna undertook to rule together with the military-technical cooperation, which actually turned into supreme body governing the country;
Without the approval of the MTC, she could not legislate, impose taxes, dispose of the treasury, declare war or make peace;
The empress did not have the right to grant estates and ranks above the rank of colonel, to deprive estates without trial;
The Guard was subordinate to the military-technical cooperation;
Anna undertook not to marry and not to appoint an heir, but in case of non-fulfillment of any of these conditions, she was deprived of the Russian crown.
There is no consensus among scientists in assessing the nature and significance of the idea of the leaders. Some see in the conditions a desire to establish, instead of autocracy, an oligarchic form of government that met the interests of a narrow layer of the noble nobility and led Russia back to the era of boyar self-will. Others believe that it was the first constitutional draft to limit the arbitrary power of the despotic state created by Peter, from which all sections of the population, including the aristocracy, suffered, leading to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy.
4.3. New renovation projects. Anna Ioannovna, after meeting in Mitava with V.L. Dolgoruky, sent by the military-technical cooperation for negotiations, accepted these conditions without any hesitation. However, despite the desire of members of the military-technical cooperation to hide their plans, their contents became known to the guards and the bulk nobility .
From this environment, new projects for the political reorganization of Russia began to emerge (the most mature one belonged to the V.N. Tatishchev ), which gave the nobility the right to elect representatives of the highest authorities and expanded the composition of the military-technical cooperation. Specific requirements were also put forward aimed at facilitating the conditions of service of the nobles. D.M. Golitsyn, realizing the danger of isolating the military-technical cooperation, met these wishes and developed a new project, which suggested limiting the autocracy by a system of elected bodies. The highest of them remained the military-technical cooperation of 12 members. Previously, all issues were discussed in the Senate of 30 people, the Chamber of Nobility of 200 ordinary nobles and the Chamber of Citizens, two representatives from each city. In addition, the nobility was exempted from compulsory service.
4.4. The failure of the idea of \u200b\u200bthe leaders and its causes. The supporters of the inviolability of the principle of autocracy, led by Osterman and F. Prokopovich, who attracted the guards, managed to take advantage of the disagreements between the adherents of the constitutional restriction of the monarchy. As a result, having found support, Anna Ioannovna broke the conditions and restored the autocracy in full.
The reasons for the failure were the following factors.
4.4.1. shortsightedness and the selfishness of the majority of members of the military-technical cooperation, who sought to limit the monarchy not for the sake of the interests of the whole country, or even the nobility, but for the sake of preserving and expanding their own privileges.
4.4.2. Inconsistency of actions, political inexperience and mutual suspicion of individual noble groups who acted as supporters of the constitutional order, but were afraid of strengthening military-technical cooperation by their actions.
4.4.3 . The unpreparedness of the bulk of the nobility to radical political change, its low political culture.
4.4.4. Guard position, which, after some hesitation, eventually supported the idea of an unlimited monarchy.
4.4.5 . The foresight and unscrupulousness of Osterman and Prokopovich- leaders of the party of supporters of the preservation of autocracy.
5. Board of Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740)
5.1. noble policy. From the very beginning of her reign, Anna Ioannovna tried to erase even the memory of her condition from the consciousness of her subjects. She liquidated the military-technical cooperation, creating instead the Cabinet of Ministers headed by Osterman. Since 1735, the signature of the 3rd cabinet of ministers, according to her decree, was equated with the signature of the empress. Dolgoruky and Golitsyn were repressed.
Gradually, Anna went to meet the most pressing requirements of the Russian nobility:
Their service life was limited to 25 years;
That part of the Decree on Single Inheritance, which limited the right of the nobles to dispose of the estate when it was inherited, was canceled;
Obtaining an officer's rank was facilitated, for this purpose a cadet noble corps was created, at the end of which an officer's rank was awarded;
It was allowed to enlist the nobles for service from infancy, which gave them the opportunity, upon reaching the age of majority, to receive an officer's rank by length of service.
5.2. Personality of Anna Ioannovna. An accurate description of the personality of the new empress was given by V.O. Klyuchevsky: Tall and corpulent, with a face more masculine than feminine, callous by nature and even more hardened by early widowhood ... among court adventures in Courland, where she was pushed around like a Russian-Prussian-Polish toy, she, already 37 years old, brought to Moscow an evil and poorly educated mind with a fierce thirst for belated pleasures and gross entertainment.
Amusements of Anna Ioannovna cost the treasury very dearly, and although she, unlike Peter, could not stand alcohol, the maintenance of her court cost 5-6 times more. Most of all, she loved to watch jesters, among whom were representatives of the most noble families - Prince M.A. Golitsyn, Count A.P. Apraksin, Prince N.F. Volkonsky. It is possible that in this way Anna continued to take revenge on the aristocracy for her humiliation with conditions, especially since the military-technical cooperation at one time did not allow entry into Russia to her Courland favorite - E. Biron.
5.3. Court intrigues. Not trusting the Russian nobility and not having the desire, and even the ability to delve into state affairs herself, Anna Ioannovna surrounded herself with people from the Baltic states. The key role at court passed into the hands of her favorite E. Biron.
Some historians call the reign of Anna Ioannovna Bironovshchina, believing that its main feature was the dominance of the Germans, who neglected the interests of the country, demonstrated contempt for everything Russian and pursued a policy of arbitrariness in relation to the Russian nobility.
However, the government course was determined by Biron's enemy, A. Osterman, and arbitrariness was rather repaired by representatives of the domestic nobility, headed by the head of the Secret Chancellery, A.I. Ushakov. Yes, and the damage to the treasury of the Russian nobles inflicted no less than foreigners.
Favorite, hoping to weaken the vice-chancellor's influence Osterman, managed to introduce his protege into the Cabinet of Ministers - A. Volynsky. But the new minister began to pursue an independent political course, developed a draft on the amendment of internal state affairs, in which he advocated the further expansion of the privileges of the nobility and raised the issue of the dominance of foreigners. By this he aroused the discontent of Biron, who, having teamed up with Osterman, managed to get Volynsky accused of insulting her imperial majesty and, as a result, bring him to the chopping block in 1740.
5.4. New coup. Soon Anna Ioannovna died, appointing her niece's son as his successor. Anna Leopoldovna, Duchess of Brunswick, baby John Antonovich under Biron's regency.
In the conditions of general discontent of the nobility and especially the guard, which the regent tried to disband, the head of the Military Collegium, Field Marshal Minich made another coup d'état, as a result of which Anna Leopoldovna, who was completely uninterested in state affairs, became regent. But Minich himself, famous for the words: The Russian state has the advantage over others that it is controlled by God himself, otherwise it is impossible to explain how it exists, soon did not calculate his own strength and was retired, missing Osterman in first place.
6. The reign of Elizabeth Petrovna (1741-1761)
6.1. Seizure of power. On November 25, 1741, the daughter of Peter the Great, relying on the support of the guards, carried out another coup d'état and seized power. Features of this coup:
6.1.1. Elizaveta Petrovna had a wide support of ordinary people cities and lower guards(only 17.5% of the 308 guards participants were nobles), who saw in her the daughter of Peter, all the hardships of whose reign had already been forgotten, and her personality and deeds began to be idealized.
6.1.2. The coup of 1741, unlike the others, had patriotic coloring, because was directed against the dominance of foreigners.
6.1.3 . The intervention of foreign diplomacy, who tried to get political and even territorial dividends with her assistance to Elizabeth. But all the hopes of the French ambassador Chétardie and the Swedish ambassador Nolken, in the end, were in vain. The implementation of the coup was accelerated by the fact that the ruler Anna Leopoldovna became aware of Elizabeth's meetings with foreign ambassadors, and the threat of forcible tonsure as a nun loomed over the lover of balls and entertainment.
6.2. Domestic politics . Having seized power, Elizaveta Petrovna proclaimed a return to her father's politics, but it was hardly possible for her to rise to such a level. She managed to repeat the era of the reign of the great emperor rather in form than in spirit.
6.2.1. Transformations. Elizabeth began by restoring the institutions created by Peter I and their status. By abolishing Cabinet of Ministers, returned to the Senate the importance of the highest state body, restored the Berg - and Manufacture College.
Under Elizabeth, the German favorites were replaced by Russian and Ukrainian nobles, who were more interested in the affairs of the country. So with the active assistance of her young favorite I.I. Shuvalova was opened in 1755 Moscow University. At the initiative of his cousin, from the late 1740s. de facto head of government P.I. Shuvalova, in 1753 a decree was issued on the destruction of internal customs and petty fees, which gave impetus to the development of trade and the formation of an internal all-Russian market. By decree of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1744, the death penalty was actually abolished in Russia.
6.2.2. At the same time, its social policy was aimed at the transformation of the nobility from the service to the privileged class and fortification. She instilled luxury in every possible way, which led to a sharp increase in the expenses of the nobles for themselves and the maintenance of their court.
6.2.3. Strengthening fortresses. These expenses fell on the shoulders of the peasants, who in the era of Elizabeth finally turned into baptized property, which, without the slightest remorse, could be sold, exchanged for a thoroughbred dog, etc. , as a result of which many Russian nobles, who spoke French, not only ceased to understand their peasants, but also to see people in them. The strengthening of serfdom was expressed in the landlords obtaining the right to sell their peasants as recruits (1747), and also to exile them without trial to Siberia (1760).
6.3. Foreign policy Elizabeth Petrovna, like the internal one, took into account national interests to a greater extent. In 1756, Russia, on the side of a coalition of Austria, France, Sweden and Saxony, entered the war with Prussia, supported by England. Russian participation in Seven Years' War 1756-1763 put the army Frederick II to the brink of disaster.
In August 1757, in the battle of Gross-Egersdorf, the Russian army of S.F. Apraksina as a result of the successful actions of the detachment of the general P.A. Rumyantsev won the first victory. In August 1758, General V.V. Fermor at Zorndorf, having suffered significant losses, managed to achieve a draw with the army of Frederick, and in August 1759, with Kunersdorf troops under the leadership of the new commander - P.S. Saltykov defeated her.
In the autumn of 1760, Russian-Austrian troops captured Berlin, and only the death of Elizaveta Petrovna on December 25, 1761 saved Prussia from complete catastrophe. Her heir, Peter 111, who idolized Frederick 11, left the coalition and, having concluded a peace treaty with him, returned to Prussia everything lost in the war.
6.4. Board results. Despite the fact that Elizaveta Petrovna, unlike her father, used her unlimited power not in the interests of the state, but to satisfy her own needs and whims (after her death, 15 thousand dresses remained), she voluntarily or unwittingly prepared the country and society for the next era transformations. During the 20 years of her reign, the country managed to rest and accumulate strength for a new breakthrough, which came in the era of Catherine II.
7. The reign of Peter I11
7.1. Emperor's personality. Elizaveta Petrovna's nephew, Peter 111 (the son of Anna's elder sister and the Duke of Holstein) was born in Holstein and from childhood was brought up in hostility to everything Russian and reverence for German. By 1742 he was an orphan. The childless Elizabeth invited him to Russia and soon appointed him her heir. In 1745 he was married to an unfamiliar and unloved A Princess Sophia Frederick Augusta of Nhalt-Zerbst(in Orthodoxy named Ekaterina Alekseevna).
The heir has not yet outlived his childhood, continuing to play tin soldiers, while Catherine was actively engaged in self-education and longed for love and power.
7.2. Contradictions of the political course. After the death of Elizabeth, Peter turned against himself the nobility and the guards with his pro-German sympathies, unbalanced behavior, the signing of peace with Frederick 11, whom he idolized, the introduction of Prussian uniforms and plans to send the guards to fight for the interests of Holstein in Denmark. These measures showed that he did not know, and most importantly, did not want to know the country he headed.
At the same time, on February 18, 1762, he signed a manifesto on the granting of liberty and freedom to all Russian nobility, freeing the nobles from compulsory service, abolishing corporal punishment for them and turning the support of autocracy into a truly privileged class. Then the terrifying Secret Investigative Office was abolished. He stopped the persecution of the Old Believers and decided on the secularization (alienation in favor of the state) of church and monastery lands, prepared a decree on the equalization of all religions. All these measures met the objective needs of Russia's development and reflected the interests of the nobility.
7.3. Reasons for the coup. But his personal behavior, indifference and even dislike for Russia, mistakes in foreign policy and an insulting attitude towards his wife, who managed to gain respect from the nobility and the guards, created the preconditions for his overthrow. Preparing the coup, Catherine was guided not only by political pride, a thirst for power and the instinct of self-preservation, but also by the desire to serve her new homeland.
8. Results
Palace coups did not entail changes in the political, and even more so social system society and were reduced to the struggle for power of various noble groups pursuing their own, most often selfish interests. At the same time, the specific policy of each of the six monarchs had its own characteristics, sometimes important for the country. In general, socio-economic stabilization and foreign policy successes achieved during the reign of Elizabeth created the conditions for more accelerated development and new breakthroughs in foreign policy that would occur under Catherine 11.
Introduction
The theme of our last work was the period of the reign of Peter II (1727-1730). The years of his reign fall on hard times - the period of "Palace coups". While working on the last topic, I met many interesting facts associated with this era, and therefore, in my essay today, I decided to pay attention not only to individuals, but to the entire era as a whole. In my work, I considered the opinions of various historical authors, all of whom characterize this era in different ways and highlight the various reasons for its existence.
During this period, from 1725 to 1762, six monarchs changed in Russia: Catherine I, Peter II, Anna Ioannovna, Ivan VI Antonovich, Elizabeth Petrovna and Peter III - they all came to power as a result of coups, which in turn were organized the strongest rulers of that time with significant support from the guards. In those days, the most important role in the establishment of power in the Russian Empire was played not by the reigning persons themselves, but by their all-powerful favorites, who questioned the legacy of Peter I. The capital was transferred from St. Petersburg to Moscow Russian state. The authorities created by the first Russian emperor were abolished or lost their powers.
The situation in the country was stabilized only under Catherine II (1762-1796), who came to power as a result of another and this time the last palace coup.
Part 1. Chronology of Palace coups .
Catherine I
It all started after the death of Peter I. The day before his death, being seriously ill, Peter demanded a pen and paper and drew a few obscure words, of which only two were able to make out: "Give everything ...". Peter ordered to call his daughter, Princess Anna, to dictate to her, but he could not say anything. Peter never expressed his will for an heir. I had to think about who to replace the deceased emperor.
Peter left behind his wife, grandson of Peter Alekseevich, two daughters and two nieces. His wife Ekaterina Alekseevna and grandson Pyotr Alekseevich were considered the closest candidates, but the votes of the nobles were divided: some wanted to proclaim Catherine the Empress, others saw Peter as the rightful heir. For Catherine, a foreigner and an unborn woman, spoke out the staff of Peter Ι, who stood for the new order, because thanks to Peter they rose to such public height. In the accession of Catherine, they saw a guarantee that the order and social position established by Peter would survive. In Tsarevich Peter, they saw the son of that Tsarevich Alexei, who was sentenced to death; some of them, with the accession of Peter, could be afraid of revenge for their father and a return to the old social order, which was unpleasant for them. But the fact of the decree of Peter Ι on the succession to the throne, created in 1722, suggested the intention of Peter the Great to transfer the throne not to his grandson, but to someone else. Moreover, some indirect data could be considered as evidence of the greatest right to power of the second wife of the emperor - Ekaterina Alekseevna. In addition, the guards were devoted to the dying emperor to adoration, she transferred this affection to Catherine, who was constantly seen with her husband, and who knew how, in a sense, to seem like a real colonel. And on January 25, 1725, Catherine Ι, on the initiative of A.D. Menshikov, Yaguzhinsky, Tolstoy and with the support of the guards, was elevated to the throne. The Manifesto, published on January 31, 1725, stated that “since the Emperor Peter the Great, who has now died, has honored his wife with the crown, the Senate, the Synod and the generals, in accordance with the orders of both spiritual and military and civil of any rank and dignity, should serve people Great Sovereign Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna. The published Manifesto violated the Law on Succession approved by Peter the Great. And this had further disastrous consequences, since it was a precedent for the election of the emperor by an arbitrary group of senior officials at their own discretion. Despite all these violations, on May 7, 1725, Catherine, the first Empress of Russia, was crowned on the Russian throne in the Assumption Cathedral.
The beginning of Catherine's reign was marked by favors: the reduction of taxes levied on the people, the forgiveness of arrears and penalty money, the pardon of convicts, except for state criminals and murderers. Catherine, having taken the throne, declared that she would firmly continue the course of her late husband. Her decree dated February 26, 1725 said: "We wish to complete all the deeds conceived by the labors of the Emperor, with the help of God." The sincerity of her initial intentions can be evidenced by her concern for the speedy equipment of Bering's expedition to the shores of Kamchatka, the opening of the Academy of Sciences, and the establishment of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.
But Empress Catherine was destined to reign for only two years. During this period, the favorite of Peter the Great, His Serene Highness Prince Menshikov, played the main role in governing the state.
A.D. Menshikov.
The favorite of the energetic young Tsar Peter I, Franz Lefort, took the broken boy Aleksashka Menshikov, a former pie dealer on the Moscow streets, as his servant, and after a few years of service he himself became the favorite of the great Peter. By 1702, Menshikov received the title of count, became the governor of Ingermanland, supervised the construction of St. Petersburg and Kronstadt, and in 1704 he was promoted to major general. Alexander Danilovich honestly justified the honors and titles received from Peter by deeds, especially military ones. For his skillful actions near Poltava, Peter Ι promoted Menshikov to field marshals. And in 1718 he became president of the Military Collegium. His Serene Highness Prince was a holder of the highest Russian and European orders. But at the same time, Menshikov showed such negative sides its nature as bribery, dubious entrepreneurship and greed. Only the intercession of Peter I and his wife Catherine saved the Most Serene Prince from a shameful trial.
Menshikov occupied a special place in the ruling hierarchy of the Russian state. During the two reigns - Peter Ι and Catherine Ι and at the beginning of the reign of Peter ΙΙ. Thanks to many years of experience, Menshikov was able to brilliantly implement plans to preserve his power.
On January 27, 1726, he handed over to the Empress a note on the need to establish a Supreme Privy Council to resolve various kinds of state affairs. Catherine the First approved the composition of the Council, whose members the prince appointed himself. Since February 8, 1726, the Supreme Privy Council, consisting of Prince A.D. Menshikov, Count G.I. Golovkin, Count F.M. Apraksin, Count P.A. Tolstoy, Prince D.I. Golitsyn, Baron A.I. Osterman, Duke of Holstein, went to work. The Senate became of secondary importance. Now all issues of domestic and foreign policy were decided by Menshikov. He became the de facto ruler of the state.
Catherine was very kind to her subjects, she loved to attend regimental exercises and parades, willingly helped those in need, but state affairs were in decline.
The Empress was very careless about her health. And on the evening of May 6, 1727, a rumor about the death of the Empress spread throughout St. Petersburg. Indeed, soon the regiments stretched along the streets of the capital, heading towards the Winter Palace.
On May 6, 1727, in the evening in St. Petersburg, a drawn-out chime of the clock on the Peter and Paul Fortress was heard, counting the last hour in the life of Catherine Ι. They struck nine and their chimes played a sad tune. The reign of the widow of Peter Ι ended at the age of 44.
Peter II
The next day, May 7, at the appointed time, all those persons from the military and civil ranks who had been convened by order of Menshikov gathered in the palace. “Open this package and read loudly the paper that is enclosed in it,” he ordered G.A. Golovkin. The chancellor carried out the order of the prince and began to read the will of the empress.
Everyone believed that the empress would appoint Anna or Elizabeth as her successor, and therefore they were in no hurry to show signs special attention neither the Grand Duke nor his sister. Pyotr Alekseevich himself did not expect anything good for himself. But in spite of everything, the will indicated that the Empress would transfer the throne to Peter II, the grandson of Peter the Great.
At the beginning of his reign, the young emperor completely submitted to the influence of Prince Menshikov, who moved him to his palace, under the pretext that the impressionable boy did not need to see the funeral of the empress. Menshikov tried to shield the boy from various extraneous influences. Instead of the previous teachers, Osterman was appointed educator. His lessons pleased the young emperor and were more like friendly conversations, which greatly fascinated the student. In the power of new feelings, the emperor became close friends with Prince Ivan Dolgoruky, who was seven years older than him and soon addicted Peter to many childish amusements, but, despite this, he was appointed the second tutor to young Peter.
Eighteen days after the death of Catherine, on May 25, 1727, in a solemn ceremony, in front of the Supreme Privy Council and the entire court, Archbishop Feofan Prokopovich performed the betrothal of the emperor to Princess Maria Alexandrovna, Menshikov's eldest daughter. For Menshikov, everything turned out for the best, but the proud temporary worker could not even think that clouds were gathering over his head.
His dynastic plans prompted his enemies in the Supreme Privy Council - Prince Golitsyn and the Duke of Holstein to fight more actively against Menshikov and his monopoly on supreme power. As a result of their activities, Vice-Chancellor A.N. Osterman left the Menshikov camp, G.I. Golovkin had doubts, and there were no hopes for General Admiral F.M. Apraksin. And Menshikov's table comrades - General A.Ya. Volkov, A.I. Shakhovsky, secret adviser A.V. Makarov - did not play a big role in court politics. Yes, and the emperor Peter ΙΙ himself began to get bored with the constant training sessions and the severity of Menshikov.
(January 28, 1725) began a long and cruel struggle of noble groups for power and the enthronement of their protege. Menshikov had the greatest influence at that time. It was he who in 1725 enthroned Catherine 1 (the widow of Peter 1). She, in order to strengthen her power and her position, established the Supreme Privy Council. It included many faithful associates of Peter (Apraksin, Tolstoy, Glytsin, and, of course, Menshikov). Until 1730, all important state affairs were decided by the secret council.
The Empress named her heir in the will of Peter 2, the grandson of Peter the Great, who at that time was 12 years old. The sympathies of the young emperor managed to win the Golitsins. And, in the end, Menshikov and his entire family were exiled. The Supreme Privy Council included representatives of two more noble families - the Golitsins and Dolgorukis. The power of the Privy Council was further strengthened. In fact, it was he who ruled the country.
Peter 2 died early - from smallpox. And in 1730 Anna Ioannovna ascended the throne. Initially, she agreed to the demand of the Supreme Privy Council to limit her power and signed the relevant papers. But, after accession to the throne, the “conditions” were broken, and the Supreme Privy Council was dissolved. Its members were persecuted. The German Biron ruled the country at that time - the favorite of the Empress. The next decade was marked by the plundering of the country's treasury and the dominance of foreigners. Anna Ioannovna declared her sister's three-month-old grandson heir to the throne. Biron became regent under him. Soon the regency passed to the baby's mother, Anna Leopoldovna. But, she did not manage to stay in power for a long time. On the night of November 24-25, 1741, Elizaveta Petrovna (1741 - 1761), with the support of the guards, carried out a coup d'état. The legitimate emperor was exiled to Siberia, as well as influential foreigners (Minnich, Osterman). At the age of 23, John was killed while trying to free himself. The country for some time returned to the orders of Peter 1. Customs duties were abolished, and the rights of the nobility were increased. The landowners were given the right to sell their peasants as recruits.
In 1756 the Seven Years' War began. Russia, in alliance with Austria, Sweden and France, opposed Prussia. The 100,000-strong Russian army entered the war and was able to inflict a crushing defeat on the enemy. In 1758, Koenigsberg was taken, in the main battle near Zorndorf, the army of Friedrich 2 was actually destroyed. But, Prussia was saved by the death of Elizabeth Petrovna on December 25, 1761.
Peter 3 (her nephew) sincerely admired Frederick and, having returned all the conquered lands to Prussia, he made peace and a military alliance with him. This, coupled with disdain Orthodox traditions and customs, led to dissatisfaction with his rule from all walks of life. On the contrary, his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna (Sofia Frederica Augusta) became more and more popular. Supported by the guardsmen of the Semenovsky and Izmailovsky regiments, she seized power and forced her husband to sign a renunciation. Shortly thereafter, Peter 3 was killed. Thus ended the era of palace coups, briefly described in this article. The country entered the golden age of Catherine's reign.
After his death in 1725, the reigning The house broke up into two lines - imperial and royal.
According to the figurative expression of V.O. Klyuchevsky, the period from the death of Peter I to the accession of Catherine II was called the “epoch of palace coups”: during this time, six monarchs occupied the Russian throne, receiving it as a result of complex palace intrigues or coups with the direct participation of the guard (a privileged part of the army created by Peter I) .
In 1722, Peter I abolished the order of succession to the throne by will or conciliar appointment, replacing it with a personal appointment. But he did not have time to appoint a successor. After his death, representatives of the clan nobility (Golitsyn, Dolgoruky), who recognized Prince Peter as the heir, clashed with the bureaucratic authorities, who staked on Catherine I, and won this fight with the help of the guards regiments. Since that time, the noble guards regiments have become the main weapon of struggle between rival factions. All persons who came to the throne through a palace coup could not do without relying on the guards.
Under these conditions, there could be no question of continuing major reforms. AD Menshikov became the de facto ruler of the country. To help the empress in governing the country, the Supreme Privy Council was created - the highest government agency, the composition of which reflected the compromise of competing political forces. It included A. D. Menshikov, F. M. Apraksin, G. I. Golovkin, P. A. Tolstoy, A. I. Osterman, D. M. Golitsyn and Holstein Duke Karl Friedrich, the husband of Peter’s eldest daughter. Most turned out to be from the inner circle of Peter I.
After the death of Catherine I in 1727, according to her will, the grandson of Peter I, Peter II, was proclaimed emperor, and the functions of regent were transferred to the Supreme Privy Council, in fact, to A.D. Menshikov.
Menshikov's policy caused discontent even among his recent allies. In September 1727 he was arrested and exiled to distant Berezov, where he soon died. Having achieved the predominant influence in the Supreme Privy Council, the aristocratic group seeks to revise the transformations and, if possible, restore the order that existed in Russia before they were carried out.
In January 1730, the young emperor caught a cold during another hunt and died suddenly. During the discussion of possible candidates for the throne, the choice fell on the Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna, the daughter of Peter I's brother, Ivan Alekseevich. V deep secret conditions were drawn up, i.e. conditions for Anna Ioannovna's accession to the throne. Prince Golitsyn suggested: “We ought to relieve ourselves ... in order to add willpower. We should send items to Her Majesty.”
Conditions limited the autocracy, but not in the interests of the entire nobility, but in favor of its aristocratic elite of eight people, who sat in the Supreme Privy Council. According to the conditions, the right to conclude peace, establish new taxes, promote promotion, command the army, choose a successor to the sovereign, and much more passed into the hands of the Supreme Privy Council. As S.M. Solovyov: "All guarantees for eight, but against eight for the rest - where are the guarantees?"
These plans did not find support either among the nobles or the guards. Taking advantage of this, Anna Ioannovna proclaimed herself an autocratic empress, abolished the Supreme Privy Council, and sent its most active members to Siberia.
In the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the influence of foreigners reached unprecedented proportions. The tone at court was set by the favorite of the Empress, the Duke of Courland Biron, who enjoyed her boundless confidence. He occupied a dominant position in the court. During the years of the Bironovshchina, foreigners were promoted to lucrative positions, which caused protest from the Russian nobility.
The symbol of the reign of Anna Ioannovna became secret office(the successor of the Preobrazhensky order), who monitored the reliability of Russian citizens and was literally inundated with political denunciations. No one could consider himself safe from "word and deed" (an exclamation that usually began the procedure of denunciation and investigation)
Shortly before her death, the empress appointed herself a successor - Ivan VI - the grandson of Catherine Ivanovna (daughter of Ivan V), and not his mother, but Biron, was appointed regent of the child. In the conditions of general dissatisfaction with Biron, Field Marshal Munnich easily managed to carry out another palace coup, which in November 1740 deprived Biron of the rights of regent. Ivan's mother was proclaimed regent
The coup could not satisfy the interests of broad circles of the Russian nobility, since it still retained the leading position in the state for the Germans. Taking advantage of the weakness of the government and her popularity, Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter I, dressed in a man's dress, appeared in the barracks of the Preobrazhensky Regiment with the words: "Guys, you know whose daughter I am, follow me. Do you swear to die for me?" asked the future empress and, having received an affirmative answer, led them to Winter Palace. So during the next coup, committed on November 25, 1741 in favor of the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth, representatives of the Brunswick family who were on the Russian throne were arrested. The participants in the coup received generous rewards, those of them who did not have a noble rank were elevated to the nobility.
Empress Elizaveta Petrovna reigned for twenty years from 1741 to 1761. The most legitimate of all the successors of Peter I, raised to the throne with the help of the guards, she, as V.O. Klyuchevsky, "inherited the energy of her father, built palaces in twenty-four hours and traveled from Moscow to St. Petersburg in two days, peaceful and carefree, she took Berlin and defeated the first strategist of that time, Frederick the Great ... her courtyard turned into a theater foyer - everyone was talking about the French comedy, the Italian opera, but the doors would not close, the windows were blowing, the water flowed along the walls - such “gilded poverty”.
The core of her policy was the expansion and strengthening of the rights and privileges of the nobility. The landowners now had the right to exile recalcitrant peasants to Siberia and dispose of not only land, but also the person and property of serfs. Under Elizabeth Petrovna, the Senate, the Chief Magistrate, and the Collegia were restored in their rights. In 1755 Moscow University was opened - the first in Russia.
An indicator of Russia's increased influence on international life was its active participation in the pan-European conflict of the second half of XVIII v. — in the Seven Years' War 1756-1763.
Russia entered the war in 1757. In the very first battle near the village of Gross-Egersdorf on August 19, 1757, Russian troops inflicted a serious defeat on the Prussian troops. At the beginning of 1758, Russian troops captured Koenigsberg. The population East Prussia swore allegiance to the Empress of Russia - Elizabeth.
The culmination of the military campaign of 1760 was the capture of Berlin on September 28 by the Russian army under the command of Chernyshov. Frederick II was on the verge of death, but he was saved by a sharp turn in Russia's foreign policy, caused by the accession to the throne of Peter III, who immediately broke the military alliance with Austria, stopped military operations against Prussia, and even offered Frederick military assistance.
Peter III was on the Russian throne for a short time from 1761 to 1762. The nephew of Elizabeth Petrovna was unable to lead the state. A special censure of Russian society was caused by his admiration for Frederick II, the presence in many of his actions in the expression of his contemporaries of "shakiness and whim." It was obvious to everyone the breakdown of the state mechanism, which led to a new palace coup. His wife Catherine II, relying on the support of the Izmailovsky and Semenovsky Guards regiments, proclaimed herself Empress in June 1762. The Senate and the Synod swore allegiance to her. An attempt by Peter III to enter into negotiations did not lead to anything, and he was forced to personally sign the act of "spontaneous" oath abdication sent by Catherine.
Thus ended the era of "palace coups".