Board 18. Orders of the Russian Empire (18 photos)

(for beginners - in it we watch murders and dismemberment from the best museums in the world, do not read at dinner).

PAUL I

Although this emperor died in 1801, but stylistically his death clearly belongs to the previous century - the era of palace coups.
A group of conspirators broke into his palace - a bunch of drunken evil officers.
It is believed that they hit him with a heavy golden snuffbox in the temple, and then strangled him with a scarf from his uniform.
It was officially announced that the emperor died of apoplexy (stroke).

Illustration by a contemporary artist

A cute joke immediately arose that "Paul I died of an apoplexy blow with a snuffbox to the temple."

Napoleon, a contemporary of the events, also joked sweetly and subtly.
Once, Emperor Alexander expressed his indignation at the fact that the French authorities had kidnapped the Duke of Aegien (a member of the deposed royal family) - kidnapped him on neutral territory, brought him near Paris and shot him in the moat of the Château de Vincennes.
Napoleon replied, as if not knowing the subtext: "If you knew that in neighboring country your father's killers are near the border, I'm sure they would have done the same to them."

French engraving with the scene of the assassination of Paul I, 1880s

There are no pictures about this murder; under tsarism, information about it was forbidden. At Soviet power no one was particularly interested in the topic.

But images of the emperor's funeral, made by contemporaries, have been preserved.

Here is the guard at the tomb

Funeral procession (alas, poor quality)

And the decoration in the Peter and Paul Cathedral above the hearse (drawing by Quarenghi)

CATHERINE THE GREAT

The Empress died at the age of 67, from apoplexy (stroke).

Unknown artist. Portrait of Catherine II

On the morning of November 16, she drank coffee and went to the bathroom. She did not go out for so long that her valet Zakhar Zotov dared to enter the room and saw the body lying on the floor. It was very difficult to lift the heavy body of the empress onto the bed, especially since she twisted her leg when she fell. She died for a very long time: her last breath took place on November 17 at 10 o'clock.

What Catherine's dressing room looked like is unknown.
Here is a late drawing of the 19th century, depicting another room in the Hermitage for intimate purposes - "Paul I's Toilet Room", art. E. Gau. 1877.
However, there is no water closet here - the room was intended for the ceremony of dressing, powdering, etc.


E. Gau. Bathroom of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. 1877. Here is something more familiar to our eyes.


E. Gau. Bathroom Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna. 1850s

Death "on the toilet" is a well-known theme that serves to belittle the image of a politician (it was not for nothing that J. Martin endowed his Tywin Lannister with it. By the way, one of the rumors about the cause of Catherine's death, very stupid, said that in a portable a dwarf was hiding in the closet, and he pierced her from below with a spear.Another stupid rumor is about a horse, you understand, I don’t want to delve into the topic).

About the water closet, however, relatively reliable.
Many years later, in 1824, the scoundrel Pushkin did not miss the chance to nail this event with an epigram.

... In the alleys of Sarsky village ...
Dear old lady lived
Pleasant and a little prodigal
Voltaire was the first friend,
I wrote the order, burned the fleets,
And she died while boarding the ship. ()

It is probably good that there are no scenes depicting the death of Catherine, even the British and French who hated her have caricatures. Or is there? Has anyone come across?

UPD: there was a caricature of Cruikshank, tnx Ivan Lapshin

Regarding the death of Catherine, there are no examples of iconography at all, similar to what we saw about the emperors of the 19th century (farewell scene, posthumous portrait, image in a coffin). This is because those buried loving family and a faithful heir, who thus paid tribute to them. And Catherine was buried by her son, who, as you know, hated her, and tried to destroy her memory. Therefore, there are no worthy illustrations about it.

Vincenzo Brenna. The project of the hearse of Catherine II. 1796.

From the funeral of his mother, he also made a circus, but we will talk about this in the next section.

PETER III

Catherine's husband and Paul's father, Emperor Peter III died after spending several months on the throne. His wife overthrew him and sent him to sit locked up in a secluded palace along with the guards loyal to her. There he quickly died, according to the official version - "from hemorrhoidal colic." They say it's from suffocation. Nothing has been proven.

Pavel, whom the usurper mother did not allow to inherit the throne, had complexes all his life, waited for her death, suspected her of the murder of his father. Hence he and "Russian Hamlet." When Catherine died (see above), the new emperor ordered to dig up the body of his father, who was buried thirty years ago not in the honorary Peter and Paul Cathedral, but in the "second-rate" Alexander Nevsky Lavra (because he was not crowned).

body exhumation Peter III. pay attention to open coffin, and how the dead man pulls the handle.

He ordered to dig it out - in order to solemnly rebury it.
At the same time as mother.
Their coffins, with a fresh corpse, and with a skeleton, were placed side by side in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Then Paul personally crowned the body of his father (God, what necrophilia, what symbolism!)

An image of the solemn procession of the reburial has been preserved.
Since Pavel respected his father, the court artists depicted his funeral.
This image is a roll 15.8 m long and 0.75 m wide.

Here are the snippets.
The figure of the "knight of light" in gilded armor, meaning the eternal memory of the deceased, which should always be a consolation for those who mourned the loss. Following him on foot, a "sad knight" in black armor with a sword raised up could mean state mourning.

The imperial regalia of the deceased, on the orders of Paul (a man with an original, as we see, a sense of humor), were carried by those suspected of killing his father - Count A.F. Orlov, Prince P.B. Baryatinsky and P.B. Passek.


The center of the funeral procession is a chariot with a sarcophagus under a canopy.
Next to her is the emperor with a marshal's baton and cane, followed by Empress Maria Feodorovna with her daughters and retinue

Link to the entire scroll (huge, long, take a look). And here are the individual pieces.
Thank you for the reproductions of the scroll babs71

On the graves of Catherine and Peter, one date was written (the day of burial / reburial), as if they lived a long time and died on the same day.

IOANN ANTONOVICH

Yes, along the way, I lost something on the unfortunate baby John Antonovich (Ivan VI), who was overthrown by Elizabeth Petrovna and who quietly sat under lock and key throughout her reign. Catherine the Great ascended the throne in 1762, at the same time her husband was strangled (that is, at some point in 1762, 3 emperors were alive in Russia).

John Antonovich lived two years after the reign of Catherine the Great. - Shlisselburg Fortress. He was 23 years old at the time of his death.

Violent death, there is no dispute: officer Mirovich, who served in the fortress, decided to revolt and proclaim the legitimate emperor as the legitimate emperor.
But the guards had clear instructions, and when Mirovich became too persistent, they refused to surrender and killed Ioann Antonovich.

Mirovich in front of the body of Ivan VI. Painting by Ivan Tvorozhnikov (1884)


Mirovich was later executed, of course.

There is an absolutely hilarious book by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch "Novels of the Russian Court", which describes in detail, with furs and fogs, how Empress Catherine the Great seduces this same Mirovich in order to provoke the death of a competitor. She promises to save him, but she lies, and he dies on the chopping block with a smile on his lips. Something like that, idiotic, in general, I recommend neighing. The same author also has "Shakhinya", about the courtyard of Elizabeth Petrovna.

The unfortunate John was buried secretly, where no one knows.

ELIZAVETA PETROVNA

Zaonnaya daughter of Peter the Great, who overthrew this very John Antonovich from the throne (really, who is he at all, what kind of 7th water on jelly?), She was Peter III's own aunt. Elizabeth died at 52 of natural causes.

Nephew Peter III was looking forward to the death of his beloved aunt (much like his son will wait for the death of his mother). Peter planned to quickly imprison his wife Ekaterina, a snake in a monastery, and marry an ugly Russian mistress. But Catherine played ahead of the curve, and began a PR operation while Elizabeth was still cooling in her grave.

Catherine II at the body of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. German engraving of the 18th century.

The scene at the tomb of Elizabeth was remembered by many contemporaries. According to the memoirs of one of the courtiers, “the emperor had no desire to participate in the ceremonies necessary for the funeral of the late empress, his aunt, and left this care to his wife, who disposed of it in the best possible way, possessing quite political tact.” The subjects were offended by the fun and carelessness of Peter and highly appreciated with what reverence for the memory of the Empress Catherine stood for long church services and prayed. hypocrite!

It is this moment that the painting by Nikolai Ge is dedicated to.

Nicholas Ge. Catherine II at the coffin of Empress Elizabeth. 1874.

Here the figure of Peter stands out in the background with a white camisole inappropriate for a funeral.
Dashkova described that the emperor came to the coffin not to mourn his aunt, but "to joke with the ladies on duty, ridicule the clergy, and find fault with the officers about their buckles, ties or uniforms."

Catherine's costume in this picture is copied from a portrait of that time, where the future Empress-Autocrat appears indeed in deep mourning for her "aunt".

Vigilius Eriksen. Portrait of Catherine. 1762


A curious detail: in the portrait of Eriksen, the sash on Catherine is blue, the order of St. Andrew the First-Called. Only the autocrat could wear it, therefore, the portrait was painted after the coup and the overthrow of Peter III. And in the picture, the mourning dress is the same, but the ribbon, as expected, is red - the order of St. Catherine. He was favored by the spouses of emperors. The “Imperial” blue ribbon can still be seen on Peter III.

Before Elizabeth and John Antonovich, Anna Ioannovna, Peter II and Catherine I still ruled. However, their death did not leave a tangible mark in the history of Russian art.
But here is a man whose death shocked the country.

PETER THE GREAT

The emperor died at only 52 years old.
According to legend, he saw a boat with women and children run aground in stormy weather and began to rescue them. ice water caught a cold and then fell ill until his death.
But they say that this is just a legend, and Peter actually died from uremia, acute kidney failure- which is quite plausible, considering what an unhealthy lifestyle he led from his very youth, read A. Tolstoy's "Peter the Great", and in the correct version without cuts, otherwise there are options for schoolchildren, and there "a man with a whipped ass" was cut out because it's indecent.

At autopsy, they found "hardening in the neck Bladder and Antonov fire "(inflammation).

The death of the titan shocked his contemporaries, no one expected that the madhouse would ever end.

Illustration by Boris Chorikov

There are many portraits that capture this moment. As we have seen, this will not happen again until the era of Nicholas I.

So, Peter the Great is on his deathbed.

From this side - thin. Ivan Nikitin.

As for a passport - thin. Louis Caravaque

And from this side, Ivan Niktin (or maybe Tannauer).

and such.

In general, "he definitely died."

Removed the death mask (photo mine)


and a death paw (my photo)

The body was laid in a beautifully decorated hall


Well, you already know how they painted the processions.

And they buried Peter in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which he himself built.

• Reading book: Boris Nakhapetov. Medical secrets of the Romanov family

***

On this we will finish today's issue, next Wednesday there will be the bloodiest - about the tsars and grand dukes of Moscow and so on.

The 18th century in the history of Russia is a cruel, even merciless century, which decided in short time change, the time of the archery riots and palace coups, the reign of Catherine the Great, peasant wars and the strengthening of serfdom.

But at the same time, this period is characterized by the development of enlightenment, the discovery of new educational institutions, including Moscow University, Academy of Arts. In 1756, the first theater appeared in the capital.

The end of the 18th century - the heyday of the work of artists Dmitry Grigorievich Levitsky, Fyodor Stepanovich Rokotov, sculptor Fedot Shubin.

Now let's take a closer look at the main events of the 18th century and the historical characters of that time. At the end of the 17th century, in 1676, he dies, and his son Fedor Alekseevich takes the throne. Peter Alekseevich, who later became emperor, will become king in 1682.

In 1689, Peter, at the suggestion of his mother, Natalia Kirillovna Naryshkina, marries Evdokia Lopukhina, which means that he reaches the age of majority, as it was believed at that time.

Sophia, who wanted to remain on the throne, raised archers against Peter, but the rebellion was suppressed, after which Sophia was imprisoned in, and the throne passes to Peter, although until 1696 his brother Ivan Alekseevich was Peter's formal co-ruler.

He had a rather remarkable appearance. His height was 2m 10 cm, he was narrow in the shoulders, had long arms and an unusual gait, so that his close associates had to not only follow him, but run.

From the age of 6, Peter began to learn to read and write and received an encyclopedic education at that time. Left without a father, Peter was engaged in self-education. With the permission of Princess Sophia, he creates a personal amusing guard, and later it was these two amusing regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky that played big role when Peter came to power. In addition, the young tsar's favorite pastime was shooting the boyars with steamed turnips.

Gradually, the king also had "favorite" close associates, and these were different people. Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, or simply Aleksashka, the son of a palace groom, who from the position of the royal batman became the most serene prince, richest man; "German" (Dutch), who became the main adviser to the king after his accession to the throne.

It was he who advised Peter to fix foreign trade, but the problem was one of the two well-known Russian troubles - roads; Russia needed access to the sea through Sweden and Turkey. Peter I undertakes, the second of which was successful and ended with the foundation of the Taganrog fortress (on Cape Taganiy Rog).

The war with Turkey that began in 1697 showed that Russia needed loans, allies and weapons. For this, the Great Embassy is sent to Europe, in which Peter I was listed as a simple person - constable Peter Alekseevich. He was the first Russian tsar to visit Europe.

Returning from a trip, and plunging back into life in Russia, Peter hated it, decided to completely redo it, and, as you know, he succeeds.

The reforms of Peter I, with which he began his transformations, were as follows:

• army, created a mercenary army, which he dresses in an almost European uniform and puts at the head of foreign officers.
• He transferred the country to a new chronology, from the Nativity of Christ, the old was conducted from the creation of the world. January 1, 1700 in Russia began to celebrate New Year.
• He ordered every 10 thousand households to build 1 ship, as a result, Russia received a large fleet.
• - self-government was introduced in the cities, burmisters were put at the head of the cities. Although this "Europeanization" of cities was completed.

In 1700, Peter I decides to start a war with Sweden, which ended in 1721. It started unsuccessfully, Peter was defeated near Narva, fled from the battlefield even before the battle began, but repented of this and decided to rebuild his army. Transformations were made based on the needs of the troops. For the war, cannons were needed, as a result, the bells of Russian churches are poured onto them, then metallurgical enterprises are built.

By the middle of the century, 75 metallurgical enterprises operated in the country, which fully met the country's needs for pig iron, almost half of the products were exported. It was necessary to arm the army, so arms factories are being built. In addition, Peter I orders the construction of linen factories. Shipbuilding, rope, leather and glass production are developing. Galleys are being built at shipyards, which played a decisive role in the defeat.

Peter introduces military service - recruitment - from 20 households 1 person went to serve for 25 years; also for 25 years he introduces and compulsory service nobility. These measures made it possible to quickly create a new army - 20 thousand sailors and 35 thousand soldiers. ground forces.

Peter I understands that Russia needs knowledge and money. To do this, he forced hundreds of young nobles and boyars to go abroad to study, fiscal officers were assigned to monitor them; created a number technical universities(Higher Artillery School), where Western professors were teachers.

In order to encourage not only nobles to study, but also ordinary people Peter issues a decree according to which everyone who graduates from the gymnasium and knows foreign languages ​​will receive the nobility.

To raise the economy, the king in 1718-1724. introduces a poll tax (a male soul). The tax was heavy and exceeded the solvency of the people. This has led to an increase in arrears.

To stop thefts, tk. everyone was actively stealing, and the first thief was Menshikov, the tsar orders not only the suspect, but his entire family to be hanged on the rack. A number of additional fees are introduced - a fee for a beard, for wearing a Russian dress, those who did not drink coffee were fined.

In order not to spend money on hired labor, Peter I introduces serf labor. Villages were assigned to factories, artisans were assigned to cities. By a decree of 1736, factory workers were assigned to manufactories forever and were called "eternally given." This form of labor hindered the development of Russia, got rid of it only in the 19th century.

In addition, Peter I seeks to develop trade. They are introduced customs duties much more for imported goods than for exported goods. Finally, towards the end Northern war, Russia had a developed economy, but it was a serf.

The time of Peter's reign is the time of transformations in Russia, the time of reforms. In addition to those listed above, Peter conducted administrative reforms, social, im also changed judicial system.

1. Peter divides the country into provinces, at the head of the provinces was the governor-general, whose only form of punishment was the death penalty;
2. Peter in 1711-1721 abolished the order system, created collegiums-prototypes of ministries. The head of the collegium was appointed by the king "according to the mind, and not according to the nobility of the family", i.e. required for the service a good education;
3. Supreme government agency in 1711, the Senate becomes, which, in the absence of the king, performed his functions;
4. At the head of everything state power was Emperor Peter I. This title was approved by Peter himself in 1721 after the end of the war with Sweden.

In 1722, the "Table of Ranks" was introduced, according to which all service people were divided into 14 categories, the lowest rank was the ensign. Those who rose to the 8th category received the nobility. The judicial system was changed - "they were judged not with a word, but with a pen", i.e. all court cases were drawn up in writing and judged on the basis of written laws, which made it possible for judges to take new bribes.
In 1703, St. Petersburg became the capital of Russia, which was built on the bones of serfs. Peter I forcibly resettled about 1000 nobles in St. Petersburg.

In 1725, along with the death of Peter I, began. During the years of the reign, from 1725 to 1727, and from 1727 to 1730, Menshikov performed the functions of the emperor. During the reign, from 1730 to 1740, and Ioan Antonovich, from 1740 to 1741, various kinds of German adventurers were in power.

When, who ascended the throne in November 1741, the Razumovskys, the favorites of the empress, played a prominent role. He became Elizabeth's heir. He pursued a policy that was not accepted by the Russian nobility. As a result, in 1762, after another coup, his wife, Catherine II, ascended the throne at the age of 33. It was announced that her husband Peter was killed "accidentally".

34 years of reign went down in history as the "golden age of the nobility", because. she pursued a pro-noble policy. Following her husband, Peter III, she allowed the nobles not to serve, conducted a general survey in 1765, i.e. divided the land among the nobles. There was an opportunity to buy and sell a pledge, which did not give the treasury a penny, but all the nobility was on the side of Catherine.

In addition, she gave the nobles for their service, 600 thousand serfs, for example, got several thousand people. In the interests of the nobility, it deprives the peasants of their last rights - under the fear of hard labor it was forbidden to complain about the landowner, it was allowed to trade in serfs "at retail", i.e. Families were mercilessly divided.

Thus, if for the nobility the end of the 18th century was the golden period of history, then for the peasants it was the most terrible period of slavery. During her reign, Catherine II relied on the personal devotion of favorites, brought up a whole galaxy of Russian politicians, suppressed revolutions by all means, was sick of the ideas of the philosopher Voltaire, read the books of Rousseau and Montesquieu, but perceived the Enlightenment in her own way, in an original way.

She believed that education should affect only the upper strata of society, did not give freedom to the peasants, because. this would lead to a riot. Catherine II (1773-1775) was especially frightened, which was attended by serfs, Cossacks, working people, Bashkirs, Kalmyks. Peasants' War was defeated, but Catherine learned from her main lesson- You can not give freedom to the peasants, and did not abolish serfdom.

Transformations of Catherine the Great

1. Abolished state monopolies on tobacco and some other activities, which contributed to their development.
2. Created a variety of training educational institutions, for example, the Free Economic Society, the Institute of Noble Maidens. So, in the Free Economic Society, they studied and introduced agriculture, technical innovations (for each invention they gave prizes), potatoes are being introduced through the efforts of this society (the initiator is Andrey Bolotov).
3. Under Catherine, the construction of manufactories expanded, new industries appeared, such as hosiery, the number of manufactories increased by 2 times, while they were not only serfs, but also hired, i.e. the first workers from the peasantry appear (the right to otkhodnichestvo), foreign investment.
3. Development of new lands. To develop new territories in the south of the country (Crimea, Kuban, South Ukraine), she gives them to the nobles. After a couple of years, he realizes that this is ineffective and invites "foreigners" - the Greeks founded Mariupol, the Armenians - the village of Chaltyr, the Bulgarians bring viticulture. In addition, Catherine announces that those peasants who run away and settle in new lands will be free.
4. Catherine II did not sell Alaska to America, but rented it out for 100 years so that the Americans would master it.

After the death of Catherine II, her son (1796-1801) becomes emperor. With him domestic politics was also pro-noble and pro-serf. Serfdom gets everything widespread. However, relations between the emperor and the nobility become extremely tense, after the next innovations of Paul I.

Paul forbade noble assemblies in the provinces, he, at his whim, could exile some nobles and exalt others. In addition, the rupture of relations with England hit the income of the landowners, because. agricultural products were exported there. The result of this policy was a conspiracy, Paul was killed in 1801 and his son Alexander ascended the throne. Thus ended the 18th century in Russia.

Thus, the 18th century in the history of Russia was characterized by the following:

1. Ever since the reign of Peter I, a tradition has been established that all reforms are carried out by the state.
2. The modernization of Russia is carried out according to the catch-up version, and we take from the West what we like.
3. Modernization is carried out at the expense of their own people, i.e. Russia is a self-colony.
4. Any modernization is accompanied by bureaucratization.

The 18th century in the history of Russia is a cruel, even merciless century of the reign of Peter I, who decided to change Russia in a short time.

This is the time of archery riots and palace coups, the reign of Catherine the Great, peasant wars and the strengthening of serfdom. But at the same time, this period of Russian history is characterized by the development of education, the opening of new educational institutions, including Moscow University, the Academy of Arts.

In 1756 in the capital Russian Empire the first theatre. The end of the 18th century was the heyday of the work of the artists Dmitry Grigorievich Levitsky, Fyodor Stepanovich Rokotov, Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky, and the sculptor Fedot Shubin.

Now let's take a closer look at the main events of the 18th century and the historical characters of that time:

At the end of the 17th century, in 1676, Alexei Mikhailovich died, and his son Fyodor Alekseevich ascended the throne. Peter Alekseevich, who later became Emperor Peter I, will become Tsar in 1682. In 1689, Peter, at the suggestion of his mother, Natalia Kirillovna Naryshkina, marries Evdokia Lopukhina, which means that he reaches the age of majority, as it was believed at that time.

Sophia, who wanted to remain on the throne, raised archers against Peter, but the rebellion was suppressed, after which Sophia was imprisoned in a monastery, and the throne passes to Peter, although until 1696 his brother, Ivan Alekseevich, was Peter's formal co-ruler.

Peter I had a rather remarkable appearance. His height was 2m 10 cm, he was narrow in the shoulders, had long arms and an unusual gait, so that his close associates had to not only follow him, but run.

From the age of 6, Peter began to learn to read and write and received an encyclopedic education at that time. Left without a father, Peter was engaged in self-education. With the permission of Princess Sophia, he creates a personal amusing guard, and later it was these two amusing regiments - Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky that played a big role when Peter came to power.

In addition, the young tsar's favorite pastime was shooting the boyars with steamed turnips.

Gradually, the king also had “favorite” close associates, and these were different people. Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, or simply Aleksashka, the son of a palace groom, who, from the position of the royal orderly, became the most serene prince, the richest man; "German" (Dutch) Franz Lefort, who became the main adviser to the king after his accession to the throne.

• It was Lefort who advised Peter to establish foreign trade, but the problem was one of the two well-known Russian troubles - roads.

Russia needed access to the sea through Sweden and Turkey. Peter I undertakes two trips to Azov, the second of which was successful and ended with the foundation of the Taganrog fortress (on Cape Taganiy Rog). The war with Turkey that began in 1697 showed that Russia needed loans, allies and weapons.

For this, the Great Embassy is sent to Europe, in which Peter I was listed as a simple person - constable Peter Alekseevich. He was the first Russian tsar to visit Europe.

Formally, Peter followed incognito, but his conspicuous appearance easily betrayed him. Yes, and the king himself during the trip often preferred to personally lead negotiations with foreign rulers. Perhaps this behavior is explained by the desire to simplify the conventions associated with diplomatic etiquette.

Returning from a trip, and plunging back into life in Russia, Peter hated it, decided to completely redo it, and, as you know, he succeeds.

The reforms of Peter I, with which he began his transformations:

1. He disbanded the archery army, created a mercenary army, which he dresses in an almost European uniform and puts foreign officers at the head.
2. He transferred the country to a new chronology, from the Nativity of Christ, the old was conducted from the creation of the world. January 1, 1700 in Russia began to celebrate the New Year.
3. He ordered every 10 thousand households to build 1 ship, as a result, Russia received a large fleet.
4. Spent urban reform- self-government was introduced in the cities, burmisters were placed at the head of the cities. Although this "Europeanization" of cities was completed.

In 1700, Peter I decides to start a war with Sweden, which ended in 1721 G.

The Northern War began unsuccessfully, Peter was defeated near Narva, fled from the battlefield even before the battle began, but repented of this and decided to rebuild his army.

Transformations were made based on the needs of the troops. For the war, cannons were needed, as a result, the bells of Russian churches are poured onto them, then metallurgical enterprises are built. By the middle of the century, 75 metallurgical enterprises operated in the country, which fully met the country's needs for pig iron, almost half of the products were exported. It was necessary to arm the army, so arms factories are being built. In addition, Peter I orders the construction of linen factories. Shipbuilding, rope, leather and glass production are developing.

Shipyards built galleys, which played a decisive role in the defeat of the Swedes at Gangut.

Peter introduces military service - recruitment - from 20 households 1 person went to serve for 25 years; also for 25 years, he introduces compulsory service to the nobility. These measures made it possible to quickly create a new army - 20,000 sailors and 35,000 ground troops.

Peter I understands that Russia needs knowledge and money.

To do this, he forced hundreds of young nobles and boyars to go abroad to study, fiscal officers were assigned to monitor them; created a number of technical universities (Higher Artillery School), where Western professors were teachers. In order to encourage not only nobles, but also ordinary people to study, Peter issues a decree according to which everyone who graduates from the gymnasium and knows foreign languages ​​will receive the nobility.

To raise the economy, the king in 1718-1724. introduces a poll tax (a male soul). The tax was heavy and exceeded the solvency of the people of the Russian Empire. This has led to an increase in arrears.

To stop thefts, tk. everyone was actively stealing, and the first thief was Menshikov, the tsar orders not only the suspect, but his entire family to be hanged on the rack.

A number of additional fees are introduced - a fee for a beard, for wearing a Russian dress, those who did not drink coffee were fined.

In order not to spend money on hired labor, Peter I introduces serf labor. Villages were assigned to factories, craftsmen were assigned to cities.

By decree of 1736, factory workers were assigned to manufactories forever and were called "eternally given." This form of labor hindered the development of Russia, got rid of it only in the 19th century.

In addition, Peter I seeks to develop trade. They impose customs duties much more for imported goods than for exported goods. As a result, by the end of the Northern War, Russia had a developed economy, but it was a serf.
The time of Peter's reign is the time of transformations in Russia, the time of reforms. In addition to those listed above, Peter carried out administrative and social reforms, and he also changed the judicial system.

Administrative reforms of Peter I:

1. Peter divides the country into provinces, at the head of the provinces was the governor-general, whose only form of punishment was the death penalty
2. Peter in 1711-1721 abolished the order system, created collegiums-prototypes of ministries. The head of the collegium was appointed by the king "according to the mind, and not according to the nobility of the family", i.e. You need a good education to serve
3. In 1711, the Senate became the highest state body, which, in the absence of the king, performed his functions
4. Emperor Peter I was at the head of all state power. This title was approved by Peter himself in 1721 after the end of the war with Sweden.

Social policy of Peter I.

In 1722, the "Table of Ranks" was introduced, according to which all service people were divided into 14 categories, the lowest rank was the ensign. Those who rose to the 8th category received the nobility. The judicial system was changed - "they were judged not with a word, but with a pen", i.e. all court cases were drawn up in writing and judged on the basis of written laws, which made it possible for judges to take new bribes.

In 1703, St. Petersburg became the capital of Russia, which was built on the bones of serfs.

Peter I forcibly resettled about 1000 nobles in St. Petersburg, but after the death of Peter the Russian tsars preferred Moscow (until 1918, when St. Petersburg again became the capital).

• In 1725, together with the death of Peter I, the era of palace revolutions.

During the reign of Catherine I, from 1725 to 1727, and Peter II, from 1727 to 1730, Menshikov performed the functions of emperor.

During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, from 1730 to 1740, and Ioan Antonovich, from 1740 to 1741, various kinds of German adventurers were in power.

Under Elizaveta Petrovna, who ascended the throne in November 1741, the Shuvalovs and Razumovskys, favorites of the Empress, played a prominent role. Peter III Fedorovich became Elizabeth's heir. He pursued a policy that was not accepted by the Russian nobility. As a result, in 1762, after another coup, the wife of Peter III, Catherine II, ascended the throne at the age of 33.

It was announced that her husband Piotr had been killed "accidentally". 34 years of the reign of Catherine II went down in history as "golden age of the nobility" , because she pursued a pro-noble policy. Following her husband, Peter III, she allowed the nobles not to serve, conducted a general survey in 1765, i.e. divided the land among the nobles. There was an opportunity to buy and sell a pledge, which did not give the treasury a penny, but all the nobility was on the side of Catherine.

• surveying- this is a set of works aimed at determining and fixing the boundaries of a certain land plot on the ground.

In addition, she gave the nobles for their service, 600 thousand serfs, for example, Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov got several thousand people. In the interests of the nobility, it deprives the peasants of their last rights - under the fear of hard labor it was forbidden to complain about the landowner, it was allowed to trade serfs "at retail", i.e. Families were mercilessly divided.

Thus, if for the nobility the end of the 18th century was the golden period of history, then for the peasants it was the most terrible period of slavery.

During her reign, Catherine II relied on the personal devotion of favorites, brought up a whole galaxy of Russian politicians, suppressed revolutions by all means, was sick of the ideas of the philosopher Voltaire, read the books of Rousseau and Montesquieu, but perceived the Enlightenment in her own way, in an original way. So she believed that education should affect only the upper strata of society, did not give freedom to the peasants, because. this would lead to a riot.

Catherine II was especially frightened by the Pugachev rebellion (1773-1775), in which serfs, Cossacks, working people, Bashkirs, Kalmyks participated. The peasant war was defeated, but Catherine learned the main lesson from it - you can’t give freedom to the peasants, and did not abolish serfdom.

Transformations of Catherine the Great:

1. Abolished state monopolies on tobacco and some other activities, which contributed to their development.
2. She created a number of educational institutions, for example, the Free Economic Society, the Institute of Noble Maidens. So, in the Free Economic Society, they studied and introduced agriculture, technical innovations (for each invention they gave prizes), potatoes are being introduced through the efforts of this society (the initiator is Andrey Bolotov).
3. Under Catherine, the construction of manufactories expanded, new industries appeared, such as hosiery, the number of manufactories doubled, while they were not only serfs, but also hired, i.e. the first workers from the peasantry appear (the right to otkhodnichestvo), foreign investment.
4. Development of new lands. To develop new territories in the south of the country (Crimea, Kuban, South Ukraine), she gives them to the nobles. After a couple of years, he realizes that this is ineffective and invites "foreigners" - the Greeks founded Mariupol, the Armenians - the village of Chaltyr, the Bulgarians bring viticulture. In addition, Catherine announces that those peasants who run away and settle in new lands will be free.
5. Catherine II did not sell Alaska to America, but rented it out for 100 years so that the Americans would master it.

After the death of Catherine II, her son Paul I (1796-1801) becomes emperor.

Pavel I

Under him, domestic policy was also pro-noble and pro-serf. Serfdom is becoming more widespread. However, relations between the emperor and the nobility become extremely tense, after the next innovations of Paul I.

Pavel banned meetings of the nobility in the provinces, he, at his whim, could exile some nobles and elevate others. In addition, the rupture of relations with England hit the income of the landowners, because. agricultural products were exported there. The result of this policy was a conspiracy, Paul was killed in 1801 and his son Alexander ascended the throne. Thus ended the 18th century in Russia.

Thus, the 18th century in the history of Russia was characterized by the following:

• Ever since the reign of Peter I, a tradition has been established that all reforms are carried out by the state.
• The modernization of Russia is being carried out according to a catch-up scenario, and we are taking from the West what we like.
• Modernization is carried out at the expense of their own people, i.e. Russia is a self-colony.
• Any modernization is accompanied by bureaucratization. Although it can be said that this is typical not only for Russia in the 18th century, this state of affairs has survived to this day.

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Fifth emperor of the 18th century

Having become emperor, Paul I sought to catch up, to put his views into practice. He was talented person but his tragedy was that most During his life, he waited for his “turn” to the throne, grieving and worrying about his unclear future as heir. Waiting for his hour lasted over 20 years, and the feeling of worthlessness, humiliation, annoyance for the mediocre lost years, constant danger did not leave Paul I, spoiled his character, made a neurasthenic man out of a once cheerful, romantic youth. Having come to power, Paul I could not overcome the vindictive desire to destroy everything that was instituted under his mother. Pedantic attention to detail, inconsistency, inconsistency with a clear tendency to solve problems with simplistic, crude methods - all this became his style of government. Paul's character deteriorated. What was previously held back by an effort of will, fear of his mother, burst out: the emperor became an unpredictable, quick-tempered, capricious and harsh ruler with the manners of a tyrant. He had no experience state activities, but he was stubborn and incapable of understanding the complex problems of politics. At the same time, he was intolerant not only to the free expression of his opinions by those around him, but also to any manifestation of independence. Having become an autocrat, he began to implement the “Gatchina” version of the transformations, to build not the “kingdom of reason and law”, about which they talked so much with N.I. Panin, but a crude repressive state.

marginal notes

Why did Paul, full of liberal designs in his youth, become such an unexpectedly harsh ruler? The debate about the personality and political views of Paul I has not subsided for the second century: this tragic figure of Russian history seems so contradictory and complex. It's clear that Political Views Paul I was formed under the influence of many factors and underwent a certain evolution during his life. These views were ultimately based on the ideas of the Enlightenment that were common to enlightened people of the 18th century and close to Catherine II, pursued the utopian goal of the “common good” common to the 18th century, but these ideas were interpreted and implemented by Paul I in a different way than that of Catherine II. This ultimately determined the striking difference between the transformations of Paul I, the emperor, and the transformations of Catherine II.

It is known that the formation of the worldview of Tsarevich Pavel Petrovich was strongly influenced by his tutor, Count N.I. Panin, a consistent supporter of limiting imperial power in Russia. It has already been said above that the meaning of the transformations proposed by N.I. Panin in 1763 was to establish a limitation on the power of the empress State Council clearly aristocratic. In the system of education of the heir, Panin laid general idea the supremacy of "fundamental laws", without which it is indecent and impossible for a truly worthy sovereign to rule. The idea itself was not particularly original. Since the time of Montesquieu, Ivan Shuvalov, a lot has been written and talked about this, these ideas have been in the air. Quite fully the logic of Panin's judgments is revealed by his "Discourses on indispensable laws", compiled by him on the eve of his death in 1783 and intended for Pavel. These arguments are syllogisms typical of the 18th century:

1. Power is given to the sovereign solely for the good of the people.

2. Only an absolutely virtuous sovereign - "virtue on the throne" can give a blessing.

3. Taking into account the weaknesses natural for the sovereign as a person, it is unthinkable to achieve absolute virtue.

Hence the conclusion: the sovereign can achieve the good of the people only in one way - "by setting immutable rules in his state, based on the common good and which he himself could not violate." The set of laws themselves is not so important, but it is important that the monarch cannot violate them. But this is where the death trap for autocracy lies, for in this way the most important postulate of autocracy is eliminated - the complete, uncontrolled right to change laws at any time, to establish them at one’s own discretion, and also to rule without any laws, when the law is the will of the sovereign.

Of course, all these ideas of Panin were closely connected with the actual for those times political situation. They contained a condemnation of the favoritism reigning at the court of Catherine II, the rule not of law, but of “passions”. After all, this opened the way to arbitrariness, when “not the temper of the sovereign adapts to the laws, but the laws to his temper” and when, finally, the sovereign is enslaved by the spokesman of passions - a favorite, as a rule, an unworthy person. That's when autocracy "reaches unbelievability." Everything, according to Panin, depends on the arbitrariness of the pet, everyone is afraid of him, and “his gaze, posture, speech do not signify anything else, like: “Worship me, I can ruin you!”

Reading this, Pavel saw the well-known figure of Orlov, Potemkin, or any other favorite of Catherine II. But for Pavel, Panin's constitutional ideas were important not only from the point of view of morality, worthy and useful service to the Fatherland, Russia (for Pavel, these concepts were not an empty phrase), but also from the point of view of his future. And it was very foggy. Catherine II, generally dissatisfied with Tsarevich Pavel, behaved with him in the same way as Elizabeth had once with Peter Fedorovich, who was objectionable to her. In other words, she simply held, like an ax over the head of the heir, the Charter on the succession to the throne of Peter the Great of 1722, which allowed her to appoint any of her subjects as her successors and cancel, if necessary, the already made decision on succession to the throne. Let us add other factors to this: the insinuations spread by Paul’s enemies about his “illegitimacy”, Catherine’s special demonstrative love for Paul’s son Alexander, the humiliation and oppression of the heir by favorites, memories of tragic fate father - Peter III, as well as Paul's suspicions and fears for his life and freedom. In a word, given all this, the problem of asserting such a “ fundamental law”, what could become the law of succession to the throne in a direct male downlink, seemed paramount to Paul. In his absence, he saw the cause of both political instability in Russia and his precarious position.

In 1787, Paul drafted a similar law for succession to the throne by birthright. This was necessary so that “the state would not be without an heir, so that the heir was always appointed by the law itself, so that there was not the slightest doubt who would inherit and in order to preserve the right of childbirth in the inheritance, without violating natural rights and avoiding difficulties in the transition from the clan into the genus." Later, these considerations spurred Paul I, on the day of his coronation, April 5, 1797, to approve and publicly read out the law on succession to the throne, which should be above the will of a particular autocrat and which canceled Peter's "Charter" of 1722.

But it turned out that such a "fundamental law" was not enough. The root of Paul's tragedy is that, recognizing Panin's ideas, he tried to combine the unlimited power of the autocracy and human freedoms, "the power of the individual" and "the power of the law", in a word, to combine the incompatible. So, he wrote:

“We found it best to harmonize the necessary monarchical executive power in the vastness of the state, with the advantage of the liberty that every state needs to protect itself from despotism or the sovereign himself.”

But such “coordination” turned out to be impossible in principle. In addition, Paul I hated his mother, spreading this hatred to the liberal order that she introduced, and to her favorites, and to the outstanding and insignificant figures of her government. He denied everything that she brought to Russia with her reform activities. As a result, no matter what Paul I said about law, law (and without recognizing and continuing the acts of Catherine in this area, it was impossible to move on), in his mind, way of thinking and behavior, the Gatchina “model of life” still came to the fore. . He wanted to tighten discipline, introduce strict regulation, "indispensable order", and saw this as a panacea for all ills. Destroying the "state of enlightened monarchy" erected by his mother, Paul began to build only an "executive state." This was the root of his personal tragedy and death ...

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Alexander II is one of the most prominent Russian monarchs. Alexander Nikolaevich was nicknamed among the people Alexander the Liberator.

The people really have something to call Alexander II like that. The emperor carried out a number of important vital, for, reforms. The course of his policy was distinguished by a liberal tinge.

Alexander II initiated many liberal initiatives in Russia. The paradox of his historical personality is that the monarch, who gave the people unprecedented freedom to the village, was killed by the revolutionaries.

It is said that the draft constitution and the convocation State Duma, was literally on the emperor’s table, but his sudden death put an end to many of his undertakings.

Alexander II was born in April 1818. He was also the son of Alexandra Feodorovna. Alexander Nikolaevich was purposefully prepared for accession to the throne.

The future Emperor received a very worthy education. The prince's teachers were smartest people of his time.

Among the teachers were Zhukovsky, Merder, Kankrin, Brunov. As you can see, the future emperor was taught science by the ministers of the Russian Empire themselves.

Alexander Nikolayevich was a gifted man, he possessed equal abilities, he was a good-natured and sympathetic person.

Nicholas I was the third son of his wife, Maria Feodorovna. As soon as Nikolai Pavlovich was born (06/25/1796), his parents recorded him on military service. He became the chief of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, with the rank of colonel. Three years later, the prince put on the uniform of his regiment for the first time. In May 1800, Nicholas I became the chief of the Izmailovsky regiment. In 1801, as a result palace coup, his father, Paul I, was killed.

The real passion of Nicholas I was military affairs. Passion for military affairs, apparently passed on from his father, and at the gene level. Soldiers and cannons were the favorite toys of the Grand Duke, for which, together with his brother Mikhail, he spent a lot of time. To the sciences, unlike his brother, he did not gravitate.

On July 13, 1817, the marriage of Nicholas I and the Prussian princess Charlotte took place. In Orthodoxy, Charlotte was named Alexandra Feodorovna. By the way, the marriage took place on the birthday of his wife. Living together The royal couple was happy. After the wedding, he became an inspector general in charge of engineering.

Alexander I was the eldest son, born on 12.12. 1777, while in office. Since the relationship between father and grandmother did not work out, the Empress took her grandson from his parents.

Catherine II, immediately flared up big love to her grandson and decided what she would make of the newborn ideal emperor.

Alexander was brought up by the Swiss Laharpe, who was considered by many to be a staunch republican. The prince received a good Western-style education.

Alexander believed in the possibility of creating an ideal, humane society, he sympathized french revolution, felt sorry for the Poles deprived of statehood, and was skeptical of the Russian autocracy. Time, however, dispelled his belief in such ideals ...

Alexander I became Emperor of Russia after the death of Paul I, as a result of a palace coup. The events that took place on the night of March 11-12 affected the life of Alexander Pavlovich. He was very worried about the death of his father, and guilt haunted him all his life.

Pavel I was the son of and. Born on September 20, 1754. FROM early years he was taught literacy and various sciences: history, mathematics, foreign languages and geography.

According to the recollections of his teachers, Paul was a man of a lively mind, beautifully gifted by nature. His childhood was difficult, he lost his father early. Moreover, he lost, as he himself believed, through the fault of his mother. Pyotr Fedorovich, Pavel loved very much and could not forgive his mother for his death.

At the age of 17, Catherine II married her son to Princess Wilgemina, who was named Natalya Alekseevna at baptism. During childbirth, Natalia died.

In 1776 he married a second time. The wife of the heir to the Russian throne was Sophia-Dorota, who at baptism took the name Maria Feodorovna. Maria Feodorovna was related to the Prussian king. Apparently under the influence of his wife, he began to like many German customs.

Russia for Russians, and in Russian (Emperor Alexander III)

Alexander III - a significant figure in. During his reign, no Russian blood was shed in Europe. Alexander III ensured long years of calm for Russia. For his peace-loving policy, he entered Russian history as a "tsar-peacemaker."

He was the second child in the family of Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna Romanov. According to the rules of succession, Alexander was not prepared for the role of ruler. The throne was to take the elder brother - Nicholas.

Alexander did not envy his brother at all, did not feel the slightest jealousy, watching how Nicholas was being prepared for the throne. Nikolai was a diligent student, and Alexander was overcome by boredom in the classroom.

teachers Alexander III there were such distinguished people as the historians Solovyov, Grott, the remarkable military tactician Dragomirov, and Konstantin Pobedonostsev. It was the latter who had a great influence on Alexander III, largely determining the priorities of the internal and foreign policy Russian emperor.

When Peter was three years old, the tsar-father gave him a children's saber. At the end of 1676, Alexei Mikhailovich died. Peter's half-brother Fedor ascends the throne. Fedor was concerned that Peter was not taught to read and write, and asked Naryshkin to devote more time to this component of education.