Although, because of his father's jokes on the topic "it is not known where his wife's children are from," many consider the father of Paul I to Ekaterina Alekseevna's favorite, Sergei Saltykov. Moreover, the firstborn was born only after 10 years of marriage. However, the outward resemblance between Paul and Peter should be seen as a response to such rumors. The childhood of the future autocrat cannot be called happy. Because of the political struggle, the current Empress Elizabeth I Petrovna was afraid for Paul the First, protected him from communicating with his parents and surrounded him with a real army of nannies and teachers who curried out more to high-ranking officials than worried about the boy.
Paul the First in childhood | Runivers
The biography of Paul I claims that he received the best education that was possible at that time. An extensive library of Academician Korf was provided at his personal disposal. The teachers taught the heir to the throne not only the traditional Law of God, foreign languages, dances and fencing, but also painting, as well as history, geography, arithmetic and even astronomy. Interestingly, none of the lessons included anything related to military affairs, but an inquisitive teenager himself became interested in this science and mastered it at a fairly high level.
Pavel the First in his youth | Arguments and Facts When Catherine II ascended the throne, she allegedly signed a pledge to hand over the reign to her son Paul I when he came of age. This document has not reached us: perhaps the empress destroyed the paper, or maybe this is just a legend. But it was precisely this statement that all rebels dissatisfied with the rule of the "Iron German", including Yemelyan Pugachev, always referred to. In addition, there was talk that already on her deathbed, Elizabeth Petrovna was going to transfer the crown to her grandson Paul I, and not to her nephew Peter III, but the corresponding order was not made public and this decision did not affect the biography of Paul the First.
The emperor
Pavel the First took the throne of the Russian Empire only at the age of 42. Right during the coronation, he announced changes in the succession to the throne: now only men could rule Russia, and the crown was passed only from father to son. By this, Paul unsuccessfully hoped to prevent the recent frequent palace coups. By the way, for the first time in history, in one day, the coronation procedure took place simultaneously for both the emperor and the empress.
The disgusting relationship with his mother led to the fact that Paul I chose the method of governing the country, in fact, opposing his decisions to its previous ones. As if "to spite" the memory of Ekaterina Alekseevna, Pavel the First returned freedom to the convicted radicals, reformed the army and began to fight serfdom.
Pavel the First | Petersburg history But in reality, all these ideas did not lead to anything good. The liberation of the radicals in many years will come back to haunt in the form of the Decembrist uprising, the reduction of corvee remained only on paper, and the fight against corruption in the army grew into a series of repressions. Moreover, dissatisfied with the emperor remained both the higher ranks, who were one after the other were deprived of their posts, and ordinary military personnel. They were grumbled about the new uniforms, modeled on the Prussian army, which proved incredibly uncomfortable. In foreign policy, Paul the First became famous for his struggle with the ideas of the French Revolution. He introduced the strictest censorship in publishing, French books, French fashion, including round hats, were banned.
Pavel the First | Wikipedia During the reign of Paul the First, thanks to the commander Alexander Suvorov and Vice Admiral Fyodor Ushakov, the Russian army and navy achieved many significant victories, cooperating with the Prussian and Austrian troops. But later Paul I showed his fickle character, broke off relations with the allies and formed an alliance with Napoleon. It was in Bonaparte that the Russian emperor saw the force that could stop the anti-monarchist revolution. But he was wrong strategically: Napoleon did not become the winner even after the death of Paul the First, but because of his decision and the economic blockade of Great Britain, Russia lost its largest sales market, which had a very significant impact on the standard of living in the Russian Empire.
Personal life
Pavel the First was officially married twice. His first wife, Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna, was by birth the German princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt. She passed away two years after the wedding during childbirth. The first son of Paul I was born dead. In the same year, the future emperor married again. The wife of Paul the First, Maria Feodorovna, before marriage was called Sophia Maria Dorothea of Württemberg, and she was destined to become the mother of two rulers at once, Alexander I and Nicholas I.
Princess Natalya Alekseevna, the first wife of Paul I | Pinterest Interestingly, this marriage was not just beneficial for the state, Paul really fell in love with this girl. As he wrote to his family, "this blonde with a pleasant face captivated the widower." In total, in alliance with Maria Feodorovna, the emperor had 10 children. In addition to the two aforementioned autocrats, it is worth noting Mikhail Pavlovich, who founded the first Russian Artillery School in St. Petersburg. By the way, he is also the only child born during the reign of Paul the First.
Pavel I and Maria Feodorovna surrounded by children | Wikipedia But falling in love with his wife did not prevent Paul the First from following the generally accepted rules and making his own favorites. Two of them, the maids of honor Sophia Ushakova and Mavra Yuriev, even gave birth to illegitimate children from the emperor. It is also worth noting Ekaterina Nelidova, who had a huge influence on the emperor and it is believed that she tried to lead the country with the hands of her beloved. The personal life of Paul I and Ekaterina Nelidova was more intellectual than carnal. In it, the emperor realized his ideas of romantic chivalry.
Favorites of Paul I, Ekaterina Nelidova and Anna Lopukhina When those close to the court realized how much the power of this woman had grown, they arranged a "replacement" for the favorite of Paul I. Anna Lopukhina became his new lady of the heart, and Nelidova was forced to retire to Lode castle, on the territory of present-day Estonia. It is curious that Lopukhina was not happy with this state of affairs, was burdened by the status of the mistress of the ruler Paul the First, his "knightly" displays of attention and was annoyed that this relationship was being put on display.
Death
During the several years of the reign of Paul the First, despite the change in succession, at least three conspiracies were organized against him, the last of which was crowned with success. Almost a dozen officers, commanders of the most famous regiments, as well as statesmen on the night of March 24, 1801 entered the emperor's bedroom in the Mikhailovsky Castle and killed Paul I. The official cause of his death was called apoplexy. It is worth noting that the nobles and ordinary people greeted the news of the death with bad jubilation.
"Assassination of Emperor Paul I" engraving, 1880 | Wikipedia The perception of Paul the First by subsequent generations is ambiguous. Some historians, especially during the reign of his successor Alexander I, and then in Soviet times, created the image of a tyrant and tyrant. Even the poet in the ode "Liberty" called him "the crowned villain." Others try to emphasize the heightened sense of justice of Paul the First, call him "the only romantic on the throne" and "Russian Hamlet." The Orthodox Church even at one time considered the possibility of canonizing this person. Today it is generally accepted that Paul the First does not fit into the system of any known ideology.
From birth (October 1, 1754) he was removed from his parents and brought up under the supervision of the reigning aunt Elizabeth Petrovna. At the age of eight, Paul witnessed the involvement of his mother in the death of his father. Catherine did not love her son and by all means removed him from public affairs.
Even after Paul reached the age of majority, the empress continued to hold on to power. In 1773 she married Pavel to the princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, in Orthodoxy Natalia Alekseevna, who died in 1776 in childbirth.
In September of the same year, Pavel remarried the Princess of Württemberg, in Orthodoxy, Maria Feodorovna. Catherine II took away from a married couple two sons, Alexander and Constantine, as Elizaveta Petrovna once did to her, taking Pavel from her.
Because the law on succession to the throne, adopted by Peter I, made it possible to appoint an heir at his discretion, the empress intended to transfer the throne to her grandson Alexander. And in order to push Paul even further, Catherine II presented him with an estate in Gatchina, where he moved with his wife and a small courtyard in 1783.
Paul was well educated, intelligent and developed, was a man of honor, decent and romantic. But the mother's disregard for his rights, unceremonious interference in his family life, her constant control developed deep resentment and anger in Paul, he turned into a suspicious, bilious, nervous and unbalanced person.
On November 6, 1796, Catherine II died, and the 42-year-old Paul I took the throne. On the day of his coronation, he issued a new law on succession to the throne. The thought that power came to him too late forced him to rush in everything, without thinking through the measures he was taking.
The main characteristic of the reign of Paul I can be called the destruction of everything that was done by his mother. The main goal of his laws, decrees, orders, and prohibitions is a sharp absolutization of autocracy in the country. Censorship was introduced on printing, private printing houses were closed, and the import of books from abroad was prohibited.
At the very beginning of the reign of Paul I, a military-police regime was introduced in the country, Prussian orders in the army, the whole life of subjects was regulated.
Paul I carried out a military reform, introducing the Prussian system of training troops, emphasizing the importance of observing the most severe discipline.
Many of the privileges granted by Catherine II to the nobility were canceled. Compulsory military service, taxation, restrictions on rights, restoration of the punishment of the nobles are the requirements of the emperor to the nobility.
But during the reign of Emperor Paul I, the peasants received some indulgences and rights. On Sundays and holidays, peasants were freed from work, a 3-day corvee was established, recruitment and grain supply were canceled.
A feature of the reign of Paul I was the emphasis on his contrast with his mother, which also affected foreign policy. He promised to maintain peaceful relations with all states, not to interfere in the affairs of the West.
In 1797, Paul I took under his protection the knightly order of the Johannites, miraculously preserved in Malta from the time of the Crusades, and assumed the title of Grand Master of the order, which aroused the discontent of the Russian clergy. But the capture of Malta by Napoleon in 1798 pushed Russia to join the anti-French coalition with Austria and England. In 1800, there was a break in Russian-English relations and the rapprochement of Paul I with Napoleon.
In 1801, Paul I was killed in the Mikhailovsky Castle by supporters of his son Alexander.
During her lifetime, Catherine actually removed Paul from power, their relationship was very cool. In 1794, she tried to deprive him of his right to inherit the throne and transfer power to her grandson. However, the empress could not carry out this intention.
After becoming emperor, Paul changed the order that existed at the court of Catherine. His policies in all areas were extremely inconsistent. He restored the abolished colleges, changed the administrative division of Russia, reduced the number of provinces, and returned the previous forms of government to the provinces of Russia. Pavel deprived the nobility of privileges, limited the validity of letters of gratitude, and constrained local self-government. In 1797, he established the peasant labor standard (three days of corvee per week), this was the first limitation of landlord power. However, in four years of his reign, he distributed over 600 thousand state-owned peasants to the landowners.
In his activities, Paul I admitted to extremes and led an inappropriate policy. He banned the words "club", "council", "fatherland", "citizen". Forbidden waltz, individual details of clothing. He pardoned prisoners for political reasons arrested under Catherine II, but at the same time continued to fight against revolutionary manifestations in society. In 1797-1799. he instituted the most severe censorship, banning 639 editions. On July 5, 1800, many printing houses were sealed for censorship. Paul intervened in the affairs of religion, trying to introduce elements of Catholicism into Orthodoxy.
The emperor overturned the law prohibiting the purchase of peasants to work in factories. Without any justification, he restored the collegial system, abolished by Catherine II.
Among the innovations introduced by the emperor, the creation of the Medical and Surgical Academy, the Russian-American company, and a school for military orphans stand out positively.
The Emperor attached great importance to regulations in military relations. Mushtra in the army acquired unprecedented proportions, which caused discontent among the guards and among the senior officers.
In 1798, an anti-French coalition was created, which included England, Austria, Turkey and Russia. The Black Sea squadron under the command of F.F. Ushakov. The Russian fleet liberated the Ionian Islands and Southern Italy from the French occupation. In February 1799, a major battle took place for the island of Corfu, where the three thousandth French garrison was defeated. Russian troops entered Naples and Rome.
In 1799, Russia began the land phase of the war. At the insistence of the Allies, the command of the troops was entrusted. For a month and a half of hostilities, the Russian troops managed to oust the French from Northern Italy. Fearing the growing influence of Russia in Italy, Austria achieved the transfer of Suvorov's troops to Switzerland. August 31, 1799 to provide assistance to the troops of General A.M. Rimsky-Korsakov Suvorov made a heroic transition from Northern Italy through the Alps to Switzerland. Russian troops in the battles at St. Gotthard and Devil's Bridge overpowered the enemy. But help was late, and the troops of Rimsky-Korsakov were defeated.
In 1800, Paul I changed the course of foreign policy. He ceases hostilities, withdraws troops to Russia and breaks the alliance with England and Austria. Having concluded peace with France, Paul I entered into an alliance with Prussia against Austria, as well as with Prussia, Switzerland and Denmark against England. The aggravation of relations with England caused discontent among the nobility, since England was the main partner of Russia in trade and the purchase of grain.
On the night of March 11-12, 1801, he interrupted plans for a war against England. Paul 1 was killed as a result of this coup, organized by the senior guards officers, who did not forgive him the oppression and the will taken from them.
The reign of Paul 1 is one of the most mysterious periods in Russian history. He ascended the throne after his mother (the great Catherine II), but he could not become a worthy successor of her policy.
The years of the reign of Paul 1 are 1796-1801. During these five years, he managed to do a lot, including much to dislike the nobility and other statesmen. disliked his mother and her politics. This attitude was, in particular, because Catherine II, fearing for her rights to the throne, did not allow her son to participate in state affairs. Therefore, he lived and dreamed of how he would lead his empire.
The reign of Paul 1 began with a change It should be recalled that the traditional order of inheritance, first of the royal, and then of the imperial power was changed by Peter 1, which served as the beginning Paul 1 returned everything to its place: power was again transferred through the male line (by seniority). His order removed women from power forever. By changing the system of succession to the throne, the new emperor got rid of those people who occupied prominent state positions during the reign of his mother. Thus, Paul formed a new nobility and got rid of the old overseers. He also enacted the “three-day corvee decree” and lifted the ban on peasants from complaining about their owners. This gives the right to say that the emperor was aimed at mitigating serfdom.
The nobles, landowners and everyone who owned the peasants were very dissatisfied with these measures. Increased enmity towards Paul and a significant restriction adopted by his mother. In his immediate entourage, thoughts about the overthrow of the emperor and the ascension to the throne of his son, the future Alexander 1, begin to arise.
The reign of Paul 1 (its brief description will be supplemented below) was favorable for the peasant population of the country. But what was going on in domestic politics?
Paul 1 was a lover of the Prussian order, but this love did not reach fanaticism. Having completely lost confidence and disillusioned with England, he goes to a rapprochement with another great power - France. As a result of this rapprochement, Paul saw a successful struggle with and isolation of England, as well as a struggle for their colonies. Paul decides to send the Cossacks to capture India, but this campaign was economically disadvantageous for the country and also intensified the brewing contradictions between the government and the nobility. It is worth noting that the reign of Paul 1 was too dependent on his mood: orders were taken very thoughtlessly and spontaneously, spontaneous decisions were sometimes too strange.
In March 1801, a coup d'état took place, after which the emperor was killed (according to many historians, the conspirators did not want to kill him, but after refusing to abdicate the throne, they decided to take this step).
Although the reign of Paul 1 was short, it left a bright mark on the history of our country. He did a lot for the peasantry, but little for the nobles and landowners, for which he was killed by the conspirators.
In this era, it differs significantly from previous periods, which is primarily associated with the personality of Paul I, the son of Catherine II and Peter III, in many of whose actions it is difficult to find continuity; his actions were at times completely unpredictable and devoid of any logic. Russian policy in those years was quite consistent with the personality of the emperor - a capricious man, changeable in his decisions, easily changing from anger to mercy, moreover, suspicious and suspicious.
Catherine II did not love her son. He grew up in distance and alienation from her, entrusted with the upbringing of N.I. Panin. When he grew up and in 1773 married the princess of Hesse-Darmstadt Wilhelmina, who took the name of Natalia Alekseevna, Catherine gave him the right to live in Gatchina, where under his command was a small detachment of the army, which he trained according to the Prussian model. This was his main occupation. In 1774, Paul tried to get closer to the affairs of state administration, having submitted to Catherine a note "Discourse on the state in general regarding the number of troops required to defend it and regarding the defense of all limits", which did not receive the approval of the empress. In 1776, during childbirth, his wife died and Pavel remarried to the Virtemberg princess Sophia-Dorothea, who took the name of Maria Feodorovna. In 1777, they had a son, the future emperor Alexander I, and in 1779 the second, Constantine. Catherine II took both grandchildren for her upbringing, which further complicated their relationship. Removed from business and removed from the court, Pavel became more and more imbued with feelings of resentment, irritation and direct hostility towards his mother and her entourage, wasting the strength of his mind on theoretical considerations about the need to correct the state of the Russian Empire. All of this made Paul a broken and embittered man.
From the first minutes of his reign, it became clear that he would rule with the help of new people. The former favorites of Catherine have lost all meaning. Previously humiliated by them, Paul now expressed his complete disdain for them. Nevertheless, he was filled with the best intentions, strove for the good of the state, but the lack of management skills prevented him from acting successfully. Dissatisfied with the system of government, Paul could not find people around him to replace the previous administration. Wanting to establish order in the state, he rooted out the old, while he planted the new with such cruelty that it seemed even more terrible. This unpreparedness for governing the country was combined with the unevenness of his character, which resulted in his addiction to external forms of subordination, and his irascibility often turned into cruelty. Pavel transferred his casual moods to politics. Therefore, the most important facts of his domestic and foreign policy cannot be presented in the form of a coherent and correct system. It should be noted that all Paul's measures to establish order in the country violated only the harmony of the previous government, without creating anything new and useful. Filled with a thirst for activity, wanting to delve into all state problems, he set to work at six in the morning and forced all government officials to follow this schedule. At the end of the morning, Pavel, dressed in a dark green uniform and boots, accompanied by his sons and adjutants, went to the parade. He, as the commander-in-chief of the army, made promotions and appointments at his own discretion. A strict drill was imposed in the army and a Prussian military uniform was introduced. The circular of November 29, 1796, the main principles of military affairs were elevated to the accuracy of the formation, the verification of intervals and the goose step. He chased away honored, but not pleasing to him generals and replaced them with unknown, often completely mediocre, but ready to fulfill the most absurd whim of the emperor (in particular, he was sent into exile). The appeal was made publicly. According to a well-known historical anecdote, somehow, angry with the regiment that could not clearly fulfill the command, Pavel ordered him to march to Siberia right from the parade. Those close to the king begged him to have mercy. The regiment, which, following this order, had already managed to move quite far from the capital, was returned back to St. Petersburg.
In general, two lines can be traced in the policy of the new emperor: to eradicate what was created by Catherine II, and to remake Russia after the model of Gatchina. The strict order introduced in his personal residence near St. Petersburg, Paul wanted to extend to the whole of Russia. He used the first reason to demonstrate hatred of his mother at the funeral of Catherine II. Paul demanded that the funeral ceremony be performed simultaneously over the body of Catherine and Peter III, who was killed by her order. On his instructions, the coffin with the body of her husband was removed from the crypt of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and placed in the throne room of the Winter Palace next to Catherine's coffin. After they were solemnly transferred to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. This procession was opened by Alexei Orlov, the main culprit of the murder, who carried the crown of the emperor he had killed on a golden pillow. His accomplices, Passek and Baryatinsky, held the brushes of the mourning cover. They were followed on foot by the new emperor, empress, grand dukes and princesses, and generals. In the cathedral, the priests, dressed in mourning vestments, performed the funeral service for both at the same time.
Paul I freed N.I. Novikov, returned Radishchev from exile, showered favors on T. Kostyushko and allowed him to emigrate to America, giving him 60 thousand rubles, received with honors in St. Petersburg the former Polish king Stanislav Ponyatovsky.
"HAMLET AND DON-QUIXOTE"
In Russia, in front of the eyes of the whole society, for 34 years, a real, and not a theatrical tragedy of Prince Hamlet took place, the hero of which was the heir to the Tsarevich Pavel the First.<…>In European higher circles it was he who was called "Russian Hamlet". After the death of Catherine II and his accession to the Russian throne, Paul was more often compared to Don Quixote Cervantes. V.S. Zhilkin: “Two of the greatest images of world literature in relation to one person - one Emperor Paul was honored in the whole world.<…>Both Hamlet and Don Quixote act as bearers of the highest truth in the face of vulgarity and lies reigning in the world. This is what makes them both related to Paul. Like them, Paul was at odds with his age, like them, he did not want to "keep up with the times."
In the history of Russia, the opinion that the emperor was a stupid ruler has taken root, but this is far from the case. On the contrary, Paul did a lot, or at least tried to do a lot for the country and its people, especially the peasantry and clergy. The reason for this state of affairs is that the tsar tried to limit the power of the nobility, which received almost unlimited rights and the abolition of many duties (for example, military service) under Catherine the Great, fought against embezzlement. The guards did not like the fact that they were trying to "drill" it. Thus, everything was done to create the myth of the "tyrant". Herzen's words are noteworthy: "Paul I was a disgusting and ridiculous spectacle of the crowned Don Quixote." Like literary heroes, Paul I dies as a result of treacherous murder. Alexander I ascends to the Russian throne, who, as you know, all his life felt guilty for the death of his father.
"ESTABLISHMENT OF THE IMPERIAL NAME"
During the days of the coronation celebrations, in 1797, Paul announced the first government act of great importance - the "Institution of the Imperial Family". The new law restored the old, pre-Petrine custom of the transfer of power. Paul saw what the violation of this law had led, and had an adverse effect on himself. This law again restored inheritance only through the male line by birthright. From now on, the throne could be transferred only to the eldest of the sons, and in their absence to the eldest of the brothers, "so that the state would not be without an heir, so that the heir was always appointed by the law itself, so that there would be no doubt about whom to inherit." For the maintenance of the imperial family, a special department of "appanages" was formed, which managed specific properties and peasants living on specific lands.
SOSLOVNAYA POLICY
The opposition to the actions of his mother was also manifested in the class policy of Paul I - his attitude towards the nobility. Paul I liked to repeat: "A nobleman in Russia is only the one with whom I speak and while I am talking to him." As a defender of unrestricted autocratic power, he did not want to allow any class privileges, significantly limiting the validity of the Letter of Charter to the nobility of 1785. In 1798, the governors were ordered to attend the elections of the leaders of the nobility. The next year, another restriction followed - the provincial assemblies of nobles were canceled and the provincial leaders were to be elected by the district leaders. Nobles were prohibited from submitting collective representations of their needs, and they could be subjected to corporal punishment for criminal offenses.
ONE AND HUNDRED THOUSANDS
What happened between Paul and the nobility in 1796-1801? The nobility, whose most active part we conditionally divided into "educators" and "cynics" who agreed on the "benefits of enlightenment" (Pushkin) and have not yet diverged far enough in the dispute over the abolition of slavery. Didn't Paul have the opportunity to satisfy a number of general or particular desires, the needs of this class and its individual representatives? Published and unpublished archival materials leave no doubt that a considerable percentage of Pavlov's "rapid-fire" plans and orders fell on his class "according to his heart." 550-600 thousand new serfs (yesterday's state, appanage, economic, etc.) were transferred to the landlords along with 5 million acres of land - a particularly eloquent fact when compared with the decisive statements of Paul the heir against mother's distribution of serfs. However, a few months after his accession to the rebellious Oryol peasants, troops will move; at the same time, Pavel will ask the commander-in-chief about the expediency of the tsar's departure to the scene of action (this is already a "chivalrous style"!).
The service advantages of the nobles during these years were preserved and strengthened, as before. A raznochinets could become a non-commissioned officer only after four years of service in the rank and file, a nobleman - after three months, and in 1798 Pavel generally ordered not to introduce raznochinets into officers from now on! It was by order of Paul in 1797 that the Auxiliary Bank for the Nobility was established, which issued huge loans.
Let's listen to one of the enlightened contemporaries: “Agriculture, industry, trade, arts and sciences had in him (Paul) a reliable patron. To promote education and upbringing, he founded a university in Dorpat, in St. Petersburg a school for military orphans (Pavlovsky corps). For women - the Institute of the Order of St. Catherine and the institution of the department of Empress Mary. " Among the new institutions of Pavlov's time, we will find a number of those that never aroused noble objections: the Russian-American Company, the Medical-Surgical Academy. Let us also mention the soldiers' schools, where 12 thousand people were taught under Catherine II, and 64 thousand people were taught under Paul I.<…>The Tula nobleman, rejoicing at the beginning of the Pavlovian changes, at the same time poorly hides some fear: “Nothing so worried all the Russian nobility during the change of government, as the fear that Tsar Peter III would not be deprived of the freedom granted to him by Tsar Peter III, and the retention of that privilege in order to serve everyone at ease and as long as anyone wishes; but, to everyone's delight, the new monarch at his very accession to the throne, namely on the third or fourth day, by dismissing some of the guard officers from service, on the basis of a decree on the freedom of the nobility, and proved that he did not intend to deprive the nobles of this precious right and make them serve out of bondage. It is impossible to quite depict how everyone rejoiced when they heard this ... ”They did not rejoice for long.
N. Ya. Edelman. Edge of the centuries
AGRARIAN POLICY
Paul's inconsistency also manifested itself in the peasant question. By law of April 5, 1797, Paul established the standard of peasant labor in favor of the landowner, appointing three days of corvee per week. This manifesto is usually called "the decree on the three-day corvee", however, this law contained only a prohibition to force peasants to work on Sundays, establishing only a recommendation for landowners to adhere to this norm. The law stated that "the remaining six days in a week, divided by an equal number of them," "with good disposition, will be sufficient" to meet the economic needs of the landlords. In the same year, another decree was issued, according to which it was forbidden to sell household people and landless peasants under the hammer, and in 1798 a ban was established on the sale of Ukrainian peasants without land. In the same 1798, the emperor restored the right of the owners of manufactures to buy peasants to work in factories. However, during his reign, serfdom continued to spread widely. During the four years of his reign, Paul I handed over 500,000 state peasants to private hands, while Catherine II, over thirty-six years of reign, distributed about 800,000 souls of both sexes. The sphere of action of serfdom was also expanded: the decree of December 12, 1796 prohibited the free passage of peasants who lived on private lands in the Don region, the northern Caucasus and Novorossiysk provinces (Yekaterinoslav and Taurida).
At the same time, Paul strove to settle the situation of the state peasants. A number of Senate decrees were ordered to satisfy them with sufficient land plots - 15 dessiatines per male head in the multi-land provinces, and 8 dessiatines in the rest. In 1797, the rural and volost self-government of the state peasants was regulated - elected village heads and "volost heads" were introduced.
THE ATTITUDE OF PAUL I TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Paul was also relentlessly pursued by the specter of the revolution. Overly suspicious, he saw the subversive influence of revolutionary ideas even in fashionable clothes and, by decree of January 13, 1797, forbade the wearing of round hats, long pantaloons, shoes with bows, and boots with cuffs. Two hundred dragoons, divided into pickets, ran through the streets of St. Petersburg and caught passers-by, mainly belonging to high society, whose costume did not correspond to the order of the emperor. Their hats were ripped open, their vests were cut open, and their shoes were confiscated.
Having established such supervision over the dressing of his subjects, Paul took on the way of their thoughts. By decree of February 16, 1797, he introduced secular and ecclesiastical censorship, ordered private printing houses to be sealed. The words "citizen", "club", "society" were deleted from the dictionaries.
Paul's tyrannical rule, his inconsistency both in domestic and foreign policy, caused more and more displeasure in noble circles. The hearts of young guardsmen from noble families seethed with hatred for the Gatchina order and Paul's favorites. There was a conspiracy against him. On the night of March 12, 1801, the conspirators entered the Mikhailovsky Castle and killed Paul I.
S.F. PLATONOV ABOUT PAUL I
“A distracted sense of legitimacy and fear of being attacked by France forced Paul to fight the French; personal resentment forced him to retreat from this war and prepare for another. The element of chance was just as strong in foreign politics as in domestic politics: both here and there Paul was guided by a feeling rather than an idea. "
IN. KLYUCHEVSKY ABOUT PAUL I
“Emperor Paul the First was the first tsar, in some of whose acts a new direction, new ideas seemed to appear. I do not share the rather common disregard for the significance of this brief reign; it is in vain that they consider it to be some random episode of our history, a sad whim of an unfriendly fate to us, which has no internal connection with the previous time and did not give anything further: no, this reign is organically connected as a protest - with the past, but as the first unsuccessful experience of a new policy as an edifying lesson for successors - with the future. The instinct of order, discipline and equality was the guiding impetus of the emperor's activities, the fight against class privileges was his main task. Since the exclusive position acquired by one estate had its source in the absence of fundamental laws, Emperor Paul 1 began to create these laws. "
