Political portrait of the rulers of the era of palace coups. Palace coups: causes and main events

“The era of palace coups” (wording by V.O. Klyuchevsky) is usually called the stage of national history that began after the death of Peter I and ended with the coming to power of Catherine II.

Background of the era of palace coups

1. Decree on succession to the throne 1722., canceling old order inheritance, allowed the emperor himself to appoint his heir. On the one hand, this was a manifestation absolutism, and on the other hand, it allowed to ignore the regularity of the transfer of the throne.

2. Schism under Peter the ruling elite to the noble aristocracy and "new nobility". Their confrontation has become fertile ground for internal political struggle. Each group has its own candidate for the throne.

3. Overexertion of forces during the years of Peter's reforms (destruction of traditions, violent methods of reform) - a condition for political instability.

4. Alienation of the broad strata population from politics, their passivity is fertile ground for palace intrigues and coups.

Catherine I (1725-1727)

During the era of palace coups, 6 monarchs were replaced, 2 of them were displaced by force and subsequently killed.

Under "Bironic" usually understand the dominance of foreigners in governing the country. However, the question of the special dominance of foreigners in the 1730s. controversial, since they were mostly people who had already served under Peter I.

Under Anna Ioannovna, the process of expanding noble privileges began:

The distribution of land resumed;

In 1731 Peter's decree on single inheritance was canceled

Decree on unanimity- decree of Peter I of March 23, 1714. According to this decree, estates were equated with estates and formed an estate. Real estate could be inherited only by one of the sons, and in their absence - by the daughter. It was canceled by Empress Anna Ioannovna.

The term of noble service is limited to 25 years;

Obtaining an officer's rank was made easier: a cadet corps was created, after which an officer's rank was given; it was allowed to enroll noble children in the service, which made it possible to receive the rank “for length of service” when growing up.

Anna Ioannovna, her heir appointed her great-nephew (son of her niece - Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Braunschweig) Ivan Antonovich.

Ivan VI (1740-1741)

Ivan Antonovich was declared emperor at the age of 2 months under the regency of Biron. However, the latter could not hold power in his hands.

A month later, a coup was carried out under the leadership of Field Marshal Minikha. Biron is arrested and exiled. Under Ivan Antonovich, his mother Anna Leopoldovna became regent, and Osterman took the leading positions in politics.

The events that took place in 1740-1741 clearly demonstrated the dominance of foreigners in governing the country, which was contrary to the interests of the Russian nobility and the state.

Elizabeth I (1741-1761)

November 25, 1741. with the help of the Guards (Preobrazhensky Regiment), another coup took place. Ivan VI with his parents was arrested, the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth I, ascended the throne.

As a statesman, Elizabeth I did not differ from her predecessors. She devoted most of her time to entertainment. The management of the state was entrusted to new favorites - Razumovsky, Shuvalov, Vorontsov.

Elizabeth proclaimed the goal of her reign to return to her father's ways. The Cabinet of Ministers was abolished, the Senate was restored in its rights.

In addition, important events in Elizabeth's reign include:

1753 abolition of internal customs;

1755 - opening of the Moscow University.

During the reign of Elizabeth, the death penalty was practically not used.

The former estate policy has been preserved: the expansion of the rights and privileges of the nobility:

In 1746, the right to own serfs was assigned only to the nobles;

In 1754, distillation was declared a noble monopoly;

In 1760, the landlords received the right to exile the peasants to Siberia for hard labor.

After the death of Elizabeth I(December 1761) the throne was taken by her nephew (the son of Peter I's daughter Anna) Karl Peter Ulrich, who received the name of Peter Fedorovich after converting to Orthodoxy.

Peter III (1761-1762)

Peter III was born and raised in the German lands (his father is the Duke of Holstein).

His short reign struck by the abundance of decrees (192 in six months). The most important of them is the “Manifesto on Granting Freedom and Liberty to the Russian Nobility” (developed under Elizabeth): the nobles were exempted from compulsory service, they were allowed to travel abroad and enter foreign service.

Under Peter III, a decree was adopted on the secularization of church lands, the persecution of the Old Believers was stopped, a decree was being prepared on the equalization of all religions. These measures, which seem progressive today, in the middle of the XVIII century. perceived as an insult to Orthodoxy.

At the same time, Peter behaved disrespectfully towards the Russian guards and the army (the shameful end of the Seven Years' War).

Seven Years' War- war of 1756-1763 between Austria, France, Russia, Spain, Saxony, Sweden, on the one hand, and Prussia, Great Britain (in union with Hanover) and Portugal, on the other. It was caused by the aggravation of the Anglo-French struggle for colonies and the clash of Prussian policy with the interests of Austria, France and Russia. In 1761, Prussia was on the verge of disaster, but the new Russian Tsar Peter III concluded an alliance with her in 1762. According to the Treaty of Hubertusburg in 1763 with Austria and Saxony, Prussia secured Silesia for itself. According to the Paris Peace Treaty of 1763, Canada, Vost. Louisiana, most of the French possessions in India. The main result of the Seven Years' War was the victory of Great Britain over France in the struggle for colonial and commercial superiority.

By the summer of 1762 against Peter III, a conspiracy developed among the guards (led by Grigory and Alexei Orlov). On June 28, when Peter III was not in the capital, his wife Catherine was proclaimed empress.

Features of the era of palace coups:

1. Weak non-initiative monarchs (“women and children”).

2. Favoritism(Menshikov, Biron, Shuvalov).

Favoritism(from Latin favor - favor) - a phenomenon associated with the presence of persons who enjoy the favor of the ruler, an influential person, who receive various privileges from him and, in turn, influence him.

3. The absence of any deep state reforms, the reorganization of the central authorities "under" a specific monarch.

4. Increasing the influence of foreigners on politics.

5. The active role of the guard.

3. "Enlightened absolutism" of Catherine II (1762-1796).

The Essence of the Politics of Enlightened Absolutism

Education- the ideological trend of the 17th - mid-19th centuries. It originated in England, the most widespread in France ( D. Diderot, C. Montesquieu, J.-J. Rousseau).

Philosophers of the Enlightenment formulated theory of "natural rights".

The theory of "natural rights". Enlightenment philosophers believed that all people by nature were free and had equal rights. However, humanity in its development violated the natural laws of life, which led to oppression and injustice. It is possible to return to justice only by enlightening the people, and an enlightened society will again establish fair laws (one of the ways is the activity of enlightened monarchs).

Enlightenment ideas became widespread in Europe and had a direct impact on the public policy of many countries.

In a number of European countries in the 18th century. from the standpoint of enlightenment (natural rights, freedom, civil equality), absolute monarchy was criticized. In France, criticism grew into a revolution.

In other countries (Russia, Austria) far-sighted monarchs, seeking to strengthen the foundations of absolute monarchy, themselves eliminated the most outdated foundations of the state system, while relying on some ideas of enlightenment.

The objectives of the policy of enlightened absolutism in Russia:

1) strengthening autocracy through modernization, improvement of the state administration system;

2) mitigation of social tension;

3) dissemination of knowledge, European forms of culture and education;

In this way, the essence of the policy of enlightened absolutism is that, without changing the essence state forms absolute monarchy, from above to carry out reforms in the economic, political, cultural fields and thus eliminate the most obsolete phenomena of the feudal order.

But the main feature of Russian education should be recognized that, if in Europe it will contribute to the elimination of absolutism, then in Russia, on the contrary, it will help strengthen the power of the monarch.

34-year reign of Catherine II It is customary to divide it into two stages: before and after the Pugachev uprising.

Policy of Catherine II in 1762-1773

At the first stage of her reign, Catherine II was especially passionate about the ideas of enlightenment.

At the beginning of the reign the empress did not feel like a sovereign ruler. This was facilitated by the circumstances of coming to the throne (coup, illegitimacy); potential competition from the son of Pavel and Ivan Antonovich. A sign of Catherine's lack of independence in the first years of her reign was the creation of the imperial council - the central legislative institution of Russia in 1762-1769.

Nonetheless, already in September 1762, Catherine II was solemnly crowned. The Imperial Council did not become an influential body. As for the “competitors”, Paul kept away from the throne all the time his mother was on the throne; Ivan Antonovich was killed in 1764 under circumstances that were not fully clarified.

During the first stage of her reign, Catherine paid special attention to lawmaking. One of the first reforms - the division of the Senate into 6 departments

Catherine II continued, following Peter I, carrying out measures to unify management on the territory of the Russian Empire: in 1764 it was liquidated hetmanship in Ukraine.

hetmanship(hetman rule) - system government controlled in Ukraine in the middle of the 17th - the middle of the 18th centuries. The hetman was elected at the Cossack Rada from persons nominated in advance by the foreman, and then approved by the tsarist government. The hetman had the right to lead the local militia. He headed the senior administration, approved the decisions of the general court, signed generals. The Hetman's Board was abolished in 1764, and its functions were transferred to the Little Russian Collegium.

Catherine completes long process of subordination of the church to the state. If Peter I did away with the administrative independence of the church, then Catherine makes the church economically dependent on the state. For this purpose, in 1764, secularization of church land ownership was carried out.

Central event the first decade of Catherine's reign was the Convocation of the Legislative Commission.

The goal is to develop a new code of laws, since the last time the codification of laws was carried out in 1649. Deputies were chosen to work on the commission - representatives of different sectors of society. However, about half of the deputies were persons of noble origin.

Before the start of the work of the commission, Catherine developed a "Mandate" addressed to the deputies, which is the system of views of Catherine II.

One side, in it - ideas in the spirit of enlightenment (refusal of torture; restriction of the use of the death penalty; the idea of ​​separating the judiciary from the executive).

On the other hand- departure from the ideas of enlightenment (rejection of the theory of "natural rights", restriction of rights by class boundaries; autocracy - the only possible form government in Russia).

Laid commission will not cope with its task and, in the conditions of the Russian-Turkish war that began in 1768, will be dissolved. However, her work was not in vain: during the functioning of the commission, the authorities got an idea of ​​the needs of the estates, which will be partly used at the second stage of government.

Politics of Catherine II in 1775-1796

Pugachev uprising demonstrated the inefficiency of local government, the weakness of provincial government (the rebels managed to keep entire provinces under their control for months).

It was at this stage that Catherine II initiated the most important transformations of the state machine. These include provincial and judicial reforms.

Provincial reform (1775)

The Russian Empire was divided into 50 provinces (according to the principle of an approximately equal number of subjects).

The intermediate link in the administrative-territorial division - the province - was liquidated.

Unification of the government of the provinces: headed by the governor, with him - the provincial government; in each province, a state chamber was created, headed by a vice-governor. In addition, orders of public charity were organized in the Russian provinces to resolve a number of social issues.

Judicial Reform (1775) introduced its own court for each estate, and also provided for the introduction of the principle of election of judges - an attempt to separate the judiciary from the administrative.

Besides, it is at the second stage that Catherine's social policy is concretized. It is reflected in such documents as « Letter of Companion to the Nobility” and “Charter of Letter to Cities”.

In "Charter to the nobility", published on April 21, 1785, the rights of the nobility were finally secured. The letter confirmed the privileges given to the nobility earlier: freedom from corporal punishment, poll tax, compulsory service, the right to unlimited ownership of estates and land with its subsoil, the right to trade and industrial activities. Deprivation of noble dignity could be carried out only by decision of the Senate with the highest approval. The estates of convicted nobles were not subject to confiscation. The nobility was henceforth referred to as "noble".

Powers have been expanded nobility institutions. The nobility received class self-government: meetings of the nobility headed by provincial and district marshals. Noble assemblies could make representations to the authorities about their needs. It is no coincidence that the reign of Catherine II is often called the "golden age of the Russian nobility."

Simultaneously with the "Charter to the nobility" was published "Charter to the cities." She confirmed the exemption from the poll tax, recruitment duty, previously granted to the wealthy merchants. Eminent citizens and merchants of the first two guilds were exempted from corporal punishment and some township duties.

Urban population(except for the peasants who lived in the city) was divided into six categories, which made up the "city society". It elected the mayor, members of the magistrate and vowels (deputies) of the "general city council". The "General City Duma" elected a "six-voice Duma" - executive agency management, which consisted of representatives of all categories of citizens. For the first time, a letter of grant to the cities united disparate groups of "city dwellers" into a single community.

Policy towards the peasantry.

The flip side of the expansion of noble privileges will be the tightening of forms of serfdom: the decree of 1763 provided for the payment by the peasants themselves of the costs associated with the suppression of their speeches; the decree of 1765 allowed the landowners to exile peasants to hard labor by counting these peasants as recruits; a decree of 1767 forbade peasants from filing complaints against their landowners with the empress.

The results of the reign of Catherine II:

1. Strengthening absolutism.

2. Europeanization of Russia.

3. Cultural upsurge due to state care of science, education, art.

BUT: social tension in society has not been removed (the Pugachev uprising, an increase in the gap between the privileged and unprivileged sections of the population).

Test questions:

1. Features of the reforms of Peter I?

2. New authorities under Peter I?

3. Why was the era of "palace coups" called the "epoch of temporary workers"?

4. Why was the policy of Catherine II called the “epoch of enlightened absolutism”?

Almost the entire 18th century in history is considered a period of palace coups, which began due to the absence of an heir appointed by Peter I. The most important role in the change of power was played by the guards, as well as numerous noble groups.

Palace revolutions cover the period from 1725 to 1762 of the 18th century. For almost forty years the country was in a state of political instability. During this time, six monarchs reigned on the Russian throne: Catherine I, Peter II, Anna Ioannovna, Ivan Antonovich with the actual regency of Anna Leopoldovna, Elizaveta Petrovna and Peter Fedorovich. Most of them came to power through the use of armed force. The main reason for this situation is the lack of legislative framework, which officially determines the monarch's successor. In 1722, Peter I adopted a law on the heir, where he canceled earlier accepted forms popular election or hereditary succession.

The main document, which expressed the personal will of the sovereign in choosing a successor, was to be a will. However, Peter himself never compiled it and did not express his will, which entailed far-reaching political consequences. The law of Peter I on the succession to the throne lasted until 1797. It was replaced by a new one, developed by Paul I, who legally established the succession of the throne through the male line.

The salient features of this period are:

• favoritism, permissiveness of temporary workers,
• the increased influence of the guardsmen, who became the backbone and support of the ruling regime,
• expansion of the privileges of the nobility,
• deterioration of the position of the peasantry.

Background and reasons

The supreme legislative bodies under the imperial persons in the era of palace coups:

1. general characteristics era of palace coups

The overstrain 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 were replaced on the throne. This change did not always take place in a peaceful and legal way, that's why given period IN. Klyuchevsky is not entirely accurate, but figuratively and aptly called " era of palace coups".

2. Background of palace coups

The main reason that formed the basis of the palace coups was the contradictions between various noble groups 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.

Palace coups were generated by a sharp struggle of various factions for power. As a rule, it came down most often to the nomination and support of one or another candidate for the throne.

At that time, the guards began to play an active role in the political life of the country, which Peter brought up as a privileged "support" of the autocracy, which, moreover, assumed the right to control the conformity of the personality and policy of the monarch to the legacy that her "beloved emperor" left.

The alienation of the masses from politics and their passivity served as fertile ground for palace intrigues and coups.

To a large extent, palace coups were provoked by the unresolved 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,

3. The struggle for power after the death of Peter I

Dying, Peter did not leave an heir, having only time to write with a weakening hand: "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 1 (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. Furthermore, 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.

In May 1727, Catherine 1 died and, according to her will, 12-year-old Peter II (1727-1730) became emperor under the regency of the military-technical cooperation. 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 well-born nobility, he soon lost influence on the young emperor and in September 1727 was arrested and exiled with his whole family to Berezovoe, 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, because the composition of the military-technical cooperation changed, in which aristocratic families (Dolgoruky and Golitsyn) began to predominate, and A.I. began to play a key role. Osterman; the regency of the MTC was put an end to, Peter II declared himself a full-fledged ruler, who was surrounded by new favorites; a course was outlined aimed at revising 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 II, 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 II, the male line of the Romanovs ended, and he did not have time to appoint a successor.

4. Supreme Privy Council (STC)

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, since back in 1710 she was married off by Peter to the Duke of Courland , early widowed, lived in cramped material conditions, largely at the expense of the Russian government.

It was also extremely important that 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.

D.M. Golitsyn came up with the initiative to draw up really limiting autocracy " conditions ", according to which:

1) Anna undertook to rule together with the military-technical cooperation, which actually turned into the highest governing body of the country.

2) Without the approval of the military-technical cooperation, it could not legislate, impose taxes, dispose of the treasury, declare war or make peace.

3) The empress did not have the right to grant estates and ranks above the rank of colonel, to deprive her of estates without trial.

4) The Guard was subordinate to the military-technical cooperation.

5) 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 "crown of Russia".

There is no consensus among scientists in assessing the nature and significance of the "invention of the leaders." Some see in the "conditions" a desire to establish, instead of autocracy, an "oligarchic" form of government that would meet the interests of a narrow layer of noble nobility and lead Russia back to the era of "boyar self-will." Others believe that it was the first constitutional draft to limit the arbitrary rule of the despotic state created by Peter, from which all segments of the population, including the aristocracy, suffered.

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 general masses " 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 isolation of military-technical cooperation, met these wishes and developed new project, suggesting the limitation of 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.

The supporters of the inviolability of the principle of autocracy, led by A. 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 of the "supreme leaders" were the short-sightedness and selfishness of most members of the MTC, 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. The inconsistency of actions, political inexperience and mutual suspicion of individual noble groups, who were supporters of the constitutional order, but feared by their actions to strengthen the military-technical cooperation, also contributed to the restoration of autocracy. The bulk of the nobility was not ready for radical political change.

The decisive word belonged to the Guard, which, after some hesitation, finally supported the idea of ​​an unlimited monarchy.

Finally, the far-sightedness and unscrupulousness of Osterman and Prokopovich, the leaders of the party of supporters of the preservation of autocracy, played an important role.

5. Board of Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740)

From the very beginning of her reign, Anna Ioannovna tried to erase even the memory of "conditions" 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 later Golitsyn were repressed.

Gradually, Anna went to meet the most urgent requirements of the Russian nobility: their service life was limited to 25 years; that part of the Decree on Uniform Succession, which limited the right of the nobles to dispose of the estate when it was inherited, was canceled; easier to get an officer's rank. For these purposes, a cadet noble corps was created, at the end of which an officer rank was awarded; it was allowed to enlist the nobles for service from infancy, which made it possible for them, upon reaching the age of majority, to receive an officer's rank "by length of service."

An accurate description of the personality of the new empress was given by V.O. Klyuchevsky: "Tall and obese, 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, having already 37 years , 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.

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 period of the reign of Anna Ioannovna "Bironism", believing that his main feature was the dominance of the Germans, neglecting the interests of the country, demonstrating contempt for everything Russian and pursuing a policy of arbitrariness in relation to the Russian nobility.

However, the government's 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 A. 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 the "Project for the Correction 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 lead him to the chopping block in 1740.

Soon Anna Ioannovna died, appointing her niece's son as his successor. Anna Leopoldovna , Duchess of Brunswick, baby Ivan Antonovich under Biron's regency.

In the context of general dissatisfaction of the nobility and especially the guard, which the regent tried to disband, the head of the military collegium, field marshal Minich staged another coup d'état. But Minich himself, famous for the words: "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)

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. The peculiarities of this coup were that Elizaveta Petrovna had broad support from ordinary people of the city and the 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 whose personality and actions began to be idealized. The coup of 1741, unlike the others, had a patriotic overtone, because. was directed against the dominance of foreigners.

Foreign diplomacy tried to take part in the preparation of the coup, seeking political and even territorial dividends through its 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.

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. Elizabeth began with the restoration of the institutions created by Peter 1 and their status. Having abolished the Cabinet of Ministers, she returned the Senate to the importance of the highest state body, restored Berg - and the Manufactory Collegium.

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, since the late 1740s. de facto head of government P.I. Shuvalova , in 1753 a decree was issued "on the abolition 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.

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.

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. The attitude of the nobles towards the peasants as "talking cattle" was caused and ended by that time a cultural split in Russian society, as a result of which the Russian nobles, who spoke French, no longer understood their peasants. 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).

In her domestic and foreign policy, Elizaveta Petrovna 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. Russia's participation in " Seven Years' War "1756-1763 put the army of Frederick II on the brink of disaster.

In August 1757, in the battle of Gross-Egersdorf, the Russian army of S.F. Apraksin as a result of the successful actions of the detachment of General P.A. Rumyantseva achieved the first victory. In August 1758, General Fermor at Zorndorf, having suffered significant losses, managed to achieve a "draw" with the army of Friedrich, and in August 1759, at Kunersdorf, the troops of 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 III, who idolized Frederick II, left the coalition and concluded a peace treaty with him, returning to Prussia everything lost in the war.

Despite the fact that Elizaveta Petrovna, unlike her father, used her unlimited power not so much 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 next era of change. 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 III

Elizabeth Petrovna's nephew, Peter III (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 Anhalt-Zerbst Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta (in Orthodoxy named Ekaterina Alekseevna).

The heir has not outlived his childhood, continuing to play tin soldiers, while Catherine was actively engaged in self-education and longed for love and power.

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 II, the introduction of Prussian uniforms, and his plans to send the guards to fight for the interests of the Prussian king 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 them into a truly privileged class. Then the terrifying Secret Investigative Office was abolished. He stopped the persecution of schismatics and decided to secularize church and monastic land ownership, 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. 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 guards, created the prerequisites 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. The results of the era of palace coups

Palace coups did not entail changes in the political, and even more so the social system of society and boiled down 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 II.

The era of palace coups began in Russia, with death. In a short period of time, a large number of rulers visited the Russian throne.

The main historical reason for the era of palace coups in Russia is the decree of Peter I "On the succession to the throne." He changed the order of transfer of power, and now the Emperor himself could appoint his successor.

But Peter I did not have time to bequeath the throne to anyone. On January 28, 1725, Peter Alekseevich died. From that moment, in Russia, the "Era of palace coups" began.

The Russian throne became the subject of confrontation between various political clans. The guards began to play a significant role in the struggle between representatives of noble noble families.

The transfer of power from one autocrat to another, in the era of palace coups, was carried out with great ease. The fact is that these coups did not change the political system in the state, they only changed the ruler.

With the change of ruler, there was also a regrouping of forces at the court. Some families of nobles, from the ruling ones, went into the "opposition" and waited for the right moment for the next coup. Others moved from the "opposition" to the class of the ruling elite, and by all means tried to maintain their influence.

After the death of Peter I, she became the Russian empress, and she ruled from 1725 to 1727. In fact, all power during this period was in the hands of Alexander Danilovich Menshikov. The situation has not changed in the first few months of the reign. Later, Menshikov was exiled, and the Supreme Privy Council, represented by the Dolgoruky and Golitsyn clan, began to play a key role at court.

Peter II ruled from 1727 to 1730.

She became the next ruler of Russia during the era of palace coups. She ruled for exactly ten years, from 1730 to 1740. These years were marked by the dominance of foreigners, adventurers and very dubious personalities in the Russian Empire. Treasury and bureaucracy flourished.

From 1740 to 1741, power over Russian society was in the hands of Ivan Antonovich and his mother Anna Leopoldovna, who was proclaimed regent for the infant emperor.

Among Russian society, dissatisfaction with the dominance of the Germans grew, and under this note, the daughter of Peter I ascended the throne during the coup -. The reign of Elizabeth Petrovna was a breath of fresh air, a triumph of Russian national identity, after the humiliating policy of Anna Ioannovna.

The nephew of the Empress became the heir of Elizabeth Petrovna -. He ruled from 1761 to 1762. He entered Russian history as an emperor - a tyrant who stole victory from Russia in.

In the summer of 1762, the Russian throne was occupied by the wife of Peter III. The guards again played a big role in this palace coup.

Catherine II was succeeded by Paul I. Pavel Petrovich was the son of Catherine and Peter III. issued a new decree on succession to the throne, according to which, power passed from father to eldest son. The era of palace coups in Russia ended with the death of Paul I, who was killed by conspirators.

His son became the new Emperor of Russia.

Palace coups

Palace coup- this is the seizure of political power in Russia in the 18th century, which is caused by the lack of clear rules for the succession to the throne, accompanied by a struggle between court factions and carried out, as a rule, with the assistance of guards regiments.

There is no single scientific definition of a palace coup, and there are no clear time limits for this phenomenon. So, V. O. Klyuchevsky (the author of the term) dates the era of palace coups from to years. However, today there is another point of view - -1801. (The fact is that V. O. Klyuchevsky could not, in a public lecture given in the mid-80s of the XIX century, mention the coup on March 1, 1801 - this was strictly forbidden).

Portrait of Field Marshal B. Kh. Munnich

Ernst Johann Biron

As a result, Volynsky was executed on charges of treason and an attempted palace coup against Anna.

A lot has been written about this coup, and almost all historical (and even more so - fiction) literature interprets this event as "triumph of the Russian spirit", as the end of foreign domination, as the only possible and even completely legal act.

After the death of Peter, it was his daughters who, along with Catherine, were considered the main patrons of foreigners. Elizabeth in alliance with Anna Petrovna were symbols of Holstein influence on the Russian court. (Moreover, at that moment, Elizabeth was considered the bride of the Lübeck prince-bishop Karl-August, who later died of a transient illness).

The patriotic feelings of Elizabeth's supporters were caused not so much by the rejection of foreigners as by their own interests.

The ease with which Minich eliminated Biron also influenced the determination of Elizabeth's supporters. In addition, the guardsmen felt themselves to be a special force, so to speak, a "hegemon". Munnich himself at one time told them so: "Whoever you want to be a sovereign, he can be."

Young Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst 1740

In addition, there are inexorable facts that indicate that Elizabeth collaborated with French and Swedish agents of influence - Chétardie and Nolken.

The night of the coup entered not only the history books, but also the legends. The phrase with which the princess led the guards to storm is known: "Do you know whose daughter I am?" This was quite enough - the authority of Peter was too great in all sectors of society.

The victory of Elizabeth brought to power a new generation of courtiers and prominent politicians - the Shuvalov family, M. I. Vorontsov, the Razumovsky brothers, and exalted A. P. Bestuzhev - Ryumin.

Of course, after the overthrow of Minich, Osterman, Levenwolde, as well as the Braunschweig family, German influence at the Russian court practically disappeared.

However, having established herself on the throne, Elizabeth declared her heir to the Holstein-Gottorp prince Karl - Peter - Ulrich, the son of Anna Petrovna, whose wife Sophia - Augusta - Frederick Anhalt - Zerbstskaya (Fike) some time later became. The young princess has learned well the lessons that the Russian history of coups has taught her - she will successfully bring them to life.

186 days of Peter III

Peter and Catherine: joint portrait

Catherine the Great in her youth.

During his short reign, Peter brought to life a number of measures that were supposed to strengthen his position and make his figure popular among the people. So, he abolished the Secret Investigative Office and gave the nobles the opportunity to choose between service and a carefree life on his estate. ( "Manifesto on granting freedom and liberties to the Russian nobility").

It is believed, however, that the cause of the coup was precisely the extreme unpopularity of Peter III among the people. He was blamed for: disrespect for Russian shrines and the conclusion of a "shameful peace" with Prussia.

Peter led Russia out of the war, which was depleting the country's human and economic resources, and in which Russia was fulfilling its allied duty to Austria (that is, there was no "Russian interest" in the Seven Years' War), but by the time the war was withdrawn, almost all of Prussia had been captured .

However, Peter made an unforgivable mistake by declaring his intention to move to recapture Schleswig from Denmark. The guards were especially worried, which, in fact, supported Catherine in the upcoming coup.

In addition, Peter was in no hurry to be crowned, and, in fact, he did not have time to comply with all the formalities that he was obliged to comply with as emperor. Frederick II in his letters persistently advised Peter to put on the crown as soon as possible, but the emperor did not heed the advice of his idol. Thus, in the eyes of the Russian people, he was like a "fake tsar."

As for Catherine, then, as the same Frederick II said: “She was a foreigner, on the eve of a divorce” and the coup was her only chance (Peter emphasized more than once that he was going to divorce his wife and marry Elizaveta Vorontsova).

Alexey Orlov

The signal for the beginning of the coup was the arrest of an officer - the Transfiguration Passek. Alexei Orlov (brother of the favorite) brought Ekaterina to St. Petersburg early in the morning, where she turned to the soldiers of the Izmailovsky regiment, and then to the Semenovites. This was followed by a prayer service in the Kazan Cathedral and the oath of the Senate and the Synod.

On the evening of June 28, a “campaign to Peterhof” was made, where Peter III was supposed to come to celebrate his name day and the name day of the heir Pavel. The emperor's indecisiveness and some kind of childish obedience did their job - no advice and actions of those close to him could bring Peter out of his states of fear and stupor.

He rather quickly abandoned the struggle for power and, in essence, for his life. The deposed autocrat was taken to Ropsha, where, according to most historians, he was killed by his jailers.

Frederick II commented on this event: "He allowed himself to be overthrown like a child sent to sleep."