Brief biography of Peter III

On the Russian throne, Peter III lasted half a year by official years of reign - after which he turned out to be a victim of the palace coup arranged by his wife Catherine II, who changed her dead spouse. It is noteworthy that in subsequent centuries, the biography of Peter III was served exclusively from a derogatory point of view, so his image in people was unambiguously negative.

But recently, historians find evidence that this emperor had quite certain merits to the country and a longer period of his reign would bring tangible benefits to the subjects of the Russian Empire. As soon as he was born, the child became the heir to the Swedish throne, and in addition, theoretically he could claim the Russian throne. The boy lost his mother early, and his father, fixated to the conquest of the lost Prussian lands, raised his son as a military man.

Already in ten years he was awarded the title of lieutenant seconds, and a year later the boy was orphaned. After the death of Karl Friedrich, his son fell into the house of Bishop Adolf Eitinsky, cousin, where he turned into an object of humiliation, cruel jokes and regular flogging. Nobody cared about the formation of the crown prince, and by the age of 13 he barely knew how to read.

Karl Peter had poor health, he was a frail and fearful teenager, but at the same time kind and simple -minded. He loved music and painting, although because of his memories of his father he both adored the military. However, it is known that until his death, Emperor Peter III was afraid of the sound of cannon shots and gun salvos. Historians also noted the young man’s strange addiction to fantasies and inventions, often turning into a frank lie.

There is also a version that even in adolescence, Karl Peter gained dependence on alcohol. The life of the future Emperor of All -Russian changed when he was 14 years old. His aunt Elizaveta Petrovna, who decided to fix the monarchy for the descendants of her father, ascended the Russian throne. Since Karl Peter was the only direct heir to Peter the Great, he was summoned to St.

Petersburg, where he, who already wore the title of Duke Golstein-Gottorp, accepted Orthodoxy and became Prince Peter Fedorovich. At the first meeting with the nephew, Elizabeth was amazed at his ignorance and assigned to the royal heir of the tutor. The teacher noted the excellent mental abilities of the ward, which is debunk one of the myths about Peter III as a “demented soldier” and “mentally inferior”.

Although there is evidence that the emperor behaved in public is extremely strange, especially in temples. For example, during a worship, Peter laughed and spoke loudly. Yes, and with foreign ministers behaved familiarly. Perhaps such behavior gave rise to a rumor about his "inferiority." Also in his youth he was ill with a severe form of smallpox, which could cause development deviations.

At the same time, Pyotr Fedorovich understood the exact sciences, geography and fortification, owned German, French and Latin. But he practically did not know Russian and did not seek to master. But in no portrait written from nature, this defect in appearance is not displayed. Images of the emperor were embellished by artists. But he was not crowned, it was planned to do this after a military campaign in Denmark.

On the throne, the emperor spent days. During this time, he signed the law and the decree, and this is not even counting ideas for awards. So, despite the myths and rumors around the personality and activity of the emperor, even during such a short period, he managed to prove himself in both the country's foreign and domestic policy. The most important document of the reign of Peter Fedorovich is “Manifesto on the liberties of the nobility”.

This law freed the nobles from the obligatory summer service and allowed them to travel abroad. From other cases of the emperor, it is worth noting a number of reforms on the transformation of the state system. Peter III managed to abolish the secret office, introduce freedom of religion, cancel church supervision of the personal life of subjects, prohibit giving public lands into private property and, most importantly, to make a court of the Russian Empire open.

He also declared the forest by national wealth, established the state bank. After the death of Peter Fedorovich, most of these innovations were abolished. The main reason for this is the actual cancellation of the results of the Seven Years War. Peter had a bad relationship with military officers, as he stopped the war with Prussia and withdrew Russian troops from Berlin.

Some regarded these actions as a betrayal, but in fact the victories of the guards in the war brought the glory either personally or Austria and France, whose side was supported by the army. But for the Russian Empire there was no benefit from this war. Also, Peter III decided to introduce Prussian orders into the Russian army: the guardsmen had a new form, and the punishment was now also in the Prussian manner - in the form of a stick system.

Such changes did not add authority to the emperor, but, on the contrary, gave rise to discontent and uncertainty in tomorrow in both the army and in court circles.Personal life when the future emperor was barely 17 years old, Elizaveta Petrovna hastened to marry him. He chose the German princess Sofia August Frederica in his spouses, which today the whole world knows under the name of Catherine the Second.

The wedding was played with an unprecedented scale. As a gift to Peter and Catherine, they were presented in the possession of the palaces of Count Alexander Menshikov - to Oranienbaum near St. Petersburg and in Lyubertsy near Moscow. Even when his wife gave Peter the heir to Paul I, and then his daughter Anna, he joked that he did not understand, "where did she get these children." The heir to the submarine, the future Russian emperor Paul I, after birth was taken from his parents, the Empress Elizaveta Petrovna immediately took up his upbringing.

However, Peter Fedorovich did not upset this at all. He was never particularly interested in his son and saw him once a week, this was the permission of Elizabeth I. The daughter Anna Petrovna died in infancy. Once, after the wife did not support the toast that he said at the feast, Peter III ordered her to arrest her. From prison Catherine was saved only by the intervention of the uncle of the emperor, George Golstein-Gottorp.

But with all the aggression, anger and, most likely, burning jealousy for his wife, Peter Fedorovich felt respect for her mind. In difficult situations, often economic and financial, he often turned to her for help. The information has been preserved that Emperor Catherine II called "Madame Hag." It is noteworthy that in the personal life of Peter III, the lack of intimate relationships with Catherine did not affect.

The emperor had mistresses, the main of whom was Elizabeth Vorontsov, the daughter of General Roman Vorontsov. To the court, his second daughter, Catherine, who became a friend of the imperial wife, and later the princess Dashkova, was also represented.

Elizabeth fell fate to become a beloved woman and favorite of Peter III. For her sake, the emperor was even ready to dissolve a crowned marriage, but this was not destined to happen. By the summer of the year, his wife inspired her minister to organize a palace coup, which occurred at the end of June. Peter, amazed at the betrayal of the environment, renounced the Russian throne, which initially did not appreciate and did not want, and intended to return to his native country.

However, by order of Catherine, the overthrown emperor was arrested and placed in the palace in Ropshe near St. Petersburg. The official cause of death was the “attack of hemorrhoidal colic”, reinforced by the abuse of alcoholic drinks. However, the main version of the death of the emperor is the violent death by the hands of Alexei Orlov, the elder brother of Grigory Orlov, the main favorite of Catherine at that time.

It is believed that Orlov strangled the prisoner, although historical facts do not confirm this. The version is based on the “repentant letter” of Alexei, which has been preserved in a copy, and modern scientists are sure that it is a fake made by Fedor Rostopchin, Pavel of the First Paul's right hand. After the death of Peter III, the descendants had a distorted idea of ​​his personality and biography, since all the conclusions were drawn on the basis of the memoirs of his wife Catherine II, as well as the participants in the conspiracy - Princess Ekaterina Dashkova, Count of Nikita Panin and his brother, Count Peter Panin.

That is, based on the opinions of those people who betrayed Peter Fedorovich. Allegedly, the woman went into the emperor’s office and was amazed at what he saw: there was a hanged rat above his table. The husband replied that she had committed a criminal offense, under military laws she had been executed and would hang in front of the public for three days. This story was repeated by both Sergey Solovyov and Vasily Klyuchevsky, describing the emperor.

Whether it was in reality, or in this way Catherine II on an unsightly background of the spouse created her own positive image, now it is not possible to find out. Rumors about the death of Peter III gave rise to impostors who called themselves the surviving king. Similar phenomena happened earlier, it is worth recalling at least numerous False Dmitriy. However, the self -proclaimed Petrov Fedorovich turned out to be much more.

At least forty people pretended to be the emperor, among them - Emelyan Pugachev and Stepan Maly. And those who want to do this are to this day. Mikhail Efremov embodied the monarch in the Russian tape of Svetlana Druzhinina “Vivat, midshipmen! In the American project of the same name, released another five years later, a tall British actor Nicholas Holt appeared in the role of the emperor.

Although it is believed that Peter III was only a cm tall. In view of the fact that the monarch was mainly entrenched in negative glory, he was not put up to the monuments until the year, when Alexander Taratynov’s work appeared in the German city of Kiel. And she is not considered a monument, but an exhibition of one sculpture. At the same time, future spouses were relatives - a second cousin and sister.

There was an opinion that the emperor had grown, but never matured. The guilt, among other things, was the hobby of Peter III - a game of soldiers.Moreover, he played not solely, but attracted servants to the action that ensured the movement of figures and a variety of roles. Since the emperor was considered strange in many ways, his choice of court favorite did not surprise the noble person: Elizaveta Romanovna Vorontsova was the most ugly of the maid of honor.