What palace coups took place in the 18th century. All palace coups

MUNICIPAL BUDGET GENERAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

"Ozerenska SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL SCHOOL"

Kolpashevsky district of the Tomsk region

History Lesson Summary

in the 7th grade

PALACE COUPS

prepared

a history teacher

Gorbunova Radda Alexandrovna

With. lake

Lesson type: learning new material.

Educational and methodological support

Necessary equipment: projector, computer, map "Russia in the 17th - 1760s", the genealogical tree of the Romanovs, portraits of the rulers of the era of palace coups, Surikov’s painting “Menshikov in Berezov”.

Lesson time: 45 minutes.

1. The product is made in the Power point editor

2. Type of media product:

Visual presentation of educational material,

3. Media product structure: simple

The expediency of using the media product in the classroom:

intensification of the educational process (increasing the amount of information offered, reducing the time for submitting material)

development of visual-figurative thinking by increasing the level of visibility

4. Purpose: to characterize the internal policy of the successors of Peter I.

5. Tasks:

Educational: identify the causes of palace coups, give a brief description of the emperors of the 18th century; to show that the main driving force behind palace coups is the guard.

Developing: continue the formation of skills to generalize individual events and formulate conclusions, work with textbook illustrations and historical documents; continue to develop in students the ability to evaluate the actions of historical figures.

Educational: generate interest in national history.

Basic concepts: Palace coups, Supreme Privy Council, favorite, conditions.

During the classes

I. Organizing moment.

II. Learning new material.

The beginning of the 18th century is associated with the activities of Peter I. We examined in detail his reforms in the field of the economy, government, army and navy. And today we will talk about the events that took place in Russia after the death of Peter the Great.

The theme of our lesson is “Palace coups”

In the course of the lesson, we will get acquainted with a brief description of the rulers of this era, find out the reasons for palace coups, and fill in the tables “Palace coups of the 18th century”.

Who ruled, Terms of government, On whom he relied

(tables were given to each student, during the lesson, getting acquainted with a new topic, students fill in the tables on their own, verification is carried out at the end of the lesson)

Directly related to the topic of our lesson are two events that occurred in the last years of the reign of Peter I. Let's recall these events.

What do you know about the "Case of Tsarevich Alexei"?

“The case of Tsarevich Alexei” prompted Peter to change the order of succession to the throne. In 1722 he signed the decree.

What is the content of the decree of 1722 on the order of succession to the throne?

Whether Peter and his successors managed to use this decree, this will be discussed in the lesson.

Peter the Great died on January 28, 1725. He died hard, with excruciating pain. The subjects did not dare to bother him with the question of the heir. Tradition claims that before his death, Peter wrote: “Give everything ...”. The next words were unintelligible. The decree on the right of the emperor to appoint his successor was not used. And the dynastic situation turned out to be difficult ...

The rights to the throne were held by the grandson of the deceased emperor Peter (the son of Tsarevich Alexei), his wife Catherine and daughters Anna and Elizabeth. There was also relatives along the line of the elder brother Ivan, with whom Peter began to reign in 1682.

But the main contenders turned out to be Ekaterina Alekseevna, the widow of Peter I (Menshikov stood behind her), and his grandson, Peter Alekseevich (representatives of the old boyar families, headed by D.M. Golitsyn, wanted to see him on the throne), who was then 9 years old. Menshikov managed to make better use of the situation, and with the help of some other close associates of Peter, after the death of the emperor, with the support of the guards regiments, he enthroned Ekaterina Alekseevna. Since she did not show state abilities, Menshikov actually became the ruler of the country.

This election opens the era of palace coups in Russia.

Palace coups - the change of power, carried out by a narrow circle of courtiers and guards regiments.

For 37 years from 1725 to 1762, five times with the help of weapons there was a change of rulers on the throne. The beginning of this era was marked by the death of Peter I and the ensuing struggle for power of various groups. And this era will end with the reign of Empress Catherine II for a long 34 years.

So, the first ruler of the era of palace coups was Catherine I. Peter Alekseevich was supposed to succeed the empress. Why did Catherine agree to prefer the son of Tsarevich Alexei to her daughters? Catherine was influenced by Menshikov. Seeing that the health of Catherine I was deteriorating, and she would not live long, the prince decided to intermarry with the royal family, hoping to marry his 16-year-old daughter Maria to Peter II.

In 1727, the reign of Peter II begins.

But luck this time betrayed him. Menshikov fell seriously ill. For more than a month he was unable to do business.

At this time, Prince Ivan Alekseevich Dolgoruky acquired influence on Peter II. The tsar ceased to obey Menshikov. September 8, 1727 the prince was arrested, and then, deprived of his ranks and awards, he was exiled with his family to the remote city of Berezov.

Having got rid of a dangerous rival, the Dolgoruky hurried to consolidate their position at court. Ivan Dolgoruky's sister, Catherine, was declared the bride of Peter II. But in January 1730, shortly before the wedding with Princess Dolgoruky, Peter II fell ill with smallpox and died. With him, the Romanov dynasty came to an end in the male line.

The question of succession to the throne was to be decided by the members of the Supreme Privy Council. The attention of the "supreme leaders" was drawn to the daughters of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich - Catherine and Anna. The choice was made in favor of Anna, the widow of the poor Duke of Courland, who lived in Mitau as a provincial landowner, periodically begging for money from the Russian government.

at the same time, D.M. Golitsyn declared: “We should relieve ourselves.” It was about inviting Anna Ioannovna to reign, to limit the power of the monarch in favor of the Supreme Privy Council. Anna was offered “conditions”, by accepting which she could become an empress.

The text of the conditions signed by Anna Ioannovna.

Without the discretion and consent of the high council, no decision can be made in state affairs, therefore:

do not declare war and do not make peace;

not to impose any fees and taxes;

not condemn anyone for crimes of lèse majesté to death in one Privy Chancellery, and not confiscate the estate of a single nobleman without clear evidence of the above-mentioned crime committed by him;

unquestioningly be content with the annual income determined for the maintenance of her person and the court staff;

do not give government estates to anyone;

not to marry and not to appoint an heir to the throne.

So, in Russia an attempt was made to limit the absolute power of the Russian monarch.

Anna signed the terms and went to Moscow.

In the meantime, the “conditions” became known at court. They were opposed by the church and such an influential force as the guards, the nobility.

When Anna Ioannovna arrived in Moscow, she received a petition from the nobility and guards, in which they asked her " accept autocracy such as your praiseworthy ancestors had.” Anna tore the condition. The Supreme Privy Council was abolished. The ten-year reign of Anna Ioannovna began. The Dolgorukies were arrested and sent into exile in Berezov, where Menshikov, who had been exiled by them, had died shortly before.

1730 the reign of Anna Ioannovna begins.

There are different opinions about the appearance and character of Empress Anna Ioannovna, sometimes opposite. For some, she "had a terrible look, had a disgusting face, she was so great when she walks head-high among the gentlemen, and is extremely fat." And here is the opinion of the Spanish diplomat Duke de Liria: “The Empress Anna is fat, swarthy, and her face is more masculine than feminine. She is generous to the point of extravagance, loves pomp excessively, which is why her court surpasses all other European courts in splendor.

Together with Anna, many Baltic Germans arrived from Courland, who occupied important positions in state administration bodies. Anna's favorite, E.I. Biron, became the most influential.

A contemporary wrote about Biron: “Biron’s character was not the best: arrogant, ambitious to the extreme, rude and even impudent, selfish, implacable in enmity and a cruel punisher.”

V.O. Klyuchevsky gave the following description of the period, which was called the Bironovshchina: “The Germans poured into Russia, like rubbish from a holey bag, stuck around the courtyard, sat down on the throne, climbed into all the profitable places in government.”

In the autumn of 1740 Anna Ioannovna fell ill. Her only relative was her niece (sister's daughter) Anna Leopoldovna, who was close to the court. Anna Leopoldovna had a son, who was immediately declared heir to the throne. In October 1740, Anna Ioannovna died, appointing Biron regent for the young emperor Ivan Antonovich.

Biron failed to retain power. He was hated by the Russians, and the Germans, despised by the guards. The emperor's parents feared that the regent would take their son away from them and send them to Germany. November 9, 1740 Biron was arrested by the guards, led by Field Marshal Munnich.

Anna Leopoldovna became regent under Ivan Antonovich. Her reign was not marked by any important decisions. The ruler was not interested in anything. In the guard, a mood began to form again in favor of a change of power. The most popular candidate for the imperial throne was the daughter of Peter I and Catherine I - Elizabeth.

On the night of November 25, 1745, Elizabeth appeared at the barracks of the Preobrazhensky Regiment and called on the soldiers to serve her in the same way that they served her father.

Valentin Pikul in the novel “Word and Deed” describes the historical night for Russia from November 24 to November 25, 1741…

“The sleigh stopped near the barracks of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, where a company of grenadiers devoted to Elizabeth was stationed. Entering the barracks, she said to the soldiers:

Guys, you know who I am. I don’t want you to be bad, but I wish you well. We swear on this cross that we will die for Russia together.

Lead us, written beauty! We will cut them all!

And then I won't go. Enough blood already...

300 grenadiers followed the woman into the bitter cold.

The French academician Albert Vandal, describing this night, paints:

A thick layer of hardened snow covered the ground, drowning out any noise. The grenadiers hurriedly followed the sleigh of Elizabeth, silently and full of determination: the soldiers gave a mutual oath not to utter a single word during the journey and pierce the first faint-hearted with a bayonet.

Contemporaries responded to the accession of Elizabeth to the throne in the following way:

Great light of the world

Shining from the eternal height

for beads, gold and purple,

to all earthly beauties,

raises his gaze to all countries;

but more beautiful in the world does not find Elizabeth ...

Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov "Ode on the day of the accession to the throne of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, 1747."

And here is how historians write about Elizabeth:

Lively and cheerful, but keeping her eyes on herself, at the same time large and slender, with a beautiful round and ever-blooming face, she loved to impress, and, knowing that a man's costume especially suits her, she established masquerades without masks at court. when men are required to arrive in full women's attire, in extensive skirts, and ladies in men's court dress.

Peaceful and carefree, she was forced to fight almost half of her reign, defeated the first strategist of that time, Frederick the Great, took Berlin.

…a map of Europe lay in front of her at her disposal, but she looked at it so rarely that until the end of her life she was sure of the possibility of traveling to England by land - and she also founded the first real university in Russia - Moscow.

V.O.Klyuchevsky. historical portraits.

Elizabeth declared her nephew Pyotr Fedorovich, the son of Anna Petrovna, the grandson of Peter I, as her heir.

On December 25, 1761, Peter III became Emperor of Russia. He had a chance to reign for only 186 days. Reviews about him were completely opposite.

Under Peter III, a paradoxical situation developed: the emperor, on the one hand, made concessions to the nobility, on the other hand, committed acts that aroused the anger and indignation of the patriotic forces. Peter III offended the guards by making peace with Prussia.

On June 28, 1762, Peter III was overthrown and arrested, and a week later he was killed. For 34 years, his wife Catherine II came to the throne.

The era of palace coups is over.

Checking the table “Palace coups of the XVIII century”

"Genealogical tree of the Romanovs"

What were the reasons for the palace coups?

lack of a legal order of succession to the throne;

strengthening the role of the guard.

The final part is the primary fixation of the material.

1. Text with errors.

After the death of Peter II, the question of power arose. The choice of the leaders fell on the Duchess of Courland, Elizabeth. The leaders decided to strengthen the autocratic power and, together with the invitation to the throne, sent its conditions (conditions). Conditions were published in all newspapers. Elizabeth did not sign them. Arriving in Moscow, she learned that almost all the nobles maintain conditions. After that, she signed them.

2.Test. What ruler are you talking about?

1. “The king is a tall man with a beautiful face, well-built, with great quickness of mind, quick and definite in answers, it’s only a pity that he lacks complete secular refinement. He showed us his hands and let us feel how hardened they were from the work” - this is how it looked in the eyes of foreigners:

Alexey Mikhailovich,

Peter I

Peter II,

Peter III.

2. “Only by signing the terms”, she could become the Russian Empress:

Catherine I,

Anna Ioannovna,

Anna Leopoldovna,

Elizabeth Petrovna.

3. Courland nobleman, distinguished by arrogance, rudeness, who played the main role at the court of Empress Anna Ioannovna. His name has become a household name, they are sometimes called the entire period of 1730-1740.

K. Friedrich,

A.I. Osterman,

E.I. Biron,

A.P. Volynsky.

4. With the call to the soldiers in the barracks of the Preobrazhensky Regiment to serve her as her father, and the arrest of the Braunschweig family, a 20-year reign began:

Anna Leopoldovna,

Elizabeth Petrovna,

Catherine II,

Anna Ioannovna.

Reflection.

How did I get the material?

I got solid knowledge, mastered all the material - 9-10 points.

Has learned new material partially - 7-8 points.

I didn’t understand much, I still need to work - 4-6 points.

teacher's introduction

slide 1

slide 2 writing topics in notebooks

slide 3 Writing a definition in a notebook

Student responses

work with the scheme of the Romanov family tree (diagram on the board and for each student on the desk)

slide 4

on the board portraits of Catherine I and Menshikov

slide 5.6

writing in a notebook

Slide 7

filling in the table “Palace coups of the XVIII century”

slide 5

portrait of Peter II on the board

Slide 7

Slide 8

on the board is Surikov's painting "Menshikov in Berezov".

Slide 9

scheme “Genealogical tree of the Romanovs”

Slide 10

text for each student, read, answer the questions:

What was the name of the document?

Who had real power under this document?

What is the name of the system of government that would be established in Russia if this project were carried out?

slide 11

slide 12

filling in the table “Palace coups of the XVIII century.”

student message

slide 13

Slide 14

portrait on blackboard

student message

student's story.

slide15

portrait on blackboard

read by a trained student

student message

slide 16

Slide 17

scheme “Genealogical tree of the Romanovs”.

opinion of contemporaries: textbook p.153

Slide 18

Slide 19-25

slide 26

tex on the desk of each student

test on the desk for each student

Slide 27

By time

on leaflets

List of sources used

Danilov A.A., Kosulina L.G. Russian history. Late 16th - 18th century. Grade 7: a textbook for educational institutions - M .: Education, 2010.

The beginning of the reign of the Romanovs. From Peter I to Elizabeth / Avt. Comp. P.G. Deinichenko. - M.: OLMA Media Group, 2008. - 192 p.

Empire. From Catherine II to Stalin / Ed. Comp. P.G. Deinichenko. - M.: OLMA Media Group, 2008. - 192 p.

The era of palace coups is considered the time from 1725 to 1862 - approximately 37 years. In 1725, Peter I died, without transferring the throne to anyone, after which a struggle for power began, which was marked by a number of palace coups.

The author of the term "palace coups" is the historian IN. Klyuchevsky. He designated another time period for this phenomenon in Russian history: 1725-1801, since in 1801 the last palace coup in the Russian Empire took place, ending with the death of Paul I and the accession of Alexander I Pavlovich.

To understand the reason for the series of palace coups of the 18th century, one should return to the era of Peter I, or rather, to 1722, when he issued the Decree on the succession to the throne. The decree abolished the custom of transferring the royal throne to direct descendants in the male line and provided for the appointment of an heir to the throne at the will of the monarch. Peter I issued a Decree on the succession to the throne due to the fact that his son, Tsarevich Alexei, was not a supporter of the reforms he was carrying out and grouped the opposition around him. After the death of Alexei in 1718, Peter I was not going to transfer power to his grandson Peter Alekseevich, fearing for the future of his reforms, but he himself did not have time to appoint a successor.

Thus, Peter I himself provoked a crisis of power, because. did not appoint an heir to the throne. And after his death, many direct and indirect heirs claimed the Russian throne.

Each of the groups defended its class interests and privileges, which means that it nominated and supported its own candidate for the throne. One should not discount the active position of the guard, which was brought up by Peter I as a privileged part of society, the absolute passivity of the people, who did not delve into political life.

Immediately after the death of Peter I, two groups of conspirators were determined, striving to see their protege on the throne: the most influential people of the Peter the Great era - Andrei Osterman and Alexander Menshikov - had the goal of enthroning the wife of Emperor Peter I Ekaterina Alekseevna. The second group, inspired by the Duke of Holstein (Anna Petrovna's husband), wanted to see the grandson of Peter I, Peter Alekseevich, on the throne.

In the end, thanks to the decisive actions of Osterman-Menshikov, it was possible to enthrone Catherine.

N. Ge "Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich in Peterhof"

After his death, his widow was proclaimed empress Catherine I, which relied on one of the court groups.

Catherine I occupied the Russian throne for a little over two years, she left a will: she appointed Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich as her successor and outlined in detail the order of succession to the throne, and all copies of the Decree on succession to the throne under Peter II Alekseevich were confiscated.

But Peter II died, also without leaving a will and heir, and then the Supreme Privy Council (created in February 1726 with members: Field Marshal General His Serene Highness Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, General Admiral Count Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin, State Chancellor Count Gavriil Ivanovich Golovkin, Count Peter Andreevich Tolstoy, Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn, Baron Andrei Ivanovich Osterman, and then Duke Karl Friedrich Holstein - as we can see, almost all the "chicks of Petrov's nest") were elected empress Anna Ioannovna.

Before her death, she appointed her successor John Antonovich, also describing in detail the further line of inheritance.

Deposed John Elizaveta Petrovna relied in substantiating her rights to the throne on the will of Catherine I.

A few years later, her nephew Pyotr Fedorovich was appointed Elizabeth's heir ( Peter III), after the accession to the throne of which his son became the heir PaulI Petrovich.

But soon after that, as a result of a coup, power passed to the wife of Peter III Catherine II, referring to the "will of all subjects", while Paul remained the heir, although Catherine, according to a number of data, considered the option of depriving him of the right to inherit.

Having ascended the throne, in 1797, on the day of his coronation, Paul I published the Manifesto on the succession to the throne, compiled by him and his wife Maria Feodorovna during the life of Catherine. According to this manifesto, which canceled Peter's decree, "the heir was determined by the law itself" - Paul's intention was to exclude in the future the situation of removal of legitimate heirs from the throne and the exclusion of arbitrariness.

But the new principles of succession to the throne for a long time were not perceived not only by the nobility, but even by members of the imperial family: after the assassination of Paul in 1801, his widow Maria Feodorovna, who drafted the Manifesto of Succession with him, cried out: “I want to reign!”. The manifesto of Alexander I on accession to the throne also contained the Petrine wording: “and his Imperial Majesty’s heir, who will be appointed”, despite the fact that, according to the law, Alexander’s heir was his brother Konstantin Pavlovich, who secretly renounced this right, which also contradicted the Manifesto of Paul I.

The Russian succession to the throne stabilized only after the accession to the throne of Nicholas I. Here is such a long preamble. And now in order. So, CatherineI, PeterII, Anna Ioannovna, Ioann Antonovich, Elizaveta Petrovna, PeterIII, CatherineII, PavelI…

CatherineI

Catherine I. Portrait of an unknown artist

Ekaterina Alekseevna

V.M. Tormosov "Peter I and Catherine"

Her origin is not very clear, there are many assumptions, but one thing is known: in Catholic baptism, her name was Martha (Skavronskaya), she was not born into a noble family and belonged to the Roman Catholic Church. She was brought up by the Protestant theologian and learned linguist Gluck in the city of Marienburg (now the city of Aluksne in Latvia). She did not receive an education, and in the pastor's family she played the role of a girl in the kitchen and laundry.

In August 1702 (Northern War), Russian troops under the command of Field Marshal B.P. Sheremetev besieged the fortress of Marinburg. A game of chance: Marta Skavronskaya was among the prisoners! She was 18 years old, the soldier who captured her sold the girl to a non-commissioned officer ... And he “gave” her to B.P. Sheremetev, for whom she was a concubine and laundress. Then she went to A. Menshikov, and then to Peter I. Peter saw her at Menshikov's - and was captivated by her: not only her magnificent and graceful forms, but also her briskness, witty answers to his questions. So Marta became the mistress of Peter I. This caused discontent among the soldiers and the people, but meanwhile they had children: by 1706 there were three of them: Peter, Pavel and daughter Anna.

She lived in the village of Preobrazhensky near Moscow, adopted the Orthodox faith and the name Ekaterina Alekseevna Vasilevskaya (patronymic was given by her godfather, Tsarevich Alexei).

To everyone's surprise, Catherine had a huge influence on Peter, she became necessary for him both in difficult and joyful moments of his life - before her, Peter I did not have a personal life. Gradually, Catherine became an indispensable person for the king: she knew how to extinguish his outbursts of anger, to share the hardships of camp life. When Peter began to have severe headaches and convulsions, only she could calm him down and relieve the attack. In moments of anger, no one could approach him except Catherine, only her voice had a calming effect on him. Since 1709 they have not parted. In 1711, she even saved Peter and the army in the Prut campaign, when she gave her jewels to the Turkish vizier and persuaded him to sign a truce. Upon returning from this campaign, a wedding was played and two daughters were legalized by that time: Anna (future wife of the Duke of Holstein) and Elizabeth (future Empress Elizabeth Petrovna). In 1714, the tsar approved the Order of St. Catherine and awarded his wife with it on her name day in honor of the Prut campaign.

For 20 years of marriage, Catherine gave birth to 11 children, most of whom died in infancy, but meanwhile she was constantly with him on campaigns and in all wanderings, experienced adversity, lived in tents, even participated in reviews of troops and encouraged soldiers. But at the same time, she did not interfere in state affairs and did not show interest in power, she never started intrigues, and even sometimes stood up for those whom the king, prone to outbursts of anger, wanted to punish.

Catherine I

J.-M. Natya "Portrait of Catherine I"

On December 23, 1721, she was recognized as Empress by the Senate and Synod. Peter himself placed a crown on her head, which was more magnificent than the crown of the king. This event took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. It is believed that Peter was going to make Catherine his successor, but she got herself a lover, Willy Mons, and when Peter found out about this, he ordered the execution of Mons, and his relationship with Catherine began to deteriorate. The betrayal of the woman he loved so much undermined his health. In addition, now he could not entrust the throne to her, fearing for the future of the great work that he was doing. Soon Peter fell ill and took to his bed completely. Catherine was always at the bedside of her dying husband. Peter died on January 28, 1725, without naming a successor.

The young grandson Peter Alekseevich (son of the executed Tsarevich Alexei), daughter Elizabeth and Peter's nieces could claim the throne. Catherine had no grounds for the throne.

On the day of Peter's death, senators, members of the Synod and the generals (officials belonging to the first four classes of the table of ranks) gathered to decide on the issue of succession to the throne. Princes Golitsyn, Repnin, Dolgorukov recognized the grandson of Peter I as the direct male heir. Apraksin, Menshikov and Tolstoy insisted on the proclamation of Ekaterina Alekseevna as the ruling empress.

But unexpectedly, in the morning, guards officers entered the hall where the meeting was taking place and ultimatum demanded the accession of Catherine. On the square in front of the palace, two guards regiments lined up under arms, which expressed support for the empress by drumming. This ended the dispute. Catherine was recognized as empress.

The grandson of Peter I by his first marriage, the son of Tsarevich Alexei, Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, was declared the heir to the throne.

So a foreign woman of simple origin was enthroned under the name of Catherine I, who became the wife of the tsar on very dubious legal grounds.

The historian S. Solovyov wrote that “the famous Livonian captive belonged to the number of those people who seem capable of ruling until they accept the ruling. Under Peter, she did not shine with her own light, but with a light borrowed from the great man, whom she was a companion.

The era of A.D. Menshikov

Catherine did not know how to govern the state and did not want to. All the time she spent in magnificent feasts and festivities. Power actually passed to A.D. Menshikov. According to his instructions, V. Bering's expedition was sent to resolve the issue of whether Asia is connected to America by a strait; the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was opened, the creation of which was prepared by the actions of Peter I; the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky "For Labor and the Fatherland" was established - all this happened in 1725.

In 1726, the Supreme Privy Council was established, which consisted of 6 people headed by A.D. Menshikov. In fact, he led the country, because during the three months of her reign, Catherine only learned to sign papers without looking. She was far from state affairs. Here is an excerpt from the memoirs of Y. Lefort: “There is no way to determine the behavior of this court. The day turns into night, everything stands still, nothing is done ... Everywhere there are intrigues, searching, decay ... Holidays, drinking parties, walks occupied all her time. On solemn days, she appeared in all her splendor and beauty, in a golden carriage. It was so breathtakingly beautiful. Power, glory, the delight of loyal subjects - what else could she dream of? But… sometimes the empress, having enjoyed her fame, went down to the kitchen and, as it is written in the court journal, “cooked in the kitchen herself.”

But Catherine did not have to rule for long. Balls, feasts, festivities and revels, which followed continuously, undermined her health. She died on May 6, 1727, 2 years and three months after her accession to the throne, at the age of 43.

Conclusion

She intended to transfer the reign to her daughter Elizabeth Petrovna, but before her death, she signed a will on the transfer of the throne to the grandson of Peter I, Peter II Alekseevich, which Menshikov insisted on. He had his own plan: to marry his daughter Maria to him. Peter II by that time was only 11.5 years old. The daughters of Peter I Anna and Elizabeth were declared regents under the young emperor until his 16th birthday.

Catherine I was buried next to Peter I and his daughter Natalya Petrovna in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Catherine did not actually rule Russia, but she was loved by the common people because she knew how to sympathize and help the unfortunate.

The state of affairs in the state after her reign was deplorable: embezzlement, abuse, and arbitrariness flourished. In the last year of her life, she spent more than six million rubles on her whims, while there was no money in the state treasury. What reforms

PeterII Alekseevich

Emperor of All Russia, son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and Princess Charlotte-Sophia of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, grandson of Peter I and Evdokia Lopukhina. He was born on October 12, 1715. He lost his mother at the age of 10, and his father fled to Vienna with the serf of his teacher N. Vyazemsky, Efrosinya Fedorovna. Peter I returned the recalcitrant son, forced him to renounce the right to the throne and sentenced him to death. There is a version that Alexei Petrovich was strangled in the Peter and Paul Fortress, without waiting for her execution.

Peter I did not care about his grandson, as he assumed in him, as in his son, an opponent of reforms, an adherent of the old Moscow way of life. Little Peter was taught not just “something and somehow”, but also anyone, so he practically did not receive education by the time he ascended the throne.

I. Wedekind "Portrait of Peter II"

But Menshikov had his own plans: he convinced Catherine I in her will to appoint Peter as heir, and after her death he ascended the throne. Menshikov betrothed him to his daughter Maria (Peter was only 12 years old), moved him to his house and actually began to run the state himself, regardless of the opinion of the Supreme Privy Council. Baron A. Osterman, as well as Academician Goldbach and Archbishop F. Prokopovich, were appointed to train the young emperor. Osterman was a clever diplomat and a talented teacher, he captivated Peter with his witty lessons, but at the same time set him up against Menshikov (the struggle for power in a different version! Osterman "bet" on Dolgoruky: a foreigner in Russia, albeit crowned with the glory of a skilled diplomat, can manage its policy only in close alliance with the Russians). It all ended with the fact that Peter II removed Menshikov from power, taking advantage of his illness, deprived him of his ranks and fortune, and exiled him with his family, first to the Ryazan province, and then to Berezov, Tobolsk province.

V. Surikov "Menshikov in Berezov"

He died in Berezov. His daughter Maria also died there at the age of 18. After some time, Peter II declared himself an opponent of Peter's reforms and liquidated all the institutions he had created.

So, the mighty Menshikov fell, but the struggle for power continued - now, as a result of intrigues, the Dolgoruky princes get the championship, who involve Peter in a wild life, revelry, and, having learned about his passion for hunting, take him away from the capital for many weeks.

On February 24, 1728, the coronation of Peter II takes place, but he is still far from state affairs. Dolgoruky betrothed him to Princess Ekaterina Dolgoruky, the wedding was scheduled for January 19, 1730, but he caught a cold, fell ill with smallpox and died on the morning of the proposed wedding, he was only 15 years old. So the Romanov family was cut off in the male line.

What can be said about the personality of Peter II? Let's listen to the historian N. Kostomarov: “Peter II did not reach the age when a person's personality is determined. Although contemporaries praised his abilities, natural mind and kind heart, but these were only hopes for a good future. His behavior did not give the right to expect from him in time a good ruler of the state. He not only disliked teaching and deeds, but hated both; nothing fascinated him in the state sphere; he was completely absorbed in fun, being all the time under someone's influence.

During his reign, the Supreme Privy Council was mainly in power.

Board results: decrees on streamlining the collection of poll tax from the population (1727); restoration of the hetman's power in Little Russia; promulgation of the Bill Charter; ratified a trade agreement with China.

Anna Ioannovna

L. Caravak "Portrait of Anna Ioannovna"

After the untimely death of Peter II, the issue of succession to the throne is again on the agenda. There was an attempt to enthrone the bride of Peter II, Catherine Dolgoruky, but she was unsuccessful. Then the Golitsyns, rivals of the Dolgoruky, put forward their own candidate - the niece of Peter I, Anna of Kurland. But Anna came to power by signing the terms. What is it - the "conditions" (conditions) of Anna Ioannovna?

This is an act that was drawn up by the members of the Supreme Privy Council and which Anna Ioannovna had to fulfill: not to marry, not to appoint an heir, not to have the right to declare war and conclude peace, introduce new taxes, reward and punish subordinate high officials. The main author of the conditions was Dmitry Golitsyn, but the document, drawn up immediately after the death of Peter II, was read out only on February 2, 1730, so the bulk of the nobility could only guess about its content and be content with rumors and assumptions. When the conditions were made public, there was a split among the nobility. On January 25, Anna signed the conditions proposed to her, but when she arrived in Moscow, she accepted a deputation of opposition nobles, concerned about the strengthening of the power of the Supreme Privy Council, and with the help of officers of the guards regiments, on February 28, 1730, she swore the nobility as a Russian autocrat, and also publicly refused from conditions. On March 4, she abolishes the Supreme Privy Council, and on April 28 she solemnly crowns herself and appoints her favorite E. Biron as chief chamberlain. The era of Bironovism begins.

A few words about the personality of Anna Ioannovna.

She was born on January 28, 1693, was the fourth daughter of Tsar Ivan V (brother and co-ruler of Peter I) and Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna Saltykova, granddaughter of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. She was brought up in an extremely unfavorable environment: her father was a weak-minded person, and she did not get along with her mother from early childhood. Anna was haughty and not of a high mind. Her teachers could not even teach the girl to write correctly, but she achieved "bodily well-being." Peter I, guided by political interests, married his niece to the Duke of Courland Friedrich Wilhelm, the nephew of the Prussian king. Their marriage took place on October 31, 1710 in St. Petersburg, in the palace of Prince Menshikov, and after that the couple spent a long time in feasts in the capital of Russia. But, as soon as he left St. Petersburg for his possessions at the beginning of 1711, Friedrich-Wilhelm died on the way to Mitava - as they suspected, due to immoderate excesses. So, not having time to be a wife, Anna becomes a widow and moves to her mother in the village of Izmailovo near Moscow, and then to St. Petersburg. But in 1716, by order of Peter I, she left for permanent residence in Courland.

And now she is the All-Russian Empress. Her reign, according to the historian V. Klyuchevsky, “is one of the dark pages of our empire, and the darkest spot on it is the empress herself. Tall and obese, with a face more masculine than feminine, callous by nature and even more hardened during her early widowhood amid diplomatic intrigues and court adventures in Courland, she brought to Moscow an evil and poorly educated mind with a fierce thirst for belated pleasures and entertainment. Her yard was full of luxury and bad taste and was filled with crowds of jesters, tricksters, buffoons, storytellers ... Lazhechnikov tells about her "amusements" in the book "Ice House". She loved horseback riding and hunting, in Peterhof in her room there were always loaded guns ready for shooting from the window at flying birds, and in the Winter Palace they specially arranged an arena for her, where they drove wild animals, which she shot.

She was completely unprepared to govern the state, besides, she did not have the slightest desire to govern it. But she surrounded herself with foreigners completely dependent on her, who, according to V. Klyuchevsky, "fell into Russia, like cheese from a holey bag, stuck around the courtyard, sat down on the throne, climbed into all profitable places in management."

Portrait of E. Biron. Unknown artist

All affairs under Anna Ioannovna were run by her favorite E. Biron. The cabinet of ministers created by Osterman was subordinate to him. The army was commanded by Munnich and Lassi, and the yard was commanded by the bribe taker and passionate gambler Count Levenvold. In April 1731, a secret investigative office (torture chamber) began to work, supporting the authorities with denunciations and torture.

Board results: the position of the nobility was significantly facilitated - they were assigned the exclusive right to own peasants; military service lasted 25 years, and by a manifesto of 1736, one of the sons, at the request of his father, was allowed to stay at home to manage the household and train him in order to be fit for civil service.

In 1731, the law on single inheritance was repealed.

In 1732, the first cadet corps was opened to educate the nobility.

The subjugation of Poland continued: the Russian army under the command of Minich took Danzig, while losing more than 8 thousand of our soldiers.

In 1736-1740. there was a war with Turkey. The reason for it was the constant raids of the Crimean Tatars. As a result of the campaigns of Lassi, who took Azov in 1739, and Minikh, who captured Perekop and Ochakov in 1736, won a victory at Stauchany in 1739, after which Moldavia accepted Russian citizenship, the Belgrade peace was concluded. As a result of all these military operations, Russia lost about 100 thousand people, but still did not have the right to keep a navy in the Black Sea, and could only use Turkish ships for trade.

To keep the royal court in luxury, it was necessary to introduce raids, extortionate expeditions. Many representatives of ancient noble families were executed or sent into exile: Dolgorukovs, Golitsyns, Yusupovs and others. Chancellor A.P. Volynsky, together with like-minded people, in 1739 drew up a "Project for the Correction of State Affairs", which contained demands for the protection of the Russian nobility from the dominance of foreigners. According to Volynsky, the government in the Russian Empire should be monarchical with the broad participation of the nobility as the dominant class in the state. The next governmental instance after the monarch should be the senate (as it was under Peter the Great); then comes the lower government, from representatives of the lower and middle nobility. Estates: spiritual, urban and peasant - received, according to the project of Volynsky, significant privileges and rights. All were required to be literate, and the clergy and nobility were required to have a broader education, the hotbeds of which were to serve as academies and universities. Many reforms were also proposed to improve justice, finance, trade, etc. For this they paid with execution. Moreover, Volynsky was sentenced to a very cruel execution: to put him alive on a stake, having previously cut out his tongue; to quarter his like-minded people and then cut off their heads; confiscate the estates and exile Volynsky's two daughters and son into eternal exile. But then the sentence was reduced: three were beheaded, and the rest were exiled.

Shortly before her death, Anna Ioannovna found out that her niece Anna Leopoldovna had a son, and declared the two-month-old baby Ivan Antonovich the heir to the throne, and before he came of age, she appointed E. Biron as regent, who at the same time received “power and authority to manage all state affairs as internal, as well as foreign ones.

IvanVI Antonovich: Biron's regency - Minich's coup

Ivan VI Antonovich and Anna Leopoldovna

Biron's regency lasted about three weeks. Having received the right to regency, Biron continues to fight with Munnich, and in addition, spoils relations with Anna Leopoldovna and her husband Anton Ulrich. On the night of November 7-8, 1740, another palace coup took place, organized by Munnich. Biron was arrested and sent into exile in the province of Tobolsk, and the regency passed to Anna Leopoldovna. She recognized herself as the ruler, but did not take an actual part in state affairs. According to contemporaries, "... she was not stupid, but she was disgusted with any serious occupation." Anna Leopoldovna constantly quarreled and did not speak to her husband for weeks, who, in her opinion, “had a good heart, but no mind.” And disagreements between spouses naturally created the conditions for court intrigues in the struggle for power. Taking advantage of the carelessness of Anna Leopoldovna and the dissatisfaction of Russian society with the continued German dominance, Elizaveta Petrovna enters the game. With the help of the guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment devoted to her, she arrested Anna Leopoldovna along with her family and decided to send them abroad. But the chamber-page A. Turchaninov made an attempt to make a counter-coup in favor of Ivan VI, and then Elizaveta Petrovna changed her mind: she arrested the entire family of Anna Leopoldovna and sent him to Ranenburg (near Ryazan). In 1744, they were taken to Kholmogory, and at the direction of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, Ivan VI was isolated from his family and, 12 years later, secretly transferred to Shlisselburg, where he was kept in solitary confinement under the name of a "famous prisoner."

In 1762, Peter III secretly examined the former emperor. He disguised himself as an officer and entered the casemates where the prince was kept. He saw “a rather tolerable dwelling, and sparsely furnished with the poorest furniture. The prince's clothes were also very poor. He was completely clueless and spoke incoherently. Either he claimed that he was Emperor John, then he assured that the emperor was no more in the world, and his spirit passed into him ... ".

Under Catherine II, his guards were instructed to persuade the prince to monasticism, but in case of danger, "kill the prisoner, and not give the living into the hands of anyone." Lieutenant V. Mirovich, who learned the secret of the secret prisoner, tried to free Ivan Antonovich and proclaim him emperor. But the guards followed the instructions. The body of Ivan VI was exhibited for a week in the Shlisselburg fortress "for news and worship of the people", and then buried in Tikhvin in the Bogoroditsky Monastery.

Anna Leopoldovna died in 1747 from childbed fever, and Catherine II allowed Anton Ulrich to leave for her homeland, since he did not pose a danger to her, not being a member of the Romanov family. But he refused the offer and stayed with the children in Kholmogory. But their fate is sad: Catherine II, after strengthening the dynasty with the birth of two grandchildren, allowed the children of Anna Leopoldovna to move to her aunt, the dowager queen of Denmark and Norway. But, as N. Eidelman writes, “ironically, they lived in their homeland - in prison, and then abroad - in freedom. But they yearned for that prison in their homeland, not knowing any language other than Russian.”

Empress Elizabeth Petrovna

S. van Loo "Portrait of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna"

Read about it on our website:

PeterIII Fedorovich

A.K. Pfantzelt "Portrait of Peter III"

Read about it on our website:

CatherineII Alekseevna the Great

A. Antropov "Catherine II the Great"

Empress of All Russia. Before the adoption of Orthodoxy - Princess Sophia-Frederica-Augusta. She was born in Stettin, where her father, Christian-August, Duke of Anhalt-Zerbst-Bernburg, at that time served as a major general in the Prussian army. Her mother, Johanna Elisabeth, for some reason disliked the girl, so Sophia (Fike, as her family called her) lived in Hamburg with her grandmother from early childhood. She received a mediocre upbringing, tk. the family was in constant need, its teachers were random people. The girl did not stand out for any talents, except for a penchant for command and for boyish games. Fike was secretive and prudent from childhood. By a happy coincidence, during a trip to Russia in 1744, at the invitation of Elizabeth Petrovna, she became the bride of the future Russian Tsar Peter III Fedorovich.

Catherine already in 1756 was planning her future seizure of power. During a serious and prolonged illness of Elizabeth Petrovna, the Grand Duchess made it clear to her "English comrade" H. Williams that one should only wait for the death of the Empress. But Elizabeth Petrovna died only in 1761, and her legitimate heir, Peter III, husband of Catherine II, ascended the throne.

Teachers of the Russian language and the Law of God were assigned to the princess, she showed enviable perseverance in learning in order to prove her love for a foreign country and adapt to a new life. But the first years of her life in Russia were very difficult, besides, she experienced neglect from her husband and courtiers. But the desire to become a Russian empress outweighed the bitterness of trials. She adapted to the tastes of the Russian court, only one thing was missing - an heir. And that is exactly what was expected of her. After two unsuccessful pregnancies, she finally gave birth to a son, the future Emperor Paul I. But by order of Elizabeth Petrovna, he was immediately separated from his mother, showing for the first time only after 40 days. Elizaveta Petrovna herself raised her grandson, and Catherine took up self-education: she read a lot, and not only novels - her interests included historians and philosophers: Tacitus, Montesquieu, Voltaire, etc. Thanks to her diligence and perseverance, she was able to achieve respect for herself, with her not only well-known Russian politicians, but also foreign ambassadors began to be considered. In 1761, her husband, Peter III, ascended the throne, but he was unpopular in society, and then Catherine, with the help of the guardsmen of the Izmailovsky, Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments, overthrew her husband from the throne in 1762. She also stopped attempts to appoint her regent under her son Pavel , which N. Panin and E. Dashkova sought, and got rid of Ivan VI. Read more about the reign of Catherine II on our website:

Known as an enlightened queen, Catherine II was unable to achieve love and understanding from her own son. In 1794, despite the opposition of the courtiers, she decided to remove Paul from the throne in favor of her beloved grandson Alexander. But a sudden death in 1796 prevented her from achieving what she wanted.

Emperor of All Russia PavelI Petrovich

S. Schukin "Portrait of Emperor Paul I"

Read about it on our website.

The focus of attention of Russian diplomats was the traditional Black Sea problem and the active protection of the conquests in the Baltic.

Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774

April 1769 - the first two campaigns under the command of A.M. Golitsyn were unsuccessful, although before his departure he nevertheless took Khotyn (September 10) and Iasi (September 26). Then the Russian troops took Bucharest. Soon Moldova swore allegiance to Russia.

After a series of victories by I.F. Medem, Kabarda swore allegiance to Russia.

In 1770 Russia scored even greater victories over Turkey. Russian troops occupied Izmail, Kiliya, Akkerman and others.

1770, June 25-26; July 7 and July 21 - the victory of the Russian fleet at Chesme and the troops of P.A. Rumyantsev at Larga and Cahul.

July 1771 - Yu.V. Dolgoruky was announced the approval of eternal friendship with Russia, as a result, Russia formed its own peace conditions that did not suit Austria.

In June 1774 Russian troops again raided the Danube. The Turks suffered several defeats at once.

§ The Crimean Khanate was declared independent;

§ The fortresses of Kerch, Yenikale and Kinburn pass to Russia;

§ The Black and Marmara Seas are declared free for merchant ships of Russian citizens;

§ Georgia is freed from the heaviest tribute by young men and girls sent to Turkey;

§ Turkey pays Russia 4.5 million rubles. for military expenses.

1783 - the liquidation of the Crimean Khanate, the entry of its territory into Russia. Foundation of Sevastopol.

Russian-Turkish war 1787-1791.

August 21, 1787 the Turkish fleet attacked the Russian guards near Kinburn. The defeat of the Turks, the failure of their attempt to seize the Crimea from the sea and destroy Sevastopol.

1788 - the actions of the Russian army focused on the assault on the Turkish fortress Ochakov, since the main forces of the Turkish fleet were stationed in the harbor. In the battle near Serpent's Island, under the command of F.F. Ushakov, the Russians won. December - successful assault on Ochakov;

§ Turkey ceded to Russia all the lands of the Black Sea up to the Dniester River, gave Ochakov;

§ Turkey was obliged to pay damages for the raids in the North Caucasus;

§ Moldavia, Bessarabia and Wallachia were still in the hands of the Porte, and the issue of the protectorate of Georgia was not resolved.

Russian-Swedish war 1788-1790.

In the summer of 1788 the Tripartite Alliance was created against Russia (England, Prussia, Holland), finally, Prussia, England and Turkey achieved an attack on Russia by Sweden.

June 1788 - Swedish troops besieged the fortresses of Neishlot and Friedrichsgam, the Swedish fleet entered the action and entered the Gulf of Finland;

July 1788 - the battle near the island of Hogland, the victory of the Russians, thereby the Russians stopped the attempt of Gustav III to capture St. Petersburg;

1789 - Russian troops launched an offensive in Finland, the victory of Russia;

1772 - the first partition of Poland, according to which Russia received Eastern Belarus with borders along the Western Dvina, Druti and Dnieper.

1793 - the second partition of Poland, according to which Russia received Belarus and Right-Bank Ukraine;

1794 - uprising in Poland under the leadership of T. Kosciuszko;

1795 - the third partition of Poland, according to which Russia received Western Belarus, Lithuania, Courland and part of Volhynia;

The era of palace coups

N. Ge "Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich in Peterhof"

After his death, his widow was proclaimed empress Catherine I, which relied on one of the court groups.

Before her death, she appointed her successor John Antonovich, also describing in detail the further line of inheritance.

Deposed John Elizaveta Petrovna relied in substantiating her rights to the throne on the will of Catherine I.

A few years later, her nephew Pyotr Fedorovich was appointed Elizabeth's heir ( Peter III), after the accession to the throne of which his son became the heir PaulI Petrovich.

CatherineI

Catherine I. Portrait of an unknown artist

PeterII Alekseevich

I. Wedekind "Portrait of Peter II"

During his reign, the Supreme Privy Council was mainly in power.

Anna Ioannovna

L. Caravak "Portrait of Anna Ioannovna"

A few words about the personality of Anna Ioannovna.

Portrait of E. Biron. Unknown artist

In 1731, the law on single inheritance was repealed.

In 1732, the first cadet corps was opened to educate the nobility.

The subjugation of Poland continued: the Russian army under the command of Minich took Danzig, while losing more than 8 thousand of our soldiers.

IvanVI Antonovich: Biron's regency - Minich's coup

Ivan VI Antonovich and Anna Leopoldovna

Empress Elizabeth Petrovna

S. van Loo "Portrait of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna"

PeterIII Fedorovich

A.K. Pfantzelt "Portrait of Peter III"

Read about it on our website:.

CatherineII Alekseevna the Great

A. Antropov "Catherine II the Great"

Emperor of All Russia PavelI Petrovich

S. Schukin "Portrait of Emperor Paul I"

Introduction

1. Palace coups of the 18th century

1.1 First coups. Naryshkins and Miloslavskys

1.3 "The idea of the leaders"

1.4 The rise and fall of Biron

1.6 Coup of Catherine II

Conclusion

Introduction

The era of palace coups, as is usually called in Russian historiography, the time from the death of Peter I in 1725 to the accession to the throne of Catherine II in 1762. From 1725 to 1761, the widow of Peter Catherine I (1725-1727), his grandson Peter II (1727-1730), his niece the Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740) and her sister's grandson baby Ivan Antonovich (1740) visited the Russian throne -1741), his daughter Elizaveta Petrovna (1741 - 1761). The list is closed by the successor of Elizabeth Petrovna, the paternal grandson of the Swedish King Charles XII and the maternal grandson of Peter I, Duke of Holstein Peter III. “These people had neither the strength nor the desire to continue or destroy the work of Peter; they could only spoil it” (V.O. Klyuchevsky).

What was the essence of the era of palace coups? Historians pay attention to two important facts. On the one hand, it was a reaction to the stormy reign of Peter I, his grandiose transformations. On the other hand, the post-Petrine period formed a new nobility and palace coups in the 18th century. carried out by the noble aristocracy in the interests of their class. Their result was the growth of noble privileges and the intensification of the exploitation of the peasants. Under these conditions, individual attempts by the government to soften the serf regime could not be successful, and thus, palace coups, strengthening serfdom, contributed to the crisis of feudalism.

The purpose of this work is to highlight all the palace coups of the 18th century and identify their causes, as well as to assess the transformations of Catherine II in the era of "enlightened absolutism".

This work consists of an introduction, 3 chapters, a conclusion and a list of references. The total amount of work is 20 pages.

1. Palace coups of the XVIII century 1.1 The first coups. Naryshkins and Miloslavskys

The first coups took place already at the end of the 17th century, when, after the death of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich in 1682, supporters and relatives of Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna achieved the election of the youngest of his brothers, Peter Alekseevich, to the throne, bypassing the elder Ivan. In essence, this was the first palace coup that took place peacefully. But two weeks later, Moscow was shaken by the Streltsy rebellion, most likely initiated by the relatives of Tsarevich Ivan by his mother, the Miloslavskys. After the bloody reprisals against the participants in the first coup, both Ivan and Peter were proclaimed kings, and the real power was in the hands of their elder sister, Princess Sophia. It is significant that this time, to achieve their goals, the conspirators used military force - archers, who were the police support of power. However, Sophia could formally rule only as long as her brothers remained children. According to some reports, the princess was preparing a new coup, intending to proclaim herself an autocratic queen. But in 1689, taking advantage of the rumor about the archers' campaign against Preobrazhenskoye, Peter fled to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery and soon gathered significant forces there. Their core was made up of his amusing regiments, which later became the basis of the regular army, its guard, which played an important role in almost all subsequent palace coups. The open confrontation between sister and brother ended with the arrest of Sophia and her exile to a monastery.

1.2 Revolutions after the death of Peter the Great. Menshikov and Dolgoruky

Peter the Great died in 1725 without leaving an heir and before he could implement his decree of 1722, according to which the tsar had the right to appoint his own successor. Among those who could claim the throne at that time were the grandson of Peter I - the young tsarevich Peter Alekseevich, the wife of the late tsar - Ekaterina Alekseevna and their daughters - princesses Anna and Elizabeth. It is believed that Peter I was going to leave the throne to Anna, but then changed his mind and therefore crowned (for the first time in Russian history) his wife Catherine. However, shortly before the death of the king, the relationship of the spouses deteriorated sharply. Each of the applicants had their supporters.

Companions of Peter, new nobles A.D. Menshikov, F.M. Apraksin, P.A. Tolstoy, F. Prokopovich advocated the transfer of the throne to the wife of the late emperor - Catherine (Martha Skavronskaya), a nobleman from the old boyar families D.M. Golitsyn, Dolgoruky, Saltykov, who were hostile to the "new upstarts", proposed to make the grandson of Peter the Tsar. A.D., who supported Ekaterina, turned out to be the quickest of all. Menshikov. Disputes were interrupted by the appearance of the Guards regiments. Having set up the guards regiments accordingly, he built them under the windows of the palace and thus achieved the proclamation of the queen as an autocratic empress. It was not a pure palace coup, since it was not about a change of power, but about choosing among contenders for the throne, but the very way the issue was resolved anticipated subsequent events.

In her reign, the government was headed by people who had come to the fore under Peter, primarily Menshikov. However, the old nobility also had a great influence, especially the Golitsyns and Dolgoruky. The struggle of the old and new nobles led to a compromise: on February 8, 1726, a Supreme Privy Council of six people headed by Menshikov was created by decree: D.M. Golitsyn, P.A. Tolstoy, F.M. Apraksin, G.I. Golovkin, A.I. Osterman and Duke Karl Friedrich, husband of Princess Anna Petrovna. The Council, as the new supreme body of power, pushed aside the Senate and began to decide the most important matters. The Empress did not interfere. The Menshikov government, relying on the nobles, expanded their privileges, allowed them to create patrimonial manufactories and trade. The "Verkhovniki" destroyed the Petrine system of local sectoral bodies - its maintenance was expensive, while the government was striving for economy: the poll tax was not fully received, and the ruin of the peasants was reflected in the landowners' economy. The poll tax was reduced, the participation of troops in its collection was canceled. All power in the provinces was transferred to the governors, in the provinces and districts - to the governors. The administration began to cost the state cheaper, but its arbitrariness intensified. There were plans to review other reforms as well.

May 6, 1727 Catherine I died. According to her will, the throne passed to the grandson of Peter I, Tsarevich Peter, a tall, healthy 12-year-old boy. Wanting to become regent, Menshikov, during the life of Catherine, betrothed his daughter to Peter II. But now Menshikov was opposed by the "supervisors" - Count A.I. Osterman, tutor of Peter II, and princes Dolgoruky. 17-year-old Ivan Dolgoruky was a favorite of Peter II, a friend of his amusements. In September 1727, Peter deprived Menshikov of all his posts and exiled him to Berezov at the mouth of the Ob, where he died in 1729. The Dolgoruky decided to strengthen their influence on Peter by marrying him to the sister of Ivan Dolgoruky. The court and the collegium moved to Moscow, where the wedding was being prepared. But in the midst of preparations on January 18, 1730, Peter II died of smallpox. The male line of the Romanov family was discontinued.

The guards did not participate in the next coup, and Menshikov himself became its victim. It happened already in 1728, during the reign of Peter II. Having concentrated all power in his hands and completely controlling the young tsar, the temporary worker suddenly fell ill, and while he was ill, his political opponents, princes Dolgoruky and A.I.

Osterman, managed to gain influence on the tsar and obtain from him a decree, first on the resignation, and then on the exile of Menshikov to Siberia. This was a new palace coup, because as a result, power in the country passed to a different political force.

1.3 "The idea of the leaders"

According to the will of Catherine I, in the event of the death of Peter II, the throne passed to one of her daughters. But the "supervisors" did not want to lose power. At the suggestion of D.M. Golitsyn, they decided to elect Anna Ioannovna to the throne - the widow of the Duke of Courland, the daughter of Peter I's brother Tsar Ivan, as a representative of the senior line of the Romanov dynasty. Under the conditions of the dynastic crisis, the members of the Supreme Privy Council attempted to limit autocracy in Russia and forced Anna Ioannovna, elected by them to the throne, to sign "conditions". Since the leaders kept their plans secret, their whole undertaking was in the nature of a real conspiracy, and if their plan had succeeded, this would have meant a change in the political system of Russia. But this did not happen, and the decisive role was again played by the guards officers, whom the supporters of the autocracy managed to bring into the palace in time. At the right moment, they declared their adherence to traditional forms of government so decisively that everyone else had no choice but to join them.

Before arriving in Russia, Anna Ioannovna signed "conditions" that limited her power: do not rule without the consent of the "supervisors", do not execute the gentry without trial, do not take away or grant estates without the sanction of the "supervisors", do not marry, do not appoint a successor, his favorite E.I. Biron should not be brought to Russia. Anna Ioannovna made sure that the secret "conditions" became known to everyone. The nobility revolted against the "supreme leaders". During the coronation on February 25, 1730, Anna broke her “conditions”, stepped on them and proclaimed herself a colonel of the Preobrazhensky regiment and an autocrat. On March 4, 1730, she abolished the Supreme Privy Council, exiled Dolgoruky and executed D.M. Golitsyn was imprisoned, where he died. The Senate resumed its activity. October 18, 1731. the Cabinet of Ministers and the Office of Secret Investigation Affairs were established, headed by A.I. Ushakov - the secret political police, terrifying with torture and executions. The cabinet of ministers was so powerful that from 1735 the signatures of all three cabinet ministers could replace the signature of Anna herself. Thus, the Cabinet legally became the supreme institution of the state. Anna surrounded herself with Courland nobles, led by E.I. Biron, who was soon elected Duke of Courland, spent her time in amusements, horseback riding, and hunting. Anna made new concessions to the Russian nobles. On December 9, 1730, Peter's decree on single inheritance was canceled. In 1736, the service of the nobility ceased to be indefinite, it was limited to 25 years (from 20 to 45 years). One of the noble sons could stay at home and run the household. For the children of nobles in St. Petersburg, they founded the Land Gentry Corps (cadet), where officers were trained. But the Russian nobles were dissatisfied with the dominance of foreigners who occupied all important posts. In 1738 Cabinet Minister A.P. Volynsky and his supporters tried to oppose the "Bironism", but were arrested. In 1740, Volynsky and two of his associates were executed after suffering, the rest had their tongues cut out and sent to hard labor.

Having no heirs, Anna summoned her niece to Russia - the daughter of Catherine's elder sister Anna (Elizaveta) Leopoldovna with her husband Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Anton-Ulrich and their son, a three-month-old baby Ivan. On October 17, 1740, Anna Ioannovna died, and the child was proclaimed emperor Ivan VI, and Biron, according to Anna's will, as regent. Biron's regency caused general discontent, even among the German relatives of Ivan VI.

1.4 The rise and fall of Biron

Unpopular and without support in any section of society, the duke behaved arrogantly, defiantly, and soon quarreled even with the parents of the infant emperor. Meanwhile, the prospect of waiting for Ivan Antonovich to come of age under the rule of Biron did not attract anyone, least of all the guards, whose idol was the daughter of Peter I, Tsesarevna Elizaveta Petrovna. Field Marshal B.K. took advantage of these sentiments. Minich, for whom Biron was an obstacle to the heights of power. On the night of November 9, 1740, a detachment of 80 guardsmen led by Minikh broke into the Summer Palace and, almost without resistance, arrested Biron. Probably, many of the participants in the coup thought that now Elizabeth would become the empress, but this was not part of Minich's plans and the mother of Ivan Antonovich Anna Leopoldovna was declared the ruler, and his father, Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick, received the title of generalissimo and commander-in-chief of the Russian army. The latter was unexpected for Munnich, who hoped to become a generalissimo himself. In a fit of resentment, he resigned and soon received it. But this was the ruler’s mistake, because now there was no one left in her entourage who would have influence on the guard.

The glee that seized the inhabitants of St. Petersburg over the overthrow of Biron was soon replaced by despondency: Anna Leopoldovna was a kind woman, but lazy and completely incapable of governing the state. Her inactivity demoralized the highest dignitaries, who did not know what decisions to make, and who preferred not to decide anything, so as not to make a fatal mistake. Meanwhile, the name of Elizabeth was still on everyone's lips. For the guardsmen and residents of St. Petersburg, she was primarily the daughter of Peter the Great, whose reign was remembered as a time of glorious military victories, grandiose transformations, and at the same time order and discipline. People from Anna Leopoldovna's entourage saw Elizabeth as a threat and demanded that the dangerous rival be removed from St. Petersburg by marrying her off or simply sending her to a monastery. Such a danger, in turn, pushed Elizabeth to conspiracy.

She was also not too power-hungry, more than anything she was attracted by dresses, balls and other entertainments, and it was this lifestyle that she was most afraid of losing.

1.5 Peter's daughter rises to power

The conspiracy was pushed by Elizabeth and her own environment, in which there were also foreigners who pursued their own interests. So, the doctor of the princess Lestok brought her together with the French ambassador, the Marquis of Chétardie, who counted, in the event of Elizabeth coming to power, on Russia's refusal from the alliance with Austria and rapprochement with France. Changes in Russian foreign policy were also sought by Swedish ambassador Nolken, who hoped to achieve a revision of the terms of the Treaty of Nystadt in 1721, which secured Russia's possessions in the Baltic states. But Elizabeth was not at all going to give Sweden land, and she did not really need foreigners either. On the contrary, it was precisely the abundance of foreigners at court that was one of the factors that irritated both the guards and the inhabitants of St. Petersburg.

A new coup was carried out by the guards regiments in favor of the daughter of Peter I, Elizabeth. The French ambassador was involved in the conspiracy, hoping to benefit from this for his country. On the night of November 25, 1741, Elizabeth, at the head of the grenadier company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, arrested the Braunschweig family and deposed Ivan Antonovich. Soon the carriages of the dignitaries awakened by the drummers were drawn to the palace, in a hurry to express their loyal feelings to the new ruler of Russia. She herself forever remembered this night not only as the night of her triumph. From now on, she always saw the specter of a new coup, she tried not to sleep at night and in all her palaces she did not have a permanent bedroom, but ordered every night to make a bed in different chambers.

The arrested were sent abroad, but returned from the way, kept in exile in different cities, finally placed in Kholmogory, and when Ivan Antonovich grew up, he, as a contender for the throne, was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, ordering the commandant to kill the prisoner while trying to escape. When on July 4-5, 1764, a descendant of noble Cossacks, the son of the governor, lieutenant Vasily Yakovlevich Mirovich, tried to release Ivan Antonovich, the commandant complied with the order.

In the reign of Elizabeth, Russia returned to the Petrine order: the Senate was restored and the Cabinet of Ministers was liquidated, the magistrates resumed their activities, and the Secret Chancellery was preserved. In 1744 the death penalty was abolished. In the development of Peter's reforms, other measures were taken in the spirit of "enlightened absolutism", for which in 1754 the Legislative Commission was formed. According to her projects, on April 1, 1754, internal customs duties were abolished. Decree of 1754. "On the Punishment of Moneylenders" the marginal interest rate was capped at 6%. They formed the State Loan Bank, which consisted of the Bank for the Nobility and the Merchant Bank. The pro-noble nature of the reforms was especially reflected in the granting to the nobles in 1754 of a monopoly on distillation. According to the new decree, the nobles had to prove their origin. Decrees were being prepared on the secularization of church lands and "liberties of the nobility." Munnich and Osterman were sent into exile. In contrast to the recent dominance of the Germans at the court, the main government posts were now occupied by Russian nobles. Counts Pyotr Ivanovich Shuvalov and Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin became prominent statesmen. Favorites mattered. The singer of the court choir, the Ukrainian peasant Alexei Grigorievich Rozum, became Count Razumovsky and field marshal. At the end of 1742, he and Elizabeth secretly married in the church of the village of Perovo near Moscow (now Moscow).

1.6 Coup of Catherine II

Elizaveta Petrovna took care of the successor in advance, already at the very beginning of her reign, declaring her nephew Pyotr Fedorovich to them. However, brought to Russia at an early youthful age, this grandson of Peter the Great did not manage to either fall in love or get to know the country he was to rule. His impulsive nature, love for everything Prussian and frank contempt for Russian national customs, along with the lack of the makings of a statesman, frightened the Russian nobles, deprived them of confidence in the future - their own and the whole country.

In 1743, Elizabeth married him to a poor German princess Sophia-August-Frederike of Anhalt-Tserbskaya, after the adoption of Orthodoxy, she was called Ekaterina Alekseevna. When their son Pavel was born in 1754, Elizabeth took him into her care, isolating him from his parents, so that he would grow up Russian in spirit. There is an assumption that Elizaveta Petrovna herself wanted to deprive the Grand Duke of her inheritance, declaring her son Pavel, who was born to them, as her successor. On the other hand, some Russian nobles, in particular Chancellor A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, began to think about how instead of Peter to enthrone his wife. But Bestuzhev fell into disgrace and was exiled, and Elizabeth did not dare to carry out her intentions. December 25, 1761, when Elizabeth died, Peter III became emperor.

Peter's behavior on the throne justified the worst fears of the courtiers. He behaved like a child escaping from adult supervision, it seemed to him that, as an autocrat, everything was allowed to him. Rumors spread throughout the capital, and throughout the country, about the tsar's intentions to replace Orthodoxy with Protestantism, and the Russian guardsmen with Holsteins. The society condemned the hasty conclusion of peace with Prussia, the emperor's ostentatious Prusophilia and his plans to start a war with Denmark. And almost from the first days of his reign, a conspiracy began to mature around him, headed by his wife Catherine.

Peter III and Catherine had a difficult relationship and were unhappy in marriage. Catherine became close to the officer Grigory Grigorievich Orlov. Soon, a circle of devoted people formed around her, headed by the Orlov brothers, in which, by 1756, a conspiracy had matured to seize power and transfer the throne to Catherine. The conspiracy was fueled by rumors about the intention of the ill Elizabeth to leave the throne to Paul, and send Catherine and her husband to Holstein. The conspiracy was supported by the British ambassador. After the accession to the throne of Peter III, the conspiracy continued to grow and deepen. The coup was scheduled for the beginning of July 1762. But the denouement came earlier, when Peter III, preparing for the war with Denmark, ordered the guards to go to Finland. The guards were not informed about the purpose of the campaign, she decided that the conspiracy had been discovered and they wanted to remove her from the capital. Peter III really found out about the conspiracy, Grigory Orlov was arrested. On June 29, Peter III tried to hide in Kronstadt, but the fortress did not accept him, having met him with fire.

In the meantime, on June 28 at 6 o'clock in the morning, Alexei Orlov appeared in Peterhof to Catherine and said that the plot had been discovered. Catherine hurried to St. Petersburg to the barracks of the Izmailovsky regiment. Other guardsmen joined her and proclaimed her autocrat. They brought Paul here. In the presence of nobles, Catherine was solemnly proclaimed empress and her son heir. From the cathedral she went to the Winter Palace, where the members of the Senate and the Synod took the oath.

Meanwhile, on the morning of June 28, Peter III arrived with his retinue from Oranienbaum to Peterhof and discovered the disappearance of his wife. Soon it became known about what happened in St. Petersburg. The emperor still had forces loyal to him, and if he had shown determination, perhaps he would have been able to turn the tide of events. But Peter hesitated and only after much deliberation decided to try to land in Kronstadt. By this time, however, Admiral I.L., sent by Catherine, was already there. Talyzin and the emperor had to return to Peterhof, and then he had no choice but to sign his abdication. Peter III was seized and taken to the manor (farm) Ropsha, 20 km from Oranienbaum, guarded by Alexei Orlov and other officers. At dinner, the conspirators poisoned him, and then strangled him in front of a servant who came running to the cry. The subjects were informed of the death of the emperor from a "hemorrhoidal attack."

Having seized the throne, Catherine II continued Peter's policy of creating a strong absolutist state, claiming the role of an "enlightened monarch".

1.7 Failed plots against Catherine II

Thus began the 34-year reign of Catherine II. More than once during this time, especially in the early years, new coups were attempted (the most serious of them was an attempt by V.Ya. Mirovich in 1764 to free Ivan Antonovich from the Shlisselburg fortress), but they all failed in 1796, when Catherine died, on Emperor Paul I ascended the Russian throne.

In many character traits, he resembled his father: he was also quick-tempered, impulsive, unpredictable, despotic. Like 34 years earlier, the courtiers, dignitaries and generals did not know what awaited them tomorrow: a meteoric rise or disgrace. The tsar’s passion for military affairs, his desire to impose Prussian orders and cane discipline in the army caused sharp rejection among the military, and this time not only in the guard, but throughout the army. So, for example, an anti-government circle, consisting of officers, existed in Smolensk, but was uncovered. When dissatisfaction with the tyrant tsar became general, a new conspiracy against Paul matured in St. Petersburg. The conspirators enlisted the support of Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, apparently promising him that they would not cause physical harm to Paul and would only force him to sign the abdication. On the night of March 11, 1801, a group of officers, meeting almost no resistance, broke into the emperor's chambers in the newly built Mikhailovsky Castle. Frightened to death, they found Pavel hiding behind a screen. A dispute ensued: the emperor was required to abdicate in favor of Alexander, but he refused. And then the excited conspirators attacked Paul. One of them hit him on the temple with a golden snuffbox, the other began to choke him with a scarf. Soon it was all over.

2. Difference between state and palace coup

Some historians are inclined to consider the uprising on Senate Square on December 14, 1825 as an attempt at a coup. Indeed, soldiers and officers of regiments stationed in the capital, mostly guards, also took part in it. However, the leaders of the rebels sought not only to replace one autocrat with another, but to change the political system of Russia. And this is the fundamental difference. If the plans of the Decembrists had been realized, then this would, of course, be the result of a coup, but not a palace coup, but a state coup. However, there is no clear boundary between these two concepts. And if the overthrow of Menshikov in 1728 was clearly a palace coup, then these events can also be considered state coups.

For a long time it was believed that the "epoch of palace coups" in Russia in the 18th century. was generated by the decree of Peter I of 1722, which left the autocrats to choose their own heir. However, this is not true. One of the reasons is that after the death of Peter II, there were no direct male heirs in the royal family and different family members could claim the throne with equal rights. But much more important is that the coups were a kind of manifestation of public opinion, and even more than that - an indicator of the maturity of Russian society, which was a direct consequence of Peter's reforms at the beginning of the century. Thus, in 1741 there was widespread dissatisfaction with the inaction of the government and the "dominance of foreigners", in 1762 and 1801 the Russian people did not want to put up with petty tyrants on the throne. And although the guardsmen always acted as direct executors of the conspiracies, they expressed the mood of much wider sections of the population, because information about what was happening in the palace was widely disseminated throughout St. Petersburg through palace servants, sentry soldiers, etc. In autocratic Russia there were no ways of expressing public opinion, which are in countries with a democratic political system, and therefore public opinion was expressed through palace and state coups - in such a peculiar and even ugly way. From this point of view, it becomes clear that the widely held opinion that the guardsmen acted only in the interests of a handful of nobles is not true.

3. Russia in the era of Catherine II: enlightened absolutism

The long reign of Catherine II is filled with significant and highly controversial events and processes. The "golden age of the Russian nobility" was at the same time the age of Pugachevism, the "Instruction" and the Legislative Commission side by side with the persecution of N.I. Novikov and A.N. Radishchev. And yet it was an integral era, which had its own core, its own logic, its own super-task. It was a time when the imperial government was trying to implement one of the most thoughtful, consistent and successful reform programs in the history of Russia (A.B. Kamensky).

The ideological basis of the reforms was the philosophy of the European Enlightenment, with which the empress was well acquainted. In this sense, her reign is often called the era of enlightened absolutism. Historians argue about what enlightened absolutism was - the utopian teaching of the enlighteners (Voltaire, Diderot, etc.) about the ideal union of kings and philosophers, or a political phenomenon that found its real embodiment in Prussia (Frederick II the Great), Austria (Joseph II), Russia (Catherine II) and others. These disputes are not unfounded. They reflect the key contradiction between the theory and practice of enlightened absolutism: between the need to radically change the established order of things (estate system, despotism, lack of rights, etc.) and the inadmissibility of upheavals, the need for stability, the inability to infringe on the social force on which this order rests - the nobility .

Catherine II, like perhaps no one else, understood the tragic insurmountability of this contradiction: “You,” she blamed the French philosopher D. Diderot, “write on paper that will endure everything, but I, the poor empress, are on human skin, so sensitive and painful." Her position on the question of the serfs is highly indicative. There is no doubt about the negative attitude of the empress to serfdom. She often thought about ways to cancel it. But things did not go further than cautious reflections. Catherine II was clearly aware that the elimination of serfdom would be indignantly perceived by the nobles, and the peasant masses, ignorant and in need of guidance, would not be able to use the granted freedom for their own benefit. Serfdom legislation was expanded: landowners were allowed to exile peasants to hard labor for any period, and peasants were forbidden to file complaints against landlords.

The most significant transformations in the spirit of enlightened absolutism were:

convocation and activity of the Legislative Commission (1767-1768). The goal was to develop a new code of laws, which was intended to replace the Cathedral Code of 1649. Representatives of the nobility, officials, townspeople, and state peasants worked in the Legislative Commission. By the opening of the commission, Catherine II wrote the famous "Order", in which she used the works of Voltaire, Montesquieu, Beccaria and other enlighteners. It spoke about the presumption of innocence, the eradication of despotism, the spread of education, and the well-being of the people. The activities of the commission did not bring the desired result. A new set of laws was not developed, the deputies failed to rise above the narrow interests of the estates and did not show much zeal in formulating reforms. In December 1768, the empress dissolved the Legislative Commission and did not create more similar institutions;

reform of the administrative-territorial division of the Russian Empire. The country was divided into 50 provinces (300-400 thousand male souls), each of which consisted of 10-12 counties (20-30 thousand male souls). A uniform system of provincial administration was established: a governor appointed by the emperor, provincial government exercising executive power, the Treasury (collecting taxes, spending them), the Order of Public Charity (schools, hospitals, shelters, etc.). Courts were created, built according to a strictly estate principle - for nobles, townspeople, state peasants. Administrative, financial and judicial functions were thus clearly separated. The provincial division introduced by Catherine II was preserved until 1917;

the adoption in 1785 of the Letter of Complaint to the nobility, which secured all the estate rights and privileges of the nobles (exemption from corporal punishment, the exclusive right to own peasants, transfer them by inheritance, sell, buy villages, etc.);

the adoption of the Letter of Complaint to the cities, which formalized the rights and privileges of the "third estate" - the townspeople. The urban estate was divided into six categories, received limited self-government rights, elected the mayor and members of the city Duma;

the adoption in 1775 of the manifesto on freedom of enterprise, according to which the permission of government bodies was not required to open an enterprise;

reforms 1782-1786 in the field of school education.

Of course, these transformations were limited. The autocratic principle of government, serfdom, the estate system remained unshakable. Pugachev's peasant war, the storming of the Bastille and the execution of King Louis XVI did not contribute to the deepening of reforms. They went intermittently, in the 90s. and completely stopped. Persecution A.N. Radishchev, N.I. Novikov were not random episodes. They testify to the deep contradictions of enlightened absolutism, the impossibility of unambiguous assessments of the "golden age of Catherine II."

And, nevertheless, it was in this era that the Free Economic Society appeared, free printing houses worked, there was a heated journal debate, in which the Empress personally participated, the Hermitage and the Public Library in St. Petersburg, the Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens and pedagogical schools in both capitals were founded. Historians also say that the efforts of Catherine II, aimed at encouraging the social activity of the estates, especially the nobility, laid the foundations of civil society in Russia.

Conclusion

The last time the guards regiments said their weighty word was in 1762, when Peter III, the official heir to Elizabeth Petrovna, was deposed from the throne, and his wife was proclaimed Empress Catherine II.

Power passed from one hand to another whimsically and unpredictably. The capital guards, at their own discretion, decided to whom to transfer the throne and crown. There is nothing surprising in the fact that the nobility managed to achieve the fulfillment of many of their desires. Distinctions between patrimony and estate disappeared, the landownership rights of the nobles were guaranteed. Ownership of serfs became a class privilege of the nobility, it received enormous judicial and police power over the peasants, the right to exile them to Siberia without trial, to sell them without land. The term of military service was limited to 25 years, a cadet corps was established, youths of the nobility could enroll in regiments and not start serving as soldiers. The apogee was the manifesto of Peter III on the freedom of the nobility, which freed the nobles from compulsory service. Elements of "enlightened absolutism" can be seen in the policies of all the monarchs of Russia in the 18th century. Especially brightly "enlightened absolutism" manifested itself under Catherine II. Catherine did not like music and singing, but she was well educated, knew the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans, read modern philosophers, corresponded with the French enlighteners Voltaire and Diderot. She hoped through legislative reforms to eliminate the contradictions between estates and classes.

Catherine II was unable to overcome irreconcilable social contradictions. "Enlightened absolutism" of Paul I, his attempts to mitigate serfdom ended in the death of the reformer. In the second half of the XVIII century. all aspirations for a radical reorganization of the state crashed against its very foundation - serfdom and the fierce resistance of the nobility.

List of used literature

1. Gavrilov B.I. History of Russia from ancient times to the present day: A manual for university students / B.I. Gavrilov. - M.: Publishing house "New Wave", 1998.

2. Grinin L.E. History of Russia: A guide for applicants to universities in 4 parts / L.E. Grinin. - M.: Ed. "Teacher", 1995.

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