The reign of Anna Ioannovna 1730 1740. Brief biography of Anna Ioannovna

The reign of Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740) is called "Bironovshchina". This name is logical, since the favorite of the Empress Ernst Johann Biron ran all the affairs in the country. "Bironovshchina" is characterized by increased investigation, repression, reprisals, inept government of the country, and so on. Was it really that bad? Indeed, the regime of Anna's rule was much tougher compared to what was happening under Catherine 1 and Peter 2. But it is impossible to say that there was tyranny in Russia at that time and a bloody regime. In many ways, this topic was promoted by Catherine 2, and under her reign, Anna Ioannovna began to be viewed from an extremely negative point of view. In fact, the reality was not as terrible and not as unambiguous as it is customary to talk about it.

Any modern history textbook reduces the essence of Bironism to the following:

Bloody regime with tougher police investigation.
Waste, bribery and embezzlement, as a result of which Russia did not have a budget.
Biron negatively influenced Anna.
The terrible dominance of Russia by the Germans. The Germans are to blame for all the troubles of the regime.

Let's take a step-by-step look at how things really were, and what happened in the Russian Empire from 1730 to 1740.

Byron's bloody regime

Biron, for all his shortcomings, did not like blood and resorted to violence only in case of emergency. Indeed, executions, repressions and punishments of various levels have increased in Russia. But to say that this is the ideas of Bironovism, and that the Germans are to blame for this, is impossible. Suffice it to say that Ushakov, not Biron, was responsible for the police investigation, repressions and executions. Let me remind you that Ushakov is a man of Peter 1, whose regime was really bloody and merciless. And in terms of the volume of repressions, the reign of Anna Ioannovna did not even come close to what happened in the Petrine era. After all, even Peter 1 himself was a terrible connoisseur of executions of torture and violence. An illustrative example - he tortured his own son, Tsarevich Alexei, with his own hands, and tortured him to death.

Therefore, it is impossible to say that Biron's regime was bloody and merciless. Everything is relative. Just 10-15 years before him, the regime was much more dangerous and bloodthirsty, but in the textbooks Biron is a tyrant, and Peter 1 is an advanced person. But this is not even the point - Biron had a mediocre attitude to repressions and executions. Direct fault on Ushakov (not German - Russian).

The situation in the economy

By the end of 1731 the treasury was empty. The main reason is a luxurious life at court, theft, lack of management in the country, bribes. The question of finding money arose. Biron solved it together with Anna due to 3 sources:

They began to squeeze out arrears from peasants and ordinary townspeople. In general, it is interesting that as soon as money ran out in the Russian Empire, the rulers immediately began to look for ways to get it from the peasants.
Increase in the number of repressions. After the repression, all the property of a person was transferred to the treasury. For 10 years, 20 thousand people were repressed.
Sale of rights to use (extract) natural resources.

Only 5 years passed between the reign of Peter 1 and the "Bironovshchina" (the reign of Anna Ioannovna). During this time, the cost of maintaining the yard has grown almost 6 times.! The French ambassador wrote about this: “For all the luxury of the Court, no one else is paid money.” To no one does this mean the army, navy, officials, scientists, and so on. The money was barely enough to keep the Court in luxury. The main point of their attraction is arrears. For example, in 1732 they planned to collect 2.5 million rubles in taxes, but in reality they collected 187 thousand. That is, the arrears were terrible. To seize them from the population, the Empress, at the suggestion of Biron, organized "finishing raids." This is a regular army, which knocked out arrears from people by any means. This was the essence of "Bironism" - a tough, bloody regime, merciless to its people. The response of the population is a bad attitude towards the Germans. It was believed that all the troubles were due to the fact that there were a lot of Germans at the court (the same Biron), who did not care about the Russian people. Regarding the "finishing raid" - the idea of setting the army on the population is not an invention of Anna and her entourage. This is a smooth continuation of the policy of Peter 1.

Foreigners (mostly Germans) did not spare the Russian treasury. In my opinion, an illustrative example of why there was not enough money in Russia is unreasonable spending. For 10 years, Biron bought jewelry (for himself and relatives) at the expense of the treasury in the amount of 2 million rubles. For comparison, during the same time, 470 thousand rubles were spent on the maintenance of the Academy of Sciences.

Another problem is bribes. Biron was very fond of bribes, but then everyone took bribes. The most famous bribe received by Biron is 1 million rubles from the British for the right to transport goods through Russia without duty. As a result, the treasury annually lost 5 million rubles.

Are the Germans to blame for everything?

The Germans occupied many key positions under Anna: the favorite - Biron, diplomacy - Osterman and Levendom, the army - Minich, industry - Schemberg, colleges - Mengden and so on. But there is also a downside, which is often forgotten - there were a large number of Russian people who held high positions, and they should fully share the responsibility for the Bironovshchina regime. Suffice it to say that the head of the secret office was Andrei Ushakov, who was one of the five most influential people of his time. Nevertheless, only the Germans are blamed for all the troubles of the era.

An important fact showing that no one pushed the Russian nobility is the number of generals in the army. In 1729 (before Anna's accession), there were 71 generals in the army, of which 41 were foreigners (58%). In 1738 there were 61 generals and 31 foreigners (51%). Moreover, it was during the period of "Bironism" that the rights of foreign and Russian officers were equalized in the army. This inequality was introduced by Peter 1, obliging to pay double salaries to foreign officers. Burchard Munnich, who commanded the army, canceled this decree and equalized salaries in the army. Moreover, it was Minich who in 1732 forbade the recruitment of foreign officers into the army.

Biron's influence on Anna or Anna on Biron?

One of the main myths of Russian history - Biron negatively influenced Anna, awakening base feelings in her, under which the "Bironism" regime was feasible. It is difficult to check who influenced whom and how (after all, if someone is able to influence the Russian empress to such an extent that she began to arrange mass executions, then such a person, in principle, should not be in power). Another thing is that the negative character traits were inherent in Anna herself much more than in Biron. A few examples will suffice to prove this:

The Empress reveled in cruelty. This was partly reflected in her passion for hunting. But for Anna, hunting was not a sporting interest, but a manic desire to kill. Judge for yourself. Only for 1 summer season of 1739, Anna personally killed: 9 deer, 1 wolf, 374 hares, 16 wild goats, 16 gulls, 4 wild boars, 608 ducks. 1028 killed animals in just 1 season!
Anna Ioannovna's favorite pastime, from which she laughed to tears, was the fights of jesters. They fought among themselves, attacked those who came to the Court, threw feces at them, and so on. The Empress was delighted.

Biron himself was a poorly educated, arrogant, rude person. But he did not share Anna's weakness. Biron had another hobby - horses. At that time they knew - if you want to please Biron - you must be well versed in horses. The favorite spent almost all his time in the stables and arenas.

With horses he is a man, and with people he is a horse.

Today it is customary to blame Biron for deciding almost all state issues in the stable. But this is nothing more than a habit. Why is this habit worse than the habit of Count Shuvalov (Mikhail Lomonosov's patron), who conducted the reception at the moments when he was cut, curled, dyed, and so on?

A much more telling example in the difference between the characters of Anna and Ernest is the reaction to the opinions of others. Anna literally demanded that Ushakov (the head of the secret police) daily report what others were saying about her. She was extremely concerned about this. Biron, on the other hand, stopped any reports of Ushakov, since he was absolutely indifferent to what was said about him behind his back. Psychologically, this is a sign of a strong personality, unlike Anna.

On the way to favoritism

Many historians say that Anna herself became a German, therefore Russia is a foreign country for her and therefore she did not even rule her. These are nothing more than words, but the fact is that Anna Ioannovna, despite living in Courland, never learned the German language!

In 1710, Peter 1 gave Anna in marriage to Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Courland. The marriage turned out to be short-lived: on October 31, 1710 they played a wedding, and on January 10, 1711 Friedrich-Wilhelm died. So Anna became the Duchess of Courland. At her court in 1718, a provincial German nobleman, Ernst Biron, appeared. Further among historians there are 2 versions:

An affair begins between Anna and Ernst.
In 1718, Bestuzhev-Ryumin was Anna's favorite, and only in 1727 did Biron become the favorite.

It is impossible to say which version is true. The official story converges on the second option. Here I would like to make one more point. The word “favorite” sounds very beautiful, and many people can hardly imagine what is hidden behind it. The really favorite is the lover. Nevertheless, in the era of palace coups, the favorites played an even greater role at court than the emperors themselves.

For a long time Anna was dependent on Biron, especially when she lived in Courland. Biron, although he was not of the most noble origin, was still his own. Anna was a stranger. The local nobles listened to Biron, but not to Anna. Let me remind you, by the way, that Anna never learned German. In those years, they became very close, and in the future Anna could no longer live without Biron.

For Russian weapons, 1709 was full of glorious victories. Near Poltava, Peter the Great defeated the army of the Swedish king Charles the Twelfth - Russian troops successfully drove them out of the territory of the Baltic states. In order to strengthen his influence in the conquered lands, he decided to marry off one of his many relatives to the Duke of Courland Friedrich Wilhelm.

The sovereign turned to his brother's widow Praskovya Fedorovna for advice: which of her daughters does she want to marry the prince? And since she terribly did not like the stranger-stranger, she chose her unloved seventeen-year-old daughter Anna. This was the future Empress Anna Ioannovna.

Childhood and youthful years of the future empress

Anna was born on January 28, 1693 in Moscow, in the family of her elder brother Peter the Great. She spent her childhood in Izmailovo with her mother and her sisters. As contemporaries noted, Anna Ioannovna was a closed, silent and uncommunicative child. From an early age she was taught literacy, German and French. She learned to read and write, but the princess never mastered dances and secular manners.

Anna's wedding was celebrated on October 31, 1710 in the unfinished Petersburg Menshikov Palace. At the beginning of the next year, Anna Ioannovna and the Duke of Courland left for the capital Mitava. But on the way, Wilhelm died unexpectedly. So the princess became a widow a couple of months after the wedding.

Years before Anne's reign

Peter the Great ordered Anna to remain ruling in Courland. Realizing that his not very smart relative would not be able to serve the interests of Russia in this duchy, he sent Pyotr Bestuzhev-Ryumin along with her. In 1726, when Bestuzhev-Ryumin was recalled from Courland, Ernst Johann Biron, a nobleman who had not studied at the University of Koenigsberg, appeared at Anna's court.

After the death of Peter the Great in the Russian Empire, something completely unheard of happened until then - a woman ascended the throne! Widow of Peter I, Empress Catherine. She ruled for almost two years. Shortly before her death, the Privy Council decided to choose the grandson of Peter the Great, Peter Alekseevich, as emperor. He came to the throne at the age of eleven, but died of smallpox at fourteen.

Conditions, or the Execution of Members of the Secret Society

The Supreme Privy Council decided to call Anna to the throne, while limiting her autocratic power. They compiled the "Conditions", where the conditions were formulated under which Anna Ioannovna was invited to take the throne. In accordance with this paper, without the permission of the Privy Council, she could not declare war on anyone, conclude peace agreements, command an army or guard, raise or impose taxes, and so on.

On January 25, 1730, representatives of the secret society brought the "Conditions" to Metava, and the duchess, agreeing to all restrictions, signed them. Soon the new Empress Anna Ioannovna arrived in Moscow. There, representatives of the metropolitan nobility filed a petition with requests not to accept the conditions, but to rule autocratically. And the Empress listened to them. She publicly tore up the document and disbanded the Supreme Privy Council. Its members were exiled and executed, and Anna was crowned in the Assumption Cathedral.

Anna Ioannovna: years of reign and the influence of a favorite favorite on politics

During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, a cabinet of ministers was created, in which one of the vice-chancellor Andrey Osterman played the main role. The favorite of the Empress did not interfere in politics. Although Anna Ioannovna reigned alone, the years of her reign in Russian historiography are known as Bironovshchina.

In January 1732 the imperial court moved to Petersburg. Here Anna, who had lived in Europe for a long time, felt more comfortable than in Moscow. Foreign policy during the reign of Anna Ioannovna was a continuation of the policy of Peter the Great: Russia is fighting for the Polish inheritance and entering the war with Turkey, during which Russian troops lost one hundred thousand people.

Merits of the Empress to the Russian State

What else did Anna Ioannovna do for Russia? The years of her reign were marked by the development of new territories. The state conquered the steppe between the Bug and the Dniester, but without the right to keep ships on the Black Sea. The great Northern Expedition begins to work, Siberia and the coast of the Arctic Ocean and Kamchatka are explored.

By decree of the Empress, one of the most grandiose construction projects in the history of the Russian Empire begins - the construction of a colossal system of fortifications along the southern and southeastern borders of European Russia. This large-scale construction, which began during the reign of Anna Ioannovna, can be called the first cultural and social project of the Russian Empire in the Volga region. On the eastern borders of the European part of the empire, the Orenburg expedition operates, before which the government of Anna Ioannovna set numerous tasks.

Illness and death of the Empress

While cannons rattled on the borders of the empire and soldiers and nobles died for the glory of the empress, the capital lived in luxury and entertainment. Anna's weakness was hunting. In the rooms of the Peterhof Palace there were always loaded guns, from which the Empress fired at flying birds. She loved to surround herself with court jesters.

But not only could Anna Ioannovna shoot and have fun, the years of her reign were connected with very serious state affairs. The empress ruled for ten years, and all these years Russia built, fought and expanded its borders. October 5, 1740 at dinner, the Empress lost consciousness and, having been ill for twelve days, died.

She was born in Moscow on February 8 (January 28, old style), 1693. She was the middle daughter of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich and Praskovia Fedorovna (née Saltykova).

In 1696, Anna Ioannovna's father died, leaving a 32-year-old widow and three daughters, almost a year old. The family of Tsar John was taken in by his paternal brother Peter I under protection, which, with Peter's tough temper, turned into complete dependence.

Anna spent her childhood in the Kremlin palaces and a residence near Moscow in the village of Izmailovo. Together with her sisters Ekaterina and Paraskeva, she was educated at home.

In 1708, together with her mother and sisters, she moved to St. Petersburg.

Biography of Peter I Alekseevich RomanovPeter I was born on May 30, 1672. As a child, he was educated at home, knew German from a young age, then studied Dutch, English and French. With the help of palace masters, he mastered many crafts...

In 1710, on the basis of an agreement concluded between Tsar Peter I and the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I, Anna married the seventeen-year-old Duke of Courland Friedrich Wilhelm. The wedding took place on November 11 (October 31, old style) 1710 in the Menshikov Palace on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg, the wedding was performed according to the Orthodox rite.

On the occasion of Anna's marriage, feasts and celebrations in St. Petersburg lasted two months and, according to Peter's custom, moderation was not observed either in food or in wine drinking. As a result of such excesses, the newlywed fell ill, then caught a cold. Ignoring a cold, on January 20 (9, old style) January 1711, he left St. Petersburg for Courland with his young wife and died on the same day.

After the death of her husband, at the insistence of Peter I, Anna Ioannovna lived as a dowager duchess in Mitava (now Jelgava, Latvia). In Courland, the princess, constrained by means, led a modest lifestyle, repeatedly turning to Peter I for help, and then to Empress Catherine I.

Since 1712, she was strongly influenced by her favorite Chief Chamberlain Pyotr Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who in 1727 was pushed aside by a new favorite, Chief of Chambers Junker Ernst Johann Biron.

In 1726, Prince Alexander Menshikov, who himself intended to become the Duke of Courland, upset the marriage of Anna Ioannovna with Count Moritz of Saxony (illegitimate son of the Polish King August II and Countess Aurora Koenigsmark).

After the death of Emperor Peter II at the end of January 1730, the Supreme Privy Council, at the suggestion of Princes Dmitry Golitsyn and Vasily Dolgorukov, elected Anna Ioannovna, as the oldest in the Romanov family, to the Russian throne under conditions of limited power. According to the “conditions” or “points” delivered to Mitava and signed on February 6 (January 25, old style), 1730, Anna Ioannovna had to take care of the spread of Orthodoxy in Russia, promised not to marry, not to appoint an heir to the throne at her own discretion and save the Supreme Privy Council. Without his consent, the Empress did not have the right to declare war and conclude peace, impose new taxes on her subjects, promote employees in both the military and civil service, distribute court posts and make public expenditures.

On February 26 (15, old style) February 1730, Anna Ioannovna solemnly entered Moscow, where, on the basis of "conditions" on March 1, 2 (February 20, 21, old style), the highest dignitaries of the state and the generals took the oath to her.

Supporters of the autocratic power of the Empress, who were in opposition to the Supreme Privy Council, in the person of Andrei Osterman, Gavriil Golovkin, Archbishop Feofan (Prokopovich), Peter Yaguzhinsky, Antioch Cantemir, as well as the majority of the generals, officers of the guards regiments and the nobility, made a petition to Anna Ioannovna with 166 signatures on the restoration of autocracy, which was filed on March 6 (February 25, old style), 1730, by Prince Ivan Trubetskoy. After listening to the petition, Anna Ioannovna publicly tore up the "conditions", accusing their drafters of deceit. On March 9 (February 28, old style), a new oath was taken from everyone to Anna Ioannovna as the autocratic empress. The Empress was crowned in Moscow on May 9 (April 28, old style), 1730.

For political reasons, about 10 thousand people were arrested during the reign of Anna Ioannovna. Many of the princes Golitsyn and Dolgoruky, who participated in the preparation of the "conditions", were imprisoned, exiled and executed. In 1740, cabinet minister Artemy Volynsky, who opposed the Bironovshchina, and his "confidants" - architect Pyotr Eropkin, adviser to the admiralty office Andrei Khrushchev, were executed on charges of treason; exiled scientist, active Privy Councilor Fyodor Soymonov, Senator Platon Musin-Pushkin and others.

The tightening of serfdom and the tax policy towards the peasants led to popular unrest and a mass exodus of ruined peasants to the outskirts of Russia.

Positive changes took place in the field of education: the land gentry cadet corps for the nobility was established, a school for the preparation of officials was created under the senate, a seminary for 35 young men was opened at the Academy of Sciences. By the same time, the creation of the police in large cities.

The foreign policy of Russia after the death of Peter I was for a long time in the hands of Baron Andrei Osterman. Russia's victory in 1734 in a military conflict with France over the "Polish inheritance" contributed to the establishment of King Augustus III on the Polish throne. In 1735, a war was started with Turkey, which ended in 1739 with the Belgrade peace unfavorable for Russia. The wars that Russia waged during the reign of Anna Ioannovna did not bring benefits to the empire, although they raised its prestige in Europe.

The Russian court under Anna Ioannovna was distinguished by pomp and extravagance. The Empress loved masquerades, balls, hunting (she was a good shooter). She kept numerous dwarfs, dwarfs and jesters.

On October 28 (17 according to the old style) October 1740, at the age of 47, Anna Ioannovna died of kidney disease. She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

According to the will of the Empress, the throne after her reign was to go to the descendants of her sister Catherine of Mecklenburg.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

Empress Anna Ioannovna ascended the throne in 1730. According to most historians, it happened by accident. The young tsar suddenly died, the members of the Supreme Privy Council immediately remembered the poor duchess of Courland, in whose veins the royal blood flowed. The niece of Peter the Great, a 37-year-old woman, completely unprepared to govern the state, was in power. The years of the reign of the Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna are described in this article.

History reference

Years of reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna - 1730-1740. That is, she sat on the throne for ten years. Historians usually refer to this period as the dominance of the Germans. The actual ruler of the state in these years was the favorite of Empress Anna Ivanovna - Ernst Biron.

The portrait of this ruler is rather unsightly. She knew little about state affairs and spent most of her time in idleness. The years of her reign are a dark period for Russian history. But if you get acquainted with the biography of Empress Anna Ioannovna in more detail, perhaps it will cause, if not sympathy, then pity.

Childhood

The Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna was the daughter of Ivan V, the half-brother of Peter the Great, and Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna. She was born on February 7, 1693 in the Cross Chamber of the Terem Palace in the Kremlin. Anna had two sisters - Ekaterina (eldest) and Praskovya (younger). The future empress spent her childhood in a country residence - Izmailovo. Tsaritsa Praskovya Feodorovna went there with her daughters after the death of her husband.

Izmailovo at the turn of the century was an island of old Russia. While the great reformer instilled everything Western in the Russian people, the traditions of the past reigned here. The yard was filled with nannies, nurses, countless hosts and jesters, whom Praskovya Fyodorovna hastily hid for Peter's arrival.

In Izmailovo, the palace economy was broken up. The yard was buried in pear, apple, cherry orchards, surrounded by ponds. Can the childhood of the future Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna be called happy? Being in power, she recalled the Izmailov times with nostalgia, and even from time to time ordered a nanny or a yard girl to be discharged from the village. By that time, she had already forgotten all the grievances against her mother. Anna was the unloved daughter of Praskovya Fyodorovna.

The princesses studied arithmetic, geography, French, German. Education in those days, even relatives of Peter received more than superficial.

Empress Anna Ioannovna is often portrayed as a very stupid ruler. She was delighted with the antics of jesters, of whom she had a whole staff, she had a passion for more than strange entertainments, she did not read books, she was not interested in art. But it is worth considering the environment in which she grew up, the low level of education, as well as some facts from her personal life.

Praskovya Fedorovna lived until the end of the war with Sweden in Izmailovo. After the family moved to St. Petersburg, settled in a palace on the Moscow side.

Duchess of Courland

After the victory in the Battle of Poltava, Peter thought about strengthening his influence in the Baltic states. The Duchy of Courland, which was located on the territory of modern Latvia, was dependent on Poland. Often there were disputes about these lands.

The duchy was plundered, its unfortunate ruler was for some time in exile. After the victory over the Swedes, Courland was occupied by Russian troops. In order to strengthen his position here, Peter decided to marry one of his relatives to the young duke. One of the daughters of Praskovya Fyodorovna.

The duke of impoverished Courland was far from being the best match. When Peter gave Praskovya Feodorovna the opportunity to choose the exact candidacy of Friedrich Wilhelm's wife, she sacrificed her unloved daughter. So Anna became the Duchess of Courland.

Letters of the future empress addressed to Peter have been preserved. In them, Anna begs her uncle not to marry a "non-Christian Muslim." However, these prayers, of course, went unheeded. The wedding took place on November 11, 1710.

Widow

Two months after the wedding, the young went to Courland. However, Anna Ioannovna did not have a chance to know family hardships and the joy of motherhood. On the eve of his departure, Friedrich Wilhelm deigned to compete in drinking alcohol with the Russian Tsar. In this, Peter had no competitors. On the way to Courland, the young duke died. According to the official version, from intemperance in drinking alcohol. The Duchess became a widow. Ahead she had years of loneliness, poverty, humiliation.

In Courland

Anna Ioannovna returned to Petersburg. Now she had only two paths in life - a new marriage or a monastery. For about a month, Peter thought about what to do with his niece. And finally, he ordered her to go to Courland.

Pyotr Bestuzhev-Ryumin went with Anna. When the future empress arrived in Mitava (now the Latvian city of Jelgava), she saw desolation and devastation. It was impossible to live in the castle - it was completely plundered during the recent military events. The young widow settled in an abandoned bourgeois house. From time to time she wrote tearful letters to Peter asking him to send money. Sometimes the stern uncle sent a small amount, but more often he refused. As you know, Peter the Great was stingy.

beggar princess

During these years, the position of Anna Ioannovna was unenviable. She eked out a miserable existence in Mitau only because the Russian government needed it. Peter could intervene in the affairs of Courland at any moment, but he did it under the pretext of protecting his poor niece. She, with her high status, was as poor as a church mouse. According to the marriage contract, she was allocated funds for which it was hard to live, not to mention the outfits that Anna Ioannovna could afford only in 1730 - after ascending the throne.

Bestuzhev-Ryumin

So, the daughter of Ivan V ended up in a foreign land. She, who did not know either the language or the local culture, had a hard time. She saw the only support in Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who soon began to share a bed with her.

They learned about the "shameful" connection in St. Petersburg. The relationship with her mother, which had never been tender, became worse than ever. Praskovya Fedorovna wrote angry letters to her daughter. She asked Peter to recall Bestuzhev-Ryumin or allow her to go to Courland herself in order to reason with her daughter.

During this period, Anna became close to Princess Catherine. A warm correspondence was established between them, they congratulated each other on the holidays, made simple gifts to each other. Catherine often took the side of the duchess. This went on for many years. Peter died in 1725. Catherine did not rule the country for long - she outlived her husband by two years. In 1927, the 11-year-old grandson of the great reformer ascended the throne. However, three years later, Peter II died of smallpox. Russia was left without an emperor. Then the representatives of noble noble dynasties remembered Peter's niece, who by that time had lived in Courland for twenty years.

When Dolgorukov unexpectedly arrived in the duchy, providing the future empress with a document on the reign for signature, a man who was destined to play an important role in the history of Russia took a firm place in her life.

Ernst Biron

He was a Courland nobleman. At the time of his acquaintance with Anna Ioannovna, Biron was 28 years old. In 1718 he served in the office of the Duchess, where he came under the patronage of Hermann von Keyserling, Chancellor of Courland.

After meeting the future Russian empress, his career quickly went up, but this was solely his merit. Many historians portray him as a good administrator, a clever politician, and a talented diplomat. In 1723, Ernst Biron married the duchess's lady-in-waiting. It is possible that the mother of his son Karl was in fact not his legal wife, but Anna Ioannovna. But there is no direct evidence for this version.

On January 30, 1730, the young emperor died. His death was a heavy blow for the princes Dolgorukov. They dreamed of marrying their relative to Peter II and thus gaining a foothold in power. The interregnum did not last long, but in a short time the palace intriguers managed to forge a marriage contract, which did not benefit them, and then draw up a dubious document for the signature of the Duchess of Courland.

After the death of Peter II, a coup almost took place in the country. The members of the Supreme Privy Council, having consulted, decided that there were no more suitable candidates for the throne than the Duchess of Courland. Golitsyn drew up a document according to which Anna Ioannovna becomes empress, but her power is severely limited. To declare war, to conclude peace, to introduce new taxes, to spend the treasury - all this she had no right to do without the consent of the Privy Council. The document was called "Conditions". The 37-year-old duchess, tired of living in a strange Courland, signed it without looking.

If the members of the Privy Council had succeeded in realizing their plan, an oligarchic monarchy would have been established in the country. That is, the power would not belong to the empress, but to representatives of noble families: Golitsyn and Dolgorukov. But this did not suit the nobles. Moreover, the leaders held a meeting and drew up a dubious document without the knowledge of no less respected noble dynasties, which could not but cause indignation.

When Anna Ivanovna arrived in Moscow, the sisters, Ekaterina and Praskovya, opened her eyes to the true state of affairs. On the side of the duchess was the imperial guard, the nobles. Tatishchev, one of the most educated people in Russia, drew up a project much more successful than that proposed by the leaders. "Conditions" Anna Ioannovna broke publicly. Thus autocracy was restored. Participants in the failed conspiracy were sent into exile.

Beginning of the reign

The first years of Empress Anna Ioannovna was not easy to govern the state. There was no person next to her who could be relied upon. The inner circle consisted of adherents of the idea of the restoration of absolutism. They were representatives of the aristocracy, relatives of the Empress.

In a brief biography of Anna Ioannovna, Vasily Saltykov is certainly mentioned. This is a relative of the Empress, whom she appointed Moscow governor immediately after ascending the throne. In the Senate, she introduced those who supported her in the first days of her reign.

Until 1732, there was a struggle at the court between the courtiers for influence on the empress. Empress Anna Ioannovna singled out Andrei Osterman among her close associates - a cautious and far-sighted person who at one time refused to take part in the compilation of the "Conditions". But soon a German appeared at the court, who had an incomparably greater influence on the ruler until the last days of his life. Even in the shortest biography of Empress Anna Ioannovna, the name of a Courland nobleman is mentioned. Intrigues, petty conspiracies, squabbles began. The reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna in history was called "Biron".

secret office

During the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna, the employees of the political investigation worked tirelessly. She, like many of her predecessors, was terrified of a conspiracy. The secret office, established in 1730, has become a gloomy symbol of the era.

The abuses of this department were enormous during the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna. A short statement, an ambiguous word, a misunderstood gesture - all this was enough to lose freedom. In total, in the period from 1730 to 1740, about 20 thousand people were sent to Siberia.

Portrait of Empress Anna Ioannovna

The first to go to Siberia were, as already mentioned, the Dolgorukovs. One of the representatives of this noble family, experiencing, for obvious reasons, a sharp dislike for Anna Ioannovna, described her something like this: tall, with an unpleasant and incredibly ugly face, very plump. Judging by the numerous portraits of the Empress, this, indeed, was a woman far from fragile. One of the foreigners noted that both in appearance and in the movements of the Russian Empress there was more masculine than feminine.

Political issues were decided by a group of trusted persons, among whom there was a continuous fierce struggle for the favor of the empress. Anna Ivanovna herself loved to shoot birds and animals, spend money from the treasury on expensive outfits. But her main passion was entertainment - rather strange events that would disgust a modern person if he were in the 30s of the XIX century.

Anna Ivanovna was surrounded by jesters and talkers. You should not think that these were representatives of the lower class, entertaining the empress with jokes and anecdotes. Among the "fools", namely in those years they called a person who knew how to cheer the ruler, there were many nobles.

The Empress carried out a careful selection of jesters. In the amusing business, it was not origin that played a role, but the ability to speak quickly, without interruption, tell stories and tales, and eloquently retell gossip. And the role of the jester did not offend the Russian nobleman at all. Moreover, he could perfectly combine tomfoolery with a serious service, for example, in the same Secret Chancellery. By the way, the entertainment of Anna Ioannovna can amaze not only a person of the 20th or 21st century. Other contemporaries of the empress, especially foreigners, watched with horror as the dwarfs beat and insulted each other for the amusement of the Russian ruler.

Death

On October 16, 1740, the Empress suddenly felt unwell. By that time, the issue of succession to the throne had been resolved - Anna Ioannovna named John Antonovich as her successor. The Empress died on October 28 at the age of 48. The cause of death was urolithiasis. The Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna is buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.