Peter III. Too good for his age?
I had no intention of writing about Peter III, but life decreed otherwise. During a recent vacation, I came across an old book written by V. Pikul back in 1963 (published in 1972, first read by me in 80's). I read this novel again in between swimming.
"Pen and sword"
I must say right away that I treat Valentin Savvich with great respect and acknowledge his enormous achievements in popularizing Russian history. And the frank "spreading cranberries" in his novels are much less than in the books of A. Dumas (father). Although he sometimes has "cranberry trees", alas. So, offhand: in the novel I mentioned, among other things, you can find, for example, that in the West Indies (these are the islands of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico) there are cobras and tigers: "He can develop his vices to the limit in the colonies of the West Indies, where I will put him to eat cobras and tigers "(Gershey - about de Jonah).
Baron Munchausen, who honestly served our country for 10 years, but by then had already left Russia, according to V. Pikul, was in the Russian army during the Seven Years War, and he spied in favor of Frederick II.
(About the real Munchausen can be found in the article: Ryzhov V.A. Two barons of the city of Bodenwerder.)
In addition, the concepts of "vassal" and "overlord" are confused.
However, we will not go deeper and catch the author on the word, because the main events of the Seven Years War in this novel are correctly conveyed.
The characteristic that V. Pikul gives to the monarchs of the warring countries can also be recognized as true. He has Frederick II as an intelligent and cynical "workaholic", a pragmatist for whom the nationality of a person, his origin or religion is absolutely not important.
Louis XV is a miserable aging debauchery and degenerate.
Maria Theresa is a cunning and two-faced schemer, for which she, as the ruler of a large and multinational country, is, of course, difficult to reproach.
As for our Elizabeth, if we discard the patriotic and loyal flair, then on the pages of Pikul’s novel we see a bad and absurd woman who does not understand why and why she dragged Russia into an unnecessary war on the side of the insidious and constantly deceiving her “allies”.
The merry “Petrova’s daughters” do not have enough time to deal with state affairs; senior officials are practically not controlled by anyone and are kept by ambassadors of foreign states.
I’ll add from myself that the influential doctor and courtier Lestok received a “pension” from France in 15 000 livres.
About the Chancellor of the Russian Empire A.P. Bestuzhev King of Prussia Frederick II wrote:
The chancellor received seven thousand rubles from his government, and twelve thousand from the British. But he also took it from the Austrians (A. Kirpichnikov, Bribe and Corruption in Russia. M., 1997, p. 38).
Pikul rebukes Elizabeth also of motivation and mismanagement: “If it were not for this unownedness, we would now have ten such Hermitage museums” (quote from the novel).
On the whole, the situation in the Russian state under Elizabeth in this patriotic novel by Pikul is portrayed much deeper and more honestly than in the cinema "Midshipmen" (which is not surprising, "Midshipmen" is more of a near-historical fantasy, like Dumas novels).
Generally:
Elizabeth was:
Sings and has fun -
There is no order. "
(A.K. Tolstoy.)
V. Pikul does not hide from us that it was the British envoy Williams who sent his secretary, Stanislav Augustus Poniatowski, to bed with the wife of the heir to the throne, Sofia Augusta Frederick of Angalst-Cerbsk (who received the name Ekaterina Alekseevna after her baptism - the future Catherine II): no love, boss’s order. But “Fike” - yes, “fell in love like a cat”, and completely lost her head:
(V. Pikul.)
At the same time, young Ekaterina is intriguing against her husband and aunt, taking money from everyone who gives, promising to "thank him later." Moreover, Pikul directly accuses this princess and Grand Duchess of betraying the national interests of the country that sheltered her. And he does it repeatedly. Next are quotes from the novel:
Williams did not even know what could be corrected or supplemented here. This is a conspiracy, a real conspiracy ... "
“What if they find? - worried Catherine. - Especially the last project, where I read, aunt, already put in a coffin, and she sat on her throne? "
But Sophia Augusta Frederic of Angalst-Cerbska, despite the cited “compromising evidence”, is still a positive character in Pikul’s novel:
“Well, you think,” as if Valentin Savvich tells us, “she slept with the secretary and confidant of the ambassador of the state traditionally hostile to Russia, she wanted to overthrow the legal empress of the Russian empire and her no less legal heir, her own husband, and she took money for the state a coup from everyone in a row ... A trifle! With whom does not happen. And he suggests that this be considered “normal” on the grounds that Catherine will later be called the “Great”. And, therefore, she is a "special" person - not a "trembling creature," and therefore "has a right."
The novel also says that during the Seven Years War Russia suffered heavy losses and was on the verge of a financial collapse. It is reported that "officials haven’t been paid a salary for years," and the Russian sailors "were paid the very minuscule, and you won’t pay the treasury for years."
And, on the one hand, to emphasize the severity of the financial situation of the country, and, on the other, to demonstrate the empress’s patriotism, these words are attributed to Elizabeth V. Pikul:
As we know, in reality, Elizabeth did not mortgage or sell, she did not go naked. In her notorious "wardrobes" after death, there were about 15 000 dresses left (another 4 000 burned during a fire in Moscow in 1753), 2 a chest of silk stockings and more 2500 pairs of shoes. (Anisimov E.V. Russia in the middle of the 17th century. M., 1988, p. 199.)
Y. Shtelin writes that on April 2 1762, Peter III examined in the Summer Palace "32 rooms, all filled with the dresses of the late Empress Elizabeth Petrovna."
What orders the new emperor gave about this "wardrobe" Shtelin does not report.
Only Imelda Marquez, the wife of the Filipino dictator, in whose collection there were 2700 pairs of shoes, can compete on embezzlement of the state budget for personal “shopping” of “Petrova’s daughter”. 1220 of them were eaten by termites, the remaining can be seen in the museum.
So, it would seem, everything has already been said, there was not even a step left to the right conclusion, but a half-step: come on, Valentin Savvich, feel free to do not be shy - just a little more, after all, you lifted your leg! No, the force of inertia is such that V. Pikul does not dare to lower his raised leg, retreats, takes not even a step, but two or three steps back, spontaneously voices all the stupidities of the official historians of the House of Romanov (repeated by Soviet historians). The nearby and eccentric "Merry" and "Krotkiya heart" Elizabeth, according to his version, of course, is not the ideal of a wise ruler, but a patriot of Russia. And even her lovers are “right” - all Russians, with the exception of the young Russian Alexei Razumovsky (which, of course, is also very good).
And even that is why Elizabeth is good - unlike Anna Ioannovna and her favorite, the “German” Biron (this is from another novel - “Word and Deed”). True, during the reign of the "unpatriotic" Empress Anna, the finances of Russia were in perfect order - the treasury's income exceeded the expenses. And the "patriot" Elizabeth practically ruined the country. But who knows about this and who cares, in fact? But Frederick II was beaten - and killed tens of thousands of young and healthy Russian men in meaningless and unnecessary bloody battles for the interests of Austria and France. Russia is invited to be proud of the role of a cat from a fable, which brutally burns its paws in order to pull chestnuts from a fire for two "civilized" European monkeys despising it.
Moreover, the novel reports (several times) that Prussia has no complaints against Russia and that there is no reason to fight with it. And also that Frederick respected our country with great respect (after reading the memoirs of the former adjutant Minich - Christopher Manstein, the king personally deleted from them all the places that could harm the Russian honor) and made desperate attempts to avoid a war with her. And, when the war nevertheless began, he ordered Field Marshal Hans von Levald to be not only a commander, but also a diplomat - to enter into negotiations with Russia on the most honorable world after the very first victory. It is also alleged that, upon learning of Louis XV's refusal to baptize Paul I (another insult to both Russia and Elizabeth), Frederick says:
But this quote is not from the novel, but from the notes of Frederick II:
That is, Frederick II does not have any aggressive intentions towards the "eastern empire of barbarians". Moreover, he, like Bismarck, calls on the future kings of Prussia to build allied relations with Russia.
And there was only one person surrounded by Elizabeth who correctly assessed the situation and understood that there was nothing to be shared between Russia and Prussia. Academician J. Shtelin recalled that during the Seven Years' War
Yes, the heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Petr Fedorovich was absolutely right, but V. Pikul in his novel repeatedly calls him a "fool" and a "freak."
By the way, Louis XVI said later:
He:
This is not entirely true, the policy of Catherine II regarding Prussia and Frederick II turned out to be much weaker, but we will talk about this later in another article.
Let us return to the novel by V. Pikul, where it is alleged that the Austrian field marshal Down deliberately missed the troops of Frederick II to Zorndorf, where, in a difficult bloody battle, the Russian and Prussian armies were crushed against each other. As for the king of France, Louis XV, then in the novel by Pikul he says these words:
I will add that since 1759 both Austria and France, secretly from Russia, have been negotiating a separate peace with Prussia.
In general, those are still "allies." But the "European choice" of Elizabeth Pikulem is still unconditionally recognized as correct, welcomed and fully approved.
What can I say (carefully choosing printed expressions)? Unless to use the old Russian proverb: "spit in the eyes, all God's dew." Or recall the more modern one - about how "the mice cried, pricked, but continued to eat the cactus."
But we will not now conduct a historical and literary analysis of the novel by V. Pikul. We will try to figure out what, in fact, was the first of the killed, Russian emperors. Valentin Pikul could not or did not dare to take the last step, but we will do it now.
I understand that I will not be the first or the last, but everyone has the right to try to take their own step.
So, get acquainted - Karl Peter Ulrich Holstein-Gottorpsky, who received the Russian Orthodox name Peter Fedorovich:
Crown Duke of Holstein, Schleswig, Stormarn and Dietmarschen.
The grandson of Peter I and the nephew of "Merry" and "Krotkiya heart" of Empress Elizabeth.
The unfortunate husband of an arrogant German adventurer and impostor who did not have the slightest rights to the Russian throne, but usurped him under the name of Catherine II.
Absolutely legal and legitimate emperor Peter III.
He did not have the makings of a great commander or an outstanding politician. And therefore, we will not compare it with Peter I, Charles XII, Frederick II, or even Louis XIV. Talking about him, we will always glance at his wife - Catherine II, who won not because she was smarter, more talented, and more educated - rather, on the contrary. She had other qualities, which turned out to be much more important and necessary at that turbulent time, which went down in Russian history under the name "The era of palace coups." And these qualities were courage, decisiveness, ambition and unprincipledness. And yet - an invaluable gift to correctly evaluate people and charm those who were suitable to fulfill its goals. Sparing no money or promises for them, not embarrassed by either flattery or humiliation. And there was passionarity, which allowed to fully realize all these talents. And luck accompanied this adventurer.
However, luck is always on the side of the brave, and, as the well-known Cardinal Richelieu said, "the one who refuses the game never wins."
The winners, as you know, write history. And therefore, the murdered Peter III was ordered to be considered a drunkard, a moral freak despising Russia and everything Russian, a soldier and a moron who worshiped Frederick II. From whom does such monstrous information come? You probably already guessed: from the persons involved in the conspiracy and the murder of this emperor, and only from them.
Slanderers of the slain emperor
The memories denigrating the murdered Peter III, in addition to Catherine, who hated him, left four more participants in those events, exalted after the overthrow of the lawful Sovereign. Let's call them. Firstly, Princess Dashkova is an extremely ambitious person who, according to rumors, could not forgive Peter for being close to him of her own older sister, Elizaveta Vorontsova, and therefore became a trusted friend of his wife. Loved when she was called "Catherine Mala."
Secondly, Count Nikita Panin, the educator of Paul I, the main ideologist of the conspiracy, after the coup, for almost 20 years, he managed the foreign affairs of the Empire.
Thirdly, Pyotr Panin, Nikita’s brother, whom Catherine was promoting in every way along the military line. She later entrusted him with the suppression of the uprising of Emelyan Pugachev, who terribly scared the usurper by lifting the formidable ghost of her husband from the grave.
And finally, A.T. Bolotov is a close friend of the favorite of Catherine II Grigory Orlov.
It was these five people who basically formed the myth of the eternally drunken moron-emperor, from whom the "great" Catherine "delivered" Russia. Even Karamzin was forced to admit that
People who dare to express the opposite point of view were severely persecuted under Catherine II, their memories were not published, but the people of the unfortunate Peter III had their own opinion. And when Emelyan Pugachev adopted the terrible name for Catherine’s murdered husband, it suddenly became clear that the people did not want either the “prodigal wife of Katerinka” or her many “lovers of love”. But it is very eager to become under the banner of the "natural sovereign emperor Peter Fedorovich." By the way, in addition to Pugachev, almost 40 people in different years took the name of Peter III.
Another Peter III: the opinion of people sympathizing with him
Nevertheless, objective memories of people not involved in the conspiracy of Catherine and the murder of the legitimate emperor of Russia have been preserved. They talk about Peter Fedorovich in a completely different way. Here, for example, writes the French diplomat Jean-Louis Favier, who spoke with the heir:
The secretary of the French Embassy in St. Petersburg, C. Rumiere, says in his Notes:
In 1762, after the assassination of the emperor, in Germany a certain Justi published a treatise on Russia, in which there were such lines:
First Peter is great
But the Third was the best.
With him, Russia was great,
Europe's envy pacified
And Frederick remained the greatest. "
The words that under Peter III Russia was “great” and Europe “pacified” may surprise. But wait a little, soon you will see that there were reasons for such an assessment. In the meantime, we continue to read the memoirs of contemporaries of the murdered emperor.
J. Shtelin reports:
Returned by Peter from exile, the Duke of Courland Biron claimed that
And further:
Later V.P. Naumov will say about this emperor:
Birth and early years of Karl Peter Ulrich
Peter the Great, as you know, had two daughters - smart and "funny." They tried to "Merry," Elizabeth, to marry the future Louis XV, but the marriage did not take place. And smart, Anna, married the Duke of Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp.
The dukes of Holstein also owned the rights to Schleswig, Stormarn (Stormarn) and Ditmarsen (Ditmarshen). Schleswig and the Ditmarschen were by then captured by Denmark.
The title of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp sounded loud and impressive, but the duchy itself, after the loss of Schleswig and Dietmarschen, was a small territory around Kiel, and part of the land was interspersed with the possessions of the Danes - the map shows that Rendsburg-Eckenford is separated from Stormarn. Therefore, Anna Petrovna and her husband, counting on the help of Russia, lived for a long time after the wedding in St. Petersburg. Under Catherine I, Karl Friedrich was a member of the Supreme Privy Council; under Peter II, Anna also became a member of this Council. But after the representatives of another branch of the Romanov dynasty, Anna Ioannovna, came to power, the spouses were “advised” to go to Kiel as soon as possible. The beautiful and intelligent Anna made the most favorable impression in Holstein and was liked by everyone - both the nobility and the people. In Kiel, the hero of our article was born - 10 (21 - in a new style) February 1728. After giving birth, Anna apparently died of pneumonia - she caught a cold by opening a window to watch the fireworks in honor of the heir’s birth.
Anna was loved by her husband and people, in her honor a new order was established in the duchy - St. Anna.
Few in Europe could compete with the son of the Duke of Holstein for nobility of origin. Being a relative of two great monarchs, he, at birth, received three names - Karl Peter Ulrich. The first is because on the paternal side he was the great-nephew of King of Sweden Charles XII, the second in honor of his maternal grandfather, the Russian emperor Peter I. Accordingly, he had rights to two crowns - the Swedish and the Russian. And in addition, he was the Duke of Holstein, Schleswig, Stormarn and Ditmarschen. Schleswig and the Ditmarschen, as we recall, were occupied by Denmark, but the rights to them remained so indisputable that in 1732 the Danes, with the mediation of Russia and Austria, tried to redeem them from the Duke Karl Friedrich, the father of our hero, for a million efimks ( the amount is just huge at the time). Karl Friedrich refused, saying that he was not entitled to take away anything from his minor son. The duke had high hopes for his son: "This fellow will avenge us," he often said to the courtiers. Not surprisingly, Peter until the end of his life could not forget his duty to return the hereditary lands.
It was assumed that in time he would occupy the Swedish throne, since in Russia, it seemed, the line of descendants of the brother of Peter I — John — had become established. Therefore, the prince was raised as a zealous Protestant (according to the marriage contract, the sons of Anna Petrovna were to become Lutherans, the daughters - Orthodox). It should also be taken into account that Sweden was a state hostile to Russia, and this circumstance was probably also reflected in his upbringing.
French diplomat Claude Carloman Rumiere wrote that the training of the Holstein prince
However, the boy did not grow up a stupid idiot. They taught him writing, reading, history, geography, languages (he preferred French to everything else) and mathematics (his favorite subject). Since it was assumed that the heir would have to restore justice by returning Schleswig and Ditmarshen to his homeland, special attention was paid to military education. In 1737 (at the age of 9 years) the prince even won the rank of rifleman of the Oldenburg Guild of St. Johann. The competition went like this: a two-headed bird rose to a height of about 15 meters, made so that when a bullet hit a wing or head, only this part of its body fell. The winner is the one who, from the first attempt, knocked down the last remaining fragment. The young duke apparently lost the right to the first shot - but you also had to get there. Interestingly, 5 years before, in 1732, his father was the winner in this contest.
In the 10 years, Karl Peter Ulrich was awarded the rank of second lieutenant, which he was very proud of.
Amazing modesty, isn't it? Heir 10 years - and he is only the second lieutenant, and he is glad to death. But the son of Nicholas II with hemophilia, Alexei, immediately, by birth, was appointed ataman of all Cossack troops of Russia, chief of the 4-x guards and 4-x army regiments, 2-x batteries, Alekseevsky military school and the Tashkent cadet corps.
In the memoirs of Catherine II and Dashkova, Peter’s story is given about how, as a boy, at the head of a squadron of hussars, he expelled “Bohemians” from his duchy. Both ladies used this tale to denigrate the murdered emperor - here, they say, what stupid fantasies were in the head of the infantile "Parsley". Many historians serve it in the same vein. However, documents from the archives of the ducal house of Holstein-Gottorp indicate that Karl Peter Ulrich did fulfill his father’s assignment to expel the gypsy camp, whose members were accused by the people of fraud, theft and "witchcraft." As for the "Bohemians" - it was the universally recognized name for gypsies in Europe of those years. And the word "bohemia" then meant "gypsy", back in the 19th century it had a sharply negative meaning (if you look for comparisons that are clear to us, the first thing that comes to mind is hippies).
Karl Peter Ulrich had a sister - his father's illegitimate daughter, with whom he had a good relationship. After Peter's accession to the throne, her husband became the adjutant of the emperor.
In 1739, the father of our hero died, and Karl Peter was under the care of his uncle, Adolf Friedrich, who later became king of Sweden. The regent was indifferent to his nephew, practically not taking part in his upbringing. Appointed then as mentor to the heir, the Swede Brumer was very cruel to him, humiliating and punishing him for any reason. In fairness, it should be said that such methods of upbringing were common in those days, and princes in all countries were flogged no less and no less than children from ordinary families.
Sweden or Russia? The fatal choice of the young duke
In November 1741, the childless Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna confirmed by his decree his rights to the Russian throne (as the only legitimate descendant of Peter I).
The British Ambassador E. Finch in his report from December 5 of 1741 flashed with a talent of foresight:
As you can see, not only our hero called the Janissaries of the Russian Guards: after two palace coups in a row, so many called them. However, in one Finch did not guess: Peter was not a weapon, but a victim of the Janissaries.
At the beginning of 1742, Elizabeth demanded that her nephew arrive in Russia. She held captive the rightful emperor from the clan of Tsar John, and she needed the grandson of Peter I in order to prevent other representatives of this dynasty, which she hated, to secure power from her father’s line. Fearing that the Swedes, who wanted to make this young duke their future king, would intercept the heir, she ordered him to be carried under a false name. In St. Petersburg, the prince converted to Orthodoxy, receiving the name Peter Fedorovich at baptism, and was officially declared heir to the throne of the Russian Empire.
Elizabeth literally a couple of weeks ahead of the Swedish Riksdag, who also chose Karl Peter Ulrich as crown prince - heir to the childless king Frederick I of Hesse. The Swedish ambassadors who arrived in St. Petersburg found there not the Lutheran Duke Karl Peter Ulrich, but the Orthodox Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich. However, you can be sure that Elizabeth would not have given Peter to the Swedes of Peter. Nevertheless, Peter was considered the heir to the Swedish throne until August 1743, when he wrote an official waiver of the rights to the crown of this country. And that says a lot. If Peter was the only legal heir to the throne of Russia for Elizabeth, then the Swedes did not have a shortage of applicants - they could choose from a dozen candidates. And they chose the young Duke of Holstein, who, according to the Notes of Catherine II, was not only a limited and infantile moron, but already at the age of 11 he was a complete alcoholic. And patiently waited for his decision for the whole 9 months. And in his native Kiel, the popularity of the 14-year-old Karl Peter Ulrich who went to Russia literally went wild. Something is wrong here, isn't it?
About the long years of the prince’s stay in our country as heir to the throne, about his accession to the throne, about the conspiracy organized by his wife against him, and the subsequent death in Ropsha will be described in the following articles.
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