Hetman by pull. Kirill Razumovsky
By the beginning of the 18th century, the Hetmanate had become for Russia a suitcase without handles - it was hard to carry, but impossible to throw away. And the point was not in the lands, they were the most fertile, and not in people - they were hardworking, but in the socio-political system and the fighting qualities of the “registered Cossacks”. The system of democracy in the Cossack manner led to monstrous corruption, the dominance of the oligarchy from the number of foremen, enslavement of the peasantry and constant riots, denunciations and collaboration, like Mazepinsky. And the army of the Cossacks, which served well in the borderlands, settled on the ground and got families, turned into a profanation, incapable of combat and good for nothing.
The same Mazepa, despite the betrayal, a smart man, relied not on the Cossacks, but on Serdyukov, that is, on hired regular regiments. And soon that did not become, like the position of the hetman itself, since 1734. And then suddenly, since 1750, by the will of Empress Elizabeth Razumovsky Kirill Grigorievich appears in Glukhov.
The bearer of such a magnificent title is not a descendant of a boyar or an elders' family, not a secret military or scientific genius, and not even a successful careerist, he is a brother. The younger brother of a simple Cossack, however, very handsome in face and has a wonderful voice. And his brother Alexei caught the eye of Elizabeth herself, a great lover of music, who wrote out a choir of Little Russians for this purpose. And then there was love.
History the novel, and possibly the secret marriage of the daughter of Petrova and a simple Cossack, maybe someday they will even be filmed, the story is too nontrivial, but about the favorites another time, and today about the brother of the favorite, for whom this novel became a ticket to the big world ...
The Rozum Cossack family instantly became the Razumovsky nobles, and Cyril was sent to Europe to receive education. He was taught there, of course, by luminaries like Euler, but history is silent about any scientific discoveries, as well as about the success in running the Academy of Sciences. However, the academy was managed by the directors, and the presidents ... There was such a tradition in that era - to appoint people close to them, that Elizaveta Razumovsky, that Ekaterina was her friend, Vorontsova-Dashkov. Busy in Petersburg, the young count was completely different, namely, drunkenness and partying:
However, upon arrival in Glukhov, the freshly baked hetman did exactly the same - he placed relatives in key positions, spread monstrous corruption, did not even try to put things in order, but started a French theater and a French opera in Little Russia, and changed the Cossacks (confidants) into French manner. How long is it short, but information about the impoverishment of the population and the enchanting mess reached Elizabeth, and Cyril was recalled to Petersburg, however, without depriving him of the title or in any way limiting it. The hetman continued to be governed by itself, and its hetman plunged into the intrigues of the capital. He plunged so much that he liked both the Empress and the young court.
His power was limited by appointing a resident general and removing the Zaporozhye Cossacks from subordination, but from time to time he still stopped by in Little Russia, and even drew up a reform program in the spirit of enlightened absolutism, though not that unrealized, but not really started, the hetman was a lazy man in business. The death of Elizabeth did not change his position, Peter the Third considered him a favorite, and even prepared an army for the war with Denmark. However, he did not swear with the opponents of the emperor, maintaining communication with the Orlovs, but he did not get into the conspiracy either. When Catherine II ascended the throne, in 1764 he calmly renounced the title of hetman in exchange for:
Only a hundred thousand serfs. The former hetman did not drown even during the reign of Catherine, being listed in the faces of those close to him, in the Council, and in the Senate. And he was not dismissed from the court as a simple man and not inclined to politics. Later he began to live permanently in Baturin, where he felt like a complete master. Having survived the fourth emperor in his lifetime - Pavel Petrovich, he was honored with a rescript of Alexander the First:
And he died quietly in 1803. He did not become famous either by military victories or profound reforms, he took the liquidation of the Hetmanate, it seems to me, even with relief, having survived it for forty years, but he was an excellent courtier and, in general, a kind person, accidentally brought by a wave to where others climb over the heads of others for decades.
And there is a certain symbolism in this - what began as an uprising against the religious and social oppression of the Poles, gradually degenerated into a provincial farce, densely mixed with corruption, and a number of hetmans' figures who led an army of hundreds of thousands into battle were cut short by a native of the village of Lemeshi of the Chernihiv regiment, who could to walk widely and make fun of jokes. It could not be otherwise - another attempt to build a utopia on Russian lands failed a century after the death of its founder. Having brought, however, to this land the entry into Russia and the world without national and religious oppression. Another question is how many troubles and grief this century of fighting for power and general corruption brought, but this reproach is clearly not Razumovsky, he just started something like going over to the side of the enemy or trying to become a monarch there, he did not even try.
What was the advantageous difference from many predecessors - it happens that doing nothing is better than taking active action.
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