Radically, the life of a provincial duchess changed after the death of Emperor Peter II on the night between 18 - 19 (29 - 30) January 1730 of the year. Russian autocrat Peter II Alekseevich was distinguished by poor health and on January 6 caught a bad cold by participating in the celebration of the Blessing of the Moscow River. Soon smallpox joined the cold. On the night of January 19 began agony, the emperor, without regaining consciousness, died. There was a terrible situation, with its own uncertainty, for the Russian state. There was a ghost of distemper. He died not just a king, but the last direct descendant of the male line of the Romanov family. The son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, the grandson of Peter the Great and great-grandson of Alexei Mikhailovich died. "Who will inherit the throne?" This was the main question at this moment. The memory of the terrible years of the beginning of the 17 century was still alive; the events of 1682 of the year were also memorable, when the childless Tsar Fedor Alekseevich died, the riots of the archers died. Most recently were the memories of January 1725, when Peter I died, who left no testament. His death almost led to an open clash of court factions.
There were several scenarios for the development of events. The descendants of Peter Alekseevich from his marriage with Catherine — the daughter of Elizabeth Petrovna or the two-year-old grandson of Karl Peter Ulrik — the son of the already deceased Anna Petrovna and the Duke of Golshtinsky Karl Friedrich — could have been raised to the throne. There was an opportunity at all to change the dynasty. Representatives of the Dolgorukov clan dreamed about this. They belonged to the ancient family of Rurikovich. In the short time of the reign of Peter II, Prince Ivan Dolgoruky was his favorite. As a result, the Dolgorukikh family achieved power, wealth, and higher ranks. The father of Tsarist favorite Alexey Grigorievich Dolgoruky spent a lot of time at the young tsar, trying to marry him to his daughter and sister Ivan, Princess Ekaterina Alekseyevna. 30 November 1729, the solemn engagement took place. Dolgoruky went to the very top of power. The wedding was scheduled for 19 on January 1730 of the year. It seemed that a little more and Dolgoruky will be out of reach for competitors and detractors. The king's disease has crossed all their grand plans for the future. It was something to come to despair. January 18 Dolgoruky at a secret meeting made a false testament of the emperor, which was going to present, after his death. According to him, the emperor handed over the throne to his bride, Princess Ekaterina Dolgoruka. Ivan Dolgoruky even signed for the king. It was a terrible crime at that time, which threatened with the death penalty. But despair or arrogance proved stronger than the fear of possible punishment. Against this adventurous venture, only an old soldier spoke, Field Marshal Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, he quarreled with his relatives and left.
After the death of the emperor, the Supreme Privy Council, the highest government body, gathered in the Lefortovo Palace. It was attended by four chiefs - Chancellor Gavrila Golovkin, Prince Dmitry Golitsyn, Princes Alexei Grigorievich and Vasily Lukich Dolgoruky. In addition to them, the council had two field marshals - Prince Mikhail Golitsyn and Prince Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgoruky, and the Siberian governor Prince Mikhail Vladimirovich Dolgoruky. Thus, 4 from the representative of the Dolgoruky clan was present at the high council. As soon as the council began, Prince Alexei Dolgoruky laid out on the table the “testament” of the emperor. But the plan failed right away, neither Golitsyn, nor even Field Marshal Dolgoruky supported him, and his word was very weighty (real bayonets stood behind him). However, the inevitable split and scandal did not take place. The position was saved by the most authoritative member of the council - Dmitry Golitsyn. Denying Dolgoruky’s dynastic claims, he suggested turning to the female line of the Romanov dynasty and enthrone one of the daughters of Tsar Ivan.
Co-regent Peter left behind three daughters - Catherine, Duchess of Mecklenburg, Duchess of Courland Anna and Praskovia. Golitsyn proposed to enthrone the middle daughter, Anna. This proposal suited everyone, since the descendants of Peter the Great and Catherine were removed from power. Anna had no influence in Petersburg, nobody was afraid of her. On the contrary, everyone hoped to benefit from her accession. Field Marshal Dolgoruky exclaimed: "Viva our Empress Anna Ioannovna!" He was all supported. Then, the old field marshal will understand his mistake - he will be deprived of all the awards and titles; on 8 years he will be sharpened into a fortress.
Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn did not complete his thought. He continued and surprised everyone, saying that he needed "to feel better, to add to his will." It was proposed to limit the power of the new empress in favor of the Supreme Privy Council. To this idea, the prince went a long time. A man he was smart, well-educated. Golitsyn read a lot, saw a lot - he was the envoy in Istanbul, the governor in Kiev, the president of the Chamber Chamber, the senator. He was a supporter of transformations and saw obvious advantages of the state created by Peter I. However, he was a representative of the ancient family, who went back to the Gedyminovychs, and he was often jarred by the scornful attitude towards the aristocracy, the nomination of "low-breed" people to the first places. With the death of Peter II, it became possible to change the situation in favor of the “well-born”.
Naturally, such an idea - to nominate a deliberately weak ruler on the throne, and to immediately limit his power to the Council, other members of the meeting had to taste. This made it possible to forget the rivalry between the two clans, the Dolgorukys and the Golitsyns, since together they were to control the new empress. True, the cautious Vasily Lukich Dolgoruky hesitated - “Though we will conceive, but we will not keep.” Dmitry Golitsyn proposed to consolidate the restriction of imperial power with special conditions - "conditions". The conditions were very tough - it was forbidden for the empress to wage wars, direct the army and guards, impose taxes, spend the treasury, bestow someone with ranks and land holdings, etc., without the permission of the Supreme Council. Not fulfilling the "conditions" led to the deprivation of the throne.
In the evening, on January 19, princes Vasily Lukich Dolgoruky and Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn (Dmitry Mikhailovich's younger brother) left for Kurland. On the morning of January 19, the 37-year-old Duchess awoke the mistress of one of the most powerful powers in the world. True, she still did not know. Mitava, located on the territory of modern Latvia, was then a distant province. Only on January 25 in the evening, a delegation of the Supreme Privy Council arrived in Mitava. She immediately received envoys. Prince Vasily Dolgoruky announced to her about the death of the emperor and her election as queen if she signs certain conditions. The Duchess gave her consent. The choice was obvious - sign the condition and become the empress of a huge and richest state, or refuse and stay in a remote province. Anna had two more sisters who would hardly refuse such an offer. Anna already knew about the death of Peter, despite the reinforced outposts around Moscow, from there the messenger of Count Karl Levenvolde, a longtime acquaintance of the Duchess, could come. She had a day to think. She did not doubt her right to the throne - she is a princess, the daughter of a king, born in a lawful marriage union of a mother from an ancient clan. For the purity of the kind she was the first. In addition, the superstitious Anna always listened to the mysterious and mysterious words of all kinds of blissful and holy fools. She is still a girl, mother fool Timofey Arkhipych, predicted the throne and the crown. Now the prophecy came true.
But most importantly, Anna was ready to sign any conditions in order to leave the dull, gray life in Mitau, enjoying the honor and respect, being the Russian empress. Of course, that such a wonderful chance not to use was impossible. On January 29 was scheduled departure. The royal caravan set off on a snowy Russia. The road lasted two weeks. During this period, it was possible to remember all my former life. The life of the princess, up to this point, was unsuccessful. She was warped by a powerful alien will, subordinated to the interests of others, she walked without warmth, love and family happiness. It began radiantly - Anna was born in the beauty of the Kremlin chambers and churches. However, the father died when the girl was only three years old. True, there is a version that the real father of Anna was the steward the Vasily Yushkov, who was favored by the beautiful Praskovya Fedorovna from the boyar family of Saltykov. Ivan V Alekseevich was feeble since childhood. However, this is a mystery covered in darkness.
Ivan descended to the grave in 1696 of the year. Dowager Queen Praskovya Fedorovna with three girls - Catherine, Anna and Praskovya, moved to the Izmaylovo country palace. Apparently, the best memories of a serene childhood were connected with Izmaylovo. This palace is not for nothing called the "magic shelter." A wooden, intricately designed palace stood on an island surrounded by ponds. Flower gardens were around him, and behind the ponds, along the Silver River, there were blooming apple, cherry and plum orchards. There were greenhouses in Izmailovo, where tangerines, grapes and even pineapples were grown for the royal table. There was a menagerie and aviary in the manor. For children, it was a real palace of fairy tales. Royal daughters surrounded by mothers and nannies walked in the gardens. Played, swung on a swing. They were entertained by boat trips to the ponds, playing their own orchestra. It was a wonderful time for Anna. Not for nothing, becoming the empress, she, following the example of Peter, created her own Guards regiment - Izmaylovsky.
Tsarevin from an early age taught the alphabet, but apparently taught poorly. The Empress wrote all her life badly and clumsily. Foreign teachers taught German and French dance. With this, Anna also did not work out, she did not learn the languages, was clumsy and unmusical.
Petr Alekseevich visited Izmailovo. With princess Praskovya he had a good relationship. In politics, she did not climb. She had enough sense not to get involved with the advice, not to get involved in intrigue, humbly make decisions of the king-reformer. The king appreciated this in his own way. After the exile of Evdokia’s wife to the monastery, the Tsarina Praskovia, sister Natalia and aunt Tatyana Mikhailovna remained for him the closest relatives. In 1708, he moved Praskovya and his daughters to Petersburg. They were settled in a house prepared for them on the City (Petersburg) side. In St. Petersburg for Anna began youth. The girls began to take out into the world. Court holidays, boat trips, trips around the area. It was for them a new, unfamiliar world.
Here, for Anna, the trouble began. In Petersburg, the dislike of a mother for her daughter, who annoyed her with something, began to manifest itself more clearly. Silent, somewhat sullen, angular and ugly daughter detested the queen. But the queen was madly in love with another daughter - a merry giggling and little talker Catherine, who had always been with Praskovya. Anna was an unloved child in the family, which left a certain imprint on her psyche.
If Anna was born at the beginning of the 17 century, her fate would have been known from the beginning of life to its end. Royal chambers in winter. In the summer - a country palace, every day - a church service, in old age - a monastery. The princesses did not marry foreigners, faith did not allow. Tradition did not allow the princess to marry a Russian nobleman, all the princes and nobles were considered the “slaves” of the king. Peter also made a revolution in this area. In 1709, at a meeting with the Prussian king Frederick, he arranged for the monarch's nephew to marry one of his nieces. The choice of the bride Peter gave Tsarina Praskovye. Contrary to tradition, she decided to marry not the eldest daughter, Catherine, but the middle daughter, Anna. In addition, when the groom visited St. Petersburg in 1710, he did not impress the queen. The Duke of Courland Friedrich Wilhelm was a drunkard, rowdy, besides too young. Yes, and his duchy - vassal from the Commonwealth, was poor and small. The groom was unenviable, so they gave Anna to him. It is clear that no one asked her opinion.
October 31 A solemn and grand wedding was played in St. Petersburg in St. Petersburg. The tsar himself directed the action, salutes of ships and troops rattled, orchestras played. Anna was first in the spotlight. The next day the celebration was continued - Peter arranged the wedding of the royal dwarf Ekiim Volkov, dozens of dwarfs and dwarfs were brought to the feast (later, being the empress, Anna would repeat the amusing wedding in the Ice Palace built on the Neva ice in 1710 year).
8 January 1711, the young went to Mitawa. Perhaps their family life could be successful, maybe they would have been in love, but ... At the first post station on the Riga road, Duderhof, Friedrich Wilhelm, apparently due to excessive drinking and drinking at St. Petersburg feasts, died suddenly. The body of the duke was taken to Mitava, and the unfortunate young duchess, who became a widow in the third month of her marriage, returned to St. Petersburg. For about a year and a half, Anna waited for the decision of her fate, she lived in Petersburg, now in Moscow, then in Izmailovo. Her future could have been very gloomy - childless widows were sent to a monastery. Peter ordered Anna to go to Mitawa and live there. Initially, he wanted to send Queen Praskovia and his other daughters to Kurland, but he changed his mind. In the summer of 1712, Anna Ivanovna arrived in Kurland.
Life in Mitau
Courland was a small state adjoining three great powers - Prussia, Poland and Russia. And each wanted to tidy it up in their hands. The marriage of Anne with Frederick was one of Peter’s steps along the way. Peter could take Courland by force, but did not want to aggravate relations with Poland and Prussia. The presence of Anna strengthened the Russian position in the duchy. Now he could officially defend Courland from the machinations of its neighbors, come to the aid of the duchess. The Russian envoy Pyotr Mikhailovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who arrived with Anna, became the real master of Courland. He could at any time call in troops from Riga to protect the duchess. It is clear that the local Courland nobility met Anna without enthusiasm. Revenues of the ducal court were small. In addition, Kurland suffered greatly during the Northern War, it was devastated by epidemics.
The life of Anna Ivanovna in Mitau can be characterized in just a few words - poverty, complete dependence on the will of St. Petersburg, the uncertainty of future destiny. Even a trip to Petersburg or Moscow was a big problem due to the lack of money for the trip. Mother and formidable "uncle" the king were harsh with the Duchess. In her life every detail was controlled and determined. In fact, she was in the position of a “poor relative,” a completely defenseless man, offended. Humiliated letters to the tsar - the “uncle”, mother, “aunt” empress, are replaced by the same messages to Menshikov, Osterman.
However, Anna gradually mastered in Mitau. At home, in Russia, she was often worse. However, Mitáve was also tormented by uncertainty. She had repeatedly asked Peter and Catherine to find her a worthy groom. Peter was thinking about a suitable party for his niece. But politics interfered with business here. The arbitrary Duke of Courland could upset the situation that was convenient for St. Petersburg. For this reason, he did not approve the possible marriage of Anna and John of Saxon-Weisenfal. In 1723, the marriage contract was signed with the nephew of the Prussian king, but then the Russian emperor, not trusting the lord of Prussia, did not give permission for marriage. In 1726, to Mitawa, the secondborn son of the Saxon king is Count Moritz of Saxony. Local nobles chose him to be dukes. Don Juan and Anna liking, despite his many amorous adventures. Catherine I ruined all of Anna's marriage dreams. Menshikov was sent to Mitavu, he himself dreamed of being elected to the dukes, and with the help of soldiers drove Moritz out of Courland.
The first favorite of Anna was the Russian representative in Kurland, P. M. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. A respectable dignitary, father of outstanding diplomats Michael and Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, an experienced courtier, he was 19 years older than Anna and easily seduced her. Pyotr Mikhailovich quickly subjugated the duchess to his will and protected her from the machinations of her mother, who even at a distance tried to control her daughter’s life. It is clear that Anna was not a windy beauty. Anna Ivanovna was an ordinary woman who dreams of reliable protection, support, master of the house. Bestuzhev and became such a support. When he was removed from Mitava, when Menshikov could not become a duke in Courland, they put all the blame on the dignitary. Anna actually fell into despair. She wrote from June to October 1727, the 27 letters, where she requested that Bestuzhev be returned to Mitava. Loneliness killed her. However, her pleas were ignored.
True, soon the widow was warmed by a new favorite - Ernst Johann Biron. He will be with Anna to the end of her life. Bestuzhev, after the fall of Menshikov, will be returned to Mitawa, but his place will already be taken. What is interesting, he himself elevated Biron. Thanks to the patronage of Bestuzhev, this dark person, who was imprisoned for murder, was entrenched in the environment of the Duchess. He married a maid of honor to the Duchess. The young rogue was able to subdue Anna Ivanovna so quickly to his will that already in the summer of 1728, a report was sent to Moscow about the plundering of Bestuzhev's treasury to Moscow.
Biron had three children: a daughter and two sons. Many researchers believe that Anna Ivanovna was the mother of Karl's youngest son (there is an opinion that the eldest son Peter was born Anna). This explains why Karl was already in four years a bombardier-captain of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment, at nine - the chamberlain of the Court, at twelve - a knight of the highest orders of the empire of the orders of St. Alexander Nevsky and St. Andrew the First Called. Carla, going to Moscow at the call of the Supreme Council, Anna took with her when he was a year and a half. In the future, the “young prince of Courland” slept constantly in the empress's room.
During the reign of Peter II, the position of Anna Ivanovna remained generally the same. If earlier she sought the patronage of Catherine and Menshikov, now she is with the powerful Dolgorukikh and the sisters of the emperor Natalia.
However, the whole life, full of dependence, uncertainty and humiliation, ended when 13 February 1730, Anna Ivanovna, got out of the sled in Vsesvyatsk, on the threshold of Moscow. The heart of Russia awaited the arrival of the new sovereign ...