Catherine I. Biography of the femme fatale and empress. Proclamation of Catherine I as Empress Years of Catherine I's reign
Ekaterina Alekseevna |
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Successor: |
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Buried: |
Peter and Paul Cathedral, St. Petersburg |
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Romanovs (by marriage) |
According to the most common version, Samuil Skavronsky |
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Assum. (Anna-)Dorothea Hahn |
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1) Johann Kruse (or Rabe) |
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Anna Petrovna Elizaveta Petrovna Pyotr Petrovich Natalya Petrovna the rest died in infancy |
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Question about origin
1702-1725
Mistress of Peter I
Wife of Peter I
Rise to power
Governing body. 1725-1727
Foreign policy
End of reign
Question of succession to the throne
Will
Catherine I (Marta Skavronskaya, ; 1684-1727) - Russian empress from 1721 as the wife of the reigning emperor, from 1725 as the reigning empress; second wife of Peter I the Great, mother of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.
According to the most common version, Catherine’s real name is Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya, later baptized by Peter I under a new name Ekaterina Alekseevna Mikhailova. She was born into the family of a Baltic (Latvian) peasant from the outskirts of Kegums, captured by Russian troops, became the mistress of Peter I, then his wife and the ruling empress of Russia. In her honor, Peter I established the Order of St. Catherine (in 1713) and named the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals (in 1723). The Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo (built under her daughter Elizabeth) also bears the name of Catherine I.
early years
Information about the early life of Catherine I is contained mainly in historical anecdotes and is not sufficiently reliable.
The most common version is this. She was born on the territory of modern Latvia, in the historical region of Vidzeme, which was part of Swedish Livonia at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries.
Martha's parents died of the plague in 1684, and her uncle sent the girl to the house of the Lutheran pastor Ernst Gluck, famous for his translation of the Bible into Latvian (after the capture of Marienburg by Russian troops, Gluck, as a learned man, was taken into Russian service and founded the first gymnasium in Moscow, taught languages and wrote poetry in Russian). Marta was used in the house as a servant; she was not taught literacy.
According to the version set out in the Brockhaus and Efron dictionary, Martha’s mother, having become a widow, gave her daughter to serve in the family of Pastor Gluck, where she was allegedly taught literacy and handicrafts.
According to another version, until the age of 12, Katerina lived with her aunt Anna-Maria Veselovskaya, before ending up in the Gluck family.
At the age of 17, Martha was married to a Swedish dragoon named Johan Cruse, just before the Russian advance on Marienburg. A day or two after the wedding, trumpeter Johann and his regiment left for the war and, according to the widespread version, went missing.
Question about origin
The search for Catherine's roots in the Baltic states, carried out after the death of Peter I, showed that Catherine had two sisters - Anna and Christina, and two brothers - Karl and Friedrich. Catherine moved their families to St. Petersburg in 1726 (Karl Skavronsky moved even earlier, see Skavronsky). According to A.I. Repnin, who led the search, Khristina Skavronskaya and her husband “ they lie", both of them " people are stupid and drunk", Repnin offered to send them " somewhere else, so that there are no big lies from them" Catherine awarded Charles and Frederick the dignity of counts in January 1727, without calling them her brothers. In the will of Catherine I, the Skavronskys are vaguely named “ close relatives of her own surname" Under Elizaveta Petrovna, the daughter of Catherine, immediately after her accession to the throne in 1741, the children of Christina (Gendrikovs) and the children of Anna (Efimovskys) were also elevated to the dignity of counts. Subsequently, the official version became that Anna, Christina, Karl and Friedrich were Catherine’s siblings, children of Samuil Skavronsky.
However, with late XIX century, a number of historians have questioned this relationship. The fact is pointed out that Peter I called Catherine not Skavronskaya, but Veselevskaya or Vasilevskaya, and in 1710, after the capture of Riga, in a letter to the same Repnin, he called completely different names to “my Katerina’s relatives” - “Yagan-Ionus Vasilevsky, Anna-Dorothea , also their children." Therefore, other versions of Catherine’s origin have been proposed, according to which she is a cousin, and not the sister of the Skavronskys who appeared in 1726.
In connection with Catherine I, another surname is called - Rabe. According to some sources, Rabe (and not Kruse) is the surname of her first husband, a dragoon (this version was included in fiction, for example, A. N. Tolstoy’s novel “Peter the Great”), according to others, this is her maiden name, and a certain Johann Rabe was her father.
1702-1725
Mistress of Peter I
On August 25, 1702, during the Great Northern War, the army of the Russian Field Marshal Sheremetev, fighting against the Swedes in Livonia, took the Swedish fortress of Marienburg (now Aluksne, Latvia). Sheremetev, taking advantage of the departure of the main Swedish army to Poland, subjected the region to merciless devastation. As he himself reported to Tsar Peter I at the end of 1702:
In Marienburg, Sheremetev captured 400 inhabitants. When Pastor Gluck, accompanied by his servants, came to intercede about the fate of the residents, Sheremetev noticed the maid Martha Kruse and forcibly took her as his mistress. After a short time, around August 1703, Prince Menshikov, a friend and comrade-in-arms of Peter I, became its owner. So says the Frenchman Franz Villebois, who had been in Russian service in the navy since 1698 and was married to the daughter of Pastor Gluck. Villebois's story is confirmed by another source, notes from 1724 from the archives of the Duke of Oldenburg. Based on these notes, Sheremetev sent Pastor Gluck and all the inhabitants of the Marienburg fortress to Moscow, but kept Marta for himself. Menshikov, having taken Marta from the elderly field marshal a few months later, had a strong falling out with Sheremetev.
The Scotsman Peter Henry Bruce in his Memoirs presents the story (according to others) in a more favorable light for Catherine I. Martha was taken by Dragoon Colonel Baur (who later became a general):
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“[Baur] immediately ordered her to be placed in his house, which entrusted her to his care, giving her the right to dispose of all the servants, and she soon fell in love with the new manager for her manner of housekeeping. The general later often said that his house was never as tidy as during the days of her stay there. Prince Menshikov, who was his patron, once saw her at the general’s, also noting something extraordinary in her appearance and manners. Having asked who she was and whether she knew how to cook, he heard in response the story he had just told, to which the general added a few words about her worthy position in his house. The prince said that this is the kind of woman he really needs now, because he himself is now being served very poorly. To this the general replied that he owed too much to the prince not to immediately fulfill what he had just thought about - and immediately calling Catherine, he said that before her was Prince Menshikov, who needed just such a maid like her, and that the prince will do everything within his power to become, like himself, her friend, adding that he respects her too much not to give her the opportunity to receive her share of honor and good fate.” |
In the fall of 1703, during one of his regular visits to Menshikov in St. Petersburg, Peter I met Martha and soon made her his mistress, calling her Katerina Vasilevskaya in letters (possibly after her aunt’s last name). Franz Villebois recounts their first meeting as follows:
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“This is how things stood when the tsar, traveling by mail from St. Petersburg, which was then called Nyenschanz, or Noteburg, to Livonia to go further, stopped at his favorite Menshikov, where he noticed Catherine among the servants who served at the table. He asked where it came from and how he acquired it. And, having spoken quietly in the ear with this favorite, who answered him only with a nod of his head, he looked at Catherine for a long time and, teasing her, said that she was smart, and ended his humorous speech by telling her, when she went to bed, to carry a candle to his room. It was an order spoken in a joking tone, but brooking no objection. Menshikov took this for granted, and the beauty, devoted to her master, spent the night in the king's room... The next day the king left in the morning to continue his journey. He returned to his favorite what he had lent him. The satisfaction the king received from his night conversation with Catherine cannot be judged by the generosity he showed. She limited herself to only one ducat, which is equal in value to half of one louis d’or (10 francs), which he put into her hand in a military manner when parting.” |
In 1704, Katerina gives birth to her first child, named Peter, and the following year, Paul (both soon died).
In 1705, Peter sent Katerina to the village of Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow, to the house of his sister Princess Natalya Alekseevna, where Katerina Vasilevskaya learned Russian literacy, and, in addition, became friends with the Menshikov family.
When Katerina was baptized into Orthodoxy (1707 or 1708), she changed her name to Ekaterina Alekseevna Mikhailova, since her godfather was Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, and the surname Mikhailov was used by Peter I himself if he wanted to remain incognito.
In January 1710, Peter organized a triumphal procession to Moscow on the occasion of the Poltava victory; thousands of Swedish prisoners were held at the parade, among whom, according to the story of Franz Villebois, was Johann Kruse. Johann confessed about his wife, who gave birth to one after another of children to the Russian Tsar, and was immediately exiled to a remote corner of Siberia, where he died in 1721. According to Franz Villebois, the existence of Catherine's living legal husband during the years of the birth of Anna (1708) and Elizabeth (1709) was later used by opposing factions in disputes about the right to the throne after the death of Catherine I. According to notes from the Duchy of Oldenburg, the Swedish dragoon Kruse died in 1705, however one must keep in mind the interest of the German dukes in the legitimacy of the birth of the daughters of Peter, Anna and Elizabeth, for whom grooms were sought among the German appanage rulers.
Wife of Peter I
Even before her legal marriage to Peter, Katerina gave birth to daughters Anna and Elizabeth. Katerina alone could cope with the king in his fits of anger; she knew how to calm Peter’s attacks of convulsive headaches with affection and patient attention. According to Bassevich's memoirs:
In the spring of 1711, Peter, having become attached to a charming and easy-tempered former servant, ordered Catherine to be considered his wife and took her on the Prut campaign, which was unlucky for the Russian army. The Danish envoy Just Yul, from the words of the princesses (nieces of Peter I), wrote down this story as follows:
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“In the evening, shortly before his departure, the tsar called them, his sister Natalya Alekseevna, to a house in Preobrazhenskaya Sloboda. There he took his hand and placed his mistress Ekaterina Alekseevna in front of them. For the future, the tsar said, they should consider her his legitimate wife and Russian queen. Since now, due to the urgent need to go to the army, he cannot marry her, he takes her with him to do this on occasion in more free time. At the same time, the king made it clear that if he died before he could get married, then after his death they would have to look at her as his legal wife. After that, they all congratulated (Ekaterina Alekseevna) and kissed her hand.” |
In Moldavia in July 1711, 190 thousand Turks and Crimean Tatars pressed the 38 thousand-strong Russian army to the river, completely surrounding them with numerous cavalry. Catherine went on a long hike while she was 7 months pregnant. According to a well-known legend, she took off all her jewelry to bribe it to the Turkish commander. Peter I was able to conclude the Prut Peace and, sacrificing Russian conquests in the south, lead the army out of encirclement. The Danish envoy Just Yul, who was with the Russian army after its release from encirclement, does not report such an act of Catherine, but says that the queen (as everyone now called Catherine) distributed her jewelry to the officers for safekeeping and then collected them. The notes of Brigadier Moro de Braze also do not mention bribing the vizier with Catherine’s jewelry, although the author (Brigadier Moro de Braze) knew from the words of the Turkish pashas about the exact amount of government funds allocated for bribes to the Turks.
The official wedding of Peter I with Ekaterina Alekseevna took place on February 19, 1712 in the Church of St. Isaac of Dalmatia in St. Petersburg. In 1713, Peter I, in honor of the worthy behavior of his wife during the unsuccessful Prut campaign, established the Order of St. Catherine and personally conferred the insignia of the order on his wife on November 24, 1714. Initially it was called the Order of Liberation and was intended only for Catherine. Peter I remembered Catherine’s merits during the Prut campaign in his manifesto on the coronation of his wife dated November 15, 1723:
In his personal letters, the tsar showed unusual tenderness for his wife: “ Katerinushka, my friend, hello! I hear that you are bored, and I am not bored either...“Ekaterina Alekseevna gave birth to 11 children to her husband, but almost all of them died in childhood, except for Anna and Elizaveta. Elizabeth later became empress (reigned 1741-1762), and Anna's direct descendants ruled Russia after Elizabeth's death, from 1762 to 1917. One of the sons who died in childhood, Pyotr Petrovich, after the abdication of Alexei Petrovich (Peter's eldest son from Evdokia Lopukhina) was considered from February 1718 until his death in 1719, he was the official heir to the Russian throne.
Foreigners who closely followed the Russian court noted the tsar’s affection for his wife. Bassevich writes about their relationship in 1721:
In the fall of 1724, Peter I suspected the empress of adultery with her chamberlain Mons, whom he executed for another reason. He stopped talking to her and she was denied access to him. Only once, at the request of his daughter Elizabeth, Peter agreed to dine with Catherine, who had been his inseparable friend for 20 years. Only at death did Peter reconcile with his wife. In January 1725, Catherine spent all her time at the bedside of the dying sovereign; he died in her arms.
Descendants of Peter I from Catherine I
Year of birth |
Year of death |
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Anna Petrovna |
In 1725 she married the German Duke Karl Friedrich; went to Kiel, where she gave birth to a son, Karl Peter Ulrich (later Russian Emperor Peter III). |
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Elizaveta Petrovna |
Russian Empress since 1741. |
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Natalia Petrovna |
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Margarita Petrovna |
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Petr Petrovich |
He was considered the official heir to the crown from 1718 until his death. |
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Pavel Petrovich |
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Natalia Petrovna |
Rise to power
With a manifesto dated November 15, 1723, Peter announced the future coronation of Catherine as a sign of her special merits.
On May 7 (18), 1724, Peter crowned Catherine empress in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral. This was the second coronation of a female sovereign's wife in Rus' (after the coronation of Marina Mnishek by False Dmitry I in 1605).
By his law of February 5, 1722, Peter abolished the previous order of succession to the throne by a direct descendant in the male line, replacing it with the personal appointment of the reigning sovereign. According to the Decree of 1722, any person who, in the opinion of the sovereign, was worthy to lead the state could become a successor. Peter died in the early morning of January 28 (February 8), 1725, without having time to name a successor and leaving no sons. Due to the absence of a strictly defined order of succession to the throne, the throne of Russia was left to chance, and subsequent times went down in history as the era of palace coups.
The popular majority was for the only male representative of the dynasty - Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, the grandson of Peter I from his eldest son Alexei, who died during interrogations. Peter Alekseevich was supported by well-born nobility, who considered him the only legitimate heir, born from a marriage worthy of royal blood. Count Tolstoy, Prosecutor General Yaguzhinsky, Chancellor Count Golovkin and Menshikov, at the head of the serving nobility, could not hope to preserve the power received from Peter I under Peter Alekseevich; on the other hand, the coronation of the empress could be interpreted as Peter's indirect indication of the heiress. When Catherine saw that there was no longer hope for her husband’s recovery, she instructed Menshikov and Tolstoy to act in favor of their rights. The guard was devoted to the point of adoration for the dying emperor; She transferred this affection to Catherine as well.
Guard officers from the Preobrazhensky Regiment appeared at the Senate meeting, knocking down the door to the room. They openly declared that they would break the heads of the old boyars if they went against their mother Catherine. Suddenly a drumbeat was heard from the square: it turned out that both guards regiments were lined up under arms in front of the palace. Prince Field Marshal Repnin, president of the military college, angrily asked: “ Who dared to bring shelves here without my knowledge? Am I not a field marshal?“Buturlin, commander of the Semenovsky regiment, answered Repnin that he called up the regiments at the behest of the empress, whom all subjects are obliged to obey, “ not excluding you“he added impressively.
Thanks to the support of the guards regiments, it was possible to convince all of Catherine’s opponents to give her their vote. The Senate “unanimously” elevated her to the throne, calling her “ the Most Serene, Most Sovereign Great Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna, Autocrat of the All-Russian” and in justification, announcing the will of the late sovereign interpreted by the Senate. The people were very surprised by the ascension for the first time in Russian history a woman took the throne, but there was no unrest.
On January 28 (February 8), 1725, Catherine I ascended the throne of the Russian Empire thanks to the support of the guards and nobles who rose to power under Peter. In Russia, the era of the reign of empresses began, when until the end of the 18th century, with the exception of a few years, only women ruled.
Governing body. 1725-1727
The actual power in Catherine's reign was concentrated by the prince and field marshal Menshikov, as well as the Supreme Privy Council. Catherine, on the other hand, was completely satisfied with the role of the first mistress of Tsarskoye Selo, relying on her advisers in matters of government. She was only interested in the affairs of the fleet - Peter’s love for the sea also touched her.
The nobles wanted to rule with a woman and now they really achieved their goal.
From “History of Russia” by S.M. Solovyova:
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Under Peter, she shone not with her own light, but borrowed from the great man whose companion she was; she had the ability to hold herself at a certain height, to show attention and sympathy for the movement taking place around her; she was privy to all the secrets, the secrets of the personal relationships of the people around her. Her situation and fear for the future kept her mental and moral strength in constant and strong tension. But climbing plant it reached heights only thanks to the giant of the forests around which it wrapped itself; the giant was slain - and the weak plant spread out on the ground. Catherine retained knowledge of persons and relationships between them, retained the habit of making her way between these relationships; but she did not have the proper attention to matters, especially internal ones, and their details, nor the ability to initiate and direct. |
On the initiative of Count P. A. Tolstoy, a new body was created in February 1726 state power, the Supreme Privy Council, where a narrow circle of chief dignitaries could govern Russian Empire under the formal chairmanship of the semi-literate empress. The Council included Field Marshal General Prince Menshikov, Admiral General Count Apraksin, Chancellor Count Golovkin, Count Tolstoy, Prince Golitsyn, Vice-Chancellor Baron Osterman. Of the six members of the new institution, only Prince D. M. Golitsyn came from well-born nobles. In April, the young Prince I. A. Dolgoruky was admitted to the Supreme Privy Council.
As a result, the role of the Senate sharply declined, although it was renamed the "High Senate". The leaders decided all important matters together, and Catherine only signed the papers they sent. The Supreme Council liquidated the organs local authorities, created by Peter, and restored the power of the governor.
The long wars that Russia waged affected the country's finances. Due to crop failures, bread prices rose, and discontent grew in the country. To prevent uprisings, the poll tax was reduced (from 74 to 70 kopecks).
The activities of Catherine's government were limited mainly to minor issues, while embezzlement, arbitrariness and abuse flourished. There was no talk of any reforms or transformations; there was a struggle for power within the Council.
Despite this, the common people loved the empress because she had compassion for the unfortunate and willingly helped them. Soldiers, sailors and artisans were constantly crowding in its halls: some were looking for help, others asked the queen to be their godfather. She never refused anyone and usually gave each of her godsons several ducats.
During the reign of Catherine I, the Academy of Sciences was opened, the expedition of V. Bering was organized, and the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was established.
Foreign policy
During the 2 years of the reign of Catherine I, Russia did not wage major wars, only a separate corps under the command of Prince Dolgorukov operated in the Caucasus, trying to recapture Persian territories while Persia was in a state of turmoil, and Turkey unsuccessfully fought the Persian rebels. In Europe, matters were limited to diplomatic activity in defending the interests of the Duke of Holstein (husband of Anna Petrovna, daughter of Catherine I) against Denmark.
Russia fought a war with the Turks in Dagestan and Georgia. Catherine's plan to return Schleswig, which had been taken by the Danes, to the Duke of Holstein led to military action against Russia by Denmark and England. Russia tried to pursue a peaceful policy towards Poland.
End of reign
Catherine I did not rule for long. Balls, celebrations, feasts and revelries, which followed in a continuous series, undermined her health, and on April 10, 1727, the empress fell ill. The cough, previously weak, began to intensify, a fever developed, the patient began to weaken day by day, and signs of lung damage appeared. Therefore, the government had to urgently resolve the issue of succession to the throne.
Question of succession to the throne
Catherine was easily elevated to the throne due to Peter Alekseevich’s minority, but in Russian society there were strong sentiments in favor of the maturing Peter, the direct heir to the Romanov dynasty in the male line. The Empress, alarmed by anonymous letters directed against the decree of Peter I of 1722 (according to which the reigning sovereign had the right to appoint any successor), turned to her advisers for help.
Vice-Chancellor Osterman proposed to reconcile the interests of the well-born and new serving nobility to marry Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich to Princess Elizabeth Petrovna, Catherine’s daughter. The obstacle was their close relationship; Elizabeth was Peter’s aunt. In order to avoid a possible divorce in the future, Osterman proposed, when concluding a marriage, to more strictly define the order of succession to the throne.
Catherine, wanting to appoint her daughter Elizabeth (according to other sources - Anna) as heir, did not dare to accept Osterman’s project and continued to insist on her right to appoint a successor for herself, hoping that over time the issue would be resolved. Meanwhile, the main supporter of Catherine Menshikov, appreciating the prospect of Peter becoming the Russian emperor, moved to the camp of his adherents. Moreover, Menshikov managed to obtain Catherine’s consent to the marriage of Maria, Menshikov’s daughter, with Pyotr Alekseevich.
The party led by Tolstoy, which most contributed to Catherine’s enthronement, could hope that Catherine would live for a long time and circumstances might change in their favor. Osterman threatened popular uprisings for Peter as the only legitimate heir; they could answer him that the army was on Catherine’s side, that it would also be on the side of her daughters. Catherine, for her part, tried to win the affection of the army with her attention.
Menshikov managed to take advantage of the illness of Catherine, who signed on May 6, 1727, a few hours before her death, an indictment against Menshikov’s enemies, and on the same day Count Tolstoy and other high-ranking enemies of Menshikov were sent into exile.
Will
When the Empress became dangerously ill, members of the highest government institutions: the Supreme Privy Council, the Senate and the Synod gathered in the palace to resolve the issue of a successor. Guards officers were also invited. The Supreme Council decisively insisted on the appointment of the young grandson of Peter I, Pyotr Alekseevich, as heir. Just before his death, Bassevich hastily drew up a will, signed by Elizabeth instead of the infirm mother-empress. According to the will, the throne was inherited by the grandson of Peter I, Pyotr Alekseevich.
Subsequent articles related to the guardianship of the minor emperor; determined the power of the Supreme Council, the order of succession to the throne in the event of the death of Peter Alekseevich. According to the will, in the event of Peter’s childless death, Anna Petrovna and her descendants (“descendants”) became his successor, then her younger sister Elizaveta Petrovna and her descendants, and only then Peter II’s sister Natalya Alekseevna. At the same time, those contenders for the throne who were not of the Orthodox faith or who had already reigned abroad were excluded from the order of succession. It was to the will of Catherine I that 14 years later Elizaveta Petrovna referred to in a manifesto outlining her rights to the throne after the palace coup of 1741.
The 11th article of the will amazed those present. It commanded all nobles to promote the betrothal of Pyotr Alekseevich to one of the daughters of Prince Menshikov, and then, upon reaching adulthood, to promote their marriage. Literally: “In the same way, our crown princesses and the government administration are trying to arrange a marriage between his love [Grand Duke Peter] and one princess of Prince Menshikov.”
Such an article clearly indicated the person who participated in the drawing up of the will, however, for Russian society, Pyotr Alekseevich’s right to the throne - the main article of the will - was indisputable, and no unrest arose.
Later, Empress Anna Ioannovna ordered Chancellor Golovkin to burn the spiritual will of Catherine I. He complied, nevertheless keeping a copy of the will.
(04/05/1684 (according to other data - 1683, 1685 or 1686) - 05/06/1727, St. Petersburg), imp. All-Russian (from January 28, 1725), 2nd wife of the Emperor. Peter I. Several have survived. versions of the origin of E.A., according to one of them she was the daughter of Lithuanians. a peasant from Livonia and before accepting Orthodoxy bore the name Martha Skavronskaya. Polish the language was native to her family, which, on the instructions of Peter I, was found, but until 1726 they were kept “under strong guard” to avoid publicity: brother E. A. Friedrich was a coachman, and sister Christina and her husband were serfs. E.A. did not receive an education; she only knew how to sign. In her youth she lived in the house of Pastor Gluck in Marienburg (now Aluksne, Latvia), worked as a laundress and cook. She was married to a Swede. dragoon I. Kruse, who soon left for the war. Aug 25 1702, during the Northern War, during the capture of Marienburg by Russian. was captured by troops, became a servant of Field Marshal B.P. Sheremetev, then a “portomoy” (laundress) for the gr. A. D. Menshikova. In 1703, Peter I noticed her, and she became one of his favorites. Converted to Orthodoxy. baptism with the name Ekaterina Alekseevna, Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich became her godfather. E. A. and Peter I had 11 children, most of them died in infancy, only Anna (1708-1728) and Elizaveta Petrovna (later Russian Empress) (1709-1761) survived.
Since 1709, E. A. accompanied Peter I on military campaigns and various trips. Before setting off on the Prut campaign on March 6, 1711, she secretly married the tsar; the public wedding took place after her return, on February 19. 1712 During the campaign, when the Russian. the troops were surrounded, influenced the decision of Peter I to begin negotiations with the Turks on a truce, and, according to legend, sent her jewelry to the Grand Vizier. In memory of E. A.’s participation in the campaign, Peter I established the Order of Liberation (after Catherine’s holy order) and on November 24. 1714 awarded him his wife. E.A. was a caring wife and mother. Distinguished by her even and cheerful character, she calmed her husband down during outbursts of anger, shared with him the difficulties of camp life, bought food for the yard herself, and always tried to make a pleasant surprise for her husband. In turn, Peter I showed concern for his “friend of his heart.” Survived approx. 200 of his letters to his wife, the king missed her and often called to him: “For God’s sake, come quickly! And if you can’t get to something soon, write it down, because it’s not without sadness that I neither hear nor see you.”
After the wedding, E.A. had her own court, she received foreign ambassadors, met with Europeans. monarchs. In the descriptions left by foreigners, it was noted that she dresses tastelessly, her low origin is striking. During this period, the queen did not take part in the government of the state. She did not interfere in the resolution of political issues, but often stood up to the tsar on behalf of Menshikov and other offending nobles. Peter I informed her about military campaigns and battles, but did not initiate her into the affairs. 15 Nov In 1723, a manifesto was published about the upcoming coronation of E.A., where “she was a great helper, and not just in this, but also in many military actions, putting aside the infirmity of women, she was present with us by her will and helped as much as possible... " The coronation took place on May 7, 1724 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, Peter I conferred imp. crown on the head of a kneeling wife. It is believed that he was going to transfer E.A. the priority right to occupy the throne after death, counting on the support of his immediate circle. But in 1724 she lost the trust of the emperor: in November. The manager of her chancellery, Willem Mons, was arrested and executed, according to contemporaries, for his connection with E.A. The empress’s name was not mentioned during the investigation, but Peter I took her to watch the execution, ordered her jewelry to be sealed and forbade her to carry out her orders. E.A. was afraid for her future, tried to regain her husband’s favor and begged for his forgiveness.
In Jan. 1725, during the dying illness of Peter I, who did not leave heirs and did not have time to draw up a will, a split emerged in the ruling elite: some considered it necessary to enthrone the son of Tsarevich Alexei Peter (later Emperor Peter II) under regent E . A. and under the control of the Senate, others (Menshikov, Count P. A. Tolstoy) - to make E. A. an autocratic ruler. At a critical moment, the empress distributed money to the guards officers and paid the delayed salary of the guards from her own funds. Another 7414 rub. from personal funds they went “for some emergency expenses” to the majors of the guard and other higher ranks. As a result, 28 Jan. the same year, after the death of Peter I, she was elevated to the throne.
E.A. promised “to accomplish the affairs conceived by the emperor’s labors, with God’s help,” and tried to follow this program. For the current management of the country 8 Feb. In 1726, by decree of the empress, the Supreme Privy Council was formed, which included Menshikov, Tolstoy, gr. G. I. Golovkin, gr. F. M. Apraksin, Baron A. I. Osterman and Prince. D. M. Golitsyn (Menshikov moved to 1st place). E. A. several attended council meetings once, but since Dec. 1726 did not appear there until the end of her reign, August 4. In 1726, a decree was issued on the validity of decrees signed by all members of the Supreme Privy Council. The importance of the Senate and the Holy Synod fell sharply; they began to submit to the Supreme Privy Council. E.A. controlled him through the Cabinet (personal office), which received information from governors and military commanders and communicated with the Supreme Privy Council on behalf of the Empress. E.A.’s personal decrees concerned primarily with awards of ranks and villages, dismissals and appointments; in these cases, she sometimes defended her right contrary to the opinion of members of the Supreme Privy Council.
E.A. approved the state states considered by Peter I. institutions. The poll tax was reduced by 4 kopecks. In June 1725, she ordered the termination of all cases of denunciations of fiscal officials, begun before 1721. By a decree of May 28, 1726, the Secret Chancellery was liquidated, and all its cases were transferred to the Preobrazhensky Prikaz. In 1726-1727 The Supreme Privy Council discussed the country's financial problems that arose during the years of wars and reforms. In pursuance of the decrees of E.A. in January - February. In 1727, the parallel civil military (regimental) administration was liquidated, the collection of the poll tax was transferred to the governors, the Milking Office was established, local institutions and positions in the system of the Justice and Chamber Collegiums were abolished, and the payment of salaries to many was abolished. categories of officials. Under E. A., the improvement of St. Petersburg continued, new streets were paved, and the first benches for passers-by to rest were installed on Bolshaya Perspektivnaya Road (afterwards Nevsky Prospekt). In the capital, fixed prices for bread were established. In Aug. 1725 the empress received the first Russian academicians, official. The opening of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences took place on December 27. the same year. In Russian Foreigners were still often accepted into service. E.A. sent an expedition of Captain-Commander V. Bering to Kamchatka in order to find out whether Asia is connected to the North. America. Before her death, she ordered all Jews “to be expelled from Russia abroad immediately and henceforth not to be allowed into Russia under any circumstances.”
The Empress could carry on a conversation in 4 languages, mastered the appearance of dignitary greatness and some ideas about the problems facing the country, but seriously led the state. I was incapable of doing things. After the mourning for the deceased emperor ended, E. A. spent most of her time in the company of her favorites. The court “Marching Journal” for 1726 describes E. A.’s lifestyle. According to Peter’s tradition, she also visited shipyards, hospitals, and went to fires. Following the example of her husband, she was a caring “colonel”: she was present at the “exercises” of the guard, gave gifts to soldiers on name days and christenings of their children, she herself was more than once the foster child of babies, sorted out petitions from soldiers, and provided assistance to those in need. But E. A. devoted most of her time to walks “in the garden in the summer house,” in other residences and along the streets of the capital, as well as table “fun” and various amusements. Under her, nobles, even retired ones, were forbidden to walk around “with beards and in ancient dress” under pain of fines and beatings.
E.A. considered it her duty to arrange the marriages of her daughters. Anna's marriage was predetermined by Peter I: in 1725 she married Hertz. Karl Friedrich of Holstein. E.A. wanted to return to her son-in-law the lands taken from him by Denmark. In May 1726, the Empress ordered her yacht to be armed with cannons and was going to personally lead the fleet in a campaign against Denmark. These measures caused protests in Europe. powers English entered the Baltic Sea. squadron, and military preparations had to be urgently stopped. Negotiations on an alliance with France did not yield results, and in 1726 an alliance treaty was concluded with Austria, which became the basis of Russian foreign policy until the 60s. XVIII century
Vice-President of the Synod Novgorod Archbishop. Theodosius (Yanovsky) publicly criticized the church policies of Peter I and E.A. and stated that “the spiritual shepherds are very enslaved.” After several failures archbishop. Theodosius to appear at the royal table in the Secret Chancellery, an investigation began into “evil words about their imperial majesty.” Archbishop Theodosius was arrested on April 27. 1725, and on May 11 of the same year he was sentenced to eternal imprisonment in the Korelsky Monastery in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, where he died.
The main event in church life was the division of the Holy Synod into two departments on July 15, 1726. The 1st department consisted of bishops and was in charge exclusively of spiritual affairs and censorship; 2nd (College of Economy of the Synodal Board) - from secular officials who were involved in the judicial affairs of the clergy, the assignment of retired soldiers and officers to live in Mont-ri, the management of church estates (income from them went to the department, these funds could not be spent without a determination Chamber Chambers). The post of chief prosecutor remained vacant, and the Novgorod archbishop began to play the main role in the 1st department. Feofan (Prokopovich). The Synod ceased to be called the Governing Synod; the names “Holy Synod” and “Spiritual Assembly” were used. E.A. confirmed and supplemented the orders introduced by Peter I and concerning the life of Mont-Rei. Only widowed priests were allowed to tonsure without restrictions; all others had to obtain permission from the Holy Synod. Fugitive monks were ordered to be tried and publicly punished with lashes. In 1726, at the request of the steward Andrei Shepelev, Optina was restored empty. , abolished in 1724. The school at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery (after the Lavra) was transformed into a seminary in 1726.
At the insistence of Menshikov, E.A. declared Vel. book Pyotr Alekseevich, whom Menshikov was going to marry his daughter Maria. P. A. Tolstoy and Chief of Police A. M. Devier wanted to transfer the throne to the daughters of Peter I. In April. In 1727, E. A. began to develop a fever; according to the later conclusion of doctors, it was inflammation or “some kind of damage to the lung.” Menshikov obtained from her a decree for the arrest of Devier, then Tolstoy and their supporters were arrested. The investigation took place in a hurry and under pressure from Menshikov. The report and verdict were ready by the evening of May 6 of the same year, at last hours life E.A. signed the documents. At the same time, with the participation of Menshikov, a will was drawn up in favor of Pyotr Alekseevich. E.A. could no longer sign it, and a short “extract” of the will was signed by Elizaveta Petrovna.
The coffin with the body of E. A. was placed in the chapel inside the unfinished Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, next to the coffin of Peter I. On May 29, 1731, upon completion of the construction of the cathedral, she was buried along with Peter I near the south. walls in front of the altar.
Source: Letters Russian. sovereigns and other persons of the royal family. M., 1862. T. 1: Correspondence of the emperor. Peter I with Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna; PSPiR. T. 4-5.
Lit.: Semevsky M.I. Tsarina Katerina Alekseevna, Anna and Willim Mons: 1692-1724. St. Petersburg, 1884. M., 1994; Brickner A. G. Imp. Catherine I: 1725-1727 // VE. 1894. No. 1. P. 121-148; No. 2. P. 615-646; aka. Russia and Denmark under the Emperor. Catherine I // RM. 1895. No. 2. P. 39-60; No. 3. P. 41-56; No. 7. P. 104-118; No. 9. pp. 24-33; Belozerskaya N. A.
Origin of Catherine I // IV. 1902. No. 1. P. 60-66; Kirchner W. The Death of Catherine I of Russia // AHR. 1946. Vol. 51. P. 250-261; Pavlenko N. I. Semi-sovereign ruler. M., 1988; aka.
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Ekaterina I. M., 2004. (ZhZL); Anisimov E.V. Women in Russia. throne. St. Petersburg, 1998; Kurukin I.V. The era of “court storms”: Essays on politics. history of post-Petrine Russia, 1725-1762. Ryazan, 2003; Vodarsky Ya. E. Mysteries of the Prut campaign of Peter I. M., 2004.
I. V. Kurukin
A council met to determine the future ruler. The noble families, which had an advantage in that assembly, won. Then, on the orders of Peter the Great’s closest associate, Menshikov, the palace was surrounded by troops of the Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments. No one dared to oppose the army. Empress Catherine 1 the Great was confirmed as the ruler of Russia. Menshikov, who had contributed so much to Catherine’s rise to power, was declared her first assistant.
Catherine's first task, as the leader of the country, was reconciliation with the palace nobility. For this purpose, she created a special body, the Supreme Privy Council, which included both supporters of Peter and representatives of the nobility. At the same time, Menshikov was a key figure in the affairs of the Council. In general, during the reign of Catherine, it was Menshikov who was the second person in the country who resolved almost any issue.
The reign of Catherine 1 was not destined to last long; she died in May 1727.
