The premiere of the historical series is on Channel One.
Spectacular costumes, large-scale decorations, famous actors- all this and much more awaits viewers in the new historical drama “The Great,” which airs on Channel One this week. The series will take us to the mid-18th century - during the reign of Catherine II, whose role was played by Yulia Snigir.
In particular, the personality of Peter 3 has been revised in the series.
Slander THROUGH THE CENTURIES
In Russian history, there is, perhaps, no ruler more reviled by historians than Emperor Peter III
Even the authors of historical studies speak better about the crazy sadist Ivan the Terrible than about the unfortunate emperor. What kind of epithets did historians bestow upon Peter III: “spiritual insignificance”, “reveler”, “drunkard”, “Holstein martinet” and so on and so forth.
Usually in our textbooks Peter 3 is presented as a fool who spits on the interests of Russia, leading to the idea that Catherine 2 did the right thing by overthrowing him and killing him.
What did the emperor, who reigned for only six months (from December 1761 to June 1762), do wrong before the learned men?
Holstein Prince
The future Emperor Peter III was born on February 10 (21 - according to the new style) February 1728 in the German city of Kiel. His father was Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, the ruler of the North German state of Holstein, and his mother was the daughter of Peter I, Anna Petrovna. Even as a child, Prince Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp (that was the name of Peter III) was declared heir to the Swedish throne.
Emperor Peter III
However, at the beginning of 1742, at the request of the Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the prince was taken to St. Petersburg. As the only descendant of Peter the Great, he was declared heir to the Russian throne. The young Duke of Holstein-Gottorp converted to Orthodoxy and was named Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich.
In August 1745, the Empress married the heir to German princess Sophia Frederica Augusta, daughter of Prince Anhalt-Zerbst, who served in the military service of the Prussian king. Having converted to Orthodoxy, Princess Anhalt-Zerbst began to be called Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna.
Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna - future Empress Catherine II
The heir and his wife could not stand each other. Pyotr Fedorovich had mistresses. His last passion was Countess Elizaveta Vorontsova, daughter of Chief General Roman Illarionovich Vorontsov. Ekaterina Alekseevna had three constant lovers - Count Sergei Saltykov, Count Stanislav Poniatovsky and Count Chernyshev. Soon the Life Guards officer Grigory Orlov became the favorite of the Grand Duchess. However, she often had fun with other guards officers.
On September 24, 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son, who was named Pavel. It was rumored at court that the real father of the future emperor was Catherine’s lover, Count Saltykov. Pyotr Fedorovich himself smiled bitterly:
- God knows where my wife gets her pregnancy from. I don't really know if this is my child and if I should take it personally...
Short reign
On December 25, 1761, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna rested in Bose. Peter Fedorovich, Emperor Peter III, ascended the throne.
First of all, the new sovereign ended the war with Prussia and withdrew Russian troops from Berlin. For this, Peter was hated by the guards officers, who craved military glory and military awards. Historians are also dissatisfied with the actions of the emperor: pundits complain that Peter III “negated the results of Russian victories.”
It would be interesting to know exactly what results the respected researchers have in mind?
As you know, the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763 was caused by the intensification of the struggle between France and England for overseas colonies. For various reasons, seven more states were drawn into the war (in particular, Prussia, which was in conflict with France and Austria). But what interests the Russian Empire pursued when it acted on the side of France and Austria in this war is completely unclear. It turned out that Russian soldiers died for the French right to plunder colonial peoples. Peter III stopped this senseless massacre. For which he received a “severe reprimand with a note” from grateful descendants.
Soldiers of the army of Peter III
After the end of the war, the emperor settled in Oranienbaum, where, according to historians, he “indulged in drunkenness” with his Holstein companions. However, judging by the documents, from time to time Peter was also involved in government affairs. In particular, the emperor wrote and published a number of manifestos on the transformation of the state system.
Here is a list of the first events that Peter III outlined:
Firstly, there was The Secret Chancellery was abolished- the famous secret state police, which terrified all subjects of the empire without exception, from commoners to high-born nobles. With one denunciation, agents of the Secret Chancellery could seize any person, imprison him in dungeons, subject him to the most terrible torture, and execute him. The emperor freed his subjects from this arbitrariness. After his death, Catherine II restored the secret police - called the Secret Expedition.
Secondly, Peter declared freedom of religion for all his subjects: “let them pray to whomever they want, but not to have them reproached or cursed.” This was an almost unthinkable step at that time. Even in enlightened Europe there was not yet complete freedom of religion. After the death of the emperor, Catherine II, a friend of the French enlightenment and “philosopher on the throne,” repealed the decree on freedom of conscience.
Thirdly, Peter canceled church supervision over the personal lives of his subjects: “no one should condemn the sin of adultery, for Christ did not condemn.” After the death of the Tsar, church espionage was revived.
Fourthly, realizing the principle of freedom of conscience, Peter stopped persecuting Old Believers. After his death, government authorities resumed religious persecution.
Fifthly, Peter announced liberation of all monastery serfs. He subordinated the monastic estates to civil colleges, gave arable land to the former monastic peasants for eternal use and imposed only ruble dues on them. To support the clergy, the tsar appointed “his own salary.”
Sixth, Peter allowed the nobles unhindered travel abroad. After his death, the Iron Curtain was restored.
Seventh, Peter announced the introduction of Russian Empire public court. Catherine abolished the publicity of the proceedings.
Eighth, Peter issued a decree about " silverlessness of service", prohibiting senators and government officials from giving gifts of peasant souls and state lands. Only orders and medals were to be signs of encouragement for senior officials. Having ascended the throne, Catherine first of all presented her associates and favorites with peasants and estates.
One of the manifestos of Peter III
In addition, the emperor prepared mass other manifestos and decrees, including those on limiting the personal dependence of peasants on landowners, on the optionality of military service, on the optionality of observing religious fasts, etc.
And all this was done in less than six months of reign! Knowing this, how can one believe the fables about Peter III’s “heavy drinking”?
It is obvious that the reforms that Peter intended to implement were long ahead of their time. Could their author, who dreamed of establishing the principles of freedom and civic dignity, be a “spiritual nonentity” and a “Holstein martinet”?
CONSPIRACY
So, the emperor was engaged in state affairs, in between which, according to historians, he smoked in Oranienbaum.
What was the young empress doing at this time?
Ekaterina Alekseevna and her many lovers and hangers-on settled in Peterhof. There she actively intrigued against her husband: she gathered supporters, spread rumors through her lovers and their drinking companions, and attracted officers to her side.
By the summer of 1762, a conspiracy arose, the soul of which was the empress. Influential dignitaries and generals were involved in the conspiracy:
Count Nikita Panin, actual privy councilor, chamberlain, senator, tutor of Tsarevich Pavel;
His brother Count Pyotr Panin, general-in-chief, hero of the Seven Years' War;
Princess Ekaterina Dashkova, nee Countess Vorontsova, Ekaterina's closest friend and companion;
Her husband is Prince Mikhail Dashkov, one of the leaders of the St. Petersburg Masonic organization;
Count Kirill Razumovsky, marshal, commander of the Izmailovsky regiment, hetman of Ukraine, president of the Academy of Sciences;
Prince Mikhail Volkonsky, diplomat and commander of the Seven Years' War;
Baron Korf, chief of the St. Petersburg police, as well as numerous officers of the Life Guards led by the Orlov brothers.
According to a number of historians, influential Masonic circles were involved in the conspiracy. In Catherine’s inner circle, the “free masons” were represented by a certain mysterious “Mr. Odar.” According to an eyewitness to the events of the Danish envoy A. Schumacher, the famous adventurer and adventurer Count Saint-Germain was hiding under this name.
Events were accelerated by the arrest of one of the conspirators, Lieutenant Captain Passek.
Count Alexei Orlov - assassin of Peter III
On June 26, 1762, the Orlovs and their friends began to solder the soldiers of the capital's garrison. With the money that Catherine borrowed from the English merchant Felten, allegedly to buy jewelry, more than 35 thousand buckets of vodka were purchased.
On the morning of June 28, 1762, Catherine, accompanied by Dashkova and the Orlov brothers, left Peterhof and headed to the capital, where everything was ready. Deadly drunk soldiers of the guard regiments took the oath to “Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna,” and a very inebriated crowd of ordinary people greeted the “dawn of a new reign.”
Peter III and his retinue were in Oranienbaum. Having learned about the events in Petrograd, ministers and generals betrayed the emperor and fled to the capital. Only the old Field Marshal Minich, General Gudovich and several close associates remained with Peter.
On June 29, the emperor, struck by the betrayal of his most trusted people and having no desire to get involved in the fight for the hated crown, abdicated the throne. He wanted only one thing: to be released to his native Holstein with his mistress Ekaterina Vorontsova and his faithful adjutant Gudovich.
However, by order of the new ruler, the deposed king was sent to the palace in Ropsha. On July 6, 1762, the brother of the Empress's lover Alexei Orlov and his drinking companion Prince Fyodor Baryatinsky strangled Peter. It was officially announced that the emperor “died of inflammation in the intestines and apoplexy”...
Slander
So, the facts do not give any reason to consider Peter III a “nonentity” and a “soldier.” He was weak-willed, but not weak-minded. Why do historians so persistently blaspheme this sovereign? St. Petersburg poet Viktor Sosnora decided to look into this problem. First of all, he was interested in the question: from what sources did researchers draw (and continue to draw!) dirty gossip about the “dementia” and “insignificance” of the emperor?
And this is what was discovered: it turns out that the sources of all the characteristics of Peter III, all these gossip and fables are the memoirs of the following persons:
Empress Catherine II - who hated and despised her husband, who was the mastermind of the conspiracy against him, who actually directed the hand of Peter's killers, who finally, as a result of the coup, became an autocratic ruler;
Princess Dashkova - a friend and like-minded person of Catherine, who hated and despised Peter even more (contemporaries gossiped: because Peter preferred her older sister, Ekaterina Vorontsova), who was the most active participant in the conspiracy, who after the coup became the “second lady of the empire” ;
Count Nikita Panin, a close associate of Catherine, who was one of the leaders and main ideologist of the conspiracy against Peter, and soon after the coup he became one of the most influential nobles and headed the Russian diplomatic department for almost 20 years;
Count Peter Panin - Nikita's brother, who was one of the active participants in the conspiracy, and then became a commander trusted and favored by the monarch (it was Peter Panin that Catherine instructed to suppress the uprising of Pugachev, who, by the way, declared himself "Emperor Peter III").
Even without being a professional historian and not being familiar with the intricacies of source study and criticism of sources, it is safe to assume that the above-mentioned persons are unlikely to be objective in assessing the person they betrayed and killed.
It was not enough for the Empress and her “accomplices” to overthrow and kill Peter III. To justify their crimes, they had to slander their victim!
And they zealously lied, piling up vile gossip and dirty lies.
Catherine:
"From the age of ten he was addicted to drinking." “He mostly showed disbelief...” "His mind was childish..."
“He fell into despair. This often happened to him. He was cowardly at heart and weak in head. He loved oysters...”
In her memoirs, the empress portrayed her murdered husband as a drunkard, a reveler, a coward, a fool, a slacker, a tyrant, a weak-minded, a debauchee, an ignoramus, an atheist... “What kind of slop she pours on her husband just because she killed him!” - Viktor Sosnora exclaims.
But, oddly enough, the learned men who wrote dozens of volumes of dissertations and monographs did not doubt the veracity of the killers’ memories of their victim. Until now, in all textbooks and encyclopedias you can read about the “insignificant” emperor who “nullified the results of Russian victories” in Seven Years' War, and then “drank with the Holsteins in Oranienbaum.”
Lies have long legs...
Russian Emperor Peter III (Peter Fedorovich, born Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein Gottorp) was born on February 21 (10 old style) February 1728 in the city of Kiel in the Duchy of Holstein (now a territory of Germany).
His father is Duke of Holstein Gottorp Karl Friedrich, nephew of the Swedish king Charles XII, his mother is Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter I. Thus, Peter III was the grandson of two sovereigns and could, under certain conditions, be a contender for both the Russian and Swedish thrones .
In 1741, after the death of Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden, he was chosen to succeed her husband Frederick, who received the Swedish throne. In 1742, Peter was brought to Russia and declared heir to the Russian throne by his aunt.
Peter III became the first representative of the Holstein-Gottorp (Oldenburg) branch of the Romanovs on the Russian throne, which ruled until 1917.
Peter's relationship with his wife did not work out from the very beginning. All free time he spent his time engaged in military exercises and maneuvers. During the years spent in Russia, Peter never made any attempt to better know this country, its people and history. Elizaveta Petrovna did not allow him to participate in resolving political issues, and the only position in which he could prove himself was the position of director of the Gentry Corps. Meanwhile, Peter openly criticized the activities of the government, and during the Seven Years' War publicly expressed sympathy for the Prussian king Frederick II. All this was widely known not only at court, but also in wider layers of Russian society, where Peter enjoyed neither authority nor popularity.
The beginning of his reign was marked by numerous favors to the nobility. The former regent Duke of Courland and many others returned from exile. The Secret Investigation Office was destroyed. On March 3 (February 18, old style), 1762, the emperor issued a Decree on the liberty of the nobility (Manifesto “On the granting of liberty and freedom to the entire Russian nobility”).
The material was prepared based on information from open sources
The biography of Peter the 3rd (Karl-Peter-Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp) is full of sharp turns. He was born on February 10 (21), 1728 and was left without a mother early. At the age of 11, he lost his father. The young man was being prepared for the Swedish throne. However, everything changed when Elizabeth, who became Empress in 1741, without having any children of her own, in 1742 declared her nephew Peter 3rd Fedorovich heir to the Russian throne. He was not very educated and, apart from Latin grammar and the Lutheran catechism, he knew only a little French. forced Peter to study the basics of the Orthodox faith and Russian. In 1745, he was married to the future Empress Catherine 2nd Alekseevna, who gave birth to his heir -. In 1761 (1762 according to the new calendar), after the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter Fedorovich was declared emperor without coronation. His reign lasted 186 days. Peter the 3rd, who openly expressed sympathy for the King of Prussia, Frederick the 2nd, during the Seven Years' War, was not popular in Russian society.
With his most important manifesto of February 18, 1762 (Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility), Tsar Peter the 3rd abolished compulsory service for nobles, abolished the Secret Chancellery and allowed schismatics to return to their homeland. But these decrees did not bring popularity to the king. During the short time of his reign, serfdom strengthened. He ordered the clergy to shave their beards, dress in the manner of Lutheran pastors, and leave only icons in churches Mother of God and the Savior. The tsar’s attempts to remake the Russian army in the Prussian style are also known.
Admiring the ruler of Prussia, Frederick the 2nd, Peter the 3rd led Russia out of the Seven Years' War and returned all the conquered territories to Prussia, which caused nationwide indignation. It is not surprising that many of his entourage soon became participants in a conspiracy aimed at overthrowing the Tsar. The initiator of this conspiracy, supported by the guards, was the wife of Peter the 3rd, Ekaterina Alekseevna. Thus began 1762. G. Orlov, K.G. took an active part in the conspiracy. Razumovsky, M.N. Volkonsky.
In 1762, the Semenovsky and Izmailovsky regiments swore allegiance to Catherine. Accompanied by them, she arrived at the Kazan Cathedral, where she was proclaimed autocratic empress. On the same day, the Senate and Synod swore allegiance to the new ruler. The reign of Peter the 3rd ended. After the tsar signed his abdication, he was exiled to Ropsha, where he died on July 9, 1762. Initially, his body was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, but later, in 1796, his coffin was placed next to Catherine’s coffin in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. It is worth noting that during the reign
Story character
SLANDER
THROUGH THE CENTURIES
Peter III -
unknown Russian emperor
The poet gives a lesson to historians
In Russian history, there is, perhaps, no ruler more reviled by historians than Emperor Peter III
Even the authors of historical studies speak better about the crazy sadist Ivan the Terrible than about the unfortunate emperor. What kind of epithets did historians bestow upon Peter III: “spiritual insignificance”, “reveler”, “drunkard”, “Holstein martinet” and so on and so forth.
What did the emperor, who reigned for only six months (from December 1761 to June 1762), do wrong before the learned men?
Holstein Prince
The future Emperor Peter III was born on February 10 (21 - according to the new style) February 1728 in the German city of Kiel. His father was Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp, the ruler of the North German state of Holstein, and his mother was the daughter of Peter I, Anna Petrovna. Even as a child, Prince Karl Peter Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp (that was the name of Peter III) was declared heir to the Swedish throne.
Emperor Peter III
However, at the beginning of 1742, at the request of the Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the prince was taken to St. Petersburg. As the only descendant of Peter the Great, he was declared heir to the Russian throne. The young Duke of Holstein-Gottorp converted to Orthodoxy and was named Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich.
In August 1745, the Empress married the heir to the German Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta, daughter of the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, who was military service from the Prussian king. Having converted to Orthodoxy, Princess Anhalt-Zerbst began to be called Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna.
Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna - future Empress Catherine II
The heir and his wife could not stand each other. Pyotr Fedorovich had mistresses. His last passion was Countess Elizaveta Vorontsova, daughter of Chief General Roman Illarionovich Vorontsov. Ekaterina Alekseevna had three constant lovers - Count Sergei Saltykov, Count Stanislav Poniatovsky and Count Chernyshev. Soon the Life Guards officer Grigory Orlov became the favorite of the Grand Duchess. However, she often had fun with other guards officers.
On September 24, 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son, who was named Pavel. It was rumored at court that the real father of the future emperor was Catherine’s lover, Count Saltykov. Pyotr Fedorovich himself smiled bitterly:
- God knows where my wife gets her pregnancy from. I don't really know if this is my child and if I should take it personally...
Short reign
On December 25, 1761, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna rested in Bose. Peter Fedorovich, Emperor Peter III, ascended the throne.
First of all, the new sovereign ended the war with Prussia and withdrew Russian troops from Berlin. For this, Peter was hated by the guards officers, who craved military glory and military awards. Historians are also dissatisfied with the actions of the emperor: pundits complain that Peter III “negated the results of Russian victories.”
It would be interesting to know exactly what results the respected researchers have in mind?
As you know, the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763 was caused by the intensification of the struggle between France and England for overseas colonies. For various reasons, seven more states were drawn into the war (in particular, Prussia, which was in conflict with France and Austria). But what interests the Russian Empire pursued when it acted on the side of France and Austria in this war is completely unclear. It turned out that Russian soldiers died for the French right to plunder colonial peoples. Peter III stopped this senseless massacre. For which he received a “severe reprimand with a note” from grateful descendants. 
Soldiers of the army of Peter III
After the end of the war, the emperor settled in Oranienbaum, where, according to historians, he “indulged in drunkenness” with his Holstein companions. However, judging by the documents, from time to time Peter was also involved in government affairs. In particular, the emperor wrote and published a number of manifestos on the transformation of the state system.
Here is a list of the first events that Peter III outlined:
Firstly, the Secret Chancellery was abolished - the famous secret state police, which terrified all subjects of the empire without exception, from commoners to high-born nobles. With one denunciation, agents of the Secret Chancellery could seize any person, imprison him in dungeons, subject him to the most terrible torture, and execute him. The emperor freed his subjects from this arbitrariness. After his death, Catherine II restored the secret police - called the Secret Expedition.
Secondly, Peter declared freedom of religion for all his subjects: “let them pray to whomever they want, but not to have them reproached or cursed.” This was an almost unthinkable step at that time. Even in enlightened Europe there was not yet complete freedom of religion. After the death of the emperor, Catherine II, a friend of the French enlightenment and “philosopher on the throne,” repealed the decree on freedom of conscience.
Thirdly, Peter abolished church supervision over the personal lives of his subjects: “no one should condemn the sin of adultery, for Christ did not condemn.” After the death of the Tsar, church espionage was revived.
Fourthly, implementing the principle of freedom of conscience, Peter stopped persecuting the Old Believers. After his death, government authorities resumed religious persecution.
Fifthly, Peter announced the liberation of all monastic serfs. He subordinated the monastic estates to civil colleges, gave arable land to the former monastic peasants for eternal use and imposed only ruble dues on them. To support the clergy, the tsar appointed “his own salary.”
Sixth, Peter allowed the nobles to travel abroad unhindered. After his death, the Iron Curtain was restored.
Seventh, Peter announced the introduction of a public court in the Russian Empire. Catherine abolished the publicity of the proceedings.
Eighth, Peter issued a decree on the “silverlessness of service,” prohibiting the presentation of gifts of peasant souls and state lands to senators and government officials. The only signs of encouragement for senior officials were orders and medals. Having ascended the throne, Catherine first gifted her associates and favorites with peasants and estates.
One of the manifestos of Peter III
In addition, the emperor prepared a lot of other manifestos and decrees, including those on limiting the personal dependence of peasants on landowners, on the optionality of military service, on the optionality of observing religious fasts, etc.
And all this was done in less than six months of reign! Knowing this, how can one believe the fables about Peter III’s “heavy drinking”?
It is obvious that the reforms that Peter intended to implement were long ahead of their time. Could their author, who dreamed of establishing the principles of freedom and civic dignity, be a “spiritual nonentity” and a “Holstein martinet”?
So, the emperor was engaged in state affairs, in between which, according to historians, he smoked in Oranienbaum.
What was the young empress doing at this time?
Ekaterina Alekseevna and her many lovers and hangers-on settled in Peterhof. There she actively intrigued against her husband: she gathered supporters, spread rumors through her lovers and their drinking companions, and attracted officers to her side.
By the summer of 1762, a conspiracy arose, the soul of which was the empress. Influential dignitaries and generals were involved in the conspiracy:
Count Nikita Panin, actual privy councilor, chamberlain, senator, tutor of Tsarevich Pavel;
his brother Count Pyotr Panin, general-in-chief, hero of the Seven Years' War;
Princess Ekaterina Dashkova, nee Countess Vorontsova, Ekaterina’s closest friend and companion;
her husband Prince Mikhail Dashkov, one of the leaders of the St. Petersburg Masonic organization; Count Kirill Razumovsky, marshal, commander of the Izmailovsky regiment, hetman of Ukraine, president of the Academy of Sciences;
Prince Mikhail Volkonsky, diplomat and commander of the Seven Years' War;
Baron Korf, chief of the St. Petersburg police, as well as numerous officers of the Life Guards led by the Orlov brothers.
According to a number of historians, influential Masonic circles were involved in the conspiracy. In Catherine’s inner circle, the “free masons” were represented by a certain mysterious “Mr. Odar.” According to an eyewitness to the events of the Danish envoy A. Schumacher, the famous adventurer and adventurer Count Saint-Germain was hiding under this name.
Events were accelerated by the arrest of one of the conspirators, Lieutenant Captain Passek.
Count Alexei Orlov - assassin of Peter III
On June 26, 1762, the Orlovs and their friends began to solder the soldiers of the capital's garrison. With the money that Catherine borrowed from the English merchant Felten, allegedly to buy jewelry, more than 35 thousand buckets of vodka were purchased.
On the morning of June 28, 1762, Catherine, accompanied by Dashkova and the Orlov brothers, left Peterhof and headed to the capital, where everything was ready. Deadly drunk soldiers of the guard regiments took the oath to “Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna,” and a very inebriated crowd of ordinary people greeted the “dawn of a new reign.”
Peter III and his retinue were in Oranienbaum. Having learned about the events in Petrograd, ministers and generals betrayed the emperor and fled to the capital. Only the old Field Marshal Minich, General Gudovich and several close associates remained with Peter.
On June 29, the emperor, struck by the betrayal of his most trusted people and having no desire to get involved in the fight for the hated crown, abdicated the throne. He wanted only one thing: to be released to his native Holstein with his mistress Ekaterina Vorontsova and his faithful adjutant Gudovich.
However, by order of the new ruler, the deposed king was sent to the palace in Ropsha. On July 6, 1762, the brother of the Empress's lover Alexei Orlov and his drinking companion Prince Fyodor Baryatinsky strangled Peter. It was officially announced that the emperor “died of inflammation in the intestines and apoplexy”...
So, the facts do not give any reason to consider Peter III a “nonentity” and a “soldier.” He was weak-willed, but not weak-minded. Why do historians so persistently blaspheme this sovereign?
St. Petersburg poet Viktor Sosnora decided to look into this problem. First of all, he was interested in the question: from what sources did researchers draw (and continue to draw!) dirty gossip about the “dementia” and “insignificance” of the emperor?
And this is what was discovered: it turns out that the sources of all the characteristics of Peter III, all these gossip and fables are the memoirs of the following persons:
Empress Catherine II - who hated and despised her husband, who was the mastermind of the conspiracy against him, who actually directed the hand of Peter's killers, who finally, as a result of the coup, became an autocratic ruler;
Princess Dashkova - a friend and like-minded person of Catherine, who hated and despised Peter even more (contemporaries gossiped: because Peter preferred her older sister, Ekaterina Vorontsova), who was the most active participant in the conspiracy, who after the coup became the “second lady of the empire” ;
Count Nikita Panin, a close associate of Catherine, who was one of the leaders and main ideologist of the conspiracy against Peter, and soon after the coup he became one of the most influential nobles and headed the Russian diplomatic department for almost 20 years;
Count Peter Panin - Nikita's brother, who was one of the active participants in the conspiracy, and then became a commander trusted and favored by the monarch (it was Peter Panin that Catherine instructed to suppress the uprising of Pugachev, who, by the way, declared himself "Emperor Peter III").
Even without being a professional historian and not being familiar with the intricacies of source study and criticism of sources, it is safe to assume that the above-mentioned persons are unlikely to be objective in assessing the person they betrayed and killed.
It was not enough for the Empress and her “accomplices” to overthrow and kill Peter III. To justify their crimes, they had to slander their victim!
And they zealously lied, piling up vile gossip and dirty lies. 
Catherine:
“He spent his time in unheard of childish activities...” “He was stubborn and hot-tempered, and had a weak and frail build.”
"From the age of ten he was addicted to drinking." “He mostly showed disbelief...” "His mind was childish..."
“He fell into despair. This often happened to him. He was cowardly at heart and weak in head. He loved oysters...”
In her memoirs, the empress portrayed her murdered husband as a drunkard, a reveler, a coward, a fool, a slacker, a tyrant, a weak-minded person, a debauchee, an ignoramus, an atheist...
“What kind of slop does she pour on her husband just because she killed him!” - Viktor Sosnora exclaims.
But, oddly enough, the learned men who wrote dozens of volumes of dissertations and monographs did not doubt the veracity of the killers’ memories of their victim. To this day, in all textbooks and encyclopedias you can read about the “insignificant” emperor who “negated the results of Russian victories” in the Seven Years’ War, and then “drank with the Holsteiners in Oranienbaum.”
Lies have long legs...
In preparing this article
used the work of Victor Sosnora
"SAVIOR OF THE FATHERLAND"
from the collection "Lords and Fates.
Literary options historical events"(L., 1986)
Lucas Conrad Pfandzelt. Portrait of the Russian Emperor Peter III
Formed public opinion:
An admirer of the Prussian system of Frederick II, Peter III, contrary to the national interests of Russia, stopped military operations against Prussia in the Seven Years' War of 1756-63 in 1762 and made peace with Frederick II. An ignorant man, occupied primarily with court entertainment, Peter III left control to the court nobility and higher administration (A. I. Glebov, M. I. Vorontsov, D. V. Volkov, etc.), who carried out a number of important events in the interests of the nobility (decree on the freedom of the nobility 1762, liquidation of the Secret Chancellery). Some changes caused discontent among the clergy (the establishment of the College of Economy, preparations for the secularization of monastic properties, etc.). Anti-national foreign policy Peter III, disdain for Russian customs, and the introduction of Prussian orders in the army created opposition to the guard, led by his wife Catherine. Peter III was overthrown from the throne, arrested, sent to the Ropsha manor, where he was soon killed with the knowledge of Catherine. The palace coup of 1762 gave rise to unfounded rumors that Peter III was overthrown by the nobles for his intention to free the peasants. Many impostors (including E.I. Pugachev) performed under the name Peter III.
In 1728, in the city of Kiel, the capital of the North German Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein, a son, Prince Karl Peter Ulrich, was born into the family of the reigning Duke Karl Friedrich. Karl Friedrich, the father of the newborn, belonged to the oldest, known since the 11th century. Oldenburg Dynasty. Being the nephew of the Swedish King Charles XII, he was the heir to the Swedish crown and an extraordinary politician. In the interests of his Duchy, Karl Friedrich entered into an alliance with Russia and Emperor Peter I. In 1725, the Duke married Peter’s daughter, Tsesarevna Anna Petrovna. Their son Karl Peter Ulrich became the successor of the Romanov Dynasty, ascending the throne under the name of Emperor Peter III Feodorovich.
With the death of Emperor Peter II (the son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich) in 1730, the Romanov family ceased to have male offspring, and with the accession of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1741, the question of succession to the throne and continuation of the dynasty arose sharply.
On February 5, 1742, by order of the Empress, her nephew, the 14-year-old Duke of Holstein, was brought to St. Petersburg. As the only descendant of Peter the Great, he was declared the Heir, converted to Orthodoxy and became GRAND PRINCE PETER FEODOROVICH.
Thus began his path to the Russian Golgotha - the All-Russian Imperial Throne.
In the history of our country, there is most likely no more slandered monarch than Emperor Peter III. How his enemies and detractors did not mock him. There was so much dirty slander about him, both in the past and today: “nonentity”, “reveler”, “soldier”, “destroyer of Orthodoxy”, “the lackey of Frederick II of Prussia”. And this is far from a complete set of similar epithets used by slanderers and enemies of Russia. And few people then, and even now, tried to ask themselves the question of what all this slander and dirt was for, and how it really was?
Having become the heir to the Russian Throne, the young Grand Duke completed a course of study under the guidance of academician Jacob Shtelin.
In the memoirs of his teacher, Pyotr Feodorovich appears as a capable student with an excellent memory. The academician especially emphasized Peter’s love for mathematics and military sciences, in particular fortification and artillery.
The heir also loved music (he played the violin well and collected a good collection of them), knew the theater, and understood painting. The Grand Duke's large library was located first in Oranienbaum, and then in the Winter Palace. Peter's passion was also numismatics.
In 1745, Pyotr Feodorovich became an adult and, at the insistence of his aunt, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, married his second cousin, Princess Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst. Having converted to Orthodoxy, she became Ekaterina Alekseevna. The heir and his wife could not stand each other. Pyotr Fedorovich had mistresses. His last passion was Countess Elizaveta Vorontsova, daughter of Chief General Roman Illarionovich Vorontsov. Ekaterina Alekseevna had three constant lovers - Count Sergei Saltykov, Count Stanislav Poniatovsky and Count Chernyshev. Soon the Life Guards officer Grigory Orlov became the favorite of the Grand Duchess. However, she often had fun with other guards officers.
On September 24, 1754, Catherine gave birth to a son, who was named Pavel. It was rumored at court that the real father of the future emperor was Catherine’s lover, Count Saltykov...
Pyotr Fedorovich himself smiled bitterly:
God knows where my wife gets her pregnancy from. I don't really know if this is my child and if I should take it personally...
On December 25, 1761, Empress Elizabeth died. The Russian branch of the Romanov Dynasty was finally stopped with it.
But Russia is not orphaned. A descendant of the Romanovs, Emperor Peter III, ascended the ancestral Throne, and in his person a new dynasty reigned - the HOLSTEIN-GOTTORP HOUSE. History allowed the reign of Peter III, which could have been brilliant, only 186 days. First of all, the new Sovereign stopped the unpopular and unnecessary war for Russia with Prussia and ordered the withdrawal of Russian troops from this country. As you know, the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763 was caused by the intensification of the struggle between France and England for overseas colonies. For various reasons, seven more states were drawn into the war (in particular, Prussia, which was in conflict with France and Austria). But what interests the Russian Empire pursued when it acted on the side of France and Austria in this war is completely unclear. It turned out that Russian soldiers died for the French right to plunder colonial peoples. Peter III stopped this senseless massacre. For which he received a “severe reprimand with a note” from grateful descendants.
In that war, the Russian soldier was used as cannon fodder by our allies Austria and France. Having concluded a profitable peace with one of the great commanders of Europe, Peter III and his entourage (Chancellor M.I. Vorontsov, Field Marshal Prince N.Yu. Trubetskoy, General Melgunov, Minikh, who returned from exile, D.V. Volkov, General Gudovich) formed a broad program of reforms that were supposed to bring the country to a higher level among world powers, strengthen its economy and improve the well-being of its citizens. The sovereign intended, but did not have time to release his cousin Antonovich, Emperor John VI, who was in Shlisselburg.
Peter's first manifestos aroused widespread enthusiasm in society. The Emperor abolished the Secret Chancellery - the famous secret state police, which terrified all subjects of the empire without exception - from commoners to high-born nobles.
According to one denunciation, agents of the Secret Chancellery could seize any person, imprison him in dungeons, subject him to the most terrible torture, and execute him. The emperor freed his subjects from this arbitrariness. After his death, Catherine II restored the secret police - called the Secret Expedition.
Denunciations and torture were prohibited, an amnesty was held, and many returned from exile. In church life, it was forbidden to persecute Old Believers, supervision of personal life was abolished, the limit on the number of marriages for widowers was lifted, and a ban was introduced on monastic tonsure for men under 50 years of age, and for women under 45 years of age. The authorities demanded that babies be baptized not in the cold, but in warm water. The way of life of German pastors was cited as an example of drunkenness, public fights, obscenity and ignorance of part of the clergy.
To improve the moral atmosphere in the life of Russian society, cultural Germany was an example for the new government.
Peter III freed the monastery peasants from serfdom a hundred years before 1861. He gave them the monastery's arable land for eternal use, declared them state peasants and imposed an annual tax of 1 ruble. To the clergy Orthodox Church The Tsar appointed a state salary.
Peter issued a decree on the “silverlessness of service,” prohibiting the presentation of gifts of peasant souls and state lands to senators and government officials. The only signs of encouragement for senior officials were orders and medals. Having ascended the throne, Catherine first gifted her associates and favorites with peasants and estates. Peter announced the introduction of a public court in the Russian Empire. Catherine abolished the publicity of the proceedings.
Peter declared freedom of religion for all his subjects: “let them pray to whomever they want, but not to have them reproached or cursed.” This was an almost unthinkable step at that time.
Even in enlightened Europe there was not yet complete freedom of religion.
After the death of the emperor, Catherine II, a friend of the French enlighteners and “philosopher on the throne,” canceled this decree.
Peter abolished church supervision over the personal lives of his subjects: “no one should condemn the sin of adultery, for Christ did not condemn.” After the death of the Tsar, church espionage was revived.
A special manifesto declared “On the freedom of the nobility.” Nobles were given the right to freely enter or not enter military and civil service, retire, and travel abroad. Peter allowed the nobles to travel abroad unhindered. After his death " iron curtain"has been restored.
In addition, the emperor prepared a lot of other manifestos and decrees, including those on limiting the personal dependence of peasants on landowners, on the optionality of military service, on the optionality of observing religious fasts, etc.
And all this was done in less than six months of reign! Knowing this, how can one believe the fables about Peter III’s “heavy drinking”?
The new emperor also took care of the state's economy. The Decree on Commerce addressed Special attention In response to the need to expand bread exports, in order to maintain production in Russia, it was forbidden to import sugar and raw materials for domestic factories.
The country's authorities paid attention to the careful management of forests. Military reforms also began. Peter III was distrustful of the guard, rightly considering them driving force palace coups of the 1st half of the 18th century.
The government took measures to strengthen military discipline. The Emperor also demanded that civil officials maintain order. The crackdown on corruption has begun. During his short reign, Peter Feodorovich often and unexpectedly made visits to the Senate, Synod and other institutions, checking their work.
IN personal life The Emperor sought to imitate his grandfather Peter I. He got up at 7 o’clock in the morning, listened to reports from dignitaries from 8 to 10 o’clock, and at 11 o’clock he personally held a shift parade, after which he inspected government institutions and enterprises.
At 13:00 in the afternoon, Peter III dined and, as a rule, invited people to the table, regardless of their position or origin. Then there were receptions for diplomats and associates. The evening was reserved for rest. The Tsar loved concerts and often played the violin himself. By nightfall, courtiers and guests were invited to dinner. The emperor was a man with a complex character. He was observant, passionate, hasty in action. Kind, open and mocking, the Tsar was careless and imprudent in his conversations. Contemporaries also noted his temper and anger, which, however, quickly passed.
From his youth, Peter III disliked courtiers and the falsehood of high society. But the Tsar willingly communicated with ordinary people.
Having become Emperor, Pyotr Feodorovich walked and traveled around St. Petersburg alone, without security, visiting his former servants or their families. By decree of May 25, 1762, Peter III allowed “people of all ranks to walk freely around Summer Garden“in a decent, not a mean dress.”
In his desire to implement the proposed reforms, the Emperor found not only supporters (for example, M.V. Lomonosov), but also opponents.
So, the emperor was engaged in state affairs, in between which, according to historians, he smoked in Oranienbaum.
What was the young empress doing at this time?
Ekaterina Alekseevna and her many lovers and hangers-on settled in Peterhof. There she actively intrigued against her husband: she gathered supporters, spread rumors through her lovers and their drinking companions, and attracted officers to her side. In April 1762, she successfully gave birth to an illegitimate son from her favorite Grigory Orlov, the future founder of the Bobrinsky family, named Alexei Bobrinsky. And two months later, in June 1762, a conspiracy arose, the soul of which was the empress. Influential dignitaries and generals were involved in the conspiracy:
Count Nikita Panin, actual privy councilor, chamberlain, senator, tutor of Tsarevich Pavel; his brother Count Pyotr Panin, general-in-chief, hero of the Seven Years' War; Princess Ekaterina Dashkova, nee Countess Vorontsova, Ekaterina’s closest friend and companion; her husband Prince Mikhail Dashkov, one of the leaders of the St. Petersburg Masonic organization; Count Kirill Razumovsky, marshal, commander of the Izmailovsky regiment, hetman of Ukraine, president of the Academy of Sciences; Prince Mikhail Volkonsky, diplomat and commander of the Seven Years' War; Baron Korf, chief of the St. Petersburg police, as well as numerous officers of the Life Guards led by the Orlov brothers.
According to a number of historians, influential Masonic circles were involved in the conspiracy. In Catherine’s inner circle, the “free masons” were represented by a certain mysterious “Mr. Odar.” According to an eyewitness to the events of the Danish envoy A. Schumacher, the famous adventurer and adventurer Count Saint-Germain was hiding under this name. Events accelerated the arrest of one of the conspirators, Lieutenant Captain Passek.
On June 26, 1762, the Orlovs and their friends began to solder the soldiers of the capital's garrison. With the money that Catherine borrowed from the English merchant Felten, allegedly to buy jewelry, more than 35 thousand buckets of vodka were purchased. On the morning of June 28, 1762, Catherine, accompanied by Dashkova and the Orlov brothers, left Peterhof and headed to the capital, where everything was ready. Deadly drunk soldiers of the guard regiments took the oath to “Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna,” and a very inebriated crowd of ordinary people greeted the “dawn of a new reign.” Peter III and his retinue were in Oranienbaum. Having learned about the events in Petrograd, ministers and generals betrayed the emperor and fled to the capital. Only the old Field Marshal Minich, General Gudovich and several close associates remained with Peter.
On June 29, the emperor, struck by the betrayal of his most trusted people and having no desire to get involved in the fight for the hated crown, abdicated the throne. He wanted only one thing: to be released to his native Holstein with his mistress Ekaterina Vorontsova and his faithful adjutant Gudovich. However, by order of the new ruler, the deposed king was sent to the palace in Ropsha.
On July 6, 1762, the brother of the Empress's lover Alexei Orlov and his drinking companion Prince Fyodor Baryatinsky strangled Peter. It was officially announced that the emperor “died of inflammation in the intestines and apoplexy”...
The reign of Peter III was short, and his life was short - only 34 years. But even after his martyrdom, Peter was not given peace. Streams of dirty slander overwhelmed the memory of him, of the Emperor, whose thoughts were for the good of Russia, and whose affairs would have brought our country to such a level that there were no revolutions and upheavals of the 20th century. The simple Russian people have only preserved the good memory of this Sovereign. Truly the Holstein Dynasty brought incredible sacrifices to GOD and the ALTAR for our HOLY Rus' - PETER III, his son PAUL I, great-grandson ALEXANDER II and great-great-great-grandson NICHOLAS II. So, the facts do not give any reason to consider Peter III a “nonentity” and a “soldier.” Why do historians so persistently blaspheme this sovereign?
St. Petersburg poet Viktor Sosnora decided to look into this problem.
First of all, he was interested in the question: from what sources did researchers draw (and continue to draw!) dirty gossip about the “dementia” and “insignificance” of the emperor? And this is what was discovered: it turns out that the sources of all the characteristics of Peter III, all these gossip and fables are the memoirs of the following persons:
Empress Catherine II - who hated and despised her husband, who was the mastermind of the conspiracy against him, who actually directed the hand of Peter's murderers, who finally, as a result of the coup, became an autocratic ruler;
Princess Dashkova - a friend and like-minded person of Catherine, who hated and despised Peter even more (contemporaries gossiped: because Peter preferred her older sister, Ekaterina Vorontsova), who was the most active participant in the conspiracy and after the coup became the “second lady of the empire”;
Count Nikita Panin - a close employee of Catherine, who was one of the leaders and main ideologist of the conspiracy against Peter, and soon after the coup became one of the most influential nobles and headed the Russian diplomatic department for almost 20 years;
Count Peter Panin - Nikita's brother, who was one of the active participants in the conspiracy, and then became a commander trusted and favored by the monarch (it was Peter Panin that Catherine instructed to suppress the uprising of Pugachev, who, by the way, declared himself "Emperor Peter III").
Even without being a professional historian and not being familiar with the intricacies of source study and criticism of sources, one can confidently assume that the above-mentioned persons are unlikely to be objective in assessing the person they betrayed and killed.
It was not enough for the Empress and her “accomplices” to overthrow and kill Peter III. To justify their crimes, they had to slander their victim!
And they zealously lied, piling up vile gossip and dirty lies.
Catherine:
“He spent his time in unheard of childish activities...” “He was stubborn and hot-tempered, and had a weak and frail build.”
"From the age of ten he was addicted to drinking." “He mostly showed disbelief...” "His mind was childish..."
“He fell into despair. This often happened to him. He was cowardly at heart and weak in head. He loved oysters...”
In her memoirs, the empress portrayed her murdered husband as a drunkard, a reveler, a coward, a fool, a slacker, a tyrant, a weak-minded person, a debauchee, an ignoramus, an atheist...
“What kind of slop does she pour on her husband just because she killed him!” - Viktor Sosnora exclaims.
But, oddly enough, the learned men who wrote dozens of volumes of dissertations and monographs did not at all doubt the veracity of the killers’ memories of their victim.
To this day, in all textbooks and encyclopedias you can read about the “insignificant” emperor who “negated the results of Russian victories” in the Seven Years’ War, and then “drank with the Holsteiners in Oranienbaum.”
Lies have long legs...
