Conspiracy against Paul I. Who killed Paul I and how
Modern research allows us to take a fresh look at the life of the most mysterious ruler of Russia.
Only 220 years separate us from the beginning of the reign of the Russian Emperor Paul the First. And 215 years - from the day of his murder by conspirators in his own bedroom of the Mikhailovsky Castle. The unloved son of Catherine the Great, the “Russian Hamlet”, the “crowned Don Quixote”, as his contemporaries called him, “a martinet and a madman”, according to many historians, ruled Russia for exactly 4 years, 4 months and 4 days. And perhaps there was no figure among Russian rulers who was more tragic and at the same time. difficult to access honestly and impartially.
Already at the end of the 19th century, Alexander Ivanovich Herzen wrote in exile about “the reign of Paul, completely unknown among us.” Even the very fact of the murder of Pavel Petrovich was recognized by the crowned family only 100 years later, in 1901. Before this, the official version of apoplexy was in use. For decades, the government in Tsarist Russia carefully controlled and sometimes even confiscated the memoirs and most important evidence of the direct participants in the conspiracy, none of whom, by the way, were ever punished...
In fact, is it really so important what caused the death of the unfortunate emperor, whether it was a fatal blow to the temple with a massive snuffbox, or whether Pavel was strangled with a silk scarf... It is much more tragic that “on the night of the murder, not only was Paul the First’s life taken from him, but his life was also taken from him.” biography. After all, history is written by the winners! And to justify the murder of the monarch, the easiest way was to create the image of an unbalanced, abnormal person, dangerous for Russia and Europe,” says the famous historian and writer Natalia Zazulina. Recently, the Boslen publishing house published a new book by Natalia Nikolaevna, “The Mission of the Grand Duke. The Journey of Pavel Petrovich in 1781 - 1782,” dedicated to one of the most little-studied pages in the life of Pavel, then still the Grand Duke. His voyage across Europe together with his young wife Maria Fedorovna lasted almost a year and a half! A fascinating story, in some places reminiscent of a real detective story, full of adventures, diplomatic intrigues and exciting details of the life of all the main royal houses of Europe on the eve of the Great French Revolution, for the first time made available to readers many documents that had been stored for centuries in the closed archives of the Vatican, Austria, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and personal archives of the heirs of the most famous families - participants in those events.
Pavel himself is not at all like a stereotyped tyrant - young, inquisitive, fluent in languages, sincerely passionate about art, architecture and sciences: physics, mathematics, astronomy.
“On this trip, not only Paul studied Europe, but Europe, in turn, studied and evaluated the 28-year-old Grand Duke with great passion. And she highly appreciated the intelligence and education of the “unlucky” son of the Russian Empress,” says Natalya Zazulina.
- Natalia Nikolaevna, this is not your first work directly related to the personality of Paul the First and the mysteries of the history of his era.
- There is an expression “Russia is a country with an unread history.” I think this is very true. And while working on his first big book, “The War of 1812. Myths and Reality,” I first of all began to search for an answer to the question, why did this war even happen? It quickly became clear that the origins of the War of 1812 must be sought precisely in the era of the reign of Pavel Petrovich. This is where it all started.
- Isn't it too far?
- All of us, thinking that we know history, essentially know only what we are concisely taught starting from school... However, read at least French, or German, Dutch, Italian memoirs about the period of the fall of Napoleon’s empire - everywhere they write that Russia is in At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century it was built into the English system of redistribution of Europe. Of course, we have our own view of ourselves and our history, but, you see, it is interesting and useful to know other points of view, to look at the events that took place from the European side.
By the way, working in foreign archives was interesting and gave me many finds. For example, while already working on a book about Pavel Petrovich and looking through information announcements in the Vatican library, I discovered, for example, that in 2005 American Catholics turned to the Holy See with a request to canonize Prince Dmitry Golitsyn, a Catholic monk known as Augustine Schmettau (after his mother's surname). Golitsyn-Schmettau almost 180 years ago became famous for his missionary work among Indian tribes on the North American continent. Distant relatives now living in Europe attributed everything connected with his name (after all, it’s flattering to have a Saint in your family!) - thus, I managed to find references to the diaries of his father, the famous diplomat Dmitry Alekseevich Golitsyn. These scattered sheets of notes from different years provided invaluable material that I used when working on the book. The diplomat Golitsyn, by order of Catherine II, accompanied Paul on the French and Dutch parts of his European tour. Then Russia actually changed its main ally in Europe, moving away from Prussia and moving closer to Austria. Golitsyn actually kept an eye on the progress of the Grand Duke’s visit at the most difficult stage, which greatly worried Catherine II in St. Petersburg.
Do historians have complete clarity about the forces behind Paul's murder?
- Yes, this is not hidden... The conspiracy, as a result of which Paul I was killed, was drawn up by the family of Catherine II's favorite - the Zubov brothers and guards officers, and paid for with English money. After all, what is 1801... Napoleon's troops have been in Egypt since 1798. The French actually took a serious step towards the East. Wars in Europe do not stop, but during Suvorov’s Swiss campaign, Russia simultaneously fell out with both the Austrians and the British. Having lost Holland (there was a revolution there in 1795), the British tried to take revenge, and, as always, with the wrong hands. They persuade Paul, already an emperor, to send Russian troops to Holland under English command - and he sends the elite - his Gatchina grenadiers. The British shamefully lost the company. And then, having secretly agreed with the French to surrender, they took the remnants of the Russian expeditionary force to England, to the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, where they were treated even worse than prisoners. Needless to say, Paul was furious! The Austrians betrayed their Russian allies in Italy and Switzerland. Why, by and large, did Russia need the extremely difficult transition of Suvorov’s troops through the Swiss Alps?
Realizing that Russia's relations with its allies have deteriorated, Napoleon Bonaparte does everything to enter into a coalition with Paul and even persuade him to undertake a military campaign in India, the most precious jewel in the crown of the English colonies. By the way, the British stay in India was not serene. Since 1767, the bloody Anglo-Mysore and Anglo-Marahat wars have been ongoing. The fighting and predatory policy of the British East India Company gave every chance for the united corps to be met by the maharajas of the Indian principalities, if not with joy, then with some hopes of changing the balance of forces... The British could not allow this! They were afraid of a war on two fronts. And in the end they simply committed political murder, or rather, paid for it.
What if the assassination attempt had failed - as in the case of Bonaparte, for example?
- There was a second, backup option for eliminating the Russian emperor. Part of the English squadron under the command of Admiral Hyde-Parker was already in fact in the Gulf of Finland. The shelling of St. Petersburg from the sea, following the example of the bombardment of Copenhagen from the sea, was quite real! In the confusion that arose, the conspirators would one way or another try to complete what they started. It is clear that Paul was doomed.
Moreover, it is no secret that at the time of Pavel’s murder, our diplomatic relations with Great Britain were severed; Pavel expelled the English ambassador, Lord Whitworth, from Russia. By the way, the Russian capital knew about the approach of the English squadron to St. Petersburg. At one time, one of the best experts on the 19th century, historian Igor Sergeevich Tikhonov, established exactly where Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration and his battalion were located during the assassination attempt on Pavel - they took up positions on the shore of the Gulf of Finland in case of an English landing. It was there that Bagration learned - no, not about the murder, but about the “sudden death” of Emperor Paul. That is, there is a pronounced English trace.
Removing the ruler of a huge country, I think, was not cheap.
- It is known that about two million rubles in gold were spent on organizing the murder of Pavel Petrovich, which for the British at that time was not that much money. But for almost 25 years, that is, for the entire period of the reign of Alexander the First, they received Russia in the wake of their policy.
A direct consequence of that same English policy was the return of Russia to the camp of the anti-Napoleonic coalition and, ultimately, the War of 1812. After Holland, the British never fought anywhere else on the European continent, with the exception of Waterloo, where they, in fact, skimmed all the cream and steel - they, not us! - the main winners of Napoleon...
How did the British manage to crush Alexander the Great like that?
- Alexander I, having become emperor as a result of the murder of his father, was tormented all his life by the consciousness of his involvement and guilt. Nevertheless, what do you think, when Napoleon, already in Moscow, sent his envoys to Tarutino, who at the headquarters of the Russian army made the decision: whether Commander-in-Chief Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov should meet with them or not? Alexander the First is in St. Petersburg, communication with him takes time. The decisions were made by the representative of the British command, General Robert Thomas Wilson. The British did not want a separate truce between the Russians and the French. And Wilson did everything possible to prevent the meeting from taking place. And when he still failed to avoid meeting with the Marquis Lariston, he actually nullified all the attempts of the French envoy to make peace. England needed Napoleon, ideally, to die in Russia, and even more importantly, to lose his army.
But has anyone ever wondered what would happen if we made peace with the French in Moscow? There would have been no battles near Maloyaroslavets and Krasny, there would have been no colossal casualties among both French and Russian troops on the road to the western border of Russia. Russian soldiers dumped like firewood on the streets of Vilna, dying of hunger and disease. Alexander I would most likely have signed a peace treaty, as in Tilsit, and would have again joined the continental blockade of England. And the French army would leave Russia. But this is precisely what Britain did not want. And she succeeded in this. As for patriotism... In my opinion, the best patriotism is caring about saving the people of your country!
Did Alexander really not even try to resist such humiliating “tutelage”?
- After the urgent conclusion of a peace treaty with Great Britain, in 1802, so that the young emperor would not have the slightest doubt that England would take his hand off his throat, an absolutely sinister figure was sent to St. Petersburg as an ambassador. This was John Borlaise Warren - a living legend of Britain, in fact, one of the two famous English admirals active at that time. Warren was a rude man, deaf after being wounded, he spoke to the king as if he was giving orders on the bridge. And Alexander I’s knees buckled during their meetings. They made him understand that if anything happened, it wouldn’t be the same with daddy. It will get worse and faster... By the way, years later, when Napoleon was already defeated, the Congress of Vienna ended and Alexander I was resting on his laurels, Warren was returned to St. Petersburg again as an ambassador. He became even more rude and loud because he became even more deaf. And as the British Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh wrote to the Austrian Metternich: “We are sending him an old acquaintance to talk about the Holy Alliance.”
As they say - nothing personal, only diplomacy and the personal interests of England, which she always knew how to respect...
It turns out that Mother Catherine was mistaken in giving preference to her grandson. The scale of Pavel Petrovich as a ruler is much steeper...
- Pavel is a very interesting figure, the son of the Age of Enlightenment, the son of his mother. Impulsive, with a difficult character, but absolutely normal. Attempts to portray him as crazy were supposed to somehow justify his elimination. Paul is a highly educated monarch who, alas, accomplished practically nothing. He was, one might say, the last Russian emperor raised by Elizaveta Petrovna in the Orthodox faith. Russian was not a second language for him, but a native one. And he perceived Orthodoxy as a faith, and not as fashion or self-indulgence.
- But what about Pavel Petrovich’s passion for Catholic chivalry, the head of which, as Grand Master of the Order of Malta, he eventually became?
- This hobby seriously took shape only later, after the European tour of the grand ducal couple. And in describing it, our authors, in my opinion, tend to exaggerate. Pavel was the son of his century, the era of Enlightenment, and was interested in what everyone was interested in then... Yes, Russia has a thousand-year history, but this is the Moscow state. And the Russian Empire began its countdown after the Northern War. And this is the beginning of the 18th century. Our state has repeatedly started from scratch, and we have absorbed and taken all the best from European history, but we always did not have enough time! The entire Renaissance era passed Russia by. And Pavel understood this time gap well. The Order of Malta, as a powerful and beautiful European tradition brought to our soil, against the background of the confusion that the French Revolution brought, was his hope that this would become a tradition for the domestic nobility...
But the Russian nobles always looked at these acts of Paul as a whim. You cannot by decree either knock Europe out of you or, on the contrary, hammer it in. There was a certain naivety of Pavel. But, as you know, very soon everything changed again. Emperor Alexander refused the title of Grand Master of the Order of John of Jerusalem. And since 1806, by decree of the Tsar, Malta, which had become entirely English, was no longer mentioned among the overseas provinces of the Russian Empire.
- And yet, when sending Paul to Europe, didn’t Catherine try to show everyone that despite the rumors, everything was in perfect order in their relationship with the heir?
- And they really were all right! This was an absolutely normal relationship between the empress and her son for those times. In addition, Pavel Petrovich was the only legal heir; if something had happened to him in the first years of his mother’s reign, Catherine II would have immediately become a usurper. And the only legal heirs after Paul are the children of Anna Leopoldovna, the unfortunate Braungsweis family, which languished in long-term exile in Kholmogory. By the way, the Kholmogory prisoners were much more noble than the mother herself - the empress, Ekaterina Alekseevna, and her son. The children of ruler Anna Leopoldovna belonged to the most influential family in Europe in the 18th century - the Guelphs! It was not for nothing that Catherine allowed them to go to Denmark to live with their aunt only after the birth of her two eldest grandchildren.
- What discoveries did you make about Pavel’s character and image while working on the book?
- Yes, perhaps. It surprised me, for example, how Paul did not make a penny of debt during 4 years, 4 months and 4 days of his reign! The national debt with which Russia came to the war of 1812 was 100 million guilders in gold (80 million remained from Mother Catherine and 20 million debts were incurred by Alexander the First). I was also surprised by the easy-going nature of his nature and his ability for human and Christian forgiveness. After all, he, in fact, forgave and pardoned everyone who was kept under arrest and under supervision by Catherine the Second, frightened by the revolutions in Europe. These are Tadeusz Kosciuszko and the Polish aristocrats who protested against the last partition of Poland. Pavel Petrovich took the word of honor from the Poles not to raise arms against Russia and released them. The emperor freed Nikolai Novikov from the fortress, pardoned Alexander Radishchev - but for some reason no one gives him credit for this!
“SP”: - What else did Pavel Petrovich manage to do for Russia in his 4 years, 4 months and 4 days?
- Emperor Paul refused to participate in military coalitions because he did not see any benefit to Russia in them. Despite the difficult relationship with Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, Paul I arranged a state funeral for him in the Russian capital and he and his sons took part in it, paying tribute to the deceased military leader. By his order, a monument was erected to Suvorov. For comparison, after the end of the war of 1812, Emperor Alexander not only did not erect a monument to Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov, but, on the contrary, when passing through Selesia a year after his burial (Kutuzov died in Bunzlau on April 16, 1813) he did not even visit his grave.
Overall, Paul brought a lot into our lives from what he saw in Europe. Under him, there was an active expansion of educational institutions and useful military reforms. Under him, Russian troops received an overcoat as uniform, which has survived in a modified form to this day. Following the example of France, a corps of gendarmes was created as a law enforcement agency. With his participation, a tradition arose in Russia of the reigning persons caring for houses of contempt for widows and orphans.
Paul I is not only Pavlovsk and Gatchina, not only the Maltese Chapel, Mikhailovsky Castle and the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg, which opened the arms of its colonnades following the example of St. Peter's Square in Rome, it is a whole layer in architecture and decor associated with his name and shaped by him taste!
However, perhaps the most important achievement of Emperor Paul is that he reoriented Russian policy, both foreign and domestic, towards the interests of Russia itself. Refusal to participate in the European war is a lot. Having lost his Gatchina grenadiers in Holland, the corps of Rimsky-Korsakov and Rosenberg in Switzerland, Pavel no longer wanted to pave the fields of Europe with Russian soldiers. It is unlikely that such a position of the Russian autocrat deserves reproach from posterity.
In my opinion, Paul’s trouble is that as a ruler he simply did not coincide with the interests of a stronger and more dominant state, which England became in Europe after the French Revolution. For all his repeatedly described suspicion, Emperor Paul did not sense any real danger. And Britain simply crushed him at the hands of his own subjects...
Agree, it’s a shame to feel - even if not for long - a citizen not of a great country, but of a weak state dependent on someone else’s external will.
- Personally, it seems to me that there is nothing offensive to the national self-awareness when studying our history, to recognize in one or another historical period the primacy or victory of foreign political interests over the interests of Russia.
It is much more useful to understand this, draw some conclusions, and perhaps in the future not repeat the mistakes once made. Love for your country and your history does not lie in endless exaltation, but in knowledge. Many of the grievances and misunderstandings in politics that Russia faces today - in Poland, in Ukraine - have their origins in a very long history. And I would like to believe that from the discussions and dialogue that arose in the course of historical research on this or that issue, mutual understanding will finally emerge.
Paul the First went down in history as a cruel reformer. Liberal views and European tastes were persecuted, censorship was established, and a ban on the import of foreign literature into the country was established. The Emperor, having received the throne, largely limited the rights of the nobility. Maybe that's why his reign was so short.
Childhood
Peter the Third, Paul's father, was on the Russian throne for only 186 days, although he planned that many years of rule lay ahead of him. After the palace coup, the emperor signed an abdication of the throne, which passed to his wife (Princess Anhalt-Zerbst).
Catherine built her reign on expanding the rights and privileges of the noble class, as well as enslaving the peasants. During her reign borders of the Russian Empire were moved to the south and west.
The first son of Peter and Catherine, named Pavel, was born on September 20, 1754. During this period, there was a political struggle in the palace, so the boy was deprived of the love and care of his parents. At the age of eight he lost his father. Paul's mother hired a staff of the best nannies and teachers, after which she withdrew from raising the future heir to the throne.
Boy's teacher became Fedor Bekhteev- a diplomat distinguished by incredible discipline and rigor. He published a newspaper where the slightest misdeeds of the pupil were described. The second mentor was Nikita Panin, thanks to whom the boy began to study a wide range of subjects - natural history, the Law of God, music, dance.
The immediate environment also had an influence on the formation of the personality of the heir to the throne, but communication with peers was kept to a minimum - only children of noble families were allowed to interact with him.
Ekaterina bought it for her son the huge library of academician Korf. The boy studied many foreign languages, arithmetic, astronomy, history, geography, learned to draw, dance and fencing, and studied the Law of God. The boy was not taught military discipline; Catherine did not want her son to get carried away with it.
The heir had an impatient character and was a restless child, but could boast of a rich imagination and love of reading. His education was as high quality as possible at that time.
Personal life of the future emperor
The first wife of the future ruler died during childbirth, and the second chosen one was Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg (Maria Fedorovna).
Children of Paul I– firstborn Alexander (1777), Konstantin (1779), Alexandra (1783), Elena (1784), Maria (1786), Catherine (1788), Olga (1792, died in infancy), Anna (1795), Nikolai (1796) ), Mikhail (1798).
Despite having many children and almost constant pregnancies, Maria Fedorovna took care of the house and regularly participated in social events. However, she was not of particular importance at court due to her husband’s discord with his mother.
Maria Feodorovna was a submissive princess, who followed the postulates that she had learned in her youth, but due to circumstances beyond her control, her personal life with her husband came to discord after 20 years. After the birth of her last son, the obstetrician forbade her to become pregnant, as it could cost the woman her life.
The Emperor was disappointed by this circumstance and started a relationship with another woman, his favorite Anna Lopukhina. Maria Feodorovna herself became involved in charity work and began managing orphanages, streamlining the work of institutions for homeless and abandoned children. She also actively addressed issues of women's education and founded a number of educational institutions for them.
Coming to power
When Paul I reigned? He ascended the throne at the age of 42 on November 6, 1796, when Catherine the Second, his mother, died. This late date is explained by the complex relationship between the future emperor and his mother. They almost completely moved away from each other, realizing that they were people with opposing views. At first, the boy was raised as a future heir to the throne, but the older he became, the further they tried to keep him from matters of national importance.
Important! Many people had high hopes for Pavel Petrovich. His name was often on the lips of rebels, for example, . During the reign of Catherine II, many were dissatisfied with her decrees and laws.
Transformations
Numerous reforms characterize the reign of Paul 1: domestic and foreign policy underwent a number of changes.
What important steps have been taken:
- amendments were introduced to the succession procedure, which was developed. The rights to the throne began to be enjoyed exclusively by the sons or brothers of the ruling dynasty in a descending line, or by seniority;
- the emperor's associates received the titles of senior officials or senators;
- comrades of Catherine II were removed from their posts;
- the activities of the highest government bodies have undergone changes for the better;
- a petition box was placed next to the palace, and reception days were also established for peasants who could openly leave complaints against their owners;
- corporal punishment has been abolished for older people over 70 years of age;
- Instead of the grain duty, which was burdensome for peasants, a financial tax was introduced. Debts of 7 million rubles were written off;
- it was forbidden to force peasants to work on holidays and weekends;
- corvee was limited - now it lasted 3 days a week;
- the sale of landless peasants and household servants was banned. If the owner treated the serfs inhumanely, the governors were obliged to carry out secret arrests and send the offenders to the monastery.
- over 4 years, 6,000 thousand state peasants were transferred to the nobles, since the emperor believed that their life was worse than that of the serfs;
- the cost of salt and food products in stores was reduced - the shortfall was compensated for by money from the treasury.
When Paul came to power, one of the the most important areas His activities turned out to be an infringement of the privileges and rights of the nobles.
He ordered all noble children who were enrolled in them to return to the regiments, and prohibited the unauthorized transfer to civilian service from the army without the permission of the Senate, approved by him personally.
The nobles had to pay new taxes, the money from which was sent to support the local administration.
The right according to which a nobleman addressed him with complaints and requests was abolished: now this was allowed to be done only with the permission of the governor. Punishment of noble people with sticks was reintroduced.
Immediately after ascending the throne, the emperor declared an amnesty, but multiple punishments soon followed. Decrees of Paul the First, limiting the power of the nobility, aroused anger and enmity on the part of the privileged class. Over time, the first conspiracies began to appear in the highest guards circles to overthrow the autocrat.
Features of foreign policy
Initially, it was announced at court that neutrality would be observed towards France. He always dreamed that wars would be fought solely for the purpose of defense. However, he was an opponent of the revolutionary sentiments of this country. Friendly relations were concluded with countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Prussia, which was the result of the creation of an anti-French coalition consisting of:
- Russia,
- Kingdom of Naples,
- Austria,
- England.
In Italy, commander A.V. Suvorov headed the domestic expeditionary force. In just six months, he won a victory in Italy over French troops, after which he entered Sweden, where he joined the corps of General A.M. Rimsky-Korsakov.
During the same period, the squadron F.F. Ushakova achieved several naval victories, as a result of which the Ionian Islands became free. However, the Russian-English corps located in Holland was unable to achieve its plans, as a result of which it returned. At the same time, only Russia's allies reaped the fruits of victories over Napoleon, which caused the severance of allied ties with Austria and England. The Emperor, outraged by England's position, decided to move closer to France.
Cause of the Emperor's death
A conspiracy was formed against the ruling emperor. It was headed by the Zubov brothers, the military governor of St. Petersburg P.A.
Palen and a number of others. The reason for the conspiracy is the internal policy of the autocrat, because he eased the situation of the peasants and at the same time limited the rights and privileges of the noble class.
Among the conspirators was Alexander Pavlovich, who was promised that his father would be left alive.
Led by Count Palen on the night of March 12, 1801 The conspirators broke into the Mikhailovsky Castle, reached the imperial chambers and put forward a demand to leave the throne. Having heard Paul's refusal to abdicate the throne, the conspirators killed the autocrat.
There were several conspiracies during the life and reign of the emperor. Thus, three cases of unrest among the troops were recorded. After the coronation of the new emperor, the Canal Workshop was formed - a secret organization whose members sought to kill the ruler. After the discovery of this conspiracy, all those who took part in it were sent to hard labor or exiled. All materials related to the investigation into the conspiracy were destroyed.
It was officially announced that Emperor Paul 1 had died from apoplexy.
Paul 1st - reign of the Tsar, reforms
The reign of Tsar Paul 1st - domestic and foreign policy, results
Results of the board
How long did Paul 1 reign?? His reign lasted several years, years of reign: from April 5, 1797. to March 12, 1801. In such a short period of time, no significant changes occurred in Russian society, although the emperor tried to introduce as many new measures as possible. At the beginning of the reign, favorable conditions were created for the development of industry and trade, but by the end of the reign, internal trade was in chaos and ruin, and external trade was almost completely destroyed.
Attention! The state was in a sad state when Paul I was killed.
Who ruled after Paul 1? The heir to the throne was his first-born Alexander 1. His reign turned out to be more successful: the first step was taken, the State Council was created, and a victory was won over Napoleon in 1812; the Russian army distinguished itself in other foreign campaigns. was more successful.
Coat of arms of Paul I
The last palace coup in Russia
On March 23, 1801, in the Mikhailovsky Castle at night in his own bedroom, Russian Emperor Paul I was strangled and beaten to death by drunken officers.
This is exactly how the last palace coup in Russian history took place.
Paul I, son of Catherine II and Peter III, was born on October 1, 1754 in St. Petersburg.
Emperor Peter III
Empress Catherine II
During his first years, Pavel grew up under the supervision of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.
Empress Elizaveta Petrovna
Pavel received a good education and was a capable, knowledge-seeking, romantically inclined boy with an open character, who sincerely believed in the ideals of goodness and justice.
Pavel received an excellent education in the spirit of the French enlightenment. He knew foreign languages, had knowledge of mathematics, history, and applied sciences. In 1758, Fyodor Dmitrievich Bekhteev was appointed his teacher, who immediately began teaching the boy to read and write. In June 1760, Nikita Ivanovich Panin was appointed chief chamberlain under Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, Pavel’s tutor and teacher of mathematics was Semyon Andreevich Poroshin, a former aide-de-camp of Peter III, and the teacher of the law (since 1763) was Archimandrite Platon, hieromonk of the Trinity. Sergius Lavra, later Moscow Metropolitan.
Initially, his relationship with his mother after her accession to the throne in 1762 was quite close. However, over time, their relationship deteriorated. Catherine was afraid of her son, who had more legal rights to the throne than herself. The Empress tried to prevent the Grand Duke from participating in discussions of state affairs, and he, in turn, began to evaluate his mother’s policies more and more critically.
Paul's rise to power in November 1796 was accompanied by the militarization of the life of the court and St. Petersburg as a whole. The new emperor immediately tried to erase everything that had been done during the 34 years of Catherine II’s reign, and this became one of the most important motives of his policy.
The emperor sought to replace the collegial principle of organizing management with an individual one. An important legislative act of Paul was the law on the order of succession to the throne, published in 1797, which was in force in Russia until 1917.
In the field of class politics, his main goal was to transform the Russian nobility into a disciplined, fully serving class. Paul's policy towards the peasantry was contradictory. During the four years of his reign, he gave away gifts to about 600 thousand serfs, sincerely believing that they would live better under the landowner.
In the army, Paul sought to introduce Prussian military order. He believed that the army is a machine and the main thing in it is the mechanical coherence of the troops and efficiency.
Initiative and independence are harmful and unacceptable.
Paul's desire for petty regulation also affected his intervention in the daily life of his subjects. Certain styles of clothing, hairstyles, and dances were prohibited, in which the emperor saw manifestations of freethinking. Strict censorship was introduced and the import of books from abroad was prohibited.
Paul's policies, combined with his despotic character, unpredictability and eccentricity, caused discontent in various social strata. Soon after his accession, a conspiracy began to mature against him. According to various estimates, from 30 to 70 people took part in this conspiracy. The organizers of the coup, Count Palen and Prince Platon Zubov, Catherine's former favorite, had personal reasons to hate Paul.
Pyotr Alekseevich Palen
Platon Aleksandrovich Zubov
In general, the reason was that Paul’s accession led to a drastic breakdown of Catherine’s order, which caused discontent among many noble families.
According to one version, Pavel was killed by Nikolai Zubov, the older brother of Platon Zubov, who hit him with a golden snuffbox.
Nikolai Alexandrovich Zubov
A joke subsequently circulated at court: “The Emperor died of an apoplectic blow to the temple with a snuff box.”
snuffbox
According to another version, Paul was strangled with a scarf or crushed by a group of conspirators who, leaning on the emperor and each other, did not know exactly what was happening.
Chronology March 11
- The king gets up between four and five in the morning and works from five to nine. Palen's morning report on international affairs.
- At 9 o'clock, Pavel, accompanied by the heir, goes to “inspect the troops.” At 10 o'clock - the usual parade ground.
parade ground
- Sablukov writes how Palen answers the emperor’s question about security measures: “Nothing else is required. Unless, Your Majesty, remove these Jacobins” (at the same time he pointed to the door behind which there was a guard from the Horse Guards) “and order this door to be boarded up” (leading to the Empress’s bedroom). The ill-fated monarch did not fail to carry out both of these pieces of advice, as is known, “to his own destruction.”
- Velyaminov-Zernov: Having gathered the guard officers at his apartment (as often happened), Palen announced the sovereign’s particular displeasure with their service and a threat to exile everyone. “Everyone left with sad faces and despondency in their hearts. Everyone wanted change."
- From 11 o'clock Pavel goes for a ride on horseback with Kutaisov.
- The Emperor dines with his entourage at one o'clock in the afternoon. Palen, meanwhile, is sending out invitation cards to dinner at his place to insiders.
- Removal of the troops loyal to Paul: “at night, when the dawn had already broken, the Semenovsky 3rd battalion [its chief was Tsarevich Alexander] was ordered to dress; he was taken to the Mikhailovsky Castle to relieve the Preobrazhensky battalion, which was occupying guard duty in the castle. This change took place under the pretext that the next day, March 12, Paul I would be early to watch the Preobrazhensky Regiment. The Semyonovites occupied all the posts in the castle, except for the internal infantry guard, located near the hall called the restroom, adjacent to the bedroom of Paul I. This guard was left out of fear that the movement of the shift would not wake up the emperor.”
guard
- J.I. de Sanglen writes in his memoirs that on this day “Paul made the entire imperial family, with the exception of minors, swear an oath not to enter into any connection with the conspirators.”
Paul I with his family
- Afterwards, the emperor allowed his sons (who were under arrest) to have dinner with him. At 9 o'clock Pavel goes out for dinner. Invited: Alexander and Konstantin with their wives, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna; the wife of the main conspirator, Lady Palen, and her daughter, Lady Palen, Maid of Honor Protasova, Lady Kutuzova 2nd, Lady Renne, Lady Countess Lieven; Kutuzov, Stroganov, Naryshkin, Chief Chamberlain Count Sheremetev, Master of Horse Mukhanov, Senator Prince Yusupov. At half past ten, dinner ended, and the sovereign went to his room, having the habit of going to bed at ten.
- Lunch at Platon Zubov's at 10 o'clock. Bennigsen: “From Palen I went to Prosecutor General Obolyaninov to say goodbye, from there at 10 o’clock I arrived to Zubov. I found with him only his brother, Count Nicholas, and three persons initiated into the secret. (...) Prince Zubov told me the agreed upon plan, saying that a coup would take place at midnight. My first question was: who is at the head of the conspiracy? When this person [the Tsarevich] was named to me, I did not hesitate to join the conspiracy.” According to another account of Bennigsen's story, there were not three people there, but thirty.
- At the eleventh hour, Paul sends pages with letters and goes around some posts in the Mikhailovsky Castle.
- The king closes the outer door; the guard soldier Agapeev will remember that the tsar prayed at the icon in the hallway.
- Life physician Grivet gives the emperor some drink
- Pavel spends an hour with his favorite Gagarina, going down a secret staircase to her.
Anna Petrovna Lopukhina (Gagarina)
- There he may also communicate with her husband, and also write an irritated note intended for the sick Lieven.
- The conspirators are having dinner at Palen's. He orders everyone to come in parade, in uniform, with ribbons and orders. “We found a room full of officers,” says Bennigsen, “they were having dinner with the general, and most of them were drunk.” “Everyone was at least excited by the champagne that Palen ordered to serve them (he forbade me to drink and did not drink it himself).” There were about 40-60 people there (who had gathered on tickets sent out by Palen). Platon Zubov, to whom his high position during his previous reign attaches special significance, announces to those gathered (conspirators from categories 2 and 3) about the true plans of the gathering - or rather, about the plan for the overthrow and arrest of the emperor, indicating that Alexander gave permission for this, and Catherine from the very I started wanting to pass the throne to my grandson. Sablukov writes: “At the end of the dinner, as they say, Palen seemed to say: “I remind you, gentlemen, that in order to eat scrambled eggs, you must first break the eggs.” Kozlovsky points out: “The conspirators asked Palen what to do with the emperor. To this he answered them with a French proverb: “When preparing an omelet, break the eggs.” It was previously decided to imprison him in Shlisselburg .
Shlisselburg fortress
The conspirators enter the castle
- Having received a signal about the movement of the regiments, Palen suggests that the officers divide into two groups. Velyaminov-Zernov writes: “Palen said: “For now, gentlemen, you need to split up - some will go with me, others with Prince Platon Alexandrovich. Separate yourself...” No one moved. “Ah, I understand,” said Palen and began to arrange them indiscriminately in turns, one to the right, one to the left, except for the generals. Then, turning to Zubov, he said: “These gentlemen will go with you, and the others with me; we will go into different rooms. Let's go." Everyone went to the Mikhailovsky Castle."
Mikhailovsky Castle
- Palen's group goes to the main entrance to the palace (this is an “official” group, with it there is a governor-general with the right to stop any accident, for example, to arrest any supporter of Paul “in the name of the law”), Zubov is assigned a strike group.
- The Zubov-Bennigsen column follows Captain Argamakov through Sadovaya to the Nativity Gate of the Mikhailovsky Castle. Another, led by Palen, across Nevsky Prospekt, through the main entrance under the Resurrection Gate. As a result, when approaching the second floor, the thinned group of killers is 10-12 people.
- 0:00. The conspirators enter the palace. They make a noise, and the troops try to raise the alarm (2 alarms: Preobrazhenskaya, which is calmed by S. Marin, and Semenovskaya, calmed by K.M. Poltoratsky).
- The conspirators approach the royal rooms. “In the dark corridor, at the door of Paul I’s bedroom, there was an icon; Private Agapeev stood guard next to her. When the conspirators entered the corridor, one of them, namely Count Zubov, hit Agapeev on the back of the head with a saber so hard that he fell, bleeding profusely. Then they knocked on the bedroom door. The indoor hussar [Kirillov], having opened the door slightly to find out who was knocking, suffered the fate of Agapeev.” (Both victims survived).
- Argamakov, who had the right of free access to the palace as a regimental adjutant, knocked on the locked doors of the hallway. Having waited for the sleepy valet to answer, he told him that it was already six o’clock and it was time to report to the sovereign on the condition of the regiment. “It’s like six o’clock,” the valet objected, “it’s not even twelve yet, we just went to bed.” “You are mistaken,” answered Argamakov, “your watch has probably stopped, now it’s more than six o’clock. Because of you I will be put under arrest, unlock it quickly.” The deceived valet unlocked the door. According to another version, a fire was reported. At this moment, Platon Zubov begins to be afraid and tries to hide, but Benningsen stops him.
Leonty Leontievich Bennigsen
- Czartoryski writes: “...When screams raised by Paul’s chamberlains were heard in the palace, Zubov, who was walking at the head of the detachment, was confused and was about to hide, dragging others with him, but at that time General Bennigsen approached him and, grabbing him by the hand, said : "How? You yourself brought us here and now you want to retreat? This is impossible, we have come too far to listen to your advice, which is leading us to destruction. The die has been cast, we must act. Forward". I later heard these words from Bennigsen himself.”
- Pavel, hearing the noise, tried to escape through the doors that led to Maria Fedorovna's rooms. It was a sliding door that closed the secret staircase leading to his wife's chambers. But the doors turned out to be locked (according to another version, he himself ordered them to be sealed, having entered into a relationship with the actress).
- Then he rushed to the window and hid behind the curtain (option: behind the fireplace screen). “Paul jumped up, and if he had retained his presence of mind, he could easily have escaped; however, he could not do this through the Empress’s rooms, but he could have gone down to Gagarina and escaped from there. But apparently he was too frightened to think, and huddled in one of the corners of the small screens that blocked the simple, uncurtained bed on which he slept.” Eidelman points out that Palen knew about this staircase, and the emperor certainly would not have been saved.
- A. B. Lobanov-Rostovsky: “The officers who were in the conspiracy were placed in the corridors, at the doors, at the stairs for observation. So, I know that D.V. Arsenyev, who was then in the Preobrazhensky Regiment... stood in the corridor with a pistol. Risking their heads, the conspirators, in all likelihood, decided not to allow the sovereign to escape or raise alarms. (...) If Paul had the opportunity to escape from his rooms (...) then his life would inevitably be in great danger at every step, since the conspirators took possession of this half of the castle.”
The conspirators enter the bedroom
Nightgown of Paul I and a guards scarf (similar to the murder weapon).
Paul's slippers prove that he had small narrow feet
- 0:30: At half past midnight, 12 conspirators broke into the emperor's bedroom.
- Not finding the emperor in bed, the conspirators were confused. Platon Zubov said that the bird had flown away (“I’oiseau s’est envolé”), but “Bennigsen with satanic composure approached the bed, felt it with his hand and said: “The nest is warm, the bird is not far.” "". The room was searched and Pavel was found in a nightgown (according to another version, his boots gave him away).
- “They took him out from behind the fireplace, put him to bed and demanded that he sign his abdication of the throne. Pavel did not agree to this for a long time, but finally gave in to urgent demands.” “Paul did not answer anything; in the light of the lamp one could see all the confusion and horror that were expressed on his face. Bennigsen, without wasting time, made a thorough inspection of his rooms ... "
- Platon Zubov had left the room at that moment, some of the officers fell behind, others, frightened by distant screams in the palace, jumped out, and for some time Bennigsen was alone with Pavel (from 10 to 45 minutes, according to various sources). Then the room fills with people again: Bennigsen leaves and returns with the stragglers.
- A. Kotzebue writes: “Zubov takes an act of renunciation out of his pocket. Of course, no one would be surprised if at that moment, as many claimed, the sovereign was struck with an apoplexy. And indeed, he could barely speak the language and said very clearly: “No, no, I won’t sign.” “What have I done to you?” Mistaking one of the conspirators for the son of Constantine, he exclaims: “And Your Highness is here?” Czartoryski: “Paul is taken out of hiding, and General Bennigsen, wearing a hat and with a naked sword in his hand, says to the emperor: “Sire, you are my prisoner, and your reign has come to an end; renounce the throne and immediately sign an act of abdication in favor of Grand Duke Alexander."
- The Emperor was informed that he was under arrest. M. Fonvizin: “Pavel crumpled the paper... answered sharply. He pushes Platon Zubov away, denounces his ingratitude and all his insolence. “You are no longer an emperor,” the prince replies, “Alexander is our sovereign.” Offended by this insolence, Paul struck him; this courage stops them and for a moment reduces the courage of the villains. Bennigsen noticed this, he said, and his voice inspired them: “It’s about us, if he is saved, we are lost.” Leontyev retells Yashvil’s exclamation: “Prince! Stop talking! Now he will sign whatever you want, and tomorrow our heads will fly on the scaffold.” According to Sanglen, Nikolai Zubov says similar words: “What do you want? Civil war? The Gatchinaskys are committed to him. Everything must end here." They point out that the tsar loudly answered Zubov, and they hit him, exclaiming: “Why are you shouting like that?” (according to Sablukov).
Murder
On the emperor's belt is an officer's scarf "made of silver thread with three narrow black and orange stripes and black and orange tassel centers." It was with such a scarf that he was strangled - either his own or Skaryatin’s
Gold snuff boxes of the 18th century were very weighty objects. However, although the snuff box is the most common version, there are references to the hilt, the handle of a pistol and just a fist
Paul was killed between 0:30 And 2:00 , narrowing the chronological framework - between 0:45 And 1:45 .
Information about the murder itself is contradictory in some details:
- N.A. Sablukov: “The Emperor, filled with a sincere desire to bring happiness to his people, to preserve inviolably the laws and regulations of the empire and to establish justice everywhere, entered into an argument with Zubov, which lasted about half an hour and which, in the end, took on a violent character. At this time, those of the conspirators who drank too much champagne began to express impatience, while the emperor, in turn, spoke more and more loudly and began to gesticulate strongly. At this time, the horsemaster Count Nikolai Zubov, a man of enormous stature and extraordinary strength, being completely drunk, hit Pavel on the hand and said: “Why are you shouting like that!” At this insult, the emperor indignantly pushed away Zubov’s left hand, to which the latter, squeezing fist, a massive golden snuff-box, with all his might he struck the emperor’s left temple with his hand, as a result of which he fell senseless to the floor. At the same moment, Zubov’s French valet jumped up with his feet on the emperor’s stomach, and Skaryatin, an officer of the Izmailovsky regiment, took off the emperor’s own scarf hanging over the bed and strangled him with it. Thus they finished him off..."
Basically, the contradictions stem from what Bennigsen said, trying to whitewash himself and prove that he was not in the room at the time of the murder.
· Testimony of Bennigsen: “...My fugitives meanwhile met with their accomplices and returned to Paul’s room. There was a terrible crush, the screen fell on the lamp, and it went out. I went out to get some fire from the next room. In this short period of time, Paul passed away...” Langeron, who recorded Bennigsen’s story from his own words, continues: “Apparently, Bennigsen witnessed the death of the sovereign, but did not take a direct part in the murder... The killers rushed at Paul, who only weakly defended himself, asked for mercy and begged to give him time to pray... He noticed a young officer, very similar to the Grand Duke Constantine, and said to him, like Caesar to Brutus: “How, is your Highness here?” The Prussian historian Bernhardi, from the words of the same Bennigsen, wrote: “ Pavel tried to pave the way for escape. “Arrested! What do you mean, arrested!” he shouted. He was restrained by force, and Prince Yashvil and Major Tatarinov were especially unceremonious.
- Bennigsen exclaimed twice: “Do not resist, sir, this is about your life!” The unfortunate man tried to break through and kept repeating his words... A hot hand-to-hand fight occurred, the screen overturned. One officer shouted: “We should have put an end to you four years ago.” Hearing a noise in the hallway, many wanted to run, but Bennigsen jumped to the door and in a loud voice threatened to stab anyone who tried to escape. “Now it’s too late to retreat,” he said. Pavel decided to call for help in a loud voice. There was no doubt how this hand-to-hand fight with the king would end. Bennigsen ordered the young, intoxicated Prince Yashvil to guard the sovereign, and he himself ran out into the hallway to give orders about the placement of the sentries...”
- M. Fonvizin: “...Several threats that escaped from the unfortunate Pavel summoned Nikolai Zubov, who was of athletic strength. He held a golden snuffbox in his hand and struck Pavel in the temple with a swing, this was the signal by which Prince Yashvil, Tatarinov, Gordonov and Skaryatin furiously rushed at him, tore the sword out of his hands: a desperate struggle began with him. Paul was strong and strong; they knocked him to the floor, trampled him, broke his head with a sword hilt, and finally crushed him with Skaryatin’s scarf. At the beginning of this vile, disgusting scene, Bennigsen went into the bedroom room, on the walls of which pictures were hung, and, with a candle in his hand, calmly examined them. Amazing composure!
- “One of the conspirators hastened to notify Bennigsen of this [renunciation], who remained in the adjacent room and, with a candlestick in his hand, was looking at the paintings hanging on the walls. Hearing about Paul’s renunciation, Bennigsen took off his scarf and gave it to an accomplice, saying: “We are not children, so as not to understand the disastrous consequences that our night visit to Paul will have, disastrous for Russia and for us. How can we be sure that Paul will not follow the example of Anna Ioannovna?” With this the death sentence was decided. After listing all the evils inflicted on Russia, Count Zubov hit Pavel in the temple with a golden snuffbox, and strangled him with Bennigsen’s scarf.”
The conspirators were not hired killers and therefore acted ineptly and fussily. In order to justify this crime, the conspirators slandered the monarch as a “crazy tyrant.”
funeral procession
grave of Paul I in the Peter and Paul Cathedral
monument to Paul I in St. Petersburg
monument to Paul I in Pavlovsk
"Encyclopedia of Death. Chronicles of Charon"
Part 2: Dictionary of Selected Deaths
The ability to live well and die well is one and the same science.
Epicurus
PAUL I
(1754-1801) - Russian Emperor
Paul was afraid of being poisoned all his life, especially when he was still heir to the throne. Not trusting domestic culinary specialists, he ordered the cook from good old England. However, this and other precautions did not help. The conspiracy of the noble elite, which received the tacit approval of the heir to the throne, Grand Duke Alexander, led to the death of the emperor.
On the last day of his life, March 11, 1801, Paul called his sons, Alexander and Constantine, to him and ordered them to be sworn in (although they had already done this upon his ascension to the throne). After this procedure, the emperor was in a good mood and allowed his sons to dine with him. When dinner was over and everyone got up from the table, Pavel suddenly said: “What happens, cannot be avoided.” And he went to his sleeping quarters.
Meanwhile, the conspirators were already acting. The Mikhailovsky Palace, where the emperor was located, was guarded that night by troops loyal to Alexander. For some reason, Pavel himself removed the loyal Horse Guards guard, led by Colonel Sablukov, from his doors. Even the regimental adjutant of Paul I took part in the conspiracy, and he led a group of conspirators into the palace. Among them were persons who held the highest positions in the state - Count Palen, Prince Zubov, his brother Count Zubov, Prince Volkonsky, Count Bennigsen and General Uvarov. At first, they allegedly intended to limit themselves to the arrest of Paul in order to force him to abdicate the throne in favor of his eldest son.
On the way to the emperor's apartment, one of the officers came across a footman and hit him on the head with a cane. The footman raised a cry. Paul, hearing the noise made by the conspirators, tried to escape through the doors that led to the empress’s chambers, but they were locked. Then he rushed to the window and hid behind the curtain. The conspirators, not finding the emperor in bed, were momentarily at a loss. It seemed to them that the conspiracy had been discovered and that it was a trap. But Count Palen, the most cold-blooded of them, approached the bed and, touching the sheets with his hand, exclaimed: “The nest is still warm, the bird cannot be far away.” The conspirators searched the room and found the emperor in hiding. Pavel stood defenseless in a nightgown in front of the conspirators, in whose hands swords sparkled. Someone present said:
Sir, you have ceased to reign. Emperor - Alexander. By order of the emperor, we will arrest you.
Pavel turned to Zubov and said to him: “What are you doing, Platon Alexandrovich?” At this time, an officer entered the room and whispered in Zubov’s ear that his presence was needed below, where the guards were feared. Zubov left, but more conspirators entered instead.
“You are under arrest, Your Majesty,” someone repeated.
Arrested, what does it mean - arrested? - the emperor asked in some kind of daze.
One of the officers answered him with hatred:
Four years ago you should have been finished!
To this Paul responded:
What have I done?
Platon Zubov replied that his despotism had become so difficult for the nation that they came to demand his abdication from the throne.
Memoirists differ in their descriptions of further events. One writes that the emperor “entered into an argument with Zubov, which lasted about half an hour and which, in the end, took on a stormy character. At this time, those of the conspirators who drank too much champagne began to express impatience, while the emperor, in his turn, spoke louder and began to gesticulate strongly.
At this time, the master of the horse, Count Nikolai Zubov, a man of enormous simplicity and extraordinary strength, being completely drunk, hit Pavel on the hand and said: “Why are you shouting like that!”
At this insult, the emperor indignantly pushed away Zubov’s left hand, to which the latter, clutching a massive golden snuffbox in his fist, struck with his right hand a blow to the emperor’s left temple, as a result of which he fell senseless to the floor. At the same moment, Zubov’s French valet jumped up with his feet on the emperor’s stomach, and Skaryatin, an officer of the Izmailovsky regiment, took off the emperor’s scarf hanging over the bed and strangled him with it. (Other eyewitnesses say that Pavel tried to free himself, and Bennigsen repeated to him twice: “Remain calm, your Majesty, this is about your life!” However, after a little time, Bennigsen himself took off the scarf and handed it to Prince Yashvil. Lieutenant Colonel Yashvil, whom Pavel Once, during a parade, he hit him with a stick, threw a scarf around the emperor’s neck and began to choke him.)
Based on another version, Zubov, being very drunk, allegedly put his fingers into the snuff box that Pavel was holding in his hands. Then the emperor was the first to hit Zubov and thus started the quarrel himself. Zubov allegedly snatched the snuffbox from the emperor’s hands and knocked him off his feet with a strong blow. But this is hardly plausible, considering that Pavel jumped straight out of bed and wanted to hide. Be that as it may, there is no doubt that the snuff box played a certain role in this event."
Another memoirist describes the death scene as follows: the blow with the snuffbox was “the signal at which Prince Yashvil, Tatarinov, Gardanov and Skaryatin furiously rushed at him [the emperor], tore the sword out of his hands; a desperate struggle began with him, Pavel was strong and strong; they knocked him to the floor, beat him, trampled him, broke his head with a sword hilt and finally crushed him with Skaryatin’s scarf.”
The rest of the night, physician Vilie treated Pavel’s mutilated corpse so that the next morning it could be shown to the troops as proof of his natural death. But, despite all the efforts and careful makeup, blue and black spots were visible on the emperor’s face. As he lay in the coffin, his three-cornered hat was pulled down over his forehead so as to hide, as far as possible, his left eye and his bruised temple.
On March 11, 1801, the 4-year reign of Emperor Paul I ended. He was killed by a group of conspirators in Mikhailovsky Castle. This was the last palace coup in Russian history.
Paul I was the son of the great Catherine and Emperor Peter III. This was one of the most mysterious figures among the rulers of the Romanov dynasty. For a long time, the prevailing opinion was that he was a narrow-minded, despotic and cruel person. In his youth, traveling abroad, the young prince was delighted with the Prussian order. The powerful and strong ruler of Prussia, Frederick II, became his ideal. Today, the attitude towards the tragic figure of Paul I is changing noticeably. As a person, he is much deeper than is commonly believed. On the one hand, his instability and suspicion, on the other, his brilliant education, piety, and sincere desire to make Russia great. Loyalty, duty and honor were not empty words for him. His reforms are no less interesting.
Reforms of Paul I
The domestic policy of Paul I, despite some inconsistency, demonstrates the emperor's desire to establish law and order in the country.
- State structure. On the day of his coronation, Paul issues a decree on succession to the throne, according to which power is transferred only through the male line. This is an echo of Paul’s bad relationship with his mother, Catherine II, and the humiliations that he suffered from her before his accession to the throne.
- Peasant question. Corvée was limited to three days a week, arrears were written off to peasants, and it was forbidden to sell peasants without land.
- Relation to the nobility. He established taxes on nobles, introduced the possibility of corporal punishment, and evasion from military service began to be considered a crime against the state.
- Changes in the army. The authority and prestige of military service has increased. At the same time, drill prevailed, the soldiers were dressed in German uniforms and wigs.
Foreign policy
The emperor's foreign policy was contradictory. Even during the reign of Catherine II, Paul reproached his mother for waging wars of conquest, proposing to take up the internal development of the state. But having come to power, he was drawn into the conflict between the European powers, acting as part of the anti-French coalition against Napoleon. Later, having broken relations with England, he refocused on an alliance with France, which gave rise to subsequently looking for an English trace in the conspiracy against him.
Reasons for the conspiracy
About three hundred people participated in the preparation of the conspiracy. Its core consisted of Vice-Chancellor Count N.P. Panin, Governor-General of St. Petersburg P.A. Palen, as well as brothers Platon and Nikolai Zubov. Many in the country were dissatisfied with the order established by Paul. The main reasons that caused the conspiracy are the following:
- dissatisfaction of the nobility with the infringement of noble liberties and privileges;
- repressions against the dissatisfied, exile to Siberia;
- dislike of the court nobility and guards officers, lack of loyal people on whom you can rely;
- despotism, excessive regulation, strict discipline not only in the army, but also in everyday life;
- inconsistent foreign policy, severance of relations with England.
Assassination of Paul I
The emperor received news of a conspiracy being prepared against him. On March 8, he summoned the Governor-General of St. Petersburg, Palen, who reassured the sovereign, saying that he was under reliable protection. After this, the conspirators decided not to hesitate. At midnight on March 11, they managed to penetrate (not without betrayal) into the Mikhailovsky Castle and get to the emperor’s bedroom. The conspirators wanted to force Paul to renounce the throne, but he did not agree and was killed as a result of the ensuing fight. One of the participants in the coup, Nikolai Zubov, struck him in the temple with a heavy snuff box. The emperor fell and was strangled by the scarf of one of the attackers.
There is an opinion that Great Britain, relations with which by this time had deteriorated, could have been involved in the conspiracy. Another version is that the coup took place with the approval of his son Alexander, who set the condition for saving his father’s life. But fate decreed otherwise. The new Emperor Alexander I announced that his father had died of apoplexy. A new era has begun.