Paul 1 had children. Pavel the First: biography, facts from life

Conspirators in the bedroom of Emperor Paul I

Paul the First (1754-1801) ruled Russia from 1796 to 1801 and was killed during a palace coup. His reign and his personality have caused and still cause controversy among historians and publicists. An admirer of Paul was, for example, the historian and writer Vs. Solovyov, who very flatteringly presented the emperor’s character in the epic “The Gorbatov Family”, the author of a modern biography in the ZhZL series A. Peskov also describes him with sympathy. At the same time, according to D. Merezhskovsky (drama “Paul the First”), he was a tyrant and a tyrant; he talks with sarcasm about the morals of the era of Pavel Yu. Tynyanov (“Second Lieutenant Kizhe”)

In the memory of eyewitnesses who left their memories of the Pavlovian era, this entire era is usually presented as a single nightmare that began immediately after Paul’s accession to the throne - on the morning of November 7, 1796. Here is what, for example, one of the most conscientious memoirists reports: “Early in the morning of November 7, our commander gave the order that all officers should appear at the parade in front of the Winter Palace.

As soon as we reached Palace Square, we were already informed of many new orders. To begin with, from now on, not a single officer, under any pretext, had the right to appear anywhere except in uniform. In addition, a number of police orders were issued prohibiting the wearing of round hats, boots with cuffs, and trousers. The hair had to be combed back, and not at all on the forehead. On the morning of November 8, 1796, much earlier than 9 o’clock in the morning, the zealous metropolitan police had already managed to promulgate all these rules” (A. M. Peskov “Paul I”)

Brief biography of Paul the First

• 1754, October 1 (New Style) - born in the Summer Palace of the Empress
• 1758, autumn - the first teacher of Paul, who taught him to read in Russian and French, was appointed diplomat, master of ceremonies of the Supreme Court Fyodor Dmitrievich Bekhteev, an adherent of discipline and order
• 1760, June 29 - the boy's teacher instead of Bekhteev became a diplomat and statesman, Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin, on whose recommendations other teachers were identified to Pavel, including the Russian publicist and writer Semyon Andreevich Poroshin, who left a diary describing the character of little Pavel

Neither Panin, nor Poroshin, and absolutely no one noticed abnormal mental traits or unsympathetic aspects of character in the boy. On the contrary, reading Poroshin’s diary, we see Pavel as a lively, capable boy, interested in things that are serious for his age. Pavel, aged 10-12, willingly studied mathematics with Poroshin and loved to read. During lunch, when his teacher, N.I. Panin, usually came, an interesting and often serious conversation for Pavel’s age took place at the table, skillfully supported by Panin (on the eve of Pavel’s death there were rumors about his insanity)

• 1762, July 9 (New Style) - Paul was proclaimed Tsarevich
• 1773, September 29 - married Princess Augusta-Wilhelmina-Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, who became Natalia Alekseevna in Orthodoxy
• 1776, April 10 - Natalya Alekseevna gave birth to a stillborn child
• 1776, April 15 - died herself
• 1776, October 16 - marriage with another German princess Sophia Dorothea of ​​Württemberg, who became Maria Feodorovna
• 1777, December 12 - granted Pavel land along the banks of the Slavyanka River, with forest land, arable land, two small villages with peasants, where the city of Pavlovsk with the Pavlovsk Palace was subsequently built
• 1777, December 23 - birth of the first child, the future emperor
• 1779, May 8 - birth of son Constantine
• 1782-1783 - Paul’s journey with his wife around Europe
• 1783, August 6 - Catherine the Second gave Paul the former possession of Count Orlov, the Great Gatchina Palace in Gatchina, near St. Petersburg
• 1783, August 9 - birth of daughter Alexandra
• 1783, September - Pavel settled in Gatchina
• 1786, February 15 - birth of daughter Maria
• 1788, May 10 - birth of daughter Catherine
• 1792, July 11 - birth of daughter Olga
• 1795, January 18 - birth of daughter Anna
• 1796, July 6 - birth of son Nicholas, future emperor
• 1798, February 8 - birth of his son Mikhail. Died August 28 (September 9), 1849
• 1801, March 24 (New Style) - death of Paul as a result of a palace coup

On November 6, 1796, Catherine the Second died, on April 16, 1797 (N.S.), Pavel was crowned the Russian Emperor.

Domestic policy and reforms of Paul the First. Briefly

Pavel Petrovich was an unloved son. For her, he was a living reproach and a reminder of his father and her husband, Emperor Peter III, who had been dethroned by her. Naturally, Paul paid his mother in the same coin: he hated not only her, but also her entire environment, politics, government activities (Theodosia, for example, renamed under Catherine, during the reign of Paul again became Kafa, and regained its Greek name only with his death )

Empress Catherine did not love her son, kept Paul away from (state) affairs... Being aloof from the court and politics, Paul limited his interests to his family, personal household and command over those troops that made up the garrison of Gatchina...

He was eager for activity, but he did not have the opportunity to act (at the age of 20 he submitted to his mother a draft military doctrine of a defensive nature and the concentration of state efforts on internal problems. It was not taken into account) His mental powers were involuntarily wasted on trifles and were not enriched necessary experience in government activities.
— — — — — — — — — —
(Having become king), with the best intentions he wholeheartedly strove for the good of the state, but the lack of government skills prevented him from acting successfully. Dissatisfied with the management system, he could not find capable people around him to replace the previous administration. Wanting to establish order at court and in the administration, he loudly condemned and eradicated the old, but imposed the new with such severity that it seemed to everyone worse than the old. Lack of preparation for business affected everything that Paul did, and, combined with the unevenness of his character, imparted to all his measures the flavor of something random, painful and capricious.

Over the years, Pavel's ardor and impressionability turned into a severe ability to lose self-control over trifles; love of order and legality was replaced by a passion for external forms of subordination and decorum; temper turned into fits of cruelty (S.F. Platonov “Complete course of lectures on Russian history”)

• 1796, November 29 - amnesty for the Poles who participated in the T. Kosciuszko uprising
• 1796, December 4 - Decree on the establishment of the State Treasury and the position of State Treasurer
• 1796, December 12 - unauthorized movements of peasants “from place to place in the provinces... and... from other provinces” are strictly prohibited
• 1796, December - decree on assigning peasants to private owners in the region of the Don Army and in the Novorossiysk province
• 1797, April 16 - law on succession to the throne

Instead of the previous order, established by Peter the Great in 1722, of the arbitrary appointment of an heir to the throne by the reigning person, an unchangeable order of succession to the throne was established in a straight descending line from father to eldest son

• 1797, March 18 - Manifesto on freedom of religion in Poland for Catholics and Orthodox Christians.
• 1797, April 16 - Manifesto on the three-day corvee, limiting the use of peasant labor for landowners to three days a week. The remaining three working days were intended for the peasants to work in their own interests. The manifesto prohibited landowners from forcing peasants to work corvée on Sundays and holidays
• 1797 - Paul's decrees on the abolition of the grain tax for peasants (each household had to give part of the harvest to the maintenance of the army and administration), forgiveness of arrears from the stifling tax (tax on every person, including newborns, but not on the nobles and clergy), ban on selling household servants people and peasants without land, dividing families when selling, governors monitoring the attitude of landowners towards peasants, abolition of peasant duties to keep horses for the army and provide food, instead they began to take “15 kopecks per soul, an addition to the per capita salary”, the right of state-owned peasants to register as merchants and philistines, the need for serfs to obey their landowners under pain of punishment
• 1798, March 11 - the Department of Water Communications was established
• 1798, March 12 - decree allowing Old Believers to build churches
• 1800, September - By the “Resolution on the College of Commerce” the merchants were given the right to choose 13 of its 23 members from among themselves

A number of privileges given by Catherine to the nobility ... did not agree with Paul’s personal views on the state position of the Russian estates. The Emperor did not allow the existence of privileged individuals, much less entire groups, in the state (S.F. Platonov “Complete course of lectures on Russian history”)

• 1797, January 2 - the article of Catherine the Second's Charter to the nobles, which prohibited the use of corporal punishment, was repealed. Corporal punishment was introduced for murder, robbery, drunkenness, debauchery, and official violations
• 1797, December 18 - a tax was established that the nobles were obliged to pay - 1,640 thousand rubles for the maintenance of local governments in the provinces. In 1799 the tax amount was increased
• 1797 — 1800 —
  — requirement to appear in the regiments for all noble children enrolled in them
  — prohibition of free transfer from military to civilian service without the permission of the Senate, approved by the Tsar
  — local administration tax
  — abolition of direct appeals from nobles to the Tsar (only with the permission of the governor)
  — abolition of class self-government in cities and provinces (city dumas, provincial noble assemblies)
  — restriction of the rights of county noble assemblies
  — prohibition of ill-treatment of soldiers by officers
  — resumption of caning of non-commissioned officers

Military reform of Paul the First

• 1796, November 29 - adoption of new military regulations: “Military Regulations on Field and Infantry Service”, “Military Regulations on Field Cavalry Service”, “Rules on Cavalry Service”
• 1797 — 1800 —
  — criminal and personal liability of officers for the life and health of soldiers was introduced
  — prohibition for officers and generals to go on vacation for more than 30 days a year
  — officers were banned from making debts
  — vacation 28 calendar days per year for lower ranks
  — ban on recruiting soldiers to work on estates and engaging them in other work not related to military service
  — allowing soldiers to complain about commanders' abuses
  — construction of barracks began throughout Russia (previously, in the provinces, soldiers were billeted in the houses of townspeople)
  — the so-called shift parade, known in our time as changing the guard, has been introduced everywhere
  — the first military engineering regiment was created, marking the beginning of this branch of the military
  — a cartographic service of the General Staff was created
  — a courier service was created
  — transfer of banners and standards from service property to the category of regimental shrines
  — limiting the service life of soldiers to 25 years
  — introduction of a pension with maintenance in mobile garrison or disabled companies for those dismissed from service due to health reasons or service of more than 25 years
  — order to bury dead and deceased soldiers with military honors
  — establishing the concept of “unblemished service”. With “unblemished service” for a period of 20 years, lower ranks were forever exempt from corporal punishment
  — introduction of awards for soldiers. Before this, orders or awards for soldiers did not exist anywhere. Napoleon was the second person in the history of Europe to introduce awards for soldiers in France.
  — introduction of sheepskin sheepskin sheepskin coats and felt boots for sentries in the winter season; there should be as many of them in the guardroom as necessary
  — winter military uniforms were introduced: special warm vests and overcoats. Before that, since the time of , the only warm thing in the army was the epancha - a cloak made of simple material. The soldiers had to buy their own winter clothes from their own funds and wear them only with the permission of their superiors
  — the “Charter of the Military Fleet” was published, which did not contain criminal provisions
  — New fleet staffs have been drawn up in the fleet, funding has been streamlined, and new, more practical uniforms have been introduced.
  — a new procedure has been established for maintaining ships after the end of the campaign when basing them in ports in the winter
  — the position of executioner on ships has been abolished, keeling
  — control over the use of ship timber
  — active reconstruction of shipyards and ports in St. Petersburg, Kronstadt and Sevastopol
  — During Paul's four-year reign, about 20 battleships and about 15 frigates were built

Foreign policy of Paul the First

In 1796, Russia was in a formal alliance with Austria, England and Prussia against France. In this way, Catherine hoped to counteract. From the beginning of his reign, Paul did not recognize this need. He stated that he “remains firmly in touch with his allies,” but refuses direct war with France, because Russia, having been in “continuous” war since 1756, now needs rest.

However, this statement came into conflict with life. Mysterious preparations of France for some kind of war (it was an Egyptian expedition), the arrest of the Russian consul on the Ionian Islands, patronage of Polish emigrants, rumors about the French intention to attack the northern shore of the Black Sea forced Paul to join the coalition of England, Austria, Turkey and Naples, formed in 1799 against France. Pavel and Suvorov blamed Austria for the unsuccessful military campaign of 1799, and Russia left the coalition.

In 1800, as a result of this break, Russia made peace with France and began preparing for war with its former allies. Russia entered into an alliance with Prussia against Austria and an alliance with Prussia, Sweden and Denmark against England. Preparations for military action against England were especially active: the Don Cossack army even set out on a campaign to Orenburg with the aim of attacking India (according to other sources, for the conquest of Khiva and Bukhara). The campaign was canceled immediately after Paul's death by decree of Emperor Alexander I.

The future Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, and then the All-Russian Emperor Paul I, was born on September 20 (October 1), 1754 in St. Petersburg, in the Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna. Subsequently, this palace was destroyed, and in its place the Mikhailovsky Castle was built, in which Pavel was killed on March 12 (24), 1801.

On September 27, 1754, in the ninth year of marriage, Her Imperial Highness Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna finally had her first child. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich (Paul's father) and the Shuvalov brothers were present at the birth. Elizaveta Petrovna immediately picked up the newborn baby, washed and sprinkled with holy water, and carried it into the hall to show the future heir to the courtiers. The Empress baptized the baby and ordered him to be named Paul. Ekaterina Alekseevna and Pyotr Fedorovich were completely removed from raising their son.

Due to the vicissitudes of a merciless political struggle, Paul was essentially deprived of the love of those close to him. Of course, this affected the child’s psyche and his perception of the world. But we should pay tribute to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, she ordered to surround him with the best, in her opinion, teachers.

The first educator was the diplomat F.D. Bekhteev, who was obsessed with the spirit of all kinds of regulations, clear orders, and military discipline comparable to drill. This convinced the impressionable boy that this is how everything happens in everyday life. And he didn’t think about anything except soldiers’ marches and battles between battalions. Bekhteev came up with a special alphabet for the little prince, the letters of which were cast from lead in the form of soldiers. He began to print a small newspaper in which he talked about all, even the most insignificant, actions of Paul.

The birth of Paul was reflected in many odes written by poets of that time.

In 1760, Elizabeth Petrovna appointed a new head of education for the young prince, prescribing the basic parameters of education in her instructions. He became, by her choice, Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin. He was a forty-two-year-old man who occupied a very prominent position at court. Possessing extensive knowledge, he previously spent several years as a diplomat in Denmark and Sweden, where his worldview was formed. Having very close contacts with the Freemasons, he adopted the ideas of the Enlightenment and even became a supporter of a constitutional monarchy, modeled on Sweden. His brother, General Pyotr Ivanovich, was the Grand Local Master of the Masonic Order in Russia.

Nikita Ivanovich Panin approached the problem thoroughly. He outlined a very wide range of topics and subjects that, in his opinion, the Tsarevich should have understood.. It is possible that, in accordance with his recommendations, a number of “subject” teachers were appointed.

Among them are the law of God (Metropolitan Plato), natural history (S. A. Poroshin), dancing (Grange), music (J. Millico), etc. Having begun in the time of Elizabeth Petrovna, classes did not stop during the short reign of Peter III , nor under Catherine II.

The atmosphere of Pavel Petrovich's upbringing was significantly influenced by his environment. Among the guests visiting the prince, one could see a number of educated people of that time, for example, G. Teplov. On the contrary, communication with peers was quite limited. Only children of the best families (Kurakins, Stroganovs) were allowed to have contacts with Pavel; the scope of contacts was mainly rehearsal for masquerade appearances.

Like any child of his age, Pavel treated his studies with a certain coolness, preferring games. However, close and regular relations with teachers, under the constant supervision of Panin (whom the prince treated with a certain wariness), left no room for flaws in his education. He read a lot. In addition to historical literature, I read Sumarokov, Lomonosov, Derzhavin, Racine, Corneille, Moliere, Cervantes, Voltaire and Rousseau. He spoke Latin, French and German, loved mathematics, dancing, and military exercises. In general, the Tsarevich's education was the best that could be obtained at that time.

One of Paul's younger mentors, Semyon Andreevich Poroshin, kept a diary (1764-1765), which later became a valuable historical source on the history of the court and for studying the personality of the crown prince.

Already in his youth, Paul began to be fascinated by the idea of ​​chivalry, the idea of ​​honor and glory. On February 23, 1765, Poroshin wrote: “I read to His Highness Vertotov a story about the Order of the Knights of Malta. He then deigned to amuse himself and, tying the admiral’s flag to his cavalry, pretend to be a Cavalier of Malta.” Subsequently, a certain idealization of realities and a tendency towards external knightly symbols played an important role during his reign (the project of a duel with Napoleon, a shelter for the bankrupt knights of Malta, etc.).

And in the military doctrine, presented at the age of 20 to his mother, who by that time was already the Empress of All Russia, he refused to wage an offensive war, explained his idea by the need to observe the principle of reasonable sufficiency, while all the efforts of the Empire should be aimed at creating internal order .

The Tsarevich's confessor and mentor was one of the best Russian preachers and theologians, archimandrite, and later Metropolitan of Moscow Platon (Levshin). Thanks to his pastoral work and instructions in the law of God, Pavel Petrovich became a deeply religious, truly Orthodox man for the rest of his short life. In Gatchina, until the revolution of 1917, they preserved a rug worn by Pavel Petrovich’s knees during his long night prayers.

The traditional stage that usually completed education in Russia in the 18th century was travel abroad. A similar voyage was undertaken in 1782 by the then young Tsarevich together with his second wife. The trip, clearly educational and entertaining, without any particular political background - “incognito”, that is, unofficial, without proper receptions and ritual meetings, under the names of the Count and Countess of the North (du Nord).

Thus, we can notice that in his childhood, adolescence and youth, Paul received an excellent education, had a broad outlook, and even then came to knightly ideals and firmly believed in God. All this is reflected in his further policies, in his ideas and actions during the period when he became emperor.

Relations with Catherine II

Immediately after birth, Pavel was removed from his mother. Catherine could see him very rarely and only with the permission of the Empress. When Paul was eight years old, his mother, Catherine, relying on the guard, carried out a coup, during which Paul’s father, Emperor Peter III, died under unclear circumstances. Paul was to ascend the throne.

Catherine II removed Paul from interfering in any state affairs; he, in turn, condemned her entire way of life and did not accept the policies that she pursued. Thus, the mother-empress and her son-heir developed a very cold relationship.

Pavel believed that his mother’s political course was based on love of fame and pretense; he dreamed of introducing strictly legal governance in Russia under the auspices of the autocracy, limiting the rights of the nobility, and introducing the strictest, Prussian-style, discipline in the army. In the 1780s he became interested in Freemasonry.

The ever-increasing relationship between Paul and his mother, whom he suspected of complicity in the murder of his father, Peter III, led to the fact that Catherine II gave her son the Gatchina estate in 1783 (that is, she “removed” him from the capital). Here Pavel introduced customs that were sharply different from those in St. Petersburg. But in the absence of any other concerns, he concentrated all his efforts on creating the “Gatchina army”: several battalions placed under his command. Officers in full uniform, wigs, tight uniforms, impeccable order, punishment with spitzrutens for the slightest omissions and a ban on civilian habits. The strict order of Gatchina was fundamentally different from the lordship and permissiveness that reigned in the Russian officers, what Pavel himself aptly dubbed the “Potemkin spirit.”

In 1794, the Empress decided to remove her son from the throne and hand him over to her eldest grandson Alexander Pavlovich, but met opposition from senior state dignitaries. The death of Catherine II on November 6 (17), 1796 opened the way for Paul to the throne. There was an opinion that there was a will of the empress, in which a similar order of succession to the throne was allegedly approved. This opinion has not been documented, although persistent rumors circulated in society. It is only known that in the first days of his reign, Paul became concerned with the destruction of Catherine’s archives, but no one knows what exactly these papers were.

Domestic policy

With the manifesto on three-day corvee, he prohibited landowners from performing corvee on Sundays, holidays, and more than three days a week (the decree was almost not implemented locally).

He significantly narrowed the rights of the noble class compared to those granted by Catherine II, and the rules established in Gatchina were transferred to the entire Russian army. The most severe discipline and unpredictability of the emperor’s behavior led to massive dismissals of nobles from the army, especially the officers of the guard (out of 182 officers who served in the Horse Guards Regiment in 1786, only two had not resigned by 1801). All officers on the staff who did not appear by order at the military board to confirm their service were also dismissed.

Paul I started the military, as well as other reforms, not only out of his own whim. The Russian army was not at its peak, discipline in the regiments suffered, titles were handed out undeservedly: in particular, noble children were assigned to one or another regiment from birth. Many, having a rank and receiving a salary, did not serve at all (apparently, such officers were dismissed from the staff). For negligence and laxity, and rough treatment of soldiers, the emperor personally tore off the epaulettes from officers and generals and sent them to Siberia. Paul I persecuted the theft of generals and embezzlement in the army. And Suvorov himself prescribed corporal punishment in his “Science of Victory” (Whoever doesn’t take care of a soldier gets his chopsticks, and whoever doesn’t take care of himself gets his chopsticks too), also a supporter of strict discipline, but not meaningless drill. As a reformer, he decided to follow the example of Peter the Great: he took as a basis the model of the modern European army - the Prussian one. Military reform did not stop even after Paul's death. In 1797, he transformed His Imperial Highness's Own Drawing Office into a new body - the Card Depot, which laid the foundation for the first centralized archive (now the Russian Military Historical Archive). During the reign of Paul I, Arakcheev, Kutaisov, Obolyaninov, personally devoted to the emperor, and Kutuzov and Benckendorf, whom he valued, rose to prominence.

Fearing the spread of the ideas of the French Revolution in Russia, Paul I banned the wearing of “vests”, the travel of young people abroad to study, the import of books was completely prohibited, even sheet music, and private printing houses were closed. The regulation of life went so far as to set the time when the lights were to be turned off in houses and what dress to wear. By special decrees, some words of the Russian language were removed from official use and replaced with others. Thus, among those seized were the words “citizen” and “fatherland” that had a political connotation (replaced with “everyman” and “state”, respectively), but a number of Paul’s linguistic decrees were not so transparent - for example, the word “detachment” was changed to “detachment” or “command”, “execute” to “execute”, and “doctor” to “doctor”.

The change in sympathies from anti-French to anti-English was expressed in the ban on “round hats” and the word “club”. Puritanical moral considerations (read: ostentatious “chivalry”) led to a ban on dancing the dance “called waltz,” that is, the waltz, because it dangerously brings people of different sexes together. For completely incomprehensible reasons, the shape of the cab driver's cart was strictly designated, and therefore a significant part of the capital's cab drivers with inappropriate transport were sent away.

However, the greatest nuisance for Russian society was that all these prohibitions were subject to strict enforcement, which was ensured by the threat of arrest, exile, resignation, etc. And all this really came true. Such petty policing of the private lives of his subjects, regardless of the personal qualities and reformism of the emperor, led to almost universal antipathy towards him and significantly facilitated his overthrow.

Foreign policy

Paul's foreign policy was inconsistent. Since 1796, the Privy Councilor and Secretary of State of Emperor Paul I was Fyodor Maksimovich Briskorn. In 1798, Russia entered into an anti-French coalition with Great Britain, Austria, Turkey, and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. At the insistence of the allies, the disgraced A.V. Suvorov was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian troops as the best commander in Europe. Austrian troops were also transferred to his jurisdiction. Under the leadership of Suvorov, Northern Italy was liberated from French domination. In September 1799, the Russian army made Suvorov's famous crossing of the Alps. However, already in October of the same year, Russia broke the alliance with Austria due to the Austrians’ failure to fulfill allied obligations, and Russian troops were recalled from Europe.

After the British managed to capture Malta in September 1800, Paul I began to create an anti-British coalition, which was to include Denmark, Sweden and Prussia. Shortly before his murder, he, together with Napoleon, began to prepare a military campaign against India in order to “disturb” English possessions. At the same time, he sent the Don Army to Central Asia - 22,500 people, whose task was to conquer Khiva and Bukhara. Later, this particular campaign began to be mistakenly considered a campaign against India (in fact, the campaign to India was planned to be carried out by the regular army through Iran). The campaign was hastily canceled immediately after the death of Paul by decree of Emperor Alexander I.

Order of Malta

After Malta surrendered to the French without a fight in the summer of 1798, the Order of Malta was left without a Grand Master and without a seat. For help, the knights of the order turned to the Russian Emperor and Defender of the Order since 1797, Paul I.

On December 16, 1798, Paul I was elected Grand Master of the Order of Malta, and therefore the words “... and Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem." The Order of St. John of Jerusalem was established in Russia. The Russian Order of St. John of Jerusalem and the Order of Malta were partially integrated. The image of the Maltese cross appeared on the Russian coat of arms.

On October 12, 1799, the knights of the order arrived in Gatchina, who presented their Grand Master, the Russian Emperor, with three ancient relics of the Hospitallers - a piece of the tree of the Holy Cross, the Philermos Icon of the Mother of God and the right hand of St. John the Baptist. Later in the fall of the same year, the shrines were transported from the Priory Palace to St. Petersburg, where they were placed in the court church of the Savior Not Made by Hands in the Winter Palace. In memory of this event, in 1800, the Governing Synod established a holiday on October 12 (25) in honor of “the transfer from Malta to Gatchina of a part of the tree of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord, the Philermos Icon of the Mother of God and the right hand of St. John the Baptist.” One should not think that the “Maltese project” was simply a whim of Paul. The idea of ​​establishing a Russian naval base in Malta was a daring but high strategy.

During this era, Paul I seemed to want to multiply the threads connecting him with Louis XVIII; he sent him a large Maltese cross and asked him to give himself in return the ribbon of the Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem. Some time later, the emperor sent King Louis XVIII four large crosses for the princes of the royal house and eleven crosses of honorary commanders for eleven nobles of the king's choice. Four large crosses for the Count d'Artois, the king's brother, the Duke of Angoulême, the Duke of Bourbon and the Duke of Enghien; Prince Conde already had a large cross, being the great prior of the great Russian Catholic priory. Eleven commander's crosses were received by: Duke d'Aumont, Comte d'Avari, Duke d'Harcourt, Duke de Coigny, Duke de Guiche, Viscount d'Agoul, Comte de Lachâtre, Viscount de Clermont-Tonnerre, Baron de La Rochefoucauld, Marquis de Jacourt and Comte d'Escard. Louis XVIII, in response to this expression of friendship, sent Paul I the Order of St. Lazarus for both of his sons, the Grand Dukes Alexander and Constantine, and for twenty persons at the direction of His Imperial Majesty. The emperor drew up a list which he sent to the king; this list, which included members of the Holy Council, senior military officials of the empire and four ministers.

The emperor's passion for knightly romance did not have any serious consequences, and immediately after his death the Order of Malta in Russia acquired exclusively decorative significance.

Conspiracy and death

Paul I was killed by officers in his own bedroom on the night of March 12, 1801 in the Mikhailovsky Castle. The conspiracy included A.V. Argamakov, Vice-Chancellor N.P. Panin, commander of the Izyum Light Horse Regiment L.L. Bennigsen, P.A. Zubov (Catherine’s favorite), Governor General of St. Petersburg P.A. Palen, commanders of the Guards regiments: Semenovsky - N.I. Depreradovich, Cavalry Guard - F.P. Uvarov, Preobrazhensky - P.A. Talyzin, and according to some sources - the emperor's adjutant wing, Count Pavel Vasilyevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov, immediately after the coup was appointed commander of the Cavalry Guard shelf.

Initially, it was planned to overthrow Paul and install a regent following the example of the mad English king George III. Perhaps the denunciation to the tsar was written by V.P. Meshchersky, the former chief of the St. Petersburg regiment stationed in Smolensk, perhaps by Prosecutor General P.Kh. Obolyaninov. In any case, the conspiracy was discovered, Lindener and Arakcheev were summoned, but this only accelerated the execution of the conspiracy. According to one version, Pavel was killed by Nikolai Zubov (Suvorov’s son-in-law, Platon Zubov’s older brother), who hit him with a golden snuffbox (a joke later circulated at court: “The Emperor died of an apoplectic blow to the temple with a 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. Mistaking one of the killers for his son Constantine, Pavel shouted: “Your Highness, are you here too? Have mercy! Air, Air!.. What have I done wrong to you?” These were his last words.

The funeral service and burial took place on March 23, Holy Saturday; committed by all members of the Holy Synod, headed by Metropolitan of St. Petersburg Ambrose (Podobedov).

Versions of the birth of Paul I

Due to the fact that Paul was born almost ten years after the wedding of Peter and Catherine, when many were already convinced of the futility of this marriage (and also under the influence of the free personal life of the empress in the future), there were persistent rumors that the real father Paul I was not Peter III, but the first favorite of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, Count Sergei Vasilyevich Saltykov.

The Romanovs themselves related to this legend
(about the fact that Paul I was not the son of Peter III)
with great humor. There is a memoir about
how Alexander III, having learned about her,
crossed himself: “Thank God, we are Russian!”
And having heard a refutation from historians, again
crossed himself: “Thank God, we are legal!”

The memoirs of Catherine II contain an indirect indication of this. In the same memoirs one can find a hidden indication of how the desperate Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, so that the dynasty would not fade away, ordered the wife of her heir to give birth to a child, regardless of who his genetic father would be. In this regard, after this instruction, the courtiers assigned to Catherine began to encourage her adultery. However, Catherine is quite crafty in her memoirs - there she explains that the long-term marriage did not produce offspring, since Peter had some obstacle, which, after the ultimatum given to her by Elizabeth, was eliminated by her friends, who performed a violent surgical operation on Peter, in due to which he was still able to conceive a child. The paternity of Catherine’s other children born during her husband’s lifetime is also doubtful: Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna (born 1757) was most likely the daughter of Poniatovsky, and Alexey Bobrinsky (born 1762) was the son of G. Orlov and was born secretly. More folklore and in line with traditional ideas about the “switched baby” is the story that Ekaterina Alekseevna allegedly gave birth to a stillborn child (possibly a girl) and he was replaced by a certain “Chukhon” baby. They even pointed out who this girl grew up to be, “Catherine’s real daughter” - Countess Alexandra Branitskaya.

Family

Paul I was married twice:

• 1st wife: (from October 10, 1773, St. Petersburg) Natalya Alekseevna (1755-1776), born. Princess Augusta Wilhelmina Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. Died during childbirth with a baby.

• 2nd wife: (from October 7, 1776, St. Petersburg) Maria Fedorovna (1759-1828), born. Princess Sophia Dorothea of ​​Württemberg, daughter of Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg. Paul I and Maria Feodorovna had 10 children:
  • Alexander Pavlovich (1777-1825) - Tsarevich, and then Emperor of All Russia from March 11, 1801.
  • Konstantin Pavlovich (1779-1831) - Tsarevich (from 1799) and Grand Duke, Polish governor in Warsaw.
  • Alexandra Pavlovna (1783-1801) - Hungarian palatine
  • Elena Pavlovna (1784-1803) - Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1799-1803)
  • Maria Pavlovna (1786-1859) - Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
  • Catherine Pavlovna (1788-1819) - 2nd Queen Consort of Württemberg
  • Olga Pavlovna (1792-1795) - died at the age of 2 years
  • Anna Pavlovna (1795-1865) - Queen Consort of the Netherlands
  • Nicholas I (1796-1855) - Emperor of All Russia since December 14, 1825
  • Mikhail Pavlovich (1798-1849) - military man, founder of the first Artillery School in Russia.

Illegitimate children:

• Great, Semyon Afanasyevich
• Inzov, Ivan Nikitich (according to one version)
• Marfa Pavlovna Musina-Yuryeva

Military ranks and titles

Colonel of the Life Cuirassier Regiment (July 4, 1762) (Russian Imperial Guard) Admiral General (December 20, 1762) (Imperial Russian Navy)

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.

In contact with

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.

Rise to power

When Paul I reigned? He ascended the throne at the age of 42 on November 6, 1796, when Catherine II, 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 procedure of succession to the throne, 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.

Emperor Paul I and his sons

Paul I had four sons - Alexander, Konstantin, Nikolai and Mikhail. Two of them became emperors - Alexander I and Nicholas I. Constantine is interesting to us because he abandoned the throne for the sake of love. Mikhail did not stand out in any way. In this chapter we will talk about Paul himself, when he was the Grand Duke, and about his two sons - Alexander and Constantine. A separate chapter will be devoted to Nicholas and his numerous offspring.

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Although, because of his father’s jokes on the topic “it’s unknown where his wife got her children from,” many consider the father of Paul I to be Ekaterina Alekseevna’s favorite, Sergei Saltykov. Moreover, the first-born was born only after 10 years of marriage. However, the external similarity between Paul and Peter should be considered as a response to such rumors. The childhood of the future autocrat cannot be called happy. Because of the political struggle, the current Empress Elizabeth I Petrovna was afraid for Paul the First, protected him from communication with his parents and surrounded him with a real army of nannies and teachers who curry favor with high-ranking officials rather than worry about the boy.

Pavel the First in childhood | Runiverse

The biography of Paul I claims that he received the best education that was possible at that time. The extensive library of Academician Korf was placed at his personal disposal. Teachers taught the heir to the throne not only the traditional Law of God, foreign languages, dancing and fencing, but also painting, as well as history, geography, arithmetic and even astronomy. It is interesting that none of the lessons included anything related to military affairs, but the inquisitive teenager himself became interested in this science and mastered it at a fairly high level.

Pavel the First in his youth | Arguments and Facts

When Catherine II ascended the throne, she allegedly signed an obligation to transfer the reign to her son Paul I when he reached adulthood. This document has not reached us: perhaps the empress destroyed the paper, or maybe it is just a legend. But it was precisely such a statement that all the rebels dissatisfied with the rule of the “Iron German,” including Emelyan Pugachev, always referred to. In addition, there was talk that already on her deathbed, Elizaveta Petrovna was going to transfer the crown to her grandson Paul I, and not to her nephew Peter III, but the corresponding order was not made public and this decision did not affect the biography of Paul I.

Emperor

Paul the First sat on the throne of the Russian Empire only at the age of 42. Right during the coronation, he announced changes in the succession to the throne: now only men could rule Russia, and the crown was passed on only from father to son. By this, Paul unsuccessfully hoped to prevent the palace coups that had become more frequent recently. By the way, for the first time in history, the coronation procedure took place simultaneously for both the emperor and the empress on the same day.

The disgusting relationship with his mother led to the fact that Paul I chose the method of leading the country to actually contrast his decisions with its previous ones. As if “to spite” the memory of Ekaterina Alekseevna, Pavel the First returned freedom to convicted radicals, reformed the army and began to fight serfdom.

Pavel the First | Petersburg stories

But in reality, all these ideas did not lead to anything good. The liberation of the radicals would come back many years later in the form of a Decembrist uprising, the reduction of the corvee remained only on paper, and the fight against corruption in the army grew into a series of repressions. Moreover, both the highest ranks, who one after another were deprived of their positions, and ordinary military personnel remained dissatisfied with the emperor. They grumbled about the new uniform, modeled on the Prussian army, which turned out to be incredibly uncomfortable. In foreign policy, Paul the First became famous for his fight against the ideas of the French Revolution. He introduced the strictest censorship in book publishing; French books and French fashion, including round hats, were banned.

Pavel the First | Wikipedia

During the reign of Paul the First, thanks to commander Alexander Suvorov and Vice Admiral Fyodor Ushakov, the Russian army and navy achieved many significant victories, collaborating with Prussian and Austrian troops. But later Paul I showed his fickle character, broke off relations with his allies and formed an alliance with Napoleon. It was in Bonaparte that the Russian emperor saw the force that could stop the anti-monarchist revolution. But he was mistaken strategically: Napoleon did not become a winner even after the death of Paul the First, but because of his decision and the economic blockade of Great Britain, Russia lost its largest sales market, which had a very significant impact on the standard of living in the Russian Empire.

Personal life

Officially, Pavel the First was married twice. His first wife, Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna, was by birth the German Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt. She died two years after the wedding during childbirth. The first son of Paul I was born dead. That same year, the future emperor married again. The wife of Paul the First, Maria Feodorovna, was called Sophia Maria Dorothea of ​​Württemberg before marriage, and she was destined to become the mother of two rulers at once, Alexander I and Nicholas I.

Princess Natalya Alekseevna, first wife of Paul I | Pinterest

It is interesting that this marriage was not just beneficial for the state, Pavel really fell in love with this girl. As he wrote to his family, “this blonde with a pleasant face captivated the widower.” In total, in union with Maria Feodorovna, the emperor had 10 children. In addition to the two above-mentioned autocrats, it is worth noting Mikhail Pavlovich, who founded the first Russian Artillery School in St. Petersburg. By the way, he is the only child born during the reign of Paul the First.

Paul I and Maria Feodorovna surrounded by children | Wikipedia

But falling in love with his wife did not stop Paul the First from following the generally accepted rules and having favorites. Two of them, ladies-in-waiting Sofya Ushakova and Mavra Yuryeva, even gave birth to illegitimate children from the emperor. It is also worth noting Ekaterina Nelidova, who had enormous influence on the emperor and it is believed that she tried to lead the country with the hands of her lover. The personal life of Paul I and Ekaterina Nelidova was more intellectual than carnal in nature. In it, the emperor realized his ideas of romantic chivalry.

Favorites of Paul I, Ekaterina Nelidova and Anna Lopukhina

When those close to the court realized how much the power of this woman had increased, they arranged a “replacement” for the favorite of Paul I. Anna Lopukhina became his new lady of the heart, and Nelidova was forced to retire to Lode Castle, in the territory of present-day Estonia. It is curious that Lopukhina was not happy with this state of affairs, she was burdened by the status of the mistress of the ruler Paul the First, his “knightly” manifestations of attention, and was annoyed that these relationships were being put on display.

Death

During the several years of Paul the First's reign, despite the change in succession, at least three conspiracies were organized against him, the last of which was successful. Almost a dozen officers, commanders of the most famous regiments, as well as government officials on the night of March 24, 1801 entered the emperor’s bedroom in the Mikhailovsky Castle and committed the murder of Paul I. The official cause of his death was apoplexy. It is worth noting that nobles and ordinary people greeted the news of death with poorly controlled glee.

Engraving "The Assassination of Emperor Paul I", 1880 | Wikipedia

The perception of Paul the First by subsequent generations is ambiguous. Some historians, especially during the reign of his successor Alexander I, and then in Soviet times, created the image of a tyrant and tyrant. Even the poet in his ode “Liberty” called him “a crowned villain.” Others try to emphasize Paul the First’s heightened sense of justice, calling him “the only romantic on the throne” and “the Russian Hamlet.” The Orthodox Church even at one time considered the possibility of canonizing this man. Today it is generally accepted that Paul the First does not fit into the system of any known ideology.