The reign of Paul 1 is one of the most mysterious periods in Russian history. He ascended the throne after his mother (the great Catherine 2), but was never able to become a worthy successor to her policy.
The years of the reign of Paul 1 - 1796-1801. During these five years, he managed to do a lot, including the strong displeasure of the nobility and other statesmen. Pavel 1 did not like his mother and her politics. This attitude was, in particular, because Catherine 2, fearing for her rights to the throne, did not allow her son to participate in state affairs. Therefore, he lived and dreamed of how he would lead his empire.
The reign of Paul 1 began with a change in the system of succession to the throne. It should be recalled that Peter 1 changed the traditional order of succession, first of the royal, and then of the imperial power, which served as the beginning of the Palace coups. Paul 1 returned everything to its place: power was again transferred through the male line (by seniority). His order removed women from power forever. By changing the system of succession to the throne, the new emperor got rid of those people who occupied prominent government positions during the reign of his mother. Thus, Paul formed a new nobility and got rid of the old overseers. He also introducedthe “decree on a three-day corvee” was put into effect and abolished the ban on complaining about their masters for peasants. This gives the right to say that the emperor's social policy was aimed at softening serfdom.
Nobles, landowners and everyone who owned peasants were very dissatisfied with these measures. Strengthened hostility to Paul and a significant restriction of the Letter of Complaint to the nobility, adopted by his mother. In his immediate environment, thoughts about the overthrow of the emperor and the ascension to the throne of his son, the future Alexander 1, begin to emerge.
The reign of Paul 1 (its brief description will be supplemented below) was favorable for the peasant population of the country. But what happened in domestic politics?
Paul 1 was a lover of the Prussian order, but this love did not reach fanaticism. Having completely lost confidence and disillusioned with England, he is moving closer to another great power - France. Paul saw the result of such a rapprochement as a successful struggle with the Ottoman Empire and the isolation of England, as well as the struggle for their colonies. Pavel decides to send the Cossacks to capture India, but this campaign was economically unprofitable for the country and also intensified the emerging contradictions between the authorities and the nobility. It is worth noting that the reign of Paul 1 was too dependent on his mood: orders were taken very thoughtlessly and spontaneously, spontaneous decisions were sometimes too strange.
In March 1801, there was a coup d'etat, after which the emperor was killed (according toAccording to many historians, the conspirators did not want to kill him, but after refusing to abdicate, they decided to take this step).
The reign of Paul 1, although short, left a bright mark in the history of our country. He did a lot for the peasantry, but little for the nobles and landowners, for which he was killed by the conspirators.
