Historical figures, especially when it comes to their native country, are always studied with interest. The reigning persons who were at the helm of power in Russia exerted their influence on the development of the country. Some of the kings ruled for many years, others for a short time, but all the personalities were noticeable, interesting. Emperor Peter 3 ruled for a short time, died early, but left his mark on the history of the country.
Royal Roots
The desire of Elizabeth Petrovna, who has reigned on the Russian throne since 1741, to strengthen the throne through the line of Peter the Great, led to the fact that she announced her nephew as the heir. She had no children of her own, but her older sister had a son who lived in the house of Adolf Frederick, the future King of Sweden.
Karl Peter, Elizabeth's nephew, was the son of the eldest daughter of Peter I - Anna Petrovna. Immediately after giving birth, she fell ill and died soon after. When Karl Peter was 11 years old, he also lost his father. Having lost his parents, Peter 3, whose brief biography speaks of this, began to live with his paternal uncle, Adolf Frederick. He did not receive proper upbringing and education, sincethe main method of educators was the "whip".
He had to stand in the corner for a long time, sometimes on peas, and the boy's knees swelled from this. All this left an imprint on his he alth: Karl Peter was a nervous child, he was often sick. By nature, Emperor Peter 3 grew up as a simple-minded man, not evil, and was very fond of military affairs. But at the same time, historians note: being in his youth, he liked to drink wine.
Elizabeth's heir
And in 1741, Elizaveta Petrovna ascended the Russian throne. From that moment on, the life of Karl Peter Ulrich changed: in 1742 he became the heir to the Empress, and he was brought to Russia. He made a depressing impression on the empress: she saw in him a sickly and uneducated young man. Having converted to Orthodoxy, he was named Peter Fedorovich, and in the days of his reign was officially called Peter 3 Fedorovich.
For three years, educators and teachers worked with him. His main teacher was Academician Jacob Shtelin. He believed that the future emperor was a capable young man, but very lazy. After all, over the three years of study, he mastered the Russian language very poorly: he wrote and spoke illiterately, he did not study the traditions. Pyotr Fedorovich liked to boast and was prone to cowardice - these qualities were noted by his teachers. His official title included the words: “Grandson of Peter the Great.”
Peter 3 Fedorovich - marriage
In 1745, the marriage of Pyotr Fedorovich took place. His wife was Princess Ekaterina Alekseevna. She has her namealso received after the adoption of Orthodoxy: her maiden name was Sophia Frederick Augustus of Anh alt-Zerbst. It was the future Empress Catherine II.
The wedding gift from Elizaveta Petrovna was Oranienbaum near St. Petersburg and Lyubertsy near Moscow. But marital relations between the newlyweds do not add up. Although in all important economic and economic matters, Pyotr Fedorovich always consulted with his wife, had confidence in her.
Life before the coronation
Peter 3, his brief biography says this, did not have a marital relationship with his wife. But later, after 1750, he underwent surgery. As a result, they had a son, who in the future became Emperor Paul I. Elizaveta Petrovna was personally involved in raising her grandson, immediately taking him away from his parents.
Peter was pleased with this state of affairs and became more and more distant from his wife. He was fond of other women and even had a favorite - Elizaveta Vorontsova. In turn, Catherine, in order to avoid loneliness, had a relationship with the Polish ambassador - Stanislav August Poniatowski. The couples were on friendly terms with each other.
Birth of a daughter
In 1757, Catherine's daughter was born, and she was given the name - Anna Petrovna. Peter 3, whose brief biography proves this fact, officially recognized his daughter. But historians, of course, have doubts about his paternity. In 1759, at the age of two, the child fell ill and died of smallpox. OtherPeter had no more children.
In 1958, Pyotr Fedorovich had under his command a garrison of up to one and a half thousand soldiers. And all his free time he devoted himself to his favorite pastime: he was engaged in training soldiers. The reign of Peter 3 has not yet come, and he has already aroused the hostile attitude of the nobility and people. The reason for everything was undisguised sympathy for the King of Prussia - Frederick II. His regret that he became the heir of the Russian tsar, and not the Swedish king, unwillingness to accept Russian culture, bad Russian language - all together set the masses against Peter.
Reign of Peter 3
After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, at the end of 1761, Peter III was proclaimed emperor. But he has not yet been crowned. What kind of policy did Pyotr Fedorovich begin to pursue? In his domestic policy, he was consistent and took the policy of his grandfather, Peter I, as a model. Emperor Peter III, in short, decided to become the same reformer. What he managed to do during his short reign laid the foundation for the reign of his wife, Catherine.
But he made a number of mistakes in foreign policy: he stopped the war with Prussia. And those lands that the Russian army had already conquered in East Prussia, he returned to King Frederick. In the army, the emperor introduced all the same Prussian orders, he was going to carry out the secularization of the lands of the church and its reform, he was preparing for a war with Denmark. By these actions, Peter 3 (a brief biography proves this), he set against himself and the church.
Coup
Reluctance to see Peter onthrone was spoken before his ascension. Even under Elizabeth Petrovna, Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin began to plot against the future emperor. But it so happened that the conspirator fell out of favor and did not finish his job. Shortly before the death of Elizabeth, an opposition was formed against Peter, consisting of: N. I. Panin, M. N. Volkonsky, K. P. Razumovsky. They were joined by officers of two regiments: Preobrazhensky and Izmailovsky. Peter 3, in short, was not supposed to ascend the throne, instead they were going to erect Catherine, his wife.
These plans could not be realized due to the pregnancy and childbirth of Ekaterina: she gave birth to a child from Grigory Orlov. In addition, she believed that the policy of Peter III would discredit him, but would give her more associates. By tradition, in May, Peter went to Oranienbaum. On June 28, 1762, he went to Peterhof, where Catherine was supposed to meet him and arrange celebrations in his honor.
But instead she hurried to Petersburg. Here she took the oath of allegiance from the Senate, the Synod, the guards and the masses. Then Kronstadt also took the oath. Peter III returned to Oranienbaum, where he signed his abdication.
End of the reign of Peter III
Then he was sent to Ropsha, where he died a week later. Or was deprived of life. Nobody can prove or disprove this. Thus ended the reign of Peter III, which was very short and tragic. He ruled the country for only 186 days.
He was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra: Peter was notcrowned, and therefore he could not be buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. But the son, Paul I, having become emperor, corrected everything. He crowned his father's remains and reburied them next to Catherine.
