Elizaveta Petrovna (short biography)

Elizaveta Petrovna Romanova, the future Russian empress, was born on December 18, 1709 in an illegal (at the time of birth) church marriage between Catherine the First and Peter the Great. Upon learning of her birth, the tsar canceled the planned celebration for this day on the occasion of the success in ending the Russian-Swedish war. In the spring of 1711, the illegitimate Lisa was declared a princess.

According to contemporaries, Elizabeth was distinguished by resourcefulness, sharp mind, amazing beauty, as well as horse riding and love of dancing. The future ruler received her education in Izmailovsky and Preobrazhensky villages, studying foreign languages, geography and history there.

Numerous attempts to marry a daughter to representatives of the ruling dynasties failed to bring positive results. The attempt of Prince Menshikov to find a party under Peter II also ended unsuccessfully. Osterman himself even offered to marry the daughter of Peter the Great for Peter Alekseevich, but the princess herself rejected this choice.

After the death of Peter Alekseevich in 1730, the question arose of who exactly would now occupy the throne. According to the will of Catherine the First, it should only be Elizabeth. But the secret council decides to place power in the hands of Anna Ioannovna - the sister of the princess with whom she had a rather complicated relationship.

During the reign of Anna, the prestige of the state was significantly reduced. In addition, she ruined the treasury. After her death, Ivan the Sixth was supposed to take the throne, but he was very small, therefore, after the coup, Elizabeth seizes the throne.

Domestic policy:

· The death penalty was abolished in the state.

· Since 1741, the Senate appears - a state body that drew up new laws.

· The capabilities of the nobles have been greatly improved.

· Elizabeth abolished customs duties.

· In 1744 - 1747 the second population census was carried out in the Russian state.

· Significant development of the country (economy, agriculture and industry) began.

· Scientific and cultural growth of the Russian state. Academies and theaters are opening.

Foreign policy:

· As a result of the success of the Russian-Swedish war, a part of Finland is withdrawn from Russia.

· In addition, the success in the war led to the desire of many countries to enter into an alliance with Russia.

· The state acts in the War of the Austrian Succession.

· In 1756, the Seven Years War began, during which Russia and the allies almost destroyed Prussia.

Elizabeth died in December 1761.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna was carnivated on November 25, 1741. At night, the Preobrazhensky regiment arrested Anna Leopoldovna, and Elizabeth was confirmed as Empress. This was the fourth armed coup in Russia in a little over fifteen years.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna combined the features of an ordinary woman and a strong ruler. Historical sources have preserved memories of the empress's love for dances and dresses. In addition, Elizabeth was a very devout person. In matters of state administration, she relied on her favorites: Vorontsov, Shuvalov, Bestuzhev-Ryumin and Razumovsky.

Elizabeth came to power in a country embroiled in a war with the Swedes. In July 1741, the Swedish king, incited by France, declared war on Russia. The Swedish army entered the territory of Finland. Wanting to enlist the support of the Finns, and raise them to war with the Swedes, Elizaveta Petrovna announced that if the Finns oppose the Swedes and help Russia win, Finland will be granted independence. As a result, the Swedes were forced to retreat, since they did not prepare for war, both with the Russian army and with the Finnish forces. The result of the war with Sweden was the signing of a peace treaty near Helsingorfs in August 1742. According to this agreement, Sweden recognized the rights of Russia to the Baltic states, and also ceded part of the territory of Finland.

In 1756, Russia again found itself drawn into the war. It was the Seven Years War. Russia entered into an alliance with France, Austria and Saxony against Prussia and England. Officially, Russia entered this union in order to secure the territory of the Baltic states from a possible encroachment of the Prussian king. It is difficult to accept this version, since the reasons for the start of this war lie in the division of the rights to American influence between England and France. Prussia, of course, had a very strong army, but there were no prerequisites for its campaign in the Baltic States. Empress Elizabeth Petrovna showed weakness, trusted the French and Austrian ambassadors, who persuaded her to join this alliance, and at the same time into the war against a strong German army. It was the Germans who started the war actively. They defeated the Saxons in 1756, removing one ally from the struggle. France and Austria were not looking for battles. As a result, on August 19, 1757, a major battle took place between the Russian and German armies near the town of Gross-Jägersdorf. The Russians won. The Russians continued to advance. In 1758, they defeated the Germans near the village of Zorndorf. In 1759 they won a victory at Kunersdorf. In 1760 Berlin was captured. In 1761, the Russian army captured the large fortress of Kolberg. Prussia teetered on the brink of defeat. There was no English help other than financial aid. After the death of Empress Elizabeth, Peter 3 in the summer of 1762 entered into an alliance with the Germans. The war was over. For seven years the Russian army fought for the interests of France and Austria and won glorious victories. But faint-hearted Peter 3 reduced these victories to zero. The troops simply returned to their homeland.

Like any head of state, Elizabeth was faced with the acute question of her successor. Initially, it was assumed that Peter Fedorovich, the grandson of Peter the Great, would become Elizabeth's successor. In 1742, he was officially declared the empress's successor. As soon as the young Peter was 16 years old, he was married to the daughter of the German king, Princess Sophia of Zerst, who converted to Christianity and received the name of Catherine. After that, Elizabeth became disillusioned with Peter. Her successor paid great attention to Germany. He lived there with his wife and was actively interested in this country. In such conditions, Peter could be a good German prince, but not a Russian emperor. In 1745, Peter and Catherine had a son, Paul, whom Empress Elizabeth Petrovna took to her upbringing. She saw him as a successor, and from childhood she prepared Paul for power.

Empress Elizaveta Petrovna died in December 1761.

All of her is so whole and sweet to us, now already degenerated,
a glorious type of Russian character, that everyone who cherishes national covenants,
can not help but love her and admire her.

N. Wrangel

Elizabeth I Petrovna - born on December 18 (29), 1709 - died on December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762) - the Russian empress from the Romanov dynasty, the youngest daughter of Peter I and Catherine I.

Personal life of the empress

There is no doubt that born on the day when the Russian army solemnly entered the capital to the sound of music and with unfolded banners after the victory in the Battle of Poltava, she was the happiest woman in the empire. Her father was, who loved his daughters very much, who called her "Lizetka" and "fourth paw". She, according to the ideas of her father, received a good upbringing, knew many languages ​​and was intended by Peter, like all princesses, to strengthen dynastic ties with European courts.

Peter wanted to marry his beautiful daughter to King Louis XV of France or to someone from the House of Bourbons, but prim Versailles was embarrassed by the origin of a commoner mother. Until Elizabeth's accession to the throne, her name flashed in many European marriage combinations, among her suitors were Karl August, Prince-Bishop of Lubsky, Prince George of England, Karl of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Infant Don Manuel of Portugal, Count of Mauritius of Saxon, Infant Don Carlos of Spain , Duke Ferdinand of Courland, Duke Ernst Ludwig of Brunswick and many more, and even the Persian Shah Nadir.

While waiting for the suitors, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna was having fun, indulging in amorous pleasures in anticipation of her hour. Under Anna Ioannovna, she had her own court, which was very different in age - all were young people, Elizaveta was 21 years old, Shuvalov was 20 years old, Razumovsky was 21, Vorontsov was 16 years old - and according to the energy of festivities, masquerades, hunts and amusements. She was fond of singing and theater.

There is a historical version that Elizabeth was still in a secret church marriage with her favorite Alexei Razumovsky, but no documents confirming this union have survived to this day.

In the 1750s, the empress made herself a new favorite. It was Mikhail Lomonosov's friend Ivan Shuvalov, who was a very well-read and educated person. It is possible that it was under his influence that the empress was engaged in the cultural development of the country.

The Spanish envoy, the Duke de Liria, wrote about the 18-year-old crown princess in 1728: “Princess Elizabeth is such a beauty that I have rarely seen. She has an amazing complexion, beautiful eyes, an excellent neck and an incomparable figure. She is tall, extremely lively, dances well and rides without the slightest fear. She is not devoid of intelligence, graceful and very flirtatious. "

And here is the testimony of a woman, at the same time quite biased and observant. Elizabeth is already 34 years old. The future saw her for the first time: “Truly it was impossible then to see her for the first time and not be amazed at her beauty and majestic bearing. She was a tall woman, although she was very plump, but she did not lose in the least from this and did not experience the slightest embarrassment in all her movements; the head was also very beautiful ... She danced to perfection and was distinguished by special grace in everything she did, equally in male and female attire. I would like to look at everything without taking my eyes off her, and only with regret could they be taken away from her, since there was no object that could compare with her. "

But her temper was not so perfect as her appearance was perfect for that time.

Ascent to the throne

Elizabeth Petrovna received the title of Empress as a result of the most "bloodless" coup d'etat of 1741. It took place without a preliminary conspiracy, since Elizabeth did not particularly strive for power and did not show herself as a strong political figure. During the coup itself, she did not have any program, but she was embraced by the idea of ​​her own accession, which was supported by ordinary citizens and guards, who expressed dissatisfaction with the dominance of foreigners at court, the disgrace of the Russian nobility, the tightening of serfdom and tax legislation.

On the night of November 24-25, 1741, Elizabeth, with the support of her confidant and secret adviser Johann Lestock, arrived at the Preobrazhensky barracks and raised a grenadier company. The soldiers unquestioningly agreed to help her overthrow the current government and, in the composition of 308 people, went to the Winter Palace, where the princess proclaimed herself empress, usurping the current government: the infant emperor John Antonovich and all his relatives from the Brunswick family were arrested and imprisoned in the Solovetsky Monastery.

Given the circumstances of Elizabeth I's accession to the throne, the first manifesto she signed was a document according to which she is the only legal heir to the throne after the death of Peter II.

Elizabeth's reign

Having ascended the throne with the help of the guards, she ruled Russia for 20 years.

It was a significant 20th anniversary, as if the whiff of Peter's times, at least so it seemed at the beginning. Elizabeth was happy with her favorites, not only prominent men, but also skillful rulers, under her the largest construction of our most famous palaces took place, the architect Rastrelli created his wonderful works with her, she encouraged theater and music, her favorite Shuvalov founded the Russian Academy of Arts and the Russian university, with her, the genius of Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was finally revealed, the poets Sumarokov, Trediakovsky and Kheraskov composed the first Russian poems, a lot was with her.

For us, it is important to say that this was the Russian empress, a woman of unusual, primordially Russian beauty, who managed to preserve her for many years.

The art connoisseur, Baron N. N. Wrangel, the author of a brilliant essay about "Petrova's daughter", described her as follows: "The Most Blessed Elisaphet", the Most Merciful Empress, "Venus", a woman with eyes full of sparrow juice ", a pious entertainer and a merry darling, lazy and careless, the Russian Empress in everything reflects, like a mirror, the gingerbread beauty of the magnificent middle of the 18th century. "

However, at the same time, the Baron quite accurately defined her “weakness” in this “gallant” European century: “Empress Elizabeth was the last Russian Tsarina in the“ pre-reform ”sense of the word and, like a belated wild flower, blossomed among the imported greenhouse plants. All of her is such an integral and dear to us, now already degenerated, glorious type of Russian character that everyone who cherishes national covenants cannot help but love her and admire her. "

The political role of Elizabeth Petrovna

Soloviev reported that in 1743 the Senate, "for no reason, was forbidden to start business on proposals, written or verbal, without written instructions at the hand of the Empress." A very rash order. I think this decree was canceled over time.

Elizabeth did not like to be engaged in business, to delve into their essence. At first, feeling her high role, she tried: she was sent reports and dispatches, she read them, made notes, gave orders. Although, she did not like sitting in the Senate and listening to the debate. In 1741 and 1742 she was in the Senate 7 times, in 1743 - 4 times, and then even less.

Gradually, all these political games bored her. She had her own opinion on everything, therefore, before signing this or that paper, she thought for a long time, and sometimes even forgot about this paper. Over time, she realized that her active participation in governing the state did not change anything, and allowed herself to be less active.

The documents were prepared by Bestuzhev, Vorontsov and other important ministers, she only had to sign her, but she dodged this in every possible way. Why? And so ... She was accused of pathological laziness. Valishevsky, trying to understand the situation, wrote that she simply did not have time to work. She would be glad to do state affairs, but in the morning the toilet is about three hours, at least, and there, you look, it's already hunting, and then to the church, how could it be without it, and in the evening there is a ball or a wedding of someone from relatives or close associates, and then, it seems, it was planned to go to Peterhof in the morning ... or to Gostilitsy ... or to Oranienbaum ...

Elizabeth was smart, and this avoidance of state affairs came not only from the boredom that appears at the sight of business papers, and not from an immediate desire to rush into a maelstrom of entertainment. It is very possible that she did not like quick decisions, did not want to take risks - let the paper lie down, and then we’ll see. Suddenly tomorrow will be to the detriment of the state what she did today.

Catherine II wrote: “She (Elizabeth) had such a habit, when she had to sign something especially important, put such a paper, before signing, under the image of the shroud, which she especially venerated; leaving it there for some time, she signed or did not sign it, depending on what her heart told her. "

Religion and Empress

Elizabeth was a believer, not ostentatiously religious, like Catherine II, but truly. The 18th century was also infected with Voltaireanism, but Elizabeth did not succumb to this influence. She constantly visited monasteries, fasted, observed all the holidays, stood for hours in front of icons, consulted with the Lord and the saints on how to act in a given situation. It is clear that she was concerned about the purity of Orthodoxy, and too much zeal in this matter in a multinational country sometimes leads to serious troubles.

The empress was very protective of the newly converted, but at the same time many mosques were destroyed, she actively fought against the Old Believers. Action always provokes opposition; among the old-timers, cases of self-immolation have again appeared. In addition, there was a large number of sects, for example, the Khlysty, with whom they actively and often fiercely fought.

Elizabeth's devotion often turned into a farce, but she did not notice it. She had her own sincere and pure relationship with God. They go on pilgrimage on foot, and 80 miles from Moscow to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Such a distance cannot be covered in one day, you have to spend the night somewhere. Inns are not suitable, there is poverty, stench and insects, and therefore traveling royal palaces are cut in a week, they brought furniture with them.

We didn’t have time to prepare the wooden dwelling, so we would set up tents in the open field. During the hunt of Peter II, this custom became a part of the everyday life of the royal court. A whole staff goes on pilgrimage with the queen - here are ladies of state, maids of honor, sometimes ministers with their wives, servants, cooks and others. The feasts in the field are wide, there are many people, fun! Sometimes such trips took the whole summer. It is clear that in this whirlwind there is no desire or opportunity to engage in state affairs.

Savor

Everyone was well aware of her insane passion for dress and entertainment. It was she who, to a large extent, contributed to the fact that this passion developed in the nobility and among the courtiers.

Catherine wrote about Elizabeth's court (for her, with her innate German modesty and moderation, it was difficult for her to understand and accept this Russian senseless and wasteful order): “The ladies were then busy only with outfits, and the luxury was brought to the point that they changed toilets at least twice a day; the empress herself was extremely fond of outfits and almost never wore the same dress twice, but changed them several times a day; with this example, everyone conformed: the game and the toilet filled the day. "

During a fire in Moscow in 1753, 4,000 of Elizabeth's dresses burned down in the palace, and after her death, Peter III discovered in Elizabeth's Summer Palace a wardrobe with 15,000 dresses, “some once worn, some not worn at all, 2 chests of silk stockings” , several thousand pairs of shoes and more than a hundred uncut pieces of "rich French fabrics".

No one dared to compete with the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, especially the ladies. They did not have the right to be the first to choose their outfits and jewelry. Everything in the empire had to exist for the beauty of the most beautiful of women. None of the merchants who arrived from overseas countries, and especially from France, had the right to sell goods until the empress herself selected the fabrics and outfits she needed.

She arranged a formal showdown with those who dared to disobey her order. In one of the letters to a subject of her office, she will write: “I was notified that the French ship came with different ladies' attire, and sewn hats for men and for ladies flies, golden taffetas of various varieties and haberdashery all sorts of gold and silver, then they led the merchant here to send immediately ... "

But the merchant, apparently, sold part of the one selected by Elizabeth. Since she was notoriously stingy and hardly promised to give much, and then the angry empress writes another letter: “Call the merchant to you, for which he is so deceiving that he said that all here are lapels and cragens that I took away; and they are not only all, but there is no one, which I saw, it was scarlet. There were more than 20 of them, and, moreover, the same on the dress, which I took away everything, and now I demand them, then order him to find and not to conceal to anyone's favor ... And if, tell him, he will hide it, with my word, then he is unhappy will be, and who does not give. And I will see on whom, then those will accept an equal part with him. "

The Empress even knows exactly who could have bought the haberdashery: “And I command you to find everything and send to me immediately, except for the Saxon envoy, and the rest must return everything. Namely, they were bought from the dandies, I hope they were bought from Semyon Kirillovich's wife and her sister, from both Rumyantsevs: first tell the merchant to find it, and if they don’t give him back, then you can send it yourself and take it by my decree ”.

Contemporaries noted the extraordinary taste of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and the elegance of her outfits, combined with magnificent headdresses and adornments. However, over time, the empress's beauty faded, and she spent whole hours in front of the mirror, making up and changing outfits and jewelry.

French diplomat J.-L. Favier, observing the empress in recent years, writes that the aging empress “still retains a passion for outfits and every day becomes more demanding and whimsical in relation to them.
Never was a woman more difficult to reconcile with the loss of youth and beauty. Often, after spending a lot of time on the toilet, she begins to get angry at the mirror, orders to take off her headdress and other headgear again, cancels upcoming shows or dinner, and locks herself up, where she refuses to see anyone. "

He also describes Elizabeth's exit: “In society, she appears only in a court dress made of rare and expensive fabric of the most delicate color, sometimes white and silver. Her head is always laden with diamonds, and her hair is usually slicked back and gathered at the top, where it is tied with a pink ribbon with long flowing ends. She, perhaps, gives this headdress the significance of a diadem, because she arrogates to herself the exclusive right to wear it. No woman in the empire has the right to comb her hair the way she does. "

And in fact, the Frenchman's observations are accurate, because in the camera-furrier magazines of various years, the rules and external features of the costume for all courtiers are determined. 1748 - it was ordered that the ladies, getting ready for the ball, should not bend their hair back from the back of the head, and if when it is necessary to be in robes, then the ladies have the hair back from the back of the head to be folded up.

The Empress did not allow liberties in a suit for court ladies and gentlemen. In the imperial decree of 1752, it was necessary “... for ladies to wear white taffeta caftans, cuffs, edges and skirts with headset green, along the side a thin braid, have an ordinary papellon on their heads, and green ribbons, hair smoothly tied up; For cavaliers, white caftans, camisoles, but caftans have small cuffs, split and green collars ... with a gimbal around the loops, and moreover, those loops have small silver tassels. "

All foreign envoys of the Russian court, without exception, were engaged in the purchase of various materials and haberdashery, and of course, the ambassadors in France had to show special diligence in this. Elizaveta Petrovna asked the French envoy at court in detail about all the Parisian novelties, about all the new stores and shops, and then her chancellor instructed the ambassador in Paris M.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin to hire a "reliable person" who could pick up things "according to decency fashion and good taste ”and send it all to St. Petersburg. The expenses were inconceivable - 12,000 rubles. But besides that, many agents still had to remain, since the empress did not always pay on time.

According to the recollections of her daughter-in-law Catherine, Elizabeth "did not really like to appear at these balls in too elegant toilets", she could force the Grand Duchess to change a very successful outfit or forbid her to wear it again.

Once at a ball, the empress called N.F. Naryshkina and in front of everyone she cut off an adornment from ribbons, which was very suitable for a woman's hairstyle, another time she cut off half of the hair curled in front of her two ladies-in-waiting with her own hands, under the pretext that she did not like this style of hairstyle, but the maids of honor themselves later assured that her majesty, along with her hair, had torn off a little of her skin.

Her fantasies could impress any visiting foreigner. The empress told how “one fine day the empress found the fantasy to tell all the ladies to shave their heads. All her ladies obeyed with weeping; Elizabeth sent them black, badly combed wigs, which they had to wear until their hair grew back. " Soon there was a decree on shaving the hair of all the city ladies of high society. What was it like for the whole Petersburg to look at this deplorable picture? Meanwhile, the reason for this was rather trivial - the empress herself dyed her hair unsuccessfully and was forced to cut her hair.

The passion of Her Majesty was carnivals, masquerades and balls, which were also followed by special high decrees, and all those invited were obliged to come to them. Only nobles, often up to one and a half thousand people, could attend the masquerades; at the entrance to the hall, the guards examined them, removing their masks and checking their faces. Masquerades with disguises were often held, where women were ordered to be in men's suits, and men - in women's suits, but “there is nothing more ugly and at the same time funnier than a multitude of men so awkwardly dressed up, and nothing more pathetic than the figures of women dressed men. "

At the same time, the daughter-in-law, who was not supportive of her, noticed that "only the empress herself was quite good, to whom the man's dress went well ...". Everyone knew this, and Elizaveta Petrovna herself knew, since the time of the coup she loved to flaunt her uniform.

It is clear that those who believed that the Empress had "a lot of vanity, she generally wanted to shine in everything and serve as an object of surprise" were right.

Death of the empress

1762, January 5 - Empress Elizabeth Petrovna died. At the 53rd year of her life, the empress died of throat bleeding. In historical chronicles it is noted that since 1757, the empress's health began to deteriorate before our eyes: she was diagnosed with epilepsy, shortness of breath, frequent nosebleeds, and swelling of the lower extremities. She had a chance to almost completely reduce her active court life, pushing lavish balls and receptions to the background.

Before her death, the Empress developed a persistent cough, which led to severe bleeding from her throat. Unable to cope with the disease, the empress died in her chambers.

On February 5, 1762, the body of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna was buried with all the honors in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

On October 5, 1740, during a formal dinner, Anna Ioannovna suddenly had bloody vomiting. She passed out. After examination, the council of doctors decided that the empress's health inspires serious concern, and an imminent sad outcome is not excluded (S.F. Librovich, 1912). The 47-year-old empress, bedridden, was grieving over her illness. Mental disorders were added to the pains in the abdomen and back - the empress was haunted by nightmares - visions of a certain white figure wandering around the palace ...

... Meanwhile, the empress's illness intensified every day. She died on October 28, 1740, 46 years old, 8 months and 20 days old. "The autopsy showed that the doctors were wrong in the diagnosis: in fact, stones formed in the kidneys, one of which blocked the bladder, which caused inflammation."

The study of the symptoms of the disease (first of all, the description of urine, which had a "purulent appearance", the results of the examination of the corpse, in which coral stones were found in the renal pelvis) gave the basis for Yu.A. Molina suggests that the cause of her death was a neglected, not properly treated kidney stone disease, possibly associated with cirrhosis of the liver.

On the night of November 25, 1741, the faithful empress and ruler of all Russia, Anna Leopoldovna, was overthrown by her cousin, Princess Elizabeth Petrovna.

Historians associate the tragic change in the fate of the Braunschweig family, arrested on the way to Germany and installed in the Dynamind fortress, and then in Ranenburg (A.G. Brinkner, 1874) with the harmful influence of Lestock on the new empress.

Off-road conditions made the family's movement from Ranenburg to the north, to Solovki, extremely slow. On November 9, the arrested arrived in the city of Kholmogory, Arkhangelsk province, where they decided to spend the winter in the house of the bishop. Fate wanted it to become the last refuge for Princess Anne and her husband (Prince Anton Ulrich died on May 4, 1776).

On March 19, 1745, Anna Leopoldovna gave birth to her son Peter, and on February 27, 1706, Alexei. On March 7, 1746, she died of postpartum fever ("ognevitsy").

After the death of Princess Anna, the secret instruction of Elizabeth Petrovna, addressed to V.A. Korf from March 29, 1745: “... if, by the will of God, death sometimes happens from a well-known person, especially to Princess Anna or Prince John, then, by making an anatomy over the dead body and putting it in alcohol, immediately send the dead body to us from a special officer. "

Two carts moved from Kholmogory along the spring thaw. The first rode the second lieutenant of the Izmailovsky regiment, Pisarev, the second, terrifying the guards, floated in alcohol the body of the former ruler of Russia. The country's leaders needed irrefutable proof of her death in order to avoid intrigues and conspiracies.

Anna Leopoldovna was buried on March 4, 1746 in the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra next to her grandmother, Tsarina Praskovya Fedorovna, and her mother, Ekaterina Ivanovna. A white marble slab was installed over her grave, which has survived to this day.

Concerning the course of the last illness of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, V. Richter refers to the personal reports of the physician J.F. Monsey, also published in the addenda to the St. Petersburg Gazette on December 28, 1761: “Since the last (1760) year, the monarch was prone to painful seizures in the chest, swelling in the legs, in general there were all signs of blockages in the abdomen. The cold that followed on November 17, 1761, resulted in febrile seizures, which were stopped on December 1. But on the 12th of the same month at 11 o'clock in the evening, vomiting of blood began, which with great force resumed the next morning at five o'clock. Although the doctors at first considered this disease to be an incorrect excitement of the blood, originating from hemorrhoids, but during bloodletting they were very amazed to find inflammation in the blood. The latter phenomenon serves them in some way as an excuse for the bloodletting they committed with tumors in the legs (apparently, at that time, bloodletting was not recommended for swelling of the lower extremities. - B.N.); and on the next day they also opened the blood, but without any tangible benefit to the afflicted.

On December 22, a new and strong vomiting of blood followed, and the Empress died on the 25th of the same month at three o'clock in the afternoon. The doctors who used the monarch in her last illness were life-doctors Munsey, Schilling and Kruse. "

The illness and death of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna is also reported by N.I. Pavlenko: “On December 25, 1761, Her Imperial Majesty Empress Elizabeth Petrovna deigned to rest in Bose. She just turned 52. Such an early death was probably due to the disordered regime of life: she did not have a specific time either for sleep, or for work, or for entertainment. The empress apparently suffered from vasospasm. The first seizure was registered in the fall of 1744. They also happened later, but without tangible consequences. At times, she unquestioningly listened to the instructions of the doctors, strictly followed the diet and reliably used all kinds of drugs, but usually she completely ignored the instructions of the doctors. The strongest attack occurred on September 8, 1756. On this day, Elizaveta Petrovna went to the parish church in Tsarskoe Selo. As soon as Mass began, the Empress felt ill and silently left the church. After taking a few steps, she lost consciousness and fell to the grass. None of her retinue accompanied her, and for a long time she lay without any help, surrounded by a crowd of neighboring peasants (a scene worthy of the brush of a great artist! - B.N.). At last the ladies of the court and doctors appeared, brought a screen and canapes, and immediately blew out. The procedure did not help. All this lasted over two hours, after which the empress was carried away on a canapé to the palace, where in the end she was regained consciousness and left. And then the ailment visited her quite often: either she had a fever, or she was bleeding through her nose. She spent almost all of 1761 in chambers, where she received ministers and gave orders. When it became easier for her, she did not limit herself in food. Then there were painful seizures. In July, a severe attack occurred, which deprived Elizaveta Petrovna of consciousness for several hours. Although she felt a little better after that, her condition was not in doubt - she was slowly fading away. On December 23, doctors recognized the situation as hopeless, and the next day the empress, being conscious, said goodbye to everyone. January 5, 1762 (old style December 25, 1761.- B.N.) Count of Mercy d "Argento reported to the Austrian Archduchess Maria Theresia:" The attack that began the illness of the Russian Empress was repeated with Her Majesty on the night of the 3rd to 4th of this month, and, moreover, so much that she lay exhausted for several hours, as if in the last gasp, after which the exhaustion of the whole organism came with a constant loss of blood from various organs of the body "".

Using modern nosology, it can be assumed that Elizaveta Petrovna suffered from portal cirrhosis of the liver, possibly associated with heart disease and prolonged cardiovascular failure ("tumors in the legs") and complicated fatal bleeding from varicose veins of the esophagus ("vomiting with blood" ). So the mention of "hemorrhoids" by the old doctors was not so unfounded.

During the reign of Empress Catherine II, Russia achieved great success in various areas of life. Health care also did not stand aside - mass vaccination began. Catherine II was the first to be vaccinated against smallpox for herself and her son, the heir to Paul. For this purpose, Dr. T. Dimsdal was discharged from England by the president of the Medical College, Baron Alexander Ivanovich Cherkasov, who, after two months of preliminary experiments, was vaccinated on October 12, 1768. (It should be noted that even in the spring of 1768, Dr. Rogerson, specially discharged from England, was vaccinated against smallpox for the children of the English consul in St. Petersburg.) , was granted the dignity of nobility with the command to be called Smallpox. For its maintenance, a capital of 3,000 rubles was determined, put into the Noble Bank until adulthood.

Dimsdal was granted a medical life and was awarded the rank of actual state councilor. In addition to a lump sum of £ 10,000, he was awarded a life pension of £ 500. It was elevated to the baronial dignity of the Russian Empire.

In memory of the introduction of smallpox vaccination in Russia in April 1772, a special medal was minted. On the front side was presented "chest" (chest. - B.N.) the image of Empress Catherine II with an ordinary inscription, on the back - the Eskulapian temple, in front of which lies a stricken dragon. The empress leaves the temple and leads the heir to the throne by the hand. Educated Russia, represented as a woman surrounded by children, meets them. At the bottom there is an inscription: “I set an example by myself. 1768 October 12th ".

Having inoculated herself with smallpox, Catherine II had every right to write to her permanent foreign correspondent, Baron F. Grimm, about the death of Louis XV in 1774 from smallpox: "In my opinion, the king of France is ashamed to die of smallpox in the 18th century."

It is interesting to note that it was not until June 1774 that his son, Louis XVI, was vaccinated against smallpox, which was seen at the time as a manifestation of progressive views.

In addition to the Empress and her son, Dimsdal inoculated smallpox in St. Petersburg to 140 more individuals, including the favorite of Catherine II G.G. Orlov. Dimsdal and his son came to Russia again in 1781 to be vaccinated against smallpox for the Grand Dukes Alexander and Konstantin Pavlovich. At the same time, Dimsdal instilled smallpox in many people in Moscow.

In general, Catherine II (nee Anhalt-Zerbst princess Sophia Augusta Frederica) belonged to medicine, according to E.V. Anisimova, "with the neglect characteristic of a Russian (?) Person, relying solely on self-medication." This, in particular, is evidenced by the guidelines for medicine from the famous "ABC", compiled by the empress for her grandchildren - the Grand Dukes, primarily, of course, for her favorite Alexander Pavlovich. It prescribed that the dress of the royal pets should be as simple and light as possible, that the food was simple and, "if they want to eat between lunch and dinner, give them a piece of bread." The Grand Dukes had to go to the bathhouse in winter and summer in three or four weeks, and in the summer to swim, "as much as they want." In winter and summer, the princes had to stay as often as possible in the fresh air, in the sun and in the wind. According to the empress, one should avoid taking medications and seek medical help only in case of a real illness: “When children are sick, teach them to overcome suffering by patience, sleep and abstinence. Everyone is prone to hunger, thirst, fatigue, pain from ailments and wounds, and therefore must endure them patiently. Help in such cases is necessary, but it should be given in cold blood, without haste. " As noted by E.V. Anisimov, "she considered all doctors to be charlatans and was the author of the immortal aphorism:" Doctors are all fools. "

N. Kupriyanov, who specially studied the state of medicine during the reign of Catherine II, writes about her health: “The Empress led a correct lifestyle: she was abstain from eating food, drank one glass of Rhine wine or Hungarian during lunch, never had breakfast or dinner. At 65 years old, she was fresh and vigorous, despite the fact that she was obsessed with edema of the lower extremities, on which ulcers opened, which served as a fountain (a fountain is the same as a covering, a widespread method of annoyingly distracting treatment at one time, consisting in the application of long-term non-healing, suppurating wounds. B.N.). Before the death of the empress, the ulcers closed, which was considered by the then doctors as the cause of the apoplectic stroke that occurred at 9 o'clock in the morning on November 6, 1796, from which she died. "

“Looking at the deeds of Petrov,
To the hail, to the navy and to the shelves
And bought into your fetters,
The power of someone else's hand is strong,
Russia sighed jealously
And with my heart every hour she cried
To You, your Protector:
"Deliver, cast down our burdens,
Erect us the Petrovo Tribe,
Comfort, comfort Your people,

Cover the laws of the Fatherland,
Shelves of nasty wives
And the holiness of Thy Crown
For strangers to touch forbid;
Avert taxes from the church:
The monarchs are waiting for you in the palaces,
Porphyra, Scepter and Throne;
The Almighty will go before You
And with your strong hand
It will protect all evil from the terrible. "

IRONIC POEMS A.K. TOLSTOY

"Merry queen
There was Elisabeth:
Singing and having fun
There is just no order. "

RUSSIA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE XVIII CENTURY

“On ... a huge area in the 40-50s of the XVIII century. only 19 million people of both sexes lived. They were extremely unevenly distributed throughout the country. If the population of the Central Industrial Region, which covered only Moscow and the adjacent provinces, numbered at least 4.7 million people, then the population of Siberia and the North - no more than 1 million people.

The social structure of the population of Russia at that time is no less curious. No more than 600 thousand people lived in cities, or less than 4% of the total population. The peasant population was divided into two main groups: proprietary peasants (landlords, palaces, monasteries) and state peasants, whose suzerain was the state. In the total mass taken into account in the second revision (census) of 1744-1747. the peasant population (7.8 million males) of the landlord peasants numbered 4.3 million, or 50.5%. In general, the serf population accounted for 70% of the peasant and 63.2% of the total population. Such a significant preponderance of serfs is quite convincing evidence of the nature of the Russian economy in the middle of the 18th century.

Peter's era of reforms contributed to the intensive industrial development of the country. In the first half of the 18th century. outstanding successes were achieved in ferrous metallurgy. Back in 1700, Russia smelted pig iron 5 times less than the leading England at that time (2.5 thousand tons and 12 thousand tons, respectively). But already in 1740, the production of pig iron in Russia reached 25 thousand tons, and she left England far behind, smelting 17.3 thousand tons. Later this gap continued to increase, and in 1780 Russia already smelted 110 thousand tons. tons of pig iron, and England - only 40 thousand tons. And only at the end of the XVIII century. the industrial revolution that began in England put an end to the economic power of Russia, built on manufacturing production and the semi-feudal organization of labor.

In the second quarter of the 18th century. there is no need to talk about the crisis in the Russian economy. In just 15 years (from 1725 to 1740), the production of cast iron and iron in the country more than doubled (from 1.2 million to 2.6 million poods). In those years, other branches of industry, as well as trade, developed. During the Elizabethan period, heavy industry was further developed. So, the smelting of pig iron from 25 thousand tons in 1740 increased to 33 thousand tons in 1750 and by 1760 amounted to 60 thousand tons. According to experts, the 50s were truly record for the metallurgical industry throughout the XVIII v".

Anisimov E.V. Russia in the middleXviiicentury. M., 1986

Anger and mercy

On November 25, 1741, a new coup took place. At night, the guards soldiers, led by their daughter Elizabeth, dressed in a cuirass, broke into the bedroom of the ruling Brunswick family. The little emperor and his parents were arrested. The soldier who carried Ivan VI dropped him on the stairs. The overthrown family was initially intended to be sent abroad. Then they considered it too dangerous. The captives were sent to Kholmogory, to the north. Brothers and sisters of Ivan VI were born there. Anna Leopoldovna and Anton of Brunswick died in exile. Their children, who were forbidden even to teach literacy, eked out a miserable existence. Ivan VI was kept separately from the age of four - in the Shlisselburg fortress. In 1764 he was killed by guards while trying to free him by the adventurer Mirovich.

During the overthrow of the Brunschweig family, Minich and Ostermann were arrested. They were sent into exile in Siberia. But Elizabeth remembered Biron's “merits”. In 1730-1740. The Duke of Courland did not allow the Empress Anna Ioannovna to imprison Elizabeth in a monastery. (Biron hoped to marry his son to Elizabeth.) Elizabeth allowed Biron to return from Siberia and live in Yaroslav.

The company of guardsmen of the Preobrazhensky regiment, which carried out the coup, was named a label company. Non-noble soldiers from her received hereditary nobility. All Life-companions were granted estates. In the future, the Life Companions did not play a prominent role in the Elizabethan reign.

The Life Companions and other participants in the coup received 18 thousand peasants and about 90 thousand rubles. And in general, from 1741 to 1761, 800 thousand souls of both sexes were given to the nobles.

PRIVILEGED CONDITION

The nobles were not only freely released into retirement after 25 years of service, but also not particularly watched whether they were in the service at a certain age. Under Elizabeth, the custom of enrolling nobles in regiments as minors, from 3-4 years old, spread, while the children, of course, lived in the houses of their parents, but the ranks and length of service were already on the way. When the young nobles really began to serve, they were already in the officer ranks and did not have to serve them for long until the expiration of the 25-year term.

Officer service in the guards regiments did not have the same strictness and was a pleasant and prestigious entertainment, which, however, required a lot of money.

In order to raise the incomes of the nobility, Elizabeth in 1754 declared distillation (production of vodka) a monopoly of the nobles. This meant that only nobles could now produce such a lucrative commodity for sale. Merchants who owned distilleries were ordered to break them down or sell them to nobles within six months.

State-owned factories of the Urals were also handed over to the nobles. In 1754, the Noble Bank was organized, which gave credit to the nobles at a low interest rate (6% against the traditional 30% for that time).

In 1746, Elizabeth issued a decree prohibiting anyone other than nobles from buying serfs with or without land. Even the personal noblemen who had earned their favor were forbidden to have serfs. In 1754, the General Land Survey began. Non-nobles (including rich merchants) were generally forbidden to have estates with serfs. In 6 months they had to sell their estates. As a result, the "gentry" acquired an additional 50 million acres of land.

In the same 1754, internal customs in Russia were abolished, which benefited everyone who was engaged in trade, especially merchants.

In 1760 the landowners received the right to exile their peasants under the age of 45 to Siberia. Each exiled was counted as a recruit, so the nobles widely used their right, exiling unwanted, poor or sick peasants and retaining the best workers. From 1760 to 1765 more than 20 thousand serfs were exiled to the Tobolsk and Yenisei provinces.

Serfdom grew stronger. Serfs were hardly considered people: Elizabeth even excluded them from the oath that her subjects took to her.

Elizabeth all the time emphasized that she was the daughter of Peter I and would rule like him. But the queen did not possess the genius of her father, so the similarity of these manifestations was only superficial. Elizabeth restored the system of institutions of central authority that was under Peter I. The Cabinet of Ministers was abolished, but at the end of Elizabeth's reign, when the empress began to get sick often, a body arose that essentially repeats it and stands above the Senate and the collegiums - the Conference at the Highest Court ... The conference included the presidents of the military and diplomatic departments and persons appointed by the empress.

EMPRESS ELIZABETH

“The nineteen-year reign of this empress gave the whole of Europe the opportunity to get acquainted with her character. They are accustomed to seeing in her the empress, full of kindness and humanity, magnanimous, liberal and generous, but frivolous, welcoming, abhorrent to business, loving above all pleasure and entertainment, faithful rather to her tastes and habits than to passions and friendship, to the extreme trusting and always under the influence of someone.

All this is still true to a certain extent, but the years and disordered health, having made gradual changes in her body, also affected her moral state. So, for example, the love of pleasure and noisy festivals gave way to a disposition for silence and even solitude, but not for work. Empress Elisaveta Petrovna feels more disgust for this latter than ever before. For her, any reminder of deeds is hateful, and those close to her often have to wait six months for a convenient minute to persuade her to sign a decree or a letter. "

IN. KLYUCHEVSKY ABOUT ELIZAVET PETROVN

Her reign was not without glory, not even without benefit.<…>Peaceful and carefree, she was forced to fight almost half of her reign, defeated the first strategist of that time, Frederick the Great, took Berlin, laid the abyss of soldiers in the fields of Zorndorf and Kunersdorf; but since the reign of Tsarevna Sophia, life in Russia has never been so easy, and no reign until 1762 left such a pleasant memory. With two large coalition wars that exhausted Western Europe, it seemed that Elizabeth with her 300,000-strong army could become the arbiter of European destinies; the map of Europe lay before her at her disposal, but she so rarely looked at it that until the end of her life she was sure of the possibility of traveling to England by dry road; and she also founded the first real university in Russia - Moscow. Lazy and capricious, frightened by any serious thought, abhorrent to any business occupation, Elizabeth could not enter the complex international relations of the then Europe and understand the diplomatic intricacies of her chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin. But in her inner chambers, she created a special political environment for herself, consisting of hangers-on and storytellers, gossips, at the head of which was an intimate solidary cabinet, where the prime minister was Mavra Yegorovna Shuvalova, the wife of an inventor and projector known to us, and members were Anna Karlovna Vorontsova, nee Skavronskaya, a relative of the empress, and some kind of simply Elizaveta Ivanovna, who was called the Minister of Foreign Affairs. “All the cases were submitted to the empress through her,” notes a contemporary.<…>For all that, in her, not like in her Courland predecessor, somewhere deep there, deep under a thick crust of prejudices, bad habits and spoiled tastes, there was still a man who sometimes burst out in a vow before seizing the throne not to execute anyone with death and in fulfilling this vow the decree of May 17, 1744, which actually abolished the death penalty in Russia, then in the non-approval of the fierce criminal part of the Code, drawn up in the Commission of 1754 and already approved by the Senate, with exquisite forms of the death penalty, then in the prevention of obscene petitions from the Synod about the need to abandon this empress of the vow, then, finally, in the ability to cry from an unjust decision, torn out by the intrigues of the same Synod. Elizabeth was an intelligent and kind, but disorderly and wayward Russian lady of the 18th century, who, according to Russian custom, was scolded by many during her lifetime and, according to Russian custom, everyone mourned over her death.

COURT LIFE 30-50 XVIII cc.

Elizabeth's court was buried in luxury and exquisite nightlife (the queen was afraid to sleep at night, because she was afraid of conspiracies usually carried out in Russia at night). The customs of Elizabeth's court differed little from European court life. At the balls pleasant music sounded, performed by excellent orchestras, Elizaveta Petrovna shone with beauty and costumes. At the court, masquerade balls were regularly held, and in the first ten years, so-called "metamorphoses" were also held, when ladies dressed up in men's suits and men in ladies' suits. Elizaveta Petrovna herself set the tone and was the trendsetter. Her wardrobe included 15 thousand dresses. The queen did not wear any of them twice. Nevertheless V.O. Klyuchevsky noted: “ Having ascended the throne, she wanted to fulfill her girlish dreams into a magical reality; an endless string of performances, entertainment trips, kurtags, balls, masquerades, striking with dazzling brilliance and luxury to the point of nausea. Sometimes the whole courtyard turned into a theatrical foyer: from day to day they talked only about French comedy, about the Italian comic opera and its maintainer Locatelli, about intermezzi, etc. furnishings, untidiness: the doors were not closed, a barrel was blowing through the windows; water flowed over the wall paneling, the rooms were extremely damp; in the bedroom of Grand Duchess Catherine there were huge slits in the oven; 17 servants were crowded in a small cell near this bedroom; the furnishings were so sparse that mirrors, beds, tables and chairs were transported from palace to palace, even from St. Petersburg to Moscow, as needed, broken, beaten, and in this form were placed in temporary places. Elizabeth lived and reigned in gilded poverty; she left behind in her wardrobe too 15 thousand dresses, two chests of silk stockings, a bunch of unpaid bills and an unfinished huge Winter Palace, which had already absorbed more than 10 million rubles in our money from 1755 to 1761. Not long before her death, she really wanted to live in this palace; but she was in vain to have the builder Rastrelli hasten to decorate at least her own living rooms. French haberdashery shops sometimes refused to issue new-fangled goods to the palace on credit. ".

An integral feature of the Russian autocracy in the 1725-1750s. became favoritism. The rulers changed, but each had favorites who wielded tremendous power and influence in the state, even if they did not hold high government posts. These favorites, “nobles in case,” cost a lot of money to the treasury. A golden shower of gifts constantly fell on them, thousands, if not tens of thousands of serfs were given. Under Elizaveta Petrovna, Alexei Razumovsky and Ivan Shuvalov enjoyed a special location. Relatives and people close to the favorites also possessed colossal weight.

ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MOSCOW UNIVERSITY AND TWO COLLEGE

WITH THE APPENDIX OF THE HIGHEST APPROVED DRAFT ON THIS SUBJECT

1755, January 12

When the deceased, our dear parent and sovereign Peter the Great, the great emperor and the renovator of his fatherland, immersed in the depths of ignorance and weakened in strength, Russia, the resting, our dearest parent and sovereign Peter the Great, resting in Bose, immersed in the depths of ignorance and weakened in strength to the knowledge of the true well-being of the human race, he believed that not only Russia feels, but most of the world is a witness to this; and although during the life of only the highly glorious monarch, our father and sovereign, we did not achieve the all-usefulness of his enterprise to perfection, but with the supreme benevolence, since our accession to the all-Russian throne, we have hourly care and work, both about the execution of all his glorious enterprises, so and about the production of everything that can serve only for the benefit and well-being of the whole fatherland, which is already really on many matters all loyal subjects of our maternal mercies are now using and will continue to be used by descendants, which times and actions prove every day. Following this, from our true patriots and knowing enough that our only desire and will is to create the people's well-being for the glory of the fatherland, exercising their diligence and work for the benefit of the whole people to our perfect pleasure; but as all good comes from an enlightened mind, and on the contrary, evil takes root, then it is necessary to try to ensure that all useful knowledge grows in our vast empire in the way of decent sciences; imitating glory for the common fatherland, our Senate, and recognizing it as very useful to the general well-being of the whole people, informed us that our real chamberlain and cavalier Shuvalov submitted to the Senate a report, with the attachment of the project and the state about the establishment in Moscow of one university and two gymnasiums, the following represented: how science is everywhere necessary and useful, and how in that way the enlightened peoples are exalted and glorified over people living in the darkness of ignorance, what is the visible evidence of our century from God given, to the well-being of our empire, the parent of our sovereign Emperor Peter the Great, proves that the divine his enterprise had execution through sciences, his immortal glory left in eternal times, the mind of superior deeds, in only a short time a change in morals and customs and ignorance, long established waterways, all for the benefit of the common humanity, and that finally all the bliss of human life, in which the innumerable fruits of every good are always presented to the senses; and that our vast empire, established here by our dear parent, Tsar Peter the Great, the St. Petersburg Academy, which we, among the many well-being of our subjects, by mercy a considerable sum against the former, to greater benefit and to the reproduction and encouragement of the sciences and arts, have all-mercifully bestowed and produces its fruits with the benefit of the local, but he cannot be content with this scientific corps alone, in such a reasoning that beyond the distance noblemen and commoners have many obstacles to coming to St. , in addition to the Academy, in the Land and Naval Cadet Corps, in Engineering and Artillery, they have an open path, but for teaching the higher sciences to noblemen who wish, or to those who are not written in the above places for any reason, and for general training to commoners, our mentioned actual chamberlain and cavalier Shuvalov, on the establishment of the above-declared in Mo a university square for noblemen and commoners, following the example of European universities, where people freely use science of every rank, and two gymnasiums, one for noblemen, the other for commoners, except for serfs ...

OB OF ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RUSSIAN THEATER

We have now commanded to establish a Russian theater for the presentation of tragedies and comedies, for which to give the Golovninsky stone house, which is on Vasilievsky Island, near the Cadet House.

And for this, it was ordered to recruit actors and actresses: actors from Yaroslavl students and singers in the Cadet Corps, who will also be needed, and in addition to them actors from other non-serving people, there are also a decent number of actresses.

For the maintenance of this theater, determine, by the strength of our decree, counting from now, a sum of 5,000 rubles per year, which is always released from the State office at the beginning of the year after the signing of our decree. To supervise the house, Aleksey Dyakonov is selected from the life-company kopeckers, whom we have granted as an army second lieutenant with a salary from the sum of 250 rubles a year allocated to the theater. Determine a decent guard in the same house where the theater is established.

The directorate of that Russian theater is entrusted from us to Brigadier Alexander Sumarokov, who is determined from the same amount in excess of his brigadier's salary of 1,000 rubles ... yard is given a register.