Born September 20, 1754. From an early age he was taught to read and write and various sciences. The future Emperor studied history, mathematics, foreign languages ​​and geography.

According to the recollections of his teachers, Pavel was a man of lively mind, beautifully gifted by nature. His childhood was difficult; he lost his father early. Moreover, he lost it, as he himself believed, through the fault of his mother. Pavel loved Pyotr Fedorovich very much, and could not forgive his mother for his death.

At the age of 17, Catherine II married her son to Princess Wilhelmina, who was named Natalya Alekseevna at baptism. Natalya died during childbirth.

In 1776, Paul I married for the second time. The wife of the heir to the Russian throne was Sophia-Dorothe, who at baptism took the name Maria Feodorovna. Maria Feodorovna was related to the Prussian king. Apparently under the influence of his wife, he began to like many German customs.

Meanwhile, relations between Pavel Petrovich and Catherine II became increasingly cool. After the wedding, Catherine II gave the couple Gatchina. In fact, this was a real exile, an attempt to remove the heir from the court.

Here in Gatchina, Paul I has his own army; they send him half a company of sailors, an infantry battalion, and a cuirassier regiment. Pavel Petrovich devotes a lot of time to his soldiers. Organizes various exercises and shows.

In 1777, his son was born, named Alexander. The boy was immediately taken from his parents, and his upbringing was carried out by people appointed by the empress herself.

Pavel and Maria could visit their son only on special days. Pavel tried to participate in the political life of the country, but his mother suppressed any of his undertakings and initiatives.

After the death of Catherine II, Paul I was crowned king. Pavel Petrovich ascended the throne without having great skills in public administration. When he became monarch, he was already 42 years old. He was already an accomplished, bright and extraordinary person.

His very first act on the Russian throne was the coronation of Peter III. The father's ashes were removed from the grave, the coronation ceremony was held, and the subsequent reburial of Peter III in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, next to Catherine II.

Domestic policy of Paul I

On April 5, 1797, Paul I was anointed king. On the same day, a decree on succession to the throne was issued. Now the direct descendants of the monarch through the male line became the heirs to the Russian throne. Women could take the Russian throne only in the absence of male representatives from the ruling dynasty

Paul I restored the State Council, which had been created under the rule, but had not functioned for a long time. Increased the number of council members from 7 to 17 people. In 1796, the Senate was also reformed, which could not cope with its duties due to the increased number of cases.

The size of the Senate has increased, and new rules of office work have appeared aimed at speeding up the work of the Senate. The internal policy of Paul I caused discontent among the nobles, because... The emperor tried to alleviate the situation of the peasantry. Such actions caused certain discontent among the nobility.

He also, by his decrees, abolished Catherine’s “charter of the nobility.” Now nobles were forbidden to ask for resignation if they had served as an officer for less than a year. The noble assemblies were abolished. The army reform carried out by Paul I caused great dissatisfaction. Prussian orders were established in the Russian army, and an inconvenient uniform was introduced. The army lived by drill training, under conditions of the strictest discipline.

Foreign policy of Paul I

In his foreign policy, Paul I first decided to defend only the interests of Russia. But the disposition of forces in Europe obliged him to actively participate in the affairs of European states. In alliance with Turkey, the Russian army and navy took Corfu, under the leadership of. And he crushed the French on the continent by making incredible crossings through the Alps.

Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with the emperor grew more and more among the courtiers. So, on the night of March 11-12, 1801, a group of conspirators broke into his chambers and demanded that he abdicate the throne. Paul I refused and, in the ensuing fight, was killed by the conspirators. His son, Alexander I Pavlovich, was proclaimed the new Russian emperor. The “Era of palace coups” ended with the personality of Paul I.

Results

Pavel Petrovich is of great interest to historians and is the subject of much controversy. Some sincerely consider him a tyrant, others - a wonderful reformer. It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of who Emperor Paul I was. Many characterize the period of his reign as knightly autocracy. In fact, he was a man of honor.

Unfortunately, the emperor’s psyche really wasn’t all right. But there is an explanation for this. As a child, he lost his father, whom he loved very much, early on. Throughout his life, he was afraid that he would share the fate of Pyotr Fedorovich. During his reign, the mistrust and caution of the entire court reached its climax.

The Russian Empire was filled with various spies and informers who praised themselves to the emperor and denounced others. Paul I was a man of changeable character, and often made contradictory decisions. People quickly fell out of favor with him, and just as quickly became his favorites. Paul I ruled Russia for only 5 years.

• There are three versions of the origin of Emperor Paul I. He is the son of Peter III and Catherine II.
• Son of Catherine II and Count Sergei Saltykov.
• Son of unknown Chukhon parents.
  

This era differs significantly from previous periods, which is associated primarily with the personality of Paul I, the son of Catherine II and Peter III, in many of whose actions it is difficult to find continuity; his actions were sometimes completely unpredictable and devoid of any logic. Russian politics in those years fully corresponded to the personality of the emperor - a capricious man, changeable in his decisions, easily replacing anger with mercy, and also suspicious and suspicious.

Catherine II did not love her son. He grew up remote and alienated from her, entrusted with the upbringing of N.I. Panina. When he grew up and in 1773 married Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt, who took the name Natalya Alekseevna, Catherine granted him the right to live in Gatchina, where he had a small army detachment under his command, which he trained according to the Prussian model. This was his main occupation. In 1774, Paul tried to get closer to the affairs of state administration by submitting a note to Catherine “Discussion about the state in general regarding the number of troops required to defend it and regarding the defense of all borders,” which did not receive the approval of the empress. In 1776, his wife died during childbirth and Pavel remarried the Wirtemberg princess Sophia-Dorothea, who took the name Maria Feodorovna. In 1777, they had a son, the future Emperor Alexander I, and in 1779 a second, Constantine. Catherine II took both grandchildren into her care, which further complicated their relationship. Removed from business and removed from the court, Pavel became more and more imbued with feelings of resentment, irritation and outright hostility towards his mother and her entourage, wasting the power of his mind on theoretical discussions about the need to correct the state of the Russian Empire. All this made Paul a broken and embittered man.

From the first minutes of his reign, it became clear that he would rule with the help of new people. Catherine's former favorites lost all meaning. Previously humiliated by them, Paul now expressed his complete disdain for them. Nevertheless, he was filled with the best intentions and strove for the good of the state, but his lack of management skills prevented him from acting successfully. Dissatisfied with the management system, Pavel could not find people around him to replace the previous administration. Wanting to establish order in the state, he eradicated the old, but implanted the new with such cruelty that it seemed even more terrible. This unpreparedness for governing the country was combined with the unevenness of his character, which resulted in his predilection for external forms of subordination, and his temper often turned into cruelty. Pavel transferred his random moods into politics. Therefore, the most important facts of his domestic and foreign policy cannot be presented in the form of a harmonious and correct system. It should be noted that all of Paul’s measures to establish order in the country only violated the harmony of the previous government, without creating anything new and useful. Overwhelmed by a thirst for activity, wanting to delve into all government problems, he got to work at six o'clock in the morning and forced all government officials to follow this schedule. At the end of the morning, Pavel, dressed in a dark green uniform and boots, accompanied by his sons and adjutants, went to the parade ground. He, as the commander-in-chief of the army, made promotions and appointments at his own discretion. Strict drill was imposed in the army and Prussian military uniforms were introduced. By a circular dated November 29, 1796, accuracy of formation, accuracy of intervals and goose step were elevated to the main principles of military affairs. He drove out well-deserved, but not pleasing, generals and replaced them with unknown, often completely mediocre, but ready to fulfill the most absurd whim of the emperor (in particular, he was sent into exile). The demotion was carried out publicly. According to a well-known historical anecdote, once, angry at a regiment that failed to clearly carry out the command, Pavel ordered it to march straight from the parade to Siberia. Those close to the king begged him to have mercy. The regiment, which, in fulfilling this order, had already managed to move quite far from the capital, was returned back to St. Petersburg.

In general, two lines can be traced in the policy of the new emperor: to eradicate what was created by Catherine II, and to remake Russia according to the model of Gatchina. The strict order introduced in his personal residence near St. Petersburg, Pavel wanted to extend to the whole of Russia. He used the first reason to demonstrate hatred of his mother at the funeral of Catherine II. Paul demanded that the funeral ceremony be performed simultaneously over the body of Catherine and Peter III, who was killed on her orders. On his instructions, the coffin with the body of her husband was removed from the crypt of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and exhibited in the throne room of the Winter Palace next to Catherine’s coffin. Afterwards they were solemnly transferred to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. This procession was opened by Alexei Orlov, the main culprit of the murder, who carried the crown of the emperor he killed on a golden pillow. His accomplices, Passek and Baryatinsky, held tassels of mourning cloth. Following them on foot were the new emperor, empress, grand dukes and princesses, and generals. In the cathedral, priests dressed in mourning vestments performed the funeral service for both at the same time.

Paul I freed N.I. from the Shlisselburg fortress. Novikov, returned Radishchev from exile, showered favors on T. Kosciuszko and allowed him to emigrate to America, giving him 60 thousand rubles, and received the former Polish king Stanislav Poniatowski with honors in St. Petersburg.

"HAMLET AND DON QUIXOTE"

In Russia, in front of the eyes of the entire society, for 34 years, the real, and not theatrical, tragedy of Prince Hamlet took place, the hero of which was the heir, Tsarevich Paul the First.<…>In European high circles it was he who was called the “Russian Hamlet”. After the death of Catherine II and his accession to the Russian throne, Paul was more often compared to Cervantes' Don Quixote. V.S. spoke well about this. Zhilkin: “Two greatest images of world literature in relation to one person - this was awarded to only Emperor Paul in the whole world.<…>Both Hamlet and Don Quixote act as bearers of the highest truth in the face of the vulgarity and lies reigning in the world. This is what makes both of them similar to Paul. Like them, Paul was at odds with his age, like them, he did not want to “keep up with the times.”

In the history of Russia, the opinion has taken root that the emperor was a stupid ruler, but this is far from the case. On the contrary, Paul did a lot, or at least tried to do, for the country and its people, especially the peasantry and clergy. The reason for this state of affairs is that the tsar tried to limit the power of the nobility, which received almost unlimited rights and the abolition of many duties (for example, military service) under Catherine the Great, and fought against embezzlement. The guards also didn’t like the fact that they were trying to “drill” her. Thus, everything was done to create the myth of the “tyrant.” Herzen’s words are noteworthy: “Paul I presented the disgusting and ridiculous spectacle of the crowned Don Quixote.” Like literary heroes, Paul I dies as a result of treacherous murder. Alexander I ascends to the Russian throne, who, as you know, felt guilty all his life for the death of his father.

"INSTITUTION ABOUT THE IMPERIAL FAMILY"

During the coronation celebrations, in 1797, Paul announced the first government act of great importance - “The Establishment of the Imperial Family.” The new law restored the old, pre-Petrine custom of transfer of power. Paul saw what the violation of this law led to, which had an unfavorable impact on himself. This law again restored inheritance only through the male line by primogeniture. From now on, the throne could only be passed on to the eldest of the sons, and in their absence, to the eldest of the brothers, “so that the state would not be without an heir, so that the heir would always be appointed by law itself, so that there would not be the slightest doubt about who should inherit.” To maintain the imperial family, a special department of “appanages” was formed, which managed appanage properties and peasants living on appanage lands.

CLASS POLITICS

The opposition to the actions of his mother was also evident in the class policy of Paul I - his attitude towards the nobility. Paul I liked to repeat: “A nobleman in Russia is only the one with whom I speak and while I speak with him.” Being a defender of unlimited autocratic power, he did not want to allow any class privileges, significantly limiting the effect of the Charter of the Nobility of 1785. In 1798, governors were ordered to attend the elections of leaders of the nobility. The following year, another restriction followed - provincial meetings of nobles were canceled and provincial leaders had to be elected by district leaders. Nobles were prohibited from making collective representations about their needs, and they could be subjected to corporal punishment for criminal offenses.

ONE AND HUNDRED THOUSAND

What happened between Paul and the nobility in 1796-1801? That nobility, whose most active part we conventionally divided into “enlighteners” and “cynics”, who agreed on the “benefits of enlightenment” (Pushkin) and had not yet diverged far enough in the dispute about the abolition of slavery. Didn't Paul have the opportunity to satisfy a number of general or private desires and needs of this class and its individual representatives? Published and unpublished archival materials leave no doubt that a considerable percentage of Pavlov’s “quick-fire” plans and orders were “to the heart” of his class. 550-600 thousand new serfs (yesterday's state, appanage, economic, etc.) were transferred to the landowners along with 5 million acres of land - a fact that is especially eloquent if we compare it with the decisive statements of Paul the Heir against his mother's distribution of serfs. However, a few months after his accession, troops will move against the rebellious Oryol peasants; at the same time, Pavel will ask the commander-in-chief about the advisability of the royal departure to the scene of action (this is already “knightly style”!).

The service advantages of the nobles during these years were preserved and strengthened as before. A commoner could become a non-commissioned officer only after four years of service in the rank and file, a nobleman - after three months, and in 1798 Paul generally ordered that henceforth commoners should not be presented as officers! It was by order of Paul that the Auxiliary Bank for the Nobility was established in 1797, which issued huge loans.

Let us listen to one of his enlightened contemporaries: “Agriculture, industry, trade, arts and sciences had in him (Paul) a reliable patron. To promote education and upbringing, he founded a university in Dorpat and a school for war orphans (Pavlovsky Corps) in St. Petersburg. For women - the Institute of the Order of St. Catherine and the institutions of the department of Empress Maria." Among the new institutions of Pavlov's time we will find a number of others that never aroused noble objections: the Russian-American Company, the Medical-Surgical Academy. Let us also mention the soldiers' schools, where 12 thousand people were educated under Catherine II, and 64 thousand people under Paul I. Listing, we note one characteristic feature: education is not abolished, but is increasingly controlled by the supreme power.<…>The Tula nobleman, who rejoiced at the beginning of Pavlov’s changes, poorly hides some fear: “With the change of government, nothing bothered the entire Russian nobility so much as the fear that they would not be deprived of the freedom granted to them by Emperor Peter III, and the retention of that privilege in order to serve everyone at ease and only as long as anyone wishes; but, to everyone’s satisfaction, the new monarch, upon his very accession to the throne, namely on the third or fourth day, by dismissing some guards officers from service, on the basis of a decree on the freedom of the nobility, proved that he had no intention of depriving the nobles of this precious right and force them to serve from under bondage. It’s impossible to adequately describe how happy everyone was when they heard this...” They didn’t rejoice for long.

N.Ya. Edelman. Edge of Ages

AGRICULTURAL POLICY

Paul's inconsistency also manifested itself in the peasant question. By the law of April 5, 1797, Paul established a standard of peasant labor in favor of the landowner, appointing three days of corvée per week. This manifesto is usually called the “decree on three-day corvee”, however, this law contained only a prohibition to force peasants to work on Sundays, establishing only a recommendation to landowners to adhere to this norm. The law stated that “the remaining six days in the week, generally divided by an equal number of them,” “with good management will be sufficient” to satisfy the economic needs of the landowners. In the same year, another decree was issued, according to which it was forbidden to sell courtyard people and landless peasants under the hammer, and in 1798 a ban was established on the sale of Ukrainian peasants without land. Also in 1798, the emperor restored the right of manufactory owners to buy peasants to work in enterprises. However, during his reign, serfdom continued to spread widely. During the four years of his reign, Paul I transferred more than 500,000 state-owned peasants into private hands, while Catherine II, during her thirty-six years of reign, distributed about 800,000 souls of both sexes. The scope of serfdom was also expanded: a decree of December 12, 1796 prohibited the free movement of peasants living on private lands in the Don region, the northern Caucasus and Novorossiysk provinces (Ekaterinoslav and Tauride).

At the same time, Paul sought to regulate the situation of the state-owned peasants. A number of Senate decrees ordered that they be satisfied with sufficient land plots - 15 dessiatines per male capita in provinces with many lands, and 8 dessiatines in the rest. In 1797, rural and volost self-government of state-owned peasants was regulated - elected village elders and “volost heads” were introduced.

PAUL I'S ATTITUDE TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Paul was also haunted by the specter of revolution. Overly suspicious, he saw the subversive influence of revolutionary ideas even in fashionable clothing and, by decree of January 13, 1797, banned the wearing of round hats, long trousers, shoes with bows and boots with cuffs. Two hundred dragoons, divided into pickets, rushed through the streets of St. Petersburg and caught passers-by, belonging mainly to high society, whose costume did not comply with the order of the emperor. Their hats were torn off, their vests were cut, and their shoes were confiscated.

Having established such supervision over the cut of his subjects’ clothing, Paul also took charge of their way of thinking. By decree of February 16, 1797, he introduced secular and church censorship and ordered the sealing of private printing houses. The words “citizen”, “club”, “society” were deleted from the dictionaries.

Paul's tyrannical rule, his inconsistency both in domestic and foreign policy, caused increasing displeasure in noble circles. In the hearts of young guardsmen from noble families, hatred of the Gatchina order and Paul’s favorites bubbled up. A conspiracy arose against him. On the night of March 12, 1801, the conspirators entered the Mikhailovsky Castle and killed Paul I.

S.F. PLATONS ABOUT PAUL I

“An abstract sense of legality and fear of being attacked by France forced Paul to fight the French; a personal sense of resentment forced him to retreat from this war and prepare for another. The element of chance was just as strong in foreign policy as in domestic policy: in both cases Paul was guided more by feeling than by idea.”

IN. KLUCHEVSKY ABOUT PAUL I

“Emperor Paul the First was the first tsar, in some of whose acts a new direction, new ideas seemed to be visible. I do not share the rather common disdain for the significance of this short reign; in vain they consider it some random episode of our history, a sad whim of fate unkind to us, having no internal connection with the previous time and giving nothing to the future: no, this reign is organically connected as a protest - with the past, but as the first unsuccessful experience of a new policy , as an edifying lesson for successors - with the future. The instinct of order, discipline and equality was the guiding impulse for the activities of this emperor, the fight against class privileges was his main task. Since the exclusive position acquired by one class had its source in the absence of fundamental laws, Emperor Paul 1 began the creation of these laws.”

Paul I. Part 1.

Paul I. Part 1.

Pavel I, Andrey Filippovich Mitrokhin

And so, on the Russian throne is the great-grandson of Peter the Great, in whose veins there is very little Russian blood left. His wife, a purebred German, had already given birth to eight children by that time. None of the monarchs of the House of Romanov had ever ascended the throne with such “wealth.”

Pavel Romanov began his reign with the order to place guard boxes along the streets of the city, painted in Prussian colors, white and black, and station sentries in them. Police began to scurry around the city, tearing off the round hats of passing men and cutting off the tails of tailcoats, frock coats and greatcoats - again according to the Prussian model. The townspeople, although frightened by such drastic changes, did not hesitate, however, to show their joy and satisfaction in connection with the arrival of the new autocrat.

A few days after Paul ascended the throne, a special window was made in the lower floor of the Winter Palace, through which anyone had the right to drop a petition addressed to the emperor. The key to the room where this window was located was kept by the sovereign himself. Every morning Pavel opened the door to this room, collected all the letters and notes dropped out the window, read them carefully, and made notes. He wrote answers to petitions personally and signed them. Then they were published in newspapers. There were cases when the person who submitted the petition was asked to apply to the court or another department, then notify the emperor about the result of this appeal. Thanks to such “correspondence” it was possible to reveal blatant lawlessness and injustice. In such cases, the king severely punished the perpetrators.

S.G. Moskvitin. Emperor Paul I.

Having begun his reign with punitive orders, the new emperor, however, confirmed in office most of the senior officials and officers who served at his mother’s court. Even Osterman, the youngest son of that same Osterman, who began his service under Peter I and was severely punished by his daughter, he did not remove him from the management of foreign affairs entrusted to him by Catherine II, but appointed him chancellor.

But Paul I dismissed the servants of the former empress. Some were sent to prison, and some were generously rewarded. He also showed mercy to those who were convicted under his mother, the queen, by declaring a general amnesty, which, however, did not affect those serving sentences for particularly serious crimes. Alexander Radishchev returned from exile. The disgraced comrades of Emperor Peter III, as well as the officers who stood on the side of the sovereign in the fateful year 1762, were called to St. Petersburg. True, these were already old people, because almost thirty-five years had passed since that time. Now they were showered with honors and enjoyed the attention of the sovereign himself. Yes, times have changed...

Emperor Paul I liberating Tadeusz Kościuszko.

Pavel also treated his half-brother Alexei Bobrinsky mercifully, born by his mother from Grigory Orlov. In 1764, Catherine almost deprived Paul of the throne, intending to marry her lover and appoint his son as heir instead of the son of Peter, her ex-husband. But this did not happen. Alexey Bobrinsky was deprived of the right to live in the capital for his unsightly behavior and was in Livonia. Pavel returned him to St. Petersburg: he received him very cordially, granted him the title of count and presented him with an estate. Bobrinsky, having married Baroness Anna Ungern-Sternberg, daughter of Commandant Revel, in 1796, moved to Estonia, where he ended his life, forgotten by everyone.

Alexei Bobrinsky in the 1800s

Count Alexey Grigorievich Bobrinsky (1762-1813)

Anna Vladimirovna Bobrinskaya (1769-1846), wife of A.G. Bobrinsky, née Baroness Ungern-Sternberg

Sokolov Petr Fedorovich. Portrait of Countess A.V. Bobrinskaya. 1827

The attitude of the new emperor towards Prince Platon Zubov can be called truly chivalrous. The last favorite, of course, had to leave the Winter Palace, but he settled in a house specially purchased for him at the expense of His Majesty’s cabinet. After the prince moved to the new premises, Pavel, accompanied by his wife, visited Zubov, crossing the threshold of his new house with the words: “Whoever remembers the old is out of sight.” And when the champagne was served, the sovereign said: “How many drops there are, I wish you all the best,” and, having drunk it all to the bottom, he broke the glass on the floor. Zubov threw himself at the emperor’s feet, but was raised by him with the words: “I told you: whoever remembers the old is out of sight.” Over the samovar, the sovereign said to the empress: “Spill the tea, because it has no owner.” But Paul’s favors were short-lived - major violations were discovered in the industries in which Zubov was involved, an investigation was ordered, and the prince was forced to resign. The last favorite of Catherine II became embittered against her son and dreamed of revenge.

His Serene Highness Prince (from 1796) Platon Aleksandrovich Zubov

Disgrace at the beginning of the reign of Paul I affected only a few. Princess Dashkova, one of the main accomplices of the June events of 1762, was given an order from Paul I to immediately leave Moscow and not appear again either in it or in St. Petersburg. This mission was carried out by the commander-in-chief of Moscow himself.

“In twenty-four hours? - asked the princess. “Inform the sovereign that I left in twenty-four minutes.” She immediately ordered the carriage to be laid and, still in the presence of the emperor who conveyed the order to her, left her Moscow home.

The ceremonial portrait of Vorontsova-Dashkova depicts her next to books, hinting at learning.

Paul, remembering that his father did not follow the advice of Frederick II to place the crown on his head as soon as possible, hastened to set the day of the coronation. He did, however, order that preparations for the celebrations be made with the utmost frugality in spending money. But he did not want to put his mother's crown on his head. Therefore, the jeweler Duval, in a relatively short time, made a large imperial crown and a new scepter, studded with precious stones. And its main decoration was a diamond presented to Catherine II by Grigory Orlov.

The Red Gate, through which the coronation cortege traditionally followed, lithographs by Arnoux J.-B. from the original by Vivien.

The crowning took place in April 1797, that is, four months after the death of Empress Catherine. The ceremonial entry into the ancient capital took place on Palm Sunday. The weather was excellent, the sun was shining like spring. The Emperor, wearing a Prussian-style military uniform, with a powdered head and a braid, rode on horseback, and the Empress in a carriage. Troops were lined up along the entire route with trellises. Indoor galleries were built for spectators. For the first time in the history of Russia, two persons were crowned on the same day: the emperor and the empress, his wife, on whom Paul personally placed another small crown on her head.

Coronation of Paul I and Maria Feodorovna. Saratov State Art Museum

At the end of the church ceremony, Paul read out the “Family Act on the Order of Succession to the Throne,” which he had compiled, directly in the church and ordered this act to be kept forever in the altar of the Assumption Cathedral, the place of coronation of the Russian tsars, in a silver ark specially made for this purpose. Thus, he canceled the decree of his great-grandfather, Peter the Great, according to which the tsar himself determined his heir. From now on, the throne was supposed to pass to the eldest in the family in the male line. Thus, once and for all, the main lawlessness in Russia was eliminated, the victim of which was himself, the natural heir of his father Peter III. Thanks to this decree, the Imperial House of Romanov will henceforth be represented only by male persons passing on the throne in a descending line. The reign of women is a thing of the past, although some state and public functions were performed by the wives of Russian emperors. For example, Pavel entrusted Maria Feodorovna with the general management of educational institutions in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Portrait of Maria Feodorovna (1759-1828), Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky

The Emperor settled in the Winter Palace, choosing for himself and his large family the rooms he had occupied while he was still a youth. He ordered them to be furnished as simply and modestly as possible, unlike the luxurious decoration of his mother’s apartments.

Gerard von Kügelgen. Portrait of Paul I with his family. 1800. State Museum-Reserve "Pavlovsk"

Much has been written about the personality of Paul I, as one of the most mysterious and controversial figures in history; some consider him mentally ill, others consider him great. His birth caused rejoicing at court, Empress Elizabeth herself took charge of his upbringing, and his death caused both joy and sadness.

Vladimir Borovikovsky Portrait of Paul I

Portrait of Paul I in a white dalmatic, Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky

He was eight years old when his father died. With a child's instinct, he realized that something was wrong. But understanding came later. Teachers were assigned to him, who developed in him, first of all, his innate passion for military exercises and even came up with an alphabet for their student, where the letters were depicted in the form of soldiers. However, there was no clear lesson plan at court with its magnificent festivities and entertainment. Classes were held whenever and however necessary, between walks, formal dinners, masquerades, and theatrical performances. They began to take the Grand Duke to the theater very early, indiscriminately, to every new performance. In general, already in childhood, Pavel was looked at as an adult, a future king.

Christinek Karl Ludwig. Portrait of Tsarevich Paul in the costume of a holder of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called

Portrait of Tsarevich Pavel Petrovich

Portrait of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich in the classroom. Around 1766. GEVigilius Eriksen

Stefano Torelli Portrait of Pavel Petrovich with a little black boy.

Portrait of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, made by an unknown artist in the 1770s.

As a ten-year-old boy, he was already expressing his opinion: he confidently praised some, openly despised others. He treated his servants harshly. Sometimes he dressed them up in the armor of knights from the times of the Crusades and organized tournaments with them. In general, Pavel was a boy with fantasies, but not strong-willed and consistent enough. By nature he was a kind, cheerful, playful child, but, unfortunately, he learned too early what fate befell his father, and this developed in him a complex of suspicion and fear. Troubling visions associated with the death of his father accompanied Paul throughout his life.

Peter III (in the uniform of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment, 1762) Years of life: 1728-1762 Russian Emperor in 1761-1762.

The personality of Nikita Panin had a positive impact on the upbringing of the Grand Duke. Already at a young age, Panin’s student amazed with the vastness of his knowledge, intelligence and intelligence, worship of beauty and goodness. He had an excellent command of Russian, French and German, knew the works of European writers well, and loved painting and architecture.

Nikita Ivanovich Panin (1718-1783) - Russian diplomat and statesman, Alexander Roslin

Having married, he became an impeccable husband, although he had to endure the drama of death and, as he was convinced, the infidelity of his first wife, Natalya Alekseevna, whose marriage lasted a little more than three years. But in his second marriage, Pavel found true family happiness.

Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna, Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, first wife of the future Paul I

Maria Feodorovna, Princess of Württemberg, turned out to be a wonderful wife, in love with her husband, and an impeccable mother. She, of course, had small shortcomings acquired in childhood.

She, for example, was so thrifty that, having arrived in St. Petersburg, she did not hesitate to appropriate all the dresses of Pavel’s first wife so as not to buy new ones. Why extra spending?!

Portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna, A. Roslin

Portrait of Maria Feodorovna, A. Roslin

I.-B. Lumpy. Portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna.

It was not typical for her to dress magnificently and luxuriously; she rather preferred modesty and smartness. Conscious of her high role in society, Maria Feodorovna was always dressed in a formal dress and beautifully combed. Even while pregnant, she wore a dress and not a hood like other women in her position. Draped into a corset, she occupied herself with embroidery, sewing, and reading German or French literature. Pavel’s wife recorded all the impressions of the day in her diary and regularly wrote letters to relatives and friends.

I.-B. Lumpy. Portrait of Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna. 1795. Pavlovsk Museum-Reserve.

I.-B. Lumpy Sr. Portrait of Empress Maria Feodorovna. 1792

Friedrich Eugene, father of Maria Feodorovna

Duchess Frederica Dorothea of ​​Württemberg with a portrait of her eldest son Frederick. Painting by Johann Georg Ziesenis, mother

She devoted a lot of time to charitable and educational institutions. Without interfering in state affairs during the life of her mother-in-law, Maria Feodorovna began to play a noticeable political role, becoming empress. Unlike Catherine II, her daughter-in-law remained a real German; she even spoke Russian with a strong German accent. However, she never tried to bring her compatriots closer to the court; I did not maintain close contacts with the Germans. The only exceptions were, perhaps, her childhood friend Mrs. Benckendorff, whom she took from her native place, and her daughters’ teacher Charlotte Lieven, née von Gaugreben, a woman who, according to contemporaries, was gifted with a rare mind and a kind heart. She managed to force the emperor himself to respect her opinion and was elevated by him to the dignity of count.

Portrait of Anna-Juliana Benckendorff (1744-1797), ur. bar. Schilling von Kapstad. Miniature from the collection of Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich

Charlotte Karlovna Lieven

A loving and devoted mother, Maria Fedorovna kept her children strict, raised them with a harsh hand, although she loved them with all her heart. Truly German technique! Even married daughters considered communicating with their mother a difficult test for themselves, fearing her comments. Maria Fedorovna also had a fairly strong influence on her husband. They were considered an ideal couple, although outwardly they were complete opposites. Pavel is short, prematurely balding, with a large mouth and thick lips, a snub nose and anxiously shifting eyes. He always walked with his head held high, probably to appear taller. His wife is a stately blonde with myopic eyes and a very kind smile. With all her appearance she showed calmness and generosity. Pavel was happy in his family life.

Portraits of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna

Portraits of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna I. Pullman, 1782 - 1787, (from the original by P. Batoni, 1782)

Nikolai ARGUNOV (1771 after 1829). Portrait of Emperor Paul I.

Large ceremonial portrait of Empress Maria Feodorovna, Marie Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun

His daughter Anna later recalled how her father loved to be surrounded by children, how he often called the younger ones to play in his bedroom while he was combing his hair: this was his only free time, and he tried to spend it with the children with whom he was always was gentle and kind. If time allowed, he willingly played various games with them, especially blind man's buff. The children loved coming to their father.

Back in 1781, the couple, under the name of Count and Countess Nord, made a long trip abroad - first to Poland, and then to Vienna, Rome, Paris, Berlin, and visited many foreign courts. This trip had a decisive influence on Paul's outlook. And he himself made a completely favorable impression in the West, impressing many with his sublime mentality, curiosity, breadth of knowledge and simplicity of tastes. He was not interested in dancing, preferred serious music and a good performance, and loved simple cuisine, especially sausages.

D. Fossati son. Triumphal chariots in Venice in honor of the Northern CountsItaly 1872. Engraving, colored with watercolors

A.-L.-R. Ducrot. Vel. book Pavel Petrovich andled book Maria Feodorovna at the Roman Forum

Reception by Pope Pius VI of the Count and Countess of the North on February 8, 1782. 1801. Etching by A. Lazzaroni. GMZ "Pavlovsk"
At the European courts, the Grand Duke was perceived as a strict, temperate man, but even then there was some kind of duality in his character, as if there were two people in him: one - witty, cheerful, playing the role of the crown prince with dignity, the other - gloomy, capable of harsh outbursts and bitter remarks. He did not believe in his long life and even once stated at one of the receptions that he probably would not live to see forty-five.

Francesco Guardi. Ladies' concert in honor of the Northern Counts. OK. 1782

Suspicion was characteristic of Pavel all his life. Once, during dinner in Tsarskoe Selo, having found shards of glass in the sausages, he began to shout that they wanted to kill him, took the dish to the empress and demanded the death of those responsible. And during a trip to Europe at one of the court banquets, the taste of the wine seemed suspicious to him, and he demanded to replace his glass, saying that someone was plotting to poison him. The same story repeated itself a few months later. After drinking ice-cold beer, he felt bad and began to reproach the owner of the house - one of the French princes - for encroaching on his life. A major political scandal almost broke out.

Returning to Russia, Paul began to make extensive plans for future reforms. Even after his first trip to Berlin several years ago, he was amazed and sincerely saddened: “These Germans are two centuries ahead of us!” - he said.

Royal destinies

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Pavel 1

Pavel Petrovich was born on September 20, 1754 in the city of St. Petersburg, in the Summer Palace. Subsequently, on the instructions of Paul, this palace was demolished, and Mikhailovsky Castle was erected in that place. At the birth of Paul 1, Paul's father, Prince Pyotr Fedorovich, the Shuvalov brothers and Empress Elizaveta Petrovna were present. After the birth of Pavel, his mother and father, in fact, due to political struggle, almost did not take part in raising their child. In his childhood, Pavel was deprived of the love of his relatives, since, by order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, he was separated from his parents and surrounded by a large number of nannies and educators. Despite the external resemblance between Pavel and his father, rumors constantly spread at court that the child was born from a union with one of his favorites, Sergei Saltykov. These rumors were aggravated by the fact that Pavel was born after 10 years of marriage between Catherine and Peter, when many already considered their marriage barren.

Childhood and upbringing of Pavel 1

One of the first people involved in raising Pavel was the famous diplomat F.D. Bekhteev, obsessed with compliance with various regulations, orders, military discipline bordering on drill. Bakhteev even published a newspaper in which he reported on all the actions of the boy Pavel. In 1760, grandmother Elizaveta Petrovna changed her mentor, creating new regulations that indicated the main parameters for training the future emperor; N.I. became his new mentor. Panin. The new teacher reached the age of 42, had extensive knowledge, introducing additional subjects when teaching Pavel. A significant role in Paul’s upbringing was played by his entourage, among whom were the most educated people of that time, among whom it is worth highlighting G. Teplov and Prince A. Kurakin. Among Pavel's mentors was S.A. Poroshin, who from 1764 to 1765 kept a diary, which later became a source for studying the personality of Paul 1. To raise Paul, his mother Catherine acquired a large library in Corf. Pavel studied subjects such as arithmetic, history, geography, the Law of God, fencing, drawing, astronomy, dancing, as well as French, Italian, German, Latin and Russian. In addition to the main training program, Pavel became interested in studying military affairs. During his studies, Pavel showed good abilities, was distinguished by a developed imagination, loved books, and at the same time was impatient and restless. He loved French and German, mathematics, military exercises and dancing. At that time, Pavel received the best education that others could only dream of.

In 1773, Pavel married Wilhelmine of Hesse of Darmstadt, who later cheated on him with Count Razumovsky, dying 2.5 years later during childbirth. In the same year, Paul 1 found himself a new wife, who became Sophia Dorothea of ​​Württemberg, who later received the name after accepting Orthodoxy. Traditionally, at that time, the final stage of training was a trip abroad, on which Paul and his new wife went in 1782 under the names of the fictitious Count and Countess of the North. During the journey, Paul visited Italy and France; his journey abroad lasted 428 days, during which the future emperor covered 13,115 miles of travel.

Relationship between Catherine 2 and Paul 1

Immediately after his birth, Pavel was removed from his mother; subsequently, Catherine saw her son very rarely and only with the permission of her mother Elizabeth. When Pavel was 8 years old, his mother, with the support of the guard, carried out a coup, during which Pavel’s father died under unclear circumstances. When Catherine 2 ascended the throne, the troops swore an oath not only to her, but also to her son Paul. But Catherine did not intend to transfer full power to him in the future, after her son reached adulthood, using him only as a possible heir to the throne after her death. During the uprising, the name of Paul was used by the rebels; Pugachev himself said that after the overthrow of Catherine’s power, he did not want to reign and was only working in favor of Tsarevich Paul. Despite this upbringing as the heir to the throne, the older Paul became, the further he was kept from government affairs. Subsequently, mother Empress Catherine II and son Pavel became strangers to each other. For Catherine, her son Pavel was an unloved child, born to please politics and the interests of the state, which irritated Catherine, who contributed to the spread of rumors that Pavel was not her own child, but was replaced in his youth on the orders of his mother Elizabeth. When Paul came of age, Catherine deliberately did nothing to mark the onset of this event. Subsequently, people close to Paul fell out of favor with the empress; relations between mother and son worsened in 1783. Then, for the first time, Paul, invited to discuss state issues, showed the opposite point of view to the empress in resolving important matters of the state. Subsequently, before the death of Catherine 2, she prepared a manifesto, according to which Paul was expected to be arrested, and his son Alexander was to ascend the throne. But this manifesto of the empress after her death was destroyed by secretary A.A. Bezborodko, thanks to which, under the new Emperor Paul 1, he received the highest rank of chancellor.

Reign of Paul 1

On November 6, 1796, having reached the age of 42, Paul 1 ascended the throne, after which he began to actively destroy the order established by his mother. On the day of his coronation, Paul passed a new law according to which women were deprived of the right to inherit the Russian throne. Subsequently, the reforms carried out by Emperor Paul 1 greatly weakened the position of the nobility, among which it is worth noting the introduction of corporal punishment for committing crimes, an increase in taxes, limited the power of the nobles, and introduced liability for noble evasion from military service. The reforms carried out during the reign of Paul 1 improved the situation of the peasants. Among the innovations, it is worth noting that the abolition of corvee on holidays and weekends and no more than three days a week, the grain offense was abolished, preferential sales of salt and bread began, a ban was introduced on the sale of peasants without land and the division of peasant families when they were sold. The administrative reform carried out by Paul restored the boards previously simplified by Catherine, the department of water communications was created, the state treasury was created and the position of state treasurer was introduced. But the main part of the reforms carried out by Emperor Paul 1 affected the army. During the reforms, new military regulations were adopted, limiting the service life of recruits to 25 years. A new uniform was introduced, among which it is worth noting the introduction of an overcoat, which later saved thousands of soldiers from the cold of the War of 1812; for the first time in Europe, badges were introduced for privates. The widespread construction of new barracks began, new units such as engineering, courier, and cartographic units appeared in the army. Enormous influence was given to the drill of the army; for the slightest offense, officers were expected to be demoted, which made the situation among the officers nervous.

Assassination of Emperor Paul 1

The murder of Pavel occurred on the night of March 11-12 in 1801; 12 guards officers took part in the conspiracy. Having burst into the emperor's bedroom, during the conflict that arose, Emperor Paul 1 was beaten and strangled. The masterminds of the assassination attempt were N. Panin and P. Palen (they were not directly involved in the murder). The reason for the rebels' discontent was the unpredictable, especially in relation to the nobility and army officers. The official cause of Pavel's death was apoplexy. Subsequently, almost all evidence incriminating the conspirators was destroyed.

The results of Paul's reign are perceived ambiguously; on the one hand, it is a petty and absurd regulation of everything, an infringement of the rights of the nobility, which strengthened his reputation as a tyrant and tyrant. On the other hand, there is a heightened sense of justice of Paul, and rejection of the era of the hypocritical reign of his mother Catherine, as well as innovative ideas and isolated positive aspects of the reforms he carried out in the empire.

An heir was born. In 1796 he became king and went down in history as Paul 1.

Biography

His first teacher was a friend of the Bekhteev family, who was very strict with Pavel. He even started a special newspaper in which he published information about all the actions of his pupil.

The next mentor was Nikita Ivanovich Panin, an elderly man who shared the ideas of the Enlightenment. It was he who determined the list of numerous subjects that, in his opinion, the future emperor should have studied. Among them are the Law of God, dancing, music and many others. This study began back in and continued under Peter the Third.

His social circle included mostly highly educated people, for example, Grigory Teplov. Among the peers there were only people from famous families. Alexander Kurakin became one of his closest friends.

Catherine, the heir’s mother, purchased a collection of books by Academician Korf for her son’s education. Paul the First studied geography, history, astronomy, arithmetic, the Law of God, various languages ​​- German, French, Italian, Latin; In addition, the training program included the Russian language, drawing, dancing, and fencing. But all subjects related to military affairs were excluded, although this did not stop young Pavel from becoming interested in them.

Youth

In 1773, Paul the First married Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. This marriage did not last long - she cheated on him, and just two years later she died in childbirth. Then the young man married a second time, to Sophia Dorothea of ​​Württemberg (after baptism - Maria Fedorovna). One of the European traditions of that time was a trip abroad, which took place after the wedding. Pavel and his wife traveled incognito under the names of the Northern spouses.

Policy

On November 6, 1796, at the age of forty-two, Emperor Paul ascended the throne, and on April 5 of the following year, his coronation took place. Immediately after this, he began to abolish most of the orders and customs established by Catherine. For example, he released the radicals Radishchev and Kosciuszko from prison. In general, his entire reign was marked by “anti-Catherine” reforms.

On the day of coronation, the newly-minted emperor introduced a new law - now women could not inherit the Russian throne, and regency rights were also established. Other reforms include administrative, national and military.

The main direction of the emperor's foreign policy was the fight against the First French Republic. Almost all efforts were aimed at this, among others - an alliance with Prussia, Denmark and Sweden. After Napoleon Bonaparte came to power in France, the countries had common interests, and Paul the First began attempts to conclude a military-strategic alliance with France, but this was not destined to happen.

Pavel the First gave the impression of an unpredictable tyrant with grotesque manners and annoying habits. He wanted to carry out many reforms, but their direction and content were constantly changing, subject to the mood of the unpredictable autocrat. As a result, Paul had neither the support of the courtiers nor the love of the people.

Death of the King

During the entire reign of the emperor, several conspiracies were uncovered, the purpose of which was to kill Paul. In 1800, a conspiracy of high dignitaries arose, and Paul the First was treacherously killed by officers in his bedchamber on the night of March 12, 1801. His reign lasted only five years.

The news of the death caused barely restrained rejoicing among both the people and the nobility. The official reason was given

Paul's son, Alexander, was well aware of the emerging conspiracy, but was frightened and did not stop it, so he indirectly became the culprit in the death of his father. This event tormented the emperor all his life.