Here is a generalissimo. Emperor Ivan Antonovich of Brunswick and their family Accession to the throne of Ivan VI Antonovich
The second son of Duke Ferdinand Albrecht of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (until 1735 of Brunswick-Bevernsky) and Antoinette Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, brother of the famous Prussian commander Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick and Juliana Maria, the second wife of the Danish king Frederick V (in 1772-1784 the actual ruler of the country).
Marriage with Anna Leopoldovna
When Empress Anna Ioannovna was looking for a groom for her niece, Princess Anna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, under the influence of the Austrian court, she chose Anton. The latter arrived in Russia in early June 1733 as a boy. Here he was brought up with Anna in the hope that a strong attachment would be established between young people, which over time would turn into a more necessary feeling. These hopes were not justified. Anna at first sight disliked her betrothed, a young man of short stature, effeminate, stutterer, very limited, but modest, with a soft and supple character. Nevertheless, this marriage took place on July 14, 1739; On August 23, 1740, their first child, Ivan, was born. Soon the empress fell mortally ill and, at the insistence of Biron and Chancellor Bestuzhev, declared Ivan Antonovich heir to the throne, and Biron as regent.
Biron Regency
Prince Anton Ulrich was very unhappy with this will; he wanted to change the decree on the regency, but lacked the courage and ability to take advantage of a favorable moment. He turned to Osterman and Keyserling for advice, but they restrained him, although they did not blame him. At the same time, but apart from any participation of Prince Anton Ulrich, there was a ferment in the guard directed against Biron. The plot was discovered, the leaders of the movement - cabinet secretary Yakovlev, officer Pustoshkin and their comrades - were punished with a whip, and Prince Anton Ulrich, who also turned out to be compromised, was invited to an emergency meeting of cabinet ministers, senators and generals. Here, on October 23, on the very day when the decree was given on the annual issuance of 200,000 rubles to the parents of the young emperor, he was strictly inspired that at the slightest attempt to overthrow the established system, he would be treated like any other subject of the emperor. Following that, he was forced to sign a request for dismissal from his posts: Lieutenant Colonel Semyonovsky and Colonel of the Cuirassier Braunschweig regiments, and he was completely removed from the affairs of government.
Regency of Anna Leopoldovna
Biron treated the emperor's parents with disdain, openly insulted them and even threatened to take the young emperor away from his mother and then send Anton Ulrich and his wife out of Russia. The rumor about this made Anna Leopoldovna decide on a desperate step. She turned to Field Marshal Munnich for help, and the latter on November 8 put a quick end to Biron's reign. All this, apparently, took place without any participation and knowledge of Prince Anton Ulrich. The regency passed to Anna Leopoldovna, Anton Ulrich was proclaimed Generalissimo on November 11 Russian troops.
Link to the Arkhangelsk province
But the reign of Anna Leopoldovna did not last long. The palace coup, carried out on the night of December 5-6, 1741, elevated Elizaveta Petrovna to the throne. The latter at first limited itself to the decision to expel the Brunswick family from Russia; Anton's family was already on the way abroad, but was unexpectedly arrested, imprisoned in the Riga fortress, from there transferred to Dinamunde and Ranenburg, and finally, on November 9, 1744, imprisoned in Kholmogory, Arkhangelsk province. In addition to the first-born Ivan, who was killed in 1764 in the Shlisselburg fortress, Anna had four more children: two daughters, Catherine and Elizabeth, and two sons, Peter and Alexei. The first of them was born even before exile on July 26, 1741, the second in Dynamünde, and Princes Peter and Alexei were born already in Kholmogory. The birth of the last of them cost Anna her life (February 28, 1746).
The imprisonment of Anton Ulrich's family in Kholmogory was full of hardships; often she needed the bare necessities. A staff officer with a team was assigned to supervise them; several men and women from a simple rank served them. Any communication with outsiders was strictly forbidden to them; only the Arkhangelsk governor had an order to visit them from time to time to inquire about their condition. Brought up with the commoners, the children of Anton Ulrich knew no other language than Russian. For the maintenance of the Braunschweig family, for the salaries of the people assigned to them, and for the repair of the house they occupied, it was not assigned a certain amount; but released from the Arkhangelsk treasury from 10 to 15 thousand rubles annually.
Death
Following the accession to the throne of Catherine II, Anton Ulrich was asked to leave Russia, leaving only children in Kholmogory; but he preferred bondage with children to lonely freedom. Having lost his sight, he died on May 4, 1774. The place of his burial is unknown. Archival documents testify that on the night of the 5th to the 6th, his body was carried out in a coffin, upholstered in black cloth with a silver braid, and quietly buried in the nearest cemetery inside the fence of the house, where he was kept in the presence of only guard soldiers, who it was strictly forbidden to talk about the place of burial.
In 2007, information appeared in the media about the discovery of remains in Kholmogory, which, presumably, could belong to Anton Ulrich.
Brunswick family in Denmark
Finally, in 1780, at the request of the Danish Queen Juliana Maria, sister of Anton Ulrich, Catherine II decided to alleviate the plight of his children by deporting them to Danish possessions, where they were assigned to live in the town of Horsens in Jutland. On the night of June 27, 1780, they were transported to the Novodvinsk Fortress, and on the night of July 30, on the frigate Polar Star, the princes and princesses sailed from the coast of Russia, generously supplied with clothes, dishes and other necessary things.
Marriage and children
Wife: from July 14 (25), 1739, St. Petersburg, Anna Leopoldovna (December 7 (18), 1718 - March 7 (18), 1746), Empress in 1740-1741, daughter of Karl Leopold, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Catherine Ioannovna Romanova
- Ivan VI (12 (23) August 1740 -5 (16) July 1764), emperor in 1740-1741
- Catherine (July 26 (August 6), 1741 - April 9 (21), 1807)
- Elizabeth (16 (27) September 1743 - 9 (20) October 1782)
- Peter (19 (30) March 1745 - 19 (30) January 1798)
- Alexey Antonovich (February 27 (March 10), 1746 - October 12 (23), 1787)
Not many in our country even know the name of the town - Kholmogory. However, in pre-Petrine times and earlier, it was a rather large and glorious city for those times. And there is one story in which Kholmogory played an important role.
For 12 years in Kholmogory, the deposed young Russian emperor Ivan VI (John Antonovich), who formally ruled the Russian Empire from 1740 to 1741, was secretly kept. In fact, his mother ruled - Princess Anna Leopoldovna, who acted as regent for her young son, but in Russian history this unfortunate infant entered precisely as an emperor.
Agree, the case is unique - the legitimate Russian emperor was secretly kept in Kholmogory from 1744 to 1756. Then he was transferred to Shlisselburg, where in April 1764 he was killed by security officers.
Mother of the Emperor Anna Leopoldovna - from November 9, 1740 to November 25, 1741, the all-powerful regent-ruler Russian Empire- died during exile in 1746 in Kholmogory. The body was transported to St. Petersburg and beautified under the floor of the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick, father of Russian Emperor Ivan VI, born in 1714, died in 1776. He spent 32 years in Kholmogory imprisonment. Anton Ulrich was buried near the wall of the Assumption Cathedral in Kholmogory. A memorial cross has now been erected, but the exact location of his grave is unknown.
Anton Ulrich came from a branched old family of the Dukes of Brunswick. His relatives occupied a very high position in Europe. The English King George I was his uncle, his aunt Elizabeth Christiana became Queen of Austria, his younger sister was married to Frederick the Great, and his older brother was married to Frederick's sister. Yes, and Anton Ulrich himself, before he got to Kholmogory, was a Russian generalissimo and commander of the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment.
Initially, it was planned to keep the Braunschweig family in the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery, on the very shore of the White Sea, but when transporting the family along the Dvina, they were forced to stay in Kholmogory until the end of freezing. The temporary stop dragged on for a long three decades ... Maybe this is for the best.
In Europe, they simply did not know where to look for the Braunschweig family, whether they were alive. Russian "iron masks" have sunk into oblivion. It is hard to imagine what could have happened if the Germans had managed to take the Braunschweigs to the West.
Russia waged a bloody Seven Years' War against the Prussian King Frederick the Great. The younger sister of the Kholmogory prisoner Anton Ulrich of Brunswick was Friedrich's wife, and the older brother was married to Friedrich's sister. Family ties with royal dynasty Prussia is the strongest. If Friedrich knew where the Braunschweig family was hiding and organized their escape, then the history of Russia could change dramatically. The legitimate Russian emperor Ivan VI would have ended up in the camp of Frederick, and it is not a fact that the “married”, illegitimate Elizabeth Petrovna, who had overthrown him, who came to power as a result of a palace coup, would have managed to retain power.
It was quite realistic to escape their Kholmogor by water with external support. You can go down on a fishing boat along the Northern Dvina, bypass the customs gates in the labyrinth of islands, immerse yourself in the Dvina Bay on a ship and depart for Europe. A day on the Dvina, a month at sea - and the political alignment will change dramatically. The main thing is to find a pilot, bribe or neutralize the guards and not let the alarm be raised for 20 hours after the escape, and then look for winds in the sea.
But it didn't happen. The grown-up emperor was transferred to Shlisselburg, where on July 5, 1764, during an unsuccessful attempt by lieutenant Vasily Mirovich to free the prisoner, he was killed.
The burial place of Ivan Antonovich remained unknown for a long time. But there was a hypothesis that his body was transported to Kholmogory and buried there. And in 2008, during the demolition of the water tower, a grave was discovered, which at first was considered the grave of Anton Ulrich. But on the basis of objective data obtained during a preliminary examination of the remains, it was suggested that this burial may belong to a member of the Brunswick family - the eldest son of Anton Ulrich - Ivan Antonovich, Emperor of Russia Ivan VI. The remains were sent to Moscow, to the Russian Center for Forensic Medical Examination.
At present, the examination has shown that this is most likely Ivan VI. The only thing missing is genetic testing.
Anton-Ulrich
Prince of Brunswick-Bevern-Luneburg, second son of Duke Ferdinand-Albrecht and Duchess Amalia-Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, from November 11, 1740 to November 25, 1741 - Generalissimo of the Russian troops, b. August 28, 1714, at Bevern, d. May 4, 1774, in Kholmogory. In the nineteenth year, he arrived in St. Petersburg (February 2, 1733), as the groom of Princess Anna Leopoldovna, niece of Empress Anna Ioannovna, who, however, postponed the marriage due to the minority of the bride. Princess Anna did not like the groom, and all efforts to establish a strong affection between the young people - they were even brought up together for some time - were unsuccessful. Enrolled in the Russian service, Prince Anton, in the year of his arrival in Russia, was appointed colonel of the third cuirassier regiment, named after him, first Bevern (now His Majesty's cuirassier), and then Brunswick. Serving in 1737 as a volunteer in the army of Minich, Prince Anton distinguished himself in the capture of Ochakov and was promoted to major general; participating in the campaign to the Dniester in 1738, he was granted the prime minister of the Semenovsky regiment and the orders of St. Alexander Nevsky and Andrew the First-Called. On July 3, 1739, in the Church of Our Lady of Kazan, the solemn marriage of Prince Anton and Princess Anna Leopoldovna took place. In February of the following year, the prince was promoted, on the occasion of the conclusion of peace with the Ottoman Port, to lieutenant colonel of the Semenovsky regiment, with the rank of lieutenant general, then appointed chief of the cuirassier regiment, and on August 12 he was delighted with the birth of his son, who, after the death of October 17 Anna Ioannovna, proclaimed Emperor, under the regency, until the age of 17, Biron. Dissatisfied with the will of Anna Ioannovna, Prince Anton wanted to change the decision on the regency and turned to Osterman and the Brunswick envoy Keyserling for advice, who did not blame his behavior, but advised him to wait time and form a party; the latter was easy to do, as the guards were very dissatisfied with the regent. However, the prince's plans failed: the plot was discovered, and on October 23, on the day when the decree was issued on the annual issuance of 200,000 rubles to the Emperor's parents, Prince Anton was called to an emergency meeting of cabinet ministers, senators and generals. The head of the secret office, Ushakov, threatened the prince that he would treat him "as strictly as with the last subject of His Majesty" if he succeeded in fulfilling his intention. Biron demanded that the prince and all those present in the meeting sign the decree of the late Empress on the regency and attach their seals, thus confirming its authenticity. Biron was not satisfied with this; he forced the prince to sign a request for his dismissal from all military posts. This request was drawn up by order of Minich by his brother. On November 1, a decree was issued by the military college, which said: “Because His Highness, our most gracious parent, declared his desire to depose the military ranks he had, and they could not refuse him that, for the sake of this, the military college was announced for news.” But this complete removal of the prince from the affairs of government did not last long; the regent's insults and threats to expel the Emperor's parents from Russia finally overwhelmed their patience. On the night of November 8-9, Biron was arrested by Minich, and Anna Leopoldovna was proclaimed ruler. By decree of November 11, Prince Anton was granted the rank of Generalissimo of the Russian troops and the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the Horse Guards; according to the manifesto, on January 12, 1741, he received the title of "Imperial Highness". Rather limited by nature, little knowledgeable, soft and indecisive, the prince could not and did not matter in state affairs during the reign of Anna Leopoldovna. Disliking Munnich, he stood on the side of Osterman, who shared his dislike for the power-hungry field marshal; offended by the neglect of the first minister, the prince contributed to his downfall. After the resignation of Munnich, the prince, however, did not gain influence on the affairs of government: the ruler did not tolerate either her husband or Osterman; Her advisers were Vice-Chancellor Golovkin and favorite Linar, the Saxon envoy. Osterman was busy about removing Anna Leopoldovna and transferring the reign to Prince Anton, who had to first convert to Orthodoxy. Mutual disagreements and indecision of both parties, into which the government was divided, allowed the coup to take place without hindrance on November 25, 1741, when the ruler and the prince with the whole family were arrested by Tsar Elizabeth and then sent to Riga, where they were imprisoned in a fortress. From here Brunswick family was transported first to Dynamünde, then to Ranenburg, and finally, on November 9, 1744, sent to Kholmogory. Here Prince Anton lived for almost thirty years, here in 1746 he lost his wife, here in 1764 he heard the sad news of the death of his son, the former Emperor John Antonovich, in Shlisselburg. After the death of his wife, "Anton-Ulrich, left, - according to Bantysh-Kamensky, - in the strength of courage with four young children, in a distant country, and having no one to share grief with, chose a girlfriend who increased his family and household chores" . Upon the accession to the throne of Empress Catherine II, Major General Bibikov was sent to Kholmogory to announce to Prince Anton that he was given the freedom to leave Russia, but without his family. The prince did not want to be separated from the children and lived in prison for another twelve years, having lost his sight shortly before his death. His burial took place in Kholmogory. On the night of May 5-6, 1776, the body of Anton-Urlich, in a coffin upholstered in black cloth with a silver braid, was carried out by guard soldiers and quietly buried in the nearest cemetery, near the church, inside the fence of the house in which the prince lived 30 years. The soldiers present at the funeral were strictly forbidden to tell anyone about the place of burial, which was performed without any church ritual, since there was no pastor of the Lutheran confession in Kholmogory.
Bantysh-Kamensky, "Biographies of Russian Generalissimos and Field Marshals", Vol. I, pp. 216-232. Solovyov, "History of Russia", vol. 21. - "Russian Antiquity", 1873, vol. VII, No. 1 and 1874, vol. IX, No. 4. - "Russian Bulletin", 1874, No. Nos. 10 and 11 (Brikner's article "The Emperor Ivan Antonovich and his Relatives"). - Brikner, "Die Familie Braunschweig in Russland im XVIII Jahrh.". - M. D. Khmyrov, "Historical Articles", pp. 361-362.
S. Tr.
(Polovtsov)
Anton-Ulrich
2nd Generalissimo.
Anton-Ulrich, Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, son of Duke Ferdinand-Albrecht, was born in 1715. Connected by kinship with two imperial houses and two royal [Anton-Ulrich's aunt, Princess Charlotte-Christina-Sofia of Brunswick, was the wife of the unfortunate Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and the mother of Peter II; her sister is the wife of Emperor Charles VI; English King George I was the uncle of Anton-Ulrich, and the latter's own sister, Princess Elisaveta-Christina, married the Crown Prince of Prussia (Frederick the Great) in 1733], he was invited to Russia for a new alliance, which was supposed to strengthen his future well-being. To this end, Anton-Ulrich arrived in St. Petersburg in 1733, not having completed the full course of science, at the nineteenth year of his age. Empress Anna Ioannovna set out to marry him off her own niece Anna Leopoldovna, daughter of the Duke of Mecklenburg. She was only fourteen years old. The marriage is postponed, and meanwhile the Prince of Brunswick has entered our service as colonel of a cuirassier regiment.
Until 1737, Prince Anton-Ulrich did not participate in the hostilities of the Russians, but that year he served as a volunteer under the banner of Field Marshal Count Munnich and distinguished himself in the capture of Ochakov, for which he was promoted to major general. [Empress Anna Ioannovna, in her letter to the parent of Anton-Ulrich, Duchess Eleanor-Charlotte, dated September 19, mentioned "that the son her gloriously distinguished himself in the capture of Ochakov." The Duchess received annually from our court twelve thousand rubles of pension.] In 1738 he was again in the army of Minich, whose campaign to the Dniester was not marked by any important feat, and, returning to the capital, was granted the prime major of the Semenovsky regiment guards, Cavalier of the Orders of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called and St. Alexander Nevsky (November 28), at the age of 24 from birth.
The niece of the Empress, Anna Leopoldovna, was then twenty years old. She had a pleasant and even attractive appearance; she was taller than usual and very stately; she was distinguished by the extreme whiteness of her face, to which dark blond hair gave an even more brilliance; fluent in many foreign languages, but she always seemed sad, boring from the grief inflicted on her by Biron and, like her father, she was wayward, quick-tempered, indecisive. Biron intended to unite her with his son and pave the way for posterity to the throne, was rude, inflicted various insults on the Prince of Brunswick, wanting to remove him from Petersburg.
The Ambassador of the Vienna Court, the Marquis de Botta, in a public audience proposed, in the name of the emperor, Prince Anton-Ulrich as his wife, Princess Anna. A few days later, a solemn ceremony of their marriage was performed, with excessive pomp, by Bishop Ambrose of Vologda, in the Church of Our Lady of Kazan, on July 3, 1739. No one imagined then that the prince's well-being would be short-lived.
Soon a peace was concluded with the Ottoman Port (1740), and on this occasion Anton-Ulrich was granted (February 15) lieutenant colonel of the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment, with the rank of lieutenant general; after that he was named chief of the cuirassier regiment; and on August 12, he was delighted with the birth of his son, Prince John, whom the Empress placed near her bedchamber.
Then Anna Ioannovna, tormented by gout and stone disease, approached the gates of death, and the bloodthirsty Biron, nourishing himself with new hopes, continued to use the power given to him for evil, was not content with the executions of the Dolgoruky [See. biography of Prince Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgoruky], also executed (June 27) the Cabinet Minister Volynsky [The unfortunate was first tortured several times; then they cut off his tongue, cut off his right hand and, finally, his head], Privy Councilor Khrushchev, Chief Quartermaster Eropkin; tortured, cut off the tongue and exiled Senator Count Musin-Pushkin; He ordered to be punished with a whip and exiled Krieg Commissar General Soimonov and Cabinet Secretary Eichler to hard labor. All of them suffered for their adherence to Volynsky, who insulted Biron. The empress burst into tears as she signed the verdict, and could not resist her pet.
On October 17, Anna Ioannovna, after severe suffering, moved to eternity at the age of 47 from birth. Even during her lifetime, an act was drawn up by which she appointed her grandson, John Antonovich, as the successor, and while he was seventeen years old, she ordered Biron to govern the state with the rank of regent. Anna Leopoldovna and her husband were removed from the board; proof that the Empress signed this decree without reading it, and that the Duke of Courland himself appropriated autocratic power, without fear of consequences.
At first, the ruler of the empire showed due respect to the parents of the young John; expressed his consent that they should live together in the Winter Palace; allocated two hundred thousand silver rubles a year to Princess Anna Leopoldovna for her own expenses; took over from the Senate Highnesses not otherwise than with the provision of this and the Prince of Brunswick.
Meanwhile, to assert his power, Biron continued to use violent measures: he sent scouts everywhere; trusting them, he subjected civilians to arrests and torture. Petersburg streets were filled with guards and patrols. Among the new victims were: guard captain Khanykov and lieutenant Argamakov, who were subjected to painful punishments for immodest words. Soon a conspiracy was discovered, in which the Prince of Brunswick participated. The ruler of his office, Grammatin, admitted during the torture that the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment was supposed to arrest Biron with all his followers.
One can imagine the annoyance, the anger of the regent: he burdened the prince of Brunswick with reproaches in the presence of a large assembly; challenged him to a duel when Anton-Ulrich, without intention, put left hand on the hilt of his sword. The Prince listened with patience to the insulting remarks, and only objected that is not obliged to be responsible for the conversations and actions of his secretary. The next day, Anton-Ulrich was forced to give up military posts and was arrested.
This is how the thief of the throne acted. The murmur against him intensified; lacking an enterprising leader, Minich volunteered to overthrow Biron and kept his word to the princess. On November 8, at night, the tyrant, with his hands tied, covered with a soldier's cloak, was taken from the Summer Palace to the Shlisselburg fortress; from there he was sent to Pelym, a provincial town in the Tobolsk province. On the 9th, Princess Anna Leopoldovna was declared the ruler of the empire and the Grand Duchess. The regiments of the Guards greeted with noisy enthusiasm the baby Emperor, who was shown to them through the window. Prince of Brunswick received the title His Imperial Highness and was soon elevated by his wife to co-rulers.
Apparently, the suffering of Anton-Ulrich should have ended: with the fall of Biron, he strengthened the supreme power of his offspring; but his brilliant hopes soon vanished.
The power-hungry Minich, in respect of the services rendered to the ruler, wished to be a generalissimo and, on the advice of his son, granted this dignity on November 9 to the father of the Emperor, elevating himself to first ministers while continuing to manage military affairs. The Prince of Brunswick bore only one title of generalissimo, did not tolerate Minich and became close to Count Osterman, who also hated the field marshal for his enterprising mind and unlimited ambition: they both wanted to excel in the state or, occupying a secondary place, manage the main person according to their own arbitrariness. Minich was forced to retire (1741), moved to his house on the other side of the Neva. Then only the ruler and her husband calmed down, changing the bedroom every night so that the field marshal would not do anything against them.
Prince Anton-Ulrich, on the occasion of the break with Sweden, inspected the troops that were supposed to start offensive operations in Finland. Leadership over them is entrusted to Field Marshal Lassi.
There was no agreement between the Grand Duchess and her husband. Their disposition was completely opposite. Anna Leopoldovna, who had an irresistible passion for the Saxon minister Count Linar, gifted with a beautiful appearance, married Anton Ulrich against her will. She was sixteen years old when Linar took possession of her heart (1735). He was soon removed from our Court (1736). Having become the Ruler, Anna Leopoldovna summoned Linar again to Russia (1741); laid on him (July 13) the orders of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called and St. Alexander Nevsky; she became engaged to her beloved maid of honor, Baroness Juliana Mengden, and granted her a dowry of several villages in Livonia, as well as the beautiful house of Gustav Biron in St. Petersburg. Then Linar freely resumed his meetings with the Grand Duchess in the rooms of his bride; knew how to restore the Ruler against Osterman; brought suspicion on the Prince of Brunswick himself and soon (in August) went to Poland to put household affairs in order. He was promised the title of chief chamberlain in Russia, and if he had not hastened his departure, he would not have escaped Siberia. [Count Moritz Karl Linar died April 24, 1768. Empress Elisaveta Petrovna allowed him (1742) to wear Russian orders.]
The carelessness of the ruler and the removal of Munnich and Osterman from affairs helped the adherents of Tsarina Elisaveta Petrovna in their courageous enterprise. On November 24, at midnight, thirty grenadiers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment noisily entered Anna Leopoldovna's bedchamber, announced to her, in the name of the princess, the order to get up and follow them. Anton-Ulrich, sitting on the bed, saw with horror how his wife was carried away. Two grenadiers took him, wrapped him up to his knees in a blanket, brought him down, put him in a sleigh and covered him with a fur coat. They were taken to the palace of the Empress. They were placed in different rooms. The infant John cried when the soldiers snatched him from the hands of the nurse, waiting, at the order of Elizabeth, for awakening.
At first, Anton-Ulrich was kept in the Riga fortress with his wife and children: son John and daughter Catherine, who was born (July 26) shortly before their imprisonment; then they were transferred to Dynamünde, where Anna Leopoldovna gave birth to a daughter, Elisaveta, in 1743. From Dynamünde moved to Ranenburg, city Ryazan province. Here, the unfortunate parents are separated from John, who was imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress. A new dungeon was made for them in Kholmogory, a small town lying on the island of the Dvina, 72 versts from Arkhangelsk. There Anna Leopoldovna gave birth to two sons, Peter in 1745 and Alexei in 1746. The consequences of these births caused her premature death, on March 9, at the age of 28. Her body was taken to St. Petersburg and interred in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.
Anton-Ulrich, left in the strength of courage with four young children, in a distant country, and having no one to share grief with, chose a girlfriend for himself, who increased his family and household chores. He lived in a former bishop's house on two floors, surrounded by a high fence. Two teams guarded him: one in the house itself; another at the gate, inside the fence. They had no communication between themselves. The keys were kept by the governor, who came from Arkhangelsk on big holidays. From their windows, the prisoners saw only part of the Dvina on one side, and the sandy St. Petersburg road on the other; from the third they imagined a garden in which, except for birches, ferns and nettles, there were almost no plants. Inside it, on a pond shaded by an overgrown alley, a boat floated, incapable of use; near the pond there was a barn that housed an old carriage, in which prisoners were allowed to drive sometimes two hundred fathoms from their dwelling; for this, six horses were harnessed to the carriage; soldiers were the coachman, the postilion and the lackeys. All their walks were contained in this cramped space of the earth. The Greek-Russian priest read church books with them. Whist and ombre were their main amusements. In summer they worked in the garden, went after chickens and ducks, fed them, and in winter they ran on skates along the pond. Moreover, the princesses were sometimes engaged in sewing linen. They had no mentors besides their father. [Cm. , op. Mr. Polenov and Overview main.incident.in Russia, op. Mr. Weidemeyer, ed. sec., ch. 3, pp. 94-98.]
In 1762, Major General Alexander Ilyich Bibikov was sent to Kholmogory by Empress Catherine II, with an announcement to Prince Anton-Ulrich that he was given the freedom to leave Russia and choose anywhere for his stay, where he would be escorted with honors befitting his rank ; but that it is still impossible to show indulgence to his family, for reasons of state known to him. All Bibikov's efforts to persuade the prince to separate from his children were useless. He emphatically announced that it is better to die in prison,rather than enjoy freedom under such conditions. After this important event, Anton-Ulrich dragged out sorrowful days in Kholmogory for twelve years, finally losing his sight. On May 4, 1774, his last hour struck: he died at the age of 60 and at the age of thirty-two years of exile. The remains of the unfortunate prisoner are interred near the Church of the Assumption Holy Mother of God, on the left side of the altar. There is no monument on his grave.
Prince Anton-Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg had a good heart; was brave on the battlefield; timid and shy in government councils. At the very beginning of his imprisonment, he reproached his wife for the misfortune that had befallen them; but, having lost it, he armed himself with courage and patience; showed an example of selflessness, worthy of parental tenderness; long-term suffering acquired the right to respect for posterity.
Unfortunate John, born in purple and separated in infancy from the originators of his existence; thrown into a dungeon, into which daylight could not penetrate, where candles burned continuously; devoid of clean air; subsequently overgrown with a beard, completely wild - was killed on July 5, 1764, in the twenty-fifth year of birth, while Mirovich was fulfilling his courageous enterprise, wanting to return his freedom and the throne. [Vasily Mirovich, lieutenant of the Smolensk regiment, grandson of Mazepin's accomplice, executed in St. Petersburg on September 15. During the trial of him, Count Pyotr Ivanovich Panin, under whose command he had previously served, asked him: "Why did he undertake such a villainous intent?" " For, - Mirovich answered, - to be the one,what have you become".]
The brothers and sisters of John, after the death of their parent, suffered a lot of trouble from the chief commanders assigned to them. In 1779, Alexei Petrovich Melgunov, a real state councilor, meek, compassionate, was appointed governor of Arkhangelsk. He visited them; reassured by gentle treatment; delivered to the Empress a letter from Princess Elizabeth, gifted with an extraordinary mind, who touchingly described their miserable situation. Catherine II immediately entered into negotiations with the Danish court, which interceded before, as well as Berlin and Brunswick, for the return of their freedom. Melgunov was instructed in 1780 to take care of sending the children of Anton-Ulrich to Denmark. He ordered to make a frigate in Arkhangelsk; of the two hundred thousand rubles allotted to him, he used half in St. Petersburg to buy linen, silk fabrics, various haberdashery items, silver and porcelain sets. Expensive fur coats and diamonds were issued from the Cabinet.
On June 27 (1780), the princes and princesses with their illegitimate brothers and sisters were taken by Melgunov in two carriages from the house where they had been kept for thirty-seven years. On the banks of the Dvina, a yacht with four rooms was waiting for them.
In the Novo-Dvinsk fortress, the governor of Arkhangelsk announced to the children of Anton-Ulrich the merciful will of the Empress and the purpose of their journey. This news at first caused them great anxiety, for they did not even think of freedom, they wanted to stay forever in Kholmogory, so long as they were given the right to leave the fence; but when Melgunov gave them rich gifts and explained to the princes and princesses the desire of their aunt, the Dowager Queen Juliana of Denmark [Juliana-Maria, Duchess of Brunswick-Luneburg, married in 1752 with King Frederick V of Denmark, who died in 1766], that they moved to Denmark, then the children of Anton-Ulrich, with joyful tears, threw themselves on their knees before the governor and expressed their heartfelt gratitude for such an unexpected mercy of the Empress. On July 1, at midnight, they set sail on a frigate, accompanied by the Shlisselburg commandant, Colonel Ziegler. Having endured a strong storm in the North Sea, the tall travelers arrived in Bergen (in Norway) and there boarded a Danish ship. Here, the side children of Anton-Ulrich parted ways with the princes and princesses and were sent back to Arkhangelsk. The separation is painful, for misfortune has brought them closer! The Empress granted them lifetime pensions. One of the by-daughters of Anton-Ulrich, Amalia, married lieutenant Karikin, who was in charge of the internal team in Kholmogory.
The princes and princesses arrived on a Danish ship to Alborg, and from there by land to the city of Gorzens (in Jutland). Colonel Ziegler, who accompanied them, received the Order of Dannenbrog from the Danish king. In Gorzens, a spacious and well-arranged house was allotted to them on a large square. They had a house church, in which a Russian priest sent a service every day. Their court consisted of: one Danish chamberlain, a caretaker, two court ladies, a doctor, two valets and a fair number of other servants determined by the king. They led a quiet and uniform life; did not need anything, receiving a significant pension from the Russian court [It extended to 32,000 rubles a year and was not reduced until the death of Princess Catherine in 1807]. With all that, Princess Elizabeth missed her side sisters extremely, and this separation prematurely plunged her into the grave in 1782, at the age of 40 from birth. She was like her mother in height and face; she far surpassed her brothers and sister in her talkativeness, manners, and intelligence. They all obeyed her. For the most part, she spoke for all of them, answered for all and corrected their mistakes; from a fall from a stone staircase at the age of 10, she was subject to headaches, especially in variable weather and bad weather. [Polenov.] Prince Alexei, who died five years later (1787), at the age of 42, blond, small in stature, but more cheeky, bolder than his brother, gained such love that the whole city mourned him. In general, they all had excellent properties and were loved; especially Princess Catherine, respected for her noble mindset and compassionate heart. Her face showed meekness and inner peace of mind. They lived in perfect harmony with each other. [Cm. Review by Mr. Weidemeyer, ed. sec., ch. 3, pp. 100-107.]
In 1794, the Empress sent Hieromonk Joseph Ilyitsky to Gorzens, who studied at the Kiev Academy, was fluent in Latin, French and German. He spent seven years there. In his arms, as a true Christian, with firm hope in the Almighty, the fifty-three-year-old Prince Peter died on January 13, 1798. He was, according to Joseph, of a strong and healthy build; small stature, blond; looked like his father's face; had an important air, which combined, however, with extreme timidity; hiding every day when the Crown Prince of Denmark (the late King Frederick VI) came to Gorzens with his wife; with great difficulty they persuaded him to come to them. Damaged in childhood, Prince Peter had humps that were almost inconspicuous at first glance, front and back; was somewhat crooked on the right side; clubfoot; silent and often laughed for no reason. [Cm. Departure of the Braunschweig family from Kholmogory to Danish possessions, op. V. A. Polenova.] Princess Catherine lost her hearing on the very day that her brother, John III, lost the throne: she was then dropped. She extremely valued the silver ruble with the image of the baby emperor. Looking at her and at Prince Peter, Frederick and his wife, who visited them every year, expressed regret; but they could not communicate with them without an interpreter, for they spoke only Russian. The only amusement of the prince and his sister was cards, and Joseph was forced to take part in this innocent fun. Princess Catherine presented him with an ink drawing depicting their place of detention in Kholmogory. She did not learn to draw and, with all that, she represented her secluded retreat quite skillfully. This precious work has belonged to me since 1819. I received it from the hands of Joseph, who was then archimandrite of the Poltava Holy Cross Monastery, five years before his death.
Princess Catherine moved to eternity in the reign of Emperor Alexander, on April 9, 1807, at the age of 66, appointing the Danish princes Christian-Friedrich and Friedrich-Ferdinand as her heirs. Having lost her sister and brothers, she wished to return to Russia and take the veil as a nun: she consoled herself only with prayer; suffered various displeasures from the officials and ministers who were with her and, before her death, wrote to Emperor Alexander about granting them a pension. She also looked like her father; she was lean, short, blond, tongue-tied; she communicated with her brothers and sister by means of signs: she understood them by one movement of her lips. [Cm. Departure of the Brunswick family to Danish possessions, op. V. A. Polenova.]
Until now, four tombs, containing the mortal remains of the branches of Tsar John Alekseevich, stand in sight in the Gorzen Lutheran Church.
(Bantysh-Kamensky)
Anton-Ulrich
Prince of Brunswick-Bevern-Lüneburg, husband of the Empress Anna Leopoldovna, father of the Emperor. John Antonovich; was listed as the generalissimo of the Russian troops from November 11, 1740 until the coup on November 25, 1741, b. in 1714; died in 1774 (Bantysh-Kamensky. Biographies of Russian generalissimos and field marshals, g. I, 216-232).
"Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick".
ANTON ULRICH(08/28/1714-05/04/1774) - father of Emperor Ivan VI Antonovich, husband of Anna Leopoldovna.
The youngest son of the Duke of Brunswick, Ferdinand Albrecht, came to Russia in 1733 at the insistence of Empress Anna Ivanovna. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-1739. In 1739 he married Anna Leopoldovna, Anna Ivanovna's niece. Their infant son Ivan Antonovich became emperor in the fall of 1740, and his wife became the ruler of Russia. Anton Ulrich received the title of Imperial Highness and the rank of Generalissimo, but did not play a role in governing the country. According to contemporaries, the prince was "although of a low mind, but a light-hearted and merciful person."
After the coup on November 25, 1741, Elizaveta Petrovna came to power. Anton Ulrich was stripped of his ranks and titles and sent into exile with his family. From 1744 he lived in Kholmogory, in 1746 he became a widow. In 1762 he was offered to go abroad, but he refused to leave his four children.
School Encyclopedia. Moscow, "OLMA-PRESS Education". 2003
"Portrait of Anton von Ulrich".
It seems that the death of Ivan Antonovich delighted Catherine II and her entourage. Nikita Panin wrote to the Empress: "The deed was carried out with a desperate grasp, which was stopped by the inexpressibly laudable resolution of Captain Vlasyev and Lieutenant Chekin." Catherine answered: “I read your reports with great surprise and all the divas that happened in Shlisselburg: God’s guidance is wonderful and untested!” In a word, according to the well-known proverb: there is no person - there is no problem. Vlasyev and Chekin received an award - seven thousand rubles each - and a complete resignation.
Of course, the “problem” was solved, but not all of it: “the well-known commission in Kholmogory,” as the prisoners of the Bishop’s house were called in official documents, continued to “work”. The family of Prince Anton Ulrich (himself, two daughters and two sons) still lived there. The house stood on the banks of the Dvina, which was barely visible from one window, was surrounded by a high fence that closed a large yard with a pond, a vegetable garden, a bathhouse and a carriage house. Men lived in one room, and women - in another, and "from rest to rest - one door, old chambers, small and cramped." Other rooms were filled with soldiers, numerous servants of the prince and his children.
Living together for years, decades, under the same roof (the last guard did not change for twelve years), these people quarreled, reconciled, fell in love, denounced each other. Scandals followed one after another: either Anton Ulrich quarreled with Bina (Yakobina Mengden, Yulia's sister, who, unlike her sister, was allowed to go to Kholmogory), then the soldiers were caught stealing, then the officers were caught on cupids with nurses. Stories with Bina dragged on for several years: it turned out that she had a lover - a doctor who came from Kholmogory, and in September 1749 she gave birth to a "male" child, for which she was locked in a separate room, and she was rowdy, beat those who came to her with checking officers. Many complaints from the Kholmogory prisoners related to the quality of the provisions delivered by the local inhabitants.
The prince, as always, was quiet and meek. Over the years, he grew fat, flabby. After the death of his wife, he began to live with servants, and in Kholmogory there were many of his illegitimate children, who, growing up, became servants of members of the Braunschweig family. Occasionally, the prince wrote letters to the empress: he thanked for the sent bottles of Hungarian or for some other alms transfer. He was especially poor without coffee, which he needed daily.
In 1766, Catherine II sent General A. I. Bibikov to Kholmogory, who, on behalf of the Empress, suggested that the prince leave Russia. But he refused. A Danish diplomat wrote that the prince, "accustomed to his confinement, sick and discouraged, refused the freedom offered to him." This is inaccurate - the prince did not want freedom for himself alone, he wanted to leave with the children. But these conditions did not suit Catherine. She was alarmed both by the Mirovich case and by conversations in society that she could marry one of the "Ivashka brothers" - after all, royal blood, not like the low-bred Grigory Orlov, who dreamed of a formal marriage with the empress. The prince was told that it was impossible to let him go with his children, "until our affairs are strengthened in the order in which they have now accepted their new position for the well-being of our empire."
So Anton Ulrich did not wait for the affairs of the Empress to take a favorable position for him. By the age of sixty, he became decrepit, blind, and after spending thirty-four years in prison, he died on May 4, 1776. At night, the coffin with his body was secretly taken out into the courtyard. There he was buried - without a priest, without a ceremony, like a suicide or a vagabond. Did the children accompany him on his last journey? We don't even know that.
Anisimov Evgeny. "Women on the Russian Throne".
Anton Ulrich - the second son of Duke Ferdinand-Albrecht of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (until 1735 Brunswick-Bevernsky), brother of the famous Prussian commander Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick; genus. August 28, 1714. When Empress Anna Ioannovna was looking for a groom for her niece, Princess Anna (see Anna Leopoldovna) of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, under the influence of the Austrian court, she chose Anton. The latter arrived in Russia at the beginning of June 1733, still a boy. Here he was brought up with Anna in the hope that a strong attachment would be established between young people, which over time would turn into a more necessary feeling. These hopes were not justified. Anna, at first sight, disliked her betrothed, a young man of short stature, effeminate, stammering, but modest, with a soft and supple character.
For four years, the prince was only formally in the army, but in March 1737 he went on his first military campaign. Anton Ulrich was seconded to Field Marshal Munnich, who regularly reported to the Empress about his ward. Minich wrote that the prince diligently studied the art of war, courageously endured the hardships of a camp life, “regardless of any cold and great heat, dust, ashes and long marches, always being on horseback, as an old soldier should be, but he was never in a carriage. And his courage is evidenced by the assault that took place under Ochakov, and he acted as an old and honored general should. During the Ochakov assault, the prince was always next to the field marshal, the horses under both were killed, the adjutant and the prince's page were wounded, the other page was killed. The prince's caftan was shot through. Munnich introduced the prince to the rank of major general. In general, effeminate is visible. :)
In the next 1738, Anton Ulrich takes part in the new campaign of Munnich - beyond the Dniester. This time, the prince commanded a combined detachment of three regiments. He is entrusted with separate tactical tasks. Upon his return to St. Petersburg, Anton Ulrich was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and became commander of the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment.
During the campaigns, the prince matured, got stronger. He took his military career very seriously, he read a lot of ancient and modern authors on the art of war. Anton-Ulrich, unlike his future wife, tried to become worthy of his new homeland. Of course, Anna Leopoldovna, who had only a patronymic from a non-Russian, who grew up in her mother's towers among dwarfs, jesters and holy fools, the groom seemed boring and somehow ... not a peasant, or something. And that's true: he sits, reads, but where is the celebration of life?
Meanwhile, the health of the Empress began to fail, and the decision to marry the prince and Anna Leopoldovna was made. In July 1739, the wedding and marriage took place. The wife of the British ambassador, who was present at the ceremony, wrote to a friend: “... the prince was wearing a white satin suit embroidered with gold, his own very long blond hair was curled and loose over his shoulders, and I involuntarily thought that he looked like a victim”. In the evening, a ball was given in the palace, illumination flashed on the streets, colored with
“Three great fountains were filled with fire, and from them white and red wine for the people.”
Sadly, as a result, everyone was the victim: the prince, the princess, the little emperor Ivan VI, their son and all their other children.
After the death of the empress, the baby Ivan was proclaimed emperor, and the real power was in the hands of Biron, who, in general, was not a fool at all, but was in no way suitable for the ruler of Russia. Anton-Ulrich was granted the title of Generalissimo as a consolation, and Biron considered that this was more than enough for the emperor's parents. Iron Minich quickly and effectively resolved this dilemma. As V.A. Klyuchevsky, “having had lunch and kindly spent the evening of November 8, 1740, with the regent, Minikh, at night, with courtyard guard officers and soldiers of the Preobrazhensky regiment, of which he was commander, arrested Biron in bed, and the soldiers, after beating him in order and putting a handkerchief in his mouth, wrapped him in a blanket and taken to the guardhouse, and from there, in a soldier's overcoat thrown over night clothes, they were taken to the Winter Palace, from where they were then sent with the family to Shlisselburg.
Ruler Anna Leopoldovna
While Anna, unkempt, in a negligee, sat in her boudoir, husked seeds, eating cakes, and chatted with her favorite Julia Mengden about how stupid and terrible the prince was, Anton Ulrich took his duties quite seriously. From the first days, he delved into the affairs of the Military Collegium, attended the reports of ministers to the ruler, and often attended meetings of the Senate. According to him, the Senate and the ruler issued a number of decrees, for example, on the regulation of navigation in the border zone in the Baltic.
The situation became more complicated when Sweden, pushed by France, declared war on Russia. In the Swedish manifesto, among other reasons for the war, it was indicated (oh, the eternal touching concern of Europeans for something like Russian!) The desire of the Swedes to liberate Russia from foreign rule. This implied the transfer of power to the “truly Russian” daughter of Peter Elizabeth, who had previously been in the political shadow. I wonder why it was the Swedes who so confidently sought to put Elizabeth on the throne? One can hear the sound of the wheels of a sealed wagon.
Anton Ulrich was not at that time weak-willed and passive, as some historians write about him. He saw the danger from Elizabeth and made attempts to save the situation. He discussed the situation with the British envoy, organized surveillance of Munnich, who was looking for contacts with Elizabeth. The prince demanded from Anna Leopoldovna the arrest of Elizabeth, whose negotiations with French and Swedish diplomats were obvious. But the ruler, who received such warnings from all sides, remained indifferent to them, not imagining the consequences of the catastrophe for the whole family. The catastrophe broke out on the night of November 25, 1741.
Elizaveta Petrovna arrests Anna Leopoldovna, the Empress...
I will not describe the tearful lies of Elizabeth and beautiful picture"a royal maiden with a protected baby in her arms", politics is politics, nothing personal. The baby was sent to prison, where he spent his entire short life alone and abandoned, until he was killed by the jailers.
Tvorozhnikov "Lieutenant Vasily Mirovich at the corpse of John Antonovich on July 5, 1764 in the Shlisselburg fortress"
The rest of the family, deprived of titles and property, lived out their lives in a small house turned into a prison in Kholmogory (they simply did not reach Solovki).
Here Anna Leopoldovna gave birth to two more sons and died of puerperal fever on March 8, 1746. Anton Ulrich turned out to be a caring and loving father who managed to raise his children in prison as kind and honest people. Despite the strict ban on teaching children to read and write, the father taught them to read and write. Children showed intelligence and dignity in communication with the guards, and with the governor, and with the empress (with the latter - in letters).
The imprisonment of the A. family in Kholmogory was full of hardships; often she needed the bare necessities. A staff officer with a team was assigned to supervise them; several men and women from a simple rank served them. Any communication with outsiders was strictly forbidden to them; only the Arkhangelsk governor had an order to visit them from time to time to inquire about their condition.
When Empress Catherine II ascended the throne, Prince Anton wrote her a letter asking for her release. This empress offered him freedom, but only to him. Anton Ulrich, as she expected, refused to leave the children in prison, and did not make such requests again.
The prince's health gradually weakened, he began to go blind. He died on May 4, 1776. The prince was buried secretly near the wall of the church adjoining the bishop's house. The exact place of his burial is unknown. Archival documents testify that on the night of the 5th to the 6th, his body was carried out in a coffin upholstered in black cloth with a silver braid, and quietly buried in the nearest cemetery inside the fence of the house, where he was kept in the presence of only guard soldiers, who it was strictly forbidden to talk about the place of burial.
A commemorative cross erected at the site of the alleged burial of Anton-Ulrich
Four years later, Catherine II allowed the four children of Anton Ulrich to be sent to Denmark to his sister, Dowager Queen Juliana Maria.
10 Sept. 1780, after a stormy voyage, they arrived at Bergen, from there on a Danish warship on 6 October. - to Flanstrand and by land 15 Oct. — in Gorsen's. Here, over time, the Russian ministers were fired and returned to Russia, leaving only the priest and churchmen and a small staff of Danish courtiers. From the greed of the latter, the princes and princesses suffered a lot. Princess Elizabeth passed away on 20 Oct. 1782, 39 y. from birth. Five years later (October 22, 1787), the younger Prince Alexei died, and on Jan. 30. 1798 - Peter. With the death of her brothers and sister, orphaned by a 55-year-old old woman, Princess Catherine dragged out her life extremely sadly and even yearned for her imprisonment in Kholmogory. She died in 1807, leaving by will all her property to the heir to the Danish throne, Frederick.