The fate of Catherine Dolgoruka after the death of Peter 2. “Stronger than the earthly calamity”, the fate of Natalia Dolgoruka. "I will go to Natalia's sister!"

Dolgorukova, Princess Ekaterina Alekseevna (Dolgorukaya) - the bride of Peter II, was the daughter of Prince. Alexei Grigorievich and Princess Praskovya Yurievna, nee Khilkova. She was born in 1712 in the village. Gorenki. She received her education under the influence of her gifted grandfather, Prince. Gregory, ambassador to the Polish court; At that time, she was distinguished by the secularity that was rare in Russian girls and was extremely good-looking. At the end of the twenties, she was conspired for the secretary of the Austrian embassy, \u200b\u200bCount Milesin, but soon refused him and became the bride of her namesake, Prince. Yuri Yurievich Dolgorukov. However, this marriage did not take place: when the Menshikovs were exiled to Berezov and the Dolgorukovs became omnipotent at court, they conceived to arrange the marriage of Princess Catherine with the young emperor Peter II himself, and therefore Prince. Yuri was also refused. The princess's brother undertook to persuade the emperor, Prince. Ivan Alekseevich, who enjoyed the unlimited trust and affection of Peter II. The young emperor, for all his spinelessness, was opposed, but agreed to meet the princess, and for this he went in September 1729 to the village. Gorenki under the pretext of hunting. The beauty of the princess and the friendly influence of the Dolgorukovs took their toll: after staying in Gorenki for several weeks, Peter II personally made a marriage proposal to Princess Ekaterina Alekseevna and, having secured her consent, announced her as his bride. On November 19, the Tsar and the Dolgorukov family returned to Moscow. The entire court was assembled and Osterman was ordered to solemnly proclaim the impending marriage; at the same time, Princess Catherine was ordered to be titled: "Her Highness the Empress's bride." On November 30, the betrothal took place in the most magnificent setting; the wedding was scheduled for January 19, 1730. Amusements and festivities began, at which Dolgorukov received almost royal honors. But on January 6, the young emperor, already feeling some discomfort, caught a bad cold during the consecration of water on the river and on the same day fell ill: it turned out that the smallpox that had already begun in him was chilled and the disease became extremely acute. The doctors' art was powerless; thirteen days later, on the very day when the announced wedding was to take place, Peter II died.

When Anna Ioannovna ascended the throne and the Dolgorukovs were convicted of intending to belittle the autocracy, Princess Yekaterina Alekseevna, along with her father, brothers and sisters, was exiled to Berezov, where she was imprisoned separately from other family members in a prison. In 1739, when the second trial of the Dolgorukovs' case took place and four of them were executed, Princess Yekaterina Alekseevna was transferred to the Tomsk Rozhdestvensky Monastery, where she was imprisoned, but not tonsured. After the accession to the throne of Elizabeth Petrovna, it was ordered that all Dolgorukovs, "where who will be," be immediately released and returned. Princess Ekaterina Alekseevna was demanded to Petersburg, taken to court, and the Empress herself married her to Lieutenant General Count Alexander Romanovich Bruce (1745). She passed away the same year.

Bantysh-Kamensky: Dictionary of memorable people of the Russian land. - Letters from Lady Rondo, translated by Shubinsky. - Duke de Liria: Letters to Spain about Russia, translated by Kustodiev. - Weidemeyer: Review of the main incidents in Russia since the death of Peter V. - Book. Shcherbatov: On the damage to morals in Russia. - Mikhnevich: Historical sketches. Also see bibliography. to Art. "Dolgorukov princes family".

Portrait of Peter II, 1730s / Johann Wedekind /

The male line of the Romanov family was cut short on the grandson of Peter the Great, whom they began to get drunk while still in the cradle.

Child of High Diplomacy

In addition to the great emperors and empresses, there were also such figures in Russian history, whose stay on the throne left an extremely small trace in history and was practically forgotten by descendants.

Against the backdrop of an era of great reforms Peter the Great the reign of his grandson and namesake looks like a sheer misunderstanding, a strange quirk of fate. However, to a certain extent, Peter I himself is to blame for this quirk.

The grandson of Peter the Great inherited an unenviable fate from birth. His father and mother, son of Peter I tsarevich Alexei and german Princess Sophia-Charlotte of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel , did not harbor love feelings for each other. Moreover, Sophia-Charlotte hoped to the last to avoid marriage with the "Muscovite", but her hopes were not justified.

The marriage of this couple was the result of high diplomacy and agreements between Peter I, the Polish king August II and the Austrian emperor Charles VI.

Dynastic marriages did not surprise Europe in the 18th century, and therefore, Sophia-Charlotte, submitting to her fate, did what she was supposed to do - she began to give birth to her husband of princesses and princes. Born in the summer of 1714 Natalia Alekseevna, and on October 12, 1715 - Petr Alekseevich, grandson and full namesake of the emperor.

The mother of the young tsarevich died ten days after the birth of her son, and by the age of three, Pyotr Alekseevich was left an orphan - his father, Tsarevich Alexei, was sentenced to death for treason by Peter the Great.

Wine and curses for the grand duke

However, his own dad, who had perished in the dungeons of his grandfather, also managed to negatively influence the boy. Not feeling warm feelings for the child from an unloved woman, Alexey Petrovich assigned two women who abused alcohol to his son as nannies. The nannies solved the issue with the baby's whims simply - they gave him wine to make him fall asleep as soon as possible. So began the soldering of the future emperor, which continued throughout his future life.

Portrait of Peter II, 1720s

Peter the Great did not initially consider his grandson as the heir to the throne: in the same 1715, less than three weeks after the birth of Peter Alekseevich, he was born Petr Petrovich, son of the emperor. It was to him that Peter I intended to transfer the throne. But the boy was sickly, weak, and died in 1719.

Thus, after the death of his father and brother, Peter Alekseevich remained the only male heir to the emperor. From birth, he bore the official title “ grand Duke"- starting with him, such an official name displaces the previously adopted" tsarevich "from the Russian tradition. Although in colloquial rather than official speech, the princes survived until the very end of the monarchy in Russia.

Peter the Great, having lost his son, began to pay more attention to his grandson, but nevertheless he did not follow him too closely. Somehow, deciding to test his knowledge, he discovered the complete inconsistency of the teachers assigned to him - the boy could not speak Russian, knew a little German and Latin, and much better - Tatar curses.

The emperor, who did not disdain to be assaulted, beat the teachers, but, oddly enough, the situation did not change - Petr Alekseevich's training was conducted very badly.

The grandson of Peter I was in love with his daughter

In 1722, by a decree on succession to the throne, Peter the Great determined that the emperor himself had the right to appoint an heir. After this decree, the position of Peter Alekseevich as an heir was shaken.

But in 1725 Peter the Great died without leaving a will. A violent struggle for the throne broke out between various factions, but in the end prince Menshikov enthroned the wife of Peter the Great, Catherine I.

Its reign turned out to be short-lived, two years. At its end, the empress designated Pyotr Alekseevich as the heir, indicating that in the absence of male descendants, his heiress, in turn, becomes Elizaveta Petrovna, daughter of Peter I.

In 1727, the 11-year-old Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich became Emperor Peter II. For influence on him there is a desperate struggle between political parties, one of which are representatives of the ancient boyar families, the other - associates of Peter the Great.

Peter II himself does not interfere in political passions - he spends time in the circle of "golden youth", where he falls under the influence of the Dolgorukov princes, one of whom, Ivan, becomes his favorite.

In this cheerful circle, the 11-year-old emperor is drunk, introduced to debauchery, taken on a hunt - entertainment that is not suitable for Pyotr Alekseevich in age, replace his studies.

Perhaps only two people maintained sincere and warm relations with him - his own sister Natalia Alekseevna and dear aunt Elizaveta Petrovna... "Auntie" by that time was 17 years old.

young Tsesarevna Elizaveta Petrovna, 1720s.

/ portrait of I. Nikitin /

The young emperor, however, did not feel related, but love feelings for Elizabeth, even intending to marry her, which led the courtiers into confusion.

Fight for the emperor

However, the wishes of Peter II were fulfilled only when they did not run counter to the intentions of those who influenced him. Almighty Menshikovmanaged to push competitors away from the emperor, and he began to prepare his wedding with one of his daughters - Mary... By this marriage, the Most Serene Prince expected to further strengthen his own power. However, his enemies did not sleep, and, taking advantage of Menshikov's illness, which lasted several weeks, they managed to turn Peter II against the prince.

Maria Menshikova - the first bride of Peter II / I. G. Tannauer 1727-1728 /

In September 1727 Menshikov was accused of treason and embezzlement, and together with his family he was exiled to Berezov. Maria Menshikova, the former bride of Peter II, also went there.

But this was not a victory for the young emperor, but the Dolgorukovs, who soon also controlled Peter II, as Menshikov had previously controlled him.

At the end of February 1728, the official coronation of Peter II took place in Moscow. Under the influence of the Dolgorukovs, the emperor intended to return the capital to Moscow. Dolgorukovs received the most important government posts, thereby achieving tremendous power.

In November 1728, Peter II suffered another blow - the 14-year-old died Natalia Alekseevna, one of the few who could still restrain the emperor, who devotes more and more time to entertainment, and not to study and state affairs.

After the death of his sister, Peter II spent more and more time at feasts and hunting amusements.

Betrothal

State affairs were left to chance, foreign ambassadors wrote that Russia now more than anything resembles a ship that goes by the will of the wind and waves, with a drunk or sleeping crew on board.

Some state dignitaries, who were worried not only about stuffing their own wallet, expressed indignation that the emperor did not pay due attention to state affairs, but their voices did not in any way affect what was happening.

Princess Ekaterina Alekseevna Dolgorukaya. 1798 g.

The Dolgorukovs decided to implement the "Menshikov plan" - to marry Peter II to a representative of her family, a 17-year-old princess Ekaterina Dolgorukova... On November 30, 1729, their betrothal took place. The wedding was scheduled for January 19, 1730.

The Dolgorukovs, continuing to carry the emperor to feasts or hunting, triumphed over the victory. Meanwhile, against them, as before against Menshikov, the discontent of other representatives of the nobility was ripening. At the very beginning of January 1730, the emperor's tutor tried to persuade Peter II to refuse marriage with Ekaterina Dolgorukova and reconsider his attitude towards this family. Andrey Ivanovich Osterman and Elizaveta Petrovna. Whether they managed to sow doubts in the soul of Peter II is unknown. In any case, he did not officially express his intentions to refuse marriage.

"I will go to Natalia's sister!"

January 6, 1730, in a very severe frost, Peter II, together with field Marshal Minich and Osterman hosted a parade dedicated to the consecration of water on the Moskva River. Returning to the palace, he rode on the heels of his bride's sleigh.

A few hours later, in the palace, the emperor began to have a strong fever. The doctors who examined Peter II made a terrible diagnosis for that time - smallpox.

The body of the 14-year-old monarch was by that time seriously undermined by endless drinking and other "adult" entertainment. The condition of the young emperor was deteriorating rapidly.

The Dolgorukovs made a desperate attempt to save the situation by persuading Peter II to sign a will in favor of his bride, but the emperor fell into unconsciousness.

Ekaterina Alekseevna Dolgorukova, second bride of Peter II

The extinction lasted for about two weeks. On the night of January 19, 1730, on the eve of the day of the appointed wedding, Peter II woke up and said: “Lay the horses. I will go to Natalia's sister ”- forgetting that she has already died. He died a few minutes later, leaving no descendants or designated heir.
The last of the Russian rulers, Peter II, was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. There is an epitaph on his tombstone:

"The most pious and autocratic sovereign Peter the Second All-Russian Emperor. Born in the summer of 1715 October 12, the ancestral possession of 1727 May 7 crowned and anointed in 1728 February 25 days. The great blessings of the hope of his subjects were briefly encouraged, by God's will for the eternal summer of 1730. Januarius 18. Scattering the joy of our hearts, turn our face into mourning, the crown falls from our head, woe to us, for we have sinned. "

Together with the death of Peter II, the Romanov family was cut short in the male knee.

tombstone of Peter II

Their birth dates are almost 200 years old. But how similar the fate is. Both girls almost became one queen, the other empress, almost gave birth to a new dynasty, but there were almost too many of them. And in fact, they were toys in the hands of their energetic, greedy, power-hungry relatives.
It will be about Lady Jane Gray (fiancee of the English king Edward VI) and Dolgorukova Ekaterina Alekseevna (fiancee of the Russian Emperor Peter II).

Jane Gray
(Her portraits were written at different times, many. Not all are certified, the film has already been shot in our time. Such a short fate, and so many in the artistic heritage)

Jane Gray (October 12, 1537 - February 12, 1554), known as Lady Jane Gray or Lady Jane Dudley (since 1553) - Queen of England from July 10, 1553 to July 19, 1553. Also known as the nine-day queen. Executed on charges of seizing power on February 12, 1554.
Lady Jane Gray was born on October 12, 1537 in Bradgate, Leicestershire, to Henry Gray, Marquis of Dorset, (later Duke of Suffolk) and Lady Frances Brandon, granddaughter of King Henry VII.
Raised to the best mentors, Lady Jane amazed her contemporaries from her youth with brilliant academic success. In addition, Jane was distinguished by her kindness, docile disposition and religiosity. Jane was raised in the Protestant religion and her entire environment was hostile to Catholicism.
Looking at Miss Gray's successes, her ambitious relatives had an idea - to marry the young King Edward VI to Jane. The prince was from childhood friends with Lady Jane and had affection for her.
However, Edward's health did not allow him to hope that he would be able to live to see marriage - the king was diagnosed with progressive tuberculosis. At the beginning of 1553, no one had any illusions about the state of the king. The weakened teenager was forced to sign the Legacy Law. According to him, Jane Gray, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Suffolk, became queen.
Of course, Edward signed this law not only because of his affection for his childhood friend, Jane Gray. The members of the Privy Council, led by Regent John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, did not want Princess Mary, the elder sister of the dying king and an ardent Catholic, to come to power. This aspiration of the British government was actively supported by France, which was in a protracted conflict with Catholic Spain.

Under the new law, the daughters of Henry VIII, Princess Mary and her half-sister, Princess Elizabeth, were excluded from the pretenders to the throne, and Jane Gray was declared heir. Under pressure from Northumberland, on June 21, 1553, all members of the Privy Council and over a hundred aristocrats and bishops, including Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and William Cecil, signed the new order of succession.
Jane Gray's announcement of the heir to the throne was a complete break with the English tradition of succession to the throne. According to a similar law signed by Henry VIII in 1544, Edward, in the absence of children, was succeeded by Mary, her by Elizabeth, and only then by the heirs of Francis Brandon and her sister Eleanor. By designating the children of Francis and Eleanor as heirs, rather than themselves, Henry VIII apparently hoped for the appearance of male offspring. Therefore, the decision of Edward VI, having removed the sisters and Frances Brandon herself from the inheritance, to declare Jane Gray as his successor was perceived in English society as illegal. Moreover, Northumberland's apparent interest in the coronation of Jane Gray gave rise to fears of the English aristocracy that the real power would belong to Northumberland, who had already shown himself to be an authoritarian regent during the reign of Edward VI.
The Duke of Northumberland, even before the announcement of the changes in the order of succession to the throne, announced the marriage of his son Guildford to ... the former bride of the dying king - Lady Jane. The wedding took place on May 21, 1553, that is, a month and a half before the death of Edward. Thus, it was understood that the future son of Jane and Guildford Dudley (grandson of the Duke of Northumberland) would become King of England.
On July 6, 1553, King Edward passed away.
On July 10, Queen Jane arrived at the Tower and, according to custom, settled there awaiting the coronation. The ceremony was carried out hastily, without any solemnity. The residents of London did not show any joy - they were sure that the true contender was Maria.

Lady Jane, a sixteen-year-old girl who was too far from her father-in-law's political games, did not even try to understand what was happening. She, of course, was aware that she was just a pawn in the hands of the Dudley clan, but there was nothing she could do. True, when Northumberland announced to the queen that she was obliged to crown her husband, Guildford, Jane refused.
Northumberland, for all his foresight, did not count on the fact that Princess Mary would avoid arrest and gather an army. In an official letter sent from Keninhall, Mary declared her claim to the throne. In addition, a significant part of the noble aristocrats of England moved from London to Keninhall to join the army of supporters of Princess Mary. One after another, the cities and counties of England declared Mary their queen.
The Duke of Northumberland stood at the head of the army, which was to defeat the army of the rebellious princess. However, approaching with his army of no more than 3,000 men to Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, he found that Mary's troops were ten times his own, and in conditions of mass desertion he was forced to retreat and admit defeat.
It was also restless in London. One by one, members of the Privy Council, aristocrats, and court officials betrayed Queen Jane by going over to Mary's side. On July 19, 1553, members of the Privy Council appeared in the town square, where they proclaimed the eldest daughter of Henry VIII Queen of England.
On August 3, Maria entered London solemnly. John Dudley and his sons were declared state criminals and arrested.
The court sentenced John Dudley to death by beheading. The verdict was carried out on August 22, 1553. Lady Jane, her husband Guildford Dudley, and their father the Duke of Suffolk were imprisoned in the Tower and also sentenced to death. However, Mary I could not decide for a long time to sign the court's verdict - she realized that the sixteen-year-old girl and her young husband had not usurped power on their own, and besides, she did not want to start her reign with repression in England, divided between Catholics and Protestants.
Mary even pardoned Jane's father, however, the following year he took part in the uprising led by Thomas Wyeth. This was a new attempt to overthrow the "Catholic" government of Mary I and, possibly, to elevate Jane, languishing in the Tower, to the throne. This determined the fate of the "nine-day queen": she and her husband were beheaded in London on February 12, 1554. Eleven days later, her father, Lord Gray, was also executed.

Jane bitterly mourned the fate of her unfortunate father, who, out of love for her, reached the chopping block. She had known Guilford only a few days before the wedding; she had married out of obedience to her parental will and had never been his wife in the full sense of the word.
Jane's relatives and counselors almost all gradually converted to the Catholic faith. Seven months after the end of the nine-day reign, Mary decided to place Jane in the hands of the executioner.
The Queen summoned Father Fekkenham to her and instructed him to pronounce the death sentence on Lady Jane, making every effort to save her soul.
He talked to Jane about faith, about freedom, about holiness, but she was better acquainted with all these issues, meekly asked to let her spend a few hours of her life in prayer.
Converting Jane to Catholicism in one day was impossible. To save her soul, it was necessary to postpone the execution, scheduled for Friday - Fekkenham insisted that the queen postpone the execution.

Jane is upset with the respite granted to her death penalty - she did not want to die, at seventeen no one wants to die, but she did not want the queen to give her an extra day of life in the hope of forcing her to give up her faith. Jane greeted Feckengam very coldly.
Having learned about the disastrous result of the second meeting of her confessor with the prisoner, Maria did not get angry. She ordered the preparation of a death sentence and sent for Gray, who was in custody in the country. Mary could not force Jane to abandon her faith and subjected her to severe mental anguish: she ordered to execute Guilford and carry his corpse past the windows of Jane's dungeon, she erected a block for unfortunate Jane in view of her windows and forced Lord Gray to be present at the execution of her daughter, she forbade the pastor prepare Jane for death.
The priests that Queen Mary sent to the Tower of London proved to be Lady Jane's most cruel torturers; they forcibly broke into her and did not leave her until her death.

Early in the morning, before dawn, there was the sound of hammers under her windows: these were the carpenters erecting the scaffold on which Lady Jane was to die. Looking into the garden, Jane saw a company of riflemen and spearmen, saw Guildford being led to execution. She sat by the window and began to wait calmly. An hour passed, a long hour, and then the sound of wheels on the pavement came to her ears. She knew that it was the cart with Guilford's body, and got up to say goodbye to her husband.
A few minutes later Fekkenham came for her. Both her ladies-in-waiting were sobbing loudly and barely dragging their feet; Jane, all in black, with a prayer book in her hands, calmly walked out to the scaffold, walked across the lawn past the soldiers lined up in formation, climbed the scaffold and, turning to the crowd, quietly said: "Good people, I came here to die. There was a conspiracy against Her Majesty the Queen a lawless deed; but it was not done for me, I did not want it. I solemnly testify that I am not guilty before God. And now, good people, in the last minutes of my life, do not leave me with your prayers. "
She knelt down and asked Fekkenham, the only cleric Mary allowed to be present at Jane's execution: "Can I say a psalm?" "Yes," he muttered.
Then she said in an intelligible voice: "Have mercy on me, Lord, according to the things of your mercy, according to the multitude of your compassions, cleanse me from my iniquities." When she finished reading, she took off her gloves and kerchief, gave them to the ladies-in-waiting, unbuttoned her dress and took off her veil. The executioner wanted to help her, but she calmly pushed him aside and herself blindfolded herself with a white handkerchief. Then he fell at her feet, begging her to forgive him for what he had to do. She whispered a few warm words of compassion to him and then said loudly: "Please, finish soon!"
She knelt down in front of the block and began to look for it with her hands. The soldier standing next to her took her hands and put them where they should have been. Then she bowed her head on the block and said: "Lord, into your hands I transfer my Spirit," and she died under the executioner's ax.

Dolgorukova, Ekaterina Alekseevna
Ekaterina Alekseevna Dolgorukova (1712-1747) - princess, daughter of Prince Alexei Grigorievich Dolgorukov, bride of Emperor Peter II, failed empress of Russia.
Alexey Grigorievich Dolgorukov possessed an immeasurable thirst for power and ambitions that ruined him and the whole family. Unable to become a confidant of Empress Catherine I, who fully relied on the ubiquitous Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, Dolgorukov did everything to aggravate his influence on the young Emperor Peter. Shamelessly taking advantage of the friendship with Pyotr Alekseevich of his son Ivan (very soon he became the favorite of an inexperienced young man), indulging his most base whims, not leaving alone and in every possible way encouraging his selfless passion for hunting, Aleksey Grigorievich managed not only to upset the Mendeyev's engagement but also to achieve the overthrow of the all-powerful temporary worker.

Dolgorukova Ekaterina

Menshikov was deprived of all his fortune and ranks and, together with his family, was exiled to Berezov.
Barely catching his breath after the victory, Dolgorukov decided to take the emperor into his own hands. Obeying her father's orders, Princess Catherine agreed to marry Emperor Peter, although she had a passionate love for the brother-in-law of the Austrian ambassador, Count Melissimo, and was mutually loved by him. However, the father firmly announced that he would never give her up for Melissimo, and it was foolish to marry some Austrian if there was an opportunity to become the Empress of All Russia. After all, this unbalanced boy, an intelligent woman can twirl as she wants. In addition, there are rumors about his poor health ... Who knows if the hour will come one day when Catherine will become the empress and the ancestor of a new royal dynasty?
Alas, excessive vanity was a hereditary trait of this family. Catherine gave her word to participate in all her father's plans. It was rumored that one day she agreed to be left alone for a while with the ardent and eager emperor, so that Peter then had no choice but to propose. That is, the stubborn Alexei Grigorievich forced him to do it ...
And on November 19, 1729, Ekaterina Alekseevna Dolgorukova was declared the bride of the fourteen-year-old emperor, and on the 30th, a solemn betrothal took place, and she was given the title of "Her Highness the Empress-Bride". The day after the betrothal, she moved to live in the Golovinsky Palace, and Count Melissimo was sent abroad.

Peter II

Meanwhile, her beloved brother Ivan continued to lead an absent-minded and dissolute life. His only sensible act at that time was to marry Natalya Borisovna Sheremeteva, unfortunately, which ruined the life of this noble woman.
It seemed that the whole world opens up to the lucky one! However, heavenly thunder struck: in January 1730, Catherine's crowned groom suddenly fell ill and on the 18th died of smallpox. This was a real disaster for the power-hungry Dolgorukovs. But what opportunities opened up for new intrigues! When Peter II was in his death throes, Prince Alexei Grigorievich gathered all his relatives and proposed to draw up a forged will on behalf of the sovereign on the appointment of the empress-bride as the successor to the throne. After much debate, we decided to write two copies of the Spiritual;
Ivan Alekseevich had to try to bring one of them to the signature of the emperor, and sign the other now under the arm of Peter, in case the latter was not able to sign the first copy himself. When both copies of the spiritual were compiled, Ivan Alekseevich very similarly signed one under the arm of Peter. It was not possible to get a true signature: the emperor died without regaining consciousness. Ivan's attempt to shout out the "empress-bride" at the kingdom was not crowned with success: no one simply supported him.
After the death of Peter II, Princess Catherine returned to her parents' house and together with them, upon the accession to the throne of Empress Anna Ioannovna in April 1730, was exiled to Berezov.
Oh no, the empress knew nothing about the manipulation of the will. The reason for the exile was that Alexei Grigorievich was the only member of the Supreme Privy Council who voted against the election of the Duchess of Courland to the kingdom!

Dolgorukov Ivan Alekseevich

In this one can see the mockery of fate: the Dolgorukovs with their whole family went to that very Berezov, where the disgraced Menshikovs were exiled two years ago! Alexey Grigorievich found his death there, but Catherine was the unwitting cause of new misfortunes for her family.
Dolgorukov began to make friends with the officers of the local garrison, with the local clergy and with the Berezovka inhabitants, and at the same time again get involved in a riotous life - albeit a weak one, but a semblance of the old one. Among his friends was the Tobolsk customs clerk Tishin, who liked the beautiful "ruined" empress-bride, Princess Catherine. Once, once drunk, he rudely expressed his wishes to her. The offended princess complained to her brother's friend, Lieutenant Dmitry Ovtsyn, who was in love with her. Yes, and Catherine responded to his feelings. He was a completely different person from the pampered Melissimo or the absurd boy Peter. Time and trials have changed the absurd and conceited young lady a lot. She learned to value loyalty and kindness over satisfied vanity!

Alexander Menshikov

The enraged Shevtsin severely beat Silence. In revenge, the clerk filed a denunciation to the Siberian governor, the material for which was the careless expressions of Ivan Dolgorukov. The captain of the Siberian garrison, Ushakov, was sent to Berezov with a secret order to check Tishin's statement. When it was confirmed, Dolgorukov in 1738 was taken to Tobolsk, along with his two brothers, Borovsky, Petrov, Ovtsin and many other Berezovka inhabitants, who had disappeared into obscurity, Dolgorukov was kept in hand and foot shackles during the investigation. to Wall. Morally and physically exhausted, he fell into a state close to insanity, raved in reality and even told something that was not asked of him - the story of the writing of a forged spiritual testament at the death of Peter II. This unexpected confession led to a new case, to which the uncles of Princess Ekaterina Alekseevna were involved: Sergei and Ivan Grigorievich and Vasily Lukich. They were all executed; On November 8, 1739, the handsome Ivan was also on the wheel on Skudelnichye Pole, a mile from Novgorod.

Anna Ioanovna

Knowing nothing about their fate, about the fate of Dmitry, Catherine, meanwhile, was transported to Novgorod and imprisoned in Voskresensky-Goritsky nunnery... Then terrible rumors reached her ... She had the feeling that life had buried her for the second time in her grave, so she moved to another monastery indifferently.
They kept Catherine in the strictest confinement, but at first, depressed by her loss, she hardly noticed it. And then self-esteem took over. For two years in prison, no one not only saw her tears, but did not even hear a single word from the former "empress-bride". Her only reading was prayer books, the Bible and the Gospel. In the monastery courtyard, where she was sometimes released, she saw the sky and tree branches over the fence - nothing else. However, the Mother Superior sometimes complained to her trusted nuns: "She puts herself like this, as if she was not here in captivity, but we are all forced to serve her!"
Catherine's spiritual fortitude was amazing. When in 1741 Empress Elizabeth ordered her release and granted her the title of maid of honor, only restrained silence and spirituality of her features distinguished her beauty from the previous one. Ekaterina Dolgorukova could once again shine at court, but she did not have the slightest desire for this.
And then, it seemed, fate took pity on the proud beauty. The forty-year-old handsome General-in-Chief Alexander Romanovich Bruce passionately fell in love with her. Amusing accidents do happen! The godson of Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, Bruce's first marriage was married to Anastasia Dolgorukova, and the second to her relative Catherine. The wedding took place in 1745. However, the words of Catherine about the fate of digging a grave for her turned out to be prophetic this time. Shortly after the wedding, she died suddenly. Indeed, one might think that happiness turned out to be unbearable for this proud nature, accustomed to only suffering!

Russian Emperor Peter II, who ascended the throne as a child, passed away on January 19, 1730.

The king actually did not rule the country - he had to give all power to the Supreme Privy Council. The time of his short stay at the head of the empire was remembered, first of all, by the transfer of the capital from St. Petersburg to Moscow, the increased influence of the boyars and the flourishing of corruption.

the site recalls how young Peter II became a bargaining chip in the hands of the most influential people of that time.

Little king

Peter II, the grandson of the founder of the Northern capital Peter I and the son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and the German princess Sophia-Charlotte of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, was born on October 12, 1715. The future emperor lost his mother when he was not even 10 days old. The 21-year-old princess died of peritonitis. Alexei Petrovich was condemned as a traitor three years later and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, from where he did not come out alive. Peter II only had an older sister, Natalya.

Parents of Peter II. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

The son of Alexei Petrovich was not considered as heir to the throne, since the tsar at that time had sons Pyotr Petrovich and Pavel Petrovich, but when they died, Prince Pyotr Alekseevich remained the last of the Romanovs in the male line.

The future emperor was raised mainly by nannies and invited teachers. Good primary education Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich did not receive it under such conditions. By the age of seven, he spoke poorly in Russian, preferring to speak German and used a little Latin.

Young Peter II did not show much interest in science or the army. He only felt comfortable in an atmosphere of constant celebration and entertainment. The members of the Supreme Privy Council - a group of nobles concerned with their own interests - intended to make the Grand Duke a pocket king to whom conditions could be dictated. The fact that the heir to the throne prefers a riotous lifestyle was even to their advantage.

Maria Menshikova. Photo: Public Domain

At the moment when Peter II was ready to take the throne, the closest to him was Peter the Great's ally Alexander Menshikov. He played a leading role in the Supreme Privy Council and even persuaded the dying Catherine I to sign a will, according to which power passed to Peter Alekseevich on the condition that he would marry his daughter Maria.

In May 1727, the young heir to the throne became emperor, taking the official title of Peter II. Soon after, the 12-year-old Tsar became engaged to 16-year-old Maria Menshikova, whom he was not really interested in. In correspondence, he compared her to a porcelain doll and a stone statue.

Menshikov, who decided to tackle the education of Peter II more closely and have even greater influence over him, moved him to his house on Vasilievsky Island. He even invited Vice-Chancellor Andrei Osterman, also a member of the Supreme Privy Council, to teach lessons to the emperor.

Overthrow of Menshikov

However, one of the most experienced people of that time in matters of intrigues of the royal court, Alexander Menshikov, failed to foresee the intrigues that were built against him. In the summer of 1727, the first St. Petersburg governor-general fell ill, and when he recovered, his opponents had already extracted the documents of the interrogations of Father Peter II, in which Menshikov participated, showing them to the emperor.

Then the tsar left the house of his mentor on Vasilievsky Island and announced to the guards to listen only to his instructions. Menshikov, on September 8, was accused of high treason and embezzlement of the treasury, after which he and his family were exiled to the Tobolsk province. The engagement of Peter II to his daughter Maria was canceled.

V.I.Surikov. "Menshikov in Berezovo" (1883). Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

The actions of the 12-year-old tsar were then directed by Andrei Osterman, who taught him. However, all the power in the Supreme Privy Council now belonged not to him, but to the princes Dolgorukovs, and especially to the favorite of the emperor Ivan Alekseevich, who carefully watched at that time so that the emperor would not be bored for a minute. The influential family wanted to turn the country back - to the pre-Petrine order.

The construction of the fleet stopped, the treasury received less money, and the capital was moved from St. Petersburg to Moscow. The latter was wanted by the boyars who were gaining power, who did not like the city on the Neva.

Departure of Emperor Peter II and Princess Elizabeth Petrovna to hunt. Hood. Valentin Serov, 1900, Russian Museum. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

The Tsar's stay in Moscow began with the coronation in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin on February 25, 1728. After the move, the Dolgorukovs received great power: princes Vasily Lukich and Alexei Grigorievich were appointed members of the Supreme Privy Council, and on February 11, young Prince Ivan Alekseevich was made chief chamberlain. In Moscow, the young tsar also met with his grandmother Evdokia Lopukhina, who was exiled to the monastery by Peter the Great. She no longer claimed the throne, but was completely rehabilitated by the Supreme Privy Council and received huge sums for her maintenance until her death.

The Dolgorukovs soon decided to marry the young tsar. The sister of his favorite Ivan Alekseevich, Ekaterina Dolgorukova, was chosen as his chosen one. Peter II was introduced to her in the fall of 1729. The 17-year-old princess liked the emperor. The wedding was scheduled as soon as possible - on January 19, 1730. Just like Menshikov, the Dolgorukovs hoped that the marriage of the tsar with their relative would help them gain full power.

Smallpox

They were in a hurry with the wedding, a dress was quickly sewn for Ekaterina Dolgorukova, and the Lefortovo Palace was decorated for the wedding. The Emperor, so that he did not have time to come to his senses and cancel what had been planned, was continuously entertained with hunting, balls and drinking. Peter II, although he was still a child by today's standards, looked older than his years. He endured alcohol and protracted festivities steadfastly. Those close to him did not care at all about the health of the young king - power was much more important.

Ekaterina Dolgorukova, Peter's second bride. Unknown artist, 1729, Pskov. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

When there were only 13 days left before the wedding, Peter II decided to go to Blessed Water on the Moscow River. In the cold, he spent four hours in a light jacket, after which he returned to the palace and took to his bed. At first it seemed that the emperor had a cold, but then it became clear that he was crippled by smallpox.

While Peter II was dying, the Dolgorukovs frantically figured out how to keep power in their hands. They even decided to forge the Tsar's signature on official paper and give all power to his failed bride, Catherine.

The 14-year-old emperor passed away on January 19, 1730. The day before his death, he woke up from agony and ordered to harness the sleigh. He wanted to see his sister Natalia - the only person in the world who sincerely worried about him. Unfortunately, the king's relative was not alive - she died of consumption in November 1728.

Peter II was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Empress Anna Ioannovna. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

The Dolgoruky scam, who wanted their dynasty to reign in Russia, did not go through the Supreme Privy Council. Most of the nobles were categorically in favor of continuing the Romanov dynasty. The only problem was that on Peter II the male line was interrupted. Then it was decided to switch attention to women and turn to the candidacy of the Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna, who was going to be made a "decorative" queen.

However, nothing came of this venture - the queen, having come to power, destroyed the Supreme Privy Council and began to rule on her own.

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