Who is the secret prisoner in the film Ekaterina. John Antonovich: a short biography, years of government and history. The fate of the Braunschweig family

After the death of Anna Ioannovna in 1740, according to her will, the Russian throne was inherited by the great-grandson of Ivan Alekseevich, the son of Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich Braunschveisky - Ivan Antonovich.

Until his majority, Anna's favorite E.I. Biron was appointed regent, who was arrested by the guardsmen less than a month later by order of Field Marshal B.K. Minikhin. His mother Anna Leopoldovna was proclaimed regent for the royal child. The unsinkable A.I. Osterman, who survived five reigns and all temporary workers, began to play the leading role under her.

November 25, 1741 The tsar, who did not rule, was overthrown by Elizabeth Petrovna with the help of the guards. First, Ivan 6 and his parents were sent into exile, then they were transferred to prison alone.

The place of his confinement was kept secret. From 1756 he was in the Shlisserbur Fortress, where he was killed by guards when officer V.Ya. Mironov tried to free him and proclaim him emperor instead of Catherine II.

1. Elizaveta Petrovna (1741-1761)

The next coup d'état was carried out with the direct participation of the Preobrazhensky guardsmen. Elizaveta Petrovna found moral support among foreign diplomats, from her friends (A.I. Osterman and P.I.Shuvalov, A.G. Razumovsky, etc.). An important role was played by the unpopularity of the "Braungshwey family" and the rule of the temporary workers.

The period of Elizabeth's reign was marked by the flourishing of favorism. The brothers Razumovsky and I.I.Shuvalov played a huge role in the formation of state policy. On the whole, favorism was a self-talkative phenomenon. On the one hand, it was an indicator of the dependence of the nobility on the monarch's generosity, and on the other, a peculiar, albeit rather timid, attempt to adapt the state to the needs of the nobility.

During the reign of Elizabeth, certain transformations were carried out: there was a significant expansion of noble benefits, especially in the 50s, the socio-economic and legal status was strengthened:

Russian nobility;

An attempt was made to restore some of the orders and state institutions created by Peter 1. For this purpose, the Cabinet of Ministers was abolished, the functions of the Senate were significantly expanded, the Berg - and Manufacturing Collegia, the main and city magistrates were restored;

Many foreigners have been eliminated from the spheres of public administration and the education system;

A new supreme body was created - the Conference at the Imperial Court to resolve important state issues, which soon turned into a kind of government body, largely duplicating the functions of the Senate;

There was a tightening of religious policy. Decrees were adopted on the eviction from Russia of persons of the Jewish faith, on the restructuring of Lutheran churches into Orthodox.

On the whole, Elizabeth's reign did not become the "second edition" of Peter's policy. A cheerful and loving empress, unlike her father, a reformer. It was a time of profound changes in the consciousness of the Russian nobility. Under Peter 1, a new way of life was imposed on the nobles by force. Under the rule of women empresses, many of whom were German by birth, this became an urgent need. His career directly depended on the court behavior of the nobleman.

According to I.N. Ionov, in 18th century Russia, traditionalism gave the greatest chances for power. The framework of behavior was limited once and for all by established customs. Promotional opportunities were constrained by the system of parochialism. Therefore, the incentives to change social status were not significant. The rationality of behavior could not become its defining feature. In the 18th century, the incentives for power struggles became overwhelming.

The defeated ended up in a distant exile, like A.D. Menshikov, or even was executed. The resourcefulness helped some courtiers to maintain their position for a long time. Thus, the diplomat A.I. Osterman, who began his career under Peter the Great, survived three empresses. The prudence of a court nobleman was very different from the rationality of a scientist and an entrepreneur. It was necessary to impress the next empress, to be remembered by her. Therefore, from this point of view, the most profitable was the organization of grandiose holidays, the purchase of new fashionable clothes in Paris, the adherence to the latest European fashion in court etiquette.

Especially characteristic of this time was the appearance of many eccentrics and originals. Around each empress there was a circle of noble ladies who told her all the gossip. Through such "intimate offices" petitions were passed, and sometimes foreign policy was carried out.

These phenomena spread at all levels of government. Locally, they tried to imitate the Petersburg court. Therefore, new fashion trends quickly, without coercion, spread among the entire nobility of the country. His habits and language changed rapidly. Court manners and customs gave rise to new material needs, introduced a fashion for waste that was not characteristic of traditional society. As a result, the economy of the nobles from natural, as it was at the beginning of the 18th century, turned into money.

Luxury has become a vital necessity. The purchase of new clothes and the evenings required huge expenses. This caused the ruin of estates, distracted the nobles from service. To prevent the massive ruin of the nobility in 1754. the Noble Bank was created, which lent landlords on the security of estates.

In an effort to improve their affairs, the nobles in the second half of the 18th century began to engage in entrepreneurship. In the same 1754 the government declared distilling a noble monopoly. The construction of patrimonial manufactories began on the basis of the labor of serfs. Nobles close to the court, such as the Shuvalovs and Vorontsovs, began to build metallurgical plants in the South Urals.

Entrepreneurship of the nobility became almost on a par with that of merchants. The opposite trend was also observed - the transfer of the largest merchants to the nobility.

The Manifesto of Peter III, which secured the right of nobles not to serve the state, revolutionized their lives. From the service class, the nobility turned into a free, privileged class.

In many cases, landowners' estates were centers of culture. With the mediation of landowners, new agricultural crops (potatoes, tomatoes) were introduced into the peasant economy. Nobles, such as A.T. Bolotov, for the first time began to use multi-field crop rotation, more advanced methods of cultivating the land. A provincial noble society with its own identity and interests was gradually formed. It played a large role in the emergence of the liberal nobility and the noble intelligentsia.

The growing role of agriculture in the life of the nobility led to the strengthening of serfdom. The market price for serfs was established. The right to sell peasants without land was legislated. The peasants lost the right to own immovable property, act as sureties, trade without the special right of a landowner, etc. The life of serfs was determined by patrimonial instructions that regulated not only the obligations of the peasants, but their economic initiative, family and spiritual life.

The second half of the 18th century was the time of strengthening and development of the all-Russian market. The turning point was 1754, when internal customs duties were abolished. The country was covered by a network of fairs closely related to local production.

In the middle of the 18th century, the first symptoms of the disintegration of the feudal-serf system and the beginning of the development of capitalist relations appeared in Russia.

The first signs of this process:

The development of commodity-money relations and the formation of capitalist manufacture. The founders of manufactories are mainly private individuals. In some sectors, especially in light industry, free-wage labor is beginning to predominate. Dispersed manufactory is developing, distribution of handicraft work to the peasants' homes (it became one of the forms of the emergence of free-hired labor in Russia, the creation of a labor market, without which the modernization of the economy was impossible).

In some industries, significant advances have been made. Thanks to the rapid development of the mining industry, by the middle of the 18th century, Russia became the second largest producer of pig iron in the world, second only to Switzerland. So, if in 1725. 31 factories operated in the country, then by 1750 - 74. Profitable metallurgical production was actively invested by noble entrepreneurs - brothers Shuvalov, Vorontsov, S.P. Yaguzhinsky

Foreign trade grew at the same time. By the middle of the 18th century, Russia began to occupy an important place in the world food market. Large quantities of grain, timber, leather, hemp, bacon, fur, etc. were exported. Russian foreign trade was active, that is, exports exceeded imports.

Palace coups did not entail changes in the political, and even more so the social system of society and were reduced to the struggle for power of various noble groups pursuing their own, most often selfish interests. At the same time, the specific policies of each of the six monarchs had their own characteristics, sometimes important for the country.

In general, socio-economic stabilization and foreign policy successes achieved during the reign of Elizabeth created conditions for more accelerated development and new breakthroughs in foreign policy that would occur under Catherine II.

John Antonovich

the death of Anna Ioannovna, the eighth Empress Romanova, did not provoke a debate about the succession to the throne. This issue was resolved much earlier, back in 1731, when, according to the will of the empress, the future son of her only niece, daughter of her elder sister, wife of the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Karl Leopold, was appointed heir to the Russian throne. At that time, the niece was only thirteen years old, and, of course, she was not married. The girl's name was Elizabeth Catherine. Two years after the publication of the manifesto on the succession to the throne, the German princess adopted Orthodoxy and the name Anna, in honor of her aunt-empress. She went down in history under the name of Anna Leopoldovna. At twenty, the future mother of the heir to the throne became the wife of Prince Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig, who was five years older than her.

Close relations with the Braunschweig house, which at that time was divided into four branches: Bevern, Blankenburg, Wolfenbüttel and Luneburg, began with the marriage of Tsarevich Alexei to Princess Charlotte Wolfenbüttel. Anton Ulrich's mother, Antoinette Amalia, was her own sister. Thus, the husband of Anna Leopoldovna was a cousin of Peter II, the seventh sovereign of Romanov. The Braunschweig family constantly needed material support and received benefits from the reigning persons of Russia. To find a groom for the niece of the Russian Empress, Her Majesty's equestrian Karl Levenwold was instructed to travel around German courts and negotiate a possible marriage. He proposed the candidacy of the Prince of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, the nephew of the wife of the Austrian Emperor Charles VI.

There was nothing attractive about Anton Ulrich - neither intelligence, nor beauty, except perhaps a kind heart. He arrived in Petersburg, was introduced to the Russian empress, and at first she did not like him. “There is no mind, no energy,” was her first impression. “So this is exactly what is required,” the Germans who surrounded her throne suggested to the empress. And Anna Ioannovna, agreeing with the advisers, declared the Prince of Brunswick to be her niece's fiancé, left him to live at the Russian court and took him into service. And the bride burst into tears: the fifteen-year-old girl was in love with the handsome Count Karl Moritz Linar, a Saxon envoy who was much older than her, and did not want to think about anyone else. However, she could not disobey the reigning aunt and was forced to agree to this marriage. Count Linar was sent to Germany under a plausible pretext. The governess of Princess Frau Aderkas, a native of Prussia, was dismissed from her post and sent home and the governess of Princess Frau Aderkas, accusing her of being an intermediary in the transfer of letters of a young girl to the count.

For five years the prince remained at the St. Petersburg court in anticipation of the bride's coming of age. During this time, he gained neither the respect of the secular nobility, nor attention from his betrothed. “What kind of man is he? As soon as you shout at him, he immediately becomes shy and begins to stutter, as if in advance admits himself to be guilty of something. And outwardly he is simply disgusting to me ... "- so the niece of the Empress declared to her friend Juliana Mengden, the only person to whom she could entrust all her secrets.

Falling in love with Prince Anton was really difficult: thin, blond, short, and even shy and awkward. However, in July 1739, after long delays, Anna was married to a man who did not enjoy her favor at all. Despite her natural kindness, she was unkind to him, but could not resist the will of her aunt.

The wedding of the princess was announced by cannon shots that sounded early in the morning from the walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress. In the direction of the Kazan Cathedral, where the wedding was to take place, crowds of people poured down: people rushed to take comfortable places on the streets along which the wedding procession was to pass. Guardsmen and companies of musicians lined up on both sides of the road. On the day of the wedding, a ball was held at the court, which ended at about midnight. After the ball, the empress took the young woman to her room and ordered her to change. She was stripped of her heavy and lush wedding dress and put on a white satin bonnet adorned with magnificent Brussels lace. After that, the Empress ordered to invite Prince Anton, who was not slow to appear before his young wife. He was dressed in a home dress, his face beaming with servility. The Empress kissed her niece and her husband and, wishing them happiness, proudly departed.

The next day the courtiers whispered among themselves that happiness on that night “did not take place” and that the newlywed spent the whole night after the wedding alone in the Summer Garden, not wanting to share a bed with her unloved husband. One can imagine the fury of the Empress, who, of course, was immediately informed about what had happened. It was said that she, having summoned Anna, now the princess of Braunschweig, beat her on the cheeks, suggesting that her wife did not dare to evade her marital duties. The niece's stubbornness was broken ...

Exactly one year later, the young spouses had a son named after their great-grandfather John, and two months later a manifesto was issued: "... I determine my grandson, Prince John, as legal heirs after myself." So the tsar in Russia after the death of Empress Anna Ioannovna was supposed to be a German - a Brunswick on his father's side, a Mecklenburg on his mother, - connected with the Romanovs only through his grandmother, the elder sister of the Russian queen ...

As soon as the empress died, the parents of the baby king, the prince and princess of Braunschweig, arrived at the palace, where all the high dignitaries had already gathered. Biron addressed those present with a proposal to listen to the will of the late empress. Silence reigned in the hall. What everyone heard was a complete surprise to most of the courtiers: according to the will of the deceased empress, Prince John was declared the successor to the Russian throne, and Biron, Duke of Courland, was appointed the ruler of the state until the new tsar came of age. That is, from now on he received full power in the management of all state affairs, both internal and external. Hearing this, everyone involuntarily turned their heads towards the parents of the baby emperor. Without saying a word and without betraying their surprise, the prince and the princess immediately left the palace - because they hoped that one of them would be appointed regent. The courtiers immediately swore allegiance to John and, going up in turn to the radiant Biron, congratulated him on his high appointment.

The Senate conferred the title of Highness on the regent and assigned him a salary of half a million rubles a year. The amount is considerable! The regent himself, for his part, already as the ruler of the state, appointed a salary for the emperor's parents - 200,000 rubles a year, and for the crown princess Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, who was in constant need of money, 50,000 rubles. She will not forget this favor to him.

The next day, little John was transported with great triumph to the Winter Palace. At the head of the procession were the guards and the regent. Biron walked proudly in front of the chair, on which they carried the nurse with the child in her arms.

The princess mother, along with her beloved maid of honor, Julia Mengden, of German descent, followed them in the front carriage. In the palace, the regent was congratulated by kissing his hand or half of the robe. Biron was all glowing with pride, barely hiding tears of joy. Well, the regal child, who turned only two months ago a week ago, burst into tears, demonstrating his obvious displeasure with everything that was happening and as if anticipating his terrible fate.

Wanting to show his best side, the former favorite of the eighth Empress of the House of Romanov began his reign with merciful acts: he abolished several death sentences, issued a manifesto on strict observance of laws and on the fairness of justice, reduced taxes and introduced restrictions on the luxury of court life. He even ordered to issue fur coats to sentries in winter, so that in frost they would not "endure" the cold. By these measures, the ruler hoped to raise his authority among the people. But the regent treated the parents of the infant emperor harshly: using his power, he even deprived Prince Anton Ulrich of his ranks and put him under house arrest, allegedly for participating in the preparation of a conspiracy against him. It was rumored that he intended to send the Prince of Brunswick with his wife to Germany, and completely subordinate the child to his will from the very beginning. So the twenty-six-year-old Anton Ulrich, who felt deprived, and Biron, who came to power at the behest of his friend the Empress, immediately became sworn enemies.

But to the daughter of Peter the Great, the beautiful Elizabeth, who at that time led a "scattered" lifestyle, changed one lover after another, the regent showed special respect, almost obsequiousness. In addition, he hastily resumed negotiations with the Holstein court about the marriage of Prince Peter Ulrich, grandson of Peter the Great, to his daughter Jadwiga, an ugly and hunchbacked, but very capable and intelligent girl by nature. The marriage was almost a settled matter, and Biron was overly proud that, at least indirectly, he would nevertheless become related to the Romanovs.

But a catastrophe broke out ...

Seeing the regent as a threat to their position, the parents of the infant emperor, inexperienced in palace intrigues and feeling the impending danger, turned to Munnich and Osterman for help. Both courtiers sided with the young Brunswick couple, as they saw a clear rival in the person of the new regent. These statesmen were well aware that they themselves could not consider themselves safe: as soon as they were not needed, they would simply be removed from the political arena. Therefore, having received consent from Princess Anna Leopoldovna for the arrest of the regent, Minich, along with Count Levenwolde, Privy Councilor Baron von Mengden, Generals von Manstein and von Bismarck, and several officers, entered Biron's palace late at night. Munnich ordered his adjutant to go with the grenadiers into the regent's bedroom. The guard officers were told that they were acting on the orders of the emperor's mother. The sentries, who stood at the door of the personal chambers of the Biron couple, offered no resistance and allowed Minich's men to enter the bedroom.

There was a large bed in the middle of the room. The couple, peacefully reclining on their luxurious bed, slept so soundly that they did not hear the steps of those who entered. General von Manstein went to the bed and, pulling back the curtain, shouted in a loud commanding voice: "Wake up!" Biron, opening his eyes, angrily asked: “What? What do you want here? ... "

The half-naked regent, desperately defending himself from the butts of the guardsmen, was pulled by the hair from the lush palace bed and, having thrown a soldier's cloak over him, dragged out of the house.

This is truly a bolt from the blue! They said later that the two Germans snatched the Russian state from each other like a mug of beer.

The news of the fall of Biron flew around the city with lightning speed and caused general rejoicing. The square in front of the Winter Palace quickly filled with people. Guardsmen walked along the streets with drumbeats, carriages came to the palace. In the palace church, Anna Leopoldovna with her husband and the capital's nobility served a thanksgiving service. With cannon fire and bell ringing, the army swore allegiance to the mother of the infant emperor, who proclaimed herself the ruler of the Russian state. Her husband was declared generalissimo of all Russian land and sea forces, Count Minich - the first minister. The star of the former empress's favorite has sunk.

Biron and his family were taken to the Shlisselburg fortress, and his closest relatives and friends were arrested. All the property of the ruler was confiscated. He collected unprecedented wealth over the years of serving the Russian throne: a dressing table made of pure gold, adorned with precious stones, luxurious sets, vases ... And a surprisingly thick bundle of unpaid bills worth more than 300 thousand rubles. The rich man took willingly, but rarely paid. And no one had the courage to demand payment from him for the purchased goods.

So, the regent of the nominal emperor John VI, the ninth king of the Romanov dynasty, was arrested, and his mother, Princess of Braunschweig, was declared the ruler of the state until the infant king came of age. Biron was put on trial and, after a long investigation, was sentenced to death, replaced by exile to Siberia. A guard officer was sent there to guard him, and a Lutheran pastor to take care of his soul. Even Biron's personal physician accompanied him. Minikh, a passionate engineer and architect, gave his fellow countryman a special favor by designing a special house for him, designed for the harsh Siberian conditions. At that time, he could not have imagined that a little later he himself would be forced to live in this house. Some devilish predestination ...

The demoted duke spent only two years in Siberian exile. Elizabeth, who came to power, remembering his favorable attitude towards herself, allowed the former regent to settle in Yaroslavl, 240 km from Moscow. There he occupied a beautiful mansion with a luxurious garden on the banks of the Volga. From St. Petersburg they sent his library, which the former ruler of Russia especially valued, furniture, dishes, and even horses and guns. So Biron began to live very comfortably, although it was still called a link.

Twenty years later, the former regent was returned to St. Petersburg, reinstated on the Ducal throne of Courland and died in Mitava at the age of eighty-two, giving up the ducal throne shortly before his death in favor of his son Peter. The daughter of Biron Yadvig, who never entered the Romanov family, since the marriage conceived by her father did not take place, having adopted Orthodoxy, she became the maid of honor of the Russian empress, and in 1759 she married Baron Alexander Ivanovich Cherkasov and lived a long life ...

And a baby was sitting on the Russian throne, but his mother, the German duchess, was already regent with him - in Russia she was called Anna Leopoldovna. However, in reality, the reins of government were in the hands of the ambitious and energetic Field Marshal Minich, who made the palace coup, and the clever and sagacious Minister Osterman, who treated each other with obvious ill will. The first was generously rewarded with money for the great service rendered to the royal family and became the first person in the state. But Minich's power was short-lived. Osterman "helped" by writing a denunciation against his compatriot, prompting the regent's wife, the emperor's father, to resign in order to receive the rank of generalissimo intended for the father of the infant emperor.

But the weak and indecisive regent could not influence her ministers. Having declared herself the ruler, Anna Leopoldovna practically did not take an active part in state affairs. Careless by nature, she was busy only with herself. According to the description of contemporaries, it was a somewhat plump, but slender blonde with a pretty, innocent face and deep, pensive eyes. Inclined to laziness and rather limited in her interests, she was by no means stupid, but she abhorred any serious occupation and always looked tired, bored. This gentle creature was born not to rule the state, but rather for the hearth, bliss and love. Even after becoming the ruler of the state, the young mother of the emperor did not change her way of life, often leaving state affairs without any attention for a long time.

The Regent spent most of her time in her chambers - playing cards or reading novels. Often, half-dressed, she would lie for several hours on the sofa without doing anything, dreaming about something, or slowly wandering around the palace, stopping only to read a prayer. The Lutheran princess who converted to Orthodoxy was very devout. Icons with lighted icon lamps hung in all her rooms.

The new ruler did not like to appear in public, significantly reduced court receptions, released most of the servants who surrounded her aunt in such abundance. And silence and solitude reigned in the palace. She usually dined together with her favorite Julia Mengden, with whom she spent most of the time. But as soon as Count Linar, a former Saxon envoy, reappeared in St. Petersburg, the regent changed her habits. The family life of a young woman clearly did not work out, and the light of the first hobby was still smoldering in her chest, which this heartthrob was not averse to taking advantage of.

Linar came from an Italian family that had settled in Germany since the 16th century. By that time he was already forty years old, he was a widow, handsome, well-built, in a word, a conqueror of women's hearts. Arriving in St. Petersburg, the count did not miss a single occasion so as not to show the princess how madly in love he is with her. He rented a house near the royal garden, and Anna, who usually rarely left her apartments, suddenly began to often stroll through the garden. Anton Ulrich was clearly displeased and even experienced the pangs of jealousy, but did not dare to speak about it out loud. He found solace in the power that the regent gave her husband in small portions.

Perhaps because of Linar, perhaps for other reasons, but the spouses did not talk to each other for weeks, and the ministers used this to their advantage. The position of the Braunschweig family on the Russian throne was becoming unreliable. A coup d'etat was brewing in the state ... The reign of the emperor's mother, accepted at first with sympathy by the high society and the people, soon began to evoke condemnation. After all, the state was again dominated by exclusively Germans: Ostermann, Levenwolde, the Saxon envoy Linar, who enjoyed the special favor of the regent, and even the closest maid of honor of the ruler, the German Julia Mengden, who showed interest in public policy issues. Therefore, the coming conspiracy was called "a conspiracy against the Germans." The most active force in it were the guards, among them there were many ordinary soldiers. But the guard was the flower of the nobility and, starting with the death of Peter the Great and up to the accession of Catherine II, in fact, not a single change on the Russian throne was complete without the intervention of the guards regiments.

The quarreled Germans, who were at the head of Russia, no longer inspired sympathy and respect. And the new emperor himself was only the grandson of Tsar John, and the daughter of Peter the Great himself was still alive, remaining all the time after the death of her father, as it were, in the shadow of political life. And since the sovereigns were then changed "like shirts" - they used to say among the people - the determined guards preferred Elizaveta Petrovna. She was available, affable, treated with love ...

Historians describe a case typical of that time. When the niece of the former empress had a son, Elizabeth, as was customary, wanted to make a gift to the mother of the newborn. She sent her courtiers to Gostiny Dvor to buy a vase. The seller, having learned that the vase was being purchased at the behest of Elizabeth, refused to take the money, although it, the vase, was of great value. Even then, everyone considered the daughter of Peter I the leader of the "Russian party" at court and wanted her to sit on the throne. Elizabeth did not hide behind the palace walls, as did the ruler, the daughter of a German, but often rode on horseback or in a sleigh through the streets of the capital, was easy to deal with officers and soldiers, and just with the inhabitants of the city. Foreigners also respected her. Therefore, all those who were dissatisfied with the "German dominance" united around her.

Elizabeth was born before Christmas 1709 as the illegitimate daughter of the Russian tsar, who, although he was extremely delighted with the news of her birth, recognized his child only after his marriage to Catherine. Peter's youngest daughter never got married. With her beloved fiancé, Karl August Holstein, cousin of her sister Anna's husband, she got along even before the wedding, which, however, was never destined to take place. Poor Karl August passed away shortly before the wedding. To emphasize the "eternal" mourning for her groom, the princess usually wore a white taffeta dress with a dark lining. In the future, Elizabeth refused to all other suitors - even to members of the sovereign European houses, declaring that she did not want to be bound by marriage. And there was no shortage of fans. Even her nephew, Emperor Peter II, fell into her amorous nets. And now the thirty-two-year-old beauty changed one gentleman after another. She could flirt with anyone she liked, regardless of his rank or origin.

The aristocracy despised her for both illegitimate birth and affection. The princess's friends could be simple village girls, she rode a sleigh with them, treated them to sweets, participated in their dances and songs. Her house in St. Petersburg was open to the guards soldiers, she gave them gifts, baptized their children. "You are the blood of Peter the Great!" - they told her. - "You are the spark of Peter!"

It was believed, accordingly, that Elizabeth, half-forgotten by the high society, was not capable of any conspiracies and abandoned all thoughts of power. Biron and then Munnich were supportive of her. Her relationship with the ruler Anna remained amiable and even friendly. But Elizabeth found friends who, by all means, decided to free Russia from the "domination of the Germans," as they declared. But, oddly enough, they were again foreigners: the Marquis La de Chétardie, the French envoy, and Lestok, the personal physician of Princess Elizabeth. The latter was the son of a French physician who moved to Germany at the end of the 17th century. He had lived in Russia for more than twenty-five years and even married one of Elizabeth's maids of honor. In the conspiracy, which was already talked about openly, the German Schwartz, the captain of an infantry regiment, was also involved. And the most active conspirator was Grünstein, a former broker and jeweler from Dresden, and at that time a soldier of the Guards. The regent's carelessness and apathy contributed to the successful completion of the coup.

And so the guards swore allegiance to Elizabeth. Count Levenwolde allegedly managed to warn the regent about the danger that threatened her, but the mother of the little emperor, who was distinguished by special gullibility towards people, considered him insane and did not want to believe any denunciations against the crown princess. When the conspirators entered the palace with Elizabeth, Anna slept next to her husband. One of the grenadiers rudely awakened the unfortunate. The tiny sister of the baby king cried, who was dropped on the floor in the bustle. Little John was forbidden by Elizabeth to disturb him. But he woke up from the noise, and, taking him in her arms, she said with emotion: “Poor baby! Only your parents are to blame. " Meanwhile, everywhere they shouted "Hurray!" And under these screams, the child smiled at the one who had just deprived him of the imperial crown.

The Braunschweig family was taken into custody. On the same night, Munnich, Ostermann and Levenwolde were arrested. Their supporters were taken into custody, as well as those who were considered adherents of Prussia - the main Image, courtiers and state dignitaries of German origin. On the morning of November 25, 1741, the manifesto for the accession to the throne of Empress Elizabeth was promulgated. Not a word was said about the illegality of John VI's rights. Moreover, the daughter of Peter the Great in every possible way showed great tenderness to the now former emperor in front of the guards.

At first, they wanted to send the overthrown baby with his parents abroad to relatives, and even already sent to Riga. But an attempt to make a counter-coup in favor of John VI and numerous palace intrigues forced Empress Elizabeth to change this decision. And the Prussian king Frederick II advised the Russian envoy in Berlin to do everything to settle the Brunswick family in some remote place in the Russian expanses, so that they would be forgotten altogether. Although immediately after the coup, Frederick and the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, relatives of Prince Anton Ulrich, turned to Elizabeth with a request to let him go outside Russia, since he never claimed to rule the Russian state, but was only the Father of a child who became to please Anna Ioannovna nominal king. Elizabeth agreed to allow Anton Ulrich to leave Russia, but did not want to let his wife and children go. The prince, having learned about the decision of the Russian empress, refused to leave alone. And now, under protection, the Brunswick family is sent first to the east, towards Ryazan, and then to Arkhangelsk, in order to be transported then to the Solovetsky Island for an eternal settlement. John was ordered to be taken in a separate carriage under the name Gregory. He was separated from his parents forever. However, the captives did not get to the island, a strong storm prevented. In the strictest secrecy, the family was settled in Kholmogory, a village located on the banks of the Northern Dvina. They were placed in a solid archbishop's house, which was urgently surrounded by a high fence. On an area of ​​approximately 400 sq. m there were two more houses and a church with a tower, there was also a pond and a small garden. All communication with the outside world was prohibited. The food is the simplest, the attitude of the guard soldiers is like prisoners.

The former king, who by that time had already turned four years old, was placed in a small house separate from his parents. Here the boy grew up all alone. Major Miller was assigned to him as an overseer and was instructed to do so.

Anna Leopoldovna, the grand-niece of Peter the Great, gave birth to three more children in Kholmogory and was fully occupied with taking care of them. Shortly after the birth of her last child, she died of childbirth fever, when she was not yet thirty. Empress Elizabeth, having learned about the death of her distant relative, ordered her body to be brought to St. Petersburg for a solemn funeral. Anna Leopoldovna was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra next to Tsarina Praskovya, her grandmother, and her mother, Duchess of Mecklenburg, the eldest daughter of Tsar John Romanov. The former emperor, who by that time was already six years old, was not told about the death of his mother. He continued to be kept in complete isolation from his family. Only a few persons assigned to him could communicate with the boy without revealing to him the secrets of his origin.

Despite strict prohibitions, someone taught John to read and told him who he was. This dramatically changed the fate of the ninth Tsar Romanov, who had already reached adolescence. He was secretly transported to the Shlisselburg Fortress, located on a small island in the middle of the Neva. The fortress at that time still served as a defensive military structure. Only in a few decades will it become a sinister prison. Anton Ulrich and his children were left in Kholmogory, strengthening the guards for visibility, so that it seemed that the deposed king was still there.

John was placed in a small casemate located in one of the fortress walls. The only window was covered with gray paint, so that God forbid anyone would not see the mysterious prisoner. The guard was given a strict order not to tell anyone about the prisoner, what he is: old or young, tall or short, Russian or foreign ...

In a cramped cell without daylight, the further short life of the unfortunate offspring of the royal family, who did not know the delights of life, will pass.

For days, the prisoner played with his mother's jewelry, which he kept in his casket. The first time he was taken out for a walk, when he was already twenty years old. John saw trees, flowers, and green grass again. The young man loved to stand on the rampart and look into the distance at the sea spread out in front of him. And at twenty-four years old here, in the fortress, the poor man was killed allegedly while trying to free him from prison. He was already the second representative of the Romanov dynasty who was killed so that he would not be on the throne. First, Alexei, the son of Peter the Great - he was at that time twenty-eight years old - and now the great-grandson of Tsar John, the failed emperor, who was four years younger.

And the events associated with the assassination of this Tsar Romanov developed as follows.

For twenty years of Elizabeth's reign, the deposed John VI was kept under strict supervision. After the death of the empress, her successor, Peter III, gave orders to keep his relative even stronger. It was even said that he once visited him in the fortress under the guise of a simple officer in order to personally look at the prisoner. As evidenced in Russian historical materials, the prince spoke incoherently, answered questions chaotically. Either he claimed that he was Emperor John, then that this emperor was no longer in the world, and his spirit passed into him. When asked who he was, he answered: "The Emperor." When asked how he knew this, he answered: "From his parents and from the soldiers."

Peter III was gone, and John was still in his prison. Catherine II, who came to power and was completely unrelated to the Romanov family, was faced with the difficult task of what to do with the prisoner in the fortress, once declared the Russian emperor, and even the great-grandson of the Russian Tsar John Romanov. Her initial idea was to marry a young man to herself, thereby legitimizing her presence on the Russian throne. Under some pretext, she came to the fortress to look at the poor prisoner from afar. But when she saw him, she immediately abandoned this thought and made a new decision: not to give the prisoner to anyone under any guise, but to kill him when trying to free him.

As some historians suggest, Catherine decided to get rid of such a dangerous rival as soon as possible and through her closest advisers agreed to resort to the service of one aide-de-camp who served in St. Petersburg. The name of this officer was Vasily Mirovich. There are many mysteries around this person to this day.

He was the son of a colonel exiled to Siberia for political reasons. The family's estate was confiscated, and the colonel with his wife and Children was living in poverty. When Vasily grew up, he was taken to serve in St. Petersburg - helped by the patronage of the general, who knew him well once a rich grandfather. However, a passion for wine and women prevented the young man's career. Lieutenant Mirovich was transferred to the regiment, which was on guard duty in the Shlisselburg fortress. There he learned about the ill-fated fate of John, the failed tsar of the Russian state. Either he really felt compassion for the prisoner and decided to release him, or, as some researchers believe, Empress Catherine herself decided to deliberately set up the murder of John by the warders, allegedly in an attempt to release him. The role of the "liberator" was to be played by Mirovich, who was promised a large reward for the service and the return of his grandfather's estate. The plan was thought out with great care, even the time was set for its implementation. Everything was prepared.

At midnight on the scheduled day, Mirovich ordered his soldiers to release the imprisoned emperor. A firefight began with the guard service. John, hearing the shots, woke up and got up from his bunk, trembling with fear. His guards acted strictly according to the instructions ... Mirovich, who ran into the cell, saw the body of a prisoner spread on the floor in his underwear. Still very young, but already with gray hair in his long matted hair and with a sparse reddish beard that framed his face, pale to blue, he lay in a pool of blood, his arms outstretched wide. In his open, stopped eyes, bewilderment was frozen: why ?!

The murdered man was put on a bunk and carried out of the barracks. They buried him that night at the fortress wall, lightly sprinkling the grave with moss and branches so that it was invisible. The official report reported a "fatal accident" that happened to an unnamed prisoner. There was no other blood besides the rival hated by the empress that night was not spilled.

Lieutenant Mirovich and his soldiers were arrested. The investigation lasted for several weeks, and then a trial took place, which was held in the strictest confidence. From all the clerks they took a special subscription about the strict observance of secrecy. No transcripts of the court session were kept. Lieutenant Mirovich was sentenced to death, and the soldiers who took part in this "event" were sentenced to exile in Siberia forever. But the murderers of John VI were richly rewarded for their vigilance.

On a gloomy September morning, Vasily Mirovich stood on a platform set up on a square that was quickly filling up with people, despite the bad weather. He stood, calmly looking around. The executioner was next to him, and the condemned to death smiled ... His black eyes on his pale face seemed to look merrily. Seeing this, Many naturally believed that the execution would not be real. After all, Elizaveta Petrovna more than twenty years ago, when she ascended the throne, abolished this type of punishment. Apparently, the convict himself hoped for this. And when the second lieutenant's head rolled off the platform, everyone gasped in surprise. The body, along with the scaffold, was burned, the ashes scattered in the wind.

The deathly smile of the executed forced many historians to search for the reasons for this behavior of Mirovich in his hour of death. Maybe the convict was sure that the news of his pardon, as was promised to him by the Highest, was about to come, and the execution would not take place? In short, a dark story. Otherwise, the events associated with the assassination of the ninth Tsar Romanov cannot be named ...

After the death of Anna Leopoldovna, for her husband and children, and there were four of them left - two daughters and two sons - they stretched out for many years of exiled life. Having ascended the throne, Catherine. II allowed the prince to go home: he was not a member of the House of Romanov and did not pose a danger to the descendants of Peter I. But Anton Ulrich preferred to remain in prison with his children. Towards the end of his life, he became completely weak and blind and in 1774 he died, having been in exile for about thirty-three years. Long term! And no one could tell him why he actually bears this punishment. For becoming the father of the heir to the Russian throne?

Only five years later, Catherine II decided to let the Brunswick princes and princesses go abroad. She told about this to the sister of Anton Ulrich, Queen Dowager of Denmark and Norway Juliana Maria, who agreed to place her nephews in the small Norwegian town of Gorsens. At night on a merchant frigate they were taken to Norway, where they settled on the full support of the Russian government. They lived poorly, they did not know any language, except Russian, they could not communicate with the service personnel. In the first seven years, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Alexei passed away. Ten years later, Prince Peter. But the sick and deaf Princess Catherine lived until 1807. And surprisingly, in the last years of her life, she repeatedly addressed letters to Alexander I with a request to return to Russia, which for some reason attracted her so much, despite her bitter memories. Her requests remained unanswered, and five years before her death she wrote to her confessor that it was a thousand times better for her to live in Kholmogory than in Gorsens, that the Norwegian courtiers did not love her and she often cried, cursing herself that she had not died.

So tragic was the life of the parents of the unfortunate John VI and their children - the princes of Brunswick. And the fault of this Romanov, a tsar without a crown and throne, is only that he was the heir to the throne according to the will of the Empress Anna Ioannovna, the sister of his grandmother.

No less tragic are the further fates of Minich and Osterman, these once all-powerful Germans who ruled the Russian state for many years. The henchmen of the ascended to the throne, Elizabeth, forced them to sign confessions of alleged anti-state activities and sentenced them to death. And they had to endure the fears of death row. But at the very last minute, when Osterman's head was already on the chopping block, the judge cried out: "God and the Empress will give you life." Osterman and others sentenced to death were taken to prison: their death sentences were commuted to lifelong exile in Siberia.

Minich was exiled to the same village where Biron had been exiled a little earlier, who had recently received permission to leave for Yaroslavl. As historians write, on the way, however, in different directions, they met. But there is no consensus whether they took off their hats when they met each other or not. And what a twist of fate ... The author of the project himself settled in the house that Minich once designed for Biron. And the house was made to glory. There were no Siberian frosts in it. However, the stay in this distant land of the former field marshal and more recently the first minister of the Russian Empire was not just a link, but a strict conclusion. He had no right to leave his home. Only the pastor and the doctor who came with him to this exile could go to the town, which consisted of only a few houses. Minich lived in his prison for twenty years and did not waste time: in his house he opened a school in which everyone who wanted could study: former politicians, convicted thieves and swindlers, and other people. A remarkable specialist and highly educated person, he generously passed on his knowledge to everyone ... He wrote letters to Empress Elizabeth asking for pardon, but release came only when her nephew ascended the throne. In the spring of 1762, a messenger arrived from St. Petersburg with a pardon. Minich was allowed to return home. He was already seventy-nine years old, but the energy was still seething in him.

Sadder was the fate of Count Osterman, a unique personality who managed to retain, as if by inheritance, the trust and mercy of two emperors - Peter I, Peter II, two empresses - Catherine and Anna, one ruler - Biron, one ruler - Anna Leopoldovna, and also their favorites, Russians and non-Russians. And the geography of his life is rare! He made his way from a small village in the west of Germany to distant Siberia: Bochum - Jena - Petersburg - Berezovo!

Never fond of quarreling with anyone, the count was exiled to the same Berezovo, where a little more than ten years ago Alexander Menshikov ended his life, who fell out of favor with Peter the Great's grandson, his best friend and patron, and was overthrown not without the participation of Osterman himself. He settled in Menshikov's house: with illnesses - he was especially tormented by gout, - disappointments and memories of the past brilliance and the humiliations that the daughter of a man who so highly valued his intelligence and knowledge subjected him to. He brought so much benefit to Russia, which has become dear and dear to him! Why such a bitter fate !? With these thoughts and feelings, Osterman lived in Siberia for only six years and died there. But the memory of him remained for many years, even the future tsars of the Romanovs remembered him only as a man who was the greatest engine of civilization and enlightenment in Russia ...

The fate of another participant in the overthrow of Biron, General von Manstein, developed in an interesting way. He managed to avoid the sad fate of his companions, although during the coup he was the right hand of Field Marshal Minich. Taking advantage of the leave, the general left Russia in time and ended up in Berlin. Having learned about the situation in St. Petersburg, Manstein decided not to return to Russia. He tried to get his resignation through the Russian ambassador to Prussia, but the Military Collegium refused him and demanded that he immediately return to his regiment. Manstein did not follow this demand, but entered the service of the Prussian king Frederick II and became his expert on Russian affairs. In Russia, this step was assessed as desertion, and a military court sentenced the general to death in absentia.

Through diplomatic channels, Elizabeth demanded the extradition of a Russian officer to carry out the sentence, but Frederick II did not do this, appreciating the intelligent and well-versed German in Russia. General von Manstein served in Prussia for many years.

The daughter of Peter the Great came to the throne the morning after the coup. In the very first days of her reign, she removed the Germans from power. The new empress hastened to erase forever the memory of her predecessor on the royal throne, who only had one year and sixteen days on him, and then spent twenty-three years in prison and was deprived not only of freedom and power, but also of his own name. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna ordered to destroy coins and medals with his image, to burn all the papers in which his name was mentioned. The short nominal reign of the ninth representative of the House of Romanov ended. Apart from palace intrigues, it brought nothing to Russia.

1.2. Roman John Crescentius of the 10th century and the Evangelical John the Baptist allegedly of the 1st century Biographical parallelism Beginning of the Second Roman Empire, allegedly around the 1st century AD e., includes a detailed story about the great church reform carried out by Jesus Christ. The reform was