Catherine's reign 1 years of reign. The proclamation of Catherine I as Empress. Chronology of the life and work of Catherine I
Reign: 1725-1727
From biography
- Catherine I is the second wife of Peter I. Her name is associated with the beginning of the era of Palace coups in Russia.
- Catherine I was born under the name of Marta Skavronskaya, after the adoption of Orthodoxy she received the name of Catherine.
- From a favorite in 1712, she turned into a wife, and then an empress, being an ordinary peasant by birth.
- Catherine I had no education, however, she knew how to think wisely, advised Peter I a lot, which is why he had an opinion about Catherine as a very intelligent woman.
- Catherine I reigned for a little less than one and a half years, although Menshikov and the temporary workers were the true rulers.
- She ascended the throne as a result of a guards mutiny on January 28, 1725, becoming the first woman - Empress of Russia.
- Peter I and Catherine I had 11 children, but many died in infancy. Two daughters survived - Anna and Elizabeth. This fact testifies to the huge tragedy in their life - the loss of 9 children!
- Prince and Field Marshal Menshikov and members of the Supreme Privy Council ruled on behalf of Catherine I. They mainly solved minor issues, embezzlement, abuse, arbitrariness flourished in the country.
- Catherine I began her reign with a reduction in taxes and the release of many prisoners and exiles.
- In honor of Catherine I, the Order of St. Catherine was established in 1713, the city of Yekaterinburg was named in the Urals, and the palace was named in Tsarskoye Selo - Catherine's Palace, built by her daughter Elizabeth.
- The heir under the will of Catherine I was the grandson of Peter I, Peter II, and A. Menshikov was the regent.
Historical portrait of Catherine I
Activities
1.Internal policy
| Activities | results |
| Strengthening the autocracy, unification of the management system. | Changing the system of state and local government. Decline in the role of the Senate. 1726-created Supreme Privy Council - a new supreme body of power (A. Menshikov, F. Apraksin, G. Golovkin, D. Golitsyn, A. Osterman, P. Tolstoy and the husband of Anna's daughter, Duke Karl Friedrich - "the leaders", as they were called) |
| Reduction of bureaucracy | Colleges were significantly reduced (some were merged, others were abolished) Judicial and administrative power in the provinces - with the governors, and in the counties and provinces - with the governors The magistrates were liquidated. |
| Social policy: pursuing a pro-nobility policy and worsening the situation of the peasants. | The nobles are allowed to trade freely on the marinas and in any cities, which before that was the privilege of the merchants. |
| Rejection of the reform programs of Peter I in the economy as too expensive. | Revision of the customs tariff, it was reduced for imports, however, trade with Western countries dropped significantly. Changes in the taxation system - reduction of the capitation tax Depriving trade and industry of financial support from the state Plants were put into operation in the Urals. |
| Changes in the army. | Changing the location of the army and its content |
| Administrative and territorial transformations. | Restoring the significance of the county as the main administrative-territorial unit |
| Further development of culture, continued support for geographical expeditions. | 1725, November - the Academy of Sciences was opened, which was prepared by Peter I. |
2. Foreign policy
| Activities | results |
| Southern direction: the desire to expand the territory of the state. | Catherine I did not fight big wars. In the Caucasus, the corps of Prince Dolgoruky tried to recapture part of the territory of Persia and Turkey. Russia took possession of the Shirvan region. |
| Establishment of diplomatic relations with the countries of the West. | Good relations have been established with Austria. Trade relations with many countries. |
| Deteriorating relations with Denmark and England. | Deterioration of relations with Denmark and England, as Russia supported the claims of the Duke of Holstein (the empress's son-in-law) to their territory) As a result, Russia entered Union of Vienna in 1726 (Austria, Prussia, Spain). They were opposed by Hanover Union : England, France, Sweden, Denmark, Holland). |
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
- During the reign of Catherine I, there were no significant reforms, since her entourage was more interested in the struggle for power, and her own entertainment.
- Revision of the results of Peter's transformations, rejection of the broad reform program of Peter, although much that Peter began was continued and completed.
- Decline in the role of the Senate.
- Creation of unfavorable conditions for economic development, deprivation of government support for industry and trade.
- Carrying out a pro-noble policy, that is, increasing the privileges of the nobles.
- Continuation of the policy of establishing diplomatic and trade relations with countries, especially the West.
- Complication of relations with England and Denmark.
- Joining a small area in the south.
Chronology of the life and work of Catherine I
| 1725-1827 | Board of Catherine I. |
| 1725, November | Opening of the Academy of Sciences. |
| 1726 | Creation of the Supreme Privy Council. |
| 1725-1730 | V. Bering's first expedition to Kamchatka. |
| 1726 | The signing of the Russian-Austrian union treaty. |
| 1726 | Decree prohibiting serfs from free leaving for the trades. |
| 1726 | Russia joined the Vienna Union. |
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Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya, later Ekaterina Alekseevna Mikhailova, the future All-Russian Empress Ekaterina I, was born on the lands of Livonia near Kegmus (today the territory of Latvia) in 1684. Her biography is rather controversial and ambiguous. There is little exact information about her youth. It is only known that Martha's parents died quite early, after which she lived with her aunt, and according to another version, with the pastor. At the age of 17, she married the Swedish dragoon Johann Kruse. But after a few days he went to war, with which he never returned.
Martha (and about 400 other people) was captured by Russia in 1702 after the capture of the fortress of Marienburg by Field Marshal Sheremetev.
There are two versions of the development of her future fate. According to the first, Martha became the steward in the house of Colonel Bauer, according to the second, she was noticed by Sheremetev and became his mistress, but later he had to cede the girl to Prince Menshikov. It is impossible to prove or disprove any of the versions today. However, it is known that he met Martha in the prince's house, where the girl worked as a servant.
Martha, who has already received the name Catherine, under whom she will go down in history, gives birth to 11 children to the tsar, most of whom die while still babies. Only Anna and were left alive. In 1705, Catherine was brought to the house of Natalya Alekseevna, the tsar's sister, where she learned to write and read. In the same period, Catherine I struck up a close relationship with the Menshikovs.
The next important event in the biography of Martha Skavronskaya takes place in 1707 (according to some sources, in 1708). The future queen is baptized into Orthodoxy and receives the name Ekaterina Alekseevna Mikhailova. Peter I became so attached to this woman that he took her with him to the Prussian campaign, where Catherine showed herself very worthily. All contemporaries note the amazing relationship between the Russian Tsar and Catherine I, her ability to soothe his fits of anger and headaches. It is believed that Peter's numerous love affairs were not at all a secret for his future wife.
In 1714, on February 19, Peter the 1st and Catherine were married in the Church of John Dalmitsky. In honor of his wife, the tsar established the Order of St. Catherine, which he awarded her on November 24, 1724.
In 1724, on May 7, Catherine was crowned empress in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. But in the same year, suspecting her in connection with Mons, the chamberlain, Peter the 1st removes her from himself and executes the chamberlain. In the winter of 1724, when the tsar became seriously ill, Catherine I did not leave his bed. Peter the Great died in her arms on January 28, 1725.
The Russian tsar died, canceling the previous order of succession by his decree, but never appointing an heir. As a result, the following years have brought in many. Catherine the 1st ascended the Russian throne during the guards revolt on January 28, 1725, becoming the first woman to rule Russia. However, she was not directly involved in management, delegating important state affairs to Menshikov and the Supreme Privy Council. During the short reign of Catherine the 1st, the Academy of Sciences was opened and Bering's expedition was organized. Catherine died of lung disease on May 6, 1727, having signed a will, according to which the Russian throne passed to the grandson of Peter the Great -.
The early years of the empress are shrouded in many secrets, at present there is absolutely no reliable information about this period. The origin and the exact country are also not known, historians still cannot give a truthful and accurate answer. One version says that she was born on April 5, 1684 in the Baltic region in the vicinity of the mountains, at that time these territories were under the command of the Swedes.
Another version says that her homeland was Estonia, then she was born in a local small town at the end of the seventeenth century, it is also said here that she was from peasants. There is another version that her father was a certain Skavronsky, who served a local warrior and subsequently fled, settled there in the districts of Marienburg and started a family. It is worth noting that Katka was not called Russian, her roots were different. Therefore, upon receiving the throne, her name Martha Skavronskaya was changed to that already known in the war literature.
Adolescence
In those days, a plague roamed the world, her family also did not manage to avoid this scourge. According to legend, when the princess was born, her parents died of illness. She had only one relative, but he gave the baby to another family. Further, in 1700, the Great Northern War began, where Russia was the enemy of Sweden. In 1702, the fortress of Marienburg was taken by the Russians, a girl with a certain Gluck was a prisoner and they were sent to Moscow.
Martachka was settled in a strange family, and she was there as a servant, she was not taught to read and write. However, another version also says that the mother never died of the plague, but simply gave her daughter to the family of the same Gluck. It is already said here that she was not a servant, but was trained in spelling and other innovations that are supposed to be a secular dma. It is also said according to other sources that at the age of seventeen she was married to a Swede on the eve of the capture of the fortress, a few days later her husband went missing. From these data, we can say that the future princess does not have one hundred percent of her biography data.
The story of Peter and Catherine
Peter, on one of his trips to Menshikov, met Martochka, then she became his loving woman. Then Menshikov himself lived in St. Petersburg, the emperor at that time was on his way to Livonia, but decided to stop by and stay there. On the day of his arrival, he met his lady of the heart, then she served the guests' table. Then the king asked everything about her, watched her and told her to bring and light a candle before going to bed. Then they spent the night together, then the king left and finally left one ducat to his night mistress.So the first meeting of the tsar with the princess took place, if it were not for her, she would never have become the heir to the throne. After the victory in the Battle of Poltava in 1710, a triumphal procession was organized, where the captured Swedes were held. Then, Martha's husband, nicknamed Kruse, was also led along this procession, after his words that the girl was sent to exile, where he died in 1721.
A year after the first meeting with the Tsar, Catherine gave birth to a son, and a second year later, and they all died some time later. Peter called his marriage friend Vasilevskaya, after he ordered her to be settled with Natasha's sister, where she learned to read and write and became very friends with the Menshikov family. Two years later, the future princess converted to Orthodoxy and after that she was baptized, then became Alekseevna Mikhailova. The surname was given on purpose so that Marta remained secret, and she received her patronymic from the red one.
Mistress and wife
Peter loved her very much, he considered her the only one in his life. Although the prince had many other mistresses, various fleeting meetings, he loved only her. The latter knew about it. The king himself often suffered from severe headaches, the empress was his only medicine. When the king had an attack, his love sat down next to him and hugged him, then the king fell asleep within a minute.
With the onset of the spring of 1711, the tsar was supposed to go on a Prussian campaign, then he brought out all his friends and relatives and indicated that Catherine was considered his wife and queen. He also indicated that in case of death, to consider her the rightful queen. A year later, the wedding took place and from that moment Catherine became the legal wife. Then she followed her husband everywhere, even during the construction of the shipyard. In total, the princess gave birth to ten children, but many died at a young age.
Ascent to the throne
The king was a great builder of new reforms, he also changed the whole system regarding the thrones. In 1722, a very significant reform was launched, according to it, not the first son of the king becomes the heir to the throne, but the person who will be appointed by the ruler himself, so any subject could lead the throne. A year later, namely on November 15, 1723, a coronation manifesto was issued. It also happened a year later on May 7.
During his last years, Peter was very sick, and in the end he became completely ill. Then Catherine understood that something needed to be done, the tsar was very bad, so his death was close. She summoned Prince Menshikov and Tolstoy, gave them a decree, and herself asked that it was necessary to lure those in power to her side, because the tsar did not have time to draw up a will. Already on January 28, 1725, Catherine was proclaimed empress and heiress, and most of the nobles and the guards helped her in this.
Board results
During the reign of the empress there was no autocracy, almost everything was decided by a secret council. However, much depended on the Senate, which worshiped the empress more, later the latter renamed it Great. The count also had a lot of power, he had good relations with the princess, especially since he once took it to his house. The future heiress herself was a simple ruling lady and practically did not conduct state affairs, she was not even interested in them. Everything was run by the council, as well as by the great figures Tolstoy and Menshikov. However, she still showed interest in a certain industry. Namely, to the fleet, because she got it from her husband. Further, the council was disbanded, the documents were determined and created by a secret council, she only needed to sign them.
During the years of the reformer's reign, there were many wars, all this burden and costs fell on the common people, who were rather tired of pulling all this. Also, the time has come for bad harvests, prices for products began to grow restlessly. With all this, a turbulent situation began to grow in the country. Catherine ordered to reduce taxes from seventy 4 kopecks to seventy. Martha herself was not a reformer, so she did not appoint anything and did not make innovations, she was engaged only in small details beyond politics and state issues.
During this time, embezzlement and other arbitrariness at the state level began to develop. Although she did not understand anything in public affairs, she was with a poor education, but the people simply adored her, because she was a native of it. She helped a lot of ordinary people, gave alms. She was invited to the holidays, they dreamed that she was a godfather. She practically did not refuse and gave money to each godson. In total, she ruled for two years from 1725 to 1724. During this time, she opened an academy, organized a trip to the Bering Strait and introduced the Order of Nevsky, which was made a Saint.
Sudden death
After the death of the tsar, Catherine's life went full swing. She began to run in hot places, arranged all kinds of balls, went on walks and celebrated a lot. Due to endless parties, the ruler undermined her health and fell ill. She immediately developed a cough, then it began to intensify. And then it turned out that she had problems with one lung and it was damaged, then the doctors concluded that she had no more than a month to live.
On the evening of May 6, 1727, she died when she was 43 years old. However, before her death, she managed to draw up a will, she did not have time to sign, so her daughter vouched for her and put her signature. According to the will, the throne passed to his son-in-law, who was the grandson of Peter the Great. During their life, these people were a very successful and good couple, Marta always supported him and reassured her husband.
After the death of the princess, there were many rumors that she was a very walking woman. She spent all her time drinking and celebrating, while others said that she just wanted to forget the death of her beloved. However, the people loved her, and she attracted many men, while remaining an empress. One thing can be said with certainty that this girl began the era of women's rule in the Russian Empire.
The article tells about a brief biography of Catherine I - the Russian empress, wife of Peter I.
Biography of Catherine I: youth and marriage with Peter I
Catherine I (née Marta Skavronskaya) was born in 1684 in Livonia. The origin of Catherine is rather dark, the details of her biography are still unclear. Presumably, the mother of the future empress was in the service of a Livonian nobleman, from whom she gave birth to Catherine. Subsequently, she was raised by Pastor Gluck. Catherine practically did not receive any education and until the end of her life she could only put her signature on documents. Her activities in the early years consisted of helping with the household and childcare.
At the beginning of the Northern War, Catherine ended up in the Russian camp, where Peter I drew attention to her. In 1705, she gave birth to two sons to the Russian autocrat, but for a long time she was in an uncertain position, living in St. Petersburg, but not being the official wife of Peter I. According to contemporaries, Catherine was a rather cunning woman, gradually she achieved her goal - the location of the king. Judging by the letters of Peter I, he begins to yearn for the absence of his beloved.
Since 1709, Catherine is constantly with the tsar, even during military campaigns. And in 1712 a wedding takes place. Catherine surrounds herself with her own courtyard, receives and negotiates with foreign ambassadors and guests on her own. Contemporaries note that despite her extraordinary mind and natural cunning, Catherine did not fit into the royal situation at all. She was immediately betrayed by her lack of education and lack of upbringing. Peter I was not at all embarrassed by this and even entertained, since he tried to surround himself with people not according to the principle of birth and origin, but according to personal qualities valuable from his point of view.
Catherine was valued by Peter for her unfeminine composure and courage. During military campaigns, she personally toured the ranks of Russian troops under enemy fire, approving them before the coming battle. In addition, the king suffered from frequent nervous seizures, during which no one dared to approach him. Only Catherine was able to calm Peter I and relieve his unbearable headache.
Catherine did not engage in any intrigues and did not interfere in the state activities of Peter I, unlike many of the tsar's closest associates. At the same time, she had a beneficial effect on the lifestyle of Peter I, keeping him from various insane antics. The king recognized the correctness of his wife's advice, and his respect and affection for her grew. Gradually, Catherine began to use the position for personal purposes. Interceding for the people on whom the royal disgrace was imposed and the punishment was coming, Catherine persuaded her husband to have mercy and cancel his decision. The tsar often agreed, and the tsarina received a lot of money from her charges. Thus, she was able to accumulate huge capital.
Biography of Catherine I as Empress
In 1724, Catherine I was solemnly proclaimed empress, the first in Russian history. An illiterate woman has reached the pinnacle of her power. However, family life was far from perfect. Catherine I had a lover for a long time - V. Mons. In the autumn of the same year, Peter I learned about this from an anonymous denunciation and ordered the execution of his rival. Catherine was removed from all state activities, a state ban was imposed on her financial resources.
Peter did not resort to any punishment of the unfaithful wife, he simply stopped communicating with her. The daughter of the royal family, Elizabeth, was still able to achieve some reconciliation between the spouses. Soon Peter I died and Catherine's position became very fragile. The emperor wanted to make her the heiress, but after the betrayal he tore the will, so the empress did not have any legal rights to the throne. However, on her side were the most influential associates of Peter I, who opposed the party of the tsar's grandson, who advocated counterreforms.
Catherine was helped by her cunning and decisiveness. While still with her dying spouse, she urgently held conversations with the most influential people and enlisted their support.
A few hours after the death of the emperor, all the highest representatives of society gathered in the palace. During the meeting, the candidacy of the young grandson of the emperor was nominated, but at that moment those present noticed that the guards regiments were located in front of the palace in battle formation. Buturlin said that they support Empress Catherine I and was the first to go to take the oath. Finding themselves in a hopeless situation, the others obediently followed him. Catherine I ascended the Russian throne.
The reign of Catherine I was one of the most mediocre in Russian history. The Empress, being illiterate, preferred to give all control to Menshikov, confining herself to her signature on the documents. She could only receive various visitors, presenting them with her grace. The life of the court was spent in endless entertainment and drunkenness.
Catherine I's health deteriorated noticeably, in 1727 she died. The reign of the first Russian empress was short-lived and not marked by any results.
She was born on April 15, 1684, in a family ... No, in which family is unknown. Several nationalities can claim kinship with this woman at once - Germans, Latvians, Estonians. But in history she remained as Russian. Russian Empress. Name given at birth - Martha Katarina... We know her as a wife Peter the Great - Catherine I.
Much less known are the results of her short independent reign - from 1725 to 1727. What happened in Russia under the first Catherine? There are few global affairs. But the country, raised by Peter's "iron hand" on its hind legs and turned into a kind of military-industrial camp, still got the necessary respite. And even overgrown with some attributes of a full-fledged European enlightened state. With her light hand, the Academy of Sciences appeared. The famous expedition of Vitus Bering was organized. She also established the Order of Alexander Nevsky, which migrated, by the way, both to the USSR and to modern Russia. Few? There was one more thing in which our sovereigns were rarely distinguished - caring for the people. Almost for the first time in history, the annual poll tax was not raised under it, but on the contrary - it was lowered.
When it comes to talking about the first Russian empress, they immediately recall a Western European fairy tale. Cinderella. Yes, yes, about the girl who washed the floors, washed the clothes, and then suddenly became the wife of a powerful ruler. That's all right.
Only now the Russian empress can give odds to any Cinderella. She, according to the writer Charles Perrault, was, after all, the daughter of the “chief royal huntsman”. That is, a pretty noble noblewoman. Our heroine came from the very bottom.
Family of Peter I in 1717: Peter I, Catherine, the eldest son Alexei Petrovich from his first wife, the youngest two-year-old son Peter and daughters Anna and Elizabeth. Enamel on a copper plate. (fragment) Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Musikisky, Grigory Semenovich
Shaved queen
“Small in stature, thick and black. Her entire appearance does not make a good impression. It is immediately noticeable that she is of low origin, ”was the verdict of the German Countess Wilhelmina of Bayrett. Yes, and domestic witnesses, forced by duty to flatter, admired the empress more than moderately: “Catherine was not at all a beauty ... But in her upturned nose, scarlet lips, and most importantly, in her luxurious bust there was so much charm ... It is no wonder that such a colossus, like Tsar Peter, he gave himself entirely to this heartfelt friend. "
Could it be the splendid bust? In fact, there are many legends about the inclinations of Peter the Great. He drank drunkenly, fought, swore foul language, kept almost a harem with him. So why shouldn't he make the Chukhon simpleton empress for a luxurious bust?
No. It seems that the point is different. It is unlikely that Catherine was much more beautiful than Peter's first wife, Evdokia Lopukhina. But she had some special skills. And this does not apply to bedding. She could drink a glass of the strongest vodka in one gulp. She could and loved to live in an army tent, sleep on a hard mattress. She was distinguished by remarkable physical strength. According to legend, Peter somehow raised his heavy marshal's baton and asked the courtiers: "Who will hold it by stretching out his hand?" Even the recognized strongman Menshikov could not. Catherine, leaning over the table, took the baton and raised it several times.
She did two or even three horse crossings a day on horseback in a men's saddle. She accompanied her restless husband even in the war. And how! In the Persian campaign of 1722, she shaved her head and wore a grenadier's cap. She was not afraid to appear on the front lines - before the battle she personally inspected the troops, encouraging the soldiers with words and a glass of vodka. According to eyewitnesses, "the enemy bullets whistling over her head almost did not bother Catherine."
Babi age
Even more amazement deserves another of her actions - Catherine achieved the payment of the salary overdue for 18 months for three guards regiments. Yes, by and large, she tried for herself. It became clear only after the death of Peter, when the troops first sided with the widow of the queen. Moreover, they proclaimed her their "intercessor mother." This, in fact, opened the "woman age" of Russian history - then, almost the entire century, women ruled Russia.
The merits of Catherine in our Russia are not obvious. Most often they remember her debauchery, drunkenness and money-grubbing. Well, yes, she turned all her awards and gifts into money, which she put in an Amsterdam bank and with this she began another tradition - to transfer her funds to accounts of foreign banks. Yes, she started at court a huge number of hangers-on and jesters who astonished refined European envoys. Yes, she was taken as a wife literally from under a soldier: "First there was a husband, the Swedish royal cuirassier Johann Rabe, then an unnamed Russian grenadier, followed by Field Marshal Sheremetev, followed by Menshikov, and only then - the Tsar." She could neither read nor write. When I had to learn to put at least my signature on documents of state importance, I sat over this "wisdom" for three whole months.
She also gave Peter 11 children. Almost all of them died in infancy. It would seem: what is the merit here? Yes, in that the direct descendants of Catherine reigned in Russia for more than a hundred years. Starting with the son of her daughter Anna Petrovna, whom we know as Peter III.
All this might not have happened. How could not have been our glorious history of the XVIII century. There is another merit of the "field wife" of Emperor Peter. In the unhappy Prut campaign of 1711, the Turks surrounded the Russian army. Together with the army, the tsar and his wife, who was in the seventh month of pregnancy, got into the "cauldron". But there are no hopeless situations, history teaches. Eastern peoples are known to be greedy and corrupt. This quality came in handy then. Catherine took off the jewelry and gave it as a ransom. The king, queen and army were freed. The mother's nervous shock killed Catherine's unborn child - he was born dead. But Russian history has remained alive.
The most famous foreign women on the Russian throne
Sophia Paleologue
Niece of the last emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantine IX, who was killed during the capture of Constantinople in 1453. She married the Russian prince Ivan III. The native grandmother of Ivan the Terrible - outwardly he is all in her.
Marina Mnishek
Daughter of the Polish tycoon Yuri (Jerzy) Mniszek. Legally married Russian queen. Rules for exactly 1 week. Before her death in 1614 she cursed the Romanov family. According to the official version, "she died of longing of her own accord."
Catherine the Great
At birth - Sophia Augusta Frederica of Anhalt-Zerbst. Then she received the name we know, and 18 years later - and the throne, as a result of a guards coup. She took an empire with 18 million souls, left it with a population twice as large.
