Almost all Russian monarchs in addition to their own name and "serial number" also had a nickname. At the official level, it sounded honorable and respectful (John the Terrible, Alexander the Liberator), and in everyday life it was quite the opposite (Nikolai Palkin and his great-grandson Nikolai Bloody). These nicknames were not always justified, but in two cases their legitimacy does not raise any doubts. We are talking about Peter the Great and his youngest daughter named Elizabeth or, as it was customary to say then, Elizabeth.
Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, who ruled Russia from 1741 to 1761, went down in history as "Merry". There are good reasons for such a half-joking characterization. Ever since childhood, she was distinguished by a lively, restless disposition and was a desperate minx, but at the same time she was able to use her innate charm so deftly that tricks got away with her. Being a lovely child, she quickly turned into a young beauty, who had such truly feminine qualities as coquetry and love for luxurious outfits early on.
Elizaveta Petrovna loved hunting, chic balls - masquerades and other high-profile entertainments, and her main passion from her youth was dancing. Charming, never discouraging, affable, generous with an
affectionate word, sometimes quick-tempered, but quick-witted - that, according to the memoirs of her contemporaries, was Elizaveta Petrovna. Her biography, however, is not as cloudless as it might seem at first glance.
At thirty-two, Elizaveta Petrovna became the first Russian monarch to come to power as a result of a conspiracy of guards officers. This type of seizure of power was also the first of its kind. Later, there will be several such conspiracies. Strictly speaking, who, if not the legitimate daughter of Peter the Great, should be called the Russian Empress? But the intricacies of court intrigues led to the fact that for many years she was "pushed" from the throne and was able to ascend to it only with the help of a military coup. Having become the Empress, she is no longer too young and still has not married Elizaveta Petrovna plunged into her favorite pastimes with her head. After all, now nobody was holding her back at all, and she could give free rein to all her female whims.
Her reign was not marked by any outstanding achievements, and indeed she was not too energetic in regard to domestic and foreign policy. But to call the period of rule “merry Elizabeth” completely disastrous for Russia would not be too fair.
Elizaveta Petrovna clearly did not inherit the
leadership qualities of her great father Peter the Great, but something can be credited to her - at least the fact that it was with her that the famous Moscow University was opened, and all twenty years of her stay in power in Russia did not
capital punishment was applied
.The most accurate and capacious characterization was given to her by the outstanding Russian historian V. Klyuchevsky, who described Elizabeth as the first smart and rather kind, and at the same time wayward Russian lady of the eighteenth century. He mentioned that during the life of the Russian Empress, the Empress was abused by many, however, according to the same traditions, almost all mourned her death.