It is believed that the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, was from the Romanov family, whose ancestor was Mikhail Romanov - the grandfather of Peter the Great. “Why is it considered?” - Many will probably ask. Yes, because neither Peter I nor John V, the last tsars of all Russia, left direct descendants along the male line, and power subsequently passed either to their daughters or to their children. In addition, the empresses (Anna, Elizabeth and Catherine) ruled the state for quite a long time, who were distinguished by very free morals and were reputed to be too loving. Therefore, the question arises of the purity of royal blood in the last Russian emperor. In principle, we know the exact answer to the question of who ruled after Elizabeth Petrovna. Of course, Peter III (the son of the daughter of Peter the Great, Anna Petrovna, and Duke Frederick Holstein-Gottorp). But about the origin of his son, Paul the First, many legends were composed.
The origins of the Romanov dynasty
The first representative of this royal family is Patriarch Filaret, who is also Fedor Nikitich (originally from the boyars), the son of Nikita Romanovich. Further, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich was proclaimed king. And then - his son Alexei Mikhailovich, who had three sons: the eldest - Fedor, the middle - Ivan, the youngest - Peter. After the death of his father, power passed into the hands of Fedor Alekseevich. As is known from history, Pyotr Alekseevich and his brother John, after the death of their older brother, became co-rulers of the Russian throne. Because John was very poor in health and practically did not interfere in the administration of the country. Nevertheless, he had five daughters, of whom only Anna became the Empress.
Children of Peter the Great
This king had a dozen children from two wives (most of them died in infancy). His eldest son, Alexei, did not ascend to the Russian throne, since during his father’s life he was accused of high treason and sentenced to death, but did not live up to the execution of the sentence. And here is Peter's youngest and beloved daughter, Elizaveta Petrovna Romanova, who, although she did not immediately inherit the throne of her father, losing it first to her nephew Peter the Second (son of Tsarevich Alexei), and then to her cousin Anna Ioannovna and her grand-nephew Ivan Six (great-grandson) John the Fifth), as a result of a palace coup, was finally able to occupy the throne and proclaimed herself the Empress of Russia. According to official sources, she was childless, although there were many legends about her descendants among the people. Before telling who ruled after Elizabeth Petrovna, we will introduce you to the biography of the empress, as well as the era of her reign. We can say that it was a rather curious, but at the same time important period in the history of the Russian state. This indicates that she inherited from her great father some traits of nature, including a love of reform.
Elizabeth's childhood
The future empress was born in 1907 in Kolomenskoye. Her parents were not legally married, so Elizabeth is sometimes called the illegitimate daughter of Peter. Nevertheless, a year after her birth, the king married her mother and crowned her Catherine the First, and his two daughters were given the title princes. Elizabeth and her sister Anna spent their childhood in the Winter Palace. They grew up in luxury, surrounded by an entire staff of servants. Girls received excellent upbringing and education. They studied languages: French, German, Italian. He was taught etiquette - the ability to behave correctly in high society. This subject included dance and music lessons. The young princesses were very well-read, since there was an extensive library at hand. All this knowledge was used during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. This period was distinguished by numerous grandiose festivities and masquerade balls. On them, the young empress shone with her skills and seduced fans.
Youth
Elizaveta Petrovna Romanova was unusually good and stately. Her admirers were constantly wandering about her. They say that they wanted to capture her for the French king Louis XV. There were even rumors among the people about the princess’s upcoming wedding with their nephew Peter Alekseevich, the heir to the Russian throne, but he nevertheless chose Princess Dolgorukaya as his wife. Elizabeth was fond of hunting, horses, boat riding, and also constantly took care of her beauty. And she didn’t even notice how, after the early death of Peter the Great, the throne passed to her cousin Anna, and she ended up in the half-fall for 10 years (1730-1740). However, only a year after the death of her cousin, as a result of a palace coup, she ascended to the throne of her great father, and Elizabeth Petrovna reigned in Russia.
History of accession to the throne
At the end of her reign, Anna Ioannovna almost retired. And the actual ruler of the Russian state was Biron. After the death of the empress, no one remembered the daughter of Peter the Great, and the crown passed to the young grand-nephew of Anna Ivan the Six, and his mother, Anna Leopoldovna, became regent. Nevertheless, power continued to remain in the hands of the hated German. Many Russian nobles, of course, were unhappy with this order of things, placed their hopes on the princess and decided to bring Elizabeth Petrovna’s reign closer by arranging a palace coup. In those days, Dr. Lestok and the music teacher Schwartz, as well as the entire Grenadier company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, were close to her. Bursting into the Winter Palace, she proclaimed herself the new empress, and the minor Ivan and his mother were arrested. In this way, Romanova Elizaveta Petrovna (1741-1761) came to power and, like her cousin Anna, ruled for exactly 10 years. Many parallels can be drawn between the reign of both empresses from the Romanov clan, but the most obvious is favoritism. Both one and the other were greedy for love joys and, as a rule, awarded their beloved with titles and public posts. As a result, their favorites ruled the state, unceremoniously putting their hands into the treasury.
Elizaveta Petrovna - Empress. Briefly about the years of her reign
That memorable decade during which Russia was ruled by Elizabeth became significant and fruitful for the country. From the very first days she announced that she was going to continue the course taken by her great father. So it was. In the future, historians regarded her steps as the first attempts to enlightened absolutism. It was during this period that the Merchant, Noble (Loan) and Copper (State) banks were founded in Russia. The death penalty was abolished , military schools were reorganized, the network of elementary schools was expanded, gymnasiums were opened in large cities of Russia. In short, with the advent of Elizabeth, the Enlightenment began.
Merits to the Fatherland
In the middle of her reign, one of the most significant events in the country happened - the founding of Moscow University. Its founder was one of her favorites - I. Shuvalov. Two years after that, the Academy of Arts was opened. At that time, young scientists, the most prominent of which was M. Lomonosov, received state support, etc. In short, if it were not for dependence on the favorites, the historical portrait of Elizaveta Petrovna would be one of the brightest among Russian rulers. All of the above refers to the spiritual side, but in material terms, the years of the reign of this empress were marked by the creation of architectural masterpieces, re-erected or rebuilt. Grandiose construction contributed to the development of highly skilled craftsmen in the country. These were the years of the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. The buildings of this period are still called specimens of the Elizabethan Baroque. Over the years of her reign, there have also been many military victories, up to the conquest of Berlin. There could have been many more events, only the death of Elizabeth Petrovna was the beginning of a new era in the history of Russia.
Peter the Third
As you can see, the era of the reign of the daughter of Peter the Great was saturated with many valiant victories. Many European royal houses were preoccupied with the ever-growing power of the Russian Empire, so the death of Elizabeth was perceived by everyone, especially representatives of the Brandenburg House, as a miracle that fell from heaven. After all, she was considered childless, and therefore did not leave any heirs. Peter III - the one who ruled after Elizabeth Petrovna was her nephew, the son of her elder sister Anna and the Duke of Karl-Peter Ulrich Golshtinsky. In a word, after it, the branch of the Romanovs was actually interrupted. Of course, the blood of his glorious grandfather flowed in the future heir, but he belonged to the Golshtinsky family and was a descendant in a direct male line of Frederick I, the Danish king. But about the origin of the subsequent heir to the Russian throne, Paul the First, there were many rumors.
Children of Elizabeth Petrovna in the center of palace rumors
Probably those who are not familiar with the atmosphere prevailing at the Russian court in the middle of the 18th century will be surprised: what offspring are we talking about when the empress was childless and unmarried. However, everything is not so clear. Most courtiers believed that the empress long before entering the throne, was in a church marriage with the Ukrainian shepherd Alexei Rozum, who later presented the title of Prince Razumovsky. And so the continuation of this story was the children of Elizabeth Petrovna. Although these were only speculations, and no evidence existed. But after her death, impostors appeared in society every now and then, declaring themselves her heirs.
Son of elizabeth
By the way, rumors also revolved around the name of Tsarevich Paul the First. Gossip was spread in the yard that he was the son of Elizabeth Petrovna. This rumor was facilitated by conversations that there was never a conjugal relationship between Peter the Third and his wife Catherine. Of course, the child could be conceived from one of the lovers of the future empress, but the special attitude of the reigning empress to her "grand-nephew" fueled such speculation. Unfortunately, at the time of Elizabeth Petrovna there was no possibility of carrying out a genetic test, so this remained a mystery to everyone.
Princess Tarakanova
From history, many know that after the death of Elizabeth in St. Petersburg there was a certain girl who called herself her daughter, and that she was subsequently imprisoned by Catherine II in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The Tretyakov Gallery stores a painting by the famous artist Konstantin Flavitsky, which is called “Princess Tarakanova”. But why did the girl carry this surname? And if she were the daughter of the empress, would Elizabeth Petrovna Romanova allow such a thing? Her children were supposedly conceived either by Alexei Razumovsky (her morganatic husband), or by one of the Shuvalov brothers. So why Tarakanova? According to some rumors, a nephew of Alexei Razumovsky was studying in a Swiss town, and funds were allocated from the state treasury for their education. They bore the name Daragan. However, due to the fact that they had Russian roots, they were called Tarakanovs in Switzerland. And during the reign of Catherine the Great , Princess Elizabeth Vladimirovskaya appeared at the court and announced that she was the daughter of Elizabeth Petrovna and Alexei Razumovsky. At the same time, she did not call herself Tarakanova. This name was first used in his book by the French diplomat Jean Henri Custer.
Dust or legend?
In principle, the information that Elizabeth had illegitimate children may well be true. Indeed, under the condition of favoritism and free morals at the Russian court, baistriks (bastards) were not exceptional, but rather common. After the birth of the babies, it was customary to give for a small fee for the maintenance of a servant, it is better to go somewhere in the outback. Sometimes the foster family did not even know whose child was growing next to their own, whose blue blood flows in his veins. However, in the case of the Empress’s children, they apparently did not want to give them up to unknown hands and designed them on their own paternal aunt. By the way, in the legends of royal offspring it is said not about one daughter and one son, but about several children at once. In addition to the story of Princess Elizabeth Tarakanova, during the reign of Catherine, there were also rumors that another daughter of the previous empress, by the name of Dosifei, forcibly took tonsure and was imprisoned in the Novospassky nunnery.
Pavel the First
If you study the family tree of the rulers of the Romanov clan, you can see who ruled after Elizabeth Petrovna. Once again, it was her nephew, the son of Anna's older sister, Peter the Third. By the way, among his many titles is the title “grandson of Peter the Great”. It is also known from history that he did not long occupy the Russian throne. His wife, the German princess Sofia-Augusta, who became Ekaterina at the baptism, soon overthrew him and began to rule Russia alone, of course, relying on the help of her many admirers. After her death, the crown and throne passed to her son, Paul the First. However, its true origin, and therefore the origin of subsequent Russian emperors, is still unknown.