Pyotr Alekseevich Palen is a Russian general, one of the close associates of Emperor Paul I. He went down in history as a man who led a conspiracy against the sovereign. His result was the assassination of Paul, the change of the king in Russia. In this article, you will learn about the military biography.
Early career
Petr Alekseevich Palen was born in Courland Province in 1745. He served in the Horse Guards, took part in battles with the Turks. When Bendery was wounded in the right knee, he was awarded the Order of St. George 4 degrees.
When the second war with the Turks began, he distinguished himself during the assault on Ochakov. In 1789 he was awarded the Order of St. George 3 degrees.
In 1792 he was appointed ruler of Riga governorship. He took part in negotiations on the accession to the Russian Empire of Courland and several neighboring regions. In 1795 he became Governor-General of Courland.
After the death of Catherine II
When Paul I became emperor, Peter Alekseevich Palen was appointed chief of the cuirassier regiment in Riga.
However, he soon fell out of favor with the emperor. An openly comical episode led to this. In Riga, a ceremonial meeting was being prepared for the former king of Poland, Stanislav-Augustus, who was heading to St. Petersburg. An honorary guard was set up on the streets, a gala dinner was prepared. However, the king did not come, and on the same day, Prince Zubov, who was in disgrace, drove through the city. Seeing the Russian general, the guard saluted him, and they held a royal dinner for him.
When Paul found out about this, he was furious. He accused Count Peter Alekseevich Palen of villainy. At the beginning of 1797 he was removed from the post of governor with the official wording "for honors rendered to Zubov." Soon he was also dismissed from the post of chief of the cuirassier regiment, which was based in Riga.
Emperor's Prop
The quick-tempered Paul was also famous for the fact that he often radically changed his decisions. So it happened with Peter Alekseevich Palen. After some time, he was honored by the sovereign and accepted back to the service. The hero of the article was appointed to lead the Life Guards of the Horse Regiment, at the same time he was a cavalry inspector. Palen himself compared himself to dolls that could be knocked over, but they still returned to their original position.
At that time, many at the court became aware of who Petr Alekseevich Palen was. He managed to earn the emperor’s trust thanks to the help of the valet of the sovereign Kutaisov. Contemporaries noted that Paul appreciated his abilities as a courtier, his consistently good mood, resourcefulness, and the ability to always find an appropriate answer. Soon he managed to earn the respect of the Empress and the favorite of the Emperor Catherine Ivanovna Nelidova.
Palen used the king’s mercy, having managed to build a successful career during this time. He was appointed military governor of St. Petersburg, then led the Ostseen provinces, was an inspector of six military inspections at once, director of the post office, chancellor of the Order of Malta, and was a member of the foreign affairs board.
During the time that he served as governor of St. Petersburg, the city charter was approved in 1798, the construction of the Naval Cadet Corps and Mikhailovsky Castle was completed. Monuments were erected on the Champ de Mars to prominent domestic commanders - Suvorov and Rumyantsev. An iron foundry has been moved from Kronstadt to the capital.
From the future king of France Louis XVIII, the count received the Order of Lazarus. About who P.A. Palen was, they already knew well abroad.
In the summer of 1800, the count was temporarily removed from the post of governor, since the emperor entrusted him with the command of one of the armies in case of a probable war against England. On maneuvers in the vicinity of Brest-Litovsk, Pavel was pleased with the work done by Peter Alekseevich. He even handed him a large cross of the Order of Malta.
Conspiracy
Almost every schoolchild today knows who Palen is. After all, it was he who led the conspiracy, as a result of which Paul I was killed. In the last months of the reign of the emperor, he, in addition to managing the capital, also dealt with foreign policy issues.
On his initiative, Rostopchin was in disgrace, and Palen himself entered the Foreign College instead of him. After becoming director of the post office, he consolidated his position, as he could now view all the correspondence of his political opponents.
Historians write that outwardly he was always cheerful, good-natured and direct. But under this mask was a completely different person, sly and cunning.
In the plot, he played a dual role, arranging everything so that in case of failure he could renounce participation in the coup. Palen obtained a written order from Pavel to arrest the heir, which he then provided to the future Emperor Alexander I. He hesitated to the last, not daring to participate in the conspiracy.
The assassination of the emperor
On the eve of the conspirators drank a lot of wine, they say that at the end of the dinner Palen said his famous words:
Remember, gentlemen: in order to feast on fried eggs, you must first break the eggs!
The emperor was killed at about one in the morning on March 12, 1801. A group of officers, breaking into his chambers, beat the king, he was hit with a snuffbox in the temple, and then was strangled with a scarf. The group of performers was led by Leonty Bennigsen and Nikolai Zubov.
The morning after the assassination of the emperor, Palen was the first to inform the Military College of Paul's death. At 8 o’clock he invited everyone to take the oath to the new sovereign Alexander.
At the same time, he acquired a strong enemy in the person of the wife of Pavel Maria Fedorovna, who insisted on ending his career. Already in April 1801, he was dismissed for health reasons, having received orders to immediately leave for his estate in Courland.
Far from the capital, he spent another 25 years, even surviving Alexander I. The guests who visited his estate told the details of the organization and murder of the tyrant.
Count Palen died in February 1826, never repenting of the murder, believing that he had accomplished a great feat. He was 80 years old.
Personal life
In 1773, Palen married the daughter of Baron Shepping Juliana. In 1799, his wife received the appointment of the court master of the prince Alexander Pavlovich, accompanied on a foreign trip to Vienna, Princess Alexandra Pavlovna.
The hero of our article had 10 children. Pavel and Peter became cavalry generals, as did his father. Fedor Palen grew up as a well-known diplomat who served as ambassador to Brazil and the United States.