Peter III (Russia)
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Peter III Fedorovich (actually Karl Peter Ulrich of Duke of Holstein-Gottorp ; Russian Пётр III Фёдорович * 21st February 1728 in Kiel ; † 6 July . Jul / 17th July 1762 . Greg in Ropsha in Saint Petersburg ) was in 1762 six Emperor of Russia for months (December 25, 1761 jul. / January 5, 1762 greg. –28 June jul. / July 9, 1762 greg. ) And from 1739 to 1762 Duke of Holstein-Gottorf . He was the husband of Princess Sophie Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, who later became Tsarina Katharina II.
Life
Karl Peter Ulrich von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf was the son of Duke Karl Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf and his wife Anna Petrovna , a daughter of Peter I and ancestral mother of the House of Romanow-Holstein-Gottorp . The twenty-year-old mother died of tuberculosis three months after giving birth to her child . After the early death of his father in 1739, the eleven-year-old orphan became Duke of Holstein-Gottorf, which had been a rump state since 1713, when it lost the territories in the Duchy of Schleswig to the Danish Crown. In later years the Grand Duke complained about the bad treatment in the Kiel years. The lawsuit was directed in particular against the alleged excessive severity of the guardian, Oberhofmarschall Otto Friedrich von Brümmer (1690–1752, Reichsgraf 1744).
Russian heir to the throne
Since his aunt, Empress Elisabeth , had no children of her own, Peter named her heir to the throne on November 18, 1742. He converted to the Russian Orthodox faith , took the name Peter Fyodorovich and became Grand Duke . Previously, on November 4, 1742, parts of the Swedish estates had elected him heir to the Swedish throne, which Peter refused. He took over a cuirassier regiment in Riga from Anton Ulrich von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel († 1775) . This was the father of the infant Tsar Ivan VI. which Elisabeth had deposed in 1741. Ivan VI was murdered in 1764 at the instigation of Empress Catherine II (see below) in order to secure her possession of the throne.
In 1745 Peter, now of legal age, was married to Princess Sophie Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg , the daughter of Prince Christian August von Anhalt zu Zerbst and Johanna Elisabeth von Holstein-Gottorf-Eutin , who also converted to the Russian Orthodox faith on this occasion and took the name Katharina. Peter had already met his wife - his second cousin (i.e. the great niece of his father's grandfather) - in Eutin Castle in 1739 . From this marriage the son Paul (1754-1801) - the later Tsar - and the daughter Anna (1757-1759) emerged, whereby it is heavily disputed whether the two really from Peter himself or from one of Katharina's affairs with Count Saltykow or respectively . Count Poniatowski came. Peter himself had a love affair with Countess Elizaveta Romanowa Voronzowa (1739–1792), the niece of Vice Chancellor Mikhail Voronzow. Rumors at the Russian court said that Peter planned to move Catherine out of the way after his accession to the throne and then make the mistress the new tsarina.
With his Holstein friends and officials like Johann von Pechlin , he mostly lived in Oranienbaum , today Lomonossow, where Tsarina Elisabeth had given him the palace of Menshikov for his wedding .
Peter conducted an intensive correspondence with Friedrich II of Prussia , whom he adored ardently. He built up his own guard, which consisted of 1,500 German - mostly Holstein - officers and soldiers. He also preferred to wear Prussian uniform. In doing so, he incurred the displeasure of the Tsarina, who harbored a deep dislike for Prussia and at times even considered passing Peter over to the throne in favor of her great-nephew Paul. In June 1757 Russia entered the Seven Years' War on the side of Austria and France . In a letter to Wilhelm von Fermor , the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops , Peter tried on his own initiative to persuade him to give in to the Prussians.
Taking office
Tsarina Elisabeth died on December 25, 1761 jul. / January 5, 1762 greg. and Peter ascended the imperial throne. His allegedly improper behavior during the days of mourning annoyed his wife Katharina and, according to her later statements, also large parts of the court and the Russian people.
When the new tsar took office, he issued an amnesty for political prisoners . The Swedish historian Magnus Jacob von Crusenstolpe (1795–1865) described Peter as follows when he took office:
“… The Grand Duke was known to be inconsistent and bizarre, but the Emperor was just, patient, agreeable and enlightened . All higher civil servants retained their offices. He forgave his enemies, even if they behaved very unworthily towards him ... "
As mentioned, Peter was an admirer of the Prussian King Frederick II , with whom Russia was in the Seven Years' War . Peter now made a turnaround in foreign policy by first speaking on April 24th . / May 5, 1762 greg. Made peace with Prussia and then Friedrich even made an auxiliary corps of 15,000 men available under General Tschernyshev . He himself became the owner of a regiment on foot (1806: No. 13) and was also awarded the Order of the Black Eagle by Friedrich II . It is often assumed that this turn saved Prussia from certain defeat (→ " Miracle of the House of Brandenburg "). In addition, Peter, who continued to govern the ducal portion of Holstein in personal union, also planned a war against Denmark in order to recapture the territories of the House of Gottorf that had been lost almost fifty years earlier, and a military expansion by Russia into India was also one of the new ruler's long-term plans. His son Paul tried in vain to implement this idea later. In order to bring the Russian army up to Prussian standards, Peter made his cousin Georg Ludwig von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf , who had been in Prussian service for a long time, field marshal and governor of Holstein.
The new tsar immediately initiated an extensive reform program internally, which was based on the ideas of enlightened absolutism . He relaxed the travel ban, took measures to stimulate trade, banned torture and dissolved the "Secret Chancellery". He abolished the salt tax and introduced a luxury tax for the nobility to replace it . Peter also prepared a law that would curtail the rights of the Orthodox Church and planned the abolition of serfdom . He proclaimed freedom of belief , disinterested officials (an attempt to fight corruption ), and public trials.
Fall and death
There were hardly any political reasons for Peter's fall. The widespread view that the entire nobility rose up against Peter and his reform policy is demonstrably incorrect. The guards officers who carried out the coup were dubbed counts and princes, but were in fact impoverished petty nobles without power or property. The court nobility , the general staff and the entire government were loyal to Peter until the end. Contrary to expectations, church propaganda against Peter was also weak. Among the peasants, the tsar was even regarded as “the liberator” because of the promised abolition of serfdom by the church. As a result, the disappointed people reacted to Peter's murder in the following years with five uprisings; the bloodiest was the Pugachev uprising from September 1773 to January 1775 under the leadership of Jemeljan Pugachev , who turned out to be Peter III. issued, which proves its popularity among the common population.
The fall of Peter III. was in truth the result of a conspiracy within the family: Grigory Orlov , with whom Katharina had a relationship, eliminated the husband of his lover, whereby she at least supported him in silence. Since Orlov was the leader of the guards regiments, the outward appearance of the event looked like a military coup.
April 11th July / April 22, 1762 greg. Katharina gave birth to a son of G. Orlow - Alexei Bobrinsky (1762–1813). This child, officially a son of the tsar, of course, could have laid claim to the throne in the future and thus became a danger to Peter's son Paul. Peter had to do something; there was talk of a possible divorce. In a letter to Friedrich II, he asked for advice on this. On June 1st jul. / June 12th 1762 greg. Orlov was released and Katharina's expulsion to Germany was discussed.
In addition, there were said rumors about the Tsar's lover Elizaveta Voronzowa, who was supposedly ready to succeed Catherine at Peter's side; The irony of history is that the younger sister of the Tsar's lover, Ekaterina Voronzowa , played a decisive role in the subsequent political upheaval.
On June 28th jul. / July 9, 1762 greg. Then a celebration was planned on the name day of Peter and Paul, at which Peter wanted to announce his decision publicly. It is no coincidence that the conspirators chose this day for their attack. In the weeks before, the brothers Alexei and Grigory Orlow prepared intensively for the fall of Peter III. in front. With vodka, threats and promises of money they incited the simple guards against Peter. They bribed the leading officers of two guards regiments who rebelled on the day in question. Peter was in Oranienbaum at this time . But instead of taking action against the rebels with his loyal Holstein guard under the command of David Reinhold von Sievers , he hesitated too long. So the rebels could arrest him and force him to sign an act of renunciation of the throne.
"... in the short time of my absolute government over the Russian Empire I have realized that my strength is not up to such a burden ... I declare without coercion and solemnly in front of the Russian Empire and the whole world that I will renounce the government for life ... Peter, Duke of Holstein "
Then the prisoner was brought to the Ropscha country house near Saint Petersburg, where he was on July 6th . / July 17, 1762 greg. died under unexplained circumstances. In some sources, Alexei Orlov, the brother of Katharina's lover, is mentioned of the murder of Peter III. accused. A letter from Orlov to Catherine II served as a clue for a long time; however, the original of this letter has not been preserved and, according to recent linguistic studies, its alleged copy is considered a forgery. Others speak of natural death. The extent to which Catherine II has anything to do with a possible murder can no longer be clearly clarified. While some historians assume that the Orlow brothers acted on their own, others accuse Katharina of complicity or even see her as a possible perpetrator of the murder.
On July 8 jul. / July 19, 1762 greg. Peter was laid out in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery . Thousands of Russians from all walks of life passed the coffin for several days. After taking office in 1796, his son Paul had the body exhumed and buried with full honors in the Peter and Paul Cathedral .
Appreciation
Historians have for a long time largely adopted the negative image of Peter drawn by Katharina's contemporaries, such as W. Kluchevsky and most Western historians, who viewed the tsar as an enthusiastic muddle who ultimately had to be overthrown for the good of Russia. Other historians, such as Alexander S. Mylnikow in Russia and Elena Palmer in Germany, have recently firmly rejected this negative image and refer to Peter as a prudent ruler and progressive reformer because of his reform projects.
On June 13, 2014 a memorial for Tsar Peter III was erected in front of the Kiel Palace . revealed. The bronze statue was created by the Russian artist Alexander Taratynov .
ancestors
literature
- Johannes Dassow: Friedrich II. Of Prussia and Peter III. from Russia. Berlin, Univ. Diss. 1908.
- Harm Klueting: Peter III. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 20, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-428-00201-6 , p. 226 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Ferdinand von Krogh: Peter (Karl Peter Ulrich), Duke of Holstein-Gottorp . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 25, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1887, pp. 469-473.
- Carol S. Leonard: Reform and regicide. The reign of Peter III of Russia. Indiana Univ. Press, Bloomington et al. a. 1993, ISBN 0-253-33322-9
- Alexander S. Mylnikow: The wrong tsars. Peter III and its doppelgangers in Russia and Eastern Europe. (= Eutinian research; 3). Eutin 1994, ISBN 3-923457-28-6 .
- Elena Palmer: Peter III. The Prince of Holstein. Erfurt 2005, ISBN 3-89702-788-7 .
- Kahnert, Timo: The threatening war against Russia 1761/62. In: Eva S. Fiebig and Jan Schlürmann (eds.): Handbook on the North Elbian military history. Armies and wars in Schleswig, Holstein, Lauenburg, Eutin and Lübeck 1623–1863 / 67. Husum 2010, pp. 409-432.
Web links
- Works by and about Peter III. in the German Digital Library
- Heiner Wember : August 21, 1745 - Tsar Peter III. marries the future Katharina die Große WDR ZeitZeichen on August 21, 2020 (podcast)
Individual evidence
- ^ Baltic Historical Commission (ed.): Entry on Otto Friedrich von Brümmer. In: BBLD - Baltic Biographical Lexicon digital
- ↑ Reinhold Neumann-Hoditz: Katharina II. The great. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1988, 9th edition 2008, p. 33.
- ↑ Cf. Georg Tessin : The Regiments of the European States in the Ancien Régime des XVI. to XVIII. Century. 3 volumes. Biblio, Osnabrück 1986-1995, Vol. 1, p. 600.
- ^ Leopold von Zedlitz-Neukirch : New Preuss. Nobility Lexicon. Volume 2, p. 93.
- ^ Sources: Leonard, Mylnikow, Palmer
- ↑ The information in this section is empty and in part simply incorrect. A correction must be made. See talk page.
- ^ OA Ivanov: Secrets of the letters from Aleksey Orlow from Ropscha. Moskowskiy Journal, 1995–1996, No. 9, 11, 12, 13. (Иванов О. А. Загадка писем Алексея Орлова из Ропши // Московский журнал., 12 -, № 13.), 11996.
- ^ Information page of the Kiel Czar Association
- ↑ Kiel - Monument to Tsar Peter III. revealed in Kieler Nachrichten ( Memento from August 15, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Elisabeth |
Emperor of Russia 1762 |
Catherine II |
| Karl Friedrich |
Duke of Holstein-Gottorf 1739–1762 |
Paul I. |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Peter III |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Karl Peter Ulrich von Holstein-Gottorf |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Russian emperor and statesman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 21, 1728 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kiel |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 17, 1762 |
| Place of death | Ropscha near Saint Petersburg |