The Era of Russian Palace Revolutions

The Era of Russian Palace Revolutions covers the period of turbulence in the Russian monarchy following the death of Peter the Great in 1725 to the coronation of the next tsar able to stabilize the monarchy, Catherine II of Russia in 1762

Peter changed the rules of succession to the throne after he killed his own son, Aleksey, who had opposed his father's reforms and served as a rallying figure for antireform groups. A new law provided that the tsar would choose his own successor, but Peter failed to do so before his death in 1725. In the decades that followed, the absence of clear rules of succession left the monarchy open to intrigues, plots, coups, and countercoups. Henceforth, the crucial factor for obtaining the throne was the support of the elite palace guard in St. Petersburg.

After Peter's death, his wife, Catherine I, seized the throne. But when she died in 1727, Peter's grandson, Peter II, was crowned tsar. In 1730 Peter II succumbed to smallpox, and Anna Ivanovna, a daughter of Ivan V, who had been co-ruler with Peter, ascended the throne. The clique of nobles that put Anna on the throne attempted to impose various conditions on her. In her struggle against those restrictions, Anna had the support of other nobles who feared oligarchic rule more than autocracy. Thus the principle of autocracy continued to receive strong support despite chaotic struggles for the throne.

Anna died in 1740, and her infant grandnephew was proclaimed tsar as Ivan VI. After a series of coups, however, he was replaced by Peter the Great's daughter Elizabeth (r. 1741-1762). During Elizabeth's reign, which was much more effective than those of her immediate predecessors, a Westernized Russian culture began to emerge. Among notable cultural events were the founding of Moscow University (1755) and the Academy of Fine Arts (1757) and the emergence of Russia's first eminent scientist and scholar, Mikhail Lomonosov.

During the rule of Peter's successors, Russia took a more active role in European statecraft. From 1726 to 1761, Russia was allied with Austria against the Ottoman Empire, which France usually supported. In the War of Polish Succession[?] (1733-1735), Russia and Austria blocked the French candidate to the Polish throne. In a costly war with the Ottoman Empire (1734-1739), Russia reacquired the port of Azov. Russia's greatest reach into Europe was during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), which was fought on three continents between Britain and France with numerous allies on both sides. In that war, Russia continued its alliance with Austria, but Austria shifted to an alliance with France against Prussia. In 1760 Russian forces were at the gates of Berlin. Fortunately for Prussia, Elizabeth died in 1762, and her successor, Peter III, allied Russia with Prussia because of his devotion to the Prussian king, Frederick the Great.

Peter III had a short and unpopular reign. Although he was a grandson of Peter the Great, his father was the duke of Holstein-Gottorp, so Peter III was raised in a German Lutheran environment. Russians therefore considered him a foreigner. Making no secret of his contempt for all things Russian, Peter created deep resentment by forcing Prussian military drills on the Russian military, attacking the Russian Orthodox Church, and depriving Russia of a military victory by establishing his sudden alliance with Prussia. Making use of the discontent and fearing for her own position, Peter III's wife, Catherine, deposed her husband in a coup, and her lover, Aleksey Orlov[?], subsequently murdered him, so in June 1762 Catherine became Catherine II, empress of Russia.

Related Articles

This article is part of Imperial Russia, which is part of History of Russia.

References

The first draft of this article was taken with little editing from the Library of Congress Federal Research Division's Country Studies series. As their home page at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html says, "Information contained in the Country Studies On-Line isn't copyrighted and thus is available for free and unrestricted use by researchers. As a courtesy, however, appropriate credit should be given to the series." Please leave this statement intact so that credit can be given.

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Working on the right of the 21st Lancers, and keeping western end of the Kerreri ridge at about seven o'clock. From here the the view from this point, the British officers, looking through their south-westwards across the wide plain which stretches away to the west of the picture. The brown objects proved to be troops of horses grazing; distinguished. There were no signs that a retreat was in progress; could be obtained, and Colonel Broadwood decided to advance closer. hill which rose about four miles from the end of the Kerreri ridge and was side. The Egyptian cavalry moved slowly across the desert to this new Shambat, a long depression which is the natural drainage channel of the the city. The heavy rain of the previous night had made the low ground however, presented no great difficulty, and at half-past eleven the hill. Here the whole scene burst suddenly upon them. Scarcely three miles The south wind carried the martial sound of horns and drums and--far more Like the 21st Lancers--three miles away to their left, at the end of the for a space spell-bound. But all eyes were soon drawn from the thrilling engaged the enemy's batteries on both banks. Throughout the day the.