Elizaveta Petrovna

having dealt with her opponents and removed the family of her predecessor, Elizabeth breathed freely and hurried to put a crown on her head. In the very first spring, together with a large retinue, she left for Moscow. The journey was made in a carriage, which could be called a real house on wheels: inside everything resembled the decoration of a small room, in the middle there was a table and chairs, against the wall - a couch for relaxing and a small dressing table with a mirror. The crew was equipped with a special device for the furnace, wide windows with curtains made it possible to look at the road, on the side of which young pine trees were planted for this occasion. Picturesque pavilions were set up in the places designated for stopping. In the villages and villages through which the queen was to pass, people stood, forming, as it were, a hedge; they greeted the crew of the new Russian empress with a low bow. When darkness fell on the route of the royal motorcade along the road at a certain distance from each other, barrels of resin were lit, shining like large bright lanterns.

The coronation took place in the Assumption Cathedral. The ceremony, hosted by the Frenchman Rochambeau, was very solemn and magnificent. The bells were constantly ringing, the streets along which the motorcade followed were decorated with garlands and candles, fireworks thundered. The daughter of Peter the Great, dressed in a magnificent dress, entered the cathedral and sat on the throne under a brocade canopy. Nearby, on a special table, lay all the regalia of imperial power and the royal crown - the same one that had once been on the head of the hated Anna Ioannovna - because of the rush to coronation, they did not have time to make a new crown. Eyewitnesses later said that Elizabeth did not wait for the bishop, who read the prayer, to put the crown on her head, and hurried to do it herself - in front of the nobility and clergy, as if emphasizing that she owes the highest power only to herself.

In the following days, the Empress took up the distribution of awards and titles to courtiers from her retinue and visits. Having finished with business, she indulged in pleasures, remembering the past time, when she had fun here during the protracted stay in the throne city of her crowned nephew Peter II. In Moscow, where she spent the turbulent time of her youth, she was free and cheerful - balls and masquerades, to which many people were usually invited, followed one after another. In a newly built theater with a capacity of five thousand spectators, performances were given at which Italian singers, French dancers and young court actors performed with interludes and short allegorical ballets, which were very popular with the audience. Moreover, gala dinners, dinners, picnics and, of course, hunting in the forests near Moscow. Time flew by with lightning speed - the festivities ended only in autumn, and the court, together with the crowned empress, returned to St. Petersburg.

Despite the habit of thrift that Elizabeth had acquired as a crown prince, because of the modest means at her disposal, she already had a large staff of palace employees: chamberlains, secretaries, officials for important and unimportant matters, musicians, songwriters and many lackeys. Among the inhabitants of the palace were girls from the most noble families, called the German word "maid of honor". Elizabeth had nine of them. Consisting with the person of the empress, they all lived together in a building adjacent to the palace, participated in palace events, and sometimes carried out some orders of their empress. She, for her part, treated them like a mother and often took care of their future marriage herself. A whole staff under the new queen consisted of combers - women who surrounded her bed at night and quietly scratched her heels, talking in an undertone. At dawn they left. Even noble persons aspired to take this post - after all, during night conversations, it was possible to whisper a word in the ear of the empress, thereby rendering a generous service to one or another “applicant”. Mavra Yegorovna Shuvalova, nee Shepeleva, was also among the combers. Already from the age of eleven, she was the "room girl" of Anna Petrovna, the elder sister of Elizabeth, and after the marriage of the princess, she accompanied her to Kiel. Mavra remained there until Anna's death and returned to Russia with the body of her deceased mistress. During her stay in Holstein, she was in constant correspondence with Elizaveta Petrovna, and when she returned, she remained inseparably with her. With the princess Mavrushka, as she was called, she was united by a common taste and habits, a love of singing, poetry, games and fun. Good-natured and cheerful, she loved to eat well, drink, play cards and make Lizanka laugh if she suddenly felt sad. Having ascended the throne, Elizabeth married off her favorite to her chamber junker Pyotr Ivanovich Shuvalov, who was three years younger than Mavra Yegorovna. On the day of the coronation, the empress granted her to the state ladies. Countess Shuvalova was a devoted and loving wife, she bore her husband two sons, and most importantly, contributed to the exaltation of the Shuvalov family at the court of Empress Elizabeth. Her influence was so strong that contemporaries called her "a real foreign minister".

When she ascended the throne, the tenth representative of the Romanov dynasty was thirty-two years old. Tall, slender, with a beautiful complexion, luxurious dark golden hair and radiant blue eyes, she was pretty, and even a somewhat wide and slightly flattened nose did not spoil her expressive face. She walked so fast that even men could hardly keep up with her. Voluptuousness wafted from the whole being of the new queen. And the desire to please and impress with her beauty was always one of her greatest weaknesses.

Elizabeth was born on December 19, 1709, when her father had not yet been married to her mother, which subsequently served as a pretext for reproaches against the royal daughter. The birth of her parents before marriage prevented Elizabeth from becoming the wife of Louis XV, which her mother Catherine dreamed of, who made a lot of efforts so that her youngest daughter could speak French and dance the minuet well, believing that more could not be demanded from the Russian princess in Versailles. Therefore, with the exception of French teachers and dance teachers, the education of the princess was left to chance. The queen mother was even ready for her daughter to convert to Catholicism. But a refusal came from Paris. Elizabeth filled her time with horseback riding, hunting, which she developed a passion for quite early on, rowing, and grooming her appearance.

As a result, the daughter of Peter I did not acquire much knowledge, but she spoke French and German well, knew a little Italian and several Latin sayings, and had beautiful handwriting. This allowed her to be known as an educated woman. However, books did not fascinate her, it was boring for her to write, but she loved to draw, especially with paints: in her room even now one could see an easel with a painting begun. In dancing, she, perhaps, was unsurpassed. At feasts, parties, balls, Elizabeth danced tirelessly, attracting everyone's attention with her grace and lightness. She was rightly called the queen of the ball.

The new empress continued her father's tradition of hosting assemblies; only they looked a little like the old ones. Now French patterns and French behavior have become the canon: how to enter, how to greet each other, how to look so that not only the eyes, but also the nose are pleased with the aroma of perfume, which Russian fashionistas first began to use, and of course, how to dance. In winter, masquerade balls were given alternately in aristocratic houses. We met at six o'clock in the evening. They danced, played cards until ten o'clock, then dined: the empress, sitting at a table with some courtiers, the rest of the guests standing. Then again dancing until late at night. And there were no ceremonies at these balls. Anyone who wanted to could leave - the owners did not see off anyone, even the empress. When she entered the living room, those sitting were forbidden to get up. And the empress most often appeared unexpectedly in the middle of the ball, which by no means violated the general atmosphere.

Often balls were held in the palace itself. In a huge hall, decorated with magnificent mirrors and lit by many chandeliers, women in luxurious dresses and sparkling jewelry lined up on one side, men in exquisite costumes decorated with sashes lined up on the other. After exchanging deep bows, they began a slow dance to the sounds of music performed by French celebrities: the spectacle was impressive ... The choreographer at the court was the Frenchman Lande, who claimed that nowhere was the minuet danced so expressively and decently as in St. Petersburg.

The French language began to come into fashion at the court of Elizabeth, and the influence of French fashion also spread. The main occupation of the ladies of the court was the desire to outdo each other with their outfits. Secular beauties spent long hours in front of a mirror in the company of maids, hairdressers and tailors. Dresses struck with their brilliance and luxury, and sometimes changed clothes two or three times a day. Among the metropolitan nobility, the pursuit of fashion has become rampant. The best, the most expensive and certainly from Paris - such was the trend at the court of this representative of the Romanov dynasty. Elizabeth herself was considered almost a trendsetter, her sense of beauty was surprisingly developed: she dressed exceptionally elegantly, loved beautiful headdresses and jewelry, carefully monitored her appearance, sat for hours at her dressing table. Not a single merchant who arrived from Western Europe had the right to sell his goods until the empress selected the necessary things or fabrics for herself. Once it was reported that a Frenchwoman, Mademoiselle Tardieu, a fashion saleswoman, did not show all the new items brought from Paris, but hid something for her other clients. Without hiding her anger, the empress ordered that the merchant be put in jail. Usually, Her Majesty's courtier waited for the arrival of French or English ships in the port of Petersburg in order to immediately purchase the latest fashion - before anyone could see them.

In the personal service of the queen was a whole "regiment" of tailors, jewelers, shoemakers and furriers. During her reign, a huge number of dresses, shoes and various jewelry accumulated.

Since the day of her accession to the throne, she, perhaps, has not worn the same dress more than twice. Indeed, for a long time after the death of her parents, the princess was forced to embarrass herself in outfits. She still sometimes bargained with the seller, afraid to overpay, and arguing with her about the price was almost useless. Was it a manifestation of stinginess, or did she always remember the time when she felt for herself what money means in a person's life?

The passion for dressing up and caring for her appearance did not leave Peter's daughter until the last days of her life. After her death, several thousand dresses remained in the wardrobes, two chests filled with silk stockings, thousands of pairs of shoes and more than a hundred pieces of English or French matter.

In the wardrobe of Elizabeth there were a lot of men's suits. Being lively and cheerful by nature, she loved to impress others and, knowing that a man's suit suits her very much, she dressed up at masquerades held at court twice a week, either by a French musketeer, or by a Cossack hetman, or by a Dutch sailor. Believing that men's attire would not adorn her rivals in beauty, the Empress even began to arrange costume balls for select persons on Tuesdays, to which ladies were supposed to appear in French tailcoats, and men in skirts. Elizaveta Petrovna did not tolerate rivalry and strictly watched so that no one dared to wear dresses and do hairstyles of a new style until she changed them herself.

Once, Princess Lopukhina, known for her amazing beauty and thereby arousing the jealousy of the empress, decided to ignore this feature of the character of the Russian sovereign and appeared at the ball with a rose in her hair when the empress had the same rose in her hair. Showing no signs of discontent at first, the conceited Elizabeth, in the midst of the ball, forced the unreasonable beauty to kneel, ordered the scissors to be brought, and, cutting off the criminal rose along with a strand of hair, slapped the poor thing in the face.

Contemporaries also talk about another manifestation of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna's "character". Once she issued a decree: all the ladies of high society should shave their heads, and the women, crying, had to obey. It turns out that this was not a tribute to fashion, the Empress simply dyed her hair unsuccessfully, and it suddenly partially fell out. And she decided that the ladies of the court should share her sad fate with her.

Balls, dinners, masquerades, theatrical performances, fireworks were replaced one after another. For the arrangement of entertainment and luxurious feasts, the Empress spared neither money nor time. At court, refined taste quickly began to develop, combined with luxury unprecedented for that time. The new empress wished to have an exquisite table. With her, a German by the name of Fuchs, who studied French cuisine to the subtlety, became the chief cook with her. The empress worthily appreciated his excellent culinary skills, allocated an unprecedented salary for those times, thereby elevating him to the rank of a high-ranking courtier - usually the chief cooks belonged to the category of servants. Elizabeth loved to eat, and it was good and tasty, she preferred meat and vegetable dishes, she did not eat fish. On Maslenitsa, she ate two dozen pancakes, which embarrassed her sophisticated cook. But on fasting days, she ate exclusively jam with plain bread and kvass. The queen was not averse to having a glass of Hungarian wine or drinking light beer - the daughter of Peter and Catherine did not have a particular addiction to alcohol. The most luxurious feasts were held in the newly rebuilt Tsarskoye Selo, which became the summer residence of the Romanov tsars. A special lifting machine was made in the palace, which lifted guests sitting on comfortable sofas to the second floor, where there was a table with various dishes. Exquisite dishes, wines and fruits were served on the table without the help of servants. These tables were called “magic tables”.

All celebrations and holidays were accompanied by music, which Elizabeth loved very much. Vocal and instrumental concerts were often arranged in the spacious houses of the nobility - modeled on Italian or German houses. The empress herself sometimes visited them. Townspeople and merchants were allowed to attend concerts, only drunken visitors or dissolute women were forbidden to enter. Often the Empress also attended card evenings organized in noble houses to play cards with a pleasant partner. Her liveliness, gaiety, dazzling smile on her ruddy tender face attracted the eyes of many men. But she gave preference to Alexei Razumovsky, whom she noticed in the choir of her reigning cousin.

After it became obvious that the marriage of Princess Elizabeth with the French king would not take place - there were persistent rumors in St. Petersburg about the upcoming marriage of Louis XV to an English princess - Bishop of the Lubskaya diocese Karl August of Holstein, the younger brother of the reigning duke, was chosen as the groom for the daughter of the Russian Tsar. . Despite the fact that this party was much more modest than with the king of France, this daughter of the Russian tsar liked this one more: she did not need to change her faith to the Catholic one, and the groom himself was nice to her. But the unexpected happened. Before reaching the altar, Karl August suddenly died. Elizabeth was deeply saddened by his death and did not want to hear more about the suitors. Even the passion of her nephew, Emperor Peter II, did not melt her heart. The Tsesarevna was very affectionate with him, but restrained, and she could not relate to marriage with this boy without laughing, although she understood that marriage would significantly strengthen the tranquility of the Russian state - after all, both of them were Romanovs. The wise Osterman often told her about this, with whom Elizabeth subsequently, having ascended the throne, acted so severely.

The first among the men to whom the princess assigned a certain place in her life was the young prince Buturlin. However, the jealous Peter II hastened to send him to Ukraine in order to prevent the possibility of meetings between the beautiful aunt and her rival. Then they talked about the possible marriage of the princess with her cousin Semyon Naryshkin, who was distinguished by special grace and splendor. But even here the emperor intervened and ordered the young man to go to Paris with some assignments. After the departure of this failed spouse, a simple guards sergeant named Shubin became close to Elizabeth, who campaigned among the guards in favor of Peter's daughter. Empress Anna Ioannovna accused him of conspiracy and exiled him to Kamchatka. Rumors spread around the city that the princess did not hide her grief and was thinking about tonsure. These rumors were not confirmed, moreover, they soon began to see her in the company of the singer of the imperial choir Alexei Razumovsky.

Who was the man who could so quickly console the young woman? Where did he come from in St. Petersburg?

Razumovsky was originally from a peasant family, Rozumov, who lived in a small Ukrainian village. Once a supplier of Hungarian wine to the court of Empress Anna stopped in this village and, being in a local church, was struck by the powerful bass of a church chanter. For the fact that he brought a young peasant to the capital, the wine merchant even received a place at the court of the Empress, and the singer himself was included in the chapel of Her Majesty.

Tsesarevna, having heard the singer, begged him to her Court - during the reign of Anna Ioannovna, the daughter of the first Russian emperor lived on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, where she had a small courtyard. But she did not have long to enjoy the singing of the young handsome man - Alexei lost his magnificent voice, retaining, however, the disposition of the princess. Especially for him, Elizabeth introduced the post of court bandura player to the staff, and soon entrusted him with the management of her court. So the former Ukrainian peasant became her first assistant.

Alexei was a tall, slender brunette with very attractive features, kind eyes, and a thick, beautiful beard. Having become Empress, Elizabeth showered her favorite with all sorts of honors, made him an earl and, as they say, entered into a secret marriage with him. There is no reliable information about this, but Razumovsky's position has changed dramatically since the end of 1742. He settled in the palace, in apartments adjacent to the empress's chambers, and was already openly recognized as a participant in all the entertainments and trips of her majesty, as if in the role of a prince-husband. One planned trip of the empress was even canceled due to the slight ill health of the count. Along with Italian arias, Ukrainian songs were included in the operatic repertoire, and leaving the theater in severe frost, the Empress carefully wrapped her companion's fur coat and straightened his hat. The menu of official dinners usually included Ukrainian dishes, and Razumovsky himself sat at the table next to the empress. Naturally, it was assumed that the empress would someday publicly announce her marriage and share the royal crown with her husband. But this did not happen either at the beginning or at the end of the reign of Elizabeth Romanova, although her attachment to this man lasted all her life and she lived with him as with her husband. True, the flow of favors from the empress subsided somewhat by the end of her reign, but with his characteristic humility, Razumovsky never insisted on his rights - whether they were sealed by a church marriage or not. He never hampered the freedom of his mistress. And could he?

A document confirming the marriage could not be found. After the death of Empress Elizabeth, the courtiers came to the old man Razumovsky, whom he lived in his Moscow house, and asked to see evidence. He listened to the request, took out some paper from the box and with tears in his eyes threw it into the fire, declaring that such a document never existed.

Count Alexei Razumovsky generally differed from other courtiers in his eccentricity. He did not participate in the coup of 1741, and at the court of the empress he occupied a leading position. He was an extremely honest and modest person, did not aspire to high government posts. He did not participate in court intrigues, but willingly accepted gifts from Elizabeth, including orders and money. He himself tried to do good, to help people, while not forgetting his numerous relatives, whom he, despite all their simplicity, was never ashamed of. He made one of his sisters a lady-in-waiting, and his younger brother, Kirill, completed a course of study abroad - he studied at the Goettingen and Berlin universities, was appointed president of the Academy of Sciences and did a lot of useful things for Russia.

After his elevation, the former church chorister did not change his attitude towards his relatives and friends at all. They told such a case. One day, together with the empress, he came to inspect the new palace, among the employees he met his former acquaintance and, in the presence of the empress, kissed him heartily. When Elizabeth expressed her bewilderment at such behavior, Razumovsky simply and calmly answered her: “You, Liza, can make whatever you want out of me, but for them I will always remain who I was before.” From his high position, he did not derive any benefits, and for his modesty he was loved and respected even by numerous envious people.

There were many legends around the relationship between the Empress and her favorite. There were even more tales about the children of Elizabeth, whom she allegedly gave to the nurse, and then sent to the monastery. With her tall, full figure, pregnancy could not be noticed.

Children from marriage with Razumovsky allegedly bore the surname Tarakanovs. Whole legends have developed around them. The first woman known by this surname was Augusta, born around 1744. It is believed that soon after her birth she was sent to France, where she received a good upbringing and education. Catherine II, who came to power, managed to bring by force an already forty-year-old woman to Moscow and place her in a monastery. Of medium height, magnificent build and amazing beauty, Elizabeth's "daughter" was tonsured under the name of Dosithea and lived here for another twenty-five years in complete solitude, doing reading, needlework and charity. A lot of money was allocated for the maintenance of this unusual nun, but she lived modestly and reclusively, she attended church when there were no parishioners in it. Even the church service was performed for her alone. The last few years, Dosithea generally spent in silence and was considered "righteous." The rumor about her spread very widely. Dosithea died at the age of 64. At her funeral, solemn and unusually magnificent, with a large gathering of people, Razumovsky's relatives and many noble nobles were present. The nun Dosifei was buried in the Novospassky Monastery in the family tomb of the Romanov boyars. There was a legend that her portrait was preserved in the monastery with the caption: “Princess Augusta Tarakanova, in Dosifey’s foreign shop.”

An amazing legend has also developed around another person under this surname - Princess Tarakanova, a woman of rare beauty and great intelligence. A few years after the death of Elizabeth, she suddenly presented her rights to the Russian throne. But she ended the days of her life by no means on the throne ...

So, the reins of government of the Russian state are again in the hands of a woman. The throne of Empress Elizabeth was surrounded by Russians and French. The Germans during her reign did not occupy important positions and, as it were, faded into the background. The absence of Germans at the origins of power soon made itself felt, and it was difficult to replace them. Foreigners, to whom the Empress addressed with an invitation to come to Russia, were in no hurry to the country, where they could first be lifted up to heaven, and then punished like robbers - the fate of Munnich and Osterman became known in Europe. One learned Frenchman, having received an invitation to settle in St. Petersburg, answered bluntly: “Thank you. Out of principle, I prefer to always stand with my back to Siberia.”

Who was at the throne of the tenth Empress from the House of Romanov? What specific cases were carried out during the period of her reign?

By abolishing the Cabinet of Ministers, Elizabeth returned the primacy to the Senate, as it had been under her father. At the beginning of her reign, she even attended his meetings. However, the most important state affairs were decided not without the participation of the person to whom the daughter of Peter the Great owed most of all her coming to power. It was the surgeon Lestok. He had free access to the empress and skillfully used his privilege. But near the throne of the "planted" queen, he lasted only six years. Accused of mercenary relations with foreign states, Lestok was sent into exile and only after the accession to the throne of his patient's nephew was he returned to St. Petersburg. The former life doctor of the Russian queen had to ask for money for the journey and for the purchase of the necessary clothing. The link exhausted all his material reserves.

In the third year of the reign of Elizabeth, the star of a new statesman in the Russian field, Alexei Bestuzhev-Ryumin, rose. He was appointed to the post of Chancellor. For more than fifteen years, not only domestic, but also foreign policy of the state was in his hands during the reign of the daughter of Peter I. The former chemist from Copenhagen, although he was born in Moscow, began to decide the fate of Russia. The roots of the Bestuzhev family come from England, from a certain Gavriil Best, who came to Moscow several centuries ago. The new head of government clearly bore the imprint of European civilization, as he was brought up in Germany and spent many years abroad. This statesman was married to the daughter of a former Russian resident in Lower Saxony by the name of Bettiger. He was often visited by Elizabeth's parents during their travels in Germany. Frau Bestuzheva did not like Russians and secretly patronized Prussia. The official secretary of the chancellor was the German Brevern, who had previously served as an assistant to Osterman himself, and two more Germans and one Italian were on the staff of his personal office.

Bestuzhev-Ryumin was a very secretive and ambitious man, with impeccable manners. He possessed amazing abilities for all sorts of intrigues, but he managed to enter into the full confidence of the empress, constantly hiding behind the shadow of her father. “This is not my policy, but the policy of your great father,” he liked to repeat, if the empress did not want to agree with him in some way when discussing any issue, which happened by no means often. Usually, Elizabeth sent orders to her first minister through third parties, and he, in turn, sent her stacks of all kinds of papers - protocols, notes, texts of treaties and other documents - literally leading her into a state of confusion. Therefore, she herself rarely signed anything, most often she said: "Do as you wish." Any occupation caused her fatigue, and Elizaveta Petrovna could not afford this. “Forcing her to sign any decree or paper is as difficult as writing an opera…” wrote the envoy of Prussia to his king. It was no less difficult to obtain an audience with the empress. “She wanders from one country house to another, and it is impossible to keep up with her,” complained the Austrian envoy. And if someone managed to capture her attention, she often abruptly changed the topic of conversation. For example, her opinion on the succession to the Swedish throne for the Duke of Holstein is required - Elizabeth, instead of answering the question posed to her, recalls her sister Anna's jewelry, which disappeared after her death, and demands that they be found, as if this was the goal meetings.

Aleksey Bestuzhev-Ryumin ended his career ingloriously: he was subject to disgrace and sent into exile. His place was taken by Count Peter Ivanovich Shuvalov, a participant in the palace coup of 1741. Having neither rank nor portfolio, he had been in charge of several departments for several years. This statesman was one of the first nobles in Russia who lived openly according to his own rules. For his guests, he always kept a set table, treated them to champagne, which was a luxury item at that time, owned greenhouses where pineapples and other overseas fruits grew, English horses harnessed to his carriages. Pyotr Shuvalov gained great popularity with his project of abolishing internal customs and duties. He also established banks, from where it was possible to take money as collateral at low interest rates (only six percent per annum) or put your money there and receive interest for it. These first banks in Russia were of great benefit to trade, including foreign trade, which was still completely in the hands of foreigners. But the career of Peter Shuvalov was ruined by an unbridled passion for luxury and women.

The count's cousin, twenty-two-year-old Ivan Shuvalov, became a close friend of the empress at the end of her life. Officially, the young man did not hold any significant post. He was simply called "Kammerger". With his high education and intelligence, handsome appearance and incorruptible heart, he, however, favorably differed from others. Among Elizabeth's closest friends and politicians, he was considered the most agreeable figure. His thoughts were directed to the development of education in Russia, which at that time was perhaps the only country where knowledge of the native language and, in general, of the entire national language was neglected. People who were considered enlightened cared only that their children knew French and French etiquette, so they surrounded them with foreign teachers, music and dance teachers. The Russian language and other sciences were hardly taught to children. The only center of science at that time was only the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy in Moscow, and in St. Petersburg - the Academy of Sciences. It was Ivan Shuvalov who initiated the founding of the first Russian university in Moscow, which was one of the main innovations of the daughter of Great Peter. On Tatiana's Day, January 25, 1755, she signed the corresponding decree. The document was presented to her by Shuvalov. The first Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov, who was patronized by the Chamberlain himself, was appointed rector of the university. Arriving as a young man from the north of Russia, Lomonosov studied in Moscow and after graduation was sent to Germany, where he first completed a five-year course at the Mining Academy in Freiberg, and then studied philosophy and German literature in Marburg. There he published the first Russian grammar and himself translated it into German for his friends. In Germany, he married a German woman, the daughter of a tailor from Marburg, who later came to Russia with him.

The teachers at Moscow University were Germans or Russians who were educated in Germany. Two gymnasiums were opened at the university - one for nobles, the other for raznochintsy, the newspaper Moskovskie Vedomosti began to be published. Ivan Shuvalov became a trustee of the new educational institution.

The young favorite of Elizabeth was not only a patron of the arts, but also the Minister of Public Education. With his assistance, the Academy of Arts was restored in St. Petersburg. He personally helped her revival, gave her his excellent library, as well as a collection of paintings and works, valuable sculptures. From now on, future Russian artists could study at the Academy. Neither the age, nor the social status or origin of the candidates played a role in enrolling in the Academy. Soon this institution will turn into a cradle of national talents. Elizabeth herself tried to surround herself with artists and sculptors from Europe, considering them an adornment of her court. It seemed that she did not care at all about encouraging local talents, she even ordered her portrait from French or Italian artists, and the St. Petersburg beauties followed her example. And Russian national fine arts slowly began to break through the thickness of foreign influence.

The role of Ivan Shuvalov is also great in the creation of the national Russian theater in St. Petersburg. A troupe played on its stage, which was created in Yaroslavl by the merchant's son Fyodor Volkov. Performances were given in prose and in verse, and the empress herself attended them. Elizabeth had a great love for the theater - whether it was Italian opera or French comedy. Unless the German theater, which has been playing its performances in Moscow for many years, did not receive recognition from her. In 1754 it was closed. And the daughter of Peter the Great had special feelings for folk art. Russian folklore was dear to her heart; dancing and choral singing of village girls fell in love with her from an early age.

Under Elizabeth, who inherited the energy of her father, many palaces were built. The construction of wooden palace buildings, sometimes intended for only one visit to the empress, sometimes took only a few weeks. Stone palaces were built over the years. For their construction, skilled craftsmen were invited from Italy and other countries. Many beautiful architectural monuments were created by the Italian Rastrelli. His creation is the Grand Palace of Tsarskoye Selo - an extraordinary building in its beauty and luxury. The history of its creation is connected with the name of Elizabeth's mother. Thirty years before, in Tsarskoye Selo for the wife of Peter I, “stone chambers with sixteen rooms” were built here - a modest palace intended for recreation during the royal hunt. A garden with flower beds, artificial ponds, and fruit trees was laid out in front of the palace. Over the years, the palace was rebuilt several times, it was completed by the architect Rastrelli and was intended for the empress's state residence. Stretching for more than three hundred meters, the building of the palace was striking in its luxury. Its stucco and carvings were gilded, the interiors of the palace building sparkled. Among the amazingly beautiful rooms of the palace, the Chinese and Amber rooms are world famous. Pictures, gold, amber, rare porcelain - all these treasures were supposed to testify to the power of the Romanov dynasty. The luxury of the Russian court was not inferior to the luxury of the French, at that time the most brilliant in Europe.

Elizabeth herself, in the absence of her permanent residence, still had to move from one palace to another. Outwardly, all the palace buildings had a completely respectable appearance, but the furnishings of the living rooms were so poor that they carried mirrors, tables and chairs when moving from one palace to another - even from St. Petersburg to Moscow - they carried with them. The rooms were stuffy, untidy, sometimes mice ran around, which Elizabeth was terribly afraid of. And the main trouble is frequent fires, especially in Moscow, where wooden buildings predominated.

One autumn, having gone to Moscow, Elizabeth decided to settle in the Kremlin. But the palace apartments of her ancestors turned out to be unsuitable for habitation, and the entrances of the old royal palace had long served as warehouses for garbage and sewage. The empress went to the former palace of her mother and wished to stay there for the whole winter. But in early November, the palace building and all its services burned down in just a few hours from a sudden fire - only ashes and charred debris remained. Miraculously, its inhabitants were saved. However, in just six weeks the palace was rebuilt, and even before the New Year, the empress was able to move into a new building - it had at least sixty rooms and living rooms.

Elizabeth's dream was to have an imperial winter palace in her father's city. She fulfilled this dream - a magnificent palace was built and became the decoration of the city on the Neva. It was conceived as the residence of Russian emperors and was named the Winter Palace. The construction of the Winter Palace lasted more than eight years and absorbed a myriad of money. But the tenth Empress Romanova did not have to live in it for a single day, the time allotted to her by fate did not allow. In vain were the demands that Rastrelli hasten to finish at least only her own living quarters. Only a year after the death of Elizabeth, the walls of her brainchild received the first inhabitants.

The foundation of the domestic porcelain industry is also associated with the name of the daughter of Peter the Great - in 1744, a porcelain manufactory was built near St. Petersburg. It was built by the students of the famous Bettger - the creator of "white gold" in Germany - who came to Russia from Meissen. At first, this small enterprise served only the royal court, its products were very expensive and almost never went on sale. Then the factory expanded its production and subsequently gained wide popularity.

The empress's passion for dress contributed to the emergence and development of weaving and clothing factories in Russia, although it was still difficult for them to compete with foreign enterprises. As if in support of a modest assortment of domestic industry, Elizabeth issued a series of decrees directed against luxury: people who did not have a rank were forbidden to wear silk and velvet, it was forbidden to have gold and silver in galloons on liveries - an exception was made only for the military and foreigners. In addition, from now on it was not allowed to ride in a team drawn by four horses - this right was reserved only for foreign diplomats and landowners who went to their estates.

The government of Elizabeth also adopted a number of measures relating to trade and industry, which, in fact, took place under other Romanov tsars. But the tenth empress from the House of Romanov, faithful to the principles of her father, personally took up the regulation of moral issues. She established a “strict commission” in St. Petersburg to prosecute extramarital affairs, even once, by a personal decree, she ordered the confiscation of the estate of a widow for a “dissolute life”. And the following fact amazed even worldly-wise Europeans.

A German woman, originally from Dresden, nicknamed “Dresdensha” in connection with this, rented a rich house in St. Petersburg, made it a place of merry parties and love dates. Single men - or maybe not single - could meet frivolous women and young girls there, for an appropriate fee, of course. The rumor about this entertainment establishment reached the Empress herself, and retribution came: the German woman was expelled from Russia. And the visitors, if they were high officials who were not married, were forced to marry their voluntary victims in order to restore their good name. Severe punishment.

These are the main practical steps taken by the daughter of Peter during her reign. For half of her reign, the peaceful and carefree Elizaveta Petrovna fought. The Russian army won considerable victories under her and even entered Berlin. However, I would not like to touch on the aggressive policy of the tsars of the Romanov dynasty here. This is a topic for a whole book...

Peter's daughter did not give birth to an heir, but, having ascended the throne and exiled little John of Brunswick with his parents to the North, to Kholmogory, she immediately sent her nephew, Prince Karl Peter Ulrich, the son of her beloved sister Anna, from Holstein. She appointed him as her successor. The House of Holstein-Gottorp was dear to Elizabeth's heart not only because her sister married a prince from that house. After all, her fiancé, Bishop Karl August of Lubsk, was also from Holstein, whom she remembered with longing all her life. Therefore, she had special feelings for this country between two seas.

Elizabeth sent Baron Korf to Holstein for her nephew, who brought the boy to St. Petersburg in February 1742, together with his teachers Brummer and Bergholz. Elizabeth's meeting with her nephew was very touching, because he was the son of his beloved sister, orphaned early and the only representative of the Peter's line. She was upset only by the somewhat sickly appearance of the prince who arrived and the fact that at the age of 13 he had learned little seriously. Therefore, teachers were immediately assigned to the boy, and the Empress instructed Simeon Todorsky to prepare the boy for the adoption of Orthodoxy.

This decision of the empress was in accordance with the will of her mother, Catherine I, according to which, after the grandson of her husband from her son Alexei, if he does not have children, Anna and her offspring are the legal heirs, and then the youngest daughter Elizabeth with her offspring. Peter II died at a young age and left no children. Daughter Anna, who died a year after the death of her mother, left behind a son, whose father was the Duke of Holstein. However, being brought up in Kiel in the Protestant religion, he fell under the last clause of the will, which removed from the throne the heirs of the non-Orthodox faith. Therefore, having called him to Petersburg, Elizabeth first of all took care of changing her nephew's religion. Solemnly celebrating his birthday - the boy was fourteen years old - the empress took him to Moscow. There, a few months later, Karl Peter Ulrich was baptized into the Orthodox faith. He received the title of Imperial Highness and Grand Duke, as well as a new name. From now on, they began to call him Peter Fedorovich. So the Holsteiner stood at the foot of the Russian throne.

The new empress needed an heir, since only this left the throne for the offspring of her father. However, in this way she confirmed her intention not to marry. This fully corresponded to the spirit of the new regime and the mood of the guards, thanks to which she, in fact, took the Russian throne. They wanted to see her on the throne free from any obligations, at least formally, and personify the memory of Peter the Great. The empress completed the solution of the problem of succession to the throne by the fact that in the princely houses of Europe they began to intensively look for a suitable spouse for the future emperor of Russia. The Prussian king proposed Sophia to Frederick Amalia, a German princess from the small principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, while mentioning that she was the mother's niece of Elizabeth's beloved fiancé. Among the candidates were also the daughter of the Polish king Marianne, one of the French princesses and the German princess of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Elizabeth chose the Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst and sent her mother Johanna-Elisabeth, nee Holstein-Gottorp, a very kind letter, inviting her to visit the Russian imperial court with her daughter. Knowing their financial difficulties, Elizabeth sent ten thousand rubles for travel expenses, while saying that their stay in St. Petersburg would be at the expense of the Russian treasury.

Mother and daughter under false names arrived in Russia in the winter of 1744. Empress Elizabeth immediately liked the girl: beautiful, with dark hair, sparkling blue eyes and an inquisitive look. And most importantly - very intelligent and well-educated. The girl spoke fluent French and after a few days in Russia she could pronounce several sentences in Russian. With the help of the teacher Simeon Todorsky, she began to learn the Russian language and the history of the Orthodox Church. In the summer, Sophia was christened in the Orthodox faith and gave her the name of the mother of Empress Elizabeth. From now on, she was called Ekaterina Alekseevna, and as soon as the girl was sixteen years old, she was married to the heir to the Russian throne.

Elizabeth treated her nephew and his wife with great attention and care, although the regime of future royal persons was strict. Neither Peter nor Catherine dared to leave the house, and even more so from the city, without asking permission from the mother empress. The empress often gave gifts to the young couple, gave them money, but got angry when they got into debt. Once she bluntly stated that “the well can finally be drained” and that when she was the Grand Duchess, she received much less money and spent it very economically, and most importantly, did not make debts, knowing that no one would pay them for her. will not be. However, for her nephew, the kind aunt paid even gambling debts, wanting to preserve his honor and dignity. In addition, she seriously believed that bad debtors in the future life would face severe retribution.

As soon as the first-born was born to the heir - and this happened only in the ninth year of married life - Elizabeth placed the child in her chambers and took him under her personal protection: she went to him several times a day and even at night ran up to the baby for his every cry , although many nannies and mothers were assigned to him. On this occasion, she gave Catherine one hundred thousand rubles, but allowed her to see her son only forty days after birth. A young mother was rarely allowed to approach the child. The Empress acted in the same way at the birth of Catherine's daughter, whom she herself, against the will of her mother, named Anna, after her long-dead sister. The girl, however, died a year later.

Elizabeth always had a tender attitude towards children. She sometimes even gave balls for the children of her courtiers, which were attended by at least fifty boys and girls. A common dinner was arranged for them, while the empress herself dined with the children's parents.

During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, Tsesarevna Elizabeth, as already mentioned, had a small courtyard on the outskirts of St. Petersburg and ran her own household. She tried not to make debts, although she experienced an eternal need for money, since the funds received from the empress were very limited. Despite this, Peter's daughter, whenever possible, helped poor relatives on her mother's side, the Skavronskys: two sisters of Catherine I, who were her aunts, and three children of her uncle Karl, who were orphaned early. She raised two of her cousins ​​at her own expense and subsequently married them off herself.

Elizabeth adopted a kind attitude towards people from her mother Catherine. “There is no kinder and more affectionate mother empress,” they said among the people.