On December 6, 1741, as a result of a bloodless palace coup, the daughter of Peter I, Elizaveta Petrovna, ended up on the throne of the Russian Empire. Bloodless coups are a unique phenomenon for our history. Let's reveal the secret of how it happened.
Not an easy choice
It cannot be said that Elizabeth Petrovna secretly prepared a conspiracy or wove intrigues during the entire 10-year reign of Anna Ioannovna. For a long time, she did not show any interest in the throne at all, until the ruling empress had worthy heirs. But after the marriage of the empress's niece, Anna Leopoldovna, and even more so the birth of John Antonovich, the picture changed dramatically. In this case, Elizabeth's chances of taking the throne were already reduced to almost zero. The immediate threat was also growing, since in order to protect the young emperor, Elizabeth could well have been expelled from the capital or even imprisoned in a monastery. In these conditions, the coup was the most real, albeit risky, way out of the situation.
The role of the guard
As in other coups, in the events of November 25, 1741 (old style), the position of the guard played a decisive role. True, in terms of their social origin, the Guard was very different from the times of Peter the Great. If during the reign of Peter I the nobles served in the guards, then during the reign of Anna Ioannovna the composition of the guards regiments changed dramatically - a large number of peasants and townspeople appeared. So, of the 308 soldiers who participated in the coup on November 25, only 54 were nobles.
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Features of the coup
Unlike previous coups, when Catherine I Anna Ioannovna was ascended to the throne and everything happened in many respects spontaneously, the coup carried out by Elizaveta Petrovna was prepared in advance. For several months, various options for overthrowing the Braunschweig family were discussed. Again, as a rule, if in previous cases one or another court or military group acted on behalf of the applicant, now Elizabeth acted directly on her own behalf.
Elite change
In the coup of November 25, 1741, an anti-German character is also traced - and the accession of Elizabeth to the throne, both among her contemporaries and descendants, was associated with the return to the policy of Peter I. Indeed, the Russian aristocracy replaced Minich, Osterman and others in the highest government posts. Although it must be admitted that the scale of German dominance in the 30s and early 40s. in Russia were later somewhat exaggerated and, as often happens in history, the image of Elizabeth Petrovna, and the main elements of her foreign and domestic policy were contrasted with the previous period of time.
Swedish affairs
The coup of November 25, 1741 and the accession to the throne of Elizabeth Petrovna are inextricably linked with a number of foreign policy events and, above all, the Russian-Swedish war of 1741-1743. This war for Sweden, both from a military and from an economic point of view, was a complete gamble. The hostilities were extremely insignificant in comparison with other Russian-Swedish wars, but sooner or later they had to inevitably lead the enemy of Russia to defeat. Under these conditions, the change of power in St. Petersburg could have just as opportunely influenced, if not the military, then the political outcome of the war. It is known that the Swedish ambassador several times persuaded Elizabeth to sign the draft document, promising assistance in return for the return of part of the territories lost by Sweden in the Northern War. However,for Elizabeth to sign such a document, if successful, meant losing the aura of the daughter of Peter I, the winner of the Swedes, and becoming a hostage to Swedish diplomacy. And in case of failure, it would be much worse than an attempt at a palace coup - in fact, it would be high treason. And here it was no longer necessary to count on anyone's condescension or sympathy. One thing is known that the calculations of the Swedish diplomacy completely failed. After her accession to the throne, Elizabeth did not change her foreign policy towards her northern neighbor, and the war ended very sadly for Sweden - with the loss of a number of fortresses in Karelia. And here it was no longer necessary to count on anyone's condescension or sympathy. One thing is known that the calculations of the Swedish diplomacy completely failed. After her accession to the throne, Elizabeth did not change her foreign policy towards her northern neighbor, and the war ended very sadly for Sweden - with the loss of a number of fortresses in Karelia. And here it was no longer necessary to count on anyone's condescension or sympathy. One thing is known that the calculations of the Swedish diplomacy completely failed. After her accession to the throne, Elizabeth did not change her foreign policy towards her northern neighbor, and the war ended very sadly for Sweden - with the loss of a number of fortresses in Karelia.
French affairs
French diplomacy also showed considerable interest in the accession to the Russian throne of Elizabeth Petrovna, hoping for a change in political course and an alliance with Russia as opposed to Austria. True, in this case it was rather intrigue. Despite promises of material assistance, the French side was in no hurry to take real steps, and the French ambassador to Russia, the Marquis de Chétardie, hardly believed in the success of the coup itself. As a result, the events of November 25, 1741 came as a complete surprise to French diplomacy.
Destiny games
As it happened more than once in the history of palace coups, those who lost power followed those whom they themselves had relatively recently ousted from the throne. Thus, Osterman, who played an important role in the removal of A. D. Menshikov, went into exile in Berezov, where the most famous associate of Peter I had ended his days earlier. Minikh ended up in the Pelym prison, which was built according to his own plan for Biron. But it should be noted that Elizaveta Petrovna treated her political opponents very gently - none of them were executed or secretly killed.