Pavel 1 Petrovich (born September 20 (October 1) 1754 - death March 12 (24), 1801) - Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia since 1796, son of Emperor Peter III and Catherine II. Having ascended the throne, he sought to oppose the “pernicious” policy of Empress Catherine II, which, as he believed, weakened the autocracy, a firm line on strengthening the foundations of the absolutist power. He introduced strict censorship, closed private printing houses, banned the import of foreign books, and reorganized the army according to the Prussian model.
Restricted the privileges of the nobility, reducing the exploitation of the peasants. The opposition to the authorities was persecuted by police measures. The reign of Paul 1, which was characterized by inconsistency and impulsiveness, caused discontent among the highest nobility. He was killed as a result of a palace conspiracy.
early years
Pavel was born in the Summer Palace of Elizabeth Petrovna, in St. Petersburg. The first years of his life, Pavel grew up under the supervision of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, his parents were almost not allowed to see him, and he practically did not know maternal affection. 1761 - N. I. Panin. A supporter of the Enlightenment, he was sincerely attached to the Grand Duke and tried to educate him as an ideal sovereign.
Pavel received a good education and, as contemporaries testify, was a capable, eager for knowledge, romantic-minded boy with an open character, who sincerely believed in the ideals of goodness and justice. Initially, his relationship with his mother after her accession to the throne in 1762 was quite close. But over time, their relationship deteriorated. Catherine was wary of her son, who had more legal rights to the throne than herself.
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The reign of Paul 1
Ascension to the throne
Paul the First became emperor in November 1796, at the age of 42, after the death of his mother, Empress Catherine II. He began his reign by restoring the rights of his father, who had been overthrown by a conspiracy over 30 years ago. The new sovereign returned from exile many subjects, of those that were disagreeable to Catherine.
Wishing to protect once and for all his rights and the rights of his heirs to the kingdom, Emperor Paul 1 published in 1797 "The Institution of the Imperial Family", in which for the first time in the history of Russia a firm and unshakable order of succession to the throne was established in the country. Since then, only a direct male descendant of the emperor could ascend to the throne, and the empress had the right to be only regent with a minor heir. Women could receive the right to the succession to the throne only when there were no representatives of the dynasty - men. Since that time, not a single woman has been on the Russian throne.
Emperor Paul 1 ruled despotically, imposed centralization in the state apparatus, carried out radical reforms in the army, tried to limit the power of the nobles. Attempts were made to stabilize the financial position of the state (including the famous action - the melting of palace services into coins).
The rights of the nobility were significantly narrowed, and the most severe discipline, the unpredictability of the sovereign's behavior led to the mass dismissal of the nobles from the army, especially the officers of the guard.
Domestic Politics of Paul 1
In the interests of trade, domestic industry was encouraged to fill the domestic market. As a result, a ban was introduced on the import of a number of foreign goods, such as: silk, paper, linen and hemp fabrics, steel, salt … In addition, with the help of subsidies, privileges, government orders, domestic manufacturers were encouraged to produce goods not only for the treasury, but also for free trade. This was the case, for example, in relation to cloth and mining breeders.
During the reign of Paul, trade with Persia, Bukhara, India and China expanded. In relation to industry, as well as trade, the government pursued a moderate patronizing policy. Particular attention was paid to the cloth factories, which supplied their products to the treasury. This is because the products of this industry went almost entirely to the army's needs, to which the emperor himself was far from indifferent.
Paul the First, contributed to the strengthening of serfdom, distributing more than 600 thousand peasants during his reign. The decree of 1797, which limited corvee to three days, almost did not alleviate the situation of the peasantry, as it was rather a recommendation than a guide to action.
During the reign of Paul 1, the requirement for the service of the nobility was tightened: the practice of long vacations was banned, the entry of the nobility into the army immediately after birth. Fearing a "revolutionary infection" Pavel took such measures as the closure of private printing houses (1797), a ban on the import of foreign books (1800), and censorship was tightened.
The emperor was able to realize his plans more fully in the army, carried out an army reform. Positive aspects (improved equipment of the regiments and the maintenance of soldiers) coexisted with negative ones (the "stick" discipline of punishments was introduced; unjustified imitation of the Prussian army).
Foreign policy of Paul 1
After ascending to the throne, Paul, to emphasize the contrast with his mother, began to declare peacefulness and non-interference in European affairs. But when in 1798 the threat of Napoleon's re-establishment of an independent Polish state arose, Paul's government took an active part in organizing the anti-French coalition.
In the same year, the emperor took over the duties of the Master of the Order of Malta, thereby challenging the Emperor of France who had conquered Malta. 1798-1800 - the Russian army fought successfully in Italy, and the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean, which could not but cause concern from Austria and England. Relations with these states completely deteriorated in the spring of 1800. At the same time, rapprochement with France begins, and even a plan for a joint campaign against India was discussed. Without waiting for the signing of the corresponding agreement, the sovereign ordered the Don Cossacks to march, who were already stopped by Alexander 1.
Paul Assassination 1
Pavel 1 was killed in his own bedroom on March 11, 1801 at the Mikhailovsky Castle.
Initially, the plans were to overthrow Paul 1 and the accession of the English regent. The conspiracy was revealed, Lindener and Arakcheev were summoned, but this only contributed to the acceleration of the execution of the conspiracy and signed the death warrant to the emperor. According to one version, he was killed by Nikolai Zubov (Suvorov's son-in-law, Platon Zubov's older brother), who hit him in the temple with a heavy gold snuffbox. According to another version, the sovereign was strangled with a scarf or he was crushed by a group of conspirators, who, leaning on Paul and each other, did not know exactly what was happening. Taking one of the conspirators for the son of Constantine, he shouted: “Your Highness, are you here? Have mercy! Air, Air!.. What have I done wrong to you? These were his last words.
The question of whether Alexander Pavlovich could know or give sanction to the palace coup and the murder of his father, for a long time remained unclear. According to the memoirs of Prince A. Czartoryski, the idea of a conspiracy appeared almost in the first days of the reign of Paul 1, but its implementation became possible only after it became known about the consent of Alexander, who signed the corresponding secret manifesto, in which he recognized the need for a coup and pledged not to pursue conspirators after coming to power.
Most likely, Alexander himself was well aware that without the assassination of Paul 1, a palace coup would be impossible, since the emperor would not abdicate the throne of his own free will, and leaving him alive - even in prison - would cause a revolt of the troops trained by the sovereign. Thus, by signing the manifesto, Alexander signed the death warrant for his father.