Ivan VI (Ioann Antonovich) (born 12 (23) August 1740 - death 5 (16) July 1764) - the nominal Russian emperor. Reign: October 1740 to November 1741 From the Romanov dynasty.
Heir to the Russian throne
Ivan Antonovich is the great-grandson of Ivan V, the son of the niece of Empress Anna Ioannovna, Princess of Mecklenburg Anna Leopoldovna and Duke Anton-Ulrich of Braunschweig. By the manifesto of Anna Ivanovna of October 5, 1740, he was declared the heir to the Russian throne, and in the event of his death, the throne was to be transferred by seniority to the other heirs of Anna Leopoldovna.
After the death of Anna Ivanovna on October 17, 1740, the six-month-old child was proclaimed emperor by Ivan VI. Formally, the first year of his life reigned under the regency, first of Count Ernst Johann Biron, and then of his own mother Anna Leopoldovna.
Regency
His mother, Anna Leopoldovna, was a pleasant pretty blonde, had a good-natured and meek character, but at the same time she was lazy, sloppy and weak-willed. After the overthrow of Biron by Field Marshal General Count Minich on November 8, 1740, the regency passed to Anna Leopoldovna. This circumstance was at first sympathetically accepted by the people, but soon this fact began to cause condemnation among ordinary people and the elite. The main reason for this attitude was that in the government of the state key posts remained in the hands of the Germans, who came to power during the reign of Anna Ioannovna.
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She herself did not even have elementary concepts of how to govern the country, which was withering more and more in the hands of foreigners. On top of that, Russian culture was alien to her. Historians also note her indifference to the sufferings and concerns of the common people.
1) Princess Anna Leopoldovna; 2) Duke Anton-Ulrich of Braunschweig - mother and father of Ivan VI.
Fight for the throne
Dissatisfied with the dominance of the Germans in power, the nobles began to group together near the daughter of Peter I, Princess Elizabeth Petrovna. Both the people and the guards took it for the liberator of the state from foreign rule. Gradually, a conspiracy against the ruler and, of course, her baby began to mature. At that time, Emperor John Antonovich was still a one-year-old child and still could not understand anything about court intrigues. Historians believe that the reason for the uprising of the conspirators is the ruler's decision to declare herself the Russian empress.
Coup. Arrest
1741, December 25 - at night Anna Leopoldovna with her husband and children, including Emperor Ivan VI, were arrested in the palace by the guards led by Elizaveta Petrovna, and the latter was proclaimed empress.
At first, the former emperor was sent into exile with his parents, after which they were transferred to solitary confinement. The place of imprisonment of Ivan VI changed all the time and was kept in a terrible secret.
1) Empress Anna Ioannovna; 2) Empress Elizaveta Petrovna.
Juvenile prisoner
The overthrown juvenile emperor with his parents was sent to Riga on December 12, 1741 under the supervision of Lieutenant General V. F. Saltykov. In Riga, the prisoners were held until December 13, 1742, after which they were transferred to the Dinamünde fortress. During this time, Elizaveta Petrovna finally decides not to let Ivan Antonovich and his parents out of Russia, as dangerous contenders for the royal throne.
1744 - the whole family is transported to Oranienburg, and then further from the border, to the north of the state - to Kholmogory, where little Ivan was completely isolated from his parents. He was kept in the same bishop's house as his parents, behind a blank wall, which none of them knew.
Long ordeals affected the health of Anna Leopoldovna: in 1746 she died.
Juvenile prisoner Ivan Antonovich.
Forbidden name
During the reign of Elizaveta Petrovna and her closest successors, the very name of Ivan Antonovich began to be persecuted. Coins with the image of Emperor Ivan VI were melted down, seals on documents from the period of his reign were altered, manifestos and decrees with his name were burned.
Shlisselburg fortress
1756 - Ivan VI was transferred to the Shlisselburg fortress, where he was imprisoned in solitary confinement and kept in complete isolation, as a "nameless convict". Only three officers were allowed access to the former emperor, even the commandant of the fortress did not know the name of the prisoner. Only in case of a dangerous illness was it allowed to let a priest go to him. It was forbidden to tell the boy who he was. It was forbidden to teach him to read and write. However, despite the mystery surrounding him, Ivan knew about his origin and called himself the sovereign. According to historical documents, it is known that, despite the strictest prohibition, he was taught to read and write, and dreamed of living in a monastery.
Peter III visits John Antonovich in his Shlisselburg chamber.
1759 - the deposed emperor showed signs of mental disorder, but the jailers took this for a simulation. He was irritable and suspicious, often made attempts to beat others, talked a lot to himself. He was held back from fits of violence by depriving him of tea and his best clothes.
With the accession to the throne (1761) of Peter III, the position of the unfortunate prisoner deteriorated even more - in relation to him the jailers were allowed to use force, to put him on a chain.
Mirovich in front of the body of Ivan VI (I. Tvorozhnikov).
Escape attempt. Death
The stay of Ivan Antonovich in Shlisselburg was not kept secret, and this finally ruined him. Second lieutenant of the Smolensk infantry regiment, who was standing in the garrison of the fortress, Vasily Yakovlevich Mirovich, decided to release him and proclaim him emperor; on the night of July 4-5, 1764, he began to carry out his plans and, with the help of forged manifestos, persuaded the garrison soldiers to his side, arrested the commandant of the fortress Berednikov and began to demand the extradition of Ivan. The bailiffs initially resisted with the help of their team, but when Mirovich aimed a cannon at the fortress, they surrendered, having previously followed the instructions exactly, killing Ivan. After a thorough investigation, which revealed the complete absence of accomplices in Mirovich, the latter was executed.
After death
The exact burial place of the former emperor is unknown, there is an assumption that Ivan VI was secretly buried in the Shlisselburg fortress.
1780 - his surviving brothers and sisters (father died in 1774) were exiled to Denmark in the care of their aunt, the Danish queen; with the death of the last of them, Catherine, in 1807, the Braunschweig branch of the Romanov dynasty was suppressed. There were several impostors posing as Ivan VI (the last one in 1788). Access to documents about Ivan VI Antonovich was opened only in the 1860s.