The Russian people have always loved their tsars very much, but their immediate entourage, on the contrary, could not stand the spirit and kept them on suspicion. Therefore, when the sovereign - even the one that was aged - was dying, ordinary people immediately understood: he was poisoned! The people who left this world young, the popular consciousness refused to bury at all, preferring to consider the tsar "hidden" - miraculously escaping death. People believed that sooner or later the young sovereign would triumphantly return to the throne and give free rein to the people. Therefore, impostors in Russia were especially popular: in any, generous in promises, the peasants were ready to recognize the tsar. Therefore, the fugitive soldier Gavrila Kremnev did not arouse suspicion: the residents of the Voronezh province happily recognized Peter III in him.
DEADLY BOUQUET
As you know, Peter III managed to be king for only six months: as a result of a palace coup, his wife, Catherine II, ascended the throne. The deposed sovereign was sent to the palace in Ropsha, which is 30 versts from St. Petersburg. There he died a week later. Why? Historians to this day do not know the answer to this question. The version according to which Pyotr Fyodorovich was killed by Alexei Orlov, the brother of the Empress's favorite, is very popular, especially among fiction writers. However, scientists have not found authentic evidence and documents proving it. Therefore, the official point of view is as follows: the 34-year-old emperor fell victim to a whole bunch of diseases - from hemorrhoids to apoplexy (as the stroke was called in the 18th century). The autopsy, which Catherine II insisted on, also revealed heart dysfunction and intestinal inflammation. Add to this alcoholism and the terrible depression into which the deposed emperor plunged. In a word, Pyotr Fyodorovich had something to die of.
40 people per seat
It was especially difficult for the Russian people to believe in the death of Peter III. And that's why. During his short reign, Pyotr Fedorovich, contrary to popular belief, managed to do a lot. Among other things, he signed the "Manifesto on the Liberty of the Nobility" - a document thanks to which the nobility became the exclusive privileged estate of the Russian Empire. And the peasants expected that this manifesto would be followed by another - about "the liberty of the peasants." The “knowledgeable people” knew for sure: those close to Peter Fedorovich found out about his intention and decided to destroy the emperor. Therefore, he was forced to hide …
This legend, superimposed on the illegal overthrow, and most importantly, on the really suspicious-looking death of Peter, gave rise to a whole galaxy of impostors. During the reign of Catherine II alone, more than forty people tried to impersonate the emperor. The most famous of them was Emelyan Pugachev. The last impostor was arrested in 1797: 35 years after the death of Pyotr Fedorovich! And Gavrila Kremnev was, as they say, "the first swallow" …
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RINGING OVER THE SWAN
In December 1765 Lebedyan was preparing to meet the emperor. It became known for certain that Pyotr Fedorovich, together with people loyal to him from the peasants, was heading to Voronezh from the neighboring village of Oskino, and since Lebedyan was on the way, he would certainly honor her with his presence. Banners and icons were already prepared, and the bell ringer was on duty at the bell tower, so that, barely seeing the army of the emperor, he began to ring the bells …
BUT IT WAS ALL OTHERWISE
In the early morning, the townspeople noticed a strange horse at the house of the governor, on the saddle of which a two-headed eagle flaunted. Therefore, the sovereign's man has arrived at the governor's office. What question? Rumors, one more incredible than the other, spread across the small town at the speed of light - and soon the whole Lebedyan gathered near the commander's dwelling. Even priest Timofey came running, from whom, in fact, it became known about the impending appearance of the emperor (and he, in turn, was notified by his colleague - priest Lev Evdokimov from Oskino). Lebedyansky voivode Evgrafy Melgunov, it seemed, was just waiting for this. He appeared on the porch, red with anger and excitement, and scanned the crowd that had gathered. Seeing priest Timofey, he shuddered all over, declared loudly: "You, father, I need you!" - and, grabbing the priest by the collar, dragged him into the house. The gossip was flared up with renewed vigor. But after a few minutes, priest Timofey with bulging eyes jumped out from the voivode: on his cheek there was a red mark from a hand. Disheveled, he rushed headlong across the city to the church. And soon the bells began to ring over Lebedyan - not solemnly, but alarmingly …
YES HOW DIED?
A couple of days before this event, in the notorious village of Oskino, which is fifty miles from Lebedyan, priest Lev Evdokimov, deacon Bobrikov and the furrier of the Voronezh garrison battalion Budinov raised the people "for the tsar" - the sovereign Emperor Peter Fedorovich.
Pop Evdokimov - his most ardent supporter - was baptized, bowed and swore:
- Here are those cross, true sovereign, true! Himself, when he went to Petersburg, he kissed the hand of the emperor and saw a birthmark! And now, here, at our Peter Fedorovich I noticed this and say: “How did he die? And he did not die at all. And he came for us to help him return the throne!"
In fact, at first, barely meeting Gavrila Kremnev, posing as Peter III, priest Evdokimov was tormented by doubts: "So after all, Peter Fedorovich died." However, the emperor explained that at the last moment he was replaced by a soldier devoted to him. He was buried in the royal tomb. But he is the real tsar, and Gavrila Kremnev is named only for diversion.
This "proof" was enough for Evdokimov. And he began to shout at every corner about the miraculous salvation of the emperor. In confirmation of his words, he usually fell to his knees and kissed the hand of a disheveled, most often drunk, man in a three-haired man, put on one side. This is how the "Pyotr Fedorovich" of the Voronezh flood looked like - the fugitive soldier Gavrila Kremnev. For a month he had been walking from village to village, gathering under the banner of Voronezh peasants who were dissatisfied with their life. Sergeant Anton Golovin, who also escaped from the Oryol infantry regiment, pushed him to this idea. When he was caught and asked about his intentions, Golovin said: “I wanted to be a sovereign! Just writing a decree was not enough. The seed fell on fertile soil: Gabriel left the army and declared himself emperor. He acted quite prudently: so,the first peasants who joined him were immediately elevated to generals. This technique was later adopted by Emelyan Pugachev …
Considering that the newly-minted Pyotr Fedorovich, as expected, promised to sign the "Manifesto on the Liberty of the Peasants", his army expanded pretty soon. And then Kremnev decided to go to Voronezh. Ahead of him, he poisoned Budinov's battalion furrier - to prepare apartments for the emperor …
UNITY FROM DRINKING
Drunk and disheveled Budinov in Voronezh was arrested, brought to his senses and interrogated. Having found out everything about the unrest that had arisen, they sent messengers to nearby cities with the demand to take the necessary measures to pacify the riot. So the "sovereign man" who arrived in Lebedyan early in the morning, in fact, saved the town from inevitable shame …
It was not so easy to defeat Gavrila's army, even if drunk. The peasants of "Pyotr Fedorovich" supported: if in Oskino his army numbered two hundred people, in Rossosh - three hundred, then four hundred "soldiers" had already approached Lebedyan. The Lebedyans could not cope with it on their own. Fortunately, the hussar detachment of Captain Uvarov arrived in time from Voronezh.
Kremnev was seized and interrogated approximately. He honestly admitted: “He was so drunk! Why would a drunk not get into the head?"
Oddly enough, but Catherine II shared this point of view and at the verdict to the impostor wrote in her own hand: “This crime happened without any reason and sense of consideration, but only from drunkenness and ignorance. The priests should point out that one must fast not only in food, but also in drinking."
Gavrila and his closest associates were taken to all villages and towns where they recruited people "for the king." Everywhere they were publicly flogged, saying: “Don't sit down, fool, not in your sleigh! And if you drink, bite your tongue! "…
To tell the truth, that was the end of the punishment for the troublemakers: the peasants and priests were whipped and dispersed. As for the "sovereign", they treated him stricter: they burned the initial letters of the words "fugitive" and "impostor" - BS - on his forehead and sent him to an eternal settlement in Nerchinsk, in Transbaikalia …
Elena ABRAMOVA