The 18th century is an amazing time in Russian history. It contains both the moments of the highest triumph of the young empire and the egregious cases of arbitrariness of the supreme power, acting against the interests of its own people and state. One of the darkest periods was the decade during which the niece of Peter the Great, Anna Ioannovna, was the autocratic ruler of Russia.
Anna Ioannovna launched repression against the Russian nobility
On the Russian throne, people who were completely not intended for this have repeatedly appeared. Someone was lifted up by chance, someone - cunning intrigues. Anna Ioannovna became empress thanks to both. The Duchess of Courland, married to a foreign land at the age of 17 and losing her husband two months after the wedding (Duke Friedrich-Wilhelm died shamefully on his way home from St. Petersburg due to excessive libation in a race with Peter the Great himself), was not created for big politics … Most of all she wanted to find a person who could solve all problems, and give her the opportunity to enjoy life. Instead, over and over again, she turned out to be a weak-willed toy in the hands of cunning courtiers who sought to "attach" her with the maximum benefit for themselves.
Torn Condition
Anna Ioannovna received practically no education and did not have an exceptional mind by nature. Of course, she lacked the ability to resist such masters of court intrigue as, for example, His Serene Highness Prince Alexander Menshikov. But she was proud and proud enough to never forget it.
When in January 1730 she was unexpectedly summoned to Moscow and announced that the Supreme Privy Council was proposing to the daughter of Ivan V to accept the Russian throne, Anna did not create illusions. She understood perfectly well that once again she was becoming a bargaining chip in political games. Having neither the strength nor the courage to refuse the "upper kam", she agreed to sign the Conditions limiting her power and turning the empress into a decorative figure. Literally in the position of a prisoner, she was taken to the village of Vsesvyatskoye near Moscow.
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But then the events began to take shape rather unexpectedly. Representatives of the noble families that were not part of the Supreme Secret Squash, who had heard rumors about the "trick of the leaders", were outraged by the very idea of limiting autocratic power. What is important - the guards were on their side. Anna Ioannovna did not know much about the current balance of power and hardly indulged in reflections on the nature and traditions of autocracy. But, more importantly, for the first time in her life, she felt that there was real power behind her. Peter's niece decided not to miss this chance.
On February 25 (old style), 1730, she tore up the previously signed Conditions and returned full power to the Romanov dynasty.
Scary Chancery
The reign of Anna Ioannovna is often described as the dominance of the Germans in all important areas. This partially corresponds to the truth, since the person closest to the empress was Ernst Johann Biron. As the Count of the Holy Roman Empire, and later the Duke of Courland, he naturally strove to promote his compatriots to any posts, since he trusted them more than the mysterious and somewhat frightening Russians. Nevertheless, Biron's influence is often greatly exaggerated. At court, there was a struggle between several parties, and many Russian nobles had a great influence on state policy.
The empress herself gave her favorite and confidants complete freedom. Having become from a provincial duchess to the sovereign ruler of a gigantic empire, she sought to extract maximum pleasure from her position. They led a wild life at the Russian court both before and after it. But it was the entertainment of Anna Ioannovna that was remembered for its unprecedented splendor and gloomy, almost sadistic orientation.
Having experienced many humiliations, the empress now seemed to be trying to take revenge on fate, taking revenge on those who were obviously weaker. She turned guilty nobles into court jesters, surrounded herself with dwarfs and freaks, whose appearance she loved to ridicule evil. The legend includes the wedding of the jester-prince Mikhail Golitsyn with the Kalmyk woman Evdokia Buzheninova, after which the newlyweds were to spend the night in a specially built ice house.
If what worried the empress seriously, in addition to entertainment and outfits, it was rumors of possible conspiracies and irreverent conversations about her person. She took every denunciation very seriously and demanded that detailed investigations be carried out. The Office of Secret Investigation Affairs was engaged in this.
The main principle was "the word and deed of the sovereign." The one who shouted out this formula made it clear that he was ready to testify regarding rebellion, treason, or "intent on his sovereign's health and honor." This was actively used by the criminals who came across, who, seeking to obtain a pardon or a mitigation of the sentence, were ready to slander anyone and come up with a monstrous conspiracy right on the go, sending completely innocent people to the block. These seeds fell on fertile soil. During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, at least 4046 people were arrested and tortured in cases of treason. The repressive machine worked in full force: for various crimes more than 20 thousand people were exiled to Siberia, more than a thousand were executed. It is known that many people were sent into exile after losing their minds under torture. In fact, this was tantamount to a death sentence. Some executions were carried out in secret, without trial or judgment. So it is not possible to calculate the exact number of victims of the Empress's manic suspicion.
From ministers to traitors
Anna Ioannovna was very vindictive and sought to punish the nobles who once tried to limit her power. The heaviest blow fell on the Dolgorukov family, who played the first violin in the Supreme Privy Council.
In 1737, rumors reached Anna Ioannovna that Prince Ivan Dolgorukov, who was in exile, was leading a too wild life there and was saying some "important villainous obscene words" about her and Biron. The prince was immediately arrested and sent to a torture chamber. There he confessed both to "villainous words" and to the fact that in 1730 his relatives tried to carry out an adventure with the coronation of the bride of Peter II, who suddenly died of illness, Ekaterina Dolgorukova. To do this, he personally forged the signature of the deceased on the will. For the events of seven years ago, several Dolgorukovs were quartered. Together with Ivan Alekseevich, two of his uncles and one cousin went to the scaffold.
In 1740, the loudest political trial of the time of Anna Ioannovna took place over the cabinet minister Artemy Volynsky. The courtier was distinguished by rather progressive views and gathered a circle of like-minded people, in which he discussed plans to transform domestic policy, remove the Germans from power and strengthen the positions of the Russian nobility. Before that, no one really cared until Volynsky, who enjoyed the trust and disposition of the empress, came into conflict with Biron, who posed the question point-blank: "Either I will be, or him."
The investigation lasted from April to June. As a result, Volynsky was accused of high treason. Two of his circle mates - Andrei Khrushchev and Pyotr Yeropkin - were beheaded, the rest were exiled. Volynsky himself was sentenced to a monstrous execution. His tongue was cut out, after which he had to walk to the scaffold himself. At the last moment, the Empress "mercifully" replaced impaling with quartering.
For her tough temper and fearless attitude to blood, Anna Ioannovna was popularly nicknamed "the queen of the fearsome ghost." She really felt some kind of craving for the death of living beings, it was not only politics and suspiciousness. One of the Empress's favorite pastimes was hunting. More precisely, shooting at animals driven by the huntsmen into a special enclosure. Anna Ioannovna shot very decently, which was a rarity for a woman of that time. Time after time pulling the trigger, she calmly exterminated all the hunted animals, piling up a heap of corpses. And she beat the birds on the fly, shooting straight from the windows of the palace. When in October 1740 "the queen of the terrible ghost" died, many breathed a sigh of relief. They did not know that the end of the era of palace coups is still far away.
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century, Victor Banev
