Explore one of the most powerful families that rule the largest
country in the world. Following the death of its enigmatic leader and his
failure to name and heir, what happened to Romanov Dynasty?
Family Name: Romanovs
Country: Russia
Reign: 1613 – 1917
Contributions:
- Rebuild Russia from the Time of Troubles
- Westernized Russia
- Defended autocratic rule
- Developed many aspects of Russian life
At the death of Peter the Great, his failure to name an heir led to more than a decade of stagnation, intrigue, excesses and corruption. Enemies of his reform and men with sinister ambitions took advantage of the succession problem to push their own agenda. Russia only experienced once again a golden era under one of the most powerful women in history – Catherine the Great.
Reign of Catherine I
In the
following days after the death of Peter the Great, Chief Minister Alexander Menshikov manipulated the situation in order to
maintain political stability as well as his own power, wealth and influence. He
released a fabricated said to be made by Peter the Great naming his beloved
wife Catherine Alexeyevna Romanovna as his successor. Catherine then became the
new Empress and Tsar of all Russia. She reigned for only two years as
Tsarina and Empress. Because of her humble background, she had no knowledge of
running a country. Therefore, she formed a Privy Council to rule the Empire on
her behalf. As expected, Alexander Menshikov ruled the council, hence, the real
power in the Empire rested on him. In 1727, Catherine passed away due to her
excesses, especially drinking. But before her demise, Catherine, under the
urging of Menshikov, she named the son of Alexei (the ill-fated
son of Peter the Great) – Pyotr Alexseyevich Romanov – as the next Tsar.
Fall of Menshikov and Reign of Peter II
Tsar
Peter II took the throne at a young age of eleven and state affairs once again
fell to Alexander Menshikov.
However, just months into his reign, Peter fell to the influence of Menshikov’s enemies – the Dolgorukovs, Golitsyns
and other nobles. They convinced the Emperor to investigate Menshikov for corruption. This led to the fall
of Menshikov and his disgrace. The Dolgorukovs attempted
to cement their power by marrying one of their princesses, Catherine
Alexsayevna Dolgorukaya, to the Tsar. But unexpectedly, due also to excessive
drinking, Peter II quickly got ill and contracted small pox that took away his
life. With Peter II came the end of the male line of the Romanovs.
Reign of Empress Anna
Empress Anna |
Ivan VI and the Age of Palace
Revolutions
Ivan
Antonovich Romanov became known as the baby Tsar Ivan VI. He was the son of the
niece of Empress Anna – Anna Leopoldovna. Anna Leopoldovna was the daughter of
the elder sister of Empress Anna. After Ivan VI crowned as the new Tsar, Anna
Leopoldovna became the regent for the baby Tsar.
Condition of Russia’s transformation
Russia
continued to stand still. The energy brought by the transformation and
modernization under Peter the Great evaporated under the excesses, corruption,
and inefficiency in the government. Many even attempted to reverse the policies
of Tsar Peter. For instance, the Dolgorukovs returned the capital city to
Moscow from St. Petersburg. The lack of authority and education of Peter the
Great’s successor led Russia into a state of retrogression. The dark ages
lasted even through the short reign of Ivan VI.
In 1741,
however, many of the elite felt tired of the stagnation they suffered under the
present and previous Tsars. Nobles and Palace Guards looked for a new Tsar to
lead Russia back to modernization and reform. Their Tsar came not in form of a
man but from another woman. Elizabeth Petrovna Romanovna, daughter of Peter the
Great, led the nobility and the Palace Guards into a palace revolution that
dethroned Anna Leopoldovna and her son, Ivan VI from power. Ivan VI spent the
rest of his life as an unknown prisoner in an isolated prisons in the Russian
tundra. Meanwhile, the new Tsarina and Empress of Russia, Elizabeth ruled with
the aim of following in the footsteps of his father.
Elizabeth’s Reign
Empress Elizabeth |
A Romanov
branch had married to the Holstein-Gottorp family and resulted to offspring.
Karl Peter Ulrick of Holstein-Gottorp. He came to Russia and later ruled as
Peter III. But Peter II’s character as a childish imbecile and Prussian enthusiast
led Elizabeth to bypass him in succession and make his son as his successor.
She then sent for another German princess to marry Peter and produce an heir.
Sophia
Augusta Fredericka of Anhalt-Zerbst went to Russia and became Peter’s wife and
Elizabeth’s baby maker. As she arrived, she converted to Russian Orthodoxy and
took the name Yekaterina Alexsayevna or Catherine. Peter and Catherine’s
marriage, however, proved to be a disaster. Peter had a jovial mind, playing
toy soldiers and even hanged rats in his chambers as stories said. For the
following years after their wedding, the marriage remained childless. Elizabeth
herself became anxious and allowed Catherine to take lovers to impregnate her.
Catherine found a certain officer named Sergei Saltykov to become her lover. At
the same time, Peter decided to consummate their marriage. Finally, Catherine
became pregnant, which resulted with the birth of Pavel Petrovich Romanov or
Paul. His true paternity came into question, whether his real father was Peter
or Sergei Saltykov. But later on, Paul showed distinctly similar attitude of
Peter, thus many recognized his real father.
Meanwhile,
Elizabeth’s army succeeded in the battlefield during the Seven Years’ War. The
Russian Army managed to surround Frederick II in his capital Berlin in the Christmas
of 1762. But then, Empress Elizabeth suddenly passed away, leaving the throne
to one of Frederick’s fanatic – the new Tsar, Peter III.
Short reign of Peter III and rise of Catherine the Great
Peter III
disliked Russia and remained proud and faithful to his Germanic heritage. Later
on, his German inclination proved to be his greatest pitfall. Meanwhile, his
marriage with Catherine worsen as he became Tsar. He showed his intentions to divorce
Catherine and throw her to a convent. Catherine, however, prepared herself in
confronting his husband. For years, she developed her political skills and
gained allies in the Russian court, especially when Peter III’s reign dragged
on.
Peter
III’s rule disgusted many nobles and soldiers. Peter’s admiration to Frederick
the Great led him to give back the lands conquered by Russia during the war
under Elizabeth. Generals and soldiers who fought hard for those lands felt
betrayed and resented Peter. Catherine, on the other, became an alternative for
Peter and gained influential and powerful friends and also lovers. The Orlov
brothers, commanders of the Palace Guard, sided with her and became her closest
confidants and co-conspirators of Catherine in brewing a plot to overthrow the
German loving Tsar. In 1762, sensing their moment, the Orlovs and Catherine
launched another palace revolution that deposed Peter III. In the end, the
Orlov brothers killed the childish Tsar and enthroned Catherine as the Tsarina
and Empress Catherine II.
Reign of Catherine II the Great
Catherine the Great |
Catherine,
nevertheless, faced tough challenges. Her military campaigns and support to the
nobility burdened the already impoverish serfs and peasants. As a result of
this, a pretender, claiming to be Peter III, led a rebellion in 1773. The
pretender’s true name, Yemelyan Pugachev, a Cossack army deserter, consolidated
a huge peasant army centered in the remote provinces of Siberia. It threatened
to take the ancient capital of Moscow and Catherine’s reign herself. But with
the help of one of Catherine’s lovers, Grigory Potemkin, the Pugachev rebellion
ended in 1775 with the capture and execution of Yemelyan Pugachev.
Following
the rebellion, Catherine launched a massive reform of the administrative system
and began to take on the idea of abolishing serfdom. Catherine II the Great’s
reign lasted until 1796. She wrote a will naming his grandson Alexander
Pavlovich Romanov as his successor due to the fact that she saw the same tendencies
of his husband Peter to his son Paul. Plus, Catherine and Paul had an aloof
relation because as soon as Paul born, the Empress Elizabeth raise him as her
own. And as Catherine took the throne and the facts of his mysterious father
and death of Peter surfaced, the two grew apart further. Catherine’s will never
became public and his son Paul ascended to the throne as Tsar and Emperor of
Russia.
Following
the death of Catherine the Great, the ideas of enlightenment influenced and
affected Russia to its core. The question concerning absolute rule to the
system of serfdom plagued Russia for the next century.
Explore also:
Bibligoraphy:
"Romanov Dynasty".
Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia
Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 01 Aug. 2015. http://www.britannica.com/topic/Romanov-dynasty
Bushkovitch, Paul. "Romanov
Dynasty (Russia)." Europe,
1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. 2004.
Encyclopedia.com. (August 2, 2015). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404900982.html
Hughes, Lindsey. "Succession, Law on." Encyclopedia of Russian History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com (August 2, 2015). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404101325.html
No comments:
Post a Comment