Count Jean Armand de L'Estocq (German: Johann Hermann Lestocq, Russian: Иван Иванович Лесток, 29 April 1692, Luneburg — 12 June 1767, Saint Petersburg) was a French adventurer who wielded immense influence on the foreign policy of Russia during the early reign of Empress Elizabeth. April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). ... Events February 13 - Massacre of Glencoe March 1 - The Salem witch trials begin in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony with the charging of three women with witchcraft. ... Map of Germany showing Lüneburg Lüneburg is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, about 50km southeast of Hamburg. ... June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... 1767 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... H.I.M. Yelizaveta Petrovna, Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias (1709-62) Yelizaveta (Yelisavet) Petrovna (Елизаве́та (Елисаве́т) Петро́вна) (December 29, 1709 - January 5, 1762), also known as Elizabeth, was an Empress of Russia (1741 - 1762) who took the country into the War of Austrian succession (1740 - 1748) and the Seven Years...

Coming from a noble family of Champagne, as a youth he was committed to prison for a petty offense. Liberated on the urging of the Duchess d'Orleans, he in 1709 arrived to Saint Petersburg in the capacity of a court physician. He was well regarded by Empress Catherine until 1720, when her husband had him exiled to Kazan for having seduced a jester's daughter. Upon the Emperor's death, Catherine summoned her favourite physician to the Russian capital, where his light-hearted character made him friends with her daughter Elizaveta Petrovna, who he reportedly cured of syphilis. Champagne is one of the traditional provinces of France, a region of France that is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the regions name. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... Physician examining a child A physician is a person who practices medicine. ... H.I.M. Ekaterina I, Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias Catherine I (In Russian: Екатерина I Алексеевна) (April 15, 1683/1684 – May 17, 1727), the second wife of Peter the Great, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death. ... Portrait of Peter by Paul Delaroche Peter I (Russian: Пётр I Алексеевич or Pyotr I Alexeyevich) (Peter Alexeyevich Romanov) (9 June 1672–8 February 1725 [30 May 1672– 28 January 1725 O.S.] )Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death. ... Kazan (Tatar Qazan, Казан; Russian Казань) is the capital city of Tatarstan and one of Russias largest cities. ... Empress Elizaveta Petrovna (1709-62) Yelizaveta Petrovna (Елизаве́та Петро́вна) (December 29, 1709 - January 5, 1762) was an Empress of Russia (1741 - 1762) who took the country into the War of Austrian succession (1740 - 1748) and the Seven Years War (1756-63). ... Syphilis (historically called lues) is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by a spirochaete bacterium, Treponema pallidum. ...

More than anyone else, Lestocq helped prepare the 1741 coup d'etat which brought Elizaveta to the throne. He shaped Elizaveta's actions according to the advices of the French ambassador Marquis de La Chétardie and the Swedish ambassador, who were particularly interested in toppling the regime of Anna Leopoldovna, as France sought to counterbalance the Austrian influence at the Russian court and Sweden waged a war against Russia at that time. // Events April 10 - Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz August 10 - Raja of Travancore defeats Dutch East India Company naval expedition at Battle of Colachel December 19 - Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 - Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... Anna Leopoldovna (А́нна Леопо́льдовна) (1718 - 18 March 1746), also known as Anna Karlovna (А́нна Ка́рловна), regent of Russia for a few months (1740 - 1741) during the minority of her baby son Ivan, was the daughter of Catherine (sister of the empress Anne) and of Charles Leopold, duke of Mecklenburg_Schwerin. ... Gustav IIIs Russian War, also known as the Russo-Swedish War, was fought between Sweden and Russia from June 1788 to August 1790. ...

After Elizaveta's coronation, Lestocq and La Chetardie attempted to monopolize the state power. The physician received a pension of 15,000 livres from the king of France and sought to influence the Russian foreign policy accordingly. Another beneficiary from Lestocq's intrigues was the king of Prussia, who even persuaded Emperor Charles VII to make him an imperial count. In 1743, Lestocq forged the so-called Lopukhina Conspiracy in order to bring about the downfall of the Chancellor Aleksey Bestuzhev. It was he who suggested Sophie Augusta Fredericka of Anhalt-Zerbst, a Prussian protégé, as the bride for the heir apparent. Flag of Prussia (1894 - 1918) The Kingdom of Prussia existed from 1701 until 1918, and from 1871 was the leading kingdom of the German Empire, comprising in its last form almost two-thirds of the area of the Empire. ... Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII Emperor Charles VII Albert (Brussels August 6, 1697 – January 20, 1745 in Munich), a member of the Wittelsbach family, was Holy Roman Emperor from January 24, 1742 until his death in 1745. ... Coat of arms of the Lopukhin family. ...

In 1745 Bestuzhev, still in power, succeeded in intercepting Lestocq's correspondence with La Chetardie, which resulted in the latter being banished from Russia. Three years later Lestocq, who continued to intrigue against Bestuzhev, was accused of plotting to dethrone Elizaveta in favor of the philo-Prussian heir to the throne. He was put to the torture in the Secret Chancellery and sentenced to death. The Empress interfered and had him expelled first to Uglich and then to Veliky Ustyug. It was not until her death that Lestocq was restored to his estates and was allowed to return to the Russian capital. // Events May 11 - War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy - At Fontenoy, French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army including the Black Watch June 4 – Frederick the Great destroys Austrian army at Hohenfriedberg August 19 - Beginning of the 45 Jacobite Rising at Glenfinnan September 12 - Francis I is elected... Portrait of Peter III by an uknown artist Peter III (February 21, 1728 - July 17, 1762) (Russian Пётр III Федорович (Pyotr III Fyodorovitch)) was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. ... Transfiguration cathedral in the kremlin Uglich (Russian: У́глич, pronounced ooglitch) is a historic town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, on the Volga River. ... Velikiy Ustyug, or Veliki Ustyug (Великий Устюг in Russian) is a city in the Vologda Oblast in Russia. ...

References

• This article is based on the materials from the public domain 1906 Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary.