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 War (1756-63). Her domestic policies allowed the nobles to gain dominance in local government while shortening their terms of service to the state. She encouraged Lomonosov's establishment of the University of Moscow and Shuvalov's foundation of the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. She also spent exorbitant sums of money on the grandiose baroque projects of her favourite architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, particularly in Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo. The Winter Palace and the Smolny Cathedral remain the chief monuments of her reign in St Petersburg. Generally, she was one of the best loved Russian monarchs, because she didn't allow Germans in the government and not a single person was executed during her reign. Elizabeth Petrovna, as painted by Charles Van Loo (1705-65) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Elizabeth Petrovna, as painted by Charles Van Loo (1705-65) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... December 29 is the 363rd day of the year (364th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 2 days remaining. ... Events January 12 - Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. ... January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Events April 10 – Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz December 19 – Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 – Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius William Browning invents mineral water Elizabeth of Russia became czarina. ... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). ... Events May 31 - Friedrich II comes to power in Prussia upon the death of his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I. October 20 - Maria Theresia of Austria inherits the Habsburg hereditary dominions (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and present-day Belgium). ... Events April 24 - A congress assembles at Aix-la-Chapelle with the intent to conclude the struggle known as the War of Austrian Succession - at October 18 - The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle is signed to end the war Adam Smith begins to deliver public lectures in Edinburgh Building of... This article is about the 1756–1763 war. ... A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ... The name Lomonosov may refer to: Mikhail Lomonosov, a polymath and writer of Imperial Russia Lomonosov Gold Medal, an annual award given by the Russian Academy of Sciences Lomonosov, Russia, a city named for Mikhail Lomonosov (formerly Oranienbaum) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages... Moscow State University campus M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (Московский Государственный Университет имени М.В.Ломоносова, often abbreviated МГУ, MSU, MGU) is considered the oldest university in Russia, founded in 1755. ... 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... Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1700-71) was the most important baroque architect working in Russia. ... Peterhof: the Samson Fountain and Sea Channel Peterhof, (originally Piterhof, Dutch: Peters Court) is a series of palaces and gardens, laid out on the orders of Tsar Peter the Great, and sometimes called the Russian Versailles. It is located about 20 km west and 6 km south of St... Tsarskoye Selo (Царское Село in Russian, may be translated as “Tsar’s Village”), a former residence of the royal families and visiting nobility 24 km south of St. ... Located on the bank of the Neva River, the Winter Palace in St. ... The Smolny Institute is the Neoclassical edifice in St Petersburg, which has played an important part in the Russian history. ... 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...

Life before becoming Empress

Elizabeth, the youngest daughter of Peter the Great and Martha Skavronskaya, was born at Kolomenskoye, near Moscow, on the 18th of December 1709. As her parents were not married at that time, her illegitimacy would be used by political opponents to challenge her right to the throne. Peter I Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia Peter I (Pyotr Alekseyvich) (9 June 1672–8 February 1725 [30 May 1672–28 January 1725 O.S.1]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death. ... Catherine I (In Russian: Екатерина I Алексеевна) (April 15, 1683/1684–May 17, 1727) was the second wife of Russia from 1725 until her death. ... Kolomenskoye (Russian/Cyrillic: Коломенское) is a former royal estate situated several miles to the south-east of Moscow downtown, on the ancient road leading to the town of Kolomna (hence the name). ... Saint Basils Cathedral Moscow (Russian/Cyrillic: Москва́, pronunciation: Maskvá  listen), capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva, and encompassing 1097. ... Events January 12 - Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. ...

Even as a child her parts were good, if not brilliant, but unfortunately her education was both imperfect and desultory. Her father had no leisure to devote to her training, and her mother was too illiterate to superintend her studies. She had a French governess, however, and at a later day picked up some Italian, German and Swedish, and could converse in these languages with more fluency than accuracy. From her earliest years she delighted every one by her extraordinary beauty and vivacity.

It was Peter's intention to marry his second daughter to the young French king Louis XV, but the pride of the Bourbons revolted against any such alliance. Other connubial speculations foundered on the personal dislike of the princess for the various suitors proposed to her, so that on the death of her mother (May 1727) and the departure to Holstein of her beloved sister Anne, her only remaining near relation, the princess found herself at the age of eighteen practically her own mistress. Louis XV King of France and Navarre Louis XV (February 15, 1710 - May 10, 1774), called the Well-Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé), was king of France from 1715 to 1774. ... This article or section should include material from France: Wars of Religion _ Bourbon Dynasty The House of Bourbon dates from at least the beginning of the 13th century, when the estate of Bourbon was ruled by a Lord, vassal of France. ... For other uses of the word, see Holstein Holstein (Hol-shtayn) is the southern part of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, between the rivers Elbe, Eider and the Schlei firth. ...

So long as Menshikov remained in power, she was treated with liberality and distinction by the government of her adolescent nephew Peter II, who was rumoured to be her lover. The Dolgorukovs, who supplanted Menshikov and hated the memory of Peter the Great, practically banished Peter's daughter from court. Elizabeth had inherited her fathers sensual temperament and, being free from all control, abandoned herself to her appetites without reserve. Menshikov in Exile Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov (Александр Данилович Меншиков) (1673 – 1729) was a Russian statesman, whose official titles included Generalissimo, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire and Duke of Izhora. ... Peter II (Пётр II Алексеевич in Russian) (October 23, 1715–January 29, 1730) was Emperor of Russia from 1727 until his death. ...

While still in her teens, she made a lover of Alexis Shubin, a sergeant in the Semyonovsky Guards regiment, and after his banishment to Siberia, minus his tongue, by order of the empress Anne, consoled herself with a handsome young Cossack, Alexis Razumovski, who, there is good reason to believe, subsequently became her husband. Siberian federal subjects of Russia Siberia ( Russian: Сиби́рь, common English transliterations: Sibir, Sibir; possibly from the Mongolian for the calm land) is a vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan constituting almost all of northern Asia. ... The crown of Anna Ioannovna Anna Ivanovna (In Russian: Анна Ивановна) (February 7, 1693 - October 28, 1740) reigned as Duchess of Courland from 1711 to 1730 and as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. ... The Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of Turkey. ... Count A. G. Razumovsky Count Alexei Grigorevich Razumovsky (Алексей Григорьевич Разумовский) (1709–1771), was a Ukrainian Cossack who rose to become lover and, probably, a secret spouse of the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. ...

Palace Revolution of 1741

During the reign of her cousin Anne (1730-40), Elizabeth effaced herself as much as possible; but under the regency of Anna Leopoldovna the course of events compelled the indolent but by no means incapable beauty to overthrow the existing government. The idea seems to have been first suggested to her by the French ambassador, La Chetardie, who was plotting to destroy the Austrian influence then dominant at the Russian court. It is a mistake to suppose, however, that La Chetardie took a leading part in the revolution which placed the daughter of Peter the Great on the Russian throne. As a matter of fact, beyond lending the tsesarevna 2000 ducats, instead of the 15,000 she demanded of him, he took no part whatever in the actual coup d'etat which was as great a surprise to him as to every one else. The merit and glory of that singular affair belong to Elizabeth alone. The fear of being imprisoned in a convent for the rest of her life was the determining cause of her irresistible outburst of energy. 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. ... Tsar, (Bulgarian цар�, Russian царь; often spelled Czar or Tzar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to 1917. ... 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. ... This article is about an abbey as a religious building. ...

The portrait of Elizabeth as Venus, painted in the 1710s for the Grand Peterhof Palace

At midnight on the 6th of December 1741, with a few personal friends, including her physician, Armand Lestocq, her chamberlain, Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov, her future husband, Alexius Razumovski, and Alexander and Peter Shuvalov, two of the gentlemen of her household, she drove to the barracks of the Preobrazhensky Guards regiment, enlisted their sympathies by a stirring speech, and led them to the Winter Palace, where the regent was reposing in absolute security. Having on the way thither had all the ministers arrested, she seized the regent and her children in their beds, and summoned all the notables, civil and ecclesiastical, to her presence. So swiftly and noiselessly indeed had the whole revolution proceeded that as late as eight o'clock the next morning very few people in the city were aware of it. Elizabeth Petrovna as Venus, painted when she was a child This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Elizabeth Petrovna as Venus, painted when she was a child This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Venus is the Roman goddess of love, equivalent to Greek Aphrodite and Etruscan Turan. ... Peterhof: the Samson Fountain and Sea Channel Peterhof, (originally Piterhof, Dutch: Peters Court) is a series of palaces and gardens, laid out on the orders of Tsar Peter the Great, and sometimes called the Russian Versailles. It is located about 20 km west and 6 km south of St... Events April 10 – Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz December 19 – Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 – Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius William Browning invents mineral water Elizabeth of Russia became czarina. ... Count Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov (Михаи́л Илларио́нович Воронцо́в) (1714 - 1767) was a Russian statesman and diplomat. ... Count Pyotr Ivanovich Shuvalov (Петр Иванович Шувалов in Russian) (1711 - 1762) was a Russian statesman and Field Marshal. ... Located on the bank of the Neva River, the Winter Palace in St. ...

Thus, at the age of three-and-thirty, this naturally indolent and self-indulgent woman, with little knowledge and no experience of affairs, suddenly found herself at the head of a great empire at one of the most critical periods of its existence. Fortunately for herself, and for Russia, Elizabeth Petrovna, with all her shortcomings, had inherited some of her father's genius for government. Her usually keen judgment and her diplomatic tact again and again recall Peter the Great. What in her sometimes seemed irresolution and procrastination, was, most often, a wise suspense of judgment under exceptionally difficult circumstances; and to this may be added that she was ever ready to sacrifice the prejudices of the woman to the duty of the sovereign.

Bestuzhev's policies

After abolishing the cabinet council system in favor during the rule of the two Annes, and reconstituting the senate as it had been under Peter the Great, with the chiefs of the departments of state, none of them Germans as used to be, the first care of the new empress was to compose her quarrel with Sweden. On the 23rd of January 1743, direct negotiations between the two powers were opened at Abo, and on the 7th of August 1743 Sweden ceded to Russia all the southern part of Finland east of the river Kymmene, which thus became the boundary between the two states, including the fortresses of Villmanstrand and Fredricshamn. A senate is a deliberative body, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature. ... Events February 14 - Henry Pelham becomes British Prime Minister February 21 - - The premiere in London of George Frideric Handels oratorio, Samson. ... Abo redirects here. ...

This triumphant issue was mainly due to the diplomatic ability of the new vice chancellor, Aleksey Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin, whom Elizabeth, much as she disliked him personally, had wisely placed at the head of foreign affairs immediately after her accession. He represented the anti-Franco-Prussian portion of her council, and his object was to bring about an Anglo-Austro-Russian alliance which, at that time, was undoubtedly Russia's proper system. Hence the reiterated attempts of Frederick the Great and Louis XV to get rid of Bestuzhev, which made the Russian court during the earlier years of Elizabeths reign the centre of a tangle of intrigue impossible to unravel by those who do not possess the clue to it. Count Aleksei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin (Алексе́й Петро́вич Бесту́жев-Рю́мин) (1693 - 1768), Grand Chancellor of Russia, who was chiefly responsible for the Russian foreign policy during the reign of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. ... Frederick the Great Frederick II of Prussia (Friedrich der Große, Frederick the Great, January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was the Hohenzollern king of Prussia 1740–86. ... Louis XV King of France and Navarre Louis XV (February 15, 1710 - May 10, 1774), called the Well-Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé), was king of France from 1715 to 1774. ...

Ultimately, however, the minister, strong in the support of Elizabeth, prevailed, and his faultless diplomacy, backed by the despatch of an auxiliary Russian corps of 30,000 men to the Rhine, greatly accelerated the peace negotiations which led to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (October 18, 1748). By sheer tenacity of purpose, Bestuzhev had extricated his country from the Swedish imbroglio; reconciled his imperial mistress with the courts of Vienna and London, her natural allies; enabled Russia to assert herself effectually in Poland, Turkey and Sweden, and isolated the restless king of Prussia by environing him with hostile alliances. But all this would have been impossible but for the steady support of Elizabeth, who trusted him implicitly, despite the insinuations of the chancellor's innumerable enemies, most of whom were her personal friends. The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1,320 km Elevation of the source Vorderrhein: approx. ... There were two Treaties of Aix-la-Chapelle. ... Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austrias nine federal states (Bundesland Wien). ... Greater London and the Regions of England. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of Russia and...

Seven Years' War

The great event of Elizabeth's later years was the Seven Years War. Elizabeth rightly regarded the treaty of Westminster (January 16, 1756), whereby Great Britain and Prussia agreed to unite their forces to oppose the entry into, or the passage through, Germany of the troops of every foreign power) as utterly subversive of the previous conventions between Great Britain and Russia. A by no means unwarrantable fear of the king of Prussia, who was to be reduced within proper limits, so that he might be no longer a danger to the empire, induced Elizabeth to accede to the treaty of Versailles, in other words the Franco-Austrian league against Prussia, and on the 17th of May 1757 the Russian army, 85,000 strong, advanced against Konigsberg. This article is about the 1756–1763 war. ... Locator map on an international level map of Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad (Russian: Калининград), seaport city, capital and main city of the Kaliningrad Oblast, a small Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania with access to the Baltic Sea. ...

Neither the serious illness of the empress, which began with a fainting-fit at Tsarskoe Selo (September 19, 1757), nor the fall of Bestuzhev (February 21, 1758), nor the cabals and intrigues of the various foreign powers at St Petersburg, interfered with the progress of the war, and the crushing defeat of Kunersdorf (August 12, 1759) at last brought Frederick to the verge of ruin. From that day forth he despaired of success, though he was saved for the moment by the jealousies of the Russian and Austrian commanders, which ruined the military plans of the allies. Tsarskoye Selo (Царское Село in Russian, may be translated as “Tsar’s Village”), a former residence of the royal families and visiting nobility 24 km south of St. ... 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... The battle of Kunersdorf was fought on August 23, 1759 during the Seven Years War near Kunersdorf, east of Frankfurt an der Oder. ...

On the other hand, it is not too much to say that, from the end of 1759 to the end of 1761, the unshakable firmness of the Russian empress was the one constraining political force which held together the heterogeneous, incessantly jarring elements of the anti-Prussian combination. From the Russian point of view, Elizabeth's greatness as a statesman consists in her steady appreciation of Russian interests, and her determination to promote them at all hazards. She insisted throughout that the king of Prussia must be rendered harmless to his neighbors for the future, and that the only way to bring this about was to reduce him to the rank of an elector. An elector can be: In the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, the collegiate of seven Electors (eight since 1648) (Kurfürsten) consisted of those lay or clerical princes who had the right to vote in the election of the king or Holy Roman Emperor; see prince-elector. ...

Elizaveta Petrovna in Tsarskoe Selo (1905), painting by Eugene Lanceret, now in the Tretyakov Gallery

Frederick himself was quite alive to his danger. "I'm at the end of my resources", he wrote at the beginning of 1760, "the continuance of this war means for me utter ruin. Things may drag on perhaps till July, but then a catastrophe must come." On the 21st of May 1760 a fresh convention was signed between Russia and Austria, a secret clause of which, never communicated to the court of Versailles, guaranteed East Prussia to Russia, as an indemnity for war expenses. The failure of the campaign of 1760, so far as Russia and France were concerned, induced the court of Versailles, on the evening of the 22nd of January 1761, to present to the court of St Petersburg a despatch to the effect that the king of France by reason of the condition of his dominions absolutely desired peace. The Russian empresss reply was delivered to the two ambassadors on the 12th of February. It was inspired by the most uncompromising hostility towards the king of Prussia. Elizabeth would not consent to any pacific overtures until the original object of the league had been accomplished. Elizaveta Petrovna in Tsarskoe Selo, 1905. ... Elizaveta Petrovna in Tsarskoe Selo, 1905. ... Tsarskoye Selo (Царское Село in Russian, may be translated as “Tsar’s Village”), a former residence of the royal families and visiting nobility 24 km south of St. ... Portrait of Pavel Tretyakov (1883) The State Tretyakov Gallery is the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world. ... Versailles, formerly the capital city of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important administrative and judicial center. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ...

Simultaneously, Elizabeth caused to be conveyed to Louis XV a confidential letter in which she proposed the signature of a new treaty of alliance of a more comprehensive and explicit nature than the preceding treaties between the two powers, without the knowledge of Austria. Elizabeth's object in this mysterious negotiation seems to have been to reconcile France and Great Britain, in return for which signal service France was to throw all her forces into the German war. This project, which lacked neither ability nor audacity, foundered upon Louis XV's invincible jealousy of the growth of Russian influence in eastern Europe and his fear of offending the Porte. It was finally arranged by the allies that their envoys at Paris should fix the date for the assembling of a peace congress, and that, in the meantime, the war against Prussia should be vigorously prosecuted. Synonym of the government of the Ottoman Empire often confusing the Sublime Porte and the High Porte. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

The campaign of 1761 was almost as abortive as the campaign of 1760. Frederick acted on the defensive with consummate skill, and the capture of the Prussian fortress of Kolberg on Christmas day 1761, by Rumyantsev, was the sole Russian success. Frederick, however, was now at the last gasp. On the 6th of January 1762, he wrote to Finkenstein, "We ought now to think of preserving for my nephew, by way of negotiation, whatever fragments of my territory we can save from the avidity of my enemies", which means, if words mean anything, that he was resolved to seek a soldier's death on the first opportunity. A fortnight later he wrote to Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, "The sky begins to clear. Courage, my dear fellow. I have received the news of a great event." The great event which snatched him from destruction was the death of the Russian empress (January 5, 1762). Kolberg is the German name for the Polish town of Kołobrzeg. ...

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica ( 1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

Ivan VI of Russia, (August 23, 1740 - July 16, 1764), reigned as Emperor of Russia 1740 - 1741, was the son of Prince Antony Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg and of the princess Anna Leopoldovna of Mecklenburg. ... At different times, a ruler in Ruthenia/Kievan Rus/Muscovy/early Russia/Imperial Russia bore the title of Kniaz (translated as Duke or Prince), Velikiy Kniaz (translated as Grand Duke, Grand Prince or Great Prince), Tsar, Emperor. ... December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events April 10 – Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz December 19 – Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 – Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius William Browning invents mineral water Elizabeth of Russia became czarina. ... January 5 is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Peter III (February 21, 1728 - July 17, 1762) (Russian Пётр III Федорович (Pyotr III Fyodorovitch)) was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. ...