Born on December 23, 1777. From early childhood, he began to live with his grandmother, who wanted to raise him to be a good sovereign. After Catherine's death, Paul ascended the throne. The future emperor had many positive traits character. Alexander was dissatisfied with his father's rule and conspired against Paul. On March 11, 1801, the Tsar was killed, and Alexander began to rule. Upon ascending the throne, Alexander 1st promised to follow the political course of Catherine 2nd.
1st stage of transformation
The beginning of the reign of Alexander 1st was marked by reforms; he wanted to change the political system of Russia, create a constitution that guaranteed rights and freedom to everyone. But Alexander had many opponents. On April 5, 1801, the Permanent Council was created, whose members could challenge the tsar's decrees. Alexander wanted to free the peasants, but many opposed this. Nevertheless, on February 20, 1803, a decree on free cultivators was issued. This is how the category of free peasants appeared in Russia for the first time.
Alexander carried out an education reform, the essence of which was the creation of a state system, the head of which was the Ministry of Public Education. In addition, administrative reform was carried out (reform of the highest government bodies) - 8 ministries were established: foreign affairs, internal affairs, finance, military ground forces, naval forces, justice, commerce and public education. The new governing bodies had sole power. Each separate department was controlled by a minister, each minister was subordinate to the Senate.
2nd stage of reforms
Alexander introduced M.M. into his circle. Speransky, who was entrusted with the development of a new government reform. According to Speransky's project, it is necessary to create a constitutional monarchy in Russia, in which the power of the sovereign would be limited to a bicameral parliamentary body. The implementation of this plan began in 1809. By the summer of 1811, the transformation of the ministries was completed. But due to foreign policy In Russia (tensed relations with France), Speransky’s reforms were perceived as anti-state, and in March 1812 he was dismissed.
The threat from France was looming. June 12, 1812 began. After the expulsion of Napoleon's troops, the authority of Alexander I strengthened.
Post-war reforms
In 1817-1818 People close to the emperor were engaged in the gradual elimination of serfdom. By the end of 1820, a draft of the State Charter was prepared Russian Empire, approved by Alexander, but it was not possible to introduce it.
Feature domestic policy Alexander the 1st introduced a police regime and created military settlements, which later became known as “Arakcheevshchina.” Such measures caused discontent among the broad masses of the population. In 1817, the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs and Public Education was created, headed by A.N. Golitsyn. In 1822, Emperor Alexander I banned secret societies in Russia, including Freemasonry.
Name: Alexander I (Alexander Pavlovich Romanov)
Age: 47 years old
Activity: Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia
Family status: was married
Alexander I: biography
Emperor Alexander I Pavlovich, sometimes mistakenly called Tsar Alexander I, ascended the throne in 1801 and ruled for almost a quarter of a century. Russia under Alexander I fought successful wars against Turkey, Persia and Sweden, and was later drawn into the War of 1812 when Napoleon attacked the country. During the reign of Alexander I, the territory expanded due to the annexation of Eastern Georgia, Finland, Bessarabia and part of Poland. For all the transformations introduced by Alexander I, he was called Alexander the Blessed.
Power today The biography of Alexander I was initially supposed to be outstanding. Not only was he the eldest son of the emperor and his wife Maria Feodorovna, but his grandmother doted on her grandson. It was she who gave the boy a sonorous name in honor and, in the hope that Alexander would create history following the example of his legendary namesakes. It is worth noting that the name itself was unusual for the Romanovs, and only after the reign of Alexander I it firmly entered the family nomenclature.
Arguments and Facts The personality of Alexander I was formed under the tireless supervision of Catherine the Great. The fact is that the empress initially considered the son of Paul I incapable of taking the throne and wanted to crown her grandson “over the head” of his father. The grandmother tried to ensure that the boy had almost no contact with his parents, however, Pavel had influence on his son and he adopted from him a love for military science. The young heir grew up affectionate, smart, easily absorbed new knowledge, but at the same time he was very lazy and proud, which is why Alexander I was unable to learn to concentrate on painstaking and lengthy work.
Wikiwand Contemporaries of Alexander I noted that he had a very lively mind, incredible insight and was easily attracted to everything new. But since he was actively influenced from childhood by two opposing natures, his grandmother and his father, the child was forced to learn to please absolutely everyone, which became the main characteristic of Alexander I. Even Napoleon called him an “actor” in in a good way, and Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin wrote about Emperor Alexander “in the face and life of a harlequin.”
Runiverse Passionate about military affairs, the future Emperor Alexander I served in the Gatchina troops, which his father personally formed. The service resulted in deafness in the left ear, but this did not prevent Paul I from promoting his son to colonel of the guard when he was only 19 years old. A year later, the ruler’s son became the military governor of St. Petersburg and headed the Semenovsky Guards Regiment, then Alexander I briefly presided over the military parliament, after which he began to sit in the Senate.
Reign of Alexander I
Emperor Alexander I ascended the throne immediately after the violent death of his father. A number of facts confirm that he was aware of the plans of the conspirators to overthrow Paul I, although he may not have suspected the regicide. It was the new head of the Russian Empire who announced the “apoplectic stroke” that struck his father, literally a few minutes after his death. In September 1801, Alexander I was crowned.
Ascension of Emperor Alexander to the throne | Runiverse The very first decrees of Alexander I showed that he intended to eradicate judicial arbitrariness in the state and introduce strict legality. Today it seems incredible, but at that time there were practically no strict fundamental laws in Russia. Together with his closest associates, the emperor formed a secret committee with which he discussed all plans for state transformation. This community was called the Committee of Public Safety, and is also known as the Social Movement of Alexander I.
Reforms of Alexander I
Immediately after Alexander I came to power, the transformations became visible to the naked eye. His reign is usually divided into two parts: at first, the reforms of Alexander I occupied all his time and thoughts, but after 1815, the emperor became disillusioned with them and began a reactionary movement, that is, on the contrary, he squeezed people in a vice. One of the most important reforms was the creation of the “Indispensable Council”, which was later transformed into State Council with several departments. The next step is the creation of ministries. If previously decisions on any issues were made by a majority vote, now a separate minister was responsible for each industry, who regularly reported to the head of state.
Reformer Alexander I | Russian history The reforms of Alexander I also affected the peasant issue, at least on paper. The emperor thought about abolishing serfdom, but wanted to do it gradually, and could not determine the steps of such a slow liberation. As a result, the decrees of Alexander I on “free cultivators” and the ban on selling peasants without the land on which they live turned out to be a drop in the bucket. But Alexander’s transformations in the field of education became more significant. By his order, a clear gradation was created educational institutions by level of educational program: parish and district schools, provincial schools and gymnasiums, universities. Thanks to the activities of Alexander I, the Academy of Sciences was restored in St. Petersburg, the famous Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum was created and five new universities were founded.
Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum founded by Emperor Alexander I | All-Russian Museum of A.S. Pushkin But the sovereign’s naive plans for the rapid transformation of the country encountered opposition from the nobles. He could not quickly implement his reforms because of fear palace coup, plus they occupied the attention of Alexander 1 during the war. Therefore, despite good intentions and the desire to carry out reforms, the emperor was unable to realize all his desires. In fact, besides educational and government reform, the only thing of interest is the Constitution of Poland, which the ruler’s associates considered as a prototype for the future Constitution of the entire Russian Empire. But the turn of Alexander I’s domestic policy towards reaction buried all the hopes of the liberal nobility.
Politics of Alexander I
The starting point for a change of opinion about the need for reform was the war with Napoleon. The Emperor realized that in the conditions that he wanted to create, rapid mobilization of the army was impossible. Therefore, Emperor Alexander 1 shifted his policy from liberal ideas to the interests of state security. A new reform is being developed, which has proven to be the most successful: military reforms.
Portrait of Alexander I | Runiverse With the help of the Minister of War, a project for a completely new type of life is being created - a military settlement, which represented a new class. Without particularly burdening the country's budget, it was intended to maintain and staff a standing army at wartime levels. The growth in the number of such military districts continued throughout the years of the reign of Alexander I. Moreover, they were preserved under his successor Nicholas I and were abolished only by the emperor.
Wars of Alexander I
Actually foreign policy Alexander I was reduced to a series of constant wars, thanks to which the territory of the country increased significantly. After the end of the war with Persia, Alexander I's Russia gained military control of the Caspian Sea, and also expanded its possessions by annexing Georgia. After Russian-Turkish war The Empire's possessions were replenished by Bessarabia and all the states of Transcaucasia, and after the conflict with Sweden - by Finland. In addition, Alexander I fought with England, Austria and began Caucasian war, which did not end during his lifetime.
Portrait of Alexander I | Day Russia's main military adversary under Emperor Alexander I was France. Their first armed conflict occurred back in 1805, which, despite periodic peace agreements, constantly flared up again. Finally, inspired by his fantastic victories, Napoleon Bonaparte sent troops into Russian territory. The Patriotic War of 1812 began. After the victory, Alexander I entered into an alliance with England, Prussia and Austria and made a series of foreign campaigns, during which he defeated Napoleon’s army and forced him to abdicate the throne. After this, the Kingdom of Poland also went to Russia.
When the French army entered the territory Russian Empire, Alexander I declared himself commander-in-chief and forbade peace negotiations until at least one enemy soldier remained on Russian soil. But the numerical advantage of Napoleon's army was so great that Russian troops constantly retreated into the interior of the country. Soon the emperor agrees that his presence is disturbing the military leaders, and leaves for St. Petersburg. Mikhail Kutuzov, who was highly respected by soldiers and officers, became the commander-in-chief, but most importantly, this man had already proven himself to be an excellent strategist.
Painting "Kutuzov on the Borodino Field", 1952. Artist S. Gerasimov | Mind mapping And in the Patriotic War of 1812, Kutuzov again showed his keen mind as a military tactician. He planned a decisive battle near the village of Borodino and positioned the army so successfully that it was covered from two flanks natural relief, and the commander-in-chief placed artillery in the center. The battle was desperate and bloody, with huge losses on both sides. The Battle of Borodino is considered a historical paradox: both armies declared victory in the battle.
Painting "Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow", 1851. Artist Adolph Northern | Chrontime To keep his troops in combat readiness, Mikhail Kutuzov decides to leave Moscow. The result was the burning of the former capital and its occupation by the French, but Napoleon's victory in this case turned out to be Pirova. In order to feed his army, he was forced to move to Kaluga, where Kutuzov had already concentrated his forces and did not allow the enemy to go further. Moreover, effective blows were delivered to the invaders partisan detachments. Deprived of food and unprepared for the Russian winter, the French began to retreat. The final battle near the Berezina River put an end to the defeat, and Alexander I issued a Manifesto on the victorious end of the Patriotic War.
Personal life
In his youth, Alexander was very friendly with his sister Ekaterina Pavlovna. Some sources even hinted at a relationship closer than just brotherly and sisterly. But these speculations are very unlikely, since Catherine was 11 years younger, and at the age of 16, Alexander I had already connected his personal life with his wife. He married a German woman, Louise Maria Augusta, who, after converting to Orthodoxy, became Elizaveta Alekseevna. They had two daughters, Maria and Elizabeth, but both died at the age of one, so it was not the children of Alexander I who became the heir to the throne, but his younger brother Nicholas I.
TVNZ Due to the fact that his wife was unable to give him a son, the relationship between the emperor and his wife cooled greatly. He practically did not hide his love relationship on the side. At first, Alexander I cohabited for almost 15 years with Maria Naryshkina, the wife of Chief Jägermeister Dmitry Naryshkin, whom all the courtiers called “an exemplary cuckold” to his face. Maria gave birth to six children, and the paternity of five of them is usually attributed to Alexander. However, most of these children died in infancy. Alexander I also had an affair with the daughter of the court banker Sophie Velho and with Sofia Vsevolozhskaya, who gave birth to an illegitimate son from him, Nikolai Lukash, a general and war hero.
Wikipedia In 1812, Alexander I became interested in reading the Bible, although before that he was basically indifferent to religion. But he, like his best friend Alexander Golitsyn, was not satisfied with the framework of Orthodoxy alone. The emperor was in correspondence with Protestant preachers, studied mysticism and various movements Christian faith and sought to unite all faiths in the name of “universal truth.” Russia under Alexander I became more tolerant than ever before. Official church was outraged by such a turn and began a secret behind-the-scenes struggle against like-minded people of the emperor, including Golitsyn. Victory remained with the church, which did not want to lose power over the people.
Emperor Alexander I died in early December 1825 in Taganrog, during another trip that he loved very much. The official cause of death of Alexander I was fever and inflammation of the brain. The sudden death of the ruler caused a wave of rumors, spurred by the fact that shortly before, Emperor Alexander drew up a manifesto in which he transferred the right of succession to the throne to his younger brother Nikolai Pavlovich.
Death of Emperor Alexander I | Russian Historical Library People began to say that the emperor falsified his death and became the hermit Fyodor Kuzmich. This legend was very popular during the lifetime of this truly existing old man, and in the 19th century it received additional argumentation. The fact is that it was possible to compare the handwriting of Alexander I and Fyodor Kuzmich, which turned out to be almost identical. Moreover, today genetic scientists have a real project to compare the DNA of these two people, but so far this examination has not been carried out.
8 Literature
1. Introduction
2 Birth and name
3 Childhood, education and upbringing
4 Accession to the throne
5 Personality
6 The last years of the reign of Alexander I
Introduction
By chance, I came across a work on the personality of Alexander I. In this work I will give the main biographical events from the life of the emperor, short description his political influence, and I will dwell in detail on the personality of Alexander Pavlovich.
Alexander I Pavlovich Blessed(December 12 (23), 1777, St. Petersburg - November 19 (December 1), 1825, Taganrog) - Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia (from March 12 (24), 1801), Protector of the Order of Malta (from 1801), Grand Duke of Finland (from 1809) , Tsar of Poland (since 1815), eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Maria Feodorovna.
At the beginning of his reign, he carried out moderately liberal reforms developed by the Secret Committee and M. M. Speransky. In foreign policy he maneuvered between Great Britain and France. In 1805-1807 participated in anti-French coalitions. In 1807-1812. temporarily became closer to France. He waged successful wars with Turkey (1806-1812), Persia (1804-1813) and Sweden (1808-1809). Under Alexander I, the territories of Eastern Georgia (1801), Finland (1809), Bessarabia (1812), and the former Duchy of Warsaw (1815) were annexed to Russia. After the Patriotic War of 1812, he headed in 1813-1814. anti-French coalition of European powers. He was one of the leaders of the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815 and the organizers of the Holy Alliance.
Alexander I was a complex and contradictory personality. With all the variety of reviews from contemporaries about Alexander, they all agree on one thing - the recognition of insincerity and secrecy as the main character traits of the emperor. IN last years In his life he often spoke of his intention to abdicate the throne and “remove himself from the world,” which, after his unexpected death from typhoid fever in Taganrog, gave birth to the legend of “elder Fyodor Kuzmich.”
Birth and name
Catherine II named one of her grandchildren Konstantin in honor of Constantine the Great, the other - Alexander in honor of Alexander Nevsky. This choice of names expressed the hope that Constantine would liberate Constantinople from the Turks, and the newly-minted Alexander the Great would become the sovereign of the new empire. She wanted to see Constantine on the throne of the Greek Empire that was supposed to be recreated.
“By this very choice of name, Catherine predicted a great future for her grandson and prepared him for a royal vocation, which, in her opinion, should have been facilitated, first of all, by a militarized upbringing oriented towards ancient models.” The name “Alexander” was not typical for the Romanovs; before that, the early deceased son of Peter the Great had been baptized this way only once. However, after Alexander I, it became firmly established in the Romanov nomenclature.
Childhood, education and upbringing
Grew up in the intellectual court of Catherine the Great; teacher - Swiss Jacobin Frederic Cesar Laharpe. In accordance with his convictions, he preached the power of reason, the equality of people, the absurdity of despotism, and the vileness of slavery. His influence on Alexander I was enormous. Military teacher Nikolai Saltykov - with the traditions of the Russian aristocracy, his father passed on to him his passion for military parade and taught him to combine spiritual love for humanity with practical concern for his neighbor. Catherine II adored her grandson and predicted, bypassing Paul, to be the heir to the throne. From her, the future emperor inherited flexibility of mind, the ability to seduce his interlocutor, and a passion for acting bordering on duplicity. In this, Alexander almost surpassed Catherine II. “A real seducer,” M.M. wrote about him. Speransky.
The need to maneuver between the “big court” of Catherine II in St. Petersburg and the “small” court of Father Pavel Petrovich in Gatchina taught Alexander to “live on two minds” and developed distrust and caution in him. Possessing an extraordinary mind, refined manners, and, according to his contemporaries, “an innate gift of courtesy,” he was distinguished by his masterly ability to win over people of different views and beliefs.
In 1793, Alexander married Louise Maria Augusta of Baden (who took the name Elizaveta Alekseevna in Orthodoxy) (1779–1826).
For some time he served in the Gatchina troops formed by his father; here he developed deafness in his left ear “from the strong roar of cannons.” On November 7, 1796, he was promoted to colonel of the guard.
In 1797, Alexander was the St. Petersburg military governor, chief of the Semenovsky Guards Regiment, commander of the capital division, chairman of the food supply commission and performed a number of other duties. Since 1798, he, in addition, presided over the military parliament, and starting the next year, sat in the Senate.
Accession to the throne
At half past two on the night of March 12, 1801, Count P. A. Palen informed Alexander about the murder of his father. According to legend, Alexander I, who demanded that Paul’s life be spared, fell into frustration, to which Count Palen told him: “Stop being childish, go reign!”
Already in the manifesto of March 12, 1801, the new emperor committed himself to governing the people " according to the laws and according to the heart of the late august grandmother of our Empress Catherine the Great" In decrees, as well as in private conversations, the emperor expressed the basic rule that would guide him: to actively introduce strict legality in place of personal arbitrariness. The Emperor more than once pointed out the main drawback that plagued the Russian state order. He called this shortcoming " the arbitrariness of our rule" To eliminate it, it was necessary to develop fundamental laws, which almost did not exist in Russia. It was in this direction that the transformative experiments of the first years were carried out.
Within a month, Alexander returned to the service all those previously dismissed by Paul, lifted the ban on the import of various goods and products into Russia (including books and musical notes), declared an amnesty for fugitives, restored noble elections, etc. On April 2, he restored the validity of the Charter nobility and cities, liquidated the secret chancellery.
On June 5 (17), 1801, a Russian-English convention was signed in St. Petersburg, ending the interstate crisis, and on May 10, the Russian mission in Vienna was restored. On September 29 (October 11), 1801, a peace treaty was signed with France, and a secret convention was concluded on September 29 (October 11).
On September 15, 1801, in the Assumption Cathedral of Moscow, he was crowned Metropolitan of Moscow Platon (Levshin); The same coronation sequence was used as under Paul I, but the difference was that Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna “during her coronation she did not kneel before her husband, but stood up and accepted the crown on her head.”
Personality
The unusual character of Alexander I is especially interesting because he is one of the most important characters in the history of the 19th century. His entire policy was quite clear and thoughtful. An aristocrat and a liberal, at the same time mysterious and famous, he seemed to his contemporaries a mystery that everyone solves in his own way. Napoleon considered him an “inventive Byzantine”, a northern Talma, an actor who is capable of playing any significant role. It is even known that Alexander I was called the “Mysterious Sphinx” at court.
A tall, slender, handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes. Fluent in three European languages. He had an excellent upbringing and brilliant education.
Another element of the character of Alexander I was formed on March 23, 1801, when he ascended the throne after the murder of his father: a mysterious melancholy, ready at any moment to turn into extravagant behavior. At the beginning, this character trait did not manifest itself in any way - young, emotional, impressionable, at the same time benevolent and selfish, Alexander from the very beginning decided to play a great role on the world stage and with youthful zeal set about realizing his political ideals. Temporarily leaving in office the old ministers who had overthrown Emperor Paul I, one of his first decrees appointed a so-called secret committee with the ironic name “Comité du salut public” (referring to the French revolutionary “Committee of Public Safety”), consisting of young and enthusiastic friends : Viktor Kochubey, Nikolay Novosiltsev, Pavel Stroganov and Adam Czartoryski. This committee was to develop a scheme for internal reforms. It is important to note that the liberal Mikhail Speransky became one of the closest advisers to the tsar and drew up many reform projects. Their goals, based on their admiration for English institutions, far exceeded the capabilities of the time and even after they were elevated to the ranks of ministers, only a small proportion of their programs were realized. Russia was not ready for freedom, and Alexander, a follower of the revolutionary-minded Laharpe, considered himself a “happy accident” on the throne of the kings. He spoke with regret about “the state of barbarity in which the country was found due to the serfdom.”
According to Metternich, Alexander I was an intelligent and insightful man, but “devoid of depth.” He quickly and passionately became interested in various ideas, but he also easily changed his hobbies. The researchers also note that since childhood, Alexander was accustomed to doing “what his grandmother Ekaterina and father Pavel liked.” “Alexander lived with two minds, had two ceremonial appearances, double manners, feelings and thoughts. He learned to please everyone - it was his innate talent, which ran like a red thread through his entire future life.”
Family
In 1793, Alexander married Louise Maria Augusta of Baden (who took the name Elizaveta Alekseevna in Orthodoxy) (1779-1826, daughter of Karl Ludwig of Baden). Both of their daughters died in early childhood:
Maria (1799-1800)
Elizabeth (1806-1808)
Paternity of both girls imperial family was considered doubtful - the first was considered born from Czartoryski; the father of the second was the cavalry guard headquarters captain Alexey Okhotnikov.
For 15 years, Alexander practically had a second family with Maria Naryshkina (nee Chetvertinskaya). She bore him two daughters and, according to some reports, even insisted that Alexander dissolve his marriage to Elizaveta Alekseevna and marry her. Researchers also note that from his youth Alexander had a close and very personal relationship with his sister Ekaterina Pavlovna. Historians with the most playful imagination count 11 of his illegitimate children.
Alexander was also the godfather of the future Queen Victoria (baptized Alexandrina Victoria in honor of the Tsar) and the architect Vitberg (baptized Alexander Lavrentievich), who created the unrealized project of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
The last years of the reign of Alexander I
Alexander claimed that under Paul “three thousand peasants were distributed like a bag of diamonds. If civilization were more developed, I would end serfdom, even if it cost me my head.” While addressing the issue of widespread corruption, he was left without people loyal to him, and filling government positions with Germans and other foreigners only led to greater resistance to his reforms from the “old Russians.” Thus, the reign of Alexander, begun with a great opportunity for improvement, ended with the heavier chains on the necks of the Russian people. This happened to a lesser extent due to the corruption and conservatism of Russian life and to a greater extent due to the personal qualities of the tsar. His love of freedom, despite its warmth, was not based in reality. He flattered himself, presenting himself to the world as a benefactor, but his theoretical liberalism was associated with an aristocratic willfulness that did not tolerate objections. “You always want to teach me! - he objected to Derzhavin, the Minister of Justice, “but I am an emperor, and I want this and nothing else!” “He was ready to agree,” wrote Prince Czartoryski, “that everyone could be free if they freely did what he wanted.”
Moreover, this patronizing temperament was combined with the habit of weak characters of seizing every opportunity to delay the application of the principles which he publicly supported. Under Alexander I, Freemasonry became almost a state organization (at that time the largest Masonic lodge of the Russian Empire, “Pont Euxine,” which the emperor himself visited in 1820, was located in Odessa), but was prohibited by a special imperial decree in 1822. The Tsar himself, before his passion for Orthodoxy, patronized the Freemasons and in his views was more of a republican than the radical liberals of Western Europe.
In the last years of the reign of Alexander I, A. A. Arakcheev acquired special influence in the country. A manifestation of conservatism in Alexander's policy was the establishment of military settlements in 1815. At one time, mystically minded persons, in particular Baroness Kridener, had a great influence on him.
On August 16, 1823, Alexander ordered the drawing up of a secret manifesto, in which he accepted the abdication of his brother Constantine from the throne and recognized his younger brother, Nicholas, as the legal heir. The last year of Alexander's life was overshadowed by the death of his only undisputed child, his 16-year-old illegitimate daughter Sophia.
Death
Emperor Alexander died on December 1, 1825 in Taganrog, in the house of Papkov, of a fever with inflammation of the brain at the age of 47. A. Pushkin wrote an epitaph: “ He spent his entire life on the road, caught a cold and died in Taganrog" In the house where the sovereign died, the first in Russia was organized memorial museum named after him, which existed until 1925.
The sudden death of the emperor gave rise to a lot of rumors among the people (N.K. Schilder, in his biography of the emperor, cites 51 opinions that arose within a few weeks after Alexander’s death). One of the rumors reported that " the sovereign fled in hiding to Kiev, there he will live in Christ with his soul and begin to give advice that the current sovereign Nikolai Pavlovich needs for better governance of the state».
Later, in the 30-40s of the 19th century, a legend appeared that Alexander, allegedly tormented by remorse (as an accomplice in the murder of his father), staged his death far from the capital and began a wandering, hermit’s life under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich (died January 20 (February 1) 1864 in Tomsk ). This legend appeared already during the life of the Siberian elder and became widespread in the second half of the 19th century.
In the 20th century, unreliable evidence appeared that during the opening of the tomb of Alexander I in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, carried out in 1921, it was discovered that it was empty. Also in the Russian emigrant press in the 1920s, a story by I. I. Balinsky appeared about the story of the opening of the tomb of Alexander I in 1864, which turned out to be empty. The body of a long-bearded old man was allegedly placed in it in the presence of Emperor Alexander II and the Minister of the Court Adlerberg.
The question of the identity of Fyodor Kuzmich and Emperor Alexander has not been clearly defined by historians. Only a genetic examination could definitively answer the question of whether Elder Theodore had any relation to Emperor Alexander, the possibility of which is not ruled out by specialists from the Russian Center for Forensic Expertise. Archbishop Rostislav of Tomsk spoke about the possibility of conducting such an examination (the relics of the Siberian elder are kept in his diocese).
In the middle of the 19th century, similar legends appeared regarding Alexander’s wife, Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, who died after her husband in 1826. She began to be identified with the recluse of the Syrkov Monastery, Vera the Silent, who first appeared in 1834 in the vicinity of Tikhvin.
Conclusion
The life and death of Alexander I is truly a dramatic page in Russian history; to an even greater extent, this is the drama of a living human personality, forced to combine, it seems, such incompatible principles as “power” and “humanity.”
He was one of the first to talk about the importance of limiting autocratic power, introducing a Duma and a constitution. With him, voices calling for the abolition of serfdom began to sound louder, and a lot of work was done in this regard. During the reign of Alexander I, Russia was able to successfully defend itself against an external enemy that conquered all of Europe. The Patriotic War of 1812 became the personification of the unity of the Russian people in the face of external danger.
None of the major state undertakings of Alexander I can be considered, on the one hand, outside of his desire to justify his accession to the throne, “to bring happiness to people,” and on the other, without a constant feeling of fear for his life, which he could pay if his policies would come into conflict with the powerful conservative nobility.
Literature
Alexander I//Russian biographical dictionary: in 25 volumes. - St. Petersburg-M., 1896-1918.
Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich."Emperor Alexander I: Experience of historical research." - Pg., 1915.
N. K. Schilder. Emperor Alexander the First. His life and reign. - In 4 volumes: volume 1 - before accession to the throne. v.2 - 1801-1810. vol.3 - 1810-1816. v.4 - 1816-1825. - St. Petersburg: “New Time” by A. S. Suvorin, 1897.
Valishevsky K.. Alexander I. History of the reign. In 3 volumes - St. Petersburg: “Vita Nova”, 2011. - vol. 1 - p. 480. -ISBN 978-5-93898-318-2- vol. 2 - p. 480. -ISBN 978-5-93898-320-5- vol. 3 - p. 496 -ISBN 978-5-93898-321-2- Series: Biography
http://www.seaofhistory.ru/shists-331-1.html
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80_I
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%91%D0%B4%D0%BE%D1%80_%D0%9A%D1%83%D0%B7%D1%8C%D0 %BC%D0%B8%D1%87
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BF,_%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B5 %D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA_%D0%A1%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%80
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D1%83%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BC
Reign of Alexander I (1801-1825)
On March 12, 1801, as a result of a palace coup, Alexander I ascended the throne. As a child, Alexander was taken from his parents and raised by his grandmother, Catherine the Great. The Empress appointed the Swiss nobleman F. Laharpe as the prince's tutor, who had a huge influence on the formation of the liberal views of the future autocrat. Trying to adapt to the confrontation between Catherine II and his father, Alexander Pavlovich was forced to maneuver between two opposing factions, which influenced the formation of such qualities of his character as cunning, insight, caution and duplicity. The fact that Alexander I knew about the impending conspiracy against Emperor Paul I, but due to weakness and thirst for power, could not prevent the murder of his father, contributed to the development of his suspiciousness and distrust of others.
Liberal reforms 1801-1815
Having become emperor, Alexander I fully demonstrated himself as a cautious, flexible and far-sighted politician, extremely prudent in his reform activities.
The first steps of the new emperor justified the hopes of the Russian nobility and indicated a break with the policies of Emperor Paul and a return to the transformative activities of Catherine the Great.
Alexander I returned the disgraced nobles, lifted restrictions on trade with England, and lifted the ban on the import of books from abroad. The emperor also confirmed the privileges for nobles and cities specified in Catherine’s Charters.
At the same time, Alexander I, in order to develop liberal reforms of the state system, created a Secret Committee (May 1801 - November 1803), which included: P. Stroganov, A. Czartoryski, V. Kochubey and N. Novosiltsev. The secret committee was not an official state institution, but was an advisory body under the sovereign. The main issues discussed at the meetings of the Secret Committee were reforms of the state apparatus towards limiting autocracy, the peasant question and the education system.
The result of the activities of the Secret Committee of the country was the reform of higher government agencies. On September 8, 1802, a Manifesto was published, according to which, instead of collegiums, the following ministries were established: military, naval, foreign affairs, internal affairs, commerce, finance, public education and justice, as well as the State Treasury as a ministry.
In resolving the peasant issue discussed in the Secret Committee, Alexander I was extremely careful. The emperor considered serfdom to be a source of social tension, but was convinced that society was not ready for radical reforms. On February 20, 1803, a decree on “free cultivators” was issued, which provided landowners with the opportunity to free peasants with land for a ransom. The decree was advisory in nature and was not very popular among landowners: during the entire period of the reign of Alexander I, less than 0.5% of serfs became “free tillers”.
Since the autumn of 1803, the importance of the Secret Committee began to decline, and its place was taken by the Committee of Ministers. To continue the transformation, Alexander I needed new people who were personally loyal to him. New round reforms were associated with the name of M. Speransky. Alexander G made Speransky his main adviser and assistant. By 1809, Speransky, on behalf of the emperor, prepared a plan for state reforms called “Introduction to the Code of State Laws.” According to this plan, it was necessary to implement the principle of separation of powers (legislative functions were concentrated in the hands of State Duma, judicial - in the hands of the Senate, executive - in the ministries). The entire population of Russia, according to M. Speransky’s plan, was divided into three classes: the nobility, the “average state” (merchants, burghers, state peasants) and “working people” (serfs, artisans, servants). All classes received civil rights, and the nobles received political rights.
The Emperor approved Speransky's plan, but did not dare to carry out large-scale reforms. The transformations affected exclusively the central system of government: in 1810, the State Council was established - a legislative body under the emperor.
In 1810-1811 the reform of the ministerial management system, begun back in 1803, was completed. According to the “General Establishment of Ministries” (1811), eight ministries were formed: foreign affairs, military, naval, internal affairs, finance, police, justice and public education, as well as the Main Directorate Post Office, State Treasury and a number of other departments. Strict autocracy was introduced. Ministers appointed by the tsar and accountable only to him formed the Committee of Ministers, the status of which as an advisory body under the emperor was determined only in 1812.
At the beginning of 1811, the State Council refused to approve the draft of new reforms. The failure of Speransky’s entire plan became obvious. The nobility clearly felt the threat of the destruction of serfdom. The growing opposition of conservatives became so threatening that Alexander I was forced to stop the reforms. M. Speransky was removed and then exiled.
Thus, the reforms at the beginning of the first period of the reign of Alexander I were very limited, but they sufficiently strengthened his position as an autocratic monarch, being the result of a compromise between the liberal and conservative nobility.
Conservative period of the reign of Alexander I
The second period of the emperor’s reign is traditionally called “conservative” in historical literature, despite the fact that at that time such liberal reforms as the introduction of the Polish constitution, the granting of autonomy to Bessarabia, and the relief of the situation of peasants in the Baltic states were carried out.
External events 1812-1815 relegated Russia's internal political problems to the background. After the end of the war, the issue of constitutional reforms and serfdom again became the focus of attention of society and the emperor himself. A draft Constitution was developed for the Polish lands that were part of Russia. This constitution became a kind of trial step, an experiment that was supposed to precede the introduction of a constitution in Russia.
In November 1815 The Polish constitution was approved. It retained the monarchy, but provided for the creation of a bicameral parliament (Sejm). The government had to be responsible to the Sejm, freedom of the press, equality of all classes before the law, and personal inviolability were also guaranteed. And at the opening of the Sejm in 1818, in the speech of Alexander I, a promise was actually made to introduce a constitution in Russia. In March 1818, the emperor instructed a group of his advisers led by N. Novosiltsev to develop a constitution for Russia. The constitution was developed, but was never implemented - Alexander I did not dare to go into direct confrontation with the opposition.
In April 1818, Alexander I granted autonomous administration of Bessarabia. According to the “Charter of Education of the Bessarabian Region”, the highest legislative and executive power was transferred to the Supreme Council, part of which was elected from the nobility. Back in 1804, the “Regulations on Livland Peasants” were approved, which prohibited the sale of serfs without land, a fixed duty that freed peasants from conscription duties. In May 1816, the emperor signed the “Regulations on Estonian Peasants”, according to which they received personal freedom, but all the land remained the property of the landowners. Peasants could rent land and later buy it. In 1817, the “Regulation” was extended to Courland and Livonia (1819).
However, due to the oppositional sentiments of the nobility, who did not want to part with their privileges, the reformist intentions of Alexander I were replaced by an openly reactionary course. In 1820, the State Council rejected the tsar's proposed bill banning the sale of serfs without land. In addition, the wave of European revolutions of 1820-1821. and uprisings in the army convinced him of the untimeliness of the reforms. In the last years of his reign, Alexander I did little internal affairs, focusing mainly on the problems of the Holy Alliance, which became a bulwark of European monarchs against liberation and national movements. It was at this time that the influence of A. Arakcheev increased, after whom the regime established in the country was called “Arakcheevism” (1815-1825). Its clearest manifestation was the creation of the military police in 1820, strengthening of censorship, the prohibition in 1822 of the activities of secret societies and Masonic lodges in Russia, and the restoration in 1822 of the right of landowners to exile peasants to Siberia. Indicative was the creation of “military settlements”, in which, under the strictest regulation and control, peasants performed military service along with agricultural service.
Thus, liberal reform projects to abolish serfdom and provide Russia with a constitution were not implemented due to the reluctance of the overwhelming mass of the nobility to transform. Without receiving support, reforms could not be carried out. Fearing a new palace coup, Alexander I could not go against the first estate.
In November 1825, the emperor unexpectedly died in Taganrog (according to another version, he secretly entered a monastery). The second son of Paul I, brother of Alexander I, Constantine, renounced rule in 1822. The Manifesto, drawn up in 1823, in which Paul’s third son, Nicholas, was appointed successor, was kept secret from the heir. As a result, in 1825 a situation of interregnum arose.
9. ALEXANDER’S PERSONAL LIFE
Some people truly consider their personal life a private matter.
KATEMORTON
"THE VERY DECEPTIVE"
In Alexander’s personal life, as in politics, not everything was easy. On the one hand, having practically unlimited possibilities, possessing excellent appearance and manners, he effortlessly made many ladies fall in love with him (by the way, they continued to fall in love with him even when he was nearing fifty). No wonder M.M. Speransky once called him un vrai charmant (a real seducer). He inherited this talent from his grandmother. On the other hand, the emperor himself most often remained indifferent to the ladies, limiting his contacts with representatives of the opposite sex to smiles and polite communication.
Some biographers are sure: while easily seducing those around him, Alexander himself was not capable of deep feelings and personal sympathy for anyone. True, there was an opinion that in his youth he was something of a rake. About this, in particular, the memories of General A.Ya. Protasov, who wrote that he noticed in Alexander Pavlovich “strong physical desires both in conversations and in sleepy dreams, which multiply with frequent conversations with pretty women.”
As we have already said, in 1793, Catherine II married Alexander to the young princess Louise-Maria-Augusta, the daughter of Margrave Karl-Ludwig of Baden and Friederike-Amalia of Hesse-Darmstadt - a smart, beautiful woman who seemed to charm all the men in the capital. However, as Princess E.R. noted. Dashkova, her beauty “turned out to be the least of her virtues. Intelligence, education, modesty, grace, friendliness and tact, combined with a rare discretion for her age - everything about her was attractive.”
The wedding celebrations lasted two weeks. 14,527 soldiers and officers of the guard took part in them under the command of General I.P. Saltykov - second cousin of trustee Alexander. The cannons fired incessantly, and the ringing of the bells continued for three days.
The Princess of Baden was fourteen years old, and having converted to Orthodoxy, she was named Elizaveta Alekseevna in Russia. The day after the adoption of Orthodoxy, a solemn engagement ceremony took place.
He was not quite sixteen. They were a very beautiful couple. At first, Elizabeth was madly in love with her young husband, but over the years this love weakened. Most likely, both of them, at first, due to mental and even physical immaturity, were unable to satisfy each other, and then, as a consequence of this, psychological incompatibility arose between them, which ultimately led to complete alienation.
Some authors are sure that in his youth Alexander adored women. For example, A.I. Herzen wrote that Alexander loved “all women except his wife.” Perhaps somewhere deep down this was true, but he always knew how not to succumb to even the most seductive love spells. In any case, the passion that the most beautiful and intelligent Queen Louise of Prussia (wife of Frederick William III) had for him remained, in the end, unanswered.
But when they first met in 1802 in Memel (present-day Klaipeda), the young Russian emperor made an indelible impression on Louise. The following words were later found in her notes:
"The Emperor is one of those rare people who combine in himself all the most amiable qualities with all the real virtues<…>. He is superbly built and has a very stately appearance. He looks like a young Hercules."
They say that Alexander was also fascinated by Louise, but he did not dare to develop this relationship, not wanting to lose the independence of his politics.
Another very characteristic example is Alexander’s relationship with Napoleon’s first wife Josephine, as well as with her daughter from her first marriage, Hortense de Beauharnais. This tragic story is worthy of dwelling on it in more detail.
EMPEROR ALEXANDER AND JOSEPHINE
They met in September 1808 in the German city of Erfurt, where Napoleon invited Alexander to a “diplomatic meeting.” Josephine was an experienced woman and knew a lot about men, but Alexander struck her at first sight with his elegance. But this was not what most attracted the French Empress, but the extraordinary and very attractive energy that emanated from the thirty-year-old Russian Tsar, who spoke excellent French.
Once after the next ball, when all the champagne had already been drunk and the tired guests began to leave, Alexander offered to accompany Josephine to the bedroom, located on the second floor of the government palace, chosen for the meeting of the two emperors.
Just before the door, he took her hand and put it to his heart. Through her ceremonial uniform, the excited Josephine felt rapid blows. As if spellbound, she pushed the door, and it silently opened...
Some authors claim that the Russian Tsar stayed with her until midnight. At this time, Napoleon, tired after a busy day, was quietly snoring in his bedroom at the other end of the long corridor. Even in Erfurt he did not violate the rule of “separate bedrooms” that he had established.
According to Napoleon's valet Constant, "after the first intimate meeting of Alexander and Josephine, the Russian Tsar came every morning to the Empress's bedroom, and they talked with him for a long time alone, like old acquaintances."
After signing the agreement, on October 2, 1808, Emperor Alexander left Erfurt, saying goodbye to Josephine, it seemed, forever...
But on April 16, 1814, when Russian troops were already occupying Paris, Emperor Alexander I, accompanied by Prince A.I. Chernysheva arrived at Malmaison Castle to meet with ex-wife now the former Emperor of the French.
He started by saying:
I was burning with impatience to see you, madam! Since I have been in France, this thought has not left me for a minute.
Josephine met Alexander in the castle's art gallery by the fireplace. She was very excited, but, following the rules of etiquette, she declared that she considered it a great honor for herself to have this visit from the head of the greatest of the powers in the world and the leader of the “immortal coalition, who has gained the glory of being the pacifier of the universe.”
“I would have arrived to you earlier,” Alexander joked casually, “but the bravery of your soldiers delayed me.”
Josephine laughed. She extended her hand to him and he kissed it kindly. Then they went into the living room, and there Josephine suggested:
Your Majesty, I would like to introduce you to my daughter and grandchildren.
Josephine was fourteen years older than Alexander, and the whirlpool of recent years had made her not only an ex-wife, but also a real grandmother. Her two grandchildren. Napoleon-Louis, who was nine years old, and Charles-Louis-Napoleon, who would turn six on April 20, adored their grandmother, who allowed them everything that their mother forbade. She fed the boys sweets, ran with them along the alleys of the park, and diligently performed exercises with toy guns.
Her daughter Hortense just turned thirty-one. She was quite attractive, but her life with Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon's younger brother, was unhappy, and this left its mark on her character.
Emperor Alexander greeted Hortensia's eldest boy and patted the younger one on the head. Could any of those present then imagine that this child would become Emperor Napoleon III of France in less than forty years?
What would you like me to do for them? - Alexander asked Hortensia.
Thank you, Your Majesty, I am very touched by your concern, but I have nothing to wish for my children,” Hortensia answered coldly.
Josephine's daughter clearly did not want to show any kindness towards the man who had declared himself personal enemy Napoleon.
Let me be their confidant? - Emperor Alexander asked carefully, turning to Josephine.
After this, he turned to Hortense again:
I understand, madam, that with my proposal I am causing you pain. Believe me, I arrived in Paris hostile to the Bonaparte family, but here, in Malmaison, I found tenderness and gentleness. And now I sincerely want to return the favor.
Emperor Alexander really liked Hortensia, and he really wanted to do something good for her and her children.
“Today I was supposed to be in Paris with other monarchs,” he continued, “but here I am in Malmaison, and I don’t regret it at all.”
After this, Alexander invited both ladies to take a walk in the park, but the observant Josephine, citing illness, which of course was not at all, prudently stayed at home.
With every minute the conversation between the Russian emperor and Hortense became more and more frank. She confessed to him all her misfortunes with Louis Bonaparte. After the death of her firstborn, she constantly lives in anticipation of some other misfortune. She's so lonely.
But you are still so young, and you have so many friends! - Alexander exclaimed. - You are unfair to Providence!
What, Providence speaks with a Russian accent? - Hortensia asked him flirtatiously.
Alexander also began to open up to her, and when she asked why he broke up with the empress, the answer left no doubt:
For God's sake, don't talk about her anymore. My wife doesn't have better friend than me, but we will never be able to connect again.
After such an answer, if she were Hortense, her mother would have moved on. Striking while the iron is hot has always been hers. life principle. But, unlike Josephine, Hortense was shy and not at all an adventurer. They did not go further than the alleys of the park, but the Russian emperor drew conclusions from this walk.
When bidding farewell to Alexander, as a sign of great gratitude, Josephine gave him a magnificent cameo, a gift from the Pope, presented to her on the day of her coronation, as well as a magnificent cup with a miniature portrait of herself.
After this visit, which did not go unnoticed, Malmaison attracted the attention of everyone, and above all Talleyrand. preoccupied with how to convince the victorious Russian Tsar to return the Bourbons to the French throne. But Alexander really didn’t like this idea. Judging by some signs, he would like to place Napoleon’s three-year-old son on the French throne with the regency of his mother Marie-Louise, and the proposed Louis XVIII was extremely antipathetic to the Russian emperor.
“How can I be sure,” he asked Talleyran incredulously, “that the French people want the Bourbons?”
Without blinking an eye, he answered:
Based on the decision, Your Majesty, which I undertake to carry out in the Senate, and the results of which Your Majesty will immediately see.
Are you sure about this? - Alexander asked.
I am responsible for this, Your Majesty.
No sooner said than done. On April 2, Talleyrand hastily convened the Senate, and in the evening brought Emperor Alexander a decision announcing the deposition of Napoleon and the restoration of Bourbon power with constitutional guarantees.
It would seem that the job was done, and Talleyrand could breathe a sigh of relief. But then suddenly this unexpected visit of the Russian Emperor to Josephine occurred. And it immediately became clear to everyone that Alexander favored Josephine and was very disposed towards her children from her first marriage - Hortense and Eugene. He especially liked Hortense, and, attracted by both mother and daughter, the Russian emperor, as if confirming this, often visited the Malmaison castle. There he spent hours talking about something with Josephine, walking with her along the alleys of the park or retiring in the palace chambers.
Could the far-reaching plans of the great diplomat Talleyrand to enthrone Louis XVIII really collapse? Could it really have all gone wrong because of some personal sympathy of the person on whom everything depended at that moment?
And then, as if by order, on May 10, 1814, the health of the former empress suddenly unexpectedly deteriorated. This happened just at the moment when Emperor Alexander Once again came to see Josephine and dined with her at Malmaison. Overcoming her suffering, she remained in the salon for a conversation. After lunch, everyone began to run around on the beautiful lawn in front of the castle. Josephine also tried to take part in the game, but her strength suddenly failed her, and she was forced to sit down. The change in her condition did not go unnoticed. She was asked a lot of interested questions, which she tried to answer with a smile. She assured that a little rest would do her good, and all the guests hastily left, thinking that she would really feel better the next day...
And then Josephine became very ill.
Later there were rumors that Josephine did not die from a cold, but was poisoned. There were even suggestions that she was poisoned using poison placed in a bouquet of flowers that stood at her bedside. The name of a person was even named who benefited greatly from this such a quick and such a strange death...
If we assume that all this is so, then it is not difficult to conclude: Josephine died because she knew too much and spoke too much, and also because the Russian emperor suddenly began to come to her too often during such a crucial period for defeated France.
RELATIONSHIP OF THE EMPEROR WITH THE WIFE
As already mentioned, psychological incompatibility quickly arose between Alexander I and his wife Elizaveta Alekseevna, which ultimately led to big problems. In this regard, Alexander developed the following credo for himself:
“I am guilty, but not to the extent that one might think. When my domestic well-being was clouded by unfortunate circumstances, I became attached to another woman, imagining (wrongly, of course, which I now clearly understand) that since our marriage was concluded for external reasons, without our mutual participation, then we are united only in the eyes of people, but before God we are free.”
Note that Alexander officially had two daughters from his wife, and both of them died in early childhood: Maria, born in 1799, died in 1800, and Elizabeth, born in 1806, died in 1808.
By the way, the paternity of both girls was considered doubtful among court gossips - the first was called the daughter of the Pole Adam Czartoryski; the father of the second was probably the young captain-captain of the Cavalry Regiment, Alexei Yakovlevich Okhotnikov, who became Elizaveta Alekseevna’s lover around 1803.
Elizaveta Alekseevna, wife of Alexander I. Unknown artist
Elizaveta Alekseevna, wife of Alexander I. Unknown artist
Let us note that from the very beginning various gossip wove around Elizaveta Alekseevna, all kinds of stories were created...
For example, the last favorite of the aging Catherine II, Prince Platon Zubov, was allegedly madly in love with Alexander’s wife, but, having received a rebuke from the empress, he left her alone. It would seem, what does Elizaveta Alekseevna have to do with it? She certainly did not give any reason for gossip, but Zubov himself did not consider it necessary to hide his feelings, and soon all of St. Petersburg became aware of his “romantic interest.”
And then Prince Adam Czartoryski, one of Alexander’s closest friends, appeared. He himself was handsome and, as stated, quickly fell under the spell of the wife of his august friend. They saw each other every day, and soon public opinion firmly connected their names.
Countess V.N. Golovina, who became a close friend of Elizaveta Alekseevna, wrote in her Memoirs:
“Every day seemed to bring with it new dangers, and I suffered greatly because of everything that the Grand Duchess was exposed to. Positioned above her, I saw how she went in and out, just like the Grand Duke, who was constantly leading to Prince Czartoryski's dinner."
It was very difficult to convince anyone of the innocence of this relationship...
In any case, Czartoryski had to emigrate from Russia, and he died in 1861 near Paris.
But Alexei Okhotnikov was actually killed in January 1807 from around the corner with a dagger, and no one still knows the name of his killer.
On this occasion, a corresponding royal manifesto was issued, a cannon salute was given from the Peter and Paul Fortress, but this event was received more than coolly in the imperial family. And there were reasons for this. Alexander I himself has repeatedly stated that he has not had a marital relationship with his wife for a long time.
They say that the daughter was born from Alexei Yakovlevich Okhotnikov. If this is so, then for the empress it was a kind of way of self-affirmation. But who was this A.Ya. Hunters?
He came from a family of wealthy Voronezh landowners and was born in 1780. At twenty-one, as befits a Russian nobleman, he entered the military service. Just four months later he was promoted to officer (cornet); after just two years he was already a lieutenant, and then a captain-captain. He was handsome, witty and successful with women.
The exact date of his acquaintance with the Empress is impossible to establish, because all the diaries of the main characters in this story were later burned by Nicholas I. However, according to Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, he had the imprudence to show these diaries to his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and she rewrote some -that in your diary, preserved for posterity.
Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich writes:
“This short-term infatuation of the empress in no way detracts from her pretty appearance. On the contrary, this infatuation, so passionate, is more than understandable. After all, the empress was a woman and, moreover, young, inexperienced, married at the age of fourteen: she did not know life and could not know Left by her husband, she clearly, almost daily saw his betrayal<…>. There was a reason to fall into despair and irritation. And, as often happens in such cases, at that very time a young cavalry guard turned up, looking lovingly at Elizabeth.”
And here is an extract from the diaries of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna:
"If I had not read this myself, perhaps I would still have some doubts. But last night I read these letters written by Okhotnikov, a cavalry officer, to his beloved, Empress Elizabeth, in which he calls her "my little wife , my friend, my God, my Eliza, I adore you,” etc. From them it is clear that every night, when the moon did not shine, he climbed through the window on Kamenny Island or in the Tauride Palace, and they spent two days together -three hours. With the letters was his portrait, and all this was kept in a hiding place, in the same closet where the portrait and memorabilia of her little Eliza lay - probably as a sign that he was the father of this child. My blood rushed to "I'm ashamed that something like this could happen in our family."
We can only believe these words. Or don't believe them. Moreover, Maria Fedorovna clearly did not like her daughter-in-law and often publicly made all sorts of comments to her. But in both cases, we can only be amazed at the skill with which the young people managed to keep their secret from those around them, for none of Okhotnikov’s courtiers or colleagues had any idea about these relationships.
According to Nikolai Mikhailovich, the younger brother of Alexander I, Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich, definitely knew about the empress’s love affair. And he, allegedly wanting to protect his brother from offensive rumors, decided to put an end to this story...
Be that as it may, late in the evening of October 4, 1806, when Okhotnikov was leaving the theater after Gluck’s opera “Iphigenia in Tauris,” an unknown person approached him and stabbed him in the chest with a dagger.
Prince S.A. Panchulidzev states:
“His suspicion fell on the brother of the husband of the woman he loved. Lately he had been tirelessly watching his daughter-in-law and, as Okhotnikov thought, was pursuing her with his love. If the murder was the work of his hands, then it is unlikely that the motive was love for his daughter-in-law, but on the contrary - his love and devotion to his brother; if he followed his daughter-in-law, it was precisely out of fear for his brother’s honor.”
The wound turned out to be severe, and reliable methods for treating such wounds did not exist at that time. As a result, having been ill for four months, 26-year-old A.Ya. Okhotnikov died.
Elizaveta Alekseevna was shocked, and, allegedly, she secretly came to Okhotnikov’s house to say goodbye to her loved one. But this also follows exclusively from the “testimony” of Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich.
Naturally, no investigation was opened into this case...
Elizaveta Alekseevna's first daughter died on June 27, 1800. After Mary’s death, her mother was literally petrified with grief, but then Emperor Paul was killed, Alexander ascended the throne, and in these tragic days, having become empress, Elizaveta Alekseevna tried to provide her husband with all kinds of moral support.
Her second daughter, named Elizabeth, as already mentioned, was born on November 3 (15), 1806. This long-awaited motherhood restored happiness to the empress for some time, and the entire next year passed for her in caring for the child. But, unfortunately, on April 30 (May 12), 1808, the second daughter also died: she had a very difficult time cutting her teeth, convulsions began, and no means could save her...
Elizaveta Alekseevna's grief was immeasurable. She spent four days and four nights without sleep near her daughter's body.
Life surgeon Ya.V. Willie, consoling the emperor, said that he and the empress were still young and they could still have children.
No, my friend,” Alexander answered, “The Lord does not love my children.”
And these words of his turned out to be prophetic: the couple had no more children.
It should be noted that Elizaveta Alekseevna quickly began to be burdened by constant balls, lunches and dinners. This is explained simply: on December 16, 1801, her father, Karl Ludwig of Baden, died, and throughout the winter she practically did not go out into the world at all because of mourning. On the other hand, according to Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, she “hated all etiquette and ceremony; she loved to live simply and then received complete satisfaction.”
And here is the opinion of the maid of honor of the Empress Sofia Alexandrovna Sablukova (married Princess Madatova):
“The empress’s tastes were extremely simple, she never demanded even the most trivial things to decorate her rooms, she never even ordered flowers and plants to be brought; however, it should be noted that she did this not at all out of indifference to these objects, but solely out of desire not to disturb anyone. Her favorite pleasures were sea swimming and horse riding."
THE EMPEROR'S PASSION FOR PRINCE NARYSHKINA
Around this time, Alexander’s infatuation with Princess Maria Antonovna Naryshkina, a beautiful but not too distant society lady, began, and already at the end of 1803, sad notes and complaints about painful forebodings began to sound in Elizaveta Alekseevna’s letters. At the same time, the relationship between her and Alexander became more and more cool.
This relationship between the emperor lasted for many years. One could even argue that Alexander had practically a second family with Naryshkina.
Maria Antonovna was born in 1779 and was Polish by birth (nee Princess Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya) and the wife of Chief Jägermeister Dmitry Lvovich Naryshkin.
Alexander's French biographer Henri Vallotton writes that the emperor "had three passions: paradomania, Maria Naryshkina and diplomacy. He fully succeeded only in the third."
The fact is that Alexander’s affair with Naryshkina ended in separation, one of the main reasons for which was the infidelity of the loving princess. And the emperor later did not seek to settle scores either with her or with her many admirers. He just started saying:
I dont believe anyone. I only believe that all people are scoundrels.
But that was still a long way off. While the intimate relationship between the tsar and the wife of the Chief Jägermeister, which lasted for many years and was not hidden at court, undoubtedly offended the feelings of Elizaveta Alekseevna.
And Naryshkina blithely boasted to her about her next pregnancy.
In June 1804, the Empress wrote to her mother:
“Did I tell you, dear mother, that for the first time she shamelessly told me about her pregnancy, which was still so early that even if I wanted to, I would not have noticed anything. I find that for this you need to have incredible impudence. This happened at the ball , and her situation was not as noticeable as it is now. I talked to her, as with everyone else, and inquired about her health. She replied that she did not feel very well: “Because I seem to be pregnant.”<…>. She knew very well that I was not ignorant of who could have made her pregnant. I don’t know what will happen next and how it will all end; I only know that I won’t kill myself over a person who isn’t worth it, because if I haven’t already hated people and turned into a hypochondriac, then that’s just luck.”
At the age of sixteen, Maria Antonovna became Naryshkina after her marriage to the 37-year-old Prince D.L. Naryshkin. It was a brilliant game. After all, the Naryshkins are relatives of the emperors, and Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina was the second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and the mother of Peter I himself. And she was immediately granted a maid of honor. In the winter, the Naryshkins lived in their house on Fontanka, and in the summer in their dacha in Koltovskaya Sloboda. They lived with extreme luxury, very openly, hosted the entire city, gave brilliant holidays and balls. Maria Antonovna’s beauty was “so perfect” that, according to F.F., who was not generous with praise. Vigel, “seemed impossible, unnatural.”
Historian Ya.N. Nersesov calls her “divinely beautiful.” He writes that “at the sight of Naryshkina, all the men simply gasped and then remembered the first meeting for a long time.” A V.N. Balyazin claims that she “was unconditionally recognized as the first beauty of Russia.”
And Alexander drew attention to this beauty. And soon their relationship developed into something like a second family. Although Alexander was officially married, his relationship with Naryshkina lasted, allegedly, fifteen years. And, according to rumors, they had several children who did not live to adulthood.
And then Naryshkina, apparently, began to be burdened by her position and the rumors it generated. She, as some eyewitnesses claim, “she herself broke the connection that she did not know how to appreciate.” That is, in fact, this extravagant lady not only cheated on her husband with Alexander, but also on the emperor! And of course, rumors reached that she was cheating on him “either with Prince Gagarin, who was exiled abroad for this, then with the Adjutant General Count Adam Ozharovsky, and then with many other flighty people and red tape.”
M.L. Naryshkina. Unknown artist
M.A. Naryshkina. Unknown artist
Is it so? Who knows…
In any case, Naryshkina’s only son Emmanuel, born in 1813, is considered to be born from a relationship with G.I. Gagarin.
In total, she had six children, three of whom died in infancy, all of them were officially considered the children of D.L. Naryshkina. At the same time, it is almost generally accepted that the father of both Elizabeth (the first died in 1803, and the second in 1804) and Zinaida (she died in 1810) was Emperor Alexander. He is also considered the father of Sophia, who was born in 1808.
By the way, D.L. Naryshkin called only Marina, born in 1798, his child.
After termination love affair Maria Antonovna did not lose his favor with the emperor, but left Russia in 1813 and lived mostly in Europe.
Her daughter Sophia was in poor health, and on the recommendation of doctors, she lived on the waters in Switzerland and Germany, regularly visiting Paris and London. When she died at the age of 18 from consumption, it seemed that there was no more unhappy person than Alexander in all of Russia.
THE SUFFERINGS OF EMPRESS ELIZAVETA ALEXEEVNA
Meanwhile, Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna found solace in reading books, and gradually her office turned into a serious library. The only thing she could do was endure.
Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna. Artist F.-S. Stimbrand
Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna. Artist F.-S. Stimbrand
The dramatic events of 1812 forced her to take a break from her personal experiences, caused an unprecedented uplift of spirit in her and encouraged her to completely new activity: she finally abandoned external honors and splendor, devoting all her time to charity.
Lady-in-waiting S.A., close to the Empress. Sablukova (Madatova) later recalled:
“The empress was distinguished by remarkable dedication. For example, she constantly refused to take the million in income that empresses receive, being content with 200 thousand. For all 25 years, the emperor persuaded her to take this money, but she always answered that Russia has many other expenses, and took it for a toilet suitable for her rank, only 15 thousand a year. Everything else was spent by her exclusively on charitable causes in Russia and on the establishment of educational institutions."
During the war years, Elizaveta Alekseevna saw little of Emperor Alexander, because he was almost constantly with the army. At the same time, being prone to renunciation by nature, she thought about ending her life somewhere in quiet solitude, but definitely in Russia.
Her despair increased as a result of the new misfortune that befell her. Little Liza Golitsyna, whom she raised after the death of N.F. Golitsyna and who was constantly with her, fell ill and died in December 1816. This new grief revived in her memories of own daughters, and she, as they say now, “broke.”
And then Elizaveta Alekseevna experienced several more heavy losses. First, in 1819, her faithful friend Countess Varvara Nikolaevna Golovina, niece of the favorite of Empress Elizabeth I I.I., died. Shuvalova. Following her, on October 20, 1823, Karatina's sister-Amalia-Christiana-Louise of Badenskaya died, who came with Elizaveta Alekseevna to Russia back in that distant time when Catherine II was choosing among them a bride for her beloved grandson and heir (she lived under the Russian yard until February 1814).
“Empress Elizabeth lost weight from grief and does not stop crying for her sister,” wrote N.M. Karamzin to the poet Ivan Ivanovich Dmitriev on November 27, 1823.
In 1824, Elizaveta Alekseevna turned 45 years old. She was still slender and well-built, but, as the wife of the French diplomat Sophie Choiseul-Guffier wrote, “the delicate color of her thin face suffered from the harsh climate.” She also noted:
“One could imagine how charming the empress was in the spring time of her life. Her conversation and receptions, which reflected some kind of touching languor, and at the same time a look full of feeling, a sad smile that captured the soul soft sound voices, finally, something angelic in her whole personality - everything seemed to say sadly that she was not of this world, that everything in this angelic being belonged to heaven.”
As for her husband, in one of her last letters to her mother, the empress wrote:
“All earthly ties are broken between us! Those that are formed in eternity will be different, of course, even more pleasant, but while I still wear this sad, mortal shell, it hurts to tell myself that he will no longer be involved in my life here on earth. Friends since childhood, we walked together for thirty-two years. We experienced all the eras of life together. Often alienated from each other, we came together again in one way or another; having finally found ourselves on the true path, we experienced only one the sweetness of our union. At that time she was taken from me! Of course, I deserved it, I was not sufficiently aware of the goodness of God, perhaps I still felt too much the little rough edges. Finally, be that as it may, it was God's will. Let it be so. "He will deign to allow me not to lose the fruits of this sorrowful cross - it was sent down to me not without a purpose. When I think about my fate, then in its entire course I recognize the hand of God."
ALEXANDER AND HIS SISTER EKATERINA PAVLOVNA
What more can be said about the emperor's personal life? Some researchers note that from his youth Alexander was connected by close and very intimate relationships with his sister Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna, who later became the wife of the King of Württemberg.
This was clearly not "brother's love." For example, in April 1811 he wrote to her in Tver, where she had lived since 1809, a letter with the following content:
“I love you to madness, to madness, like a maniac!<…>I hope to enjoy my holiday in your arms<…>. Alas, I can no longer use my previous rights (we are talking about your legs, do you understand?) and cover you with the most tender kisses in your bedroom in Tver."
According to historian N.A. Troitsky, “all the biographers of Alexander I who touched upon this letter were shocked or, at least, puzzled by it. Even if they thought, they rejected the idea of the possibility of an incestuous relationship between the Tsar and the Grand Duchess, and found no other explanation.”
Biographer of Alexander K.V. Kudryashov writes about it this way:
"His my own sister He sent such tender letters to Ekaterina Pavlovna that their tone and character suggest an intimate relationship between brother and sister.”
And here Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, in his book about Alexander, described their relationship in two phrases:
“Alexander fell entirely under the influence of his eccentric sister Catherine...” and “he treated her more lovingly than the other sisters.”
ILLEGAL CHILDREN OF ALEXANDER I
In total, historians count eleven illegitimate children of Alexander I, including from Maria Antonovna Naryshkina, as well as from Sophia Vsevolozhskaya, from Margarita-Josephine Weimer, from Veronica Rautenstrauch, from Varvara Turkestanova and from Maria Katacharova.
About children M.A. We have already told Naryshkina. But Princess Sofya Sergeevna Meshcherskaya (née Vsevolozhskaya), daughter of Lieutenant General S.A. Vsevolozhsky, in 1796, being a girl, became the mother of a certain Nikolai Evgenievich Lukash, who is considered to be the first illegitimate child Alexandra.
This man was enlisted in military service as a sergeant in 1807. In 1812-1814 He took an active part in the war with Napoleon and was awarded a gold sword with the inscription “For bravery.” In 1817 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, in 1823 to colonel, and in 1836 to major general. Then he was the military governor of the Tiflis province and a senator, rising to the rank of lieutenant general. He died in 1868 in Moscow.
But was he really there? illegitimate son Alexandra L.
Or, for example, Maria Ivanovna Katacharova, herself born in 1796. Her son was Nikolai Vasilyevich Isakov, who was born in Moscow in 1821 and also rose to the rank of lieutenant general. Officially, he was born into the family of the court bereytor (horse riding specialist) Vasily Grigorievich Isakov, but for some reason it is believed that his mother gave birth to him from Alexander I.
But is it…
Or, say, the same Veronica-Elena Rautenstrauch (née Dzerzhanovskaya), the wife of General Joseph-Heinrich Rautenstrauch. Her son was a certain Gustav Ehrenberg, born in 1818. Officially, he was considered the son of the Warsaw baker Ehrenberg, and grew up in the house of the tsarist diplomat Baron Morenheim. For revolutionary activities in Poland, he was sentenced to death, but was pardoned by Nicholas 1 and exiled to Siberia.
He was allegedly born nine months after Alexander I’s stay in Warsaw, and correspondence between the Tsar and his mother Elena Rautenstrauch, as well as subsidies sent from St. Petersburg for the boy’s education, are considered evidence of his high origins.
But is such “evidence” enough...
The story of Margarita-Josephine Weimer looks even funnier and more unproven - famous actress"Mademoiselle Georges", who was at one time Napoleon's mistress.
She was born in 1787 in Bayeux, grew up in poverty and need, and then became the leading soloist of the Comedy Française. In 1802 she became Napoleon's mistress - that's a fact. But what does Emperor Alexander have to do with it?
In May 1808, Mademoiselle Georges secretly left Paris and went to Russia. According to one version, on the instructions of Talleyrand and with a secret mission to conquer the Russian Tsar. According to another version, she was going to Russia to see her lover, who is believed to have promised to marry her. This was Count Alexander Khristoforovich Benkendorf, brother of the first Russian female diplomat, Princess Daria Khristoforovna Lieven, who came to Paris in the retinue of Ambassador Count P.A. Tolstoy. Now Count Benckendorff has gone back, and Mademoiselle Georges has gathered to see him.
In fact, on the part of A.Kh. Benckendorf it was a whole intrigue, the main task of which was to recapture Alexander I from his extremely flirtatious favorite M.A. Naryshkina. It was supposed to push the tsar into a relationship with a French actress - a fleeting connection, from which he could easily be returned later to Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna. In the words of Gertrud Kircheisen, "a fleeting connection with ex-lover Napoleon seemed less dangerous to society."
Surely Mademoiselle Georges knew nothing about all these secret plans, and in letters to her mother she talked about the delights of her “good Benckendorff.” And she was indeed introduced to Alexander I, who received her very kindly, gave her a precious diamond clasp and once invited her to Peterhof, but there was no other invitation after that.
According to one legend, shortly before the War of 1812, Mademoiselle Georges asked Alexander for permission to return to Paris. This was allegedly followed by the following dialogue:
Madam, I will start a war against Napoleon to keep you.
But my place is not here, it is in France.
Then position yourself in the rearguard of my army, and I will escort you there.
In this case, I’d better wait until the French themselves come to Moscow. In this case, you won't have to wait so long...
When, already in 1812, news of the misfortunes of Napoleon's army reached St. Petersburg and when, to celebrate the victory, all the houses were decorated with flags and illuminations, nothing could force Mademoiselle Georges to decorate her house on Nevsky Prospekt in the same way. This stubbornness was reported to Emperor Alexander, but he allegedly replied:
Leave her alone... What's the crime here?... She's a kind Frenchwoman.
And it all ended with her finally being given permission to leave.
Interesting? Yes. But is this really enough to talk about some kind of connection between Emperor Alexander and this lady? As for children, Margarita-Josephine Weimer never had them at all...
Princess Varvara Ilyinichna Turkestanova, a representative of the noble Georgian family of Turkistanishvili, was a maid of honor to Empress Maria Feodorovna. Her father died when she was thirteen, and seven years later her mother also died. After that, her relative, Major General V.D., sheltered her in his house. Arsenyev. In 1808, Varvara Ilyinichna was granted maid of honor and immediately became an adornment of the imperial court. Then Emperor Alexander drew attention to her, and in 1818 she began to develop an affair with the young prince V.S. Golitsyn.
Varvara Ilyinichna fell in love with him, but it did not end with anything. According to one version, he made a bet that he would seduce Turkestanova, according to another, he wanted to marry her, but, having found Alexander with her one night, he abandoned this idea. Be that as it may, she found herself pregnant and in April 1819 gave birth to a daughter named Maria. After this, driven to despair, she took poison, but it did not work immediately. After suffering for several weeks, Princess Turkestanova died in May 1819.
A.S. Pushkin wrote about this in his diary:
“Princess Turkistanova, a lady-in-waiting, had a secret relationship with the late sovereign and with Prince Vladimir Golitsyn, who knocked her up. The princess confessed to the sovereign. Accepted
the necessary measures were taken, and she gave birth in the palace, so no one suspected. Empress Maria Feodorovna came to her and read the Gospel to her while she lay unconscious in bed. She was moved to other rooms - and she died. The Empress was angry when she learned about everything..."
It was officially announced at court that the maid of honor V.I. Turkestanova died of cholera...
And lastly this issue. Despite the fact that Emperor Alexander is credited with such a large number of illegitimate children, the fact that his legal wife gave birth to only two girls, both believed to be from her lovers, makes some researchers generally question Alexander Pavlovich’s ability to produce offspring.
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