Elizaveta Petrovna (1709-1762) - Empress of All Russia from the Romanov dynasty, whose reign was marked by the flourishing of culture and science. Having become the queen of Russia, she sought to continue the political course of her father, Peter I. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, whose biography is full of interesting facts, thanks to wise rule, was able to hold out on the throne for two decades.
Biography[]
Childhood[]
Elizaveta Petrovna was born on December 18 (29), 1709 in the Kolomna Palace. She was the illegitimate daughter of Tsar Peter I and Marta Skavronskaya, the future 1 Russian Empress Catherine I.
Elizabeth was able to receive the official title of princess only two years after her birth, when her parents got married.
Elizabeth was the 2nd Russian princess, the second successor to the throne, as she had an older sister, Anna. The girl was not burdened with her studies: she studied in depth only the French language and pored over the development of a beautiful handwriting. Knowledge of history, geography and other sciences was very superficial. The young princess was much more interested in fashionable outfits, dancing and taking care of her own appearance - this passion largely determined the characteristics of Elizabeth Petrovna.
Peter I made big plans for a beautiful daughter, dreaming of marrying her to one of the representatives of European royal dynasties. These attempts were unsuccessful, and after the death of her parents, Elizaveta Petrovna stopped her efforts regarding her marriage.
Ascension to the throne[]
With the beginning of the reign of Anna Leopoldovna's cousin, Elizabeth's life changed dramatically. Accustomed to luxury, the princess was exiled to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, where she was forced to lead a very modest lifestyle.
The message about Elizabeth and her plight only fueled hatred for Anna Leopoldovna in society. The tightening of tax laws, the dominance of foreigners at court, the disgrace of the Russian nobility - all this led to a bloodless coup d'état in 1741.
The people saw the daughter of Peter I as their ruler, and 31-year-old Elizaveta Petrovna, with the help of her faithful assistant Lestok and the guardsmen of the Preobrazhensky regiment, came to power.
In April 1742, the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna took place, which took place on an unprecedented scale.
Governing body[]
Immediately after the coronation, Elizabeth Petrovna signed a document according to which she was recognized as the only legitimate heir to the Russian throne after the death of Peter II. The next step was the proclamation of a political course aimed at returning the legacy of Peter I.
As during the reign of Catherine I, trusted people of the empress received power in the country. They were Alexei Razumovsky and Peter Shuvalov. And if Razumovsky, being a modest man, tried to stay away from big politics, then Shuvalov practically independently led the country in the 1750s.
In a brief biography of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, it is worth noting her achievements in foreign policy. On her account there were victories in two major wars: the Russian-Swedish and the Seven Years. Thanks to this, the authority of Russia on the world stage was strengthened.
Her reign can be briefly described as the humanization of public life. Elizaveta Petrovna softened many of the harsh decrees of Peter I, abolished the death penalty for the first time in 100 years, and seriously took up the cultural development of the country. With the beginning of her reign in Russia, the Age of Enlightenment began.