Paul 1 conspiracy against the emperor. Chronology of the assassination of Paul I

Pavel Petrovich Romanov, known as Emperor Paul I, ascended the throne in 1796 after the death of his mother, Catherine the Great. The new emperor, who had an extremely negative attitude towards both his mother and her entourage, saw his goal as implementing a state reorganization that would not leave any memories of the previous era. The extremely harsh methods of Paul I, the repression to which even the highest-ranking government officials, including members of the imperial family, were subjected, led to the fact that the position of the emperor himself became precarious.

He managed to turn almost everyone against himself Russian elite, including guard officers who were driving force all palace coups of the 18th century.

In the summer of 1799, a group of conspirators began to form, hatching plans to remove the emperor from power and enthrone Paul’s eldest son, Alexandra.

The conspiracy was led by Vice-Chancellor Nikita Panin, Governor General of St. Petersburg Peter Palen, Catherine the Great's last favorite Platon Zubov together with brothers Nikolai and Valerian. The total number of persons involved in the conspiracy by the beginning of March 1801 ranged from 180 to 300 people.

Portrait of Nikita Petrovich Panin. Artist Jean Louis Veil. Source: Public Domain

Alexander gives the go-ahead

According to some reports, the conspirators were planning a plot for the so-called “Ides of March” when he was killed Dictator of Rome Julius Caesar. However, the plans were adjusted due to the fact that information about the preparation of the conspiracy became known to Paul I.

On March 9, the emperor summoned Palen and asked what he knew about the conspiracy. The Governor-General of St. Petersburg replied that he himself was a member of it, preparing to arrest the conspirators red-handed. Palen managed to calm the emperor, gaining some time to implement his plans.

Paul, suspecting those closest to him, ordered his own wife, as well as his eldest sons, to be kept under house arrest in the Mikhailovsky Castle. Alexandra And Constantine.

Immediately after the conversation with the emperor, Palen met with Alexander and informed him that Paul had signed a decree to bring members of the imperial family to trial. The head of the conspirators asks the heir to the throne to give the go-ahead to carry out the plan. After some hesitation, Alexander agrees, insisting that his father should not be harmed. Palen assures that no one is planning physical influence on Paul I.

Last oath

11 (March 23, new style), 4:00. The Emperor (as usual) wakes up early. After the morning toilet, he begins state affairs.

5:00 - 9:00. Paul I works in his office. Palen makes the traditional report to the emperor on international affairs.

9:00. The emperor, together with the heir to the throne, goes to “inspect the troops.”

10:00. Pavel is present at the parade ground. At the same time, Palen, who left the palace after the report, gathers the guard officers at his apartment, where he expresses to them the sovereign’s particular displeasure with their service and the threat to exile everyone. Those gathered “left with sorrowful faces and despondency in their hearts.”

11:00. The Emperor strolls on horseback with his pet valet Ivan Kutaisov.

13:00. Paul I dines at Mikhailovsky Castle with his entourage. At the same time, Palen sends out invitations to his dinner. Only those involved in the conspiracy are invited to the event.

15:00 - 17:00. The emperor swears in family members, with the exception of minors, “not to enter into any connection with the conspirators.” After the oath, Paul I is in excellent spirits and allows Alexander and Constantine to have dinner with him.

"Which have not be avoided"

21:00. The Emperor is having dinner at the Mikhailovsky Castle. Alexander and Konstantin and their wives are invited to dinner, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna; wife of the main conspirator, State Dame Palen and her daughter maid of honor Palen, Maid of Honor Protasova, maid of honor Kutuzova 2nd, State Lady of Rennes,State Lady Countess Lieven; Kutuzov, Stroganov, Naryshkin, Chief Chamberlain Count Sheremetev, equestrian Mukhanov, Senator Prince Yusupov.

21:30. Dinner is over. Before leaving, Pavel talks with Mikhail Kutuzov. Looking at himself in the mirror, the monarch remarks: “Look how funny the mirror is; I see myself in it with my neck on the side.” Leaving for his room, the emperor says: “What happens, cannot be avoided.”

22:00. Lunch at Platon Zubov's. Conspirators in last time discussing a plan of action.

22:15. Paul I sends pages with letters and visits some posts in the Mikhailovsky Castle. After this, he closes the outer door. Who was at the door post at that moment sentry Agapeev later he would report that the emperor was praying at the icon in the hallway.

22:30. Life physician Grivet gives the emperor a lemon-mint tincture.

Mikhailovsky Castle. Parade under Emperor Paul I. Source: Public Domain

“To eat scrambled eggs, you must first break the eggs.”

22:00 − 22:30. Alerted, the 3rd battalion of the Semenovsky regiment, led by the heir to the throne Alexander, is sent to the Mikhailovsky Castle to replace the Preobrazhensky battalion, which occupied guard duty in the castle. This change is made under the pretext that the next day, March 12, Paul I will be early to watch the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Semenovtsy occupy all posts in the castle, except for the internal infantry guard, located near the hall, called the restroom, adjacent to the bedroom of Paul I.

22:00 - 23:00. Dinner at Palen's. Both the leaders of the conspiracy and ordinary participants from among the guards officers are present. The dinner is attended by 40-60 people, most of whom are intoxicated. Platon Zubov informs the rank-and-file participants in the coup that the emperor will be deposed that night. At the same time, he points out that Alexander gave permission for this, and Catherine the Great from the very beginning wanted to transfer the throne to her grandson. There is indecision among the conspirators when it comes to what to do with Paul after being removed from power. Palen remarks: “I remind you, gentlemen, that in order to eat scrambled eggs, you must first break the eggs.” It was tentatively decided to imprison the deposed emperor in Shlisselburg.

Portrait of Pyotr Alekseevich Palen. Unknown artist. Source: Public Domain

22:30 - 23:30. Paul I spends an hour in his room favorites of Anna Gagarina, going down the secret staircase to her. After this he returns to his bedroom.

"We've gone too far"

23:10 - 23:20. Having received a signal about the movement of the regiments, Palen suggests that the officers divide into two groups. The first is headed by Palen himself, the second by Platon Zubov and commander of the Izyum Light Horse Regiment Leonty Bennigsen. Both groups advance to Mikhailovsky Castle. The Zubov-Bennigsen column goes through Sadovaya to the Nativity Gate of the Mikhailovsky Castle. Another, led by Palen, through Nevsky Prospekt and the main entrance under the Resurrection Gate.

12 (March 24, new style), 0:00. The conspirators enter Mikhailovsky Castle. Sentinels at several posts try to raise the alarm, but high-ranking officers from among the participants in the conspiracy calm them down.

0:15 - 0:30. The conspirators approach the emperor's chambers. Platon Zubov hits sentry Agapeev on the back of the head with a saber. Then it is neutralized in the same way hussar Kirillov, who was on duty behind the first door of the imperial chambers. Both Agapeev and Kirillov will ultimately survive.

0:30. The Zubov-Bennigsen group ends up in the chambers of Paul I. The emperor's lackeys make a noise, which puts Platon Zubov into a state of panic. He makes an attempt to leave the palace, but Bennigsen stops him: “How? You yourself brought us here and now you want to retreat? This is impossible, we have come too far to listen to your advice, which is leading us to destruction. The die has been cast, we must act. Forward".

Murder with extreme cruelty

0:30 - 0:45. The conspirators enter the emperor's bedroom. Pavel, hearing the noise, hides behind the fireplace screen. Platon Zubov, not finding the monarch, says in French in confusion: “The bird has flown away.” Bennigsen, keeping his cool, walked up to the bed, touched it with his hand and said: “The nest is warm - the bird is not far.” A minute later, the conspirators discover Pavel.

The assassination of Emperor Paul I, engraving from a French historical book, 1880s.

The nineteenth century in Russia began with the regicide. On the night of March 12, 1801 in St. Petersburg, in his own Mikhailovsky Castle, the emperor was beaten to death Russian Pavel I. At half past midnight, a group of 12 officers burst into the emperor’s chambers; as a result of the conflict that arose between them, the emperor was hit in the temple with a heavy gold snuffbox and was strangled with a scarf. The masterminds of this conspiracy were Peter Palen and Nikita Panin, and the group of direct executors of the palace coup (“drunken guards”) was led by Leonty Benningsen and Nikolai Zubov. They called the reason for the conspiracy dissatisfaction with the unpredictable policy pursued by Paul I. They were irritated by the disgrace and insults to which many of them had already been subjected, and others could be subjected to in the future. In fact, the conspirators wanted to replace the emperor with a more “compliant” one.

Later, other versions became widespread, among which the English trace can be singled out. Perhaps Great Britain, which was dissatisfied with the severance of relations between the countries and the alliance of Russia with Napoleon, directly financed the conspiracy and directed it through the English ambassador Whitworth. One way or another, until 1905, information about the events of the night of March 12, 1801 was under censorship ban. For more than 100 years in Russia, the official version of the emperor’s death was a natural cause: “death from apoplexy” (stroke). In connection with this, there was even a joke in society that Emperor Paul I died from an apoplectic blow to the temple with a snuff box.

It is worth noting that many Russian rulers were maligned by their contemporaries for trying to understand what exactly Russia's interests were and then trying to follow those interests. Emperor Paul I fits the role of such an undeservedly slandered person. His murder is considered by some to be one of the first attempts to organize “external control” of Russia with the help of the so-called “fifth column”, which solved its problem without limiting itself in the choice of means. At the same time, the regicide received such a “mass media” design that even after more than 200 years, the legend with which the members of the conspiracy framed their intention is still in circulation.

This legend is that Emperor Paul I was distinguished by “tyranny” and “tyranny”; it was also declared that the emperor was almost “insane.” According to available evidence, the emperor's character was indeed unsweetened. But it is unlikely that for the Russian nobility Paul I was worse than the governors, most officials and other administrative officials of the empire for his subordinates or the majority of landowners for their serfs. In confirmation of his “tyranny”, an example is often given with the reference of Suvorov. But for some reason they forget that the emperor himself soon admitted his mistake, which was the result of a hot temper. How many of them even modern bosses Are middle managers able to admit they are wrong?

However, it was clearly not his hot temper and “tyranny” that became the reason for the conspiracy against the emperor; this conspiracy apparently had political overtones. Russia, since the time of Peter I, who actively invaded the politics of Europe, and during the reign of Catherine II, who had a very large weight in European politics, has not received any special dividends from this. Moreover, numerous British companies practically blocked Russian international trade, while small European electors and princes, mainly from German lands, sought to gain new possessions on the blood of a simple Russian soldier.

This is exactly what happened during the 2nd anti-French coalition, which was created on the initiative of Great Britain. Participation in it did not bring Russia any benefit. The troops of Alexander Suvorov, actively operating in Italy, crossed the Alps and took part in a large number of battles. As a result, Napoleon lost all his Italian acquisitions, but Austria received all the benefits from this, which, among other things, did not fulfill its allied obligations.

Mikhailovsky Castle

The Russian-English expedition organized in Holland led to numerous casualties among the expeditionary force of General Herman. During the first attack on Bergen alone, Russian troops lost about 3 thousand people killed, and about 1 thousand British were also killed. At the same time, the British troops did not support the Russian units that had already taken the city, and they had to retreat. This subsequently led to disaster and the evacuation of the expeditionary force to Great Britain. There, the Russian allies were treated quite poorly, resulting in an increase in the number of casualties.

As a result of this campaign, England was able to receive the entire Dutch fleet, but Russia did not receive anything valuable. In addition, Great Britain captured Malta, which the Russian emperor-turned-grandmaster Order of Malta, was going to use it for his own purposes. Malta could become a Russian province, and in the future one of the bases Russian fleet on the Mediterranean Sea. The series of these events forced Paul I to leave the number of participants in the second coalition, pushing Russia to establish an alliance with Napoleon. Under these conditions, according to some researchers, including Rambaud, Hoffmann, and Lavissa, the formation of joint plans between Bonaparte and Paul for a military campaign in India began.

In those years, England was the recognized “mistress of the seas,” but she did not have land ties with her richest colony. At the same time, France and Russia did not have strong enough fleets to conduct active combat operations against England at sea, but at the same time they had the opportunity to create a land route to India, which would pass along the shores of the Caspian Sea and further through the territory of modern Afghanistan. The organization of such a path could significantly enrich the Russian empire, while simultaneously undermining the economy of England.

Assassination of Paul I, engraving

According to the researchers of the Indian Campaign, it was planned to use about 70 thousand soldiers in this expedition, members of 2 expeditionary forces - one Russian and one French. French soldiers were supposed to arrive in Russia via the Black Sea. They had to cross several southern provinces and meet Russian troops at the mouth of the Volga. Neither the local khans and emirs, nor the British themselves had the strength to resist such a large-scale invasion.

The military campaign of France and Russia against India, which was considered the richest colony of Great Britain and brought huge income to the English treasury, could not but worry London. It is known that the Russian emperor even managed to send a military expeditionary force to Central Asia, which was also within the sphere of interests of England, commanded by the ataman of the Don Army, Vasily Orlov. The very next day after the death of Paul I, this detachment of Cossacks was recalled back.

If we talk about the internal policy of Paul I, then it was dictated by a clear understanding of state benefit. In first place here we can put 2 imperial decrees - the decree on the three-day corvee and the law on the imperial family and the order of succession to the throne. They were adopted on the same day - April 5, 1797.

The decree limiting the compulsory work of serfs for their landowner to 3 days a week was the first, albeit very clumsy, attempt to somehow limit serfdom. It is in this sense that its significance in the history of domestic legislation is quite great. For almost half a century, the Russian government has not made equivalent attempts to limit the power of landowners over their serfs.

The law on the imperial family and succession to the throne was intended to eliminate any basis for palace coups that so often shook Russia in the 18th century. Ironically, the man who prepared this law himself became a victim of the conspirators. This law eliminated any free interpretation of the rights to supreme power in the country, establishing strict order in this matter. 19th century jurists called this law the rudiment Russian constitution, since this law limited the will of the autocrat in such the most important issue like succession to the throne.

The law on succession to the throne and the decree on the three-day corvee show the remarkable abilities of the state thinking of Paul I. If we talk about some other orders of the emperor - limiting corporate self-government, restoring corporal punishment for eminent citizens and nobles, the only thing worthy of some regret is the fact that the emperor understood the equation of rights of their own subjects only as a reduction of the higher to the lower class, instead of gradually raising the lower strata to the level of the higher.

Although the murder of Emperor Paul I did not immediately return Russia to an alliance with England and a convenient policy of enmity with France, the ground was cut from under the feet of a possible mutually beneficial alliance between France and Russia. The course of the new Emperor Alexander I led the country first to the unnecessary wars of 1805 and 1807, and then to Napoleon himself to Moscow (although there was still a period after the conclusion of the Peace of Tilsit between the countries, when it seemed that it was still possible to somehow turn around -to another). As a result, for half a century Russia was absorbed in the tasks of building its ephemeral external greatness in Europe instead of dealing with its own problems of internal development. These were 50 years that Russia lost; already in the 1850-70s this was understood quite clearly.

Russia, Saint-Petersburg. 1801

Conspiracies against Paul smoldered throughout the years of his reign. He was the grandson eldest daughter Peter the Great Anna and, accordingly, the grandnephew of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Apparently, Pyotr Fedorovich (the future Peter III) was unlikely to be Paul's father. Catherine herself hinted at the paternity of her favorite Sergei Saltykov. Contemporaries also testified to the portrait resemblance...

Paul waited forty-two years for power. The relationship with my mother was difficult, to put it mildly. Catherine did not allow her son to participate in government affairs. Moreover, in last years nurtured the idea of ​​​​transferring the throne over the head of Paul to his son Alexander.

The character of the “Russian Hamlet,” as Pavel was poetically called, was strange. Having waited for the throne, Paul began by renaming Sevastopol Akhti-yar, prohibiting waltzing and wearing sideburns, and, uprooting the memory of the hated mother who took the throne from his father, brought down anger on her favorites - both living and dead.

Pavel received an excellent education for those times, but, like his father, he was interested in the Prussian military order and the personality of King Frederick the Great. He was an ironic, cheerful socialite, but at times he fell into fits of wild irritation, when, for a trifle reason, he would shout, stomp his feet, and could, with his cane at the ready, chase after someone who had aroused his anger. These sudden mood swings gave rise to many legends about the emperor’s tyranny. Pavel's first marriage was unsuccessful - Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna cheated on her husband with Count Razumovsky. She died during childbirth and was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The second marriage with the Württemberg princess Sophia Dorothea, who became Maria Feodorovna after accepting Orthodoxy, turned out to be quite successful and “fruitful” - the couple had 10 children, the future of the dynasty was secured.

During the four years of his reign, the emperor took a number of measures that were truly necessary and which found their development in subsequent reigns. But the problem is that the changes were made quickly, and just as quickly they could be canceled, as regulations, including petty ones, poured out of the cornucopia. Consider the famous bans on wearing round hats (a sign of sympathy for the Jacobins!), on the use of certain words, for example, “society”, instead of “club” it was ordered to use the word “assembly”, “fatherland” - “state”, “guard” - “guard”, etc.

Contemporaries explained the regicide on March 11, 1801 by the class policy of Paul I: violation of the articles of the Charter of 1785, repressions against the officer corps, political instability in the country, weakening guarantees of noble freedoms and privileges, severance of diplomatic relations with England, and finally, the inability of the monarch to govern the empire . The government of Paul I actually formally violated the articles of the Charter by prohibiting provincial meetings of nobles and introducing corporal punishment for them. But the latter were used in exceptional cases, only on charges of political crimes and only after deprivation of the title of nobility.

Although there were no more than a dozen noblemen punished corporally, all these cases were known and condemned both in high society salons and in the guards barracks. Rumor associated them exclusively with the despotism of the emperor.

The question of the scale of the repressions at that time remains unclear. The memoirs of contemporaries are full of evidence of resignations, arrests, executions, deprivation of noble dignity, and finally, exile, including to Siberia. Information about the number of victims is contradictory: more than 2.5 thousand officers - according to Valishevsky, more than 700 people - according to Schilder; Eidelman’s calculations are the most authoritative: about 300 nobles were imprisoned, sent to hard labor and into exile, not counting the mass of others who were punished less cruelly, while the total number of victims exceeded 1.5 thousand people. Nobles were exiled to Siberia very rarely, more often to estates, to the provinces, or to an army regiment.

The first “conspiracies” against Paul date back to 1797-1799, and then the heir was already involved in them - Grand Duke Alexander.

In 1800, a conspiracy began to be woven, which ultimately cost the emperor his life. The main role in it was played by Count Nikita Petrovich Panin, Admiral Osip Mikhailovich de Ribas and Count Pyotr Alekseevich von der Palen.

Apparently Panin was ideological inspirer conspiracy. In a letter to Maria Fedorovna, he admits the prominent role he played in the events of March 11, and points out the motives for his participation in them, the most important of which is “he has nothing to be grateful for.” It was Panin who tried to involve Alexander in the conspiracy. Saxon resident in St. Petersburg K.-F. Rosenzweig, referring to the oral testimony of Panin himself, reported that in the fall of 1800 he began secret negotiations with Prince Alexander on the introduction of a regency following the example of England, where crown prince, Parliament and the Cabinet were controlled by the mad King George III. After Alexander I came to power, the Swedish ambassador to Russia, Stedingk, reported to his government: “Panin’s project of revolution against the late emperor was, in a certain sense, drawn up with the consent of the now reigning emperor and was distinguished by great moderation. He set out to take away from Paul government power, leaving him, however, the representation of the supreme power, as we see in Denmark.” According to Czartoryski, the heir even discussed the details of such a plan: “Paul would still have to live in the Mikhailovsky Palace and use the royal palaces in the country... He [Alexander] imagined that in such solitude Paul would have everything that could give him pleasure , and that he will be content and happy there.”

But Panin went into exile in November 1800, and Ribas suddenly died in early December. By the way, there were rumors that the admiral was poisoned by conspirators who were afraid that the founder of Odessa, known for his treachery, would decide to reveal their plans to Pavel. There was only one St. Petersburg military governor, Palen, left, and, to his credit, he coped with his job masterfully. Russia, it seems, has never yet known such a ramified and brilliantly organized conspiracy, which was carried out entirely according to the planned plan. Many details of Palen's enterprise are still shrouded in darkness.

One of the main participants and witnesses of the regicide, General Levin-August-Theophilus von Bennigsen, claims. “Count Panin and General de Ribas were the first to draw up the plan for this coup. The latter died without waiting for this plan to be realized, but the former did not lose hope of saving the state. He reported his thoughts to the military governor, Count Palen. They once again spoke about this to Grand Duke Alexander and convinced him to agree to the coup, for the revolution, caused by general discontent, should not break out today tomorrow, and even then it will be difficult to foresee its consequences.”

Alexander first rejected the proposal, then, succumbing to persuasion, promised to pay attention to him and discuss the matter. (His brother, Grand Duke Constantine, remained uninitiated until the last moment.)

Palen took on the functions of the “technical” leader of the conspiracy. It was he who developed the plan, selected the right people. After Panin's removal, he negotiated with Alexander. Palen's motives were to maintain his position, which was difficult given the fickle character of Paul I. As for the participation of the English ambassador Lord Whitworth in the conspiracy, it was expressed in the generous financing of this enterprise. Many saw Palen's gold in guineas. In March 1801, while playing cards, Palen bet 200 thousand rubles in gold. For a modest Courland nobleman, even if he has reached the heights of power, this is a lot of money.

Other participants in the conspiracy include Bennigsen, brothers Peter, Valerian and Nikolai Zubov, generals Talyzin and Uvarov, Yashvil, Tatarinov, Skaryatin and many others. The total number of conspirators reached 60 people, although, of course, more people knew about the conspiracy. It is interesting that the dignitary aristocracy (with rare exceptions), as well as the rank and file of the guards regiments, did not take part in the conspiracy.

Meanwhile, Pavel discharged the 13-year-old Prince of Württemberg Eugene from Germany, expressed his intention to adopt him and even hinted that it was in this boy that he saw his heir.

The conspirators, led by Palen, launched a campaign to remove the last remaining close associates of Paul, primarily Rostopchin. After Rostopchin’s resignation, A.B. again became vice-chancellor. Kurakin, and Palen - a member of the board of foreign affairs, continuing to manage St. Petersburg, the postal department and a significant part of the army. The way for the coup was open.

Palen increasingly frightens the heir with the dangerous prospect of his own future: they say that the increasingly obvious madness of the emperor will pose a dilemma for Alexander - either the throne, or imprisonment and even death. In the end, “we managed to shake his filial affection and even convince him to establish means to achieve a denouement, urgency which he himself could not help but be aware of.” However, Alexander demanded from Palen a preliminary oath that there would be no attempt on his father’s life. “I gave him my word: I was not so devoid of sense as to internally undertake the obligation to perform an impossible thing; but it was necessary to calm the scrupulousness of my future sovereign, and I encouraged his intentions, although I was convinced that it would not be fulfilled. I knew perfectly well that it was necessary to complete the revolution or not start it at all, and that if Paul’s life was not terminated, then his doors the dungeons will soon open, a terrible reaction will occur.”

Paul I suspected about Palen's secret relations with Alexander. They had indeed already discussed the details of the action, and the heir vouched for the Semenovsky regiment under his command. Indeed, the officers were “very determined,” but, being young and frivolous people, they needed guidance from experienced and energetic people. These included, among others, the Zubov and Bennigsen brothers, who were then in disgrace and outside the capital.

According to Palen, he played on the “romantic character” of the emperor, convincing him to generously forgive all disgraced persons. It is difficult to say how things stood in reality, but on November 1, 1800, a decree was issued that allowed “all those who left the service, or were expelled... to join it.” As a result, Platon and Valerian Zubov were appointed to the posts of directors of the 1st and 2nd Cadet Corps, and Nikolai Zubov became the chief of the Sumy Hussar Regiment.

Bennigsen came to St. Petersburg “on his own business,” where other participants in the conspiracy, mainly officers, were already present or had arrived. Easter was first chosen as the date for execution - March 24, 1801. Then they moved it to the 15th, and upon learning of Pavel’s intention to dismiss Palen and replace him with Arakcheev, they settled on March 11th.

“Our conversation stopped there,” Palen continues, “I immediately wrote about him to the Grand Duke, urging him to deliver the planned blow tomorrow; he forced me to postpone it until the 11th day, when the 8th battalion of the Semenovsky regiment, in which he was even more confident than in the others, would be on duty. I agreed to this with difficulty and was not without anxiety in the next two days.”

On March 11 at 22:00 Pavel receives the pages of the 1st Cadet Corps (chief Platon Zubov). The guard is changed, the horse guards, who displeased the emperor (the regiment is not involved in the conspiracy, is loyal to Paul) leave the castle. The king goes to his bedchamber. He prays for some time before the icon in the hallway. Then the physician, Grivet, gives Pavel some medicine. Doors are closing. The Emperor descends a secret staircase to his mistress Gagarina. The princess's chambers were located under his personal apartments; a special staircase led to her. At Gagarina’s, he wrote a note to the ailing – obviously “diplomatically” – Minister of War Kh.A. Lieven: “Your ill health has been dragging on for too long, and since affairs cannot be directed depending on whether the front sights help you or not, you will have to transfer the portfolio of the War Ministry to Prince Gagarin.” It was a gift to the husband of his mistress. However, the paper did not reach its intended destination. This was the last document signed by Paul 1. An hour later, at midnight, he went up to his room...

Meanwhile, the conspirators were making their final preparations. The participants gathered in different apartments and drank champagne for courage. After eleven, libations continued in the annex of the Winter Palace. There were generals Talyzin, Depreradovich, Uvarov, colonels Vyazemsky, Zapolsky, Arsenyev, Volkonsky, Mansurov and others - just a few dozen people. Palen, Zubov, Bennigsen come here. The first proclaims a toast to the health of the new emperor, Alexander, confusing some of the officers. Platon Zubov gives a speech in support of this. The inevitable question also arises of what to do with Paul. According to several sources, Palen responds with a French proverb: “When you make an omelet, you break the eggs.” Some people ask for a more complete explanation, and Colonel Bibikov even allegedly offers the best option get rid of all the Romanovs at once. Soon the participants arm themselves with pistols and form, according to plan, two columns of officers to close in the Mikhailovsky Castle. The first is headed by Palen, the second is led by the Zubovs and Bennigsen.

They report that the battalions of the Preobrazhensky Regiment are approaching Summer Garden, and the battalions of the Semenovsky regiment (its guards guard around the castle) are located on Nevsky Prospekt in the Gostiny Dvor area.

the main task placed on Bennigsen's column, with Plato and Nikolai Zubov with him. According to Bennigsen’s story, the column reached the emperor’s chambers unhindered, but only 12 people remained, because the rest got lost along the way. In front of the door of the imperial hallway, the adjutant of the Preobrazhensky regiment Argamakov told the valet that he urgently needed to report something. The door opened and they burst in. The valet hid, one of the haiduks who were there rushed at those who entered, but was stopped by a blow to the head with a saber. The noise, of course, woke up Pavel, and he could still have escaped through the secret staircase to Gagarina, but, too frightened, he hid in one of the corners of the small screens blocking his bed.

Memoirists describe the emperor in his last moments in different ways. He is demoralized and can barely speak; he maintains his dignity and even meets the conspirators with a sword in his hand. The Zubovs stay aloof, Bennigsen commands, confusion, the emperor is allegedly offered to abdicate the throne in favor of his son, he refuses, hesitation, the king tries to explain himself to Platon Zubov (the senior in rank). “You are no longer the emperor,” the prince declares. Pavel slaps him on the wrist. At this moment, Nikolai Zubov stabs the emperor in the temple with a golden snuffbox. The king falls unconscious. The dump begins. The teeth are removed. Bennigsen watches from the side as the guards officers beat Pavel. To stop the disgusting scene and complete the job, he suggests using a scarf. According to some sources, it was the scarf of Staff Captain Skaryatin, according to others, they used the scarf of the emperor himself.

Benningsen himself later told Langeron: “We are entering. Platon Zubov runs to the bed, finds no one and exclaims in French: “He ran away!” I followed Zubov and saw where the emperor was hiding. Like everyone else, I was in a ceremonial uniform, with a scarf, a ribbon over my shoulder, a hat on my head and a sword in my hand. I lowered it and said in French: “Your Majesty, your reign is over: Emperor Alexander has been proclaimed. On his orders we will arrest you; you must abdicate the throne. Don’t worry about yourself: they don’t want to take your life; I am here to guard and protect her, submit to your fate; but if you show even the slightest resistance, I will no longer be responsible for anything.” The Emperor did not answer me a word. Platon Zubov repeated to him in Russian what I said in French. Then he exclaimed: “What have I done to you!” One of the guard officers replied: “For four years now, you have been torturing us...”

Bennigsen says that at that moment a group of officers, who had previously lost their way, burst into the hallway. The noise they made frightened Bennigsen's companions, who decided that other guards were rushing to the rescue of the king, and they fled. Only Bennigsen remained with the emperor and “held him back, impressing him with his appearance and his sword.” When their comrades met, the fugitives returned with them to Pavel’s bedroom, in the crowd they overturned the screens onto the lamp standing on the floor, it went out. Bennigsen went into another room for a minute to get a candle, and “during this short time Paul ceased to exist.”

Empress Maria Feodorovna reacted violently to the incident, quickly getting dressed and demanding to be allowed to see her husband’s body. However, the soldiers blocked her path, because the doctors were hastily applying make-up to the dead man.

The Empress continued to demand access to the body. Alexander allowed Bennigsen to do this if it was possible “to do without any noise,” and, personally accompanying her, Maria Feodorovna took Bennigsen by the arm and first went to the grand duchesses and moved with them to the royal chambers. Having said goodbye to her husband, she kept delaying her departure to the Winter Palace. and only at the beginning of dawn she got into the carriage.

By decision of the leaders of the conspiracy, those closest to Paul I were arrested on the same night: the commandant of the Mikhailovsky Castle Kotlubitsky, Chief Marshal Naryshkin, Prosecutor General Obolyaninov, the commander of the Izmailovsky regiment, Lieutenant General Malyutin, and the cavalry inspector, Lieutenant General Kologrivov.

The arrest also awaited the favorite, Count Kutaisov, for whose detention a squad was sent to the house of his mistress, the actress Chevalier. But this time the count left her earlier than usual. Hearing a noise in the royal chambers, he hastily ran out of the palace along a secret staircase without shoes or stockings and so rushed through the city to the house of his friend S. S. Lansky, where he found temporary shelter. The next day he returned to own house, pretended to be sick and even begged Palen for guard duty, fearing any insults from the “rabble.”

How was the coup received in Russia? Among the people - indifferently, among the nobility - with jubilation. The famous publicist Mason N.I. Grech, based on his youthful impressions, draws the following: “The amazement, joy, delight excited by this, however, disastrous, vile and shameful incident, is impossible to depict. Karamzin rightly said in his note about the state of Russia. “Who was more unhappy than Pavel1 Tears about his death flowed only in his family.” Not only in words, but also in writing, in print, especially in poems, they expressed joyful feelings of liberation from his tyranny.”

Decembrist MA Fonvizin wrote: “Decent people in Russia, not approving of the means by which they got rid of Paul’s tyranny, rejoiced at his fall. In houses, on the streets, people cried, hugged each other, as on the day of Bright Resurrection. This delight was expressed, however, by only the nobility; other classes accepted this news rather indifferently.”

A private from Sablukov’s life squadron, Grigory Ivanov, when asked by the commander whether he would swear allegiance to Alexander after examining the body of the late monarch, replied: “Exactly so, although he would not be better off than the deceased. But, by the way, no matter who is the priest, he is the father.”

On March 12, the manifesto was published. “The fate of the Almighty was pleased to end the life of our dear parent, Sovereign Emperor Pavel Petrovich, who died suddenly of an apoplexy on the night of the 11th to 12th of this month. We, having accepted the hereditary Imperial All-Russian throne, will also accept the responsibility to govern the people entrusted to us by God according to the laws and according to the heart of our august grandmother, the Empress Catherine the Great, who rests in God, whose memory will forever remain dear to us and the entire Fatherland, and walking according to Her wise intentions, we will achieve to elevate Russia to the heights of glory and deliver inviolable bliss to all Our faithful subjects, whom through this we call to seal their loyalty to Us with an oath before the face of the all-seeing God, asking Him to give Us the Strength to bear the burden now lying on Us” Signed Alexander.

MAY THE LORD DELIVER US FROM THE SECOND"

Of the 46 Roman emperors, 33 were forcibly overthrown; the history of Byzantium contains hundreds of conspiracies; in Turkey and Arab countries There were dozens of “serial revolutions”. Officers, guards, and guards change South American dictators quickly and often. In Russia for 76 years, from 1725 to 1801, according to one account there were five, and according to another, eight “palace revolutions”.

So, a palace coup is an event as “indecent” as it is common for entire countries, centuries, and eras. The conspiracy of March 11, 1801 is in this sense a historical particular...

However, none of the Russian coups of the 18th century. they did not think and write as much as about the events of 1801. Let us note once again the interest, the most serious reflections, the historical and artistic plans of various figures of Russian culture and social thought: Pushkin, Herzen, Tolstoy, Tynyanov; let us remember Vyazemsky’s notes, Merezhkovsky’s play “Paul I”, which thundered at the beginning of this century, in Soviet time novel by O. Forsh “Mikhailovsky Castle”.

March 1801 is of interest to the historian, artist, and thinker. Some features of this event, which distinguish it from the rest, paradoxically help to get closer to the more general, deep-seated patterns of the Russian 18th and 19th centuries, to add something serious to the formulation of the problem of power, people, ideology, to consider the tragic collision of ends and means...

“There is no connection between the two marks, but their proximity is remarkable,” comments S. N. Durylin, “Goethe placed the work or thought on the most important creation of his genius next to a political event that took place in distant Russia - it seemed so important and significant to him »

Whether Goethe really saw a universal “Faustian” meaning in the events of March 11 remains, of course, a hypothesis. Soon, however, the great German is echoed by the young Pushkin, who, as usual, says a lot in one phrase: “The reign of Paul proves that Caligulas can be born even in enlightened times...”.

REGICIDE. FROM M.A.'S NOTES FONVIZINA

Having entered service in the Guard in 1803, I personally knew many who participated in the conspiracy; Many times I heard the details of the criminal catastrophe, which was then still fresh in my memory and served as the subject of the most lively stories in officer conversations. More than once, while standing on guard at the Mikhailovsky Castle, out of curiosity I went into the rooms occupied by Pavel and into his bedroom, which remained in its original form for a long time; I also saw a hidden staircase along which he went down to his mistress, Princess Gagarina, former Lopukhina. Eyewitnesses explained to me on the spot how everything happened. Comparing the stories I read in various foreign books about the death of Paul with my own memories of what I heard about it, I will begin my story with a list of conspirators whose names I could remember. All of them numbered up to 60 people, except for most of the guards officers, who, although not actually participating in the conspiracy, guessed that it existed and, out of hatred for Pavel, were ready to contribute to its success. Here are the faces known to me and everyone at that time: St. Petersburg military governor general Count von der Palen; Vice-Chancellor Count N.P. Panin; Prince Platon Zubov - chief of the 1st cadet corps; his brothers: Valeryan - chief of the 2nd cadet corps and Nikolai; Major General Bennigsen and Talyzin - commander of the Preobrazhensky regiment and inspector of the St. Petersburg inspection; chiefs of the regiments: Kexholmskago - Verderevsky; Senate battalions - Ushakov; 1st Artillery Regiment - Tuchkov; commanders of the guards regiments: Uvarov - Kavalergardskago; Yankovic-Demirievo - Horse Guards; Depreradovich - Semenovsky, and Prince Vyazemsky - chief of the 4th battalion of the Preobrazhensky Regiment; Colonels of the same regiment: Zapolsky and Argamakov; captain Shenshin and staff captain Baron Rosen; lieutenants: Marin and Leontyev; two Argamakov brothers; Count Tolstoy - Semenovsky regiment colonel; Prince Volkonsky - adjutant V. K. Alexander Pavlovich; lieutenants: Savelyev, Kikin, Pisarev, Poltoratsky, Efimovich; Izmailovsky Regiment Colonel Mansurov; lieutenants: Volkhovskoy, Skaryatin and; Cavalry Regiment Colonel Golenishchev-Kutuzov; Captain Titov; Lieutenant Gorbatov; artillerymen: Colonel Prince Yashvil; Lieutenant Tatarinov; naval captain commander Klokachev. In addition to the military, several courtiers and civilians and even retirees took part in the conspiracy; I don't remember their names.

The soul of the conspiracy and the main actor was Count Palen, one of the smartest people in Russia, brave, enterprising, with a decisive, unshakable character. A Kurdish by birth, he entered the Russian service as a cornet in the Horse Guards Regiment under Peter III. During the reign of Catherine, Palen diligently promoted the annexation of Courland to the empire, fell in love with Russia and was wholeheartedly devoted to his new fatherland. With regret and indignation, he looked at Paul's insane autocracy, at the inconstancy and variability of his foreign policy, which threatened the prosperity and power of Russia. Paul, at first an enemy of the French Revolution, ready to make all sacrifices to suppress it, annoyed with his recent allies, to whom he rightly attributed failures, experienced by his troops - the defeat of the generals: Rimskago-Korsakov in Switzerland and Germany in Holland - after a glorious campaign in Italy, he suddenly completely changes his political system and not only puts up with the first consul French Republic, who knew how to deftly flatter him, but becomes an enthusiastic admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte and threatens England with war. The break with it caused inexplicable harm to our foreign trade. England supplied us with both manufactured and colonial products for the raw products of our soil. This trade opened up the only routes through which everything we needed could flow into Russia. The nobility was assured of reliable receipt of income from their estates, sending bread, ship timbers, masts, lard, hemp, flax, etc. overseas. The break with England, violating the material well-being of the nobility, intensified his hatred of Paul, already excited by his cruel despotism.

The idea of ​​escaping Paul in any way became almost common. Count Palen, indiscriminate in the choice of means leading to the goal, decided to implement it.

Count Palen was in great favor with the emperor, who knew how to appreciate his merits. Endowed with his power of attorney, he was privy to all the most important affairs of state. As the military governor of the capital, Palen was in charge of the secret police and through him alone the reports of its agents could reach the tsar: this was a guarantee of keeping the conspiracy underway secret. When the idea of ​​it matured, and Palen, knowing public opinion hostile to the government, could count on many accomplices, he decided to reveal his bold intention to Vice-Chancellor Count N.P. Panin, whom Pavel loved as the nephew of his teacher, Count N.I. Panina. Raised by an intelligent and enlightened uncle, Count N.P. Panin adopted his free way of thinking, hated despotism and wanted not only the fall of the mad tsar, but with this fall to establish legally free regulations that would limit the tsarist autocracy. On this score, Count Palen shared his way of thinking.

The first action of the agreed Palen and Panin was to try to reconcile with Pavel Catherine’s favorite, Prince Platon Zubov, and his brothers, Valerian and Nikolai, who were in disgrace - in which they succeeded, the Zubovs were accepted into the service and arrived in St. Petersburg. Palen and Panin knew in advance their hatred of Paul and were confident of their zealous assistance: therefore they revealed their intention to them. The Zubovs entered into a conspiracy, and with them several clients loyal to them, whom they patronized during their power under Catherine. Of these persons, by character and position, the most important were: General Baron Bennigsen, a Hanoverian, who served with distinction in the Polish and Persian wars in our troops, dismissed by Pavel as a man betrayed by Zubov, and accepted back into service at the request of Count Panin, who General Talyzin, commander of the Preobrazhensky Regiment and inspector of the troops stationed in St. Petersburg, was also friendly with him.

The acquisition of such an accomplice was all the more important for the success of the business because Talyzin was loved by his subordinates: as a beloved commander, he enjoyed great respect in all the guards regiments and could always attract not only officers, but also inspire the lower ranks, who were extremely attached to him .

All dissatisfied with the then order of things, all the best St. Petersburg society and guards officers gathered with the Zubov brothers and their sister Zherebtsova, a society lady who was in friendly relations with the English envoy Lord Whitward and with the officials of his embassy, ​​visitors to her living room. From this, the opinion spread in Europe that Lord Whitward was the main culprit of the conspiracy and that he did not spare English money to buy accomplices in order to prevent a break between Russia and England, which threatened the trade interests of the latter. This opinion has no basis, firstly, because Lord Whitward is too famous for his strict honesty and noble rules to be suspected of such an insidious and immoral action - then the conspiracy against Paul was a purely Russian affair, and for some truly patriotic, and in which, apart from Bennigsen, not a single foreigner participated; and Lord Whitward left Petersburg immediately after the break with England, therefore, before the conspiracy began. Evening meetings at the Zubov brothers or at Zherebtsova's gave rise to real political clubs in which the only subject of conversation was the then situation in Russia, suffering under the yoke of insane autocracy. They talked about the need to put an end to this. It never occurred to anyone to encroach on Paul’s life - there was one common desire: to force him to abandon the throne in favor of the heir, beloved by everyone for his kindness, education, meek and polite address, - qualities completely opposite to the indomitable and autocratic character of his father. All these meetings took place, clearly under the auspices of the St. Petersburg military governor, who, as the head of the secret police, received daily reports from spies and gave movement only to those of them that did not relate to the conspiracy and the persons involved in it. Count Palen gradually prepared Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich for the coup d'etat he was planning, for the successful completion of which his consent was necessary. Often seeing him, Palen always directed his speech to the difficult and disastrous state of Russia, suffering from the insane actions of his father, and, without drawing any conclusions, challenged the Grand Duke to frankness.

“STOP BEING KIDDY. GO TO REIGN!”

Meanwhile, Alexander, holed up in his ground-floor apartment, spent a sleepless night, listening for any unusual noise coming from above his head. The unexpected silence that suddenly followed the fleeting turmoil froze his blood. He did not dare to go and find out the news and languished in anxious anticipation. His wife was next to him. So, huddled close to each other, overwhelmed with fear, they sat the whole night, without uttering a single extra word. What's going on up there? Did Paul sign an act of renunciation? Have Zubov and Bennigsen achieved a peaceful resignation, as they promised in preparation for this action? Or?.. Cheek to cheek, hand in hand, the Grand Duke and Elizabeth did not allow even the thought of the worst. Alexander was dressed in a ceremonial uniform, but tears involuntarily rolled down from his eyes. Of course, from time to time he timidly glanced at the icon to ask her forgiveness for what was happening without his participation, but with his tacit consent.

Finally, the door suddenly swung open, and Palen appeared on the threshold. With guilty faces, several officers entered with him and surrounded Alexander. Palen spoke, and from his first words Alexander began to sob. He understood without words about the tragic ending of his father’s life and was well aware that even if he had not given the order for such an outcome, he still could not do anything to prevent it. And what difference does it make now what he looks like: more guilty, less guilty or truly guilty? Humane laws have every reason to justify him, since they are based on what guided his consciousness. His hands were clean, but his soul was stained forever. As he still continued to sob, buried in his wife's chest, Palen, approaching him two steps, with a mixed expression of firmness and compassion, said in French: “Stop being childish. Go reign. Go show yourself to the guards!” Elizabeth, who was the first to cope with her nerves, encourages Alexander, persuading him, despite his sadness, to pull himself together and show respect to the capital, which has made its choice.

“EVERYTHING WITH ME WILL BE LIKE WITH GRANDMOTHER”

Having risen with difficulty, Alexander follows Palen into the courtyard of the Mikhailovsky Castle, where the detachments that guarded the imperial home at night were lined up. Deathly pale, barely moving his legs, he tries to stay right in front of the soldiers lined up, shouting greetings. Palen, Bennigsen, Zubov surround him. His accomplices. And he should still be grateful to them! Overcoming disgust, grief, exhaustion, he exclaims in a voice trembling with tears: “Father suddenly died of an apoplexy. Everything with me will be the same as with my grandmother, Empress Catherine.” He is answered with a loud “Hurray!” “Maybe everything is for the best,” Alexander reassures himself, while the officers who killed his father congratulate him. Later, he accepts Konstantin’s congratulations, rude and unbridled, he is happy about the accession of his older brother. Only Empress Maria Feodorovna sincerely mourns the death of the hated monarch.

Why Paul 1 was killed becomes clear when studying the sources of data about this event. More precisely, this is clear after familiarization with the historical characteristics of the individuals who took the life of the emperor. The circumstances are known from the memoirs of contemporaries who communicated directly with participants in the conspiracy against the government. Only two documents created by the conspirators have survived, namely Bennigsen’s letter and Poltoratsky’s note.

Some information can also be gleaned from memoirists, but they are usually quite contradictory in detail. Modern historian Yu. A. Sorokin, who specializes in this period in the history of the Russian state, writes that authentic facts, separated from the fiction of eyewitnesses and simply contemporaries of this event, will probably never be reproduced.

The list of main sources from which you can find out where Paul 1 was killed, who and why, is quite meager for such an important historical event. Army Major General Nikolai Aleksandrovich Sablukov was in the Mikhailovsky Castle at the time of the murder, but was not directly among the conspirators. He wrote "Notes" on English language, which were intended for an extremely narrow circle of readers. They came into print only in 1865, and were first published in Russian in 1902 by Erasmus Kasprovich.

Leontius Bennigsen (one of the conspirators) spoke about the coup and the campaign against Napoleon in a letter to Fock. His speeches were recorded by several other interlocutors. Plans for a palace coup are mentioned according to Bennigsen in the memoirs of his nephew, physician Grivet, notes by Langeron, Adam Czartoryski, August Kotzebue and some other personalities.

Lieutenant General Konstantin Poltoratsky (then governor of Yaroslavl) left notes describing the tragic events. Poltoratsky belonged to the third (lowest) group of conspiracy participants. During the assassination of Paul I, he stood guard. The lieutenant general claimed that he did not know the exact date of the crime, since his immediate superior forgot to warn him.

The Russian commander of the Napoleonic wars, Alexander Langeron, arrived in the capital shortly after coup d'etat to collect information. His notes contain conversations with Palen, Prince Constantine. The final part contains the author's thoughts.

Why Paul 1 was killed was clear to his contemporaries, and especially to those who communicated with the participants in the conspiracy. Information about this tragic event can be gleaned from the following memoir sources:

• Daria Lieven, an agent of the Russian government in London (her mother-in-law was the teacher of the children of Paul I, and was in the Mikhailovsky Castle on the ill-fated night of March 11-12).
• Adam Czartoryski, a prince and friend of Alexander I, came to the capital after the coup.
• Writer Mikhail Fonvizin (he was 14 years old at the time of the murder) later conducted an entire study based on conversations with conspirators, whose names he does not name.
• Nikita Muravyov (8 years old at the time of the emperor's death) later compiled a detailed description of the events.
• Anonymous "Diary of a Contemporary".
• German playwright and novelist August Kotzebue, who was in the capital on the night of the murder (some sources mention that his son gave Alexander II a note about Paul’s death).
• Karl-Heinrich Geiking, who arrived shortly after the crime.

Why was Paul 1 killed? Prerequisites for committing a crime

Why was Paul 1 killed? In short, the main reason was his coronation itself. On such sad outcome the life of the emperor was influenced by his actions in the internal and foreign policy. In addition, among possible reasons they call the madness of Paul I, because everyone was sure that if something was not done about it, the country would face a revolution. But here we need to talk about everything in order.

Why was Paul 1 killed? The reasons are briefly listed above, but now it’s worth considering some of them in more detail. The premises of the conspiracy can be identified as follows:

1. Methods of government that amount to cruelty. Instability led to the plan to assassinate the king political course, a climate of uncertainty and fear in high circles, discontent of the nobles who were deprived of privileges. Paul I threatened the dynasty, and this allowed the participants in the conspiracy to consider themselves remaining loyal to the Romanovs.
2. Emperor's madness. If we proceed from the data of modern psychiatry, then Paul I, of course, was a severe neurotic. The tsar had an unrestrained character, often suffered from depression and panic attacks, and did not know how to choose reliable favorites. His subjects also considered the emperor abnormal because of his objectively unpopular orders. For example, in 1800 Paul suggested to the head catholic church move to Russia. Since 1799, the king was overwhelmed by suspicions about the infidelity of his wife and sons.
3. The fact of accession to the throne. Why was Paul 1 killed? The reasons lie in the very fact of the coronation of the king. Catherine II was preparing Alexander for the throne, so the coronation of Paul I served as a reason for dissatisfaction among a powerful circle of those close to the empress.
4. Deterioration of the king's relations with representatives of the nobility and the guard. There is a known case when staff captain Kirpichnikov received 1000 sticks for harsh statements about the Order of St. Anna (the order bore the name of the emperor’s beloved). Contemporaries believed that this fact played a significant moral role in the background to the murder of Paul.
5. Anti-English policy. The decision to withdraw from the anti-French coalition, made by Paul I at the very beginning of his reign, greatly interfered with the plans of the Austrians and the British. At the initial stage of the organization, the impending coup was clearly implicated English ambassador in St. Petersburg, but Pavel expelled him long before the murder. Some historians suggest that England did take part in the conspiracy.
6. A rumor that the emperor plans to imprison his wife and children in the fortress in order to marry one of his favorites (either Madame Chevalier or Anna Gagarina), as well as a decree legitimizing Paul's future illegitimate children.
7. Politics in the army. Paul introduced Prussian rules in the army, which irritated almost the entire officer corps and nobility in St. Petersburg. Dissatisfaction with the innovations was so great that it overshadowed all the emperor’s previous successful military reforms. Only the Preobrazhensky regiment remained truly loyal to the tsarist power.

Why was Paul 1 killed (briefly)? He simply prevented the conspirators. Most likely, it is worth talking here not about one specific reason for the coup, but about several factors that influenced this event to the greatest extent.

The original plan of the conspirators

The main part of the conspiracy participants who believed in the need for change was formed in the summer of 1799. At first, the criminals planned to simply arrest Paul in order to force him to leave the throne and transfer the rule to his eldest son. Nikita Panin (ideological inspirer) and Peter Palen (technical leader) considered it necessary to introduce a Constitution, but the first spoke about the regency, and the second about the murder of Paul.

They started talking about the regency only against the backdrop of the fact that shortly before the planning of the coup in Great Britain over the crazy King George III, the regency of his son was officially established. In Denmark, under the unbalanced Christian VII, there was also in effect a regent who later became King Frederick VI.

True, many historians believe that the main organizers initially planned the physical elimination of the emperor, and not simply the arrest or establishment of the guardianship of his son over him. This “plan B” was most likely the development of Peter Palen. Even Nikita Panin was not aware of the expected bloody outcome. At the dinner before entering the king's chambers, the question of how to deal with the emperor after his arrest was discussed. Palen answered everything very evasively. Even then one could suspect that he was planning to assassinate the sovereign.

Guard of cavalry guards

Conspirators against the Emperor

There are very, very many of those who were initiated into criminal plans, but who killed Paul 1? The conspiracy (according to various estimates) included from 180 to 300 people, so it makes sense to name only the main ones. Historian Nathan Eidelman all of them were conditionally divided into three groups:

1. Initiators, ideological inspirers, the most dedicated persons. Subsequently, many of them took high positions under the new emperor. Each of these people tried to whitewash themselves, which is why there are so many theories and speculations around this murder.
2. Officers brought in later who were not directly involved in the development of the strategy. We were involved in recruitment and leadership at the next level of the hierarchy.
3. Middle and junior officers. The men were selected on the basis of their dissatisfaction with Paul's system. Some of them became direct perpetrators, while others were involved in the crime only indirectly. For a long time historians believed that it was among these people that one should look for the one who killed Paul 1, the son of Catherine II. After all, the initiators sought to whitewash themselves at all costs; perhaps their words are true; ordinary officers became the perpetrators.

Nikita Panin was the ideological inspirer. It was he who came up with and planned everything, but did not directly participate in the crime. On the night of March 12 (the day Paul I was killed) he was in exile. Later, Alexander I returned the former vice-chancellor to the College of Foreign Affairs, but soon the young emperor and the count fell out. Panin was forced to return to the Dugino estate, where he spent the rest of his life.

Peter Palen was the king's support (it was already mentioned earlier that Paul was completely incapable of choosing reliable favorites). This man did not hide the fact that he participated in a conspiracy against the emperor; he spoke openly about this later in personal conversations. Under Alexander, he was removed from office because Maria Feodorovna (wife of Paul I) convinced her son of the danger of keeping such a person with him.

Leonty Bennigsen was extremely dissatisfied with Paul. Participation in the conspiracy did not affect his future career. The commander of the Izyum regiment even became a general a year after the coup, although he gained universal fame during the Napoleonic wars. It was Leontius Bennigsen who commanded the troops at the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau. This was the first big battle that the French failed to win. The military leader was showered with awards, became a Knight of the Order of St. George.

The first group included three Zubov brothers: Plato - the last favorite of Catherine II, Nikolai - it was he who owned the snuff box that was used to kill Paul 1, Valerian - his role in the plan is not entirely clear. He lost his leg, so he was not in St. Michael's Castle with the others. But it is believed that Valerian managed to recruit Alexander Argamakov, without whom the supporters of Panin and Palen would not have been able to penetrate the castle.

Place of death of Emperor Paul I

Where was Paul 1 killed? The king lost his life in the same place where he was born. The building of the Mikhailovsky Castle was erected on the site where the wooden Summer Palace of Catherine Petrovna stood. For many years, Mikhailovsky Castle remained Pavel's dream. The layout sketches and the general construction plan belonged to the emperor himself. The design process lasted almost twelve years. During these years, Paul I repeatedly turned to various examples of architecture that he saw while traveling abroad. The Emperor was killed just 39 days after moving to the Mikhailovsky Castle from the Winter Palace, where many coups took place.

Mikhailovsky Castle, engraving

And in which room was Pavel 1 killed? This tragic event happened in the emperor's own bedchamber. The room where Paul 1 was killed was turned into the church of the apostles Peter and Paul at the behest of his grandson, Alexander II.

The room where Paul I was killed

Omens associated with murder

There is several evidence that Paul had a presentiment of his death. On the day of the assassination, the emperor approached the mirrors in the palace and noted that his face was reflected distorted. The courtiers did not attach any importance to this then. However, Prince Yusupov (the head of the palaces) fell out of favor. On the same day, Paul I talked with Mikhail Kutuzov. The conversation turned to death. The Emperor's farewell words to the Russian commander were:

To go to the next world is not to sew knapsacks.

The emperor's dinner always ended at half past ten, and at ten Pavel was already in bed. It was so customary that all those present went into another room and said goodbye to the king. On the ill-fated evening before the murder, Paul I went into the next room, but did not say goodbye to anyone, but only said that whatever happens, it cannot be avoided.

There is a mention of distorting mirrors and Mikhail Kutuzov in the notes of one of the memoirists. Thus, the author writes (according to the commander) that the emperor, looking at the mirror with a defect, laughed and said that he saw himself in the reflection with his neck to the side. This was an hour and a half before his violent death.

In addition, they say that some time before the murder, a holy fool (wandering nun) allegedly appeared in St. Petersburg, who predicted that the Tsar would live as long as the letters in the inscription above the gates of the new palace (the same Mikhailovsky Palace). It was a biblical aphorism:

The holiness of the Lord befits your house for a long time.

The phrase has forty-seven characters. Paul I was in his forty-seventh year when he was killed.

Chronology: March 11-12, 1801

It is known in what year Paul 1 was killed - it happened in 1801. What happened immediately before the death of the emperor? How did he spend the last day of his life? On March 11 (old style), Pavel got up between four and five in the morning and worked from five to nine. At nine he went to inspect the troops, and at ten he received the usual parade parade. Then Paul walked on horseback with Ivan Kutaisov, the emperor’s favorite, a Turk who was captured and given to the sovereign when he was still heir to the throne.

At one o'clock in the afternoon Paul had lunch with his associates. Meanwhile, Palen, one of the participants in the conspiracy, sent out invitations to his accomplices for dinner at his place. Then the emperor went to relieve the Preobrazhensky battalion, which was on guard at the Mikhailovsky Castle. One of the statesmen (Jacob de Sanglein) wrote in his memoirs that then Paul forced everyone to swear an oath not to enter into contact with the conspirators.

On the eleventh of March, the emperor allowed his sons, who were under arrest, to have dinner with him. At nine o'clock Pavel started dinner. Those invited were Konstantin and Alexander with their wives, Maria Pavlovna, State Lady Palen and her daughter, Kutuzov, Stroganov, Sheremetyev, Mukhnov, Yusupov, Naryshkin and several court ladies. An hour later, dinner began at Platon Zubov’s, which was attended by Nikolai (Plato’s brother), Bennigsen “and three other people privy to the secret.”

Before going to bed, the emperor spends about an hour with his favorite Gagarina. He went down to her along a secret staircase. At the same time, the conspirators are having dinner at Palen's. There were about 40-60 people in his house, all of them were “hot with champagne” (according to Bennigsen), which the owner himself did not drink. It was previously decided to imprison Paul in Shlisselburg, but Palen answered all questions about this in lengthy phrases.

Palen suggested that the conspirators split into two groups. The Zubov-Bennigsen group walked to the Nativity Gate of the Mikhailovsky Castle, and the other (under the leadership of Palen) headed to the main entrance. When approaching the second floor, the group is about ten to twelve people. At exactly midnight, the conspirators enter the palace. They are making too much noise, the troops are trying to raise the alarm.

Soon the killers approach the royal rooms. According to one version, the valet was tricked into opening the door. Alexander Argamakov (military commander), who could freely enter the palace, told him that it was already six o’clock, the valet’s watch had simply stopped. There is a version that a fire was reported. At that moment, Platon Zubov was seized with panic, he tried to hide, dragging others with him, but Bennigsen stopped him.

The Emperor, hearing a suspicious noise, first rushed to the door to Maria Feodorovna's rooms, but it was closed. Then he hid behind the curtain. He could have gone down to Gagarina and run, but, apparently, he was too scared to soberly assess the situation. At half past midnight on the twelfth of March, the conspirators managed to break into the emperor's bedroom. This was the room where Paul 1 was killed. The criminals were confused when they did not find the king in bed. Platon Zubov said in French that “the bird has flown away,” but Bennigsen felt the bed and said that “the nest is still warm,” that is, “the bird is not far.”

The room was searched. They found Paul and demanded that he write an abdication of the throne, but he refused. The king was informed that he was under arrest. The Emperor was killed between 0:45 and 1:45. How was Tsar Paul 1 killed? There are several versions here:

1. A dispute broke out between Nikolai Zubov and Pavel. Soon, some of the conspirators (who had drunk too much champagne) began to express impatience. The Emperor began to raise his voice in conversation, so that Nicholas, in a fit of anger, hit him in the left temple with a massive snuffbox. The beating began. An officer of the Izmailovsky regiment strangled the Tsar with a scarf.
2. According to Bennigsen's testimony, there was a crush, the screen fell on the lamp, so that the light went out. He went into the next room to bring some fire. In this short period of time, the sovereign was killed. All the contradictions arise from the words of Bennigsen, who tried to prove that he was not in the room at the time of the murder.
3. According to M. Fonvizin’s notes, the situation developed as follows. Bennigsen left the room. At this time, Nikolai Zubov was talking with the emperor. Pavel made several threats, so the enraged Zubov hit him with a snuff box. When Bennigsen was informed that the emperor had abdicated the throne, he gave him a scarf, which was used to strangle the king.

Why was Emperor Paul 1 killed? There are versions that it was an unintentional murder, but most historians are still inclined to believe that the conspirators acted according to a carefully developed plan.

Witnesses and persons who knew about the conspiracy

Who killed Paul 1? This was definitely known to those people who were in the emperor’s bedroom on the ill-fated night. None of the first group of conspirators stained themselves with murder (even Bennigsen, as well as Plato and Nikolai Zubov, previously left the Tsar’s bedroom). Although many historians say that this is a lie that they invented in order to whitewash themselves.

The list of those present in the bedroom varies depending on the source. It could be:

1. Bennigsen.
2. Platon and Nikolai Zubov.
3. Alexander Argamakov.
4. Vladimir Yashvil.
5. I. Tatarinov.
6. Evsey Gordanov.
7. Yakov Skaryatin.
8. Nikolai Borozdin and several other personalities.

Were aware of the conspiracy former ambassador in England Russian Empire Lord Whitworth, Russian ambassador in London Semyon Vorontsov, Tsarevich Alexander (according to Panin, the Tsarevich tacitly agreed to the overthrow of his father), official Dmitry Troshchinsky. The latter wrote the famous manifesto on the coronation of Alexander I. The young tsar renounced the policies of his father.

Who took the life of the emperor?

But who killed Paul 1, the son of Catherine 2? Opinions again differ among different sources. In addition, you need to pay attention to the specifics of the murder. It is known that first there was a blow with a snuff box, and then the emperor was strangled with an officer’s scarf. Most sources believe that the blow was struck by Platon Zubov. It would seem that it is clear who killed Paul 1. But the emperor died of suffocation. In addition, it is known that after being hit with a massive golden snuffbox, but before being strangled with a scarf, the king was thrown to the floor and began to be kicked.

Who killed Paul 1? Skaryatin, an officer of the Izmailovsky regiment, strangled his emperor with a scarf. This scarf belonged (according to different versions) either Skaryatin, or Paul I himself, or Bennigsen. So, the actual killers were Platon Zubov (pictured above) and Yakov Skaryatin. The first stabbed the Tsar in the temple with a gold snuff box that belonged to Nikolai Zubov, and the second strangled Paul I with a scarf. There is also a version that Vladimir Yashvil struck the first blow.

After the murder: reaction of subjects, burial

Alexander was informed about his father’s death by Nikolai Zubov or Palen and Bennigsen. Then they woke up Constantine, and Alexander sent his wife to Empress Maria Feodorovna. But the empress was told this terrible news by Charlotte Lieven, the teacher of the children of Paul I. Maria Feodorovna lost consciousness, but quickly recovered and even declared that she should now rule. Until five o'clock in the morning she did not submit to the new emperor.

The next morning, a manifesto was published, in which it was reported that the All-Russian Emperor had died the previous night from a stroke. St. Petersburg residents began to congratulate each other on such “happiness”; if you believe eyewitness accounts, then this really was “the resurrection of Russia to a new life.” Fonvizin, by the way, also speaks in his notes about the “day of the Holy Resurrection.” Is it true, a large number of people were still disgusted by the events that had taken place.

The night after the murder, physician Villiers treated the emperor’s corpse to hide the traces of violent death. They wanted to show the body to the soldiers the next morning. It was necessary to prove that the king was really dead, so one should swear allegiance to the new emperor. But the blue and black spots on the dead man’s face could not be hidden. Some sources report that a court painter was even called in to apply makeup to the corpse. When Paul I lay in the coffin, his hat was pulled down over his forehead to cover his left eye and temple.

The funeral service and burial took place on March 23rd. It was accomplished by all members of the Synod, headed by Metropolitan Ambrose.

Ghost of Emperor Paul 1

There is a legend according to which the ghost of the murdered emperor was unable to leave the place of his death. The ghost was seen by soldiers of the capital's garrison and new inhabitants of the Mikhailovsky Palace, by random passers-by who noticed a luminous figure in the windows. This frightening image was very actively used by the cadets of the Nicholas School, who subsequently settled in the castle. It is quite possible that the ghost was invented by them to intimidate the younger ones.

N. Leskov’s story “Ghost in the Engineering Castle” attracted attention to the ghost. The purpose of creating the work was to draw attention to the hazing that reigned in the school.

So why did they kill Paul 1? In short, the conspirators wanted to install “their” king. They hoped that they would occupy prominent positions. Why Paul 1 was actually killed, probably even historians who have devoted more than one year of their life to this problem cannot say for sure. The fact is that there can be a huge variety of reasons (including personal ones), circumstances that influenced the outcome of events, accidents and opinions.