Russian empress
Romanova
Years of life: December 18 (29), 1709, p. Kolomenskoye, near Moscow - December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762), St. Petersburg)
Reign: 1741-1762

From the Romanov dynasty.

Brief biography of Elizaveta Petrovna

Unusually beautiful since childhood, she spent her adolescence and youth in balls and entertainment. She grew up in Moscow, and in the summer she went to Pokrovskoye, Preobrazhenskoye, Izmailovskoye or Alexandrovskaya Sloboda. She rarely saw her father as a child; the future empress was raised by his sister, Tsarevna Natalya Alekseevna, or the family of A.D. Menshikov. She was taught dancing, music, foreign languages, dressing skills, and ethics.

After her parents' marriage, she began to bear the title of princess. The will of Catherine I of 1727 provided for the rights of the crown princess and her descendants to the throne after Anna Petrovna. IN last year During the reign of Catherine I, the court often talked about the possibility of a marriage between Elizaveta Petrovna and her nephew Peter II, who was selflessly in love with her. After the sudden death of the young emperor from smallpox in January 1730, despite the will of Catherine I, being still actually illegitimate, she was not considered high society as one of the contenders for the throne, which was occupied by her cousin. During her reign (1730-1740), the crown princess was in disgrace, but those dissatisfied with Anna Ioannovna and Biron blamed high hopes at her.

Taking advantage of the decline in authority and influence of power during the regency of Anna Leopoldovna, on the night of November 25, 1741, 32-year-old Tsarevna Elizaveta Petrovna, accompanied by Count M.I. Vorontsov, physician Lestocq and music teacher Schwartz with the words “Guys! You know whose daughter I am, follow me! Just as you served my father, so will you serve me with your loyalty!” raised behind her the grenadier company of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Thus, a coup d'etat was carried out during which his mother, the ruler-regent Anna Leopoldovna, was overthrown.

The course of state affairs during the entire reign was influenced by her favorites - the brothers Razumovsky, Shuvalov, Vorontsov, A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin.
The first document signed by the future empress was a manifesto, which proved that after the death of the previous emperor, she was the only legitimate heir to the throne. She also wished to arrange coronation celebrations in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin and on April 25, 1742 she placed the crown on herself.

Domestic policy of Elizaveta Petrovna

The new empress proclaimed a return to Peter's reforms as the basic principles of domestic and foreign policy. She abolished the state institutions that arose after the death of her father (the Cabinet of Ministers, etc.), and restored the role of the Senate, collegiums, and the Chief Magistrate.

In 1741, the Empress adopted a Decree that recognized existence of the "Lamai faith", Buddhism was officially accepted state religion in the Russian Empire.

In 1744-1747 The 2nd census of the taxable population was carried out.

In 1754, intrastate customs were eliminated, which led to a significant revival of trade relations between the regions.

The first Russian banks were founded - Dvoryansky (Borrowed), Merchant and Medny (State).

A tax reform was carried out, which improved the financial situation of the country.

In social policy, the line of expanding the rights of the nobility continued. In 1746, the nobles were granted the right to own land and peasants. In 1760, the landowners received the right to exile peasants to Siberia and count them instead of recruits. And peasants were prohibited from conducting monetary transactions without the permission of the landowners.

The death penalty was abolished (1756), and the widespread practice of sophisticated torture was stopped.

Under Elizaveta Petrovna they were reorganized military educational institutions. In 1744, a decree was issued to expand the network primary schools. The first gymnasiums were opened: in Moscow (1755) and Kazan (1758). In 1755, on the initiative of her favorite I.I. Shuvalov founded Moscow University, and in 1760 the Academy of Arts. Outstanding created famous monuments culture (Tsarskoye Selo Catherine Palace etc.). Support was provided to M.V. Lomonosov and other representatives of Russian culture and science. In 1755, the newspaper “Moskovskie Vedomosti” began to be published, and in 1760 the first Moscow magazine “Useful Amusement” began to be published.

Generally domestic politics The empress was distinguished by her stability and focus on growing authority and power state power. Thus, Elizaveta Petrovna’s course was the first step towards a policy of enlightened absolutism.

Foreign policy of Elizaveta Petrovna

Was also active foreign policy in the state. During the Russian-Swedish war of 1741-1743, Russia received a significant part of Finland. Trying to resist Prussia, the ruler abandoned relations with France and entered into an anti-Prussian alliance with Austria. Russia successfully participated in the Seven Years' War of 1756–1763. After the capture of Koenigsberg, the Empress issued a decree on the annexation of East Prussia to Russia. The culmination of Russia's military glory was the capture of Berlin in 1760.

The basis of foreign policy was the recognition of 3 alliances: with the “maritime powers” ​​(England and Holland) for the sake of trade benefits, with Saxony - in the name of advancement to the northwest and western lands, which ended up being part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and with Austria - to confront Ottoman Empire and the strengthening of Prussia.
IN last period reign, the empress was less involved in issues of public administration, entrusting it to P.I. and I.I. Shuvalov, M.I. and R.I. Vorontsov and others.

In 1744 she entered into a secret morganatic marriage with A.G. Razumovsky, Ukrainian Cossack, who made a dizzying career under her from a court singer to the manager of the royal estates and the de facto husband of the empress. According to contemporaries, she gave birth to several children, but information about them is unknown. This was the reason for the appearance of impostors who called themselves her children from this marriage. Among them, the most famous figure was Princess Tarakanova.

After the decrees on peasants and landowners were issued, at the turn of the 50-60s. In the 18th century, there were more than 60 uprisings of monastic peasants (Bashkiria, the Urals), which were suppressed by her decree with exemplary cruelty.

The reign of Elizaveta Petrovna

The period of her reign was a period of luxury and excess. Masquerade balls were constantly held at court. Elizaveta Petrovna herself was a trendsetter. The Empress's wardrobe numbers up to 12-15 thousand dresses, which today form the basis of the textile collection of the State historical museum in Moscow.

Since 1757, she began to be plagued by hysterical fits. She often lost consciousness, and at the same time, non-healing wounds on her legs and bleeding opened. During the winter of 1760-1761, the Empress was on a large outing only once. Her beauty was quickly destroyed, she did not communicate with anyone, feeling depressed. Soon the hemoptysis intensified. She confessed and received communion. Elizaveta Petrovna died on December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762 according to the new style).

The ruler managed to appoint her nephew Karl-Peter-Ulrich of Holstein-Gottorp (son of Anna's sister) as the official heir to the throne, who converted to Orthodoxy under his name and made peace with Prussia.

The body of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna was buried on February 5, 1762 in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Many artists painted her portraits, marveling at the beauty of the empress.

Her image is reflected in cinema: in the films “Young Catherine”, 1991; “Vivat, midshipmen!”; “Secrets of palace coups”, 2000-2003; “With a pen and a sword”, 2008.

She had a practical mind and skillfully led her court, maneuvering between various political factions. Generally years of reign of Elizaveta Petrovna became a time of political stability in Russia, strengthening of state power and its institutions.

Download the abstract.

After the coup 1741 The daughter of Peter I ascended the throne Elizabeth . She was an attractive, cheerful and friendly thirty-two-year-old woman whose passion was dresses, balls, and fireworks. Evidence of this was the dazzling brilliance of the Elizabethan Baroque.

The Empress was little involved in state affairs, entrusting them to her favorites - brothers Razumovsky, Shuvalov, Vorontsov, Bestuzhev-Ryumin . Russian nobles replaced the foreigners.

Elizaveta Petrovna proclaimed the goal of her reign to be a return to the order of her father. The rights of the Senate, the Berg and Manufactory Collegium, and the Chief Magistrate were restored. The conference at the highest court took the place of the abolished Cabinet of Ministers. The activities of the Secret Chancellery became invisible.

IN 1755 was open university in Moscow , and in 1760 - Academy of Arts . The time of Elizabeth is the time of Lomonosov, the heyday of Russian science and art.

Social policy remained the same: expansion of the rights and privileges of the nobility, which was achieved by limiting the rights and regulating the life of peasants. IN 1746 Only the nobles were granted the right to own land and peasants. IN 1760 landowners received the right to exile peasants who opposed them to Siberia, counting them instead of recruits. Peasants were prohibited from conducting monetary transactions without the permission of the landowner.

To support the nobility, the Noble Land Bank was established, and a similar bank was opened for the merchants. IN 1754 internal customs duties were abolished, which opened up wide opportunities for trade in agricultural and industrial goods. IN 1755 Factory peasants were assigned as permanent (possession) workers at Ural factories, thus landowners received the right to dispose not only of land, but of the person and property of the peasant.

In foreign policy, Elizabeth followed the main principle of her father - taking into account national, or rather imperial, interests. She managed to build foreign policy relations in such a way that during the twenty years of her reign, fifteen were peaceful for Russia.

The future Empress of Russia Elizaveta Petrovna Romanova was born on December 18, 1709, in a marriage not legalized by the church at that time between 1 "Peter 1 and 1 "Ekaterina 1.

Having learned about the birth of his daughter, Peter 1 canceled the celebrations planned for this day to mark the successful end of the Russian-Swedish war. In March 1711, the illegitimate Elizabeth was declared princess.

Elizabeth was distinguished by her amazing beauty, sharp mind, resourcefulness, love of dancing and riding horses. Elizaveta received her education in the villages of Preobrazhenskoye and Izmailovskoye, where she studied history, geography and foreign languages.

Numerous attempts by Peter 1 to marry his daughter to a representative of a noble ruling dynasty did not bring positive results. Menshikov’s attempts to find a worthy match for Elizabeth at 2 ended in the same “success”. "Petre 2. Osterman even offered to marry her to Pyotr Alekseevich, but the princess refused.

In 1730, Pyotr Alekseevich died. The question arises of who will take the Russian throne. According to the will of Catherine 1, this should be Elizabeth. However, the secret Supreme Council decides that the throne should be taken by AnnHYPERLINK "http://historynotes.ru/pravlenie-anny-ioannovny" and IoaHYPERLINK "http://historynotes.ru/pravlenie-anny-ioannovny"nnovna- the princess’s sister, with whom they have a far from warm relationship.

During her reign, Anna managed to significantly reduce the country's prestige and ruin the state treasury. 10 years later (in 1740) Anna died, leaving the throne to her nephew 6 -antonovich"Ivan 6 Antonovich. Because he was still small, Anna Leopoldovna was appointed regent. Dissatisfied with everything that is happening inside the country, Elizabeth, together with her supporters, decides to palace coup and ascends the throne (1741).

Domestic policy of Elizaveta Petrovna

Wanting to restore the state of the country to the same as it was at the time of Peter the Great, the first thing Queen Elizabeth did was to abolish the death penalty in Russia. Since 1741, internal political transformations began: a higher government agency- the Senate, which compiled a new set of laws. Elizabeth also directed her actions towards improving the capabilities of the nobles. The abolished customs duties have significantly improved the development of the Russian market.

In 1744 - 1747 The 2nd population census in Russia was carried out. The poll tax has been reduced. The country's economy, industry and agriculture. The cultural and scientific growth of the Russian state began: Moscow University, the Academy of Sciences, many gymnasiums, the 1st public theater and the Academy of Arts appeared in St. Petersburg, which gave great Russian artists to world culture.

Foreign policy of Empress Elizabeth

Elizabeth was very active in her foreign policy. During the beginning of her reign, Russia waged a war with Sweden, who wanted to avenge the defeat of 1721-gg "NorthernHYPERLINK "http://historynotes.ru/severnaya-voyna-1700-1721-gg" war. However, this war ended in another failure for the Swedes, and part of Finland went to Russia. Victory in this war entailed the desire of many European countries enter into an alliance with Russia. Thus, Russia had the opportunity to take part in the War of the Austrian Succession.

In 1756 begins - 1763-gg"Seven Years' War, as a result of which Russia, together with its allies, practically destroyed Prussia, but in December 1761, Elizaveta Petrovna died, and her nephew 3 "Peter 3, whom she appointed as successor, concludes a peace treaty.

The reign of Elizabeth Petrovna can be considered quite favorable for the Russian Empire. The biography of Elizabeth itself is fascinating and interesting. A bright person and significant historical figure.

TICKET 31. “Enlightened absolutism” by Catherine P.

On June 28, 1762, a coup d'état took place, as a result of which on Russian throne Peter Sh's wife Ekaterina Alekseevna rose, proclaimed Ekaterina P, and a few days later Peter Sh died under mysterious circumstances. The reign of Catherine II, which lasted 34 years, left a deep mark on national history, giving rise to many conflicting opinions about Catherine herself and her reign. By the time of her accession to the throne, Catherine was well acquainted with the latest achievements of European philosophical, political and economic thought, and she had developed ideas about what was necessary for the prosperity of the state. They influenced the formation of the empress’s political program. The program, and therefore Catherine’s internal policy, was based on the principles of the Enlightenment. This period of Russian history was called “enlightened absolutism” in literature. Time enlightened absolutism» name several decades of European history before French Revolution 1789, and the enlightened monarchs are usually considered to include Frederick II of Prussia, Joseph II of Austria, Charles III of Spain and Catherine II. It is believed that these monarchs used absolute power to implement changes based on the ideas of the Enlightenment. Catherine considered herself the heir and continuer of the work of Peter the Great, with whom she seemed to compete in glory all her life. Catherine saw the main merit of Peter I in the Europeanization of Russia, in turning it into a powerful empire with a leading role in world politics. However, the empress was critical of modern Europe and did not believe that everything should be borrowed from the West. Catherine had a negative attitude towards the cruelty and haste shown by Peter I. Catherine’s main principle was the principle of gradualism. Having ascended the throne, Catherine did not immediately begin to implement her plans, but tried to get acquainted with the state of state affairs. To do this, she created several commissions that were supposed to study the state of affairs and present their proposals, i.e. The first years of the reign of Catherine II were spent preparing reforms. One of the first reforms concerned the reorganization of the Senate in 1763. The plan for the new Senate, approved by the Empress, provided for the division of the Senate into six departments with strictly defined functions. The Senate was deprived of legislative power, but retained its judicial function and was a control body. This was the main drawback of the reform, but at first the central administrative apparatus began to work more efficiently. Another important reform was related to the legacy inherited from Peter III. Having ascended the throne, the empress announced the abolition of the secularization of church lands. In February 1764, Catherine signed a decree according to which all monastery lands, together with the peasants, were transferred to the jurisdiction of the College of Economics. So, Catherine II did new step in the development of absolutism. She ruled the country autocratically, relying on the existing system of state institutions, transforming and improving them as organs of an absolutist state. In 1775, one of the most significant legislative acts of Catherine’s reign was prepared - “Institutions for the management of the provinces of the All-Russian Empire.” This was the beginning of provincial reform, the main content of which was the reorganization of local government. The provincial reform separated the judiciary from the authorities executive branch. For the first time in Russian judicial practice criminal proceedings were separated from civil ones. An important transformation in the first years of Catherine's reign was the reorganization of the administration of new territories of the vast empire. As a rule, lands that came under the rule of the king retained some historically established features of governance, and in some cases even elements of autonomy. According to Catherine, this situation was intolerable. . The empress was particularly irritated by the autonomous status of Ukraine. At the beginning of 1764, in the instructions to Prince A.A. Vyazemsky, when he was appointed head of the Senate, Catherine II wrote about the need to deprive Ukraine of autonomy. Reforming the management system Russian Empire, Catherine II improved legislation, for which a commission was created from representatives of various social groups and regions of the country, which was called the Statutory Commission. Catherine wrote an “Order” for the commission, in which she outlined her ideas about the content and nature of the laws that needed to be developed. In July 1767, after a long discussion, the “Nakaz” was published. It said that for such a large country as Russia, perfect shape rule is autocracy. One of most important tasks The laid down commission was tasked with developing laws on individual estates. The orders are dedicated to the nobility and the third estate. A large section of the document was devoted to the concepts of crime, investigation, trial and punishment. Laws, Catherine argued, exist not to intimidate, but to educate citizens. Catherine was against torture and death penalty. The commission to draft a new Code began to meet in Moscow in July 1767. In fact, this was the first attempt to introduce a parliamentary-type institution into the Russian public sphere. Soon after the start of the meetings of the Legislative Commission, it became clear that the deputies were poorly prepared for legislative activity. This was due to the low level of education of the majority of deputies, lack of political culture, parliamentary experience, and legal knowledge. But the main thing is that the deputies turned out to be conservative: they were worried about narrow class and group interests. In December 1768, under the pretext of the outbreak Russian-Turkish war The disappointed empress signed a decree dissolving the commission. Thus ended the first stage of Catherine’s reforms, a feature of which was the empress’s desire to carry out reforms together with representatives of various social groups. On January 17, 1765, a decree appeared according to which landowners were allowed to send offending peasants to hard labor. On August 22, 1767, a second decree appeared, which prohibited peasants from submitting complaints against landowners directly to the sovereign. The most important activity of Catherine II was the creation of legislation on estates. On April 21, 1785, she issued 2 extensive documents, which are usually called Letters of Grant to the nobility and cities. The first document legislated all the rights and privileges of the nobility, which they had been seeking for over a century. The charter granted to the cities was of a different nature. It was not addressed to a specific class, and it considered not only the personal and class rights of the urban population, but the organization and activities of merchant guilds, craft guilds and city government bodies. When creating a program about classes, Catherine II could not ignore the peasantry. Documents indicate that a draft charter for peasants was prepared, but was not approved.

Anna Ioannovna Empress of Russia, was born on January 28 (February 7), 1693. Her parents were Ivan 5 Alekseevich and Praskovya Fedorovna Saltykova. Her grandfather, Peter the Great, supervised Anna’s upbringing until she was 17 years old. In the fall of 1710, he married Anna to the Duke of Courland, Friedrich Wilhelm. But soon Anna’s husband died. At Peter's insistence, Anna Ioannovna remained in Courland.

After the last representative of the House of Romanov in the male line, Peter 2 , died in 1730. Anna was invited to take the royal throne. However, the members of the Secret Supreme Council who invited her seriously limited her powers. By signing the Conditions, Anna Ioannovna lost her actual power, transferring it to the Council. However, the Conditions were already torn apart by the Empress in February 1730. With the support of the guard and the nobility, she was proclaimed autocratic empress.

Anna Ioannovna's reign began with the liquidation of the Secret Supreme Council and its replacement by the Cabinet of Ministers. In an effort to protect herself from conspiracies, Anna established the Office of Secret Investigations, which quickly gained considerable power. Thanks to maintaining the course taken by Peter the Great in foreign policy, Russia during the reign of Anna was able to strengthen its position on the world stage. Successful military campaigns were conducted. But there were also major mistakes, such as the conclusion of the Belgrade Peace.

During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, postal communications between cities improved significantly, and police were created in the provinces. The situation with higher education has also improved. Many measures were taken to develop and strengthen the Russian fleet and army.

Anna did little management, entrusting the decision of bathroom issues to her advisers, many of whom were Germans. The most influential figure of that era was Biron, who interfered in many matters of governing the country for his own profit. The court of Empress Anna was distinguished by unprecedented luxury. The costs of its maintenance and Anna's entertainment were enormous.

The biography of Anna Ioannovna ended (17) October 28, 1740. She died in St. Petersburg and was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Before her death, Anna declared her nephew, Ivan Antonovich . Biron became his regent. But soon Biron was arrested, and power in the country passed to the daughter of Peter the Great, Elizabeth .

29. Domestic and foreign policy of Elizaveta Petrovna.

Elizaveta Petrovna (1741 - 1761) (daughter of Peter I and Catherine I) was enthroned as a result of another palace coup. She was supported by the guard, the Russian nobility, dissatisfied with the dominance of foreigners. Elizabeth proclaimed a return to her father's ways. The cabinet of ministers was abolished and the Senate, Berg and Manufactory Collegium, and Chief Magistrate were restored. Russian nobles - the Shuvalovs, Vorontsovs, and Razumovskys - established themselves in the highest positions in the state. A.P. became chancellor. Bestuzhev-Ryumin. Elizabeth proclaimed the abolition of the death penalty. Under her, Moscow University was opened (1755) and the Academy of Arts began its activities in St. Petersburg (1757).

Elizabeth Petrovna's social policy was aimed at expanding the rights and privileges of the nobility. In 1746, only nobles were granted the right to own land and peasants. In 1760, landowners received the right to exile peasants to Siberia. In 1755, factory peasants were assigned as permanent (possession) workers in Ural factories. The acquisition of nobility was limited according to the Table of Ranks. The Noble Land Bank was established to support the nobility. The nobility will receive monopoly privileges for distilling. There is a revival of trade. In 1754, internal customs duties were abolished - myty. A bank was established for the merchants. The customs tariff of 1757 established high duties on imported foreign goods. Russia traded with European countries, mainly with England and the countries of the East.

Foreign policy. At the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, Russia waged a war with Sweden (1741-1743), which ended in a peace favorable to Russia in the city of Abo. According to this peace, Sweden confirmed the results of the Northern War and ceded part of Finland to Russia.

The main foreign policy event during Elizabeth's reign was Russia's participation in the Seven Years' War (1756 - 1763). The war involved two coalitions of European powers: Prussia, England and Portugal against France, Spain, Austria, Sweden, Saxony and Russia. The new king of Prussia, Frederick II, created one of the largest well-trained armies in Europe. Prussia began to threaten Russian interests in Poland and the Baltic states. In 1757 Russia enters the war. Russian troops invaded East Prussia. On August 19, 1757, near the village of Gross-Jägersdorf, Russian troops under the command of S.F. Apraksin defeated the Prussian troops. August 14, 1758 took place major battle near the village of Zornsdorf. In 1758, Koenigsberg was taken. On July 23, 1759, near the village of Knersdorf, Frederick’s army was defeated. On September 29, 1760, the detachment of General Z.G. Chernyshev occupied Berlin, and in 1761 the Kolsberg Fortress was captured. In the battles of the Seven Years' War, the formation of talented Russian commanders P.A. Rumyantsev and A.V. Suvorov. However, a change in Russia's foreign policy course in connection with the accession of Peter III in December 1761 negated the successes of the Russian troops. Peter III, a great admirer of Frederick II, makes a separate peace with Prussia (April 24, 1762), returning to it all conquered territories.

Russia's eastern policy during the reign of Elizabeth was characterized by the annexation of Kazakh lands, which began with the voluntary entry of the Younger Kazakh Zhuz into Russia in 1731. In 1740 - 1743, the Middle Zhuz voluntarily became part of Russia.

30. Domestic policy of Catherine 2

First of all, Catherine II carried out public administration reform . The Cabinet of Ministers, introduced by Anna Ivanovna, was liquidated. The Senate was weakened, divided into six departments, each of which had certain powers. The departments were supervised by the Prosecutor General Prince A.A. Vyazemsky , known for his incorruptibility. The hetmanate in Left-Bank Ukraine was abolished, and the governor-general of Little Russia began to govern it.

Ekaterina held the second secularization of monastic lands , taking them to the treasury. The clergy was losing economic power; it was finally turning into a special category of bureaucracy.

The Empress decided to create Commission for drawing up a new Code. 564 delegates were elected to it throughout Russia (nobles, townspeople, Cossacks, foreigners, state peasants, etc.). Within two years (1764-1765) Catherine II worked on drawing up the “Nakaz,” a manual for deputies, which proclaimed that the purpose of power was to promote goodness, to introduce the best laws, and this could only be done by an enlightened, autocratic sovereign. However, the Legislative Commission, without fulfilling its task and without creating a new general law, was dissolved in 1769(and was abolished in 1774).

Conducted administrative reform . The empire was divided into 50 provinces, the provinces were abolished, and the provinces were divided into counties. Power in the provinces belonged to the governor, appointed by the Senate. All financial affairs of the province were managed by the Treasury Chamber.

Completely changed judicial system , which was built on the class principle. The highest judicial body of the empire was the Senate.

The nobles actually received the right of local self-government. At their meetings they elected a district leader of the nobility, and in the province a provincial leader of the nobility was elected. IN 1785 was published “Charter of Complaint to the Nobility” , which confirmed the class rights and privileges of the nobles - exemption from the poll tax, corporal punishment, and compulsory service.

The reign of Elizaveta Petrova (briefly)

The reign of Elizaveta Petrova (briefly)

The future Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna Romanova was born in an illegal marriage at that time between Peter the Great and Catherine the First on December 18, 1709. Peter the Great, as soon as he learned about the birth of his daughter, even decided to cancel the celebration planned for that day to mark the end of the Russian-Swedish war. Already in the spring of 1711, the illegitimate Elizabeth was declared princess.

Contemporaries note that the girl was distinguished by her love of horse riding, dancing, and was also unusually resourceful, intelligent and expressively beautiful. Elizaveta Petrovna received her education in the Izmailovsky and Preobrazhensky villages, where she was taught foreign languages, geography and history.

Peter made more than one attempt to marry his daughter to numerous applicants from among the nobility and ruling dynasties, but not one of them was crowned with a positive result. Menshikov’s attempts to “bring together” Elizabeth under Peter the Second were doomed to such failures.

In 1730, Pyotr Alekseevich died and the question of a new ruler of Russia arose, but the Supreme Privy Council placed the reign in the hands of Elizabeth’s sister Anna Ioannovna. During the reign last country was not going through its best days: the treasury was plundered by palace entertainment and favorites, the prestige of the state was falling every day, etc. As a result palace coup Elizabeth still gains power and legally takes the throne in 1741.

Wanting to restore the state to its former state as soon as possible, Elizabeth decides to continue the reforms begun by Peter the Great and her first order was the abolition of the death penalty in Russia. Also, in 1741, the stage of internal political reforms began: the Senate (a new legislative body) appeared, new laws were drawn up. In addition, Elizaveta Petrovna improves the position of the nobility, abolishes customs duties and thereby activates the “stagnant” Russian market. It was during the reign of this monarch that new academies and universities appeared in Russia, and a second population census was carried out.

The ruler was no less active in her foreign policy. At the very beginning of her reign, Russia waged military operations with Sweden, which sought to take revenge on Russia for its defeat in Northern War. The result of these actions is the transfer of part of Finland to Russia. After this, Russia enters the War of the Austrian Succession.

Elizabeth had to wait a long time for her right to reign on the Russian throne and ultimately defended it with the help of a military coup. Having strengthened the foundations of her power legislatively and eliminated all possible contenders, the empress began reforms. Relying on the help of her favorites and advisers, such as P. Shuvalov, Vorontsov, A.P. Bestuzhev, Elizabeth, throughout her reign, she tried to fulfill the promises given to her by her subjects to “rule in the spirit of her father” and strengthen the country’s authority on international level, which fell significantly during the reign of Anna Ioanovna. Looking back at the results of her activities, we can say that she kept her promises.

Internal customs duties and the death penalty were abolished.

A number of measures were taken to improve the position and advantages of the noble class, and at the same time, there was an even greater restriction of the rights and freedoms of the peasants.

It was a time of flourishing of science, culture and education, as well as the expansion of the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church.

A fairly successful and active foreign policy was pursued, which brought Russia new territorial gains.