Who was Anna Ioannovna? Biography of Empress Anna Ioannovna

Born in Moscow on February 8 (January 28, old style) 1693. She was the middle daughter of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich and Praskovya Fedorovna (née Saltykova).

In 1696, Anna Ioannovna's father died, leaving a 32-year-old widow and three daughters, almost the same age. The family of Tsar John was taken under the protection of his paternal brother Peter I, which, given Peter’s harsh disposition, turned into complete dependence.

Anna spent her childhood in the Kremlin palaces and a residence near Moscow in the village of Izmailovo. Together with her sisters Ekaterina and Paraskeva, she was educated at home.

In 1708, together with her mother and sisters, she moved to St. Petersburg.

Biography of Peter I Alekseevich RomanovPeter I was born on May 30, 1672. As a child he was educated at home, with youth knew German, then studied Dutch, English and French. With the help of palace craftsmen, he mastered many crafts...

In 1710, on the basis of an agreement concluded between Tsar Peter I and the Prussian King Frederick William I, Anna married the seventeen-year-old Duke of Courland, Frederick Wilhelm. The wedding took place on November 11 (October 31, old style) 1710 in the Menshikov Palace on Vasilievsky Island in St. Petersburg, the wedding was performed according to the Orthodox rite.

On the occasion of Anna's marriage, feasts and celebrations in St. Petersburg lasted two months and, according to Peter's custom, moderation was not observed in either food or wine drinking. As a result of such excesses, the newlywed fell ill and then caught a cold. Ignoring the cold, on January 20 (9 according to the old style) January 1711, he and his young wife left St. Petersburg for Courland and died on the same day.

After the death of her husband, at the insistence of Peter I, Anna Ioannovna lived as a dowager duchess in Mitava (now Jelgava, Latvia). In Courland, the princess, strapped for money, led a modest lifestyle, repeatedly turning to Peter I for help, and then to Empress Catherine I.

Since 1712, she was under the strong influence of her favorite Chief Chamberlain Pyotr Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who in 1727 was pushed aside by a new favorite, Chief Chamberlain Junker Ernst Johann Biron.

In 1726, Prince Alexander Menshikov, who himself intended to become Duke of Courland, upset the marriage of Anna Ioannovna with Count Moritz of Saxony ( illegitimate son Polish King Augustus II and Countess Aurora Königsmarck).

After the death of Emperor Peter II at the end of January 1730, the Supreme Privy Council, at the proposal of princes Dmitry Golitsyn and Vasily Dolgorukov, elected Anna Ioannovna, as the eldest in the Romanov family, to the Russian throne under the conditions of limiting power. According to the “conditions” or “points” delivered to Mitava and signed on February 6 (January 25, old style), 1730, Anna Ioannovna had to take care of the spread of Orthodoxy in Russia, promised not to marry, not to appoint an heir to the throne at her discretion and preserve the Supreme Privy Council. Without his consent, the empress did not have the right to declare war and make peace, impose new taxes on her subjects, promote employees in both the military and civil service, distribute court positions and make government expenses.

On February 26 (15, old style), 1730, Anna Ioannovna solemnly entered Moscow, where, on the basis of the “conditions” of March 1–2 (February 20–21, old style), the highest dignitaries of the state and generals took the oath to her.

Supporters of the autocratic power of the Empress, who were in opposition to the Supreme Privy Council, represented by Andrei Osterman, Gabriel Golovkin, Archbishop Feofan (Prokopovich), Peter Yaguzhinsky, Antioch Cantemir, as well as the majority of the generals, officers of the guard regiments and the nobility, compiled a petition to Anna Ioannovna with 166 signatures on the restoration of autocracy, which was submitted by Prince Ivan Trubetskoy on March 6 (February 25, old style) 1730. After listening to the petition, Anna Ioannovna publicly tore up the “standards”, accusing their compilers of deception. On March 9 (February 28, old style), a new oath was taken from everyone to Anna Ioannovna as an autocratic empress. The Empress was crowned in Moscow on May 9 (April 28, old style) 1730.

During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, about 10 thousand people were arrested for political reasons. Many of the Golitsyn and Dolgoruky princes who participated in drawing up the “conditions” were imprisoned, exiled and executed. In 1740, cabinet minister Artemy Volynsky, who opposed Bironovism, and his “confidants” - architect Pyotr Eropkin, adviser to the admiralty office Andrei Khrushchev - were executed on charges of treason; the scientist, actual privy councilor Fyodor Soimonov, senator Platon Musin-Pushkin and others were exiled.

The tightening of serfdom and tax policy towards peasants led to popular unrest and a mass exodus of ruined peasants to the outskirts of Russia.

Positive changes took place in the field of education: the Land Noble Cadet Corps for nobles was established, a school for training officials was created under the Senate, and a seminary for 35 young men was opened at the Academy of Sciences. The creation of police in big cities dates back to this time.

After the death of Peter I, Russian foreign policy ended up in the hands of Baron Andrei Osterman for a long time. The victory of Russia in 1734 in the military conflict with France over the “Polish inheritance” contributed to the establishment of King Augustus III on the Polish throne. In 1735, a war began with Turkey, which ended in 1739 with the Peace of Belgrade, which was unfavorable for Russia. The wars that Russia waged during the reign of Anna Ioannovna did not bring benefits to the empire, although they raised its prestige in Europe.

The Russian court under Anna Ioannovna was distinguished by pomp and extravagance. The Empress loved masquerades, balls, and hunting (she was a good shooter). Numerous dwarfs, dwarves and jesters were kept with her.

On October 28 (17 old style), 1740, at the age of 47, Anna Ioannovna died of kidney disease. She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

According to the will of the empress, the throne after her reign was to go to the descendants of her sister Catherine of Mecklenburg.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

Born in Moscow on February 8 (January 28, old style) 1693. She was the middle daughter of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich and Praskovya Fedorovna (née Saltykova).

In 1696, Anna Ioannovna's father died, leaving a 32-year-old widow and three daughters, almost the same age. The family of Tsar John was taken under the protection of his paternal brother Peter I, which, given Peter’s harsh disposition, turned into complete dependence.

Anna spent her childhood in the Kremlin palaces and a residence near Moscow in the village of Izmailovo. Together with her sisters Ekaterina and Paraskeva, she was educated at home.

In 1708, together with her mother and sisters, she moved to St. Petersburg.

Biography of Peter I Alekseevich RomanovPeter I was born on May 30, 1672. As a child, he was educated at home, from a young age he knew German, then studied Dutch, English and French. With the help of palace craftsmen, he mastered many crafts...

In 1710, on the basis of an agreement concluded between Tsar Peter I and the Prussian King Frederick William I, Anna married the seventeen-year-old Duke of Courland, Frederick Wilhelm. The wedding took place on November 11 (October 31, old style) 1710 in the Menshikov Palace on Vasilievsky Island in St. Petersburg, the wedding was performed according to the Orthodox rite.

On the occasion of Anna's marriage, feasts and celebrations in St. Petersburg lasted two months and, according to Peter's custom, moderation was not observed in either food or wine drinking. As a result of such excesses, the newlywed fell ill and then caught a cold. Ignoring the cold, on January 20 (9 according to the old style) January 1711, he and his young wife left St. Petersburg for Courland and died on the same day.

After the death of her husband, at the insistence of Peter I, Anna Ioannovna lived as a dowager duchess in Mitava (now Jelgava, Latvia). In Courland, the princess, strapped for money, led a modest lifestyle, repeatedly turning to Peter I for help, and then to Empress Catherine I.

Since 1712, she was under the strong influence of her favorite Chief Chamberlain Pyotr Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who in 1727 was pushed aside by a new favorite, Chief Chamberlain Junker Ernst Johann Biron.

In 1726, Prince Alexander Menshikov, who himself intended to become the Duke of Courland, upset the marriage of Anna Ioannovna with Count Moritz of Saxony (the illegitimate son of the Polish King Augustus II and Countess Aurora Konigsmark).

After the death of Emperor Peter II at the end of January 1730, the Supreme Privy Council, at the proposal of princes Dmitry Golitsyn and Vasily Dolgorukov, elected Anna Ioannovna, as the eldest in the Romanov family, to the Russian throne under the conditions of limiting power. According to the “conditions” or “points” delivered to Mitava and signed on February 6 (January 25, old style), 1730, Anna Ioannovna had to take care of the spread of Orthodoxy in Russia, promised not to marry, not to appoint an heir to the throne at her discretion and preserve the Supreme Privy Council. Without his consent, the empress did not have the right to declare war and make peace, impose new taxes on her subjects, promote employees in both the military and civil service, distribute court positions and make government expenses.

On February 26 (15, old style), 1730, Anna Ioannovna solemnly entered Moscow, where, on the basis of the “conditions” of March 1–2 (February 20–21, old style), the highest dignitaries of the state and generals took the oath to her.

Supporters of the autocratic power of the Empress, who were in opposition to the Supreme Privy Council, represented by Andrei Osterman, Gabriel Golovkin, Archbishop Feofan (Prokopovich), Peter Yaguzhinsky, Antioch Cantemir, as well as the majority of the generals, officers of the guard regiments and the nobility, compiled a petition to Anna Ioannovna with 166 signatures on the restoration of autocracy, which was submitted by Prince Ivan Trubetskoy on March 6 (February 25, old style) 1730. After listening to the petition, Anna Ioannovna publicly tore up the “standards”, accusing their compilers of deception. On March 9 (February 28, old style), a new oath was taken from everyone to Anna Ioannovna as an autocratic empress. The Empress was crowned in Moscow on May 9 (April 28, old style) 1730.

During the reign of Anna Ioannovna, about 10 thousand people were arrested for political reasons. Many of the Golitsyn and Dolgoruky princes who participated in drawing up the “conditions” were imprisoned, exiled and executed. In 1740, cabinet minister Artemy Volynsky, who opposed Bironovism, and his “confidants” - architect Pyotr Eropkin, adviser to the admiralty office Andrei Khrushchev - were executed on charges of treason; the scientist, actual privy councilor Fyodor Soimonov, senator Platon Musin-Pushkin and others were exiled.

The tightening of serfdom and tax policy towards peasants led to popular unrest and a mass exodus of ruined peasants to the outskirts of Russia.

Positive changes took place in the field of education: the Land Noble Cadet Corps for nobles was established, a school for training officials was created under the Senate, and a seminary for 35 young men was opened at the Academy of Sciences. The creation of police in big cities dates back to this time.

After the death of Peter I, Russian foreign policy ended up in the hands of Baron Andrei Osterman for a long time. The victory of Russia in 1734 in the military conflict with France over the “Polish inheritance” contributed to the establishment of King Augustus III on the Polish throne. In 1735, a war began with Turkey, which ended in 1739 with the Peace of Belgrade, which was unfavorable for Russia. The wars that Russia waged during the reign of Anna Ioannovna did not bring benefits to the empire, although they raised its prestige in Europe.

The Russian court under Anna Ioannovna was distinguished by pomp and extravagance. The Empress loved masquerades, balls, and hunting (she was a good shooter). Numerous dwarfs, dwarves and jesters were kept with her.

On October 28 (17 old style), 1740, at the age of 47, Anna Ioannovna died of kidney disease. She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

According to the will of the empress, the throne after her reign was to go to the descendants of her sister Catherine of Mecklenburg.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

The reign of Anna Ioannovna. 1730–1740

So, in 1730, unexpectedly for everyone (and for herself), Anna Ivanovna became autocrat. Contemporaries left mostly unfavorable reviews about her. Ugly, overweight, loud, with a heavy and unpleasant look, this 37-year-old woman was suspicious, petty and rude. She lived a difficult life. Anna was born in 1693 in royal family and in 1696, after the death of her father, Tsar Ivan V Alekseevich, she settled with her mother, Dowager Tsarina Praskovya Fedorovna and sisters Ekaterina and Praskovya in the Izmailovo Palace near Moscow. This is where she spent her childhood. In 1708 it suddenly ended. By decree of Peter I, the family of Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna moved to live in St. Petersburg. Soon, in 1710, Anna was married to Friedrich Wilhelm, the Duke of the neighboring state of Courland (in the territory of modern Latvia). So Peter wanted to strengthen Russia’s position in the Baltic states and become related to one of the famous dynasties of Europe. But the newlyweds lived together for only 2 months - at the beginning of 1711, on the way to Courland, the Duke unexpectedly died. Nevertheless, Peter I ordered Anna to go to Mitava and settle there as the widow of the duke. Both in the case of marriage and in the story of moving to a foreign country, no one asked Anna. Her life, like the life of all other subjects of Peter the Great, was subordinated to one goal - the interests of the state. Yesterday's Moscow princess, who became a duchess, was unhappy: poor, dependent on the will of the tsar, surrounded by a hostile Courland nobility. Coming to Russia, she also did not find peace. Queen Praskovya did not love her middle daughter and until her death in 1723, she tyrannized her in every possible way.

Changes in Anna's life date back to 1727, when she found a favorite, Ernst-Johann Biron, to whom she became strongly attached and began entrusting him with state affairs. It is known that Anna did not understand the government of the country. She did not have the necessary preparation for this - she was taught poorly, and nature did not reward her with intelligence. Anna had no desire to engage in government affairs. With her behavior and morals, she resembled an uneducated small landowner who looks out the window with boredom, sorts out the squabbles of the servants, marries her associates, and laughs at the antics of her jesters. The antics of jesters, among whom there were many noble nobles, formed an important part of the life of the empress, who also loved to keep around her various wretched, sick, midgets, fortune tellers and freaks. Such a pastime was not particularly original - this is how her mother, grandmother and other relatives lived in the Kremlin, who were always surrounded by hangers-on who scratched their heels at night, and fairy-tales.

Empress Anna Ioannovna. 1730s.

Anna was a person of a turning point, when the old in culture was replaced by the new, but coexisted with it for a long time. Therefore, along with the traditional jesters and hangers-on at Anna’s court, Italian operas and comedies were staged in a specially built theater with a thousand seats. The hearing and sight of the courtiers during dinners and holidays delighted opera singers and ballerinas. Anna's time entered the history of Russian art with the date of foundation in 1737 of the first ballet school. A choir chapel was formed at the court, and the composer Francesco Araya, invited from Italy, worked. But most of all, Anna, unlike the Moscow princesses, was fond of hunting, or rather shooting. It was not just a hobby, but a deep passion that gave the queen no rest. She often shot at crows and ducks flying in the sky, and hit targets in the indoor arena and in the parks of Peterhof. She also took part in grandiose hunts, when the beaters, having covered a gigantic expanse of the forest, gradually (often over weeks) narrowed it and drove the forest inhabitants into the clearing. In the middle of it stood a special tall carriage - a Jagt-Wagen - with the armed empress and her guests. And when the animals, mad with horror: hares, foxes, deer, wolves, bears, moose, ran out into the clearing, prudently fenced with a wall made of ship's canvas, then a disgusting massacre began. In the summer of 1738 alone, Anna personally shot 1,024 animals, including 374 hares and 608 ducks. It’s hard to even imagine how many animals the queen killed in 10 years!

From the book History of Russia from Rurik to Putin. People. Events. Dates author

October 17, 1740 - Death of Anna Ioannovna On October 5, 1740, the Empress suffered an attack of illness right at the dinner table. She started bloody vomiting, and then my health began to deteriorate rapidly. Apparently, she had an exacerbation of kidney stone disease

From the book History of Russia. XVII–XVIII centuries. 7th grade author Chernikova Tatyana Vasilievna

§ 31. The reign of Anna Ioannovna and Ivan Antonovich 1. THE REIGN OF ANNA IOANNOVNA Anna Ioannovna dissolved the Supreme Privy Council, creating in its place a new supreme body - the Cabinet of Ministers. The Senate and colleges were subordinate to him. Anna did not delve into government affairs

From the book Imperial Russia author Anisimov Evgeniy Viktorovich

Buffoonery at the court of Anna Ioannovna More is known about Anna Ioannovna’s jesters than about her ministers. The jester Ivan Balakirev is especially famous. In 1735, the Empress wrote to Moscow Governor-General Saltykov: Semyon Andreevich! Send someone on purpose to Prince Nikita Volkonsky

author Istomin Sergey Vitalievich

From the book History of Russia. Factor analysis. Volume 2. From the end of the Time of Troubles to February Revolution author Nefedov Sergey Alexandrovich

2.7. The reign of Anna Ioannovna: continuation of Westernization Princess Anna at the age of 17 became the wife of the Duke of Courland and lived in a German environment for almost twenty years. There were rumors that the duchess had converted to Protestantism, and upon returning to Moscow she had to publish

author Anisimov Evgeniy Viktorovich

1730–1740 Reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna This is how Anna Ioannovna accidentally ended up on the throne. Before this, the life of the daughter of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich - co-ruler of Peter I - and Tsarina Praskovya Fedorovna took place on the political margins. At the age of 17, married to the Duke of Courland

From the book Chronology Russian history. Russia and the world author Anisimov Evgeniy Viktorovich

1740, October 17 Death of Anna Ioannovna and Biron's regency On October 5, 1740, Anna suddenly fell ill - she had an exacerbation of kidney stones. Biron did not leave the bedside of the sick empress until she signed the will, which appointed him heir to the throne

From the book Domestic History: Cheat Sheet author Author unknown

35. THE PERIOD OF ANNA IOANNOVNA’S REIGN During the discussion of possible candidates for the throne, the choice fell on the Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna, the daughter of Peter I’s brother, Ivan Alekseevich. Conditions were drawn up in deep secrecy - the conditions for Anna Ioannovna’s accession to the throne

From the book With a Sword and a Torch. Palace coups in Russia 1725-1825 author Boytsov M. A.

Part two “The Plot of the Supreme Lords” The accession of Anna Ioannovna, 1730. The events of 1730 are not usually called a “palace coup.” But, in fact, in a matter of weeks, two coups took place in Moscow, the significance of which for Russian history, it seems, is not yet clear.

From the book St. Petersburg. Autobiography author Korolev Kirill Mikhailovich

St. Petersburg during the reign of Anna Ioannovna, 1730s Vasily Trediakovsky, Christopher Manstein The last direct descendant of the Romanov family in the male line, Emperor Peter II died in 1730, and by the will of circumstances, Anna, the daughter of brother and co-ruler Peter, ended up on the throne

From the book A Short Course in the History of Russia from Ancient Times to beginning of the XXI century author Kerov Valery Vsevolodovich

5. The reign of Anna Ioannovna (1730–1740) 5.1. "Noble" politics. From the very beginning of her reign, Anna Ioannovna tried to erase even the memory of “conditions” from the consciousness of her subjects. She liquidated the military-technical cooperation, creating instead the Cabinet of Ministers, in fact

author Sukina Lyudmila Borisovna

Empress Anna Ioannovna (01/28/1693-10/17/1740) Years of reign - 1730-1740 Anna Ioannovna, who in some historical novels and popular science books are presented as almost a usurper of the Russian imperial throne, had every right to take the throne. She was a daughter

From the book Family Tragedies of the Romanovs. Difficult choice author Sukina Lyudmila Borisovna

Family of Empress Anna Ioannovna 01/28/1693-10/17/1740 Years of reign: 1730-1740 Father - Tsar Ivan V Alekseevich (08/27/1666-01/29/1696), in 1682–1696. was co-ruler of his younger brother - Tsar Peter I. Mother - Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna (Saltykova) (09.12.1664-? 10.1723). Husband - Friedrich Wilhelm Duke of Courland

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THE SECRET OFFICE AFTER ANNA IOANNOVNA Empress Anna Ioannovna, after ten years of reign, died in the fall of 1740, shortly after a brutal reprisal against the group of cabinet minister Volynsky. The careerist and intriguer Duke Johann Biron finally tried to seize power

From the book I Explore the World. History of Russian Tsars author Istomin Sergey Vitalievich

Empress Anna Ioannovna Years of life 1693–1740 Years of reign 1730–1740 Father - Ivan V Alekseevich, senior Tsar and Sovereign of All Rus', co-ruler of Peter I. Mother - Praskovya Fedorovna Saltykova. Anna Ivanovna (Ioannovna), Empress of All Russia, was the middle daughter of Tsar John

From the book The Russian Gallant Age in Persons and Plots. Book two author Berdnikov Lev Iosifovich

Congratulations for Anna Ioannovna A unique 18th-century brochure in a large “tray” format has reached us. The only surviving copy of it is in the Department of Rare Editions of the Library of the Russian Federation. State Archive ancient acts (inventory No. 6625). The brochure has three

Anna Ioannovna is a Russian empress from the Romanov dynasty, niece, who was on the throne from 1730 to 1740. Anna was born on February 7, 1693 into the royal family in the Cross Chamber of the Terem Palace of the Moscow Kremlin.

The girl's parents - Tsar Ivan V and Tsarina Praskovya Fedorovna - raised two more daughters: the eldest Catherine and the younger Praskovya. WITH early age Anna and her sisters studied Russian literacy, arithmetic, geography, dancing, German and French. The princesses' teachers were Johann Christian Dietrich Osterman (Andrei Osterman's elder brother) and Stefan Ramburg.


In 1696, Ivan Alekseevich died, and the dowager queen and her children were forced to leave the Kremlin chambers and move to the country residence Izmailovo, which was an estate built in the old Russian style. The palace facilities included orchards, numerous ponds, and a winter garden. The court theater regularly staged performances and musicians gave concerts symphonic music.


In 1708, the family of Peter I's deceased brother moved to St. Petersburg. The ceremonial procession arrived at new capital together with Alexei Petrovich, with the princesses Feodosia, Maria and Natalya and the dowager queen Martha Matveevna. In honor of the emperor's relatives, a large feast was held with cannon salvoes and a boat trip along the Gulf of Finland. Praskovya Fedorovna settled with her daughters in a palace not far from the place where Smolny now stands. Soon the Swedes began an attack on the northern capital, and the relatives had to return to Moscow.

Peter's troops failed to gain the upper hand in the Northern War. To the Russian Emperor the support of the Prussian and Courland rulers was needed. During the war, Courland experienced political pressure from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, from which it was a vassal. In 1709, Peter managed to turn the tide of action; Russian troops occupied Courland. Diplomatic negotiations took place with the King of Prussia, Frederick William I, at which it was decided to unite the two dynasties.


The Russian princess, Peter's niece Anna, was chosen as the bride, and the nephew of the Prussian king, Duke of Courland Friedrich Wilhelm, was chosen as the groom. After two months of marriage, the young husband died of a cold on the way to Courland. Peter forbade Anna to return to her homeland. The princess arrived in Mitau, where she held the position of dowager duchess for 20 years. The treasury of the duchy was devastated by long-term taxes from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, so Anna had to eke out a modest existence. The Duchess wrote many times to Peter I, and then to his widow, asking for financial assistance.

Beginning of reign

In 1730, Emperor Peter II died, and it became necessary to choose a new ruler. At a meeting of the Privy Council, six candidates were nominated for the Russian throne: the son of the deceased Duchess Anna Petrovna - Peter-Ulrich, the second daughter of Peter I - the crown princess, the first wife of Peter I - Evdokia Feodorovna Lopukhina, and three daughters of Tsar John Alekseevich.

Princes Dmitry Golitsyn and Vasily Dolgorukov proposed inviting Anna Ivanovna, who had been in straitened circumstances for twenty years and could make the necessary concessions to the aristocracy. The Privy Council supported the choice, and a letter was sent to the Duchess with a list of “conditions” - conditions limiting autocratic power in favor of the Privy Council.


Anna signed a document in Mitau on January 25 (Old Art.), according to which she was obliged to take care of the spread of Orthodoxy in Russia, not to marry, not to carry out major foreign policy actions without the consent of the Privy Council, not to change tax system, do not appoint a receiver at your own discretion. On February 15, Anna Ioannovna arrived in Moscow, where a week later military and senior government dignitaries swore allegiance to her.


But on February 25, the oppositionists of the Privy Council - Andrei Osterman, Gabriel Golovkin, Archbishop Feofan (Prokopovich), Peter Yaguzhinsky, Antioch Cantemir, Ivan Trubetskoy - presented a petition to the queen for the restoration of absolutism. Anna Ioannovna, having heard the petition, tore up the “conditions”, and three days later a new oath of autocratic ruler took place, and at the end of April - Anna’s crowning of the kingdom. The Privy Council was abolished in favor of the governing Senate.

Domestic policy

During the reign of Anna Ioannovna external and domestic politics those close to him were engaged - Chancellor Andrei Osterman and favorite Ernst Johann Biron, who received favor from Anna during the dukedom in Courland. The army was led by a field marshal German origin Christopher Minich. Anna did not favor the Russian nobility, preferring to surround herself with foreigners. Contemporaries called the period of Anna Ioannovna’s reign “Birovism,” since the empress’s favorite had virtually unlimited possibilities.


Since 1730, according to established tradition, the Treasury began issuing coins with the image of the new empress. In 1731, a ruling structure was created - the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as two new military regiments - Izmailovsky and Cavalry, staffed by foreigners and soldiers from the southern provinces. In the same year, the Land Noble Cadet Corps appeared to train noble heirs, and a year later officer salaries increased. A school for training officials and numerous seminaries, including those at the Academy, were opened. The strengthening of Orthodoxy was facilitated by the introduction of the law on death penalty for blasphemy.


Coins with the image of Anna Ioannovna

In the second half of the 30s it was finally legalized serfdom, factory workers are declared the property of the factory owners. After the introduction of stricter measures, industry growth began, and soon Russia took first place in the world in the production of cast iron. Participants in drawing up the initial demands for the empress were arrested and sent to prison or exile. By the fortieth year, a conspiracy against Anna Ioannovna had matured among the ministers, which was discovered, and the organizers and participants - minister Artemy Volynsky, architect Pyotr Eropkin, adviser to the admiralty office Andrei Khrushchev - were executed.


Anna Ioannovna herself was not distinguished by her talent for governing the state. The queen spent most of the imperial time on entertainment - creating masquerades, holding balls and hunting. At the empress's court there were about a hundred dwarfs and giants, jesters and jokers. The history of that time records a humorous wedding arranged at the court of the queen between Prince Mikhail Golitsyn-Kvasnik and a native of Kalmykia, Avdotya Buzheninova. Anna Ioannovna favored theater arts. During her reign, the fashion for Italian opera, a theater with 1000 seats was built, and the first ballet school was opened.

Foreign policy

Business foreign policy was carried out by A. Osterman, who in 1726 had already achieved a peace treaty with Austria. Thanks to Russia's victory in the military conflict with France over the Polish heritage, King Augustus III was enthroned in Warsaw in 1934. The four-year war with Turkey ended in 1739 on unfavorable terms for Russia, signed in Belgrade.

Personal life

In 1710, Anna married the Duke of Courland, Friedrich Wilhelm. In honor of the wedding, Peter I organized a celebration that lasted more than 2 months. During feasts, the nobility were satiated with food and wine. Before going home, the Duke fell ill, but did not attach any importance to the illness. Having left with the crew, Wilhelm died on the first day of the trip. Unable to return to her family, Anna Ioannovna was forced to settle in Courland.


The courtiers were hostile against the young widow, and the duchess's only friend, and then favorite, became Russian resident Petr Mikhailovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin. In 1926, Anna intended to marry Count Moritz of Saxony, but the wedding was upset by Prince Alexander Menshikov, who planned to become Duke of Courland himself.


In 1727, the prince was recalled to Russia, and Ernst Johann Biron became Anna's new favorite. It is assumed that the future Russian empress gave birth to a son from Biron. Anna Ioannovna later took her favorite to Russia and made her co-ruler.

Death

Empress Anna Ioannovna died on October 17 (old style) 1740 in St. Petersburg. The cause of the queen's death was kidney disease. The queen's grave is located in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. In her will, the empress indicated her descendants as heir to the throne sister Catherine of Mecklenburg.

Memory

The events of the 18th century are of interest not only to historians, but also to filmmakers. More than once the biography of Empress Anna became the basis of the plot of historical documentaries or feature films. In the 80s, in the films “The Ballad of Bering and His Friends”, “The Demidovs”, “” the role of Anna Ioannovna was played by the actress Maria Politsemako.

In the multi-part series “Secrets palace coups. Russia, 18th century,” which was released in the early 2000s, played Queen Anna, and in 2008 she played her role.

Anna Ioannovna

Anna Ioannovna - Russian Empress. The second, middle daughter of the half-brother of Peter the Great and Praskovya Fedorovna Saltykova, that is, Peter the Great was the niece. Ruled Russia from 1730 to 1740

“Tsar Ivan Alekseevich died in 1696. The widow queen...Peter allowed her to choose any of the palace villages. Praskovya stopped at Izmailovsky. Praskovya willingly and cordially accepted Peter's wild company and helped him in private matters. At the same time, patriarchy... left its mark on the life of the queen. The house was filled with holy fools who hid when visiting the palace and their riotous companions... In the most difficult conditions Northern War Peter controlled the destinies of the princesses (Praskovya’s daughters) as bargaining chips in diplomatic bargaining. Seventeen-year-old Anna was married to Duke Frederick William of Courland in 1710 (Courland is a duchy in the western part of modern Latvia, the capital of Mitava (now Jelgava). The Duke “drank to the point of impossibility” and at the beginning of 1711, on the road from St. Petersburg to Mitava, died “from excessive consumption of strong drinks." Anna came to Courland already a widow" (Apolon Kuzmin "Tatishchev")

Brief biography of Anna Ionnovna

  • 1693, January 28 - birth in Moscow
  • 1696 - death of father, Tsar Ivan V Alekseevich
  • 1710, October 31 - marriage to Frederick William, Duke of Courland
  • 1711, January 9 - death of Friedrich Wilhelm
  • 1712–1730 - life in Mitau, capital of Courland
  • 1723, October 13 - death of Anna's mother, Tsarina Praskovya Fedorovna
  • 1727, autumn - the beginning of the favor of E. I. Biron

“The voice of the sources claims that Anna Ivanovna was under the influence and power of her favorite. It is customary to attribute to Biron and the Germans grouped around him the entire cruel nature of her reign, which is called Bironism. But if we criticize this issue, it turns out that there is not enough basis for such an accusation against Biron and the Germans in general. It is impossible to attribute the entire character of the reign indiscriminately to the Germans, simply because the Germans did not constitute a harmonious corporation and each of them pursued his own personal interests, one was envious of the other, one was at enmity with the other.

Biron himself did not manage affairs in the state mechanism, and did not at all show an inclination to engage in affairs, just like the empress; he did not like Russia and had little interest in what was happening in it. There is no indication that the mass of those cruelties that marked the reign of Anna Ivanovna came from Biron and were committed on his initiative... the cruelties that distinguished Anna Ivanovna’s era were not her exclusive properties; It was not with her that they began to appear in Russia, and it was not with her that they stopped. The reign of Peter the Great was marked by even more brutal persecution of everything contrary to the highest power... the same traits of cruelty and contempt for human dignity appear after Anna Ivanovna, under.

Therefore, we will not hesitate to say that everything that outrages us in the reign of Anna Ivanovna should be attributed not to the empress herself, not to her favorite, the Duke of Courland, but to the entire century in which the events took place" (S. M. Solovyov. "History of Russia with ancient times")

  • 1728, October 11 - birth of Karl Ernst Biron, supposed son of Anna Ioannovna
  • 1730, January 19 - accession to the Russian throne
  • 1730, February 25 - Anna declared herself autocrat
  • 1730, April 28 - coronation in Moscow
  • 1740, October 17 - death of Anna Ioannovna

Accession to the throne

“Peter II fell ill and died at the age of 14, on the night of January 18-19, 1730, without leaving a will... On the night of January 18-19, the Supreme Privy Council, some senators and senior military officials, a total of 10-15 people... began to reason about the fate of the throne, and here it was revealed how little they were prepared for the upcoming matter... Among the alarming and contradictory rumors, the voice of Prince D. M. Golitsyn was finally heard: he named the lonely, familyless person of the royal house Anna Ioannovna, a childless widow with no political weight Duke of Courland. Golitsyn's proposal met with general sympathy... Indeed, both with her personal restraint and her loneliness, Anna could seem to be an excellent candidate for the crown: she was the legitimate daughter of the eldest of the tsar brothers - and therefore, of course, had more rights to election than the daughters of Peter

“When the issue of succession to the throne was resolved, Prince Dmitry Golitsyn unexpectedly spoke out. “We need to make it easier for ourselves, so much easier that we will add more will... We need to write and send the points to Her Majesty”... The “points” of restrictions were edited right there and communicated in confidence to some dignitaries who were in the palace that night...

    1) the empress must promise not to marry and not to appoint an heir for herself;
    2) Top secrets advice should always be kept in eight persons and without his consent not to declare war or make peace; not to impose taxes and not to spend government revenues; not to favor estates and not to take away property and honor from the nobility; do not favor anyone in the court and general ranks;
    3) the guard and all other troops to be under the authority of the Top. secrets council, not the empress. The conditions were edited as if Anna gave them on her own initiative

When a rumor spread throughout Moscow about secret restrictions in favor of the Supreme Privy Council... the entire middle and lower nobility became indignant... “God forbid that instead of one autocratic sovereign there should not be ten autocratic and strong families,” contemporary Artemy Volynsky fearfully noted.

On February 3, it was announced to the highest ranks that Anna Ioannovna had accepted the throne and was willing to give herself restrictive obligations, which were read to those gathered. Everyone was silent: obviously, no one liked the conditions. (Details about the projects of state reorganization of Russia are described in the description of the life and work of V. N. Tatishchev in the ZhZL series, author A. Kuzmin)

From February 3 to 15, when the Empress arrived in Moscow, passions flared up even more; general dissatisfaction with the leaders increased to open resistance: the Preobrazhensky regiment refused to swear the oath in the form of the oath, which was most convenient for the V.T. Council.

The “venture” of V.T. Council was destroyed not by Anna, but by the nobility. On February 25, part of the nobility (namely the guards officers) unexpectedly turned to Anna with a noisy and persistent request to accept autocracy. On the same day, the guards and other nobility presented Anna with a formal request for the restoration of autocracy, the destruction of the V.T. Council, the reform of the Senate, “as it was under Peter I,” and the replacement of senior administrative positions with elected representatives of the nobility. Anna tore up her restrictive clauses and “committed themselves to sovereignty.”

The leaders had no opportunity to prevent the coup d'etat that had taken place before their eyes, because the guard was against them and the entire nobility was against the oligarchic Council, and the Council under such conditions became childishly weak and helpless" (S. Platonov, “Complete course of lectures on Russian history” )

Affairs of the government of Anna Ioannovna

  • 1730, March 4 - liquidation of the Supreme Privy Council and restoration of the powers of the Senate
  • 1730, December 9 - repeal of the law on single inheritance (majority), adopted by Peter the Great in 1714

Since the death of Peter the Great, the government for many years could have taken a closer look at the harmful consequences of this law. Parents, wanting to give equal distribution to all their sons, burdened the peasants in order to extract more income from their estates, or resorted to various twists: others incurred unprecedented debts and obliged the eldest son, his successor in ownership, to pay his smaller brothers and sisters, from where there was anger and family quarrels; others, by law, left all immovable property to the eldest son, and gave all movable property to younger sons; - and it turned out that one side with livestock and agricultural tools did not know what to do without land, and the other was at a loss with land without livestock and without tools. Such and such phenomena and similar ones prompted Anna Ivanovna’s government to abolish majoratism

  • 1730 - Nobles who had several adult sons were allowed to leave one of them on the estate to save money, however, without fail teaching him to read and write
  • 1730 - the office of confiscations, created during the previous reign, began operating, but only received instructions under Anna Ioannovna. This office, in addition to arrears, was in charge of all movable and real estate, as well as escheated estates.
  • 1731 - decree on the collection of poll taxes by the landowners themselves from the peasants

Upon the accession of the empress to the throne, the state was arrears of the entire per capita salary, reaching up to four million rubles; in 1735, due to a large crop failure, a six-month arrear of the entire per capita salary was imposed throughout the state, and in those areas where hunger was felt more noticeably, it was ordered to lend grain to the peasants.

But in 1739, the government came to the conclusion that arrears should not be collected, because through such favors only those who were in no hurry to pay taxes benefited; those who were in good condition could not take advantage of these favors. Many landowners have left arrears on their estates; of such landowners who are not in the civil service were obliged to pay arrears within six weeks, and employees - within three months, under pain of a double fine

  • 1731, March - legal merger of local and patrimonial land ownership, they merged into one concept of noble real estate
  • 1731, November 6 - establishment of the Cabinet of Ministers (replacing the Supreme Privy Council), which was approved in 1735 supreme authority, whose decrees in the absence of the empress acquired the force of law
  • 1731 - instead of the Preobrazhensky order abolished on April 4, 1729, the Office of Secret Investigation Cases, subordinate to the Senate, was created
  • 1731, July 29 - decree establishing a cadet corps in St. Petersburg “under the main command of Count von Minich”
  • 1731 - Anna Ionnovna’s manifesto, in which Anna Leopoldovna, the granddaughter of Ivan the Fifth, was appointed heir to the throne
  • 1731 - serfs were prohibited from taking farm-outs and contracts, people of “servile” origin were prohibited from receiving the positions of governor, they were also ordered to sell property illegally acquired in the last kingdom within six months and not to acquire anything like that in the future
  • 1732 - the court and the highest authorities of the country returned to St. Petersburg

“The construction and settlement of St. Petersburg, carried out by Peter the Great, remained neglected after his death, and this continued in the first years of Anna Ivanovna’s reign, when the queen lived in Moscow and the entire court was there. The landowners brought to St. Petersburg by Peter the Great left their allotted places of residence in the capital and dispersed to their estates. On Vasilyevsky Island there were either foundations or half-built ones. stone walls without windows and roofs; some houses had already been rebuilt, but their owners, having left St. Petersburg themselves, left servants in the houses without any means of maintenance, and the government had to force these gentlemen to give their people maintenance.

When Anna Ivanovna moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg, the northern capital began to become more crowded again, and prices for apartments, which had previously fallen significantly, suddenly rose so high that the government, through its decrees, had to restrain the arbitrariness of homeowners. In 1737, St. Petersburg was divided into five city parts, several new bridges were made, new squares were opened, trees were planted in empty places and a new guest courtyard was built on Admiralty Island."

  • 1732 - a change was made to the recruitment system. One recruit per 350 peasants with the possibility of redemption
  • 1732 - The Academy of Sciences sent Professor Miller to Siberia to study the region there. He spent ten years on a business trip, and upon his return for many years, until the end of his life he put in order the materials he had collected related to the geography, history, ethnography and natural history of Russia
  • 1733 - V. Bering was ordered to carry out plans to explore the northeastern coast of Russian Asia, explore the sea route to the mouth of the Amur and Japanese islands, as well as to the American continent. This second Kamchatka expedition began in 1734
  • 1733 - establishment of police in cities. It was ordered to establish police departments in twenty-three large cities. Until that time, police departments existed only in capital cities
  • 1733, June 14 - death of sister Anna Ekaterina Ioannovna
  • 1733 - Baptism of Anna Leopoldovna according to the Orthodox rite. The Tsar Bell is cast.
  • 1735 - after the spread of false imperial decrees, with which, given the widespread illiteracy in all strata of society, it was not difficult for literate swindlers to deceive the people, in 1735 it was stated that only those on which the signature of the empress and her three cabinet ministers would be considered genuine supreme decrees
  • 1736 - Decree on the assignment of artisans to manufactories who previously worked as free employees. Limitation of the period of compulsory military service for nobles
  • 1735-1740 - fight against robbery

In 1735, after two years of crop failures, the people everywhere became poor and bands of robbers multiplied everywhere: on the Volga, on the Oka they robbed merchants sailing along these rivers, attacked manorial estates and tormented owners and their servants with cruel tortures, did not allow entry to state customs and taverns, killed kissers and heads and took away government taxes.

In 1739, their gangs appeared in the districts of Kexholm and Olonetsky; in 1740, already before the death of the empress, thefts, robberies and murders spread in St. Petersburg itself - a sentry was killed in the Peter and Paul Fortress and several hundred government rubles were stolen

  • 1735, August 31 - the Orenburg fortress was founded at the mouth of the Ori River
  • 1735-1738 - the government’s fight against fires in St. Petersburg

“They began in 1735 and continued in the following years. In 1736 there was a severe fire in St. Petersburg. Then a crowd of people, under the pretext of extinguishing the fire, carried out robberies and kidnappings. The exposed arsonists were executed by burning at the scene of the crime, and robbers and thieves were severely punished with a whip and sent to hard labor.

In 1737, to prevent fires, guards and patrols were established throughout the city, and the police began to employ stove workers and chimney sweeps; both of them were obliged to monitor the serviceability of the stoves and clean the chimneys in every house once a month. So that everyone always has water ready to extinguish the fire, it was ordered to build a well in every yard. For the poor, devastated by fire and deprived of shelter, government buildings and confiscated houses were allocated free of charge.

In 1738, it was ordered that all stone buildings be covered with nothing other than tiles or iron, and gzymzas and cornices must be made of stone or brick. All flammable substances were ordered to be kept only in sheds specially built for this purpose on Petrovsky Island, and on ships docked on the Neva, it was forbidden to light candles, smoke tobacco and cook food; in general, it was possible to light a fire, in case of need, only on special vessels designated for that purpose (S.M. Solovyov “History of Russia since ancient times”)

  • 1735, November 25 - the casting of the Tsar Bell was completed, the decree on the creation of which in honor of her reign Anna issued on July 26, 1730
  • 1735 - a seminary was established at the Academy of Sciences for thirty-five young noblemen and, in addition, it was ordered that young people from the Moscow school monastery be sent there to study the sciences
  • 1736 - Nobles' service obligation was reduced to 25 years; those who had several adult sons were allowed to leave one of them on the estate to save money, but without fail teaching him to read and write.
  • 1736 - a decree throughout Russia to collect manuscripts and documents relating to the reign of , and, and send them to the Senate, and the Senate was supposed to send them, which actually related to history, to the Academy of Sciences
  • 1736 - an expedition was sent from the Academy of Sciences under the command of Muravyov and Ovtsyn to find routes along the Arctic Sea from Arkhangelsk to the mouth of the Ob
  • 1737 - creation of a fire service in Moscow
  • 1737 - it was indicated in Pskov, Novgorod, Tver, Yaroslavl and other significant cities to create doctors from old military doctors, and ordinary people had to give them a free apartment and pay a salary of 12 rubles a month. Pharmacies were also established in these cities, where medicines could be obtained for a fee.
  • 1737 - a decree according to which the nobles had to bring their sons, who had reached the age of seven, in the capitals to the king of arms in the Senate, and in the provinces to the governor, to send them to education, and at the age of 16 the young men themselves had to appear at the Senate in St. Petersburg or Moscow for an exam in arithmetic and geometry. Those undergrowth who, being presented to the Senate, showed neither the desire nor the ability to military service and could not be accepted into either the cadet corps or the naval academy; they were left with the Senate to prepare for civil service. They came to the Senate chamber two days a week to teach arithmetic, geodesy, geometry, geography and grammar; they were not supposed to visit “free houses” (taverns) and play cards and dice; Every day they were obliged to powder their hair and on certain holidays, together with the cadets, go to the Court. If one of them had no desire to study, he was given up as a soldier
  • 1737, June 20 - foundation of the Stavropol fortress on the Volga (today the city of Tolyatti)
  • 1738 - for the sake of preserving public health, city residents were strictly instructed not to throw the corpses of fallen cattle along the streets, but to bury them in the ground, without removing the skin at all; officers with doctors were sent everywhere so that where they sold meat, they would not sell poor people anything that was thin and unhealthy meat
  • 1739 - decree on the transfer of state-owned mining plants to private hands
  • 1740 - the Academy of Sciences sent Professor Delisle for astronomical observations to Obdorsk

The French astronomer Joseph-Nicolas Delisle made a great contribution to the organization of astronomical science in Russia. According to his design, an academic astronomical observatory in the Kunstkamera building was built and equipped with instruments. Organized systematic meteorological observations and observations in Russia in 1726 polar lights, put forward in 1735 the idea of ​​​​creating the first time service in Russia. He headed the astronomical work necessary for mapping the territory of Russia, carried out under the leadership of the Academy of Sciences.

  • 1740 - decree establishing post offices throughout the empire between governorates and provinces

“The postal device has undergone widespread development due to circumstances. At the beginning, it was indicated to establish postal camps from Moscow to those places where the active army would be located; then, along the same route, a permanent regular post was established from Moscow to Kyiv through Kaluga, Sevsk and Glukhov. The stations were located at a distance of about 25 versts from one another; Each station had to contain 25 horses. But this order was not fully observed; there - the station house was not built, in another place - it was difficult to bring the number of horses to the legal number. IN

In 1740, a decree was issued on the establishment of post offices throughout the empire between the provinces and provinces. When the war ended, it was considered sufficient to maintain five horses at each station on the route from Moscow to Kyiv, and only four horses on the Voronezh route. At first, the postal business was hampered by two circumstances: the first - bad roads, which the government entrusted to the owners of the lands where the road went to fix, the second - the arrogance and willfulness of those traveling on government business, driving postal horses to death, beating and mutilating coachmen and postal commissioners »

  • 1740, winter - the so-called one of the amusements of Empress Anna Ioannovna was built in St. Petersburg, associated with the amusing marriage of the Empress's court jester, Prince Mikhail Alekseevich Golitsyn and one of her hangers-on, Kalmyk Avdotya Ivanovna, who bore the surname Buzheninova. The wedding took place on February 6, 1740. In April the Ice House melted
    1740, October 5 - Anna Ioannovna’s manifesto on the appointment of Anna Leopoldovna’s son Ivan, born on August 2, heir to the Russian throne
  • 1732, January 21 - Treaty of Rasht with Persia on the return of south coast Caspian Sea. Russia was going to war with Turkey, and it needed Persia as an ally.
  • 1733, September - Russian troops entered Poland after the Polish Sejm elected Stanislav Leszczynski as king, while Russia supported another candidacy - Augustus III. Russian participation in the War of the Polish Succession began, lasting until 1753
  • 1734 - Anna Ioannovna’s letter of acceptance of the Cossacks of the so-called Aleshkovo Sich into Russian citizenship. Novaya Sich was the administrative and military center of the Zaporizhian Cossacks in 1734 - 1775. was located on a large peninsula washed by the Podpolnaya River (a tributary of the Dnieper). To monitor the activities of the Cossacks, the tsarist government built 2 km away. from Novaya Sich there is a fortification with two semi-bastions and a permanent garrison, the so-called Novosechensky retranchement. The new Zaporozhye Sich was supported by the state. She was given privileges to fishing and trades, but diplomatic activities are prohibited
  • 1734 - Hetmanate in Ukraine was again abolished. Administration of Little Russia entrusted to the Temporary Commission
  • 1735, March 21 - Treaty of Ganja - an agreement between the Russian Empire and Persia. According to it, Russia pledged to return Baku and Derbent with adjacent lands to Persia in exchange for Persia’s obligation not to transfer them to the rule of other powers and to continue the war with Turkey.
  • 1735-1739 —