Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/116

98 RUSSIA [HISTORY, of his son Alexis, in which it must be said with sorrow Peter seemed lost to all the feelings of a father. Alexis had undoubtedly given him great cause for dislike by identifying himself in every way with the retrogressive party. The unfortunate young man probably died under the infliction of torture. In 1721 Peter promulgated the celebrated ukaze (afterwards abrogated by Paul) that the sovereign had the right of naming his successor. On January 28, 1725, the great reformer was dead. An attempt to estimate his character has been made in the separate article assigned to him. On the death of Peter the country was divided into two factions. The old reactionary party, the Golitzins, Dolgo- rukis, and others, were eager to proclaim Peter the son of Alexis, but those who had identified themselves with the Catherine reforms of the late sovereign were anxious that Catherine I- his widow, who had been crowned empress, should succeed. Menshikoff, the favourite of the late czar, who is said when a boy to have sold cakes in the streets of Moscow, became all-powerful at this period, and the reforms of Peter con- tinued to be carried out. Catherine died in 1727 ; she appears to have been an indolent, good-natured woman, with but little capacity for government, and accordingly, throughout her short reign, was entirely controlled by Peter II. others. She designated as her successor Peter the son of Alexis, and, in default of Peter and his issue, Anna, who had married the duke of Holstein, and Elizabeth, her daughters. The regency was exercised by a council consist- ing of the two daughters, the duke of Holstein, Menshikoff, and seven or eight of the chief dignitaries of the empire. Menshikoff was still all-important ; he had obtained from Catherine her consent to a marriage between his daughter and the youthful czar. But his authority was gradually undermined by the Dolgorukis. The favourite of Peter the Great was first banished to his estates, and afterwards to Berezoff in Siberia, where he died in 1729. The Dol- gorukis were now in the ascendency, and the czar was betrothed to Natalia, one of that family. He showed every inclination to undo his grandfather's work, and the court was removed to Moscow. Soon afterwards, how- ever, in January 1730, the young prince died of small- pox. His last words as he lay on his death-bed were, "Get ready the sledge; I want to go to my sister," alluding to the Princess Natalia, the other child of Alexis, who had died three years previously. The only foreign event of importance in this reign was the attempt of Maurice of Saxony to get possession of Courland, by marrying the duchess Anna, then a widow. She con- sented to the union, and the states of the province elected him, but Menshikoff sent a body of troops who forced him to quit it. On the death of Peter at the age of fifteen, various claimants of the throne were put for- ward. The great czar had left two daughters, Elizabeth, and Anna, duchess of Holstein, who had a son, afterwards Peter III. Two daughters were also surviving of his eldest brother Ivan, Anna, the duchess of Courland, and Catherine, duchess of Mecklenburg. Alexis Dolgoruki even had an idea of claiming the crown for his daughter, because she had been betrothed to the young emperor. This proposal, however, was treated with derision, and the Anna. High Secret Council resolved to call to the throne Anna of Courland, thinking that, as she was so much more remote by birth than the daughters of Peter, she would more willingly submit to their terms. In fact, they had pre- pared for her signature something like the parta conventa of Poland. The following were the terms : (1) the High Council was always to be composed of eight members, to be renewed by co-option, and the czarina must consult it on state affairs ; (2) without its consent she could neither make peace nor declare war, could not impose any tax, alienate any crown lands, or appoint to any office above that of a colonel ; (3) she could not cause to be condemned or executed any member of the nobility, nor confiscate the goods of any noble before he had a regular trial ; (4) she could not marry nor choose a successor without the con- sent of the council. In case she broke any of these stipu- lations she was to forfeit the crown (see Rambaud, p. 425). Anna assented to these terms and made her entry into Moscow, which was now to be the capital. But the em- press was soon informed how universally unpopular these pacta conventa were, which in reality put Russia into the hands of a few powerful families, chiefly the Dolgorukis and Golitzins. She accordingly convened her supporters, and publicly tore the document to pieces, and thus ended the last attempt to give Russia a constitution. The new empress was a cold, repulsive woman, whose temper had been soured by indignities endured in her youth ; she took vengeance upon her opponents, and threw herself almost entirely into' the hands of German advisers, espe- cially Biren, a Courlander of low origin. This is the period called by the Russians the Bironovstchina. The country was now thoroughly exploited by the Germans ; some of the leading Russians were executed, and others banished to Siberia. Among the former was the able minister Volinski, beheaded with two others in 1740. He had fallen under the wrath of the implacable Biren. One of the most important enactments of this reign was the abolition of the right of primogeniture introduced by Peter the Great, which had never been popular in the country. On the crown of Poland falling vacant in 1733, an attempt was again made to place Stanislaus Leszczynski on the throne, but it failed through the opposition of Russia, and Stanislaus escaped with difficulty from Dantzic. Upon this followed a war with Turkey, which lasted four years (1735-1739), in conjunction with Austria. This was not very successful, but the Russian generals gained possession of a few towns, and were indignant when the Austrians signed the treaty of Belgrade with the Turks (1739), and the campaign came to an end. In 1740 the empress Anna died ; she had reigned exactly ten years. She left the crown to Ivan, the son of her niece Anna, daughter of her sister Catherine, duchess of Mecklenburg. During the minority of this child Biren was to be regent. By a revolution de palais, however, the German adventurer was hurled from power and sent to Pelim in Siberia. But matters did not rest here ; taking advantage of the general unpopularity of the German faction, the partisans of Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, were resolved to work their overthrow, and place her upon the throne. They consisted of Alexander and Peter Shuvaloff, Michael Vorontzoff, Razumovski, Schwarz, and a French surgeon named Lestocq. Elizabeth ingratiated herself into the favour of the soldiers, by whom the name of Peter the Great was still so much cherished. Anna Leopold- ovna, as she was called, her husband Anthony Ulrich, the infant emperor, Munich, Ostermann, and the whole German faction were arrested in the night, and Elizabeth Elizabt ascended the throne. Ivan VI. was imprisoned in the fortress of Schliisselburg ; Anna, with her husband and children, was banished to Kholmogori near Archangel, where she died in 1746. Ostermann was banished to Bere- zoff, and Munich to Pelim ; they had both been previously sentenced to death. Biren and his family were now recalled and allowed to live at Yaroslavl. Elizabeth Petrovna (1741-1762) inaugurated the return of Russian influence in opposition to the Germans, from whom the country had suffered so much during the reign of Anna. The people were weary of them, yet they were, as we shall see, to have one German emperor more. On ascending the throne she summoned to her court the son of her sister