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Peter III of Russia

 
Peter III of Russia

 
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Peter III (February 21, 1728 – July 17, 1762) was Emperor
Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right ....
 of Russia
Russian Empire

File:Russian Emperor Flag.jpgFile:Romanov Flag.svgThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917....
 for six months in 1762. According to most historians, he was mentally immature and very pro-Prussia
Prussia

Prussia was, most recently, a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. This state had for centuries substantial influence on Germany and European history....
n, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy
Conspiracy (political)

In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'?tat or through assassination....
 led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II
Catherine II of Russia

Catherine II, called Catherine the Great .The Russian empress Catherine II, known as Catherine the Great, reigned from 1762 to 1796. Under her direct auspices the Russian Empire expanded, improved in its administration, and underwent a dramatic policy of Westernization....
.

r was born in Kiel
Kiel

Kiel is the Capital and most populous city of the northern Germany state Schleswig-Holstein.Kiel is approximately 90 km to the north of Hamburg....
. His parents were Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (nephew of Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden

Charles XII was the Monarch of Sweden from 1697 to 1718.Charles was the only surviving son of King Charles XI of Sweden and Ulrike Eleonora of Denmark, and he assumed the crown at the age of fifteen, at the death of his father....
) and Anna Petrovna, a daughter of Emperor Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia

Peter I the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov ruled Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V of Russia....
 of Russia and his second wife, Catherine I of Russia
Catherine I of Russia

Ekaterina I Alexeyevna , the second wife of Peter I of Russia, functioned as co-ruler with her husband from 1724 until his death early in the next year, and reigned as sole Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death....
.






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Peter III (February 21, 1728 – July 17, 1762) was Emperor
Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor or a woman who rules in her own right ....
 of Russia
Russian Empire

File:Russian Emperor Flag.jpgFile:Romanov Flag.svgThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917....
 for six months in 1762. According to most historians, he was mentally immature and very pro-Prussia
Prussia

Prussia was, most recently, a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. This state had for centuries substantial influence on Germany and European history....
n, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy
Conspiracy (political)

In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'?tat or through assassination....
 led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II
Catherine II of Russia

Catherine II, called Catherine the Great .The Russian empress Catherine II, known as Catherine the Great, reigned from 1762 to 1796. Under her direct auspices the Russian Empire expanded, improved in its administration, and underwent a dramatic policy of Westernization....
.

Early life and character

Peter was born in Kiel
Kiel

Kiel is the Capital and most populous city of the northern Germany state Schleswig-Holstein.Kiel is approximately 90 km to the north of Hamburg....
. His parents were Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (nephew of Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden

Charles XII was the Monarch of Sweden from 1697 to 1718.Charles was the only surviving son of King Charles XI of Sweden and Ulrike Eleonora of Denmark, and he assumed the crown at the age of fifteen, at the death of his father....
) and Anna Petrovna, a daughter of Emperor Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia

Peter I the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov ruled Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V of Russia....
 of Russia and his second wife, Catherine I of Russia
Catherine I of Russia

Ekaterina I Alexeyevna , the second wife of Peter I of Russia, functioned as co-ruler with her husband from 1724 until his death early in the next year, and reigned as sole Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death....
. His mother died less than two weeks after his birth. In 1739, Peter's father died, and he became Duke of Holstein-Gottorp as Karl Peter Ulrich. He could thus be considered the heir to both thrones (Russia
Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
 and Sweden).

When Anna's sister Elizabeth
Elizabeth of Russia

Elizaveta Petrovna , also known as Yelisavet and Elizabeth, was an Empress of Russia who took the country into the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War ....
 became Empress of Russia she brought Peter from Germany to Russia and proclaimed him her heir in the autumn of 1742. Previously in 1742 the 14-year-old Peter was proclaimed King of Finland
Kingdom of Finland (1742)

The attempt to create a Kingdom of Finland in 1742 is a little known chapter in the history of Finland. Following the Russian occupation in the Russo-Swedish War and vague promises of making the country independent, Finns selected the then Duke Peter of Holstein-Gottorp as the King of Finland....
 during the Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743) when Russian troops held Finland. This proclamation was based on his succession rights to territories held by his childless grand-uncle, the late Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden

Charles XII was the Monarch of Sweden from 1697 to 1718.Charles was the only surviving son of King Charles XI of Sweden and Ulrike Eleonora of Denmark, and he assumed the crown at the age of fifteen, at the death of his father....
 who also had been Grand Duke of Finland. About the same time, in October 1742, he was chosen by the Swedish parliament
Riksdag of the Estates

The Riksdag of the Estates, or St?ndsriksdagen, was the name used for the Estates of the Realm of Sweden, or Rikets st?nder, when they were assembled....
 to become heir to the Swedish throne. However, the Swedish parliament was unaware of the fact that he had also been proclaimed heir to the throne of Russia, and when their envoy arrived in Saint Petersburg it was too late. It has been reported that the underage Peter's succession rights to Sweden were renounced on his behalf (such an act in name of a minor has been regarded as questionable and probably invalid).

Empress Elisabeth arranged for Peter to marry his second cousin, Sophia Augusta Frederica (later Catherine the Great), daughter of Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst and Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp. The young princess formally converted to Russian Orthodoxy
Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church ; or The Moscow Patriarchate , also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is a body of Christianity who constitute an Autocephaly Eastern Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the List of Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow, in full communion with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches....
 and took the name Ekaterina Alexeievna (i.e., Catherine
Catherine II of Russia

Catherine II, called Catherine the Great .The Russian empress Catherine II, known as Catherine the Great, reigned from 1762 to 1796. Under her direct auspices the Russian Empire expanded, improved in its administration, and underwent a dramatic policy of Westernization....
). They married in 1745. The marriage was not a happy one, but produced one son: the future Emperor Paul; and one daughter: Anna Petrovna (20 December 1757 - 19 March 1759). Catherine later claimed that Paul was not fathered by Peter, that, in fact, they had never consummated the marriage. During the sixteen years of their residence in Oranienbaum
Oranienbaum, Russia

Oranienbaum is a Russian royal residence, located on the Gulf of Finland west of Saint Petersburg. The Palace ensemble and the city center are World Heritage Sites....
 Catherine took numerous lovers, as did her husband.

The classical view of Peter's character is contained in the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica, dressed in a generous dose of old-time anti-German sentiment
Anti-German sentiment

Anti-German sentiment is defined as a fear or hatred of Germany, its German people, and the German language....
:

The reign


After Peter gained the throne in 1762, he incurred many nobles' displeasure by withdrawing from the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War lasted between 1756?1763 and involved all of the major European powers of the period. The war pitted Kingdom of Prussia and Kingdom of Great Britain and a coalition of smaller German states against an alliance consisting of Archduchy of Austria, Early Modern France, Russian Empire, Kingdom of Sweden, and Electorate of Sa...
 and making peace with Prussia, in which Russia did not gain anything, in spite of Russia's occupation of Berlin
Berlin

Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
 and virtual victory in the war. He formed an alliance with Prussia and planned an unpopular war against Denmark
Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
 in order to restore Schleswig to his Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp. It is also claimed that he wanted to force the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church ; or The Moscow Patriarchate , also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is a body of Christianity who constitute an Autocephaly Eastern Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the List of Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow, in full communion with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches....
 to adopt Lutheran practices.

Antropov Peteriii
During Peter's short reign, Russia saw several minor but important economic reforms that encouraged development of Western-European style capitalism
Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system in which wealth, and the means of producing wealth, are private property and controlled rather than commonly, publicly, or state-owned and controlled....
 and mercantilism
Mercantilism

Mercantilism is an economic theory that holds that the prosperity of a nation is dependent upon its supply of Capital , and that the world economy of international trade is "unchangeable"....
 and to move away from Russia's traditional social practices of subjugating peasants and townspeople and reserving leading positions for nobility. He issued an edict abolishing the practice allowing industrialists to purchase serfs as workers for their enterprises. He also forbade the importation of sugar into Russia to stimulate domestic manufacturing.

Peter's major social reform was the introduction of the Liberty for Nobility, abrogating Peter the Great's
Peter I of Russia

Peter I the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov ruled Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V of Russia....
 policy of forcing all male members of Russian nobility
Russian nobility

The Russian nobility arose in the 14th century and essentially governed Russia until the October Revolution of 1917.The Russian language word for nobility, Dvoryanstvo , derives from the Russian word dvor , meaning the Court of a prince or duke and later, of the tsar....
 to serve in the military or civil service
Civil service

The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* Branch of governmental service in which individuals are hired on the basis of merit which is proven by the use of competitive examinations....
 without regard for individual preference for a particular occupation.

Catherine, along with her lover Grigori Orlov, planned to overthrow Peter, as she believed he would divorce her in order to marry his mistress Elisabeth Vorontsova. The Leib Guard, on which Peter planned to impose harsher discipline, revolted and Peter was arrested and forced to sign his own abdication; Catherine became Empress with the support of most of the nobility. Shortly thereafter, Peter was killed while in custody at Ropsha
Ropsha

Ropsha is a types of inhabited localities in Russia and a nearest suburban region in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated about 20 km south of Peterhof and 49 km south-west of central Saint Petersburg, at an elevation of 80 metres to 130 metres above sea level....
. While Catherine did not punish the responsible guards, doubts remain as to whether she ordered the murder or not.

Aftermath

In December 1796, Peter's son the Emperor Paul, who disliked his mother, arranged for his remains to be exhumed and then reburied with full honors in the Peter and Paul Cathedral
Peter and Paul Cathedral

The Peter and Paul Cathedral is located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The fortress, originally built under Peter I of Russia and designed by Domenico Trezzini, is the first and oldest landmark in St....
, where other tsars were buried.

The Cossack
Cossack

The term Cossacks is applied to specific militaristic communities of various ethnicities living in the southern steppe regions of Ukraine and Russia....
 peasant Pugachev later claimed to be Peter III (promoting a rumour that Peter had not died, but had secretly been imprisoned by Catherine). Under this guise, he led what came to be known as Pugachev's Rebellion
Pugachev's Rebellion

Pugachev's Rebellion of 1773-74 was the principal revolt in a series of popular rebellions that took place in Russia after 1762. It began as an organized insurrection of Yaik Cossacks headed by Emelyan Pugachev, a disaffected ex-lieutenant of the Russian Imperial army, against a background of profound peasant unrest and war with the Ottoman...
.

There have been many attempts to revise the traditional characterisation of Peter and his policies, which were obviously influenced by his wife's memoirs and other biased accounts. It was during his reign that some of Catherine's reforms were prepared and the nobles were relieved from the obligation of serving in the army, which they considered burdensome. Most recently, a Harvard historian Carol S. Leonard published a revisionist history of Peter III with her book Reform and Regicide: The Reign of Peter III of Russia.

Ancestry


See also

  • Tsars of Russia family tree


External links