The list of which you will see below most often received this rank as recognition of military merit. The acquisition of office was often an episode of a political career and was associated with military victories.

Generalissimos of Russian history

The word generalissimo can be translated from Latin as “most important” or “most important.” In many countries in Europe and later Asia, this rank was used as the highest military rank. The Generalissimo was not always a great commander, and the best of them won their greatest victories before gaining a high-profile position.

In the history of Russia, five commanders were awarded this highest military rank:

• Alexey Semenovich Shein (1696).
• Alexander Danilovich Menshikov (1727).
• Anton Ulrich of Brunswick (1740).
• Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (1799).
• Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (1945).

Who was the first?

Alexey Semenovich Shein in historical literature is most often called the first generalissimo in the history of our country. This man lived a short life and was one of the associates of Peter I at the beginning of his achievements.

Alexey Shein came from a noble boyar family. His great-grandfather, Mikhail Shein, was a hero of the defense of Smolensk in Time of Troubles, and his father died during the war with Poland in 1657. Alexey Semenovich began serving in the Kremlin. He served as a steward under Tsarevich Alexei Alekseevich, then as a sleeping steward for the Tsar himself.

In 1679-1681 A.S. Shein was a governor in Tobolsk. Under his leadership, the city, which had burned down in a fire, was rebuilt. In 1682, Alexey Semenovich received the rank of boyar. In 1687, the boyar took part in the Crimean campaign, and in 1695 - the first campaign against Azov.

In 1696, he led Russian troops during the second campaign against the Azov fortress. It was then that A.S. Shein received the title “Generalissimo”, unusual for Russia. However, researchers of his biography N.N. Sakhnovsky and V.N. Tomenko questioned this fact. In their opinion, the tsar ordered Shein to be called generalissimo only during the campaign, and the name indicated only the powers of Alexei Semenovich as commander-in-chief of the ground forces. After the end of the campaign against Azov A.S. Shein did not retain the title of Generalissimo, given to him during the fighting. If we accept this point of view, A.D. should be recognized as the first generalissimo. Menshikov.

Alexander Menshikov went down in history as the closest ally of the first Emperor of Russia and one of the greatest commanders of his time. He took a direct part in the military reforms of Peter I, starting with the amusing troops. And in 1706, he defeated the Swedes in the Battle of Kalisz, and participated as one of the military leaders in the victorious battles of Lesnaya and Poltava. For his military services, Alexander Menshikov rose to the rank of president of the Military Collegium and field marshal.

For the first time, the commander tried to claim the highest military rank during the reign of Catherine I, when he had exclusive power. He was able to receive the rank of generalissimo under her successor Peter II, when he still had influence on the tsar.

The Saxon ambassador Lefort recalled the staging of this action. The young emperor entered the chambers of his Serene Highness and, with the words “I destroyed the field marshal,” handed him a decree appointing him generalissimo. At this time Russian Empire did not wage wars, and the prince did not have the opportunity to command armies in a new capacity.

The conferment of military rank was one of a whole series of awards that that year rained down on His Serene Highness the Prince and his family. The most important thing was the betrothal of his daughter to the emperor. But already in September 1727, Menshikov lost the fight for the monarch’s favor and lost all awards and ranks, including the title of generalissimo. The following year, Peter I's comrade-in-arms was exiled to Berezova, where he died in November 1729.

Anton Ulrich was the second son of the Duke of Brunswick and nephew of the famous King Frederick II. In 1733 he was summoned to Russia, and a few years later became the husband of Anna Leopoldovna, niece of the Empress of Russia.

In 1740, after the death of Empress Anna Ioannovna, Anton Ulrich's young son became emperor. A temporary worker from the previous reign, Biron became regent under the infant ruler, and Anton Ulrich was actually removed from making serious government decisions.

Biron feared for his position and, fearing a conspiracy, subjected the emperor's father to public interrogation. Anton Ulrich was forced to admit that he wanted to remove the temporary worker from power. Then Biron pointedly offered the highest dignitaries a choice between the prince and himself, and they preferred the current regent. Head of the Secret Chancellery A.I. Ushakov threatened the emperor’s father that, if necessary, he would treat him like any other subject. After this, Anton Ulrich lost all military positions.

On November 7, 1740, Field Marshal Minich organized a coup and arrested Biron. Contemporaries wrote that Minich, who had previously supported the regent, hoped to receive the rank of generalissimo. But under the new regime, the best Russian commander of his time again did not receive the highest military rank.

Two days later, on November 9, a new manifesto was released on behalf of Ivan Antonovich. It reported that Biron had been removed, inter alia, for the insults and threats he made to the emperor’s father. The powers of the regent were received by Anton Ulrich's wife, Anna Leopoldovna, and the German prince himself was declared co-ruler and generalissimo.

Anton Ulrich remained Generalissimo until the next palace coup, which brought Empress Elizabeth to power. During the year he was in the highest rank, the prince did nothing. He just quarreled with Minich, who was counting on this rank himself and later retired.

After the coup on November 25, 1741, Anton Ulrich lost all his ranks and found himself in the position of a hostage. He lived with his wife and children in the northern provinces of the country. In 1744 he was separated from his son, the emperor, and transferred to live in Kholmogory. In 1746, his wife died, and he and his remaining children continued to live as an exile. In 1774, the old and blind former generalissimo died. A few years later, Empress Catherine allowed his children to leave Russia and provided them with an allowance.

Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov became famous as the greatest Russian commander of his time and one of the greatest in Russian history. During his long military career, he successfully fought against the rebel Poles, Ottoman Empire, revolutionary France. He received the highest military rank less than a year before his death, after his last military campaign.

In November 1799, after completing the difficult Swiss campaign, Alexander Suvorov was awarded the highest military rank by the Emperor of Russia as a reward for his service and leadership skills. From now on, the military board had to send messages to the commander not decrees.

The Generalissimo withdrew his troops from Switzerland by order of the emperor and returned with them to Russia. When the army was on Polish territory, Suvorov went forward to the capital. Along the way, the Generalissimo fell ill and went to his estate. His condition changed for the better, then worsened. And in May 1800, Generalissimo Alexander Suvorov died.

Decree on the introduction of higher education in the USSR military rank Generalissimo appeared on June 24, 1945. A day later, at the proposal of the Politburo, I.V. received this rank. Stalin. The title of Generalissimo was a sign of recognition of the services of the Secretary General during the war. In addition to the highest military rank, Joseph Vissarionovich received the title of “Hero Soviet Union" and the Order of Victory. According to the recollections of contemporaries of the events, the leader of the USSR several times refused to introduce this rank.

The Soviet Army Logistics Service developed uniforms and insignia for the new position. They were not approved during the lifetime of the Secretary General, who, if necessary, wore the uniform of a USSR general with marshal shoulder straps. One of the options for the Generalissimo's dress uniform was rejected by Stalin, who considered it too luxurious.

The military regulations of the USSR after the death of Joseph Vissarionovich allowed for the possibility of someone accepting the rank of generalissimo, but no one else was awarded this rank. The 1975 Charter allowed for the award of the title of Generalissimo for special services to the country related to the leadership of all armed forces in wartime. The title of generalissimo was not introduced into the military regulations.

Military and ordinary citizens of the USSR have repeatedly made proposals to give the title of Generalissimo to the current general secretaries - N.S. Khrushchev and L.I. Brezhnev. But they did not receive an official move.

Not all the generalissimos of Russia and the USSR, the list of which was above, became famous as major commanders. But for all of them (except Shein), the title of generalissimo was nothing more than an additional award or a sign of recognition of military merit.

Anton-Ulrich (28.08.1714-4.05.1774), Duke of Brunswick-Bevern-Lunenburg, father of the Emperor. Ivan VI Antonovich , Generalissimo of the Russian troops (November 11, 1740). The youngest son of Duke Ferdinand-Albrecht, was related by family ties to many of the reigning houses of Europe. In 1733 he was summoned to Russia by the Emperor. Anna Ivanovna , who intended to marry her niece Anna Leopoldovna to him, but the marriage was postponed, and Anton-Ulrich was appointed colonel of a cuirassier regiment. In 1737 he took part in the Russian-Turkish War of 1735-1739. In July 1739 he married Anna Leopoldovna. Since 1740, Lieutenant General. After accession to the throne, Emperor. Ivan VI and his wife were removed from the leadership of the state E.I. Biron ; repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the regent, for which he was removed from his military posts - lieutenant colonel of the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment and chief of the Braunschweig Cuirassier Regiment - and was subjected to house arrest on suspicion of conspiracy. After the overthrow Birona and proclamation Anna Leopoldovna Regent received (January 12, 1741) the title of Imperial Majesty. Supported A.I. Osterman , led intrigues against B. K. Minikha . After the coup, the imp. Elizaveta Petrovna On November 25, 1741, he and his family were arrested and stripped of their ranks and titles; was kept with his family in Riga (1741-1742), Dynamunde fortress (1742-1744), Ranenburg (Oranienburg) Voronezh province. (1744), Kholmogory (from 1744). In 1762, Anton-Ulrich was allowed to travel abroad on the condition that his children remain in Russia, which he refused. After the death of Anton-Ulrich in 1780, at the request of their relative, the Danish Queen Juliana Maria, they were allowed to leave for Denmark.

Materials used from the site Great Encyclopedia of the Russian People - http://www.rusinst.ru

Anton-Ulrich (1714-1774) - Duke of Brunswick-Bevern-Lunenburg, father of the emperor Ivan VI Antonovich , Generalissimo of the Russian troops (1740). Since 1733 in Russian service (colonel of the cuirassier regiment). In 1737 he took part in the Russian-Turkish war. In July 1739 he married Anna Leopoldovna . Since 1740, Lieutenant General. After the proclamation of Ivan VI as emperor, he and his wife were removed from power E. Biron . For criticizing the regent, he was stripped of his command posts and later subjected to house arrest. After the conspiracy Minikha in favor of Anna Leopoldovna received the title of imperial highness. After the coup in favor of Elizabeth Petrovna, he was stripped of all ranks and titles and arrested along with his entire family. From 1741 to 1774 he was kept under arrest in Riga, Dynamünde, Ranenburg, and Kholmogory. In 1762, he was allowed to leave Russia on the condition that the children remain in Russia. He refused this offer. After his death, the children were allowed to leave Russia. All of them were childless. After their death, the Brunswick dynastic branch of the Russian imperial house was cut short.

BRAUNSCHWEIG Anton Ulrich, Generalissimo of the Russian Army (1740), father of Emperor Ivan Antonovich, Prince of Brunswick-Luneburg, was related by family ties to the Russian, Prussian, English and Austrian dynasties. At the invitation of Empress Anna Ioannovna, who wanted to marry her niece Anna Leopoldovna to him, Brunswick moved to Russia in 1733. In the same year he entered military service colonel of the cuirassier regiment. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1735-1739, he distinguished himself during the capture of Ochakov and in the campaign to the Dniester, promoted to major general (1737) and awarded the Orders of St. Andrew the First-Called and St. Alexander Nevsky. In 1739 he married Anna Leopoldovna; In 1740 he received the rank of lieutenant general and was appointed chief of the cuirassier regiment (later His Majesty's Cuirassier Life Guards Regiment). After the death of Anna Ioannovna, the son of Brunswick, Ivan Antonovich, was proclaimed emperor. When appointed, before the emperor came of age, by the ruler of Russia, Anna Leopoldovna, Brunswick received the title of imperial highness, was elevated to co-ruler of the state and awarded the title of generalissimo, although he was not involved in managing the army and military affairs. After the palace coup and the accession to the throne of Elizabeth Petrovna, Brunswick and his family were arrested and imprisoned in a fortress in 1741, and then transferred to Kholmogory, Arkhangelsk province, where he died.

Materials used from the book: Military Encyclopedic Dictionary. M., 1986.

Anton-Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Bevern-Lunenburg (28/8/1714, Bevern - 4/5/1774, Kholmogory), father of Emperor Ivan VI Antonovich, generalissimo of the Russian troops (11/11/1740). The youngest son of Duke Ferdinand-Albrecht, was related by family ties to many of the reigning houses of Europe. In 1733, he was summoned to Russia by Empress Anna Ivanovna, who intended to marry her niece Anna Leopoldovna to him, but the marriage was postponed, and Anton-Ulrich was appointed colonel of a cuirassier regiment. In 1737 he took part in the Russian-Turkish War of 1735-1739. In July 1739 he married Anna Leopoldovna. After the accession to the throne of Emperor Ivan VI, together with his wife, E.I. was removed from participation in government. Biron; repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the regent, for which in October 1740 he was removed from military posts and subjected to house arrest on suspicion of conspiracy. After the overthrow of Biron and the proclamation of Anna Leopoldovna as regent, he received (12.1.1741) the title of Imperial Highness. Supported by A.I. Osterman, led intrigues against H.A. Minikha. Soon Anton-Ulrich had a conflict with his wife, who summoned her favorite Count M.K. from Saxony. Linara. After the coup that elevated Empress Elizaveta Petrovna to the Russian throne, on November 25, 1741, he and his family were arrested and stripped of their ranks and titles. He was kept with his family in Riga (1741-1742), Dynamunde fortress (1742-1744), Ranenburg (Oranienburg) in the Ryazan province (1744), Kholmogory (from 1744). In 1762, Anton-Ulrich was allowed to travel abroad on the condition that the children remain in Russia, which he refused. After the death of Anton-Ulrich in 1780, at the request of their relative, the Danish Queen Juliana Maria, they were allowed to leave for Denmark. With their death (all died childless), the Braun-Schweig dynastic branch of the Russian imperial house was cut short.

Anton-Ulrich

Prince of Brunswick-Bevern-Lüneburg, second son of Duke Ferdinand-Albrecht and Duchess Amalia-Antoinette of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, from November 11, 1740 to November 25, 1741 - Generalissimo of the Russian troops, b. August 28, 1714, in Bevern, d. May 4, 1774, in Kholmogory. In his nineteenth year he came to St. Petersburg (February 2, 1733) as the groom of Princess Anna Leopoldovna, niece of Empress Anna Ioannovna, who, however, delayed the marriage due to the bride’s minority. Princess Anna did not like the groom, and all efforts to establish a strong attachment between the young people - they were even raised together for some time - were unsuccessful. Enlisted in the Russian service, Prince Anton, in the year of his arrival in Russia, was appointed colonel of the third cuirassier regiment, named after him first as the Bevern (now His Majesty's cuirassier) and then as the Brunswick regiment. Serving as a volunteer in Minich's army in 1737, Prince Anton distinguished himself during the capture of Ochakov and was promoted to major general; participating in the campaign to the Dniester in 1738, he was awarded the prime major of the Semenovsky regiment and the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky and Andrew the First-Called. On July 3, 1739, in the Church of the Kazan Mother of God, the solemn marriage of Prince Anton and Princess Anna Leopoldovna took place. In February of the following year, the prince was promoted, on the occasion of the conclusion of peace with the Ottoman Porte, to lieutenant colonel of the Semenovsky regiment, with the rank of lieutenant general, then appointed chief of the cuirassier regiment, and on August 12 he was delighted with the birth of his son, who, after his death on October 17 Anna Ioannovna, proclaimed Emperor, under the regency, until the age of 17, Biron. Dissatisfied with Anna Ioannovna's will, Prince Anton wanted to change the decree on the regency and turned for advice to Osterman and the Brunswick envoy Keyserling, who did not condemn his behavior, but advised him to wait for time and form a party; the latter was easy to do, since the guard was very dissatisfied with the regent. However, the prince’s plans failed: the conspiracy was discovered, and on October 23, the day when the decree was issued on the annual distribution of 200,000 rubles to the Emperor’s parents, Prince Anton was called to an emergency meeting of cabinet ministers, senators and generals. The head of the secret chancellery, Ushakov, threatened the prince that he would treat him “as strictly as the last subject of His Majesty” if he managed to fulfill his intention. Biron demanded that the prince and all those present in the meeting sign the order of the late Empress on the regency and attach their seals, thus confirming its authenticity. Biron was not content with this; he forced the prince to sign a request for his dismissal from all military posts. This request was drawn up by order of Minikh by his brother. On November 1, a decree was given to the military collegium, which said: “Because His Highness, our dearest parent, announced his desire to depose the military ranks he had, but they could not refuse him, for this purpose, through this, the military collegium was announced for news.” But this complete removal of the prince from the affairs of government did not last long; the regent's insults and threats to expel the Emperor's parents from Russia finally overflowed their patience. On the night of November 8-9, Biron was arrested by Minikh, and Anna Leopoldovna was proclaimed ruler. By decree on November 11, Prince Anton was awarded the rank of Generalissimo of the Russian troops and the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Horse Guards; according to the manifesto, on January 12, 1741, he received the title of “Imperial Highness.” Quite limited by nature, poorly informed, soft and indecisive, the prince could not and did not matter in state affairs during the reign of Anna Leopoldovna. Not loving Minich, he stood on the side of Osterman, who shared his dislike for the power-hungry field marshal; offended by the neglect of the first minister, the prince contributed to his downfall. After Minich's resignation, the prince, however, did not gain influence on the affairs of the board: the ruler did not tolerate either her husband or Osterman; Her advisers were Vice-Chancellor Golovkin and her favorite Linar, the Saxon envoy. Osterman worked to remove Anna Leopoldovna and transfer the reign to Prince Anton, who had to first convert to Orthodoxy. Mutual disagreements and indecisiveness of both parties into which the government was divided allowed the coup to occur unhindered on November 25, 1741, when the ruler and the prince with their entire family were arrested by Crown Princess Elizabeth and then sent to Riga, where they were imprisoned in the fortress. From here the Brunswick family was transported first to Dynamünde, then to Ranenburg and finally, on November 9, 1744, sent to Kholmogory. Here Prince Anton lived for almost thirty years, here in 1746 he lost his wife, and here in 1764 he heard the sad news of the death of his son, the former Emperor John Antonovich, in Shlisselburg. After the death of his wife, “Anton-Ulrich, left,” according to Bantysh-Kamensky, “in the strength of courage with four young children, in a distant country, and not having anyone to share his grief with, chose a girlfriend for himself, who increased his family and household chores.” . Upon the accession of Empress Catherine II to the throne, Major General Bibikov was sent to Kholmogory to announce to Prince Anton that he was given the freedom to leave Russia, but without his family. The prince did not want to be separated from his children and lived in prison for another twelve years, losing his sight shortly before his death. His burial took place in Kholmogory. On the night of May 5-6, 1776, the body of Anton-Urlich, in a coffin upholstered in black cloth with silver braid, was carried out by guard soldiers and quietly buried in the nearest cemetery, near the church, inside the fence of the house in which the prince lived 30 years. The soldiers present at the funeral were strictly forbidden to tell anyone about the burial place, which took place without any church rite, since there was no Lutheran pastor in Kholmogory.

Bantysh-Kamensky, "Biographies of Russian generalissimos and field marshals", vol. I, pp. 216-232. Soloviev, “History of Russia”, vol. 21. - “Russian Antiquity”, 1873, vol. VII, No. 1 and 1874, vol. IX, No. 4. - “Russian Bulletin”, 1874, no. No. 10 and 11 (Brickner’s article “Emperor Ivan Antonovich and his relatives”). - Brickner, "Die Familie Braunschweig in Russland im XVIII Jahrh." - M. D. Khmyrov, “Historical Articles”, pp. 361-362.

S. Tr.

(Polovtsov)

Anton-Ulrich

2nd Generalissimo.

Anton Ulrich, Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, son of Duke Ferdinand-Albrecht, was born in 1715. United by kinship ties with two imperial houses and two royal ones [Anton-Ulrich's own aunt, Princess Charlotte-Christina-Sophia of Brunswick, was the wife of the unfortunate Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and the mother of Peter II; her sister is the wife of Emperor Charles VI; English King George I was Anton-Ulrich’s uncle, and the latter’s sister, Princess Elizabeth Christina, married the Crown Prince of Prussia (Frederick the Great) in 1733], he was invited to Russia for a new alliance, which was supposed to strengthen his future well-being. For this purpose, Anton-Ulrich came to St. Petersburg in 1733, without completing a full course of science, in the nineteenth year of his age. Empress Anna Ioannovna intended to marry her own niece Anna Leopoldovna, daughter of the Duke of Mecklenburg, to him. She was only fourteen years old. The marriage was postponed, and the Prince of Brunswick meanwhile entered our service as a colonel of a cuirassier regiment.

Until 1737, Prince Anton-Ulrich did not participate in Russian military operations, but that year he served as a volunteer under the banner of Field Marshal Count Munnich and distinguished himself during the capture of Ochakov, for which he was promoted to major general. [Empress Anna Ioannovna, in her letter to Anton-Ulrich’s parent, Duchess Eleanor Charlotte, dated September 19, mentioned “that the son she famously distinguished herself during the capture of Ochakov"The Duchess received a pension of twelve thousand rubles annually from our court.] In 1738, he was again in the army of Minich, whose campaign to the Dniester was not marked by any important feat, and, returning to the capital, was granted the premier major of the Semenovsky regiment of the guards, Knight of the Orders of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called and St. Alexander Nevsky (November 28), at the age of 24.

The Empress's niece, Anna Leopoldovna, was then twenty years old. She had a pleasant and even attractive appearance; she was taller than usual and very stately; she was distinguished by her extremely white face, to which her dark brown hair gave even more shine; spoke many languages ​​fluently foreign languages, but she always seemed sad, bored from the grief Biron inflicted on her and, like her father, she was wayward, quick-tempered, and indecisive. Biron intended to unite her with his son and pave the way for his offspring to the throne, he was rude and inflicted various insults on the Prince of Brunswick, wanting to remove him from St. Petersburg.

The ambassador of the Viennese court, the Marquis de Botta, in a public audience proposed, in the name of the emperor, Prince Anton-Ulrich as his wife to Princess Anna. A few days later, the solemn ceremony of their marriage was performed, with excessive pomp, by Bishop Ambrose of Vologda, in the Church of the Kazan Mother of God, on July 3, 1739. No one imagined then that the prince’s well-being would be short-lived.

Soon peace was concluded with the Ottoman Porte (1740), and on this occasion Anton-Ulrich was granted (February 15) lieutenant colonel of the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment, with the rank of lieutenant general; after that he was named chief of the cuirassier regiment; and on August 12 he was delighted with the birth of his son, Prince John, whom the Empress placed near her resting room.

Then Anna Ioannovna, tormented by gout and stone disease, was approaching the gates of death and the bloodthirsty Biron, feeding himself with new hopes, continued to use the power given to him for evil, and was not content with the executions of the Dolgorukys [See. biography of Prince Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgoruky], executed yet (June 27) the cabinet minister Volynsky [The unfortunate man was first tortured several times; then they cut off his tongue, cut off his right hand and, finally, his head], Khrushchev’s secret adviser, gof-intendent Eropkin; subjected senator Count Musin-Pushkin to torture, tongue cutting and exile; ordered to punish with a whip and exiled General Krieg Commissioner Soimonov and Cabinet Secretary Eichler to hard labor. All of them suffered for their adherence to Volynsky, who insulted Biron. The Empress burst into tears as she signed the verdict and could not resist her favorite.

On October 17, Anna Ioannovna, after severe suffering, moved into eternity at the age of 47 from birth. During her lifetime, an act was drawn up by which she appointed her grandson, Ivan Antonovich, as successor, and while he was seventeen years old, she ordered Biron to govern the state with the rank of regent. Anna Leopoldovna and her husband were removed from the board; proof that the Empress signed this decree without reading it, and that the Duke of Courland himself assumed autocratic power without fear of consequences.

At first, the ruler of the empire showed due respect to the parents of the young John; expressed consent for them to live together in Winter Palace; assigned Princess Anna Leopoldovna two hundred thousand silver rubles a year for her own expenses; received the title from the Senate Highnesses not otherwise than by providing it to the Prince of Brunswick.

Meanwhile, to assert his power, Biron continued to use violent measures: he sent spies everywhere; trusting them, he subjected civilians to arrests and torture. The streets of St. Petersburg were filled with guards and patrols. Among the new victims were: guard captain Khanykov and lieutenant Argamakov, who faced painful punishment for indiscreet words. Soon a conspiracy was discovered, in which the Prince of Brunswick participated. The ruler of his office, Grammatin, admitted during the torture that the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment should have arrested Biron with all his followers.

One can imagine the annoyance and anger of the regent: he burdened the Prince of Brunswick with reproaches in the presence of a large assembly; challenged him to a duel when Anton-Ulrich, without intention, put his left hand on the hilt of his sword. The prince listened with patience to the insulting comments and only objected that is not obliged to be responsible for the conversations and actions of his secretary. The next day, Anton-Ulrich was forced to renounce his military positions and was arrested.

This is how the thief of the throne acted. The murmur against him intensified; lacking an enterprising leader, Minikh volunteered to overthrow Biron and kept his word to the princess. On November 8, at night, the tyrant, with his hands tied, covered with a soldier's cloak, was taken from the Summer Palace to the Shlisselburg Fortress; from there he was sent to Pelym, a provincial town in Tobolsk province. On the 9th, Princess Anna Leopoldovna was declared ruler of the empire and Grand Duchess. The guard regiments greeted the baby Emperor, who was shown to them through the window, with noisy delight. Prince of Brunswick received the title His Imperial Highness and was soon elevated by his wife to co-ruler.

Apparently, Anton-Ulrich's suffering had to end: with the fall of Biron, he strengthened the supreme power of his offspring; but his brilliant hopes soon disappeared.

The power-hungry Minich, in respect of the services rendered to the ruler, wanted to be a generalissimo and, on the advice of his son, granted this dignity on November 9 to the Emperor’s parent, elevating himself to first ministers, continuing to manage military affairs. The Prince of Brunswick bore only one title of Generalissimo, did not tolerate Minich and became close to Count Osterman, who also hated the field marshal for his enterprising mind and unlimited ambition: they both wanted to excel in the state or, occupying a secondary place, to rule the main person at will. Minich was forced to resign (1741) and moved to his house on the other side of the Neva. Then only the ruler and her husband calmed down, changing their bedroom every night so that the field marshal would not do anything against them.

Prince Anton-Ulrich, on the occasion of the break with Sweden, inspected the troops that were to begin offensive operations in Finland. Their leadership was entrusted to Field Marshal Lassi.

There was no agreement between the Grand Duchess and her husband. Their character was completely opposite. Anna Leopoldovna, who had an irresistible passion for the Saxon minister Count Linar, gifted with a beautiful appearance, married Anton-Ulrich against her will. She was sixteen years old when Linar took possession of her heart (1735). He was soon removed from our Court (1736). Having become the Ruler, Anna Leopoldovna summoned Linar back to Russia (1741); conferred on him (July 13) the orders of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called and St. Alexander Nevsky; became engaged to her beloved maid of honor, Baroness Juliana Mengden, and granted her dowry several villages in Livonia, as well as the beautiful house of Gustav Biron in St. Petersburg. Then Linar unhinderedly resumed his meetings with the Grand Duchess in the rooms of his bride; knew how to restore the Ruler against Osterman; brought suspicion upon the Prince of Brunswick himself and soon (in August) went to Poland to put his household affairs in order. He was promised the title of chief chamberlain in Russia, and if he had not hastened his departure, he would not have escaped Siberia. [Count Moritz Karl Lienar died on April 24, 1768. Empress Elisaveta Petrovna allowed him (1742) to wear Russian orders.]

The carelessness of the ruler and the removal of Minich and Osterman from affairs assisted the followers of Princess Elizabeth Petrovna in their courageous enterprise. On November 24, at midnight, thirty grenadiers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment noisily entered Anna Leopoldovna's resting room and announced to her, in the name of the crown princess, the order to get up and follow them. Anton-Ulrich, sitting on his bed, saw with horror how his wife was carried away. Two grenadiers took him, wrapped him in a blanket up to his knees, took him downstairs, put him in a sleigh and covered him with a fur coat. They were taken to the Empress's palace. They were placed in different rooms. Baby John cried when the soldiers abducted him from the hands of his nurse, waiting, on Elizabeth’s orders, for his awakening.

At first, Anton-Ulrich was kept in the Riga fortress with his wife and children: son John and daughter Catherine, who was born (July 26) shortly before their imprisonment; then they were transferred to Dynamünde, where Anna Leopoldovna gave birth to a daughter, Elisaveta, in 1743. From Dynamunde they were moved to Ranenburg, a city in the Ryazan province. Here the unfortunate parents were separated from John, who was imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress. A new dungeon was made for them in Kholmogory, a small town located on the Dvina Island, 72 versts from Arkhangelsk. There Anna Leopoldovna gave birth to two sons, Peter in 1745 and Alexei in 1746. The consequences of these births caused her premature death, on March 9, at 28 years old. Her body was taken to St. Petersburg and interred in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.

Anton-Ulrich, remaining in the strength of courage with four young children, in a distant country, and having no one to share his grief with, chose a girlfriend for himself, who increased his family and household chores. He lived in a former bishop's house on two floors, surrounded by a high fence. Two teams were guarding him: one in the house itself; the other is at the gate, inside the fence. They had no communication with each other. The keys were kept by the governor, who came from Arkhangelsk on major holidays. From their windows, the prisoners saw only part of the Dvina on one side, and the sandy St. Petersburg road on the other; from the third they imagined a garden in which, apart from birches, ferns and nettles, there were almost no plants. Inside it, on a pond shaded by an overgrown alley, a boat floated, unable to be used; near the pond there was a barn that housed an old carriage, in which prisoners were sometimes allowed to drive two hundred fathoms from their home; For this purpose, six horses were harnessed to the carriage; the coachman, postilion and footmen were soldiers. All their walks consisted of this cramped expanse of land. The Greek-Russian priest read church books with them. Whist and ombre were their main amusements. In the summer they worked in the garden, followed the chickens and ducks, fed them, and in the winter they ran races on skates on the pond. In addition, the princesses were sometimes engaged in sewing linen. Apart from their father, they had no mentors. [Cm. , op. Mr. Polenov and Review main.happened.in Russia, op. Mr. Weidemeyer, ed. second, part 3, pp. 94-98.]

In 1762, Major General Alexander Ilyich Bibikov was sent to Kholmogory by Empress Catherine II, with the announcement to Prince Anton-Ulrich that he was given the freedom to leave Russia and choose anywhere for his stay, where he would be escorted with honors befitting his rank ; but that, for state reasons known to him, it is still impossible to show leniency to his family. All Bibikov’s efforts to persuade the prince to separate from the children were useless. He decisively announced that I would rather die in prison,rather than enjoy freedom under such conditions. After this important event, Anton-Ulrich spent twelve more years of sorrowful days in Kholmogory, finally losing his sight. On May 4, 1774, his last hour struck: he died at the age of 60 from birth and at the age of thirty-two years of exile. The remains of the unfortunate prisoner were buried near the Church of the Assumption Holy Mother of God, on the left side of the altar. There is no monument to his grave.

Prince Anton-Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg had a kind heart; was brave on the battlefield; timid and shy in state councils. At the very beginning of his imprisonment, he reproached his wife for the misfortune that had befallen them; but, having lost it, he armed himself with courage and patience; showed an example of self-sacrifice worthy of parental tenderness; through long-term suffering acquired the right to respect from posterity.

Unhappy John, born in purple and separated in infancy from the culprits of his existence; thrown into a dungeon into which daylight could not penetrate, where candles burned continuously; deprived of clean air; subsequently overgrown with a beard, completely wild - he was killed on July 5, 1764, in the twenty-fifth year from birth, while Mirovich was carrying out his brave undertaking, wanting to return his freedom and the throne. [Vasily Mirovich, second lieutenant of the Smolensk regiment, grandson of Mazepin’s accomplice, executed in St. Petersburg on September 15. During his trial, Count Pyotr Ivanovich Panin, under whose command he had previously served, asked him: “Why did he undertake such a villainous intent?” " For that, - Mirovich answered, to be the one,what have you become".]

John's brothers and sisters, after the death of their parent, suffered a lot of trouble from the main bosses assigned to them. In 1779, the actual state councilor Alexey Petrovich Melgunov, meek and compassionate, was appointed governor of Arkhangelsk. He visited them; calmed down with affectionate treatment; delivered a letter to the Empress from Princess Elizabeth, gifted with an extraordinary mind, who touchingly described their pitiful situation. Catherine II immediately entered into negotiations with the Danish court, which appeared before, as well as the Berlin and Brunswick, about returning their freedom. In 1780, Melgunov was entrusted with the task of sending Anton-Ulrich’s children to Denmark. He ordered the frigate to be made in Arkhangelsk; of the two hundred thousand rubles allotted to him, he used half in St. Petersburg to buy linen, silk fabrics, various haberdashery items, silver and porcelain sets. Expensive fur coats and diamonds were issued from the Cabinet.

On June 27 (1780) the princes and princesses with their illegitimate brothers and sisters were taken by Melgunov in two carriages from the house in which they had been kept for thirty-seven years. A yacht with four rooms was waiting for them on the banks of the Dvina.

In the Novo-Dvina Fortress, the governor of Arkhangelsk announced the merciful will of the Empress and the purpose of their journey to the children of Anton-Ulrich. This news at first caused them great concern, for they did not even think about freedom, they wanted to stay forever in Kholmogory, only so that they would be given the right to leave the fence; but when Melgunov gave them rich gifts and explained to the princes and princesses the desire of their aunt, the Dowager Queen of Denmark Juliana [Juliana Maria, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg, married in 1752 to the Danish King Frederick V, who died in 1766], so that They moved to Denmark, then the children of Anton-Ulrich, with joyful tears, threw themselves on their knees before the governor and expressed their heartfelt gratitude for such an unexpected mercy of the Empress. On July 1, at one o'clock in the morning, they set sail on a frigate, accompanied by the Shlisselburg commandant, Colonel Ziegler. Having endured a strong storm in the North Sea, the tall travelers arrived in Bergen (in Norway) and there boarded a Danish ship. Here Anton-Ulrich's side children parted with the princes and princesses and were sent back to Arkhangelsk. The separation is painful, because misfortune has brought them closer together! The Empress granted them lifelong pensions. One of Anton-Ulrich’s side daughters, Amalia, married Lieutenant Karikin, who commanded the internal team in Kholmogory.

The princes and princesses arrived on a Danish ship to Alborg, and from there by land to the city of Gorzens (in Jutland). Colonel Ziegler, who accompanied them, received the Order of Dannenbrog from the Danish king. In Gorzens, a spacious and well-appointed house was allocated to them on a large area. They had a house church, in which a Russian priest held services every day. Their court consisted of one Danish chamberlain, a caretaker, two ladies of the court, a doctor, two valets and a fairly large number of other servants appointed by the king. They led a quiet and uniform life; they needed nothing, receiving a significant pension from the Russian court [It extended to 32,000 rubles a year and was not reduced until the death of Princess Catherine in 1807]. With all that, Princess Elizabeth extremely missed her side sisters, and this separation plunged her into a premature grave in 1782, at the age of 40 from birth. She resembled her mother in height and face; she was far superior to her brothers and sister in her talkativeness, manners and intelligence. They all obeyed her. For the most part, she spoke for all of them, answered for them all and corrected their mistakes; from falling from a stone staircase at the age of 10, she was susceptible to headaches, especially in variable weather and bad weather. [Polenov.] Prince Alexei, who died five years later (1787), in the 42nd year of his life, blond, short in stature, but cheekier, bolder than his brother, acquired such love that the whole city mourned him. In general, they all had excellent properties and were loved; especially Princess Catherine, respected for her noble thoughts and compassionate heart. Her face depicted meekness and inner peace of mind. They lived in perfect harmony with each other. [Cm. Review by Mr. Weidemeyer, ed. second, part 3, pp. 100-107.]

In 1794, the Empress sent hieromonk Joseph Ilyitsky to Gorzens, who studied at the Kyiv Academy and spoke fluent Latin, French and German. He spent seven years there. In his arms, as a true Christian, with firm trust in the Almighty, fifty-three-year-old Prince Peter died on January 13, 1798. He was, according to Joseph, of strong and healthy build; short, blond; looked like his father; had an important appearance, which, however, combined with extreme timidity; I hid every day When the Danish Crown Prince (the late King Frederick VI) came to Gorzens with his wife; with great difficulty they persuaded him to come to them. Damaged in childhood, Prince Peter had humps in front and back that were almost unnoticeable at first glance; was somewhat crooked on the right side; clubfoot; silent and often laughed for no reason. [Cm. Departure of the Brunswick family from Kholmogory to the Danish possessions, op. V. A. Polenova.] Princess Catherine lost her hearing on the very day her brother, John III, lost the throne: she was then dropped. She treasured extremely the silver ruble with the image of the infant emperor. Looking at her and Prince Peter, Frederick and his wife, who visited them every year, expressed regret; but they could not communicate with them without an interpreter, because they spoke only Russian. The only amusement of the prince and his sister was playing cards, and Joseph was forced to take part in this innocent fun. Princess Catherine gave him an ink drawing depicting the place of their imprisonment in Kholmogory. She did not learn to draw and, for all that, she quite skillfully represented her secluded refuge. This precious work has belonged to me since 1819. I received it from the hands of Joseph, who was then the archimandrite of the Poltava Holy Cross Monastery, five years before his death.

Princess Catherine moved into eternity into the state of Emperor Alexander, on April 9, 1807, in the 66th year of her birth, appointing the Danish princes Christian Frederick and Frederick Ferdinand as her heirs. Having lost her sister and brothers, she wanted to return to Russia and become a nun: she consoled herself only with prayer; suffered various displeasures from the officials and servants who were with her and, before her death, wrote to Emperor Alexander about granting them a pension. She also took after her father; she was lean, short, blond, tongue-tied; communicated with her brothers and sister through signs: she understood them by one movement of her lips. [Cm. Sending the Brunswick family to the Danish possessions, op. V. A. Polenova.]

Hitherto in Gorzenskaya Lutheran Church Four tombs stand in plain sight, containing the mortal remains of the branches of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich.

(Bantysh-Kamensky)

Anton-Ulrich

Prince of Brunswick-Bevern-Luneburg, husband of the ruler Anna Leopoldovna, father of the Emperor. John Antonovich; was listed as the generalissimo of the Russian troops from November 11, 1740 until the coup on November 25, 1741, b. in 1714; died in 1774 (Bantysh-Kamensky. Biographies of Russian generalissimos and field marshals, g. I, 216-232).

The Brunswick family (Brunswick-Mecklenburg-Romanovs) is the traditional name of the family of Anton Ulrich of Brunswick and Anna Leopoldovna. Belonged to the Wolfenbüttel branch of the Brunswick Welf family, one of the most noble and ancient in Europe.

• Father Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick (17 August 1714 - 4 May 1774)
• Mother (born Elisabeth Katharina Christina, Princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 7 December 1718 – 8 March 1746)
• son - (August 12, 1740 - July 5, 1764)
• daughter Ekaterina Antonovna of Brunswick (July 4, 1741 - March 29, 1807)
• daughter Elizaveta Antonovna (1743-1782)
• son Peter Antonovich (1745-1798),
• son Alexey Antonovich (February 24, 1746 - October 11, 1787)

Kholmogory

Living together for years, decades, under one roof (the guard did not change for twelve years), these people quarreled, made peace, fell in love, and denounced each other. Scandals followed one after another: either Anton Ulrich quarreled with Bina (who, unlike the latter, was allowed to go to Kholmogory), then the soldiers were caught stealing, and the officers were caught in cupids with wet nurses. The commandant and his subordinates drank shamelessly and mercilessly stole from Anton Ulrich and his relatives, and the always drunk cook prepared them some kind of inedible brew. Over the years, the guards forgot about discipline and walked around with disheveled hair. Gradually, together with Anton Ulrich, they became decrepit old men, each with their own quirks.

The prince was quiet and meek. Over the years, he became fat and flabby, and illnesses began to overcome him. After the death of his wife (Anna Leopoldovna), he began to live with the maids, and it was believed that in Kholmogory there were many of his illegitimate children, who, growing up, became servants of the Brunswick family. Occasionally, the prince wrote letters to Empress Elizabeth: thanking her for the bottles of Hungarian wine they sent her or for some other kind of alms. He was especially poor without coffee, which he needed daily. In his letters to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, and then to Peter III, Catherine II, he showed emphasized, even obsequious loyalty, calling himself a “kneeling nonentity”, “insignificant dust and ashes”, “an unfortunate worm”, who addressed “humiliated and unfortunate lines” of request to a royal person. He never asked for release, probably realizing that this was unrealistic. In the fall of 1761, Anton Ulrich wrote a letter to Empress Elizabeth, asking her to “allow my children to learn to read and write so that they themselves will be able to kneel before Your Imperial Majesty and, together with me, pray to God for health and well-being for the rest of our lives.” Your Majesty and your family" (The Empress, as always, remained silent in response)

After ascending the throne, Anton Ulrich turned to her with the same humble request. In August 1762, the new empress responded favorably to the prince’s letter, expressed her participation to him, but did not promise to release him, diplomatically writing: “Your deliverance is associated with some difficulties that your prudence may understand.” She did not promise to help in training princes and princesses.

Soon, Catherine II sent General A.I. Bibikov to Kholmogory, who was tasked with drawing up a report on the situation in the prison and characterizing its inhabitants. Bibikov, on behalf of the Empress, invited the prince to leave Russia to return to Germany. But he refused the empress’s generous offer.

A Danish diplomat wrote that the prince, “accustomed to his confinement, sick and discouraged, refused the freedom offered to him.” This is inaccurate - the prince did not want freedom for himself alone, he wanted to leave with his children. But these conditions no longer suited Catherine. The instructions to Bibikov said that “we now intend to free him and release him to his fatherland with decency,” and his children “for the same state reasons, which he himself can understand in his prudence, we cannot release him until things our states will not be strengthened in the manner in which they have now adopted a new position for the well-being of our empire”...

The Empress was not enthusiastic about Bibikov's report on his trip to Kholmogory, in which he wrote with sympathy and sympathy about the princes and princesses, who, it turns out, had not lost their human appearance over the many years of captivity, were well-mannered, kind-hearted and friendly. And although the empress never gave permission for the princes and princesses to study (this was not part of the empress’s plans and, in addition, would have meant that teachers would have to be sent to Kholmogory), they were literate. In 1773, Princess Elizabeth personally wrote to the Empress in good style and handwriting, albeit with errors, three letters in which she begged the Empress to give them “at least a small release from the imprisonment (sic!) in which those born besides their father are kept.”

The alarm was raised: it turns out that the prince’s children, despite the lack of teachers, are literate. Panin, who was involved in this matter, was immediately afraid that they might start corresponding with someone else. Writing materials were taken away from the prisoners and an investigation was conducted. It turned out that the children were taught to write and read by their father using the old alphabet, which was left to them from their deceased mother, as well as from her sacred books, which the children read. It is noteworthy that the affairs of the Kholmogory Commission, as well as the Mirovich case, were handled by N.I. Panin and his assistant G.N. Teplov. As in the time of Elizabeth, the new authorities were most afraid that the princes and princesses would be kidnapped by some adventurers like Zubarev, and warned the Arkhangelsk governor about the possible appearance of a foreign spy in those places.

Apparently, the appearance of A.I. Bibikov, a humane and kind man, as well as the unusually kind letters of the new empress aroused in the Brunswick family some vague hopes, if not for freedom, then at least for a relief of the prison regime. Therefore, in September 1763, the prince dared to ask the empress for “a little more freedom”: to allow children to attend services in the church next to the prison. Catherine refused, as well as his request to give the children “a little fresh air” (they were kept in the building for most of the year)

Anton Ulrich never waited for a little freedom, a little fresh air, or for the affairs of Empress Catherine to take a favorable position for him. By the age of sixty, he became decrepit, began to go blind, and after being imprisoned for 34 years, he died on May 4, 1776. Dying, he asked to give his children “at least a little liberation.” At night, the guards secretly carried the coffin with his body into the courtyard and buried it there near the church, without a priest, without a ceremony, like a suicide, a tramp or a drowned man. Did his children accompany him on his last journey? We don't even know this. Most likely, this was not allowed - they were forbidden to leave the house. But it is known that they took the death of their father extremely hard and suffered severely from sadness. The next year, 1777, the family suffered another heavy loss - two old women, the nurses and nannies of the princes, Anna Ivanova and Anna Ilyina, died one after another. They have long become close family members, dear people.

The princes and princesses lived in captivity for another four years after the death of their father. By 1780, they had long been adults: deaf Catherine was 39 years old, Elizabeth was 37, Peter was 35 and Alexei was 34 years old. All of them were weak, with obvious physical disabilities, and were sick a lot and for a long time. About the eldest son, Peter, an eyewitness wrote that “he is of a sick and consumptive build, somewhat bow-shouldered and bow-legged. The youngest son, Alexey, is of a rather stout and healthy build... has seizures.” The prince's daughter Catherine "has a sick and almost consumptive build, and is somewhat deaf, speaks mutely and indistinctly and is always obsessed with various painful attacks, and has a very quiet disposition."

But, despite living in captivity, they all grew up to be intelligent, kind and nice people. All the visitors who came to see the prisoners, following Bibikov, noted that they were greeted kindly and that the prince’s family was extremely friendly. As Golovtsyn wrote, “during my first visit, from conversations, I could notice that the father loved his children, and the children were respectful to him and there was no visible disagreement between them.” Like Bibikov, Golovtsyn noted the special intelligence of Princess Elizabeth, who, crying, said that “their only fault was their birth” and that she hoped that perhaps the empress would free them and take them to court.

A. P. Melgunov

The Governor-General of the Vologda Governorate, A.P. Melgunov, who visited them after the death of Anton Ulrich, wrote about Princess Ekaterina Antonovna that, despite her deafness, “from her manner it is clear that she is timid, evasive, polite and bashful, of a quiet and cheerful; Seeing others laughing in conversations, although he does not know the reason, he gives them company..."

Melgunov spoke freely with Princess Elizabeth - she was smart and thorough. When the princess spoke to Melgunov about the fact that the family had previously sent requests to the empress, “I,” wrote Melgunov, “intending to test her mind and disposition of thoughts, considered this opportunity convenient for this and for this purpose asked her what their request consisted of.” ? She answered me that their first request, when their father was still healthy and they were very young, was that they be given freedom, but when they did not receive this and their father became blind, and they were beyond their youth, then this their desire changed to something else, that is, they finally asked to be allowed to pass through, but they received no answer.”

What was said by the princess and recorded by Melgunov accurately reflects the situation of the 1760-1770s, when Catherine behaved, in general, the same way as Elizaveta Petrovna: silence to all requests. All requests for freedom or at least a lighter regime were rejected by her. Catherine believed that all this “could cause trouble.” Why did she need them? These people seemed to cease to exist for her. The Empress never wrote to them and did not even sympathize with them when they lost their father. As before, they were strictly guarded both in the house and during walks in the garden. But they began to be fed better, robbed less, and quite often new beautiful things were brought from St. Petersburg. Elizabeth told Melgunov that with the beginning of Catherine’s reign they seemed to be resurrected - “until that time they needed everything, they didn’t even have shoes.”

Apparently, the dream of freedom did not leave Princess Elizabeth, and she again spoke bitterly to Melgunov about their unfulfilled desire to “live in the big world” and learn secular manners. “But in the current situation,” continued Elizaveta Antonovna, “we have nothing more to desire than to live here in solitude, in Kholmogory. We are happy with everything, we were born here, got used to this place and have grown old, so for us the big light is not only unnecessary, but also burdensome, because we don’t know how to deal with people, and it’s too late to learn.”

“As for the brothers,” Melgunov continued his report to the empress, “both of them, according to my note, do not seem to have the slightest natural sharpness in themselves, but their timidity, simplicity, shyness, silence and techniques, in one small way, are more visible decent guys. However, the smaller of them, Alexey, seems to be more coherent, bolder and more careful than his larger brother Peter. But what is more, it is clear from his actions that sheer simplicity dwells in him and the disposition is too cheerful because he laughs and laughs when there is nothing funny at all... They live friendly among themselves, and moreover... they are kind and philanthropic, and the brothers obey and listen to Elizabeth in everything. Their exercise consists in the fact that in the summer they work in the garden, follow the chickens and ducks and feed them, and in the winter they run races on wooden horses around the pond in their garden, read church books and play cards and checkers; In addition, they sometimes engage in sewing linen.”

Elizabeth had several requests, from which Alexei Petrovich Melgunov, a subtle, humane and warm-hearted man, probably turned everything upside down in his soul: “We ask Her Imperial Majesty to ask us for this one favor, so that 1) we are allowed to leave the house to the meadows for a walk, we heard that there are flowers there that are not in our garden”; secondly, to allow the wives of security officers to be friends with them - “otherwise we get bored alone!” Third request: “By the grace of Her Imperial Majesty, cornets, caps and toques are sent to us from St. Petersburg, but we do not use them because neither we nor our girls know how to put them on and wear them. So do me a favor... send someone who could dress us up in them.” The princess also asked that the bathhouse be moved away from the house and that the salaries of their servants be increased and allowed them to leave the house. At the end of this conversation with Melgunov, Elizaveta said that if these requests were fulfilled, “then we will be very pleased and will not bother about anything else and do not wish for anything and are happy to remain in this position forever.”

Melgunov did not tell the princes and princesses that his visit to them was not just an inspection trip. The fact is that Catherine nevertheless decided to send the Brunswick family abroad - to do what Elizaveta Petrovna had not done almost forty years before. The Empress began correspondence with the Danish Queen Julia Margarita, sister of Anton Ulrich and aunt of the Kholmogory prisoners, and offered to settle them in Norway, then a province of Denmark. The Queen replied that she could place them even in Denmark itself. Melgunov was sent to Kholmogory to draw up a report on the basis of which the empress could make a decision.

Catherine II

After reading Melgunov’s report, Catherine II gave an order to prepare the children of Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich for departure. The preparations have begun. Suddenly, in the modest chambers of the bishop's house, gold, silver, and diamonds sparkled - these were the empress's gifts: a giant silver service, diamond rings for men and earrings for women, unprecedented wonderful powders, lipsticks, shoes, dresses.

Seven German and fifty Russian tailors in Yaroslavl hurriedly prepared clothes for the four prisoners. What are the “golden eye coats on sable fur” worth for princesses Ekaterina Antonovna and Elizaveta Antonovna! And although the empress was a purebred German, she acted in the Russian way - know ours! Let the Danish relatives see how prisoners of royal blood are kept in our country.

On June 26, 1780, Melgunov announced to the Brunswick family a decree from the Empress to send them to Denmark, to their aunt. They were shocked. “I can’t,” Melgunov wrote to Ekaterina, “here, I can’t imagine how much fear, mixed with surprise and joy, they were struck by these words. Not one of them could utter a word, but the streams of tears pouring from their eyes, the frequent genuflection and joy spreading on their faces clearly revealed their sincere gratitude.” They thanked for the freedom, but only asked to be settled in a small town, away from people. It is curious that they all spoke in the Kholmogory, “northern dialect”, which at first seemed strange and unusual to the capital’s visitors, who knew that they were going to people who had not only the blood of the Romanovs, but also the blood of the ancient Dukes of Mecklenburg and Brunswick.

Frigate "Polar Star"

On the night of June 27, the princes and princesses were taken out of the house. For the first time in their lives, they left the prison, boarded a yacht and sailed down the wide, beautiful Dvina, a piece of which they had seen from the window all their lives. When the gloomy fortifications of the Novodvinsk fortress appeared in the twilight of the white Arkhangelsk night, the brothers and sisters began to sob and say goodbye - they thought that they had been deceived and that in fact single fortress casemates were waiting for them. But they were reassured by pointing to the frigate Polar Star, which was standing in the roadstead and preparing to sail.

Until the very end, the Antonovichs were strictly guarded, and Colonel Ziegler, specially appointed to lead the operation, received a strict order not to allow the prisoners to write or send letters, and not to allow anyone to see them. “But if anyone,” the instructions noted, “beyond expectation, dared to enter the frigate by force and thus intended to take the princes and princesses from Ziegler’s hands, in such a case he was ordered to repel the force by force and defend himself to the last drop of blood.” Fortunately, there was no clause about the murder of prisoners in the instructions - apparently, by 1780, Catherine’s affairs had taken a “proper position.”

Duke of Brunswick-Bevern-Lüneburg - father of the Russian Emperor Ivan VI Antonovich, generalissimo of the Russian troops November 11, 1740-1741

Second son of Duke Ferdinand Albrecht of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (until 1735 Brunswick-Bevern) and Antoinette Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, brother of the famous Prussian commander Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick and Juliana Maria, second wife of the Danish king Frederick V (in 1772-1784 the actual ruler of the country).

MARRIAGE TO ANNA LEOPOLDOVNA

When Empress Anna Ioannovna was looking for a groom for her niece, Princess Anna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, under the influence of the Austrian court, she chose Anton. The latter arrived in Russia at the beginning of June 1733 while still a boy. Here they began to raise him together with Anna in the hope that a strong attachment would be established between the young people, which over time would turn into a more necessary feeling. These hopes were not justified. At first sight, Anna disliked her betrothed, a young man of short stature, effeminate, a stutterer, very limited, but modest, with a soft and pliable character. However, this marriage took place on July 14, 1739; On August 23, 1740, their first child, Ivan, was born. Soon the empress became mortally ill and, at the insistence of Biron and Chancellor Bestuzhev, declared Ivan Antonovich heir to the throne and Biron regent.

REQUENCY OF BIRON

Prince Anton Ulrich was very dissatisfied with this will; he wanted to change the decree on the regency, but lacked the courage and ability to take advantage of the favorable moment. He turned to Osterman and Keyserling for advice, but they restrained him, although they did not blame him. At the same time, but apart from any participation of Prince Anton Ulrich, there was fermentation in the guard directed against Biron. The conspiracy was discovered, the leaders of the movement - cabinet secretary Yakovlev, officer Pustoshkin and their comrades - were punished with a whip, and Prince Anton Ulrich, who also turned out to be compromised, was invited to an emergency meeting of cabinet ministers, senators and generals. Here on October 23, the very day when the decree was given on the annual distribution of 200,000 rubles to the parents of the young emperor, he was strictly impressed that if he made the slightest attempt to overthrow the established system, he would be treated like any other subject of the emperor. Following this, he was forced to sign a request for dismissal from the positions he held: Lieutenant Colonel Semyonovsky and Colonel of the Cuirassier Brunswick Regiment, and he was completely removed from the affairs of the board.

REAGENCY OF ANNA LEOPOLDOVNA

Biron treated the emperor's parents with disdain, openly insulted them and even threatened to take the young emperor away from his mother and then expel Anton Ulrich and his wife from Russia. The rumor about this forced Anna Leopoldovna to decide on a desperate step. She turned to Field Marshal Minich for help, and the latter put a quick end to Biron's reign on November 8th. All this apparently happened without any participation or knowledge of Prince Anton Ulrich. The regency passed to Anna Leopoldovna, and Anton Ulrich was proclaimed generalissimo of the Russian troops on November 11.

EXILE TO ARKHANGELSK PROVINCE

But Anna Leopoldovna's reign did not last long. The palace coup, carried out on the night of December 5-6, 1741, brought Elizabeth Petrovna to the throne. The latter at first limited itself to the decision to expel the Brunswick family from Russia; Anton's family was already on the way abroad, but was unexpectedly arrested, imprisoned in the Riga fortress, from there transferred to Dynamunde and Ranenburg and, finally, on November 9, 1744, imprisoned in Kholmogory, Arkhangelsk province. In addition to the first-born Ivan, who was killed in 1764 in the Shlisselburg fortress, Anna had four more children: two daughters - Ekaterina and Elizaveta and two sons - Peter and Alexei. The first of them was born before exile on July 26, 1741, the second in Dynamunde, and princes Peter and Alexei were born in Kholmogory. The birth of the last of them cost Anna her life (February 28, 1746). The imprisonment of Anton Ulrich's family in Kholmogory was full of hardships; She often needed the bare necessities. A staff officer and a team were assigned to monitor them; They were served by several men and women of the common rank. Any communication with outsiders was strictly forbidden to them; Only the governor of Arkhangelsk had orders to visit them from time to time to inquire about their condition. Raised together with commoners, the children of Anton Ulrich did not know any other language other than Russian. No specific amount was allocated for the maintenance of the Brunswick family, for the salaries of the people assigned to them, and for the repair of the house they occupied; but from the Arkhangelsk treasury, from 10 to 15 thousand rubles were released annually.

DEATH

Following the accession to the throne of Catherine II, Anton Ulrich was asked to leave Russia, leaving only his children in Kholmogory; but he preferred captivity with children to lonely freedom. Having lost his sight, he died on May 4, 1774. His burial place is unknown. Archival documents indicate that on the night of the 5th to the 6th, his body was carried out in a coffin, upholstered in black cloth with silver braiding, and quietly buried in the nearest cemetery inside the fence of the house, where he was kept in the presence of only guard soldiers, who it was strictly forbidden to talk about the burial place. In 2007, information appeared in the media about the discovery of remains in Kholmogory, which presumably could belong to Anton Ulrich.

THE BRAUNSCHWEIG FAMILY IN DENMARK

Finally, in 1780, at the request of the Danish Queen Juliana Maria, sister of Anton Ulrich, Catherine II decided to ease the fate of his children by sending them to the Danish possessions, where they were assigned a town to live