Who ruled after Ivan 6. Biography of Emperor John VI Antonovich
The difficult life lived Romanov. A brief biography, the terrible and tragic details of its existence are still not disclosed. The throne in Russia was passed from parents to children, but this procedure could not do without intrigue, scandals and bloodshed.
The background of the struggle
In 1730, Anna Ioannovna was declared the new empress. This woman is a daughter who was the elder brother of Peter the Great. It so happened that both boys were crowned in childhood, but the lesser king became the actual ruler. Ivan was in poor health, and he did not intervene in state affairs. All the time he devoted to the family. In 1693, his fourth daughter was born. Shortly afterwards, at the age of 29, the elder sovereign died. Many years later, his great-grandson, John Antonovich Romanov, came to power for a short time.
Even at a fairly young age, in 1710, Anna Ioannovna, at the request of Peter the Great, was given to marry a foreign duke. However, less than three months later, the newly-made husband died. Now scientists believe that the cause of the tragic ending is excessive alcohol consumption. Consequently, the 17-year-old widow for a long time lived in St. Petersburg with her mother. The woman did not marry again, and she never had children.
Way to power
After the death of Peter the Great, the question arose who should rule the state further. The day before, the emperor repealed the law, according to which the throne was transmitted only through the male line. Among the applicants for the throne were two daughters: Anna, who refused all rights, and Elizabeth, she was 15 years old at the time of her father’s death. The eldest son of Peter from his first marriage, Alexei, was denied the throne. Other scenarios were not considered then. They did not take into account the descendants of Ivan V, among whom subsequently appeared John Antonovich Romanov.
Accordingly, under the new laws, the wife was declared the ruler - However, the woman reigned not for long. Constant balls undermined her health. In 1727, she died. They decided to bring to power the infant son of Tsarevich Alexei - However, the boy was unwell and died in 1730. The Council decided to enthrone the aforementioned Anna Ioannovna.
Successor birth
The woman had no children, so the successor question became an edge. In order for the descendants of her father, Ivan V, to remain in power, the ruler decided to call her sister to Russia with her daughter Anna Leopoldovna. When the girl’s mother died, the empress raised a child as a native. Subsequently, she issued a decree according to which the children of the niece are considered direct heirs to the throne. In 1739, she married the girl to the Duke of Anton Ulrich. The young people did not like each other, but both understood the essence of a marriage deal. A year later, namely on August 12, a son was born to the young spouses - John Antonovich Romanov. Accordingly, the autocrat called the crumb his successor. Anna Ioannovna made subjects swear allegiance to the little heir.
Continuation of the dynasty
However, she was not destined to take part in the education of the future ruler. In October, the queen became ill. A few days later the woman died, having previously appointed the Duke of Biron as regent for young Ivan.
The day after the death of the empress, namely October 18, 1740, the little heir was transferred to the Winter Palace with honors. After 10 days, the boy officially ascended the throne. Accordingly, the Braunschweig branch began to rule, in which there were many representatives of European nobility. But thanks to the blood of the empress’s niece, it was the Romanov dynasty. John Antonovich was considered the rightful heir.
During her lifetime, Anna Ioannovna said that it would be extremely difficult to cope with the post of regent. The man was interested in power, which in this way was concentrated in his hands. However, very soon a high position ruined it.
Important posts
Biron behaved confidently, neglected subjects, including the parents of the little king. Consequently, very soon his arrogant behavior was tired of the nobility. Therefore, the guardsmen, led by Field Marshal Minich, were unhappy about the coup d'etat and sent Biron.
John Antonovich Romanov needed a new regent. They became the mother of the autocrat - Tricky Minih understood: the young woman will not be able to cope with all state affairs, therefore she will entrust the administration of the country to him. However, his hopes were not realized.
At first, the man hoped for the rank of generalissimo. This post was given to the father of the heir. Minich became a minister. That power would have been enough for him. But during court intrigues he was pushed away from business. The coveted role in the court was taken by Osterman.
Intrigues of the rulers
Despite the fact that the boy was very small, he served as king. Many foreign guests refused to read documents without the presence of the emperor. While adults were engaged in important matters, the little autocrat played on the throne. A very respected person was John Antonovich Romanov. Parents were having fun at the time. Anna Leopoldovna for some time tried to participate in resolving state issues, but very quickly realized that she could not do it. Documents indicate that she was a soft and dreamy woman. She spent her free time reading novels and did not really like festivities. Anna did not pay much attention to fashion and walked around the palace in simple clothes.
At that time, they paid tribute to the little monarch: they dedicated poems and poems, issued coins with his profile.
Fateful night
Despite the status, young parents tried not to pamper their son. However, he did not have to enjoy fame. In the short time of Anna Leopoldovna’s reign, her rating fell significantly. Taking advantage of the situation, December 6, 1741 (daughter of Peter I) made a coup. Then John Antonovich Romanov lost all rights. The years of the reign of the monarch ended without ever beginning.
The self-proclaimed empress took the baby from the cradle, saying that it was not his fault that his parents had sinned. On the way from the palace, the boy played cheerfully in his arms, completely not understanding what was happening.
The royal family and their like-minded people were punished. Some were sent to Siberia, the rest were executed. Elizabeth intended to take the young spouses abroad. However, she was afraid that over time, the enemies of the crown would return them to their homeland.
Life behind bars
The family was transferred to Riga near prison, and in 1744 to Kholmogory. The kid was isolated from parents. There are documents testifying that the mother was sitting in one part of the fortress, and John Antonovich Romanov was behind the wall. Whose son, what is the title of a prisoner and what kind of blood flows in his veins - the guards knew. However, they did not have the right to tell the child about his origin.
From infancy, Ivan VI lived in solitary confinement. They did not play with the child, did not learn to read and write. The guards did not even have the right to talk to him. However, the boy knew that he was the heir to the throne. The guy spoke little and stuttered.
The damp cell had a bed, a table and a toilet. When the room was cleaned, the boy walked behind the screen. It was rumored that he wore an iron mask.
Several times he was visited by Russian monarchs. However, each of them saw a threat in the youth. Even under Elizabeth, portraits and documents with the name and image of the little king were destroyed and hidden. Smelted coins with the profile of Ivan. Even foreigners were severely punished for storing such money.
Tragic ending
They said for some time that Catherine II was planning to marry a prisoner and thus stop the dispute in the state. However, this theory has not been confirmed. But one thing is certain: the queen ordered the guards to kill the prisoner, if someone rescues him.
They wanted to cut the young man into monks. Then he could not claim the throne. But the heir refused. Perhaps it was then that he was taught to read and write, and the only book he read was the Bible.
It was rumored that the guy had grown crazy. However, other sources say that he was smart, albeit reserved.
They did not stop twisting the intrigues of the Romanovs. The dynasty in the novels (John Antonovich - one of the main figures) has never been cordial. Several times the name of the young man was used in invented riots.
In 1764, the prisoner was in the Shlisselburg fortress. Lieutenant Mirovich persuaded part of the guard to release the legal emperor. The guards acted according to the instructions: they killed an innocent young man. He was 23 years old by then. There is a version that the rebellion was the idea of \u200b\u200bthe empress, who thus decided to remove the competitor.
For a long time after that they didn’t even remember. And only after the fall of the empire began to appear information about the tragic fate of this representative of the Romanovs.
Ivan VI (John Antonovich) (August 23, 1740, St. Petersburg - July 16, 1764, Shlisselburg) - Russian emperor from the Braunschweig branch of the Romanov dynasty. Rules from October 1740 to November 1741. Great-grandson of Ivan V.
Formally, the first year of his life reigned during the regency, first Biron, and then his own mother Anna Leopoldovna. The infant emperor was overthrown by Elizabeth Petrovna, spent almost all her life in solitary confinement, and already in the reign of Catherine II was killed by the guard at the age of 23 when trying to release him.
Official lifetime sources referred to as John III, that is, the account is kept from the first Russian Tsar John the Terrible; later historiography established the tradition of calling it Ivan (John) VI, counting from Ivan I Kalita.
Reign
John Antonovich was born on August 12, his namesake was on August 29 - the day of the beheading of the head of John the Baptist.
After the death of Empress Anna Ioannovna, the son of Anna Leopoldovna (niece of Anna Ioannovna) and Prince Anton Ulrich Braunschweig-Bevern-Luneburg, two-month-old Ivan Antonovich was proclaimed emperor during the regency of the Duke of Courland Biron.
He was born at the very end of the reign of Anna Ivanovna, so the question of who to appoint as regent, for a long time tormented the empress who was also at death. Anna Ivanovna wanted to leave the throne to the descendants of her father Ivan V and was very worried that he would not pass to the descendants of Peter I in the future. Therefore, in the will she stipulated that John Antonovich was the heir, and in the case of his death, the other children of Anna Leopoldovna order of seniority if they are born.
Two weeks after the accession of the baby, a coup occurred in the country, as a result of which the guards, led by Field Marshal Minich, arrested Biron and removed him from power. The new regent was announced by Anna Leopoldovna, the mother of the emperor. Unable to rule the country and living in illusions, Anna gradually transferred all her power to Minich, and after it Osterman took possession of him, who dismissed the field marshal. But a year later a new revolution took place. The daughter of Peter the Great, Elizabeth with the Transfiguration, arrested Osterman, the emperor, his parents and all their relatives.
Insulation
At first, Elizabeth intended to expel the “Braunschweig family” from Russia (as was officially indicated in the manifesto substantiating her right to the throne), but changed her mind, fearing that she would be dangerous abroad, and ordered the former regent and her husband to be imprisoned.
In 1742, secretly from everyone, the whole family was transferred to the outskirts of Riga - Dunamünde. After the discovery of the so-called “Lopukhina conspiracy” in 1744, the whole family was transported to Oranienburg, and then away from the border, to the north of the country, to Kholmogory, where little Ivan was completely isolated from his parents. He was in the same bishop’s house as his parents, behind a blank wall, which none of them knew. The chamber-chamber of the ex-emperor, who now began to be called Gregory at the direction of Elizabeth Petrovna, was arranged so that no one but Miller and his servant could go to him. They kept Ivan in prison strictly. Long northern ordeals greatly affected the health of Anna Leopoldovna: in 1746 she died.
Name ban
The personality of the former sovereign and his brief reign soon came under the law on the condemnation of the name: on December 31, 1741, the empress issued a decree on the surrender by the population of all coins with the name of John Antonovich for subsequent re-melting. After some time, the coins stopped accepting at face value, and since 1745, the storage of coins has become illegal. Persons who found coins of John Antonovich or who tried to pay them, were tortured and exiled as state criminals. Currently, the coins of this reign are extremely rare.
An order was issued to destroy portraits depicting John Antonovich, as well as to replace business papers, passports, church books and other documents with the name of the emperor (“affairs with a famous title”) with new ones. Some of these documents were burned, and some were stored in sealed archives. Propaganda materials were also seized, for example, published sermons mentioning the name of John, an ode to Lomonosov in his honor, and so on. This process continued throughout the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna and was stopped only after the accession to the throne of Catherine II. Even more than a century and a half later, during the anniversary events of 1913-1914, the baby emperor was missed at the Romanovsky Obelisk in the Alexander Garden and on the Faberge Egg “The Centenary of the Romanov Dynasty”.
Shlisselburg
After the testimony of the captured conspirator I.V. Zubarev was presented to Elizabeth, the Empress’s fear of a possible new coup led to Ivan's new journey. In 1756 he was transported from Kholmogor to a solitary confinement in the Shlisselburg fortress. In the fortress, Ivan (officially called the "famous prisoner") was in complete isolation, he was not allowed to see anyone, even serfs. There is a historical myth that Ivan's isolation was so dense that he never saw a single human face for the entire time of his imprisonment, but modern historians claim that this is not confirmed by documents. On the contrary, documents testify that the prisoner knew about his royal origin, was trained to read and write and dreamed of living in a monastery.
Since 1759, Ivan began to observe signs of inappropriate behavior. Empress Catherine II, who saw Ivan VI in 1762, confirmed this with full confidence; but the jailers thought it was just a miserable simulation.
Murder
While Ivan was imprisoned, many attempts were made to free the deposed emperor and re-ascend to the throne. The last attempt turned to death for the young prisoner. In 1764, when Catherine II already reigned, Second Lieutenant V. Ya. Mirovich, who was on guard at the Shlisselburg Fortress, bowed a part of the garrison to his side in order to free Ivan.
However, Ivan’s guards, Captain Vlasyev and Lieutenant Chekin, were given a secret instruction to kill the prisoner if they tried to release him (even by presenting the Empress’s decree about this), so in response to Mirovich’s demand for surrender, they stabbed Ivan and only then surrendered.
Mirovich was arrested and beheaded in St. Petersburg as a state criminal. There is an unconfirmed version according to which Catherine provoked him to get rid of the former emperor.
The fate of the remains
The burial place of Ivan VI is not known exactly. As is commonly believed, the "famous prisoner" was buried in the Shlisselburg fortress.
In September 2010, a number of archaeologists announced the identification of the remains found in the church of the Assumption of the Virgin (Kholmogory) as imperial. However, the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences expressed doubt about the authenticity of the remains of John VI. Moreover, it was noted that the search activities under the leadership of businessman Anatoly Karanin, who is not an archaeologist, were conducted informally, without a scientific methodology and permission for archaeological excavations (the “Open Leaf”). However, the request to the prosecutor’s office, initiated as a result of excavations by the Petersburg deputy and archaeologist Alexei Kovalyov, remained inconclusive, since the prosecutor’s office did not find criminal acts in this case. “The Archangel diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church has taken measures to prevent the destruction of a previously unknown burial site in connection with the impending demolition of the water tower,” the prosecutor’s response to the request says.
Memory
In fiction
In Voltaire’s famous novel Candide or Optimism (1759), the protagonist meets a masked man during the Venetian carnival, who is recommended to him as follows: “My name is Ivan, I was the All-Russian Emperor; still in the cradle they deprived me of the throne, and imprisoned my father and my mother; I was raised in prison, but sometimes I am allowed to travel under the supervision of a guard. ”
In the cinema
In the first series of the television series "Catherine" there is an episode in which Empress Elizabeth, in order to tame the heir to the throne of Grand Duke Peter III, who, raising his voice on the empress, exclaimed about his desire to ascend the throne, prohibit the "wrong" Russian traditions and establish the "right ”, Brought him to the Peter and Paul Fortress, where he showed a boy who lived there in complete isolation and oblivion, calling the boy John Antonovich. At the same time, the real John Antonovich was not kept in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Later in this series, John Antonovich was shown in Shlisselburg, where before his death, Catherine the Second visited him. This point is also not true: the film shows that John was killed at about the same time as Peter III, that is, in 1762, but in fact, John Antonovich was killed in 1764. There is another inaccuracy in the film regarding John Antonovich: Elizabeth says that he ruled for 2 weeks, in fact, John ruled from October 1740 to November 1741.
Possible canonization
Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin noted that Emperor John VI serves as an example of spiritual achievement, hieromonk Nikon (Belavenets) believes that it is necessary to study in detail the biography of the murdered emperor and, possibly, begin the process of canonization.
Forgotten Emperor Ivan VI Antonovich
Ivan VI (John Antonovich) (born 12 (23) August 1740 - death 5 (16) July 1764) - the nominal Russian emperor. Board: from October 1740 to November 1741. Of.
Heir to the Russian throne
Ivan Antonovich - great-grandson of Ivan V, son of the niece of the Empress, Princess of Mecklenburg, Anna Leopoldovna and Duke of Anton-Ulrich of Braunschweig. The manifesto of Anna Ivanovna of October 5, 1740 was declared the heir to the Russian throne, and in the event of his death, the throne was to be transferred by seniority to the other heirs of Anna Leopoldovna.
After the death of Anna Ivanovna on October 17, 1740, a six-month-old child was proclaimed emperor Ivan VI. Formally, the first year of his life reigned under the regency, at first, Count Ernst Johann Biron, and then his own mother Anna Leopoldovna.
Regency
His mother Anna Leopoldovna - was a nice pretty blonde, had a good-natured and meek character, but at the same time she was lazy, sloppy and limp. After the overthrow of Biron by Field Marshal Earl Minich on November 8, 1740, the regency passed to Anna Leopoldovna. At first, this fact was sympathetically accepted by the people, but soon this fact began to cause condemnation among ordinary people and the elite. The main reason for this attitude was that in the government, key posts remained in the hands of the Germans, who came to power during the reign of Anna Ioannovna.
But she herself did not even have elementary concepts about how to rule a country that is more and more deteriorating in the hands of foreigners. In addition to everything, Russian culture was alien to her. Historians also note her indifference to the suffering and concerns of the common people.
1) Princess Anna Leopoldovna; 2) Duke Anton-Ulrich of Braunschweig - mother and father of Ivan VI
Fight for the throne
Dissatisfied with the dominance of German power, the nobles began to group near the daughter of the princess. Both the people and the guard took it precisely for the liberator of the state from foreign rule. Gradually, a plot began to ripen against the ruler and, of course, her baby. At that time, Emperor John Antonovich was still a one-year-old child and still could not understand anything in court intrigues. Historians consider the ruler’s decision to declare herself the Russian Empress as the reason for the rebellion of the conspirators.
Coup. Arrest
1741, December 25 - at night Anna Leopoldovna with her husband and children, including with Emperor Ivan VI, were arrested in the palace by guards led by Elizaveta Petrovna, and the latter was proclaimed empress.
Initially, the former emperor was sent into exile with his parents, and then transferred to solitary confinement. The place of detention of Ivan VI was constantly changing and kept in terrible secrecy.
1) Empress Anna Ioannovna; 2) Empress Elizaveta Petrovna
Juvenile prisoner
The overthrown minor emperor with his parents was sent to Riga on December 12, 1741 under the supervision of Lieutenant General V.F. Saltykov. In Riga, prisoners were kept until December 13, 1742, after which they were transferred to the Dynamo fortress. During this time, Elizaveta Petrovna finally decides not to let John Antonovich and his parents, as dangerous applicants for the royal throne, out of Russia.
1744 - the whole family is transported to Oranienburg, and then away from the border, to the north of the state - in Kholmogory, where little Ivan was completely isolated from his parents. He was kept in the same bishop’s house as his parents, behind a blank wall, which none of them knew.
Long trials affected the health of Anna Leopoldovna: in 1746 she died.
Juvenile prisoner Ivan Antonovich
Forbidden name
During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna and her closest successors, the very name of Ivan Antonovich began to be persecuted. Smelted coins with the image of Emperor Ivan VI, redid the seals on documents of the period of his reign, burned manifestos and decrees with his name.
Shlisselburg Fortress
1756 - Ivan VI was transferred to the Shlisselburg fortress, where he was imprisoned in solitary confinement and kept in complete isolation as a "nameless well." Access to the former emperor was allowed only to three officers, even the commandant of the fortress did not know the name of the prisoner. Only in case of a dangerous illness was he allowed to let the priest go. It was forbidden to tell the boy who he was. It was forbidden to teach him to read and write. However, despite the mystery surrounding him, Ivan knew about his origin and called himself sovereign. According to historical documents, it is known that, contrary to the strictest ban, he was taught to read and write, and dreamed of living in a monastery.
Peter III visits John Antonovich in his Shlisselburgsky chamber
1759 - the deposed emperor showed signs of mental disturbance, but the jailers took this as a simulation. He was irritable and suspicious, often made attempts to beat others, talked a lot with himself. He was kept from fits of violence, depriving of tea and the best clothes.
With the accession to the throne (1761), the position of the unfortunate prisoner deteriorated even further - the jailers were allowed to use force against him, put him on a chain.
Mirovich in front of the body of Ivan VI (I. Tvorozhnikov)
Attempt to escape. Death
The stay of Ivan Antonovich in Shlisselburg was not kept secret, and this completely destroyed him. The second lieutenant of the Smolensk infantry regiment, standing in the garrison of the fortress, Vasily Yakovlevich Mirovich decided to release him and proclaim him emperor; on the night of July 4-5, 1764, he began to carry out his plan and, having forged garrisoned soldiers using fake manifestos, arrested the commandant of the fortress Berednikov and began to demand the extradition of Ivan. The bailiff initially resisted with the help of his team, but when Mirovich brought a cannon to the fortress, they surrendered, having previously, following exactly the instructions, killing Ivan. After a thorough investigation, which revealed the complete absence of accomplices in Mirovich, the latter was executed.
After death
The exact burial place of the former emperor is unknown, there is an assumption that Ivan VI was secretly buried in the Shlisselburg fortress.
1780 - his brothers and sisters who survived (his father died in 1774) were sent to Denmark in the care of an aunt, the Danish queen; with the death of the last of them, Catherine in 1807, the Braunschweig branch of the Romanov dynasty was cut short. There were several impostors posing as Ivan VI (the latter in 1788). Access to documents about Ivan VI Antonovich was opened only in the 1860s.
Ivan VI Antonovich (1740-1764) - the Russian emperor, who ruled from 1740-1741. He ascended the throne at the age of 2 months after the death of Empress Anna Ioannovna. The late empress did not have children, but she really did not want the state power to be in the hands of the descendants of Peter I.
Of the closest relatives, the mother empress had only her niece Anna Leopoldovna (1718-1746) - the daughter of Ekaterina Ioannovna (1691-1733), the eldest sister of Anna Ioannovna. It was on her that all the hopes of the Romanov clan were entrusted, who did not have a single direct male heir.
In 1731, the empress ordered that subjects swear allegiance to the unborn child, who will be born to Anna Leopoldovna. And in 1733 they found a bridegroom for an older girl. He became Prince Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig (1714-1776).
He arrived in St. Petersburg, but neither the empress, nor her court, nor the bride liked him. For several years he served in the Russian army, and in 1739 he was still married to a noticeably matured bride. In the first half of August 1740 a boy was born to a young couple. They called him Ivan. That was the beginning of the Braunschweig family.
Anna Leopoldovna, mother of Ivan VI Antonovich
(Unknown artist)
Accession to the throne of Ivan VI Antonovich
He was in complete isolation and did not even see the faces of his guards. In 1764, Lieutenant Vasily Yakovlevich Mirovich, who was in the state of protection of the Shlisselburg fortress, gathered like-minded people around him and tried to free the legal emperor.
But the guards first stabbed Ivan with sabers, and only then surrendered to the rebel rebels. As for Mirovich, he was then arrested, tried as a state criminal and beheaded. The body of the murdered emperor was secretly buried in the territory of the Shlisselburg fortress.
Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig (artist A. Roslin)
Braunschweig family
Even before exile, Anna Leopoldovna gave birth in 1741 to a girl Catherine (1741-1807). Already living in Kholmogory, the woman gave birth to Elizabeth (1743-1782), Peter (1745-1798) and Alexei (1746-1787). After the last birth she died of fever.
Her husband, Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig, shared all the hardships of exile with his wife and children. When Catherine II entered the Russian throne in 1762, she invited the prince to leave Russia, but without children. He refused to leave them alone in prison. This man died in 1776 in Kholmogory at the age of 61.
The children lived in captivity for almost 40 years. When an official came to them during the reign of Catherine II and inquired about their desires, the prisoners said: "We heard that flowers grow in the fields outside the prison walls. We would like to see them at least once."
In 1780, the children of Anton Ulrich and Anna Leopoldovna were sent abroad to Denmark. There they subsequently died. The Braunschweig family ceased to exist after their death.
As for those who committed atrocities against completely innocent people, God's punishment passed them. Retribution happened only after more than 100 years, when Emperor Nicholas II and his family were brutally murdered. The punishment came, but not the villains themselves, but their descendants, went to the block. God's judgment is always late, because in Heaven its idea of \u200b\u200btime.
Alexey Starikov
In our history, there is also a legend about the "Man in the Iron Mask" - the crowned prisoner. His story is mentioned in Voltaire’s poem “Candide”. The hero of the poem meets a masked man in a masquerade who says: “My name is Ivan, I was the emperor of Russia; still in the cradle they deprived me of the throne, and imprisoned my father and my mother; I was raised in prison; sometimes they let me travel under the supervision of a guard; now I have arrived at the Venetian carnival. "
“The masked man” was called John Antonovich, he was the great-granddaughter of Tsarina Anna Ioannovna, to whom she bequeathed the crown. In historical jokes by A.S. Pushkin talks about predicting a newborn prince: “Empress Anna Ioannovna sent an order to Euler to draw a horoscope for a newborn. He took up the horoscope along with another academician. They composed it according to all the rules of astrology, although they did not believe it. The conclusion drawn by them frightened both mathematicians, and they sent the empress another horoscope in which they predicted all kinds of prosperity to the newborn. Euler retained, however, the first one and showed it to Count K. G. Razumovsky when the fate of the unfortunate John Antonovich was completed. ”
The historian Semevsky wrote: "August 12, 1740 was an unfortunate day in the life of John Antonovich - it was his birthday."
Empress Anna Ioannovna was the daughter of Tsar John V, brother of Peter I. The brothers were crowned together, but instead of them the state was ruled by their imperious sister, Sophia. King John was in poor health and died young in 1696.
John V - father of Anna Ioannovna, brother of Peter I
Anna Ioannovna did not want the throne after her death passed to the children of Peter I, she wanted the descendants of her father to inherit the throne.
Anna Leopoldovna - mother of John Antonovich, niece of Anna Ioanovna
Duke Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig - father of John
According to legend, on the eve of the conspiracy, Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter, met with Anna Leopoldovna at a ball in the palace. Anna Leopoldovna stumbled and fell to her knees in front of Elizaveta Petrovna. The courtiers whispered of a bad omen.
Anna Leopoldovna was informed about the plot being prepared, but she did not dare to take decisive measures and had a kindred conversation with Elizabeth during a card game. Elizaveta Petrovna assured a relative that she was not plotting a conspiracy.
Elizaveta Petrovna
According to General K.G. Manstein “The princess perfectly withstood this conversation, she assured the Grand Duchess that she never had the thoughts to do anything against her or against her son, that she was too religious to violate the oath given to her, and that all this news was communicated by her enemies, wishing to make her unhappy "
On the night of December 1741, Elizaveta Petrovna and her faithful soldiers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment entered the Winter Palace. The guardsmen were in a hurry. Elizabeth could not walk quickly in the snow like her brave guard, then the soldiers grabbed her on the shoulders and carried her into the palace.
Entering the room to the sleeping Anna Leopoldovna, Elizaveta Petrovna said "Sister, it's time to get up!"
The historian Nikolai Kostomarov describes the overthrow of the juvenile emperor: “He was sleeping in the crib. The grenadiers stopped in front of him, because the prince did not order him to wake him before he woke up. But the child soon woke up; the nurse carried him to the guardhouse. Elizaveta Petrovna took the baby in her arms, caressed and said: “Poor child, you are innocent of nothing, your parents are to blame!”
And she carried him to the sleigh. In one sleigh the village of the Tsarevna with a child, in another sleigh put the ruler and her wife ... Elizabeth returned to her palace Nevsky Prospekt. Crowds of people ran after the new empress and shouted "Hurray!". The child whom Elizaveta Petrovna held in her arms, having heard funny cries, amused himself, bounced in Elizabeth's arms and waved his little hands. “Poor thing! - said the empress. “You don’t know why the people are shouting: he is glad that you have lost the crown!”
Anna Leopoldovna and her husband were sent into exile in the Arkhangelsk region, where they had four more children. 10-15 thousand rubles were allocated annually for the maintenance of the Braunschweig family. After the death of their parents, the children of the Braunschweig family left Russia on the orders of Catherine the Great, and the Kingdom of Denmark accepted them.
The fate of the prisoner John Antonovich was sadder. In 1744, he was taken from his parents, the boy was 4 years old.
Fearing a conspiracy, Elizaveta Petrovna ordered to keep John in complete isolation, no one should have seen him (similar to the story of the Iron Mask). The prisoner was called "Nameless." They tried to give him a new name - Gregory, but he did not respond to him. According to contemporaries, the prisoner was taught to read and write and learned about his royal origin.
Peter III and John Antonovich
After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna began the short reign of Peter III, who secretly visited the prisoner in prison. It is believed that the emperor was ready to give freedom to John, but did not have time, the cunning wife overthrew Peter III.
Catherine II, who received the crown through a palace coup, was especially afraid of conspiracies. Count Panin set forth the order of the empress:
“If, more than hopes, it would happen that someone came with the team or alone, although there would have been a commandant or some other officer, without the name of I.V. then don’t give it to anyone and read everything for a forgery or an enemy’s hand. If such a hand is so strong that it is impossible to be saved, then the prisoner should be killed, and no one should give it to anyone alive. ”
According to the official version, John Antonovich was killed at night in the summer of 1764 during an attempt by Second Lieutenant Vasily Mirovich to release him. The victim was 23 years old. The guards of the fortress complied with the order to kill the prisoner in any attempt to free him.
Mirovich in front of the body of Ivan VI. Painting by Ivan Tvorozhnikov (1884)
Mirovich himself was arrested and executed as a conspirator. There are suggestions that Catherine herself staged an attempt to conspire to kill the royal prisoner. Mirovich was an agent of the empress, who until the last minute of his life remained confident that he would receive a pardon.
Catherine gave the order to Count Panin, so that John Antonovich was buried secretly: "Order the Nameless Well to be buried according to the Christian office in Shlisselburg, without publicity."
Count Panin wrote about the prisoner's funeral: “The dead body of a mad prisoner, about which there was indignation, you have that same night on the night with a city priest in your fortress to be buried, in a church or in some other place where there was no sunshine and warmth. But to carry it in silence by several of the soldiers who were on his guard, so that both the body left in front of the eyes of simple and set people in motion, and with excessive rituals before him, could not alarm them again and expose them to any misadventures ".
The exact burial place of John Antonovich remains unknown. Many legends have appeared about the fate of the Iron Mask. They said that he managed to save. According to one version, it is believed that he fled abroad; according to another, he took refuge in a monastery.
As the historian Pilyaev writes “Emperor Alexander I, upon accession to the throne, twice came to Shlisselburg and ordered to find the body of John Antonovich; therefore, they rummaged everything under garbage and other rubbish, but found nothing. ”
