Bestuzhev Ryumin Alexey Petrovich. Grand Chancellor - Bestuzhev-Ryumin. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Alexey Petrovich Information About

Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin, who determined policy for a decade and a half Russian Empire, always knew how to keep his presence of mind in a difficult situation.

Alexey Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin

Petrov's nest chick

The 18th century in Russia turned out to be three-quarters "female". With short time intervals, the country was ruled by four empresses, who left a noticeable mark on history. But behind women's backs, political affairs were managed by men who knew how to imperceptibly, but confidently turn the course of the state in the right direction.

Aleksey Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Chancellor of the Russian Empire under Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, was the main character in the political life of Russia for a decade and a half, skillfully promoting the right people and sweeping opponents out of the way. Unlike many other people who were elevated to the imperious Olympus of the empire, and then survived the collapse, Bestuzhev-Ryumin ended his days not in prison, not on the chopping block, but in honor.

The future chancellor was born on May 22, 1693 in Moscow in the family of the dignitary Pyotr Bestuzhev. The ancient Bestuzhev family enjoyed the trust of Russian sovereigns. In 1701, Peter I gave the highest permission for Peter Bestuzhev and his family to bear the surname Bestuzhev-Ryumin in the future.
Alexei Bestuzhev's father was a governor in Simbirsk, traveled on diplomatic missions to Europe, and in 1712 was appointed chamberlain to the Dowager Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna to manage and manage her affairs.

In 1708, 15-year-old Aleksey Bestuzhev-Ryumin and his 20-year-old brother Mikhail, at the behest of Peter I, among other young Russian nobles, were sent to study abroad, first to Copenhagen and then to Berlin. Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin subsequently spent his entire life in diplomatic work, representing the interests of Russia as an ambassador in Berlin, Warsaw, Vienna and Paris.

Career turns of the Bestuzhev family

Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, after graduation, with the permission of Peter I, entered the service of the Elector of Hanover, George, who granted him to the chamber junkers. After the Elector of Hanover ascended the English throne under the name of George I, Bestuzhev was sent by him as a personal envoy to Russia. It was during that period that Alexei Bestuzhev developed close ties with England, which subsequently influenced Russia's foreign policy.

Three years later, Bestuzhev was recalled from the English service to Russia, having first been assigned to the widowed Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna, and then as a diplomat to the Russian embassy in Denmark.

For several years, Bestuzhev's career was marking time, even despite the fact that in 1730 Anna Ioannovna became the Russian empress, whom both Alexei Bestuzhev and his father managed to serve.

However, Bestuzhev Sr.'s relationship with the Empress was not easy. Anna Ioannovna at one time complained to St. Petersburg that Pyotr Bestuzhev, who was appointed to manage her affairs, was embezzling funds. These accusations were not proven, but the sediment, as they say, remained. With the accession of Anna Ioannovna, Peter Bestuzhev received the post of governor of Nizhny Novgorod, which he considered too low for himself. Bestuzhev's dissatisfaction reached the empress, and he was sent into exile in the countryside.

Coup - prison - coup

Alexey Bestuzhev in the mid-1730s managed to achieve the favor of the favorite of Anna Ioannovna Biron. In 1740, 47-year-old Alexei Bestuzhev, after a quarter of a century of diplomatic work abroad, received the title of real privy councilor with an order to appear in St. Petersburg to be present in the cabinet of ministers.

Biron, who after the death of Anna Ioannovna became regent under the young emperor John Antonovich, hoped to use Bestuzhev in the fight against his political opponents, but did not have time. The regent was overthrown in a coup by Field Marshal Munnich, arrested and put on trial. Bestuzhev, imprisoned in the Shlisselburg Fortress, also suffered.

It seemed that his career, and perhaps his life, was over. But what has always distinguished Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev is the ability to maintain his presence of mind in the most difficult situation. The investigation could not find any evidence of his guilt, he himself did not repent of anything. And then a new coup successfully arrived in time, after which the daughter of Peter the Great, Elizabeth Petrovna, ascended the throne. Bestuzhev, as a victim of the former regime, was rehabilitated and returned to public service.

The merry queen was Elizabeth

At the pinnacle of power

In the next four years, Bestuzhev compensated for the entire previous career downtime, becoming first vice-chancellor and count of the Russian Empire, and then a senator, and finally, in 1744, taking the post of grand chancellor.

Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev was an extremely difficult person. He made acquaintances with many, but was not truly friendly with anyone. His cordiality to certain people was explained by the political expediency of the current moment. He then easily betrayed yesterday's allies in the court struggle. The chancellor knew how to collect deadly dirt on opponents, intercepting their correspondence and providing the empress with the information received at the right time.

Bestuzhev thoroughly studied the tastes, preferences, habits and psychological features empresses. He knew how to appear with a report when it was possible to get the decision he needed. Bestuzhev had a whole arsenal of tricks that allowed Elizabeth to pay attention to those issues that were necessary for the chancellor, and leave others in the shade.
Bestuzhev's main weakness was his addiction to alcohol, but even after drinking heavily the day before, he appeared in the morning with a report in good condition to the Empress. Even his most zealous haters recognized the chancellor's unique capacity for work.

The vast experience of a diplomat allowed Bestuzhev to skillfully manage foreign policy Russia, focusing on allied relations with Austria and England. At the same time, the chancellor knew how to arrange things in such a way that the Austrian and British diplomats paid him large sums of money, believing that Russian favors to them rest solely on bribes.

Rules without governing. Elizabeth did not do business, but the country prospered

Conspiracy in favor of Catherine

The Seven Years' War that broke out in Europe mixed up all the previous political alignments in Europe, transferring England to the camp of Russia's opponents, and France to the camp of allies, but Bestuzhev during this period became much more worried about internal problems.

The health of the Empress began to deteriorate, and in 1757 a serious illness chained Elizabeth to bed for a long time. The heir to the throne, Pyotr Fedorovich, an ardent admirer of the Prussian king Frederick, fiercely hated Bestuzhev, and the chancellor paid him the same coin. However, it was not only a matter of personal hostility - Bestuzhev was sure that Pyotr Fedorovich's addictions would lead to changes in the foreign policy that would be disastrous for Russia.

Bestuzhev conceived a coup d'état to remove Peter in favor of his son Pavel and his wife Catherine. To this end, he wrote a letter to Field Marshal Stepan Apraksin demanding the return to Russia of the army operating against the Prussians. Bestuzhev intended to rely on these troops in his plans.

But suddenly Empress Elizabeth began to recover. Bestuzhev's plans became known, and in February 1758 he was arrested.

The chancellor managed to destroy most of the compromising papers, but this did not save him from punishment.

He was not only removed from office, count dignity, ranks and insignia, but also sentenced to death. As a result, however, the death sentence was replaced by exile. In this sense, he was more fortunate than Field Marshal Apraksin, who, after interrogation in the Secret Office, died suddenly.

A. Bestuzhev-Ryumin in exile (1759). Work by an unknown artist.

Honorary pensioner

After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1761 and the accession of Peter III, Bestuzhev's worst forecasts for a change foreign policy Russia were justified. The former chancellor, who lived in his estate Goretovo near Mozhaisk, could not do anything about it. Worse than that, at any moment the new emperor could remember the old enemy and settle scores with him.

But Bestuzhev was lucky again. After the coup in June 1762, Empress Catherine ascended the throne, treating Bestuzhev favorably. The disgrace was removed, and Bestuzhev's innocence was mentioned in a specially issued royal decree, ranks and orders were returned, moreover, the retired chancellor was awarded the rank of Field Marshal.

Return of Count Bestuzhev from exile. Catherine II receives him on July 12, 1762 at the St. Petersburg Summer Palace.

That's just the former political influence to Bestuzhev has not returned. Ekaterina, grateful to the Chancellor for the support he once gave her, had other friends and advisers.

Realizing this, he retired. In 1763, Bestuzhev published the book Consolation of a Christian in Misfortune, or Poems Selected from Holy Scripture, which was later also published in French, German and Swedish.

The life and adventures of Chancellor Bestuzhev November 15th, 2016

Alexei Bestuzhev's father was a governor in Simbirsk, traveled on diplomatic missions to Europe, and in 1712 was appointed chamberlain to the Dowager Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna to manage and manage her affairs.

Career turns of the Bestuzhev family

Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin, after graduation, with the permission of Peter I, entered the service of the Elector of Hanover, George, who granted him to the chamber junkers.

After the Elector of Hanover ascended the English throne under the name of George I, Bestuzhev was sent by him as a personal envoy to Russia. It was during that period that Alexei Bestuzhev developed close ties with England, which subsequently influenced Russia's foreign policy.

Alexey Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin - Russian statesman and diplomat, Chancellor of the Russian Empire under Elizabeth Petrovna.

For several years, Bestuzhev's career was marking time, even despite the fact that in 1730 Anna Ioannovna became the Russian empress, whom both Alexei Bestuzhev and his father managed to serve.

With the accession of Anna Ioannovna, Peter Bestuzhev received the post of governor of Nizhny Novgorod, which he considered too low for himself. Bestuzhev's dissatisfaction reached the empress, and he was sent into exile in the countryside.

Coup - prison - coup

Ernst Johann Biron - favorite of the Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna, regent of the Russian Empire in October-November 1740, Count of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Courland and Semigallia

At the pinnacle of power

The chancellor knew how to collect deadly dirt on opponents, intercepting their correspondence and providing the empress with the information received at the right time.

Elizabeth I Petrovna - Russian empress from the Romanov dynasty.

Bestuzhev thoroughly studied the tastes, addictions, habits and psychological characteristics of the Empress. He knew how to appear with a report when it was possible to get the decision he needed. Bestuzhev had a whole arsenal of tricks that allowed Elizabeth to pay attention to those issues that were necessary for the chancellor, and leave others in the shade.

Bestuzhev's main weakness was his addiction to alcohol, but even after drinking heavily the day before, he appeared in the morning with a report in good condition to the Empress. Even his most zealous haters recognized the chancellor's unique capacity for work.

The vast experience of a diplomat allowed Bestuzhev to skillfully manage Russia's foreign policy, focusing on allied relations with Austria and England. At the same time, the chancellor knew how to arrange things in such a way that the Austrian and British diplomats paid him large sums of money, believing that Russian favors to them rest solely on bribes.

Conspiracy in favor of Catherine

Portrait of A. P. Bestuzhev from the storerooms of the State. Hermitage

But suddenly Empress Elizabeth began to recover. Bestuzhev's plans became known, and in February 1758 he was arrested.

The chancellor managed to destroy most of the compromising papers, but this did not save him from punishment.

Honorary pensioner

After the death of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1761 and the accession of Peter III, Bestuzhev's worst predictions about a change in Russia's foreign policy came true. The former chancellor, who lived in his estate Goretovo near Mozhaisk, could not do anything about it. Worse, at any moment the new emperor could remember the old enemy and settle scores with him.

That's just the former political influence to Bestuzhev has not returned. Ekaterina, grateful to the Chancellor for the support he once gave her, had other friends and advisers.

bestuzhev-ryumin alexey petrovich romanov, bestuzhev-ryumin alexey petrovich maresyev
Graph Alexey Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin(May 22 (June 1) 1693 (16930601), Moscow - April 10 (21), 1766, ibid.) - Russian statesman and diplomat, Count of the Russian Empire (since 1742, deprived of count's dignity in 1758, returned in 1762), count Roman Empire (since 1745), Chancellor of the Russian Empire under Elizaveta Petrovna, owner of Kamenny Island at the mouth of the Neva. One of the "cabinet" field marshals (1762).

1 Biography
2 Family
3 literature
4 cinematography
5 Literature
6 Links

Biography

Representative of the ancient Bestuzhev family; was born on May 22, 1693 in the city of Moscow, in the family of the dignitary Peter Bestuzhev, who later was the governor of Nizhny Novgorod and close associate of the Empress Anna Ioannovna. Together with his brother Mikhail, Alexei studied abroad in Copenhagen and Berlin.

In 1712, he was sent along with other members of the Russian embassy to a congress in Utrecht. After that, with the permission of Emperor Peter I, Alexei Petrovich entered the service of the Elector of Hanover, George, who granted him a chamber junker. When Elector George I ascended the English throne, he sent Bestuzhev as an envoy to Peter. Three years later, Bestuzhev was recalled to Russia.

In 1718, he entered the widowed Duchess of Courland, Anna Ivanovna, as a chief junker, but two years later he was appointed a resident in Denmark.

In 1731 he was transferred as a resident from Denmark to Hamburg. Bestuzhev traveled to Kiel, examined the archives of the Duke of Holstein, and took many interesting papers to St. Petersburg.

At the end of 1734, Bestuzhev was moved back to Denmark. Thanks to Biron's disposition towards him, Bestuzhev, having barely arrived in Copenhagen, was accredited as an envoy to the Upper Saxon court and granted a secret, and in 1740, on March 25, a real privy councilor with an order to come to St. Petersburg to be present in the office.

Biron needed a clever man to counterbalance Count Osterman, and that was Bestuzhev. gratitude for this, Bestuzhev assisted in the appointment of Biron as regent of the Russian Empire during the infancy of John Antonovich.

Biron fell on November 8, 1740. With its fall, Bestuzhev also suffered, who was imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress. Despite the efforts to confuse him, Bestuzhev completely justified himself, and he was released, but only deprived of his posts.

Upon the accession to the throne of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, thanks to the petition of his friend, the life physician Lestok, Alexei Petrovich in a short period of time in 1741-1744 was granted the vice-chancellors, counts of the Russian Empire, senators and chief directors of the post office, the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle First-Called and, finally, the great chancellor.

By the letter of the Roman Emperor Franz I, dated June 2 (13), 1745, the chancellor, senator, count of the Russian Empire, Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev Ryumin, was elevated, with his descendants, to the dignity of a count of the Roman Empire.

The heir to the throne, Pyotr Fedorovich, an admirer of Friedrich, hated Bestuzhev; in turn, Pyotr Fedorovich was hated by the chancellor, so that when Pavel Petrovich was born, Bestuzhev decided to deprive his parent of the throne and consolidate him for Pavel Petrovich under the guardianship of Catherine. In 1757, a serious illness befell Elizabeth. Bestuzhev, thinking that the Empress would no longer get up, arbitrarily wrote to Field Marshal Apraksin to return to Russia, which Apraksin did. But Elizaveta Petrovna recovered from her illness. Angry at Bestuzhev for his willfulness, on February 27, 1758, the empress deprived the chancellor of the count's dignity, ranks and insignia. The culprit of his fall was the favorite of the heir, Chamberlain Brockdorf.

Alexei Petrovich was removed to the village of Goretovo belonging to him near Mozhaisk, Moscow province. He was sentenced to death, but the Empress replaced this sentence with exile. The exile of the chancellor continued until the accession of Empress Catherine II. He was summoned to St. Petersburg, and Catherine returned the disgraced count's dignity, ranks, orders, and renamed him field marshal general. In addition, an imperial decree followed, in which Bestuzhev-Ryumin's innocence was made public.

From 1741 to 1757, Bestuzhev participated in all diplomatic affairs, treaties and conventions that Russia concluded with the European powers. In 1763, he published in Moscow a book he had composed, The Consolation of a Christian in Misfortune, or Poems Selected from the Holy Scriptures. Bestuzhev subsequently printed the same book in St. Petersburg, Hamburg and Stockholm in French, German and Swedish. Translated into Latin by Gabriel Kremenetsky.

Family

Chancellor Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin was married to a German woman, Anna Ivanovna Betticher (d. 1761), the daughter of the Russian diplomatic representative in Hamburg, who received the court title of chamberlain in 1748, and had three sons. Of these, two, Peter, mentioned in his father's letter of 1742 as an adult, and another, whose name is unknown, died before 1759. Only one of the sons, Count Andrei Alekseevich (1726-1768), reached adulthood.

In literature

Alexei Bestuzhev appears as one of the characters in a series of novels by Nina Sorotokina ("Three from the Navigational School", "Date in St. Petersburg", "The Chancellor"). One of the many characters in V. Pikul's trilogy "Word and Deed", "Pen and Sword", "Favorite". In the second book - one of the main characters.

In cinema

"Midshipmen, forward!" (1987). the role of Bestuzhev - Evgeny Evstigneev.
"Vivat, midshipmen!" (1991); the role of Bestuzhev - Evgeny Evstigneev.
"Midshipmen - III" (1992). the role of Bestuzhev - Evgeny Evstigneev.
"Feather and sword" (2007). the role of Bestuzhev - Yuri Lazarev.
Catherine the Great, dir. Igor Zaitsev (2014). the role of Bestuzhev - Sergey Shakurov.
"Catherine", directors Alexander Baranov, Ramil Sabitov (2014). the role of Bestuzhev - Vladimir Menshov.

Literature

Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Alexey Petrovich, Count // Military Encyclopedia: / ed. V. F. Novitsky. - St. Petersburg. ; : Type. t-va I. V. Sytin, 1911-1915.
Bestuzhev and Bestuzhev-Ryumin // encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
A. Presnyakov.,. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Alexey Petrovich // Russian biographical dictionary: in 25 volumes. - SPb.-M., 1896-1918.

Links

Bantysh-Kamensky, D.N. 24th Field Marshal Count Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin // Biographies of Russian Generalissimos and Field Marshals. 4 parts. Reprint reproduction of the 1840 edition. Part 1–2. - M.: Culture, 1991. - 620 p. - ISBN 5-7158-0002-1.
A quarrel between two pedants: Complaint of Chancellor A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin against adviser I.D. Schumacher // Russian Archive: History of the Fatherland in evidence and documents of the 18th-20th centuries: Almanac. - M.: Studio TRITE: Ros. Archive, 2007.
Bestuzhev-Ryumin A.P. Letter from Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin to I.D. Bestuzhev-Ryumin dated July 10, 1764 / Soobshch. K. N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin // Russian antiquity, 1876. - T. 15. - No. 1. - S. 211-212.
Bestuzhev-Ryumin A.P. Letter from Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin to the Patriarch of Constantinople dated July 30, 1745 // Russian Archive, 1865. - Ed. 2nd. - M., 1866. - Stb. 351-354.
Anisimov M. Yu. Russian diplomat A. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin (1693-1766) // New and recent history, 2005, № 6.

Field Marshals of the Russian Empire
17th century	F. A. Golovin (1700) K.-E. Croix (1700)
18th century	B. P. Sheremetev (1701) A. D. Menshikov (1709, deprived in 1727) A. I. Repnin (1724) M. M. Golitsyn (1725) Ya. K. Sapega (1726) Ya. V. Bruce ( 1726) V. V. Dolgorukov (1728) I. Yu. Trubetskoy (1728) B. Kh. Minich (1732) P. P. Lassi (1736) Prince Ludwig Wilhelm of Hesse-Homburg (1742) N. Yu. ) A. B. Buturlin (1756) A. G. Razumovsky (1756) S. F. Apraksin (1756) P. S. Saltykov (1759) A. I. Shuvalov (1761) P. I. Shuvalov (1761) Duke Karl Ludwig of Holstein-Beck (1762) Prince Peter August Friedrich of Holstein-Beck (1762) Prince Georg of Schleswig-Holstein (1762) A. P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin(1762) K. G. Razumovsky (1764) A. M. Golitsyn (1769) P. A. Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky (1770) Z. G. Chernyshev (1773) Landgrave Ludwig IX of Hesse-Darmstadt (1774) G. A. Potemkin (1784) A. V. Suvorov (1794) N. I. Saltykov (1796) N. V. Repnin (1796) I. G. Chernyshev (1796) I. P. Saltykov (1796) I. K. Elmpt ( 1797) V. P. Musin-Pushkin (1797) M. F. Kamensky (1797) V. F. de Broglie (1797)
19th century	A. A. Prozorovsky (1807) I. V. Gudovich (1807) M. I. Kutuzov (1812) M. B. Barclay de Tolly (1814) A. W. Wellington (1818) P. H. Wittgenstein ( 1826) F. V. Osten-Saken (1826) I. I. Dibich-Zabalkansky (1829) I. F. Paskevich (1829) Archduke Johann of Austria (1837) J. Radetsky (1849) P. M. Volkonsky (1850) M. S. Vorontsov (1856) A. I. Baryatinsky (1859) F. F. Berg (1865) Albrecht, Duke of Teschen (1872) Friedrich Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Germany (1872) Prince Albrecht Friedrich of Prussia (1872) Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1872) Prince Karl Friedrich of Prussia (1872) Albrecht, Crown Prince of Saxony (1872) H. K. B. von Moltke (1872) great. book. Mikhail Nikolaevich (1878) led. book. Nikolai Nikolaevich St. (1878) Emperor Alexander II (1878) I. V. Gurko (1894) D. A. Milyutin (1898)
20th century	King of Montenegro Nikola I (1910) King of Romania Carol I (1912)

bestuzhev-ryumin alexey petrovich ermolov, bestuzhev-ryumin alexey petrovich maresyev, bestuzhev-ryumin alexey petrovich romanov, bestuzhev-ryumin alexey petrovich sitnikov

Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Alexey Petrovich Information About

Alexey Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Chancellor of the Russian Empire under the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, for a decade and a half in the political life of Russia was the main character, skillfully promoting the right people and sweeping opponents out of the way. Unlike many other people who were elevated to the imperious Olympus of the empire, and then survived the collapse, Bestuzhev-Ryumin ended his days not in prison, not on the chopping block, but in honor.

The future chancellor was born on May 22 (June 1), 1693 in Moscow in the family of a dignitary Petra Bestuzheva. The ancient Bestuzhev family enjoyed the trust of Russian sovereigns. In 1701, Peter I gave the highest permission for Peter Bestuzhev and his family to bear the surname Bestuzhev-Ryumin in the future.

Alexei Bestuzhev's father was governor in Simbirsk, went on diplomatic missions to Europe, and in 1712 was appointed chamberlain to the Dowager Duchess of Courland Anna Ioannovna to manage and manage its affairs.

In 1708, 15-year-old Alexei Bestuzhev-Ryumin and his 20-year-old brother Mikhail, at the behest of Peter I among other young Russian nobles were sent to study abroad, first to Copenhagen and then to Berlin. Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin subsequently spent his entire life in diplomatic work, representing the interests of Russia as an ambassador in Berlin, Warsaw, Vienna and Paris.

Career turns of the Bestuzhev family

Alexei Bestuzhev-Ryumin, after graduating with the permission of Peter I, entered the service of Elector George of Hanover who granted him to the chamber junkers. After the Elector of Hanover ascended the English throne under the name of George I, Bestuzhev was sent by him as a personal envoy to Russia. It was during that period that Alexei Bestuzhev developed close ties with England, which subsequently influenced Russia's foreign policy.

For several years, Bestuzhev's career was marking time, even despite the fact that in 1730 Anna Ioannovna became the Russian empress, whom both Alexei Bestuzhev and his father managed to serve.

Coup - prison - coup

Alexey Bestuzhev in the mid-1730s managed to achieve the favor of the favorite of Anna Ioannovna Biron. In 1740, 47-year-old Alexei Bestuzhev, after a quarter of a century of diplomatic work abroad, received the title of real privy councilor with an order to appear in St. Petersburg to be present in the cabinet of ministers.

It seemed that his career, and perhaps his life, was over. But what has always distinguished Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev is the ability to maintain his presence of mind in the most difficult situation. The investigation could not find any evidence of his guilt, he himself did not repent of anything. And then a new coup successfully arrived, after which she ascended the throne daughter of Peter the Great Elizaveta Petrovna. Bestuzhev, as a victim of the former regime, was rehabilitated and returned to public service.

At the pinnacle of power

Conspiracy in favor of Catherine

The health of the Empress began to deteriorate, and in 1757 a serious illness chained Elizabeth to bed for a long time. Heir to the throne Pyotr Fedorovich, an ardent admirer of the Prussian king Frederick, fiercely hated Bestuzhev, and the chancellor paid him the same coin. However, it was not only a matter of personal hostility - Bestuzhev was sure that Pyotr Fedorovich's addictions would lead to changes in the foreign policy that would be disastrous for Russia.

Bestuzhev conceived a coup d'état to remove Peter in favor of his son Paul and wife Catherine. To this end, he wrote a letter to Field Marshal Stepan Apraksin demanding the return to Russia of the army operating against the Prussians. Bestuzhev intended to rely on these troops in his plans.

But suddenly Empress Elizabeth began to recover. Bestuzhev's plans became known, and in February 1758 he was arrested.

The chancellor managed to destroy most of the compromising papers, but this did not save him from punishment.

Honorary pensioner

But Bestuzhev was lucky again. After the coup in June 1762, she ascended the throne Empress Catherine, who treated Bestuzhev favorably. The disgrace was removed, and Bestuzhev's innocence was mentioned in a specially issued royal decree, ranks and orders were returned, moreover, the retired chancellor was awarded the rank of Field Marshal.

That's just the former political influence to Bestuzhev has not returned. Ekaterina, grateful to the Chancellor for the support he once gave her, had other friends and advisers.

Bestuzhev had his own secret - he did not take bribes from enemies, but only from friends. Why not profit at the expense of the allies - after all, they think that closeness with Russia rests precisely on the "gifts" that they regularly present to Bestuzhev.

On the morning of February 25, 1758, to the Chancellor Count Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin a courier arrived and handed over a verbal order Empress Elizabeth Petrovna urgently come to the palace. The chancellor replied that he was ill... Everyone knew what the first dignitary of Russia was ill with.

In the mornings he suffered desperately from a hangover.

But the drunkard Bestuzhev was unusually efficient. Maybe he saved himself from a headache with drops that he once invented and kept secret. These drops were called "bestuzhev" and, they say, helped ...

The courier came to him for the second time. Moaning, Bestuzhev got into his carriage and went to the Winter Palace. Approaching the entrance of the palace, he was amazed when the guards did not salute him, but surrounded the carriage. The major of the guard arrested the chancellor and took him back home under escort. What was Bestuzhev's surprise when he saw his house, occupied by the guards, "the sentries at the door of his office, his wife and family in shackles, on papers with their seals"!

However, the count philosophically accepted the royal disfavor - he had been waiting for her for a long time. The sensitive scent of the old courtier suggested that the time had already come to think about both the bag and the prison ... Yes, he never forgot about this - he lived in anxious, turbulent times and at the same time strove for power, loved power, and this is not safe. ..

Long way up

Bestuzhev, born in 1693, belonged to the younger "chicks of Petrov's nest", those young people whom the great sovereign sent to study abroad. He was an excellent student, especially well-versed in languages and "European manners". As a young man, he became an envoy to Denmark, but then his career slowed down - there were no patrons at court! Only by the middle of the 30s. Bestuzhev managed to get through to Biron, the then favorite Anna Ioannovna and like him. And how could a capricious temporary worker be liked? Flattery, denunciations, servility, gifts - serfs are serfs, albeit in ranks!

In general, Bestuzhev finally fell into favor: in the summer of 1740, at the behest of the all-powerful Biron, he took a cushy place in the cabinet of ministers. But alas! Fortune turned away from him again. After the death of Anna Biron in the fall of 1740, he was arrested by Field Marshal Munnich and the guards. Together with him, our hero flew from Olympus. Yes, I immediately got into the Shlisselburg fortress - a terrible, gloomy place. There you will tell everything, whatever they ask!

But fortune is changeable: less than a year later, a new coup followed - Minich flew off the pinnacle of power, Elizaveta Petrovna came to power, and Bestuzhev was released. Immediately he deftly clung to the new mistress. His day had come - no one in Russia then knew foreign policy better than him.

Sniffing the Chancellor

In 1744, Bestuzhev became count and chancellor of Russia and stayed in this highest state post for 14 years, in fact independently determining the course of Russia's foreign policy. However, over all these years, he never got close to Elizabeth and her circle, although he did his best to please the empress's favorites - first Razumovsky, and then Shuvalov.

But all in vain! Count Bestuzhev evoked a strange, unpleasant impression in people with a false expression on his face, stuttering, a sunken mouth with four fragments of teeth, and "when he laughed, it was the laughter of Satan."

Elizabeth also did not like her chancellor. She, always busy with balls and performances, was tired of his boring speech, irritated by the very sight of an untidy, mumbling old man. The empress sniffed at him with disdain - was he not drunk again! Listening to Bestuzhev, she recalled all the terrible gossip about his family affairs, about his tyranny and wild antics. But she did not remove the chancellor from herself, because he always spoke the matter and knew everything in advance.

Bestuzhev shone with education, was experienced, well versed in European politics. As a courtier, he trusted no one, loved no one, and mastered the art of intrigue to perfection. He collected dossiers on many dignitaries, where he put records of their sins, intercepted letters. Never before had espionage and perusal of correspondence been used so widely in court wrestling. Bestuzhev was a true master of this dirty business.

Academician of Elizabethan Studies

The chancellor stayed in power for so long also because he perfectly comprehended the temper, tastes, addictions and vices of Elizabeth Petrovna. A contemporary wrote that Bestuzhev studied the empress as a science. And so it was. Over time, he became an eminent Elizabethan scholar. The count determined exactly when to approach the empress with a report in order to make her listen, and when it was better to leave. He knew how to attract the attention of the frivolous Elizabeth, what details she was interested in, how to imperceptibly put the necessary idea into her head, and then develop it so that the empress considered this idea her own.

Knowing that the tsarina was lazy and did not like to read paper, Bestuzhev wrote on the envelope: "To Her Majesty, not only the most secret and important, but also very terrible content." Here he could be sure - the curious queen will open the envelope without fail!

He immediately realized that behind the outward frivolity of Elizabeth lies not just vanity, but the consciousness that she is the daughter Peter the Great that she is destined by God and fate to continue the glorious deeds of her father. In addition, Bestuzhev played on the peculiar interest that the empress had in foreign policy.

Diplomacy was then the "craft of kings", and the courts of Europe constituted a kind of single royal family, large and unfriendly, constantly torn apart by quarrels and disagreements. It was a world where Madame de Pompadour, Frederick II, Empress Maria Theresa lived and fought with each other... Everyone had their own, recognizable, manner of doing business. Intrigue and gossip ruled here, and the queen gave herself to this occupation with pleasure.

The world of diplomacy seemed to her like a huge palace where one could suddenly open some door and find there a chamber junker squeezing a chamber maid of honor in the dark - all this, of course, on a European scale. And Bestuzhev was an experienced guide to Elizabeth in her walks through the back streets of this "palace", which he knew well.

You need to take bribes from your own

All contemporaries said that Bestuzhev took bribes from diplomats. Now we even know very well who it was from, and even more than that, we know how, complaining about the hopeless need, the chancellor extorted money from them. Then many dignitaries were on the content of foreign courts. But Bestuzhev had his own simple secret in this matter - he did not take bribes from enemies (French and Prussians), but only from friends (Austrians and British) - since Russia relied on an alliance with England and Austria against Prussia and France. Why, under these conditions, not profit at the expense of the allies - after all, they think that closeness with Russia rests precisely on the "gifts" that they regularly present to Bestuzhev.

How did the old fox get caught

However, as often happens, a rogue sooner or later gets caught in his tricks. Bestuzhev also got caught. No, not on bribes! By the end of the 1750s. Empress Elizabeth Petrovna was ill more and more often. Her heir was to take the throne, Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich. He was also an admirer of the Prussian King Frederick II, and therefore a fierce enemy of Bestuzhev, who pursued an anti-Prussian policy.

The chancellor decided not to allow coming to power Peter III. He started an intrigue in favor of Peter's wife, Ekaterina Alekseevna, in order to bring to power after the death of Elizabeth Catherine, and to become the first minister under her. But the old fox miscalculated! The plot was uncovered, and Bestuzhev was arrested, with which we began the story ...

"Looking for the reasons why he was arrested..."

Bestuzhev was old, but still a fox. He sensed the danger and destroyed all his papers in advance. And without papers, as you know, it is possible to sew a case, but it is difficult. One of the investigators wrote to a friend: "Bestuzhev has been arrested, and we are now looking for the reasons for which he was arrested."

Elizabeth and her entourage were left with only unsubstantiated suspicions. However, at that time there were enough suspicions to deal with an objectionable person, and Bestuzhev was sentenced to death. However, they nevertheless replaced her with a link to a distant village, to the Mozhaysky district - as they say, they sent her behind Mozhay.

The verdict in the Bestuzhev case is interesting. Evidence of his state crimes was never found. Therefore, the manifesto says without any tricks: if I, the great empress, autocrat, free in my decisions, punish the former chancellor Bestuzhev, then this is an undoubted evidence of his guilt before the state. That's the whole story!

In the village, Bestuzhev let go of his beard, stopped drinking and, reading the Bible, sorted out his collection of medals. Empress Elizabeth died in 1761, ascended the throne Peter III. Bestuzhev sat without breathing - he knew how much the new sovereign "loves" him. But soon, on June 29, 1762, Catherine II overthrew her husband, and already in mid-July, Bestuzhev again appeared at court. All ranks, orders were returned to him, a pension was assigned, and then he was granted the rank of field marshal.

His time has gone

Delighted by these graces, Bestuzhev twice proposed to the Senate to award the Empress with the title of "Mother of the Fatherland", but the cold-blooded Catherine, realizing that this title would not cause anything for her people but obscene thoughts and speeches, refused to accept it. The French diplomat described how, at one of the court receptions, the old man Bestuzhev, "drunker than wine," did not let the Empress go, and importunately said something to her ...

And then Bestuzhev realized that his importance at court was negligible, although the honor was great, that a new generation had come - now new people were in charge, and Catherine listened to them, and not to him, the old fox ... He resigned and in 1766 Mr. died.

From old age, "Bestuzhev drops", alas, do not help.

Evgeny Anisimov