Aleksey Grigoryevich Orlov
Aleksey Grigoryevich Orlov was a prominent figure in the tumultuous era of 18th-century Russia, known primarily for his role in the coup d'état that placed Catherine the Great on the throne. Born as the third son in a military family, his lineage was marked by historical rebellion against Tsar Peter the Great. Orlov's early life was characterized by a close bond with his brothers, who together engaged in a lavish lifestyle that often led to financial troubles. His pivotal involvement began when his elder brother became the favorite of Catherine, who was then married to the unpopular Tsar Peter III.
Following Peter's ascension, his erratic behavior alienated many, including military officers aligned with Catherine. As tensions escalated, Aleksey and his brothers orchestrated a coup in June 1762, ultimately leading to Peter's arrest and subsequent death, a move that secured Catherine's position as Empress. Although he was richly rewarded with titles and wealth for his loyalty, Orlov later faced repercussions under the rule of Catherine's son, Emperor Paul, who had a conflicting legacy regarding Peter III. Orlov's actions not only shaped the political landscape of Russia but also illustrated the complex interplay of loyalty, power, and survival in a rapidly changing imperial court.
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Aleksey Grigoryevich Orlov
Russian military leader
- Born: October 5, 1737
- Birthplace: Lyutkino, Tver Province, Russia
- Died: January 5, 1808
- Place of death: Moscow, Russia
Orlov participated in the coup d’état that made Catherine the Great the ruling empress of Russia. The brother of Catherine’s lover, Orlov helped protect Catherine from her husband, Czar Peter III, and helped engineer the czar’s murder.
Early Life
Aleksey Grigorievich Orlov (uhl-yihk-SYAY gryih-GAWR-yihv-yich uhr-LAWF) was born on the Orlov family estate, the third of five sons of a military officer. His grandfather had been a colorful figure, one of the streltsy, special sharpshooters who had engaged in a rebellion against Peter the Great and his attempts to reform Russia in 1698, because his reforms threatened their special status and privileges. Upon receiving word of the revolt, the czar had cut short his European tour, leaving Vienna and hurrying back to Moscow to crush the rebellion. He then ordered the rebellious soldiers executed, some by hanging, some by burning at the stake, and some by beheading in Moscow’s Red Square. Peter himself wielded the headsman’s ax, and he was quite impressed with one condemned rebel, who coolly approached the block, kicking aside the head of a fellow insurgent and saying, “Make room for me.” After asking the man’s name, he pardoned Ivan Orlov on the spot and reenlisted him in the army.
Ivan’s son Grigori Ivanovich Orlov married late and fathered nine children, five of whom lived to adulthood. These five sons remained close throughout their lives, with little sibling rivalry, and it was said that they shared everything except women. They soon sold their family’s estate and used the money to buy a house in St. Petersburg, then the imperial capital. They also bought themselves memberships in St. Petersburg’s elite guards unit and amused themselves with boisterous living, whereby they soon amassed enormous debts. However, they were always able to extract themselves from their problems by their skill and luck at cards. Aleksey was said to be the cleverest but the least principled of the brothers.
Life’s Work
Aleksey was drawn into Grand Duchess Catherine’s orbit with the ascension of his elder brother Grigori Grigoryevich Orlov to the position of her favorite. Her marriage to Grand Duke Peter, heir apparent to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, was loveless and unconsummated, and she saw in the handsome Grigori Grigoryevich Orlov the possibility of assuaging her sexual desires.
When Empress Elizabeth died on January 5, 1762 (Christmas Day, 1761, Old Style), Peter ascended the throne as Peter III. However, his sudden attainment of grave responsibility did not mature him. Rather, he remained perpetually childish and stupid, conducting himself with an astonishing lack of decorum during his aunt’s funeral, to the point that visiting foreign dignitaries commented upon his behavior and what it might mean for Russia’s future. He made no attempt to hide his contempt for the traditions of Russia and its Orthodox Church, instead preferring the Lutheran rites of his childhood and the tight uniforms of Prussia’s Frederick the Great. He had soon alienated many of the nationalistic young officers of the elite guards regiments, who were all the more willing to align themselves with his neglected wife.
Peter hated Catherine, and now that Elizabeth was no longer there to protect her, he determined to rid himself of her permanently, whether by forcing her to enter a convent or by outright execution. However, he could not move too quickly, which gave Catherine time to plan.
At the same time, Catherine was prevented from moving too quickly against her husband by her own advanced state of pregnancy: She was carrying Grigori Orlov’s baby. Only when she was safely delivered of the boy could she actually move against Peter. By June of 1762, things had become critical: Peter launched into a tirade of abuse at Catherine for failing to rise for a toast to his royal person. When she responded that as a member of the royal family it was not appropriate for her to rise, he ordered her arrested.
Aleksey Orlov and his brothers helped Catherine flee to the safety of an outlying estate, where she hid for the next several weeks, until their plans could be completed. For safety, she left her young son Paul, heir to the throne, in St. Petersburg, but with the caveat that the younger Orlov brothers would keep watch over him. On June 28, the preparations were complete, and the Orlov brothers rallied the guards regiments in the coup d’état that unseated Peter III and placed Catherine the Great on the throne.
Aleksey personally arrested Peter and his clique of Germans. He took Peter into temporary exile on the estate of Ropsha, some distance from St. Petersburg. There he remained for some time, officially until his final place of exile could be determined. However, his continued existence posed an unacceptable threat to Catherine’s admittedly precarious position on the throne. Thus, it was necessary to engineer the deposed czar’s death, but in a way that would keep Catherine’s hands free of his blood.
The end finally came in a rather awkward confrontation between Peter and Prince Fyodor Baryatinski, one of the inner circle of plotters and a longtime friend of the Orlovs. The quarrel quickly decayed into a fistfight, and before the guards could separate the two, the weak and sickly Peter IIII31IIII was strangled to death. Aleksey Orlov was present at the fight and may well have helped to instigate it or have even participated in it. In any case, he wrote to Catherine a hasty and rather confused account of the incident, then rode to St. Petersburg to deliver the letter to her.
In reward for having placed her on the throne and ridding her of an inconvenient dynastic obstacle, Catherine richly rewarded Aleksey Orlov and his brothers. They were each given the title of count, substantial sums of money, and responsible positions in the imperial government. Even after Grigori ceased to be her lover, all five of the brothers continued to hold these imperial positions.
Aleksey had the misfortune of outliving his imperial mistress and as a result suffered the indignities of her successor’s wrath. Emperor Paul never had any great love for his mother and over the years had developed a fascination with his father, the unlamented Peter III, to the point that his mental instability led historians to question Catherine’s claims that her marriage was unconsummated. One of Paul’s first orders upon his accession was to have Peter III’s bones exhumed and reinterred beside Catherine’s in an elaborate ceremony. Aleksey Orlov was given the particular indignity of being “honored” with the privilege of carrying Peter’s crown upon a velvet cushion, and two of his fellow surviving conspirators were forced to become pallbearers for the casket in which the deposed czar’s bones were carried.
Significance
The coup against Peter III was a critical turning point in the history of Russia. Peter III was a Lutheran and a Germanophile and was on the verge of implementing “reforms” that would have destroyed the Russian Orthodox Church and transformed it into a parody of the Lutheran Church. Had he continued on the throne, he probably would have triggered a religious civil war that would have made the reaction to the reforms of Patriarch Nikon in the sixteenth century look like a minor disagreement. Although Catherine was by birth a German princess, she had embraced her adopted motherland so thoroughly that she could be regarded as a proper Russian, in spite of her strong accent and poor Russian grammar, and was able to continue the introduction of Western ideas and reforms while retaining the essential Russianness of the culture.
By taking the initiative to kill Peter III, Aleksey Orlov also spared Catherine any but the most peripheral guilt in her husband’s demise, while at the same time securing her claim to the throne by ensuring that Peter’s supporters could not free him and restore him to power. However, suspicion continued to linger throughout Catherine’s reign about her exact role in Peter III’s death, and only the discovery of a letter by her son, Emperor Paul, exonerated her, finally erasing all doubt.
Bibliography
Alexander, John T. Catherine the Great: Life and Legend. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. Remains one of the best biographies of Catherine the Great, including a final chapter dealing with her place in history and popular culture, including her many loves.
De Madariaga, Isabel. Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great. New York: Phoenix Press, 2002. A study of Catherine’s effect upon Russia, stripping away some of the lurid folklore that has come to surround her and examining the actuality of her reign, including the coup d’état that brought her into power.
Dixon, Simon. Catherine the Great. New York: Longman, 2001. Studies the developing concept of rulership across Catherine’s rule, from her ascension in the coup against her husband to her death.
Nikolaev, Vsevolod A., and Albert Parry. The Loves of Catherine the Great. New York: Coward, McCann and Geoghegan, 1982. Examines Catherine’s relationships with the first three of her lovers, including Grigori Orlov, and discusses the role of Aleksey Orlov in the death of Peter III.
Troyat, Henri. Catherine the Great. Reprint. New York: Plume, 1994. Includes a discussion of the significance of the coup led by the Orlov brothers.