Elizabeth Petrovna

Empress of Russia (r. 1741-1762)

• Born: December 29, 1709
• Birthplace: Kolomenskoye, Russia
• Died: January 5, 1762
• Place of death: St. Petersburg, Russia

After taking control of Russia in a palace coup, Elizabeth ruled as empress with the assistance of capable advisers and department officials. Her reign heralded a new era in which Russia enjoyed greater domestic stability, as well as successful military and foreign policies.

Early Life

Elizabeth Petrovna (pyih-TRAWV-nuh), a daughter of Peter the Great, was born prior to the official, public marriage of her parents, rendering her technically illegitimate in the eyes of the Russian Orthodox Church and royal circles. Her gender and status as the youngest of several children also reduced Elizabeth’s rights as a possible successor to the Russian throne. She was an attractive young woman who showed comparatively little interest in politics in her youth and early adult years, apparently willing to leave political matters to others. She shied away from politics deliberately, however, to avoid possible problems with those in power, who might otherwise have seen Elizabeth as a threat to their position and might have taken steps to isolate or even arrest her.

Elizabeth’s interests during those early years emphasized comfort, ease, luxury, and indolence, and these priorities continued throughout her reign as Russia’s monarch. Her court arranged frequent balls and other entertainments in which Elizabeth took an active part as an accomplished dancer. She also liked to ride and hunt. She knew German and French as well as her native Russian but believed that excessive reading was harmful to one’s health. Fancy clothing became a lifelong obsession for Elizabeth, who possessed a vast number of expensive dresses: A fire at her Moscow residence in the 1740’s destroyed four thousand of her dresses, yet another fifteen thousand outfits were found at her death in 1762.

Life’s Work

Elizabeth never married, leaving room and opportunity for those who enjoyed her intimate favors. Her amorous interests before and after she became empress were known among the inner court circle, although the public remained ignorant of this aspect of her private life. She gave titles, money, and vast estates (including serfs as property) to her favorites.

She also found solace in religion and periodically went to religious sites in Russia on pilgrimages in which fasting played an important part. When such pilgrimages were over, however, she would overeat and drink excessively, which caused her many health problems.

Elizabeth Petrovna’s position as empress of Russia, rather than her personal life, makes her a historical figure worthy of attention. The death in 1725 of Czar Peter the Great plunged Russia into a period of weak and ineffective leadership and divisive palace politics. Prominent families and influential political advisers vied for power. Four monarchs came to the Russian throne between Peter’s passing and early 1741, a recipe for uncertainty and confusion. These conditions, compounded by the mediocre quality of the several rulers, destabilized the government and consequently weakened the nation.

By 1740, a new phase in Elizabeth’s life emerged with the naming of a new czar, Ivan VI. Since he was only an infant, real power resided in the hands of his mother, Anna Leopoldovna, and her influential but unpopular advisers. Several prominent aristocrats approached Elizabeth with a scheme to seize power and place her on the throne. Being the daughter of Peter the Great would be an asset in convincing the nation of the legitimacy of her claim to the throne. Moreover, the secret support of France, conveyed via the French ambassador and Elizabeth’s French physician, strengthened her chances of success.

The virtually bloodless coup occurred on December 6, 1741. Loyal regiments in the capital played a vital role in this event. The infant czar, his mother, and leading officials were quickly detained or arrested. Elizabeth placed her supporters in key positions to manage the affairs of state. Since they were all Russians, this decision immediately imparted a strong national character to Elizabeth’s administration when compared with those of prior rulers who relied on many Germans in central governmental roles. Elizabeth’s supporters included Nikita Trubetskoy, procurator general and leader of the senate, and Peter Shuvalov, who shaped domestic policy. Shuvalov’s brother, Ivan, became the empress’s lover by the late 1740’s, but he is important in his own right for his active support of Russian cultural life. Other key figures in the new administration included Prince Ushakov, the director of the Secret Chancellery, or secret police, and Alexei Bestuzhev-Ryumin, vice-chancellor and later chancellor of Russia.

Empress Elizabeth reconstituted the senate in St. Petersburg as a leading agency of the government, possessing both legislative and executive functions under her supervision. The nation, however, too often depended on the decisions of powerful individuals rather than government agencies and a system of laws. The system of autocracy, designed to keep authority in the hands of the monarch, remained fundamentally unchanged.

Under Elizabeth, there was a marked growth in Russian education, culture, and intellectual life. The first Russian scientific and literary journal appeared in 1755, the same year as the establishment, with Elizabeth’s support, of the University of Moscow as Russia’s first university. Her regime also promoted Russian theater and art. Famous works of public architecture constructed during her reign includes the impressive new Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, designed by the architect Francesco Rastrelli, as well as his improvements to the royal residence at Czarskoe Selo, outside the capital.

The Elizabethan years were especially important to Russian foreign policy. Russia’s relations with neighboring Turkey always were difficult, as their competition for territory led to periodic wars between the two nations. A war with Sweden in the 1740’s affected the northwest boundary between the two states. Historically suspicious of France and Austria, Russia during Elizabeth’s reign eventually reached workable and significant accommodations with both states. Russia played a minor role in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). By the 1750’s, however, Russia became a significant player in European power politics, participating in the major confrontation of the mid-eighteenth century, the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763).

In the Seven Years’ War, Russia and its French and Austrian allies opposed the enemy coalition of the rising state of Prussia under Frederick the Great and its ally Britain. Despite occasional military defeats, Russian forces won significant victories in 1759 and briefly occupied the Prussian capital of Berlin in 1760. By the time of Elizabeth’s death in 1762, Russia occupied substantial portions of Prussian territory, but her nephew and successor as monarch, Czar Peter III, quickly made peace with the Prussian king and returned these conquered lands. Within six months, the czar’s wife had deposed and killed him, ascending the throne herself as Empress Catherine the Great.

Russia’s economy expanded during Elizabeth’s rule, especially in the iron and textile industries. However, the extravagance of the royal court and a bloated and inefficient bureaucratic system, as well as large military expenses, created serious financial problems for the government. The government periodically raised taxes to cope with its huge deficits but consistently failed to balance the budget. Also, repressive laws and harsh treatment of the serfs and lower classes created antagonism and occasional riots against the authorities, but these were suppressed forcefully. Elizabeth had no sympathy for those who questioned her autocratic rule, and the quality of life for millions of Russians remained bleak in contrast to the favored economic and social position that the nobility enjoyed.

Nonetheless, scholars generally interpret Russia’s Elizabethan era positively. The empress ruled for two decades, a tribute to both her staying power and her abilities compared with those of her immediate predecessors. She also utilized the talents of capable advisers to make her lengthy reign one of the more noteworthy in modern Russian history. However, her vanity and self-centered personality meant that she increasingly neglected important domestic and foreign issues. Fortunately, Elizabeth left many decisions to government officials who acted in her name.

In her older years, Elizabeth gained excessive weight, suffered from edema, fainting, and occasional convulsions, and had several strokes. She died on January 5, 1762 (or, by the “Old Style” Russian calendar, December 25, 1761, Christmas Day). Her body lay in state at the Winter Palace before its burial at the royal chapel in St. Petersburg, where her crypt can be seen today near the remains of her father and mother.

Significance

Russia grew during the eighteenth century in size, power, and influence. From the rule of Peter the Great earlier in the era to the latter decades of the century under Catherine the Great, the nation grew from a comparatively unsophisticated and sometimes crude nation into a robust and impressive state whose achievements were felt beyond its borders. As Russia’s empress for two decades, Elizabeth Petrovna, like her father, played a prominent role in this development.

Elizabeth’s administration succeeded to a high degree in stabilizing Russian politics, promoting intellectual and cultural life, expanding Russia’s borders, and playing a significant role in the diplomatic and military affairs of Europe as a whole. She thus helped to place Russia as an equal (or at least a contender) among the powerful and influential states of eighteenth century Europe, including Austria, Britain, France, and Prussia. Elizabeth believed strongly in the concept of autocracy, the widely practiced political theory of the period, which justified her domination of her country. All authority came from the top, and limitations or checks rarely existed. The most negative aspect of Elizabeth’s legacy, however, is that her successors inherited economic and social problems that were obvious but not adequately understood and therefore difficult to resolve.

Bibliography

Anisimov, E. V. Five Empresses: The Women Who Made Modern Russia. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2004. Translation of a Russian biography of five women who ruled Russia.

Brennan, James F. Enlightened Despotism in Russia: The Reign of Elizabeth, 1741-1762. New York: Peter Lang, 1987. Interprets Elizabeth as a progressive and able ruler.

Coughlan, Robert. Elizabeth and Catherine: Empresses of All the Russias. New York: Putnam, 1974. Traces the personalities and private lives of the two great eighteenth century empresses.

Longworth, Philip. The Three Empresses: Catherine I, Anne, and Elizabeth of Russia. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973. Compares the lives of three eighteenth century monarchs.

The Memoirs of Catherine the Great. Translated by Mark Chase and Hilde Hoogenboom. New York: Modern Library, 2005. Covers the years when young Catherine lived in the Elizabethan court and conveys Catherine’s impressions of her forebear.

Rice, Tamara Talbot. Elizabeth, Empress of Russia. New York: Praeger, 1970. Excellent biography of Elizabeth’s life and reign.

Troyat, Henri. Terrible Tsarinas: Five Russian Women in Power. New York: Algora, 2001. Colorful comparison of five eighteenth century rulers, with several chapters on Elizabeth.