Ivan VI (John III) Antonovich |
|
Coronation: |
not crowned |
Predecessor: |
Anna Ioannovna |
Successor: |
Elizaveta Petrovna |
Birth: |
|
Buried: |
Shlisselburg Fortress, location unknown |
Dynasty: |
Romanovs (Welfs) |
Anton Ulrich of Brunswick |
|
Anna Leopoldovna |
|
Monogram: |
|
Reign
Insulation
Shlisselburg
Murder
Ivan VI (John Antonovich)(12 (23) August 1740-5 (16) July 1764) - Russian emperor from the Welf dynasty from October 1740 to November 1741, great-grandson of Ivan V.
Formally, he reigned for the first year of his life under the regency first of Biron, and then of his own mother Anna Leopoldovna. The baby emperor was overthrown by Elizaveta Petrovna, spent his whole life in prison, in solitary confinement and was killed at the age of 24 while trying to escape.
In official lifetime sources it is mentioned as John III, that is, the account is kept from the first Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible; in later historiography, a tradition was established to call him Ivan (John) VI, counting from Ivan I Kalita.
Reign
After the death of Empress Anna Ioannovna, the son of Anna Leopoldovna (Anna Ioannovna's niece) and Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Bevern-Luneburg, two-month-old Ivan Antonovich was proclaimed emperor under the regency of the Duke of Courland Biron.
He was born at the very end of the reign of Anna Ioannovna, so the question of who to appoint as regent tormented the empress, who was dying, for a long time. Anna Ioannovna wanted to leave the throne to the descendants of her father Ivan V and was very worried that he would not pass in the future to the descendants of Peter I. Therefore, in her will, she stipulated that Ivan Antonovich was the heir, and in the event of his death, the other children of Anna Leopoldovna in order of precedence if they are born.
Two weeks after the baby's accession, a coup took place in the country, as a result of which the guards, led by Field Marshal Munnich, arrested Biron and removed him from power. The emperor's mother was declared the new regent. Unable to govern the country and living in illusions, Anna gradually transferred all her power to Munnich, and after that Osterman took possession of it, who dismissed the field marshal. But a year later there was a new coup. The daughter of Peter the Great, Elizabeth, with the Preobrazhenians, arrested Osterman, the emperor, his parents, and all their entourage.
Insulation
At first, Elizabeth intended to expel the “Brunswick family” from Russia (as was officially stated in the manifesto justifying her rights 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. On December 31, 1741, the decree of the Empress was announced on the surrender by the population of all coins with the name of John Antonovich for subsequent remelting. Later, a decree was published on the destruction of portraits depicting Ivan Antonovich, as well as on the replacement of business papers, passports and other documents with the name of the emperor with new ones. In 1742, in secret for everyone, the whole family was transferred to the suburbs of Riga - Dunamünde, then in 1744 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. Long northern campaigns greatly affected the health of Anna Leopoldovna: in 1746 she died.
Shlisselburg
Elizabeth's fear of a possible new coup led to Ivan's new journey. In 1756 he was transferred from Kholmogory to 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 serf servants. For all the time of his imprisonment, he never saw a single human face. However, the documents testify that the prisoner knew about his royal origin, was taught to read and write and dreamed of life in a monastery. Since 1759, Ivan began to observe signs of inadequate behavior. Empress Catherine II, who saw Ivan VI in 1762, asserted this with complete confidence; but the jailers thought it was only a pathetic simulation.
Murder
While Ivan was imprisoned, many attempts were made to free the deposed emperor and restore him to the throne. The last attempt turned out to be death for the young prisoner. In 1764, when Catherine II was already reigning, Lieutenant V. Ya. Mirovich, who was on guard duty in the Shlisselburg Fortress, won a part of the garrison over to his side in order to free Ivan.
However, Ivan's guards were given a secret instruction to kill the prisoner if they tried to free him (even by presenting the decree of the empress 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 "famous prisoner" is buried, as is usually believed, in the Shlisselburg fortress; the place of burial is not exactly known.
The son of the niece of Empress Anna Ioannovna, Princess Anna Leopoldovna of Mecklenburg and Anton-Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg, was born on August 23 (12 according to the old style) August 1740. As a baby, Anna Ioannovna's manifesto dated October 16 (5, old style), 1740, he was declared heir to the throne.
On October 28 (17, old style) October 1740, after the death of Anna Ioannovna, John Antonovich was proclaimed emperor, and the manifesto of October 29 (18, old style) announced the transfer of the regency until the age of John to the Duke of Courland.
On November 20 (9 according to the old style) of November of the same year, after the overthrow of Biron by the field marshal, the regency passed to the mother of Ivan Antonovich Anna Leopoldovna.
On the night of December 6 (November 25, old style), 1741, the ruler of Russia with her husband, one-year-old emperor and five-month-old daughter Catherine were arrested in the palace by the daughter of Peter I, who was proclaimed empress.
The entire Brunswick family was placed under supervision in the former palace of Elisabeth. The manifesto dated December 9 (November 28, Old Style), 1741, noted that the whole family would be released abroad and receive a decent allowance.
On December 23 (12 according to the old style) December 1741, Lieutenant General Vasily Saltykov took John with his parents and sister out of St. Petersburg with a large convoy. But Elizabeth decided to detain John in Russia until the arrival of her nephew, Prince Peter of Holstein (later Emperor Peter III), whom she had chosen as heir.
On January 20 (9 according to the old style) January 1742, the Braunschweig surname was brought to Riga, where Anna Leopoldovna, at the request of the Empress, signed an oath of allegiance to Elizabeth Petrovna on behalf of herself and her son.
Rumors of Anna Leopoldovna's hostility towards the new government and the attempt of the footman Alexander Turchaninov to kill the Empress and the Duke of Holstein, undertaken in favor of John Antonovich in July 1742, made Elizabeth see John as a dangerous pretender, so she decided not to let him out of Russia .
On December 13, 1742, the Braunschweig family was placed in the Dinamunde fortress (now Daugavgriva fortress, Latvia). When Lopukhin's "conspiracy" was discovered in July 1743, in January 1744 it was decided to transfer the entire family to the city of Ranenburg (now Chaplygin, Lipetsk Region).
In June 1744, it was decided to send them to the Solovetsky Monastery, but the family only reached Kholmogor, Arkhangelsk province: accompanying chamberlain Nikolai Korf, referring to the difficulties of the journey and the impossibility of keeping their stay in Solovki a secret, convinced the government to leave them there.
During the reign of Elizabeth and her immediate successors, the very name of Ivan Antonovich was persecuted: the seals of his reign were altered, the coin was overflowed, all business papers with the name of Emperor John were ordered to be collected and sent to the Senate.
With accession to the throne in December 1761 Peter III Ivan Antonovich's situation did not improve - an order was given to kill him in an attempt to free him. In March 1762, the new emperor paid a visit to the prisoner.
After the accession to the throne of Catherine II, a project arose for her marriage to Ivan Antonovich, which would allow her to legitimize (legitimize) her power. According to available assumptions, in August 1762 she visited the prisoner and considered him crazy. After the disclosure in the fall of 1762 of the Guards conspiracy to depose Catherine II, the regime for keeping the captive became tougher, the empress confirmed the previous instructions of Peter III.
On the night of July 16 (5, according to the old style), Vasily Mirovich, a lieutenant of the Smolensk infantry regiment, who was in the garrison of the fortress, attempted to release Ivan Antonovich and proclaim him emperor. Having persuaded the garrison soldiers to his side with the help of false manifestos, he arrested the commandant of the fortress Berednikov and demanded the extradition of John. The officers assigned to John first fought off Mirovich and the soldiers who followed him, but then, when he began to prepare a cannon to break the doors, they stabbed Ivan Antonovich, according to the instructions. After the investigation, Mirovich was executed.
The body of the former emperor was secretly buried according to the Christian rite, presumably on the territory of the Shlisselburg fortress.
In 2008, alleged remains belonging to the Russian Emperor John VI Antonovich were found in Kholmogory.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources
Son of Duke Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Bevernsky and Anna Leopoldovna, nee Princess of Mecklenburg, niece Russian empress Anna Ioannovna.
As a result of the guards, led by Field Marshal Count Christopher Munnich palace coup On November 9, his mother Anna Leopoldovna was appointed regent under Ivan Antonovich, by a manifesto on his behalf.
In the struggle for power of various court factions, Minich was dismissed in March. In fact, the government remained in the hands of the Cabinet of Ministers (Count A. I. Osterman, Chancellor Prince A. M. Cherkassky, Vice-Chancellor Count M. G. Golovkin, until March also Minikh).
A decree followed on the expulsion of John Antonovich and his family abroad, but on the way they were detained in Riga, from where on December 13 they were transported to the Dinamunde fortress, in - to the city of Ranenburg.
Literature
- Count M. A. Korf. Brunswick family. Moscow: Prometheus, 2003.
- Solovyov, "History of Russia" (vols. 21 and 22);
- Hermann, "Geschichte des Russischen Staates";
- M. Semevsky, "Ivan VI Antonovich" ("Father's Notes", 1866, vol. CLXV);
- Brikner, "Imp. John Antonovich and his relatives. 1741-1807" (M., 1874);
- "Internal Life of the Russian State from October 17, 1740 to November 20, 1741" (published by the Moscow Arch. Ministry of Justice, vol. I, 1880, vol. II, 1886);
- Bilbasov, "Geschichte Catherine II" (vol. II);
- "The fate of the family of the ruler Anna Leopoldovna" ("Russian Antiquity" 1873, vol. VII)
- "Emperor John Antonovich" ("Russian Antiquity" 1879, vols. 24 and 25).
Used materials
- Article "Ivan VI Antonovich" in: Sukhareva O.V. Who was who in Russia from Peter I to Paul I. M., 2005. Pp. 205-207.
- Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron.
Numerical designation in Russian historical literature is different. Options: John III (according to the number of kings from John Vasilyevich) or John VI.
Ivan 6 (1740 -1764) - Russian emperor, son of Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig-Brevern-Lüneburg and Anna Leopoldovna, great-grandson of Ivan 5.
Brief biography of Ivan 6 Antonovich
Ivan 6 became emperor according to the will of Anna Ivanovna, who had no children and gave the throne to the offspring of her niece, fearing that the future descendants of Peter 1 would rule the country. The baby became emperor at the age of 2 months, so a regent was appointed for him - the Duke of Biron. However, just two months later, Biron was arrested and his own mother became the regent of the new king.
Anna Leopoldovna, incapable of governing the country, allowed supporters of Peter 1 to come to power. Just a year after the formal beginning of the reign of Ivan 6, a coup d'état took place, as a result of which the emperor and his entourage were arrested. The daughter of Peter 1, Elizabeth Petrovna, came to power.
The years of the reign of Ivan 6 Antonovich - 1740 - 1741.
Link and Conclusion
Elizabeth wanted to get rid of the former emperor, so in 1742 he and his mother were sent into exile in Riga, then to Oranienbaum, and only after to Siberia. As a result of constant persecution and poor conditions, the mother of Ivan 6 died in 1746.
After the death of his mother, Tsar Ivan 6 Antonovich was imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress near St. Petersburg (now Oreshek). Catherine was afraid that the boy could come to power with the help of the supporters of the deceased Anna Ioannovna, so the tsar was isolated from the whole world, put in solitary confinement, and walks and dates were forbidden.
Despite numerous attempts to free the former tsar, the fortress was impregnable, and Ivan 6 grew up in prison.
In 1764, Tsar Ivan 6 Antonovich died. He was shot dead by his own jailers, who learned about the plot against Catherine and another attempt to free the king.
Years of life : August 12 1 740 - July 5, 1764 .
The son of Empress Anna Ioannovna's niece, Princess Anna Leopoldovna of Mackleburg and Anton-Ulrich, Duke of Braunschweig-Luneburg, was born on August 12, 1740 and Anna Ioannovna's manifesto, dated October 5, 1740, was declared heir to the throne. Upon the death of Anna Ioannovna (October 17, 1740), John was proclaimed emperor, and a manifesto on October 18 announced the transfer of the regency to the age of John Biron. Upon the overthrow of Biron by Minich (November 8), the regency passed to Anna Leopoldovna, but already on the night of December 25, 1741, the ruler with her husband and children, including Emperor John, were arrested in the palace by Elizaveta Petrovna, and the latter was proclaimed empress. She intended to send the deposed emperor with his entire family abroad, and on December 12, 1741 they were sent to Riga, under the supervision of Lieutenant General V.F. Saltykov; but then Elizabeth changed her mind, and, before reaching Riga, Saltykov received an order to drive as quietly as possible, and in Riga to wait for new orders.
The prisoners stayed in Riga until December 13, 1742, when they were transferred to the Dinamunde fortress. Elizabeth finally made up her mind not to let John and his parents, as dangerous applicants, leave Russia. In January 1744, a decree was issued on the transfer of the former ruler with her family to the city of Ranenburg (Ryazan province), and the executor of the order, Captain-Lieutenant Vyndomsky, almost brought them to Orenburg. June 27, 1744 to the chamberlain Baron N.A. Corfu was ordered to take the family of royal prisoners to the Solovetsky Monastery, and John, both during this trip and during his stay in Solovki, had to be completely separated from his family, and none of the outsiders should have had access to him, except only an overseer specially assigned to him. Korf took the prisoners only as far as Kholmogory and, presenting to the government the whole difficulty of transporting them to Solovki and keeping them a secret there, convinced them to leave them in this city. Here John spent about 12 years in complete solitary confinement; the only person with whom he could see was Major Miller who was watching him, in turn, almost deprived of the opportunity to communicate with other persons guarding the family of the former emperor. Rumors about John's stay in Kholmogory spread, and the government decided to take new precautions.
At the beginning of 1756, Savin, a sergeant of the life campaign, was ordered to secretly take John out of Kholmogory and secretly deliver him to Shlisselburg, and Colonel Vyndomsky, the chief bailiff for the Brunswick family, was given a decree: "The remaining prisoners should be kept as before, even more strictly and with an increase in the guard, so as not to give a sign of the removal of the prisoner; to our office and after the prisoner is sent, report that he is under your guard, as they reported before. In Shlisselburg, secrecy had to be kept no less strictly: the commandant of the fortress himself was not supposed to know who was being held in it under the name of a "famous prisoner"; only three officers guarding him could see John and knew his name; they were forbidden to tell John where he was; even a field marshal could not be allowed into the fortress without a decree from the Secret Office. With the accession of Peter III, the position of John did not improve, but rather changed for the worse, although there were rumors about Peter's intention to release the prisoner.
The instruction given by Count A.I. Shuvalov, to the chief bailiff of John, Prince Churmantiev, prescribed, among other things: "If the prisoner begins to make any disturbances or objections to you, or if he begins to say obscene things, then put him on a chain until he pacifies, and if he does not listen to that, then beat according to your discretion with a stick and a whip." In the decree of Peter III, Churmantiev of January 1, 1762 was commanded: "If, beyond your expectations, who would dare to take the prisoner away from you, in this case resist as much as possible and do not give the prisoner alive into your hands." In the instructions given after the accession to the throne of Catherine N.I. Panin, to whom she was entrusted with the main supervision of the maintenance of the Shlisselburg prisoner, this last point was expressed even more clearly: Her Imperial Majesty by signing a command or without a written order from her, and wanted to take a prisoner from you, then do not give him to anyone and consider everything a forgery or an enemy hand. , and do not give him alive into the hands of anyone.
According to some reports, following the accession of Catherine, Bestuzhev drew up a plan for her marriage to John. It is true that Catherine saw John at this time and, as she later admitted in a manifesto, found him damaged in mind. Crazy or, at least, easily losing his mental balance portrayed John and the reports of the officers assigned to him. However, John knew his origin, despite the mystery surrounding him, and called himself a sovereign. Despite the strict prohibition to teach him anything, he learned to read and write from someone, and then he was allowed to read the Bible. The secret of John's stay in Shlisselburg was not preserved, and this finally ruined him. The lieutenant of the Smolensk infantry regiment, Vasily Yakovlevich Mirovich, who was in the garrison of the fortress, decided to release him and proclaim him emperor; on the night of July 4-5, 1764, he set about fulfilling his plan and, having persuaded the garrison soldiers to his side with the help of false manifestos, arrested the commandant of the fortress Berednikov and demanded the extradition of John.
The bailiff at first resisted with the help of his team, but when Mirovich pointed a cannon at the fortress, they surrendered, first, according to the exact meaning of the instructions, killing John. After a thorough investigation, which revealed the complete absence of accomplices from Mirovich, the latter was executed. During the reign of Elizabeth and her immediate successors, the very name of John was subjected to persecution: the seals of his reign were altered, the coin overflowed, all business papers with the name of Emperor John were ordered to be collected and sent to the Senate; manifestos, sworn sheets, church books, forms of commemoration of the persons of the Imperial House in churches, sermons and passports were ordered to be burned, the rest of the files were kept sealed and when inquiries with them not to use the title and name of John, whence the name of these documents came from "cases with a well-known title ". Only the highest approved on August 19, 1762, the report of the Senate stopped the further extermination of the affairs of the time of John, which threatened to violate the interests of private individuals. The surviving documents were partly published in their entirety, partly processed in the edition of the Moscow Archive of the Ministry of Justice.
Russian Biographical Dictionary / www.rulex.ru / Solovyov "History of Russia" (volumes XXI and XXII); Hermabn "Geschichte des Russischen Staates"; M. Semevsky "Ivan VI Antonovich" ("Notes of the Fatherland", 1866, vol. CLXV); Brikner "Emperor John Antonovich and his relatives 1741 - 1807" (M., 1874); "Internal Life of the Russian State from October 17, 1740 to November 25, 1741" (published by the Moscow Archive of the Ministry of Justice, vol. I, 1880, vol. II, 1886); Bilbasov "History of Catherine II" (vol. II); some information in the articles of "Russian Antiquity": "The fate of the family of the ruler Anna Leopoldovna" (1873, vol. VII) and "Emperor John Antonovich" (1879, vols. XXIV and XXV). V. Mn.
