Latest / The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History / A Romanov Tsar's Daughter Who Ruled Alone
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked about Peter the Great, about the chaos after him, even about that forgotten regent Anna Leopoldovna. But there's one Romanov who changed the course of the dynasty without ever being a tsar in the traditional sense — Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter's daughter, who seized power in 1741 and ruled for twenty years. Luna: Wait, we haven't done an episode on her yet, have we? Lucas: No, we've danced around her. She's the one who overthrew baby Ivan VI, the infant emperor. And she's often written off as a frivolous party-girl tsarina, more interested in gowns and balls than in ruling. Lucas: But that reputation does her a massive disservice. Elizabeth was the daughter of Peter the Great and his second wife Catherine. She was born in 1709 in Kolomenskoye, and she grew up watching her father drag Russia into the modern world. When she took the throne, she was determined to continue his work — but on her own terms. Luna: How did she actually pull off the coup? I mean, she wasn't the only one with a claim. Lucas: Right, the succession had been a mess. Peter's grandson Peter II died of smallpox in 1730, and then Anna Ioannovna, Peter's niece, ruled for a decade. When Anna died in 1740, she left the throne to her grand-nephew, Ivan VI, a baby — and his mother Anna Leopoldovna became regent. Lucas: Elizabeth had been living quietly at court, but she was popular with the guards. On the night of December 6, 1741, she walked into the Preobrazhensky Regiment barracks, rallied the soldiers, and marched on the Winter Palace. The infant emperor and his mother were arrested almost without a struggle. Luna: So she basically walked in and took it. Lucas: Pretty much. And she was smart about it. She made a point of addressing the guards in a way that appealed to their patriotism — they were restoring the line of Peter the Great. And she had the support of key courtiers, including Mikhail Vorontsov, who became her vice-chancellor. Lucas: One of the first things she did was abolish the death penalty — and she kept that promise her entire reign. That was a remarkable move for the time, and it set Russia apart from most European states. Luna: Was that just a PR move, or did she actually mean it? Lucas: There's evidence she meant it. She personally commuted sentences, and even in cases of treason, she usually sent people to Siberia rather than the block. But that didn't mean she was soft. The fate of the deposed Ivan VI is a dark stain on her reign. Lucas: Ivan was just a baby when he was overthrown. He was kept in the Shlisselburg fortress, isolated from everyone, never told who he was. He grew up in a cell, knowing only his guards. And when attempts were made to free him, Elizabeth ordered that he be killed — the guards executed him in 1764, during the reign of Catherine the Great, but the orders actually dated back to Elizabeth. Luna: That's brutal. So she wasn't all velvet gloves. Lucas: No, not at all. But she also knew how to project power. She was famous for her wardrobe — she reportedly had fifteen thousand gowns — and she never wore the same outfit twice. But she used her image deliberately. When she appeared in public, she dressed like a living symbol of the empire. Lucas: And she used that image to push her political agenda. She was a devout Orthodox Christian, and she launched a campaign against the influence of foreigners and Protestantism. She expelled many foreign merchants and scholars, and she restricted the rights of religious minorities. It was a sharp turn from Peter's open-door policy. Luna: That's a big shift, isn't it? Lucas: It was. But she wasn't a simple reactionary. She also continued Peter's building projects — she founded the Russian Academy of Arts, and she commissioned the Winter Palace that we know today, the one designed by Rastrelli. She also established Moscow University in 1755, one of the first universities in Russia, and she created the first public theater. Lucas: So she was a patron of culture in a way that matched her father's ambition. But her most consequential legacy might be her foreign policy. Luna: You mean the Seven Years' War? Lucas: Exactly. In 1756, Europe plunged into the Seven Years' War, and Russia sided with Austria and France against Prussia and Britain. Elizabeth personally hated Frederick the Great of Prussia — she called him a 'wicked' and 'dangerous' man, and she was determined to cut him down. Lucas: Russian forces performed well, winning at Gross-Jägersdorf and Kunersdorf. They even occupied Berlin briefly in 1760. But then Elizabeth died in January 1762, and her successor, Peter III, was a fanatical admirer of Frederick. He immediately pulled Russia out of the war and returned all conquests. It was a stunning reversal. Luna: So all that blood and treasure went to waste. Lucas: Essentially, yes. But Elizabeth's war effort had a lasting effect — it exhausted Prussia, and it showed that Russia could project power deep into Central Europe. That changed the balance of power for decades. Lucas: There's also the personal side of Elizabeth's reign that's fascinating. She never married officially, but she had a secret morganatic marriage to Alexei Razumovsky, a former Cossack choir singer who became her favorite. They reportedly had children, but they were never acknowledged. It was an open secret at court. Luna: She really lived on her own terms. Lucas: She did. And that's what makes her so interesting — she navigated the treacherous world of court politics while maintaining her independence. She knew how to use her femininity and her image to her advantage, but she was also a shrewd political operator. Lucas: Her reign also saw the rise of a new generation of Russian nobility who would later shape the empire. Men like Mikhail Vorontsov, her vice-chancellor, and her nephew Peter III, who would succeed her — and whose wife, Catherine the Great, would go on to be called 'the Great.' Luna: So she's really the bridge between Peter and Catherine. Lucas: Exactly. And yet she's often overlooked. Partly because she didn't have a grand narrative like Peter's reforms or Catherine's expansion. But she was the one who kept the throne stable for two decades, which was no small feat given the chaos before her. Lucas: She also dealt with a serious conspiracy in her own court — the case of the 'Mirovich conspiracy' in 1764, which involved an attempt to free Ivan VI. That was after her death, but it showed how the ghost of Ivan continued to haunt the dynasty. Luna: There's something eerie about that. Lucas: There is. And it reminds us that the Romanov story is full of these shadows. Elizabeth herself was just a few steps from the throne when she seized it — she knew that her own claim was based on a coup, and she never fully trusted the people around her. She even had a list of potential successors, but she never named one. Lucas: And that failure to name a successor led directly to the chaos after her death. Peter III took the throne, alienated the nobility, and was overthrown by his own wife Catherine within six months. Luna: So she holds the dynasty together, but she also leaves it fragile. Lucas: Yes. And that's part of her legacy. She kept things stable while she was alive, but she didn't solve the deeper problems of succession and legitimacy. Those would come back to haunt the Romanovs again and again. Lucas: You know, as we've been talking, I keep thinking about how we are able to explore these deep stories because of the support of our listeners. If you've been with us for a while, and you want to keep these conversations going, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a simple way to help us keep making history accessible and ad-free. Luna: Yeah, it really does make a difference for independent shows like ours. Lucas: We're grateful for anyone who does. Now, back to Elizabeth — one thing I love is how she used the past to legitimize her rule. She commissioned portraits of herself in the style of Peter the Great, and she even adopted the title 'Autocrat of All the Russias,' which emphasized her absolute power. Lucas: She also revived the tradition of the Assumption Cathedral coronation, making it a grand spectacle. It was all about connecting herself to the divine right of kings — and it worked. Luna: I think I remember that she was also the one who founded the Winter Palace we see today. Lucas: Yes, she commissioned the current Winter Palace, but she died before it was completed. Catherine the Great moved in later. So Elizabeth's vision literally shaped the imperial capital. Lucas: So, when we think of the Romanovs, we often think of Peter, Catherine, and Nicholas II. But Elizabeth Petrovna deserves her place among them. She was a woman who took power by force, ruled with intelligence and style, and left a mark that lasted well beyond her twenty years on the throne. Her story is a reminder that history is full of unexpected leaders. Luna: I'm glad we finally gave her an episode. Lucas: Me too. Next time, maybe we'll explore Catherine's own coup – but that's another story.