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So, the 18th century in Russia—or at least significant parts of it. That’s 37 years, yes, from 1725 to 1762. It is known from our textbooks as the era of palace coups, when rulers and their ministers replaced one another.
An analysis of 18th-century Russian palace coups, succession issues, and the role of the Imperial Guard in post-Peter the Great Russia.
Key Takeaways
- The absence of a formal succession law in Russia caused repeated palace coups in the 18th century.
- The Imperial Guard was a powerful political actor influencing the succession and stability of rulers.
- Peter the Great’s reforms modernized the state but unintentionally set the stage for political instability.
- Autocratic power without clear legal constraints led to factionalism and violent power struggles.
- The era illustrates the challenges of maintaining autocratic rule without institutionalized succession.
What the video covers
- The video covers the era of palace coups in Russia from 1725 to 1762, highlighting political instability after Peter the Great's death.
- Peter the Great aimed to create a 'regular state' with a precise bureaucratic system but left no clear law of succession.
- The lack of a formal succession law led to multiple claimants from the imperial family competing for the throne.
- The Imperial Guard, established under Peter I, played a crucial role in supporting or overthrowing rulers during palace coups.
- Peter I’s reforms created educated subjects and a state machine, but the autocratic system lacked mechanisms to prevent power struggles.
- The Streltsy Uprising was an early example of factional conflict that Peter violently suppressed.
- Peter’s 1722 law gave the sovereign the right to name any successor, which contributed to political chaos after his death.
- The Guards helped install Catherine I, Anna Ioannovna, and later Catherine the Great, showing their decisive influence.
- Court factions and family rivalries fueled ongoing power struggles in the absence of clear succession rules.
- The video emphasizes the paradox of Peter’s strong reforms resulting in political instability and palace coups.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction to 18th Century Russian Palace Coups
- 01:10Peter the Great’s Vision of a Regular State
- 03:05The Streltsy Uprising and Early Political Conflicts
- 04:50The Problem of Succession and Peter’s 1722 Law
- 05:50The Role and Rise of the Imperial Guard
- 07:20Political Instability and Court Faction Struggles
- 08:40The Guard’s Influence in Installing Empresses
- 10:00Conclusion: Paradox of Reform and Instability
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Sometimes they took the throne without any problems. Right. Although that was rare. It was precisely in this era that such major figures were most often toppled from Olympus, and even the sovereigns themselves, as was the case with the infant Emperor Ivan VI.
Speaker A
Sometimes they took the throne without any problems. Right. Although that was rare. It was precisely in this era that such major figures were most often toppled from Olympus, and even the sovereigns themselves, as was the case with the infant Emperor Ivan VI.
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create in Russia what he himself called a "regular state," that is, an exemplary state machine that works with the precision of a Swiss watch, where every subject occupies their place and performs necessary actions based on state decrees and regulations. And to
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Antonovich, and later Peter I’s grandson, Peter III, who was overthrown by his own wife, whom we now know as Catherine the Great. We are faced with a kind of paradox, because Peter I, with his reforms—well, strictly speaking, over 20-plus years—tried to
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what happened after his death, he would probably have been distressed and likely bewildered, because indeed, a man had built such a machine, yet the result was political instability—to use our modern language—in the form of those very palace coups that toppled
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create in Russia what he himself called a "regular state," that is, an exemplary state machine that works with the precision of a Swiss watch, where every subject occupies their place and performs necessary actions based on state decrees and regulations. And to
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state—and Russia was, after all, an unlimited autocratic monarchy. And one of the cornerstones of any monarchical rule is the law of succession. It is essentially the constitution of any monarchy. Well, Russia had no proper law of succession. There was only
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receive the appropriate education for this. In fact, it is no coincidence that Peter I needed not just subjects, but educated subjects who knew how to do their jobs. That is the kind of machine Peter was building. And, frankly speaking, if he could have seen
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, a clash between two branches of the ruling house. It ended badly. With the Streltsy Uprising, as it is written in any textbook. That was the first swallow. Peter, as is well known, executed and destroyed the Streltsy in
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what happened after his death, he would probably have been distressed and likely bewildered, because indeed, a man had built such a machine, yet the result was political instability—to use our modern language—in the form of those very palace coups that toppled
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all likelihood, was killed in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The son Peter had declared his successor died. And for Peter, these final years were a terrible problem. Eventually, he enacted that infamous law of 1722, which essentially proclaimed lawlessness, meaning the sovereign's
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rulers and even the sovereigns themselves. And one would probably have to explain to Peter I that, in a way, he was partly to blame for this. He would likely have taken offense, but it remains true, because in a monarchical
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but essentially any member of the imperial family had the right to take the throne, which is actually unthinkable in any other monarchical power, for instance, France. And since, naturally, a kind of party or faction could form behind each of these members
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state—and Russia was, after all, an unlimited autocratic monarchy. And one of the cornerstones of any monarchical rule is the law of succession. It is essentially the constitution of any monarchy. Well, Russia had no proper law of succession. There was only
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own claimants. Another important moment was the emergence of the Imperial Guard . In any textbook, it is written that the guard in Russia was born under Peter, with the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments. But the fact is that the guard in Russia, under Peter
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tradition. The Romanovs either didn't want to or didn't get around to officially establishing such a law in the 17th century. Usually, the sovereign had an heir, he was declared as such, and everything was fine. But already in 1682, there was, so to speak,
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the state personnel system, where guard soldiers and officers were sent wherever there was a need to carry out some especially important task for which the existing state mechanism was insufficient. Therefore, guard soldiers and officers under Peter I and after
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a clash between two branches of the ruling house. It ended badly. With the Streltsy Uprising, as it is written in any textbook. That was the first swallow. Peter, as is well known, executed and destroyed the Streltsy in
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They traveled abroad on responsible assignments. Well, that is to say, they practically did everything that was needed at that moment, so to speak, when some urgent need for emergency action arose. As a result, the guard became a peculiar corporation of people
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every way possible. Yet, he still ended up with a problem regarding his own heir, who had become a stranger to the Emperor. How this story ended is well known. The heir renounced the throne, was later sentenced to death, and in
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The sovereign was their colonel, meaning it was almost a family. And these were people who were accustomed to, and realized, that they were making history. And it is no coincidence that after Peter's death, it was these people who began to wonder: "Who is on
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all likelihood, was killed in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The son Peter had declared his successor died. And for Peter, these final years were a terrible problem. Eventually, he enacted that infamous law of 1722, which essentially proclaimed lawlessness, meaning the sovereign's
Speaker A
Peter's death, will essentially force the senators and ministers to proclaim Peter's wife, Catherine I, as Empress; she was a truly illiterate housewife, but she was their colonel. Later, the Guards will help Anna Ioannovna, Peter I's niece, to cancel the conditions of
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right to appoint anyone, I emphasize, anyone, as his successor. And this really had serious repercussions after the death of Peter I, when it turned out that, in essence (well, let's not count people off the street, obviously they didn't lay claim to the throne),
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emperor and his mother, the regent Anna Leopoldovna. And finally, in 1762, the Guard will refuse obedience to Emperor Peter III and proclaim Catherine II as Empress. This role of the Guard runs through this entire era. There is one
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but essentially any member of the imperial family had the right to take the throne, which is actually unthinkable in any other monarchical power, for instance, France. And since, naturally, a kind of party or faction could form behind each of these members,
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always prepared, because Peter was, after all, a universal figure—a man who mastered either twelve or fourteen professions, who could professionally delve into dozens of problems, if you read his decrees. It is, in general, very clear that they were written by a
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as they were called in the 18th century, which would then push one claimant or another toward power. This is one of the most important reasons for what began after Peter's death. The struggle of court factions with their
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tsarevna Anna Ioannovna, the normal princess Elizabeth Petrovna; they are not stupid, they are sometimes even quite strong-willed, determined people.
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own claimants. Another important moment was the emergence of the Imperial Guard. In any textbook, it is written that the guard in Russia was born under Peter, with the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments. But the fact is that the guard in Russia, under Peter
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prepared them to rule the country yet. And for such people, governing the country is much more difficult. Hence, such a person absolutely needs advisors , ministers, and assistants around them . And here arises a sufficiently serious struggle between various
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and after him, was not just elite military units that selected the most energetic officers and soldiers, and not just units that fought—and the guard did fight during the Northern War. But it was also a unique resource for
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is impossible, because in this way the emperor would, as it were, limit himself and his power. And this means a limitation of autocracy. No one can agree to this. And, finally, Russia in the 18th century becomes a great
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the state personnel system, where guard soldiers and officers were sent wherever there was a need to carry out some especially important task for which the existing state mechanism was insufficient. Therefore, guard soldiers and officers under Peter I and after
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Under Peter, it was 200,000; under Catherine II, it was already 400,000. These are very serious forces. But that is not the only point. The fact is that in the 15th century, for example, when an international problem was being
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him did everything. They collected taxes, they recruited soldiers for the new army, and they conducted investigations into all sorts of especially important state matters.
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the French King, it was of vital importance to both of them what position the St. Petersburg court would take. It became critically important because whose side the diplomacy of this court would take, along with its two-hundred-thousand-strong army, became a fundamental issue. And,
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They traveled abroad on responsible assignments. Well, that is to say, they practically did everything that was needed at that moment, so to speak, when some urgent need for emergency action arose. As a result, the guard became a peculiar corporation of people
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Foreign ambassadors began to appear at the St. Petersburg court. These were not random people who, as before, arrived for a couple of weeks or a month to fulfill a specific task and then left. These were people whose task
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who didn't just fight—they weren't just military personnel, but people who felt their involvement in state affairs. Peter was the colonel of the guard, and they were his direct subordinates.
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opportunity to offer Russia something as a partner or ally, official or unofficial, in this case. If that doesn't work, there is another way: to influence a certain party to replace the existing government, sometimes through very illegitimate means, as we
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The sovereign was their colonel, meaning it was almost a family. And these were people who were accustomed to, and realized, that they were making history. And it is no coincidence that after Peter's death, it was these people who began to wonder: "Who is on
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, or by offering special conditions to try to change policy. This would be yet another factor that would become new for Russia in the 15th century. It would have to adapt to it. And in the end, this whole combination would
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the throne? And why is this specific figure on the throne and not another?" In other words, these people began to participate in politics. At first, it will be the Guards, the high-ranking Guard officers. It is they who, after
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onto it. You could become a minister, but you never knew if you would be sent into exile in Siberia tomorrow. But this creates a certain kind of—how should I put it—a certain interest, perhaps, in this era, in its palace
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Peter's death, will essentially force the senators and ministers to proclaim Peter's wife, Catherine I, as Empress; she was a truly illiterate housewife, but she was their colonel. Later, the Guards will help Anna Ioannovna, Peter I's niece, to cancel the conditions of
Topics:Russian historypalace coupsPeter the GreatImperial Guardsuccession crisisCatherine the Great18th century RussiaStreltsy UprisingautocracyRomanov dynasty
