By all accounts, Catherine II (the Great) did not intend to be succeeded by her son Paul; rather, she planned for Paul’s son Alexander, her grandson, to become tsar and emperor when she passed from this earth. However, after Catherine died, or so the story goes, Paul was first on the scene in his mother’s office and was able to locate and destroy her will and testament.
In the absence of any documentary evidence of Catherine’s wishes, Paul, as the only son of Catherine and her husband, Peter III, could logically and legally assert his claim to be the rightful Romanov heir to Russia’s throne. Fortunately for Paul, his son Alexander made no attempt to challenge this claim.
As is evident in the timeline, Paul’s reign was short-lived, lasting only from 1796 to 1801. The brevity of his rule was due largely to the tumult that characterized it. To put it nicely, Paul was eccentric and demanding of those whom he ruled; more bluntly, one historian describes him as a “wildly insane despot” (Lowe 1895, 3).
Paul clearly was a troubled individual. His mother Catherine had claimed that he was not really the son of Peter III; however, Paul’s physical and psychological resemblance to Peter left little doubt about his parentage. Still, having his own mother make such a claim publicly presumably increased the tension that already existed between them.
Another sign of familial dysfunction had been Catherine’s taking control of Paul’s sons, Alexander and Constantine. Shoving Paul to the side, Catherine raised and nurtured his two sons as she wanted. It should be no surprise, then, that Paul neither fit in well nor got along with others.
Paul’s reign came to a sudden and sad end when certain members of the nobility, military, and palace staff decided that enough was enough. On the night of 23 March 1801, the conspirators came for Paul in his bedroom—hearing them approach, he hid behind a curtain. When they spied him, they drug him out and, as Charles Lowe recounts, “forced him to abdicate—strangling him to death in the process” (1895, 4). Paul’s son Alexander knew of the planned coup but claimed afterward that he had no idea that the revolt would end in his father’s death. That might be true, but Alexander no doubt knew that his own grandfather Peter III had conveniently died in custody when Catherine removed him from power. In other words, he should have known how it would all turn out.
As is evident in the timeline, Paul’s reign was short-lived, lasting only from 1796 to 1801. The brevity of his rule was due largely to the tumult that characterized it. To put it nicely, Paul was eccentric and demanding of those whom he ruled; more bluntly, one historian describes him as a “wildly insane despot” (Lowe 1895, 3).
Paul clearly was a troubled individual. His mother Catherine had claimed that he was not really the son of Peter III; however, Paul’s physical and psychological resemblance to Peter left little doubt about his parentage. Still, having his own mother make such a claim publicly presumably increased the tension that already existed between them.
Another sign of familial dysfunction had been Catherine’s taking control of Paul’s sons, Alexander and Constantine. Shoving Paul to the side, Catherine raised and nurtured his two sons as she wanted. It should be no surprise, then, that Paul neither fit in well nor got along with others.
Paul’s reign came to a sudden and sad end when certain members of the nobility, military, and palace staff decided that enough was enough. On the night of 23 March 1801, the conspirators came for Paul in his bedroom—hearing them approach, he hid behind a curtain. When they spied him, they drug him out and, as Charles Lowe recounts, “forced him to abdicate—strangling him to death in the process” (1895, 4). Paul’s son Alexander knew of the planned coup but claimed afterward that he had no idea that the revolt would end in his father’s death. That might be true, but Alexander no doubt knew that his own grandfather Peter III had conveniently died in custody when Catherine removed him from power. In other words, he should have known how it would all turn out.
Although Paul reigned for only five years, he had a significant effect on the Mennonite experience in Russia. On 6 September 1800 Paul both formalized and expanded the promises that Catherine’s agent Potemkin had made to Mennonite settlers several decades earlier. Given the importance of this grant to Russian Mennonite history, it is worth quoting in full:
History does not remember Paul I with much fondness or respect, but for Mennonites he proved to be a kind and consequential ruler who created the conditions for a century of prosperity on the Russian steppes.
Works Cited
Lowe, Charles. 1895. Alexander III of Russia. New York: Macmillan.
Charter of Privileges awarded to the Mennonites on September 8th, 1800.
We, Paul I, by the grace of God Emperor and Autocrat of aIl Russia.
Condescending to the petition of the Mennonites settled in the New Russian government, whose excellent industry and morality may, according to the testimony of the authorities, be held up as a model to the foreigners settled there and thereby deserve special consideration, now therefore with this Imperial Charter We most graciously wish not only to confirm aIl their rights and advantages specified in the preliminary agreement concluded with them, but, in order to stimulate their industry and concern in agriculture even more, to grant them also other advantages, as follows:
1. We confirm the liberty to practice their religion according to their tenets and customs as promised them and their descendants and most graciously permit them, when occasion demands it, to render the oath in courts according to their custom, consisting in a simple affirmation of the truth.
2. We confirm them in their incontestable and perpetually inheritable possession of the 65 desiatini of arable land assigned to each family, with the proviso, however, that under no condition may even the smallest portion of it be ceded to outsiders, sold, or any deeds be made in regard to it without the permission of the authorities set over them.
3. To aIl Mennonites now residing in Russia and to aIl those who come to Russia in the future, We most graciously grant permission to erect factories in villages and towns and to establish such trades as may be necessary for them; also to trade, to enter guilds and trade corporations, and to sell their products without hindrance according to the applicable laws of the land.
4. By right of ownership We permit the Mennonites to enjoy aIl the fruits of their land and fishing, to brew beer and vinegar, to distill corn brandy, not only for their own consumption, but also for retail sale on their land.
5. On the land belonging to the Mennonites We forbid outsiders to build boarding houses and taverns and leaseholders to sell wine and to operate saloons without their permission.
6. We assure them with Our Imperial word that none of the Mennonites now settled and those who may settle in the future nor their children and descendants will ever be taken and entered into military service without their own desire to do so.
7. We exempt aIl their villages and houses from all sorts of quartering, except when the troops march through, in which case they will observe the rules of quartering. We also discharge them from aIl crown labors, with the condition, however, that they properly maintain the bridges, ferries, and roads on their lands and also participate in the general maintenance of the mails.
8. We most graciously grant all Mennonites and their descendants complete liberty and authority to dispose of their personal property according to each one’s free will, with the exception of the land assigned to them by the crown. Should anyone, after having paid all his debts, wish to leave Russia with all his possessions, he then must pay three years’ taxes in advance for the property he has acquired in Russia, as declared upon conscience by him and by the village authorities. The property of a deceased whose relatives and heirs live abroad, which property according to Mennonite custom must be divided among those persons, is to be disposed of in a similar manner. The villages are given the liberty to appoint guardians according to their custom over the property of minor orphans.
9. We confirm the ten years’ exemption from taxes granted them previously, extending this privilege also to those who in the future may wish to settle in the New Russian government. In view of the fact, however, that an inspection found them in meager circumstances because of several years of crop failure and decrease of animals and because of their crowded condition in the Khortitsa region, it is proposed to transfer several families to other lands. Therefore, in consideration of their poverty and want We most graciously extend the former ten-year period of exemption for another five years to those who remain in the previous places and for another ten years to those who will be transferred. After the expiration of this period they shall pay for each of their 65 desiatini fifteen kopecks per year but be exempted from the payment of all other taxes. The loan extended to them, however, must he repaid in equal parts, in ten years by those who remain and within twenty years by those who are moved.
10. In conclusion of this Our Imperial Charter concerning the rights and advantages of the Mennonites, granted to them most graciously, We order all our military and civil authorities and government offices not only to leave these Mennonites and their descendants in unmolested enjoyment of their houses, lands, and other possessions, not to hinder them in the enjoyment of the privileges granted to them, but also to show them in all cases every assistance and protection. (Urry 1989, 282–84, modified)
We, Paul I, by the grace of God Emperor and Autocrat of aIl Russia.
Condescending to the petition of the Mennonites settled in the New Russian government, whose excellent industry and morality may, according to the testimony of the authorities, be held up as a model to the foreigners settled there and thereby deserve special consideration, now therefore with this Imperial Charter We most graciously wish not only to confirm aIl their rights and advantages specified in the preliminary agreement concluded with them, but, in order to stimulate their industry and concern in agriculture even more, to grant them also other advantages, as follows:
1. We confirm the liberty to practice their religion according to their tenets and customs as promised them and their descendants and most graciously permit them, when occasion demands it, to render the oath in courts according to their custom, consisting in a simple affirmation of the truth.
2. We confirm them in their incontestable and perpetually inheritable possession of the 65 desiatini of arable land assigned to each family, with the proviso, however, that under no condition may even the smallest portion of it be ceded to outsiders, sold, or any deeds be made in regard to it without the permission of the authorities set over them.
3. To aIl Mennonites now residing in Russia and to aIl those who come to Russia in the future, We most graciously grant permission to erect factories in villages and towns and to establish such trades as may be necessary for them; also to trade, to enter guilds and trade corporations, and to sell their products without hindrance according to the applicable laws of the land.
4. By right of ownership We permit the Mennonites to enjoy aIl the fruits of their land and fishing, to brew beer and vinegar, to distill corn brandy, not only for their own consumption, but also for retail sale on their land.
5. On the land belonging to the Mennonites We forbid outsiders to build boarding houses and taverns and leaseholders to sell wine and to operate saloons without their permission.
6. We assure them with Our Imperial word that none of the Mennonites now settled and those who may settle in the future nor their children and descendants will ever be taken and entered into military service without their own desire to do so.
7. We exempt aIl their villages and houses from all sorts of quartering, except when the troops march through, in which case they will observe the rules of quartering. We also discharge them from aIl crown labors, with the condition, however, that they properly maintain the bridges, ferries, and roads on their lands and also participate in the general maintenance of the mails.
8. We most graciously grant all Mennonites and their descendants complete liberty and authority to dispose of their personal property according to each one’s free will, with the exception of the land assigned to them by the crown. Should anyone, after having paid all his debts, wish to leave Russia with all his possessions, he then must pay three years’ taxes in advance for the property he has acquired in Russia, as declared upon conscience by him and by the village authorities. The property of a deceased whose relatives and heirs live abroad, which property according to Mennonite custom must be divided among those persons, is to be disposed of in a similar manner. The villages are given the liberty to appoint guardians according to their custom over the property of minor orphans.
9. We confirm the ten years’ exemption from taxes granted them previously, extending this privilege also to those who in the future may wish to settle in the New Russian government. In view of the fact, however, that an inspection found them in meager circumstances because of several years of crop failure and decrease of animals and because of their crowded condition in the Khortitsa region, it is proposed to transfer several families to other lands. Therefore, in consideration of their poverty and want We most graciously extend the former ten-year period of exemption for another five years to those who remain in the previous places and for another ten years to those who will be transferred. After the expiration of this period they shall pay for each of their 65 desiatini fifteen kopecks per year but be exempted from the payment of all other taxes. The loan extended to them, however, must he repaid in equal parts, in ten years by those who remain and within twenty years by those who are moved.
10. In conclusion of this Our Imperial Charter concerning the rights and advantages of the Mennonites, granted to them most graciously, We order all our military and civil authorities and government offices not only to leave these Mennonites and their descendants in unmolested enjoyment of their houses, lands, and other possessions, not to hinder them in the enjoyment of the privileges granted to them, but also to show them in all cases every assistance and protection. (Urry 1989, 282–84, modified)
History does not remember Paul I with much fondness or respect, but for Mennonites he proved to be a kind and consequential ruler who created the conditions for a century of prosperity on the Russian steppes.
Works Cited
Lowe, Charles. 1895. Alexander III of Russia. New York: Macmillan.
Urry, James. 1989. None but Saints: The Transformation of Mennonite Life in Russia 1789–1889. Winnipeg: Hyperion.
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