Catherine II and Pavel Petrovich: the last hours of the empress's life. Catherine II and her sex life

The old lady lived
Nice, by hearsay, prodigal.
Voltaire was the first friend,
Wrote prose, burned fleets,
And she died boarding a ship
A.S. Pushkin

Exactly 215 years ago, on November 17 (November 6, O.S.), 1796, Catherine the Second, the Empress and Autocrat of All Russia, Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod, the Queen of Kazan, the Queen of Astrakhan, the Queen of Siberia, the Grand Duchess of Pskov and Grand Duchess of Smolensk, Princess of Estland, Livonian, Korelsk, Tver, Yugorsk, Perm, Vyatka, Bulgarian and others, Empress and Grand Duchess of Novgorod Nizovsk lands, Chernigov, Ryazan, Rostov, Yaroslavl, Beloozersk and Oboryskaya, Udora, all The Sovereign and Empress of the Iveron lands, the Kartalin and Georgian Kings and the Kabardian lands, the Cherkassk and Mountain Princes and other hereditary Empress and Owner.

A rumor immediately spread among the people that Catherine II died while trying to have sexual relations with a stallion, which they allegedly tried to heap on her with ropes. Although there is not a single historical evidence of Catherine's "special" affection for horses, this rumor turned out to be quite persistent. In particular, this very episode became one of the scenes of the masterpiece of German cinema in 1983, from which, at the dawn of home video in the USSR, I began my acquaintance with the world cinema classics - the film "Catherine and Her Wild Stallions".

They were not the cause of death and injuries, allegedly received from fragments of a chamber pot, which fell apart under the empress's huge ass, which was the second rumor.
There was also a third false rumor, which has a truthful basis: the toilet room, in which Catherine II lost consciousness, was one of the first full-fledged toilets with running water in Europe, the "toilet seat" of which the Empress, not without humor, ordered to be made of the gilded ancient Polish throne of the Piast dynasty , covered with centuries of glorious history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. According to this rumor, the empress was found bleeding - she allegedly had a severe stab wound, which was stabbed from below. It was assumed that there was a Polish dwarf avenger inside the former throne, who allegedly struck the empress with a cleaver, after which he managed to safely leave the Winter Palace.
It remained unknown where such piquant stories came from. The rumor about the stallion most likely traces its history to revolutionary France, where the monarchy was unpopular, and similar gossip about horses was spread about Marie Antoinette. The rumor about a chamber pot could be successfully launched by Paul I, who was offended by his mother, whose courtiers were famous for their ability to dissolve gossip. Well, the rumor about the Polish avenger most likely has Polish roots - a more cynical and humorous abuse of the history of another state, like the Polish throne in the role of Catherine's toilet bowl, I don’t remember something.

There was also a fourth persistent rumor.

According to him, shortly before her death - November 13, 1796 - the empress was allegedly visited by a ghost in the form of herself. At night, the maids of honor, who were on duty at the door of Catherine's bedroom, saw that the empress, dressed in a night suit and holding a candle in her hands, was entering the throne room. Then they heard a call from the bedroom, which called the servant on duty. The ladies-in-waiting opened the doors and saw the Empress lying in bed. It turned out that she heard someone's footsteps and they prevented her from sleeping.
Upon learning of the strange vision, Catherine ordered to give herself to get dressed and, accompanied by her ladies-in-waiting, went to the throne room. There, in a hall illuminated by a greenish radiance, another Catherine appeared. She sat on the throne and was silent. The real empress managed to shout the order for the guards to open fire at the ghost, and fainted.

Whatever it was with the ghost, but on the morning of November 16, as usual, Catherine, getting out of bed and drinking coffee, went to the toilet room, and contrary to usual stayed there longer than usual. The Empress's valet on duty, Zakhar Zotov, sensing something unkind, quietly opened the door toilet room and with horror saw the body of Catherine sprawled on the floor. Her eyes were closed, her complexion was crimson, and wheezing came from her throat. The Empress was transferred to the bedchamber. When Catherine fell, she dislocated her leg, her body was so heavy that six room servants did not have enough strength to lift him onto the bed. Therefore, a red morocco mattress was laid on the floor and the dying empress was laid on it.
The Empress suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, in the terminology of the 18th century - “apoplexy”. According to the camera-furrier magazine - this kind of diary-chronicle of the life of Her Majesty, - “ suffering continued incessantly, sighing of the womb, wheezing, at times the eruption of dark phlegm from the larynx».
Despite the fact that Catherine did not regain consciousness, the chamber-fourier magazine reports that the empress was confessed as a confessor, communion of the holy mysteries and unctioned with oil by Metropolitan Gabriel. True, it remained unclear how a person lying in an unconscious state can confess and receive communion ...

Meanwhile, the doctors continued to conjure over the person who was lying motionless on what used to be Empress Catherine - her body: they applied spanish flies to her feet, put vomit powders into her mouth, and blew "bad blood" from her hand. But everything was in vain: the empress's face alternately turned crimson, then it was filled with a rosy blush, her chest and stomach constantly rose and fell, and the court lackeys wiped the phlegm flowing from her mouth, straightened her hands, then her head, then her legs.
Doctors predicted that death would occur at 3 o'clock the next day, and indeed, at this time, Catherine's pulse weakened noticeably. But her strong body continued to resist the impending death and held out until 9 o'clock in the evening, when the life-doctor Rogerson announced that the empress was coming to an end, and happy Paul, his wife, older children, the most influential dignitaries and room servants lined up on either side of the morocco mattress.

And at 9 hours 45 minutes in the afternoon Great Catherine sighed for the last time and, along with others, appeared before the judgment of the Almighty. For we will all be there: both those who have titles that occupy a whole paragraph, and those who do not have them at all ...
And here's what's interesting: three people were the most titled and powerful people in Catherine's Russia, but how they will die! Grigory Orlov is crazy, not knowing who he is and where he is. Grigory Potemkin is like a tramp, in the steppe, on a spread cloak near the road. And Catherine the Great - will begin to die on the "jolt", and finish without regaining consciousness on a mattress thrown on the floor.
I compared this to how calmly and in a dream Brezhnev, no less titled for his time, died and thought neither to the village nor to the city: "Damn, I don't want to die ..."

German leaven also helped Catherine in love affairs

Of course, in the era of corsets and lush fats, it was a little easier to hide unwanted pregnancies than it is now. Therefore, the piquant position, called at that time "on the demolition", remained unnoticed for the majority of curious close associates. But what about childbirth? The Russian empress should not have left the chambers of the palace without the knowledge of her husband, and it is completely impossible to conceal the fact of childbirth from Emperor Peter III, who lives in the same palace. The faithful valet Vasily Shkurin comes to the aid of Catherine II: when the contractions begin, he simply sets fire to his house.

Long virginity
On a fire in the house of a significant courtier, the emperor should appear according to etiquette, besides, he is a great hunter of such spectacles. In a word, while her husband gazed at the bustle of firefighters and the reflections of the flame in the night, Her Imperial Majesty safely gave birth to a child, the future Count Bobrinsky, whom she saw then only once in her life. History knows little about the meetings of the tsarina's bastard son with his real father Grigory Orlov, the favorite and handsome guardsman.
Catherine II herself claimed that if she was initially lucky with her husband, she would be faithful to him forever: “If Grand Duke I wanted to be loved, then it is not at all difficult for me - I was naturally inclined and accustomed to fulfilling my duties. " But the sixteen-year-old German princess got a young man as her legal wife, who loves to drink, then make a row and swear noisily, and more than anything else, play soldiers. The newlywed spent more than one night, standing in the bedchamber at the door with a gun, like a sentry - at this post she was periodically replaced by a husband inspired by unusual (that's for sure!) Fun. In addition, the young Pyotr Fedorovich was clearly not lucky from a physiological point of view: he simply was not able to enter into carnal relationships, and only an operation of an intimate kind, akin to circumcision, could save the situation.
Until the age of 23, Catherine generally remained a virgin, and it is not known what would have happened if the then Empress Elizabeth, worried about the long absence of an heir from the young couple, had not intervened in the matter. Surgical intervention in the physiology of the Grand Duke was carried out with her approval - and Pyotr Fedorovich could know the sweetness marriage relations... I could, but not really, apparently wanted to. His healthy and temperamental wife was thus simply doomed to adultery.

Who is the father?
Therefore, the piquant question - who was the natural father of Emperor Paul I, remains open. His outward resemblance to the official parent Peter III is obvious, but meanwhile Catherine herself admits that she gave birth to a child from her then lover Count Sergei Saltykov. Intimate "Memoirs" of the Empress long time were one of the most guarded palace secrets, but were published in the early twentieth century. Of course, Catherine did everything so that in the memory of the offspring her husband remained only stupid, ignorant and worthless. A woman can forgive a man for rudeness, an addiction to wine, stupidity and a complete lack of mind, finally, but not a lack of interest in herself. In this sense, a crowned person does not differ from a court seamstress or a laundress. The revenge of the former German princess was not long in coming - after the death of Elizabeth, the spouses Peter and Catherine were married to the kingdom, and the wife began to intrigue against her husband so actively that she would not have escaped exile, had the emperor been at least a little more far-sighted. But he had "now gulba, now firing," and for Catherine - long services in churches, obvious piety, kindness and respectful treatment - her authority at court and among the people grew.
She avenged her dislike on a tsarist scale - at first she seized the throne, having made a palace coup with the support of her lover Grigory Orlov and his brothers-guards. And then Peter III, who had renounced the crown, came to an end altogether - one of the drunk Orlov brothers nailed the arrested former emperor in a fight. Catherine will chide the murderer and punish him with exile to the Moscow estates. But in the history of her personal life, this will be the first and last case of outright revenge. The rest of the men who shared a bed with her received only estates, titles and wealth - even in those cases when the windy lover exchanged royal favor for a new, less high-ranking hobby.

Orlov
Why has her personal life been of great interest for so many centuries? After all, her successes in the role of autocrat are much more significant. An extraordinary personality and a far-sighted empress did for Russia as much as none of those who have ever adorned the throne of our Fatherland with their presence. Under her rule, Russia's population has doubled and incomes more than quadrupled. New cities arose and well-thought-out, effective legislation came into force. The army has almost doubled and the number of ships in the Russian fleet has tripled. The brilliant victories of the Russian commanders on land and admirals on the water led to the fact that the country's international prestige grew like never before. And all this was led by a woman, a German by birth, who turned out to be so wise that, having reached the desired throne, she put the benefit of her second homeland above everything else in the world.
Meanwhile, the legends about her sensuality surpass all conceivable and inconceivable fantasies. Was it true that positions were created at her court, the performers of which only selflessly tickled the autocratic feet or skillfully patted the highest buttocks? Well, if the queen found these sensations pleasant, then why not?
And she fell in love with selflessness and devotion. Her romance with Grigory Orlov lasted 11 years - under the roof of the imperial palace, in the era of more than free customs of the 18th century, a great light feeling found shelter. She refused the favorite only once, when he wanted to marry the empress. The angry Orlov at some point defiantly began to arrange a harem of his fans in Catherine's reception room. The Empress showed the highest female wisdom and did not notice her competitors. Well, the fewer the audience, the shorter the performance is, as you know.

Potemkin
Another long and no less stormy romance took the empress into its circulation when she was 43. Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin, the son of a Smolensk nobleman, became her chosen one. Swearing loyalty to the empress through the grave, he went to the monastery and left its walls only in exchange for a promise to become the official favorite of Catherine. He was not stupid, calculating and always remembered the distance separating him and the crowned beloved. Potemkin became an irreplaceable adviser, moreover, sincerely advocating for the political and economic success of the policy of the Empress Mother. Endowed for his services with immense powers and no less impressive riches, he managed to give up his place on the royal bed to his young successors without a fight. At the same time, he showed such ingenuity that he became Catherine's most important adviser in matters of a delicate kind.
Mentality, as you know, determines a lot, even if it did not exist as a lexical concept in that distant era. The German origin of the autocrat became the reason for such a "Deutschen Ordnung" in her personal life that the compilers of court etiquette at the most brilliant courts of Europe could envy her. The queen was not ascetic by nature, and she did not strive for this - it was easier for her to streamline love relationships than to abandon them. Everything that amenable to systematization (especially the initial stage, the first steps when a candidate entered the position of a favorite) was clearly regulated once and for all.
The lucky man who liked the empress first went to see her personal doctor for examination - he confirmed that the potential favorite was healthy and there were no signs of diseases of a known kind. After the first important step the second was coming - a test of the man's qualities and endurance of the candidate: sometimes for three days a valiant daring was tested. For this purpose, the Empress had a special confidential maid of honor - unattractive (why enter into a dangerous temptation young man?), but also a devotee. And when there was no doubt about the suitability of the chosen one, he was moved into special apartments in the palace, right above the Empress's chambers. From now on, he and the royal personage were connected by a secret spiral staircase, passionate nights and "material signs of non-material relations": a uniform with a diamond agraph, a lifting or starting payment of 100 thousand rubles, full support and the honorary position of an adjutant wing.

Light crash
In this way, over 13 years at a high combat post, about 16 favorites were replaced - the system worked perfectly. However, sometimes the strict and well-thought-out German order was violated by unpredictable outbursts inherent in the Russian soul. For example, one of the aide-de-camp, Mr. Rimsky-Korsakov, disregarded the royal favor and one day returned to the arms of Mrs. Bruce, who at the second stage most responsibly tested his male endurance. Apparently, neither money nor a diamond agraph could displace the charm of this exam from the memory of the favorite. By virtue of her character and self-esteem, Catherine did not return the anemic, but immediately changed the attractive young lady-in-waiting for an older and less attractive person.
Concerns about government, of course, were in the first place for the autocrat. It is no coincidence that the day of the crowned person was clearly planned. Getting up at six in the morning, the strongest coffee with cream and paperwork until nine. Then the reception of speakers. Lunch at about one o'clock in the afternoon - without any special frills, if it was not about receiving invited guests. Boiled beef with pickles and berry juice - these simple dishes satisfied the empress's tastes. At an older age, she could add a glass of Madeira or Rhine wine to her dinner. Then again the affairs of the empire - the working day lasted until four hours. And only after the state issues were over, she allowed herself a rest - studying the collections of fine arts or receptions in the Hermitage, and in the evening a ball or a performance. The full-scale gala dinner was served on special occasions, and if Catherine was present at it, then she did not eat anything - that is what autocratic will and endurance mean. At ten o'clock the empress retired to her chambers - she had something to do.

However, the trend
"I praise loudly, but I condemn in an undertone" - this rule wise woman was guided both in her imperial policy and in her personal life. She never humiliated the chosen ones, did not demand the impossible from them and forgave the shortcomings and weaknesses of character with royal generosity. When Alexander Dmitriev-Mamonov, who was in power, was caught unawares in the arms of the young princess Shcherbatova, the autocrat personally asked the windy man about the reasons for the betrayal. The reason turned out to be good - love. Catherine blessed the marriage of the young, endowed the former favorite with wealth and was present at the dressing of the bride for the crown. Her endurance can be envied, although, however, female curiosity is also a strong factor. And then the crowned patroness graciously volunteered to attach one of the details of the wedding dress and ... pricked the bride with a pin. But that's all. One pinprick in exchange for treason and a frank little flattering declaration of love for a younger rival!

Arbeiten!
Many temporary workers sought to stay under Catherine as long as possible - the magic of the proximity to the throne and the opportunity to live on a more grand scale are so attractive. To make an indelible impression on the Empress, the favorites resorted to the "Viagra" of the 18th century - the Span fly. Its book name is "stimulant cantarides", it is a potent preparation of natural origin - powdered dried bugs. The tincture or pills were applied one hour before the desired results and had a magical effect. But there was also a serious drawback of the drug - its excessive use impaired the function of the kidneys, therefore it was not recommended to resort to the Spaniard fly more than once every 5-7 days. The handsome Count Lanskoy, who neglected the restrictions, with whom the autocrat was in love, died after two years of obvious abuse of the miracle cure.
Of course, the age of enlightened absolutism was far from highly moral attitudes, but carnal pleasures were cultivated and sung everywhere. What can not be said about the means of protection - their level of use both in Europe and in snowy Russia left much to be desired. Moreover, this applied to both the lower and upper classes. Prototypes of current contraceptives - cakes made from bovine or fish bladders - did not really save either from unwanted pregnancy or from even less desirable diseases. They were fragile, they were torn every now and then and were expensive. Therefore, there were a great many illegitimate children, as well as the corresponding relationships. Catherine was no exception to the rule - she had a son from Grigory Orlov, a daughter from Potemkin and other unwanted children, which, apparently, the empress was not interested in.
But let's not blame her for forgetfulness, frivolity or heartlessness - in fact, this woman belonged primarily to the state and only then to herself. It's just that, even in the era of the most violent hobbies, she always knew how to prioritize - a quality that is rare in men and even more rare in women. And truly invaluable for the person who runs the country.

Not a royal finish
Catherine died when she was 68 years old, in the 40th year of her reign. The exact date of her death in 1787 was predicted by the Tula peasant Vasiliev, who remained in the memory of his descendants as the soothsayer Abel. For describing the unpleasant details of this death, he was imprisoned in a fortress.
The queen could not be called a healthy woman. She spent her childhood in the cold unheated stone rooms of a medieval castle. The princess was fed no better than the courtyard girl. With the only difference that they were still tightly tightened into a corset. She arrived in Russia as a thin, pale teenager with obvious signs of pulmonary insufficiency and thyroid problems. Years later, when Catherine had become corroded and took on the form of a well-nourished woman, doctors still suspected that she had consumption.
Numerous births did not add to the health of the queen. And how many babies did she throw out, because she had to hide crazy pregnancies, pulling in all ways.
One can only guess what diseases this outstanding woman suffered from, whose list of lovers consists of 21 items (and almost all of them are military, marching people and known for promiscuity), not counting references to periods of especially active sex life. And shameless diseases in those years were treated with mercury.
Like many who starved in her youth, the mature Catherine compensated for the past hardships with an excessive passion for food. Heavy and swollen, she had already moved with difficulty for several years before her death, not without outside help... The stairs became an insurmountable obstacle for her.
By official version On November 6, 1796, after a morning conversation over a cup of coffee with her lover Zubov (he became a favorite at 22, when Catherine turned 61, and stayed in this position for 7 years) and classes with secretaries, the already dressed queen went to the dressing room and ten minutes from there did not come out. She was found unconscious, paralyzed. A few hours later, doctors pronounced death from apoplectic stroke.
In fact, in the dressing room, behind a screen, there was a toilet with a pot, on which the queen was planted every morning, who suffered constipation, indolence of the stomach and hemorrhoids as punishment for gluttony. The procedure sometimes took at least an hour. The fact that the royal Catherine would find her death, pushing her strength, in a latrine, was predicted by the monk Abel.
Even during her lifetime, the queen wrote herself an epitaph: “Here lies Catherine II ... Fourteen years old, she had a threefold intention - to please her husband (whom she later“ ordered ”. - Ed.), Elizabeth and the people ... Merciful, courteous, by nature cheerful, with a republican soul and with kind heart, she had friends. It was easy for her to work, she loved art and being in public. "

Historical Myths: The Death of Catherine the Great

Myths

1. Catherine was crushed by a horse, while trying to engage in copulation with him (usually indicate a rupture of the harness and a breakdown of the lifting mechanism).
2. Catherine died on the toilet.

Truth

Catherine knew how to stay in bed from illness, and there was nothing in this at least somehow connected with horses (there was no attempt to have sex with a horse at all).

How did these myths come about?

The death of Catherine II the Great while attempting to have sex with a horse is the most vicious myth that is whispered on schoolyards in the Western world. And it's a shame that one of the most powerful and interesting women in history is known as an indiscriminate person, and the combination of vicious rudeness and corresponding strangeness makes this an excellent slander.

But if Catherine did not die during sex with a horse (I repeat: this could not be at all), then where did such a myth come from?

In past centuries, the most in a simple way verbally annoying their female enemies was sex. Marie Antoinette, the hated Queen of France, has been exposed to a lot of obscene rumors about her sexual perversions, which cause shame and cannot be published here. There have always been a lot of rumors around Catherine the Great about her sex life, but her insatiable sexual appetites, rather modest by today's standards, were quite inflated. Historians believe that the myth about Catherine originated in France shortly after her death among high-ranking nobles who tried to blacken the life of the empress.

Portrait of Catherine II on horseback. Artist Vigilius Eriksen (clickable)

The toilet bowl myth

However, in recent years, another myth has emerged. After a little scrutiny of the information on the Web, you can find pages that refute the death of Catherine because of the horse, while it is proved that the Great Empress died on the toilet. Mostly such sites spread another myth that Catherine was too fat, that she even had to break down walls to get her body (this gossip was also born by Catherine's enemies of those times). However, the toilet is prominent. Moreover, many quote lines from the biography of Catherine John Alexander:

"After nine o'clock in the evening, the butler Zakhar Zotov, not receiving the call he was waiting for, looked into the Empress's bedroom, but saw no one there. In the adjoining study, he found the Empress lying on the floor. With two comrades, Zotov tried to help her get up, but she just opened her eyes, before letting out a faint groan, and fell into an unconscious state, from which she never came out. " (Page 324, Catherine the Great by John T. Alexandra, Oxford, 1989)

If you interpret the word "closet" (office) as "water closet" (another synonym for the word toilet), then the quote seems quite convincing. Unfortunately, this "fact" does not correspond to reality, but is only a pathetic irony: the toilet is a fairly common place to die, in truth, but still very humiliating, especially for the Great Empress.

Truth

Catherine may not have regained consciousness after the fall, but she still did not die. John Alexander's book (rarely quoted in whole paragraphs) describes how Catherine lay in her bed, how doctors tried to save her body, and the priests who prayed her soul. She was constantly breakin 'from pain, recurrent convulsions caused the strongest experiences in her loved ones. About 12 hours had already passed since Zotov found her at nine o'clock in the evening, when Catherine died of natural causes in her bed, surrounded by friends and nurses.

The seducer must act swiftly and assertively so that the lady, stunned by his onslaught, regained consciousness only after ... Five years before her death, a tempting idea visited Catherine the Great. General Protasov, the educator of her beloved grandson Alexander, informed the empress that alarming changes were revealed in the young man's behavior: he was looking for female company and was clearly showing a premature interest in the bodily forms of his interlocutors.

Perfectly! - Ekaterina exclaimed. - We must immediately teach him to swing! However, - here she looked skeptically at the general, - in this subject you are hardly skillful ...

The word "swing" in the reign of Catherine meant quite certain intimate relationships. It even entered the literature, replacing the description of "those delights that are born from voluptuousness." But the Empress looked further. Alexander is the future owner of the Russian land, he must surpass his subjects not only with the wisdom of the sovereign, but also with secret virtues that make the gentleman irresistible and desirable. She already knew how important at times victories were won, won not on the battlefield, but by those who usually do not have witnesses - unless the footman slumbering outside the bedroom door hears some sounds ...

In short, Catherine called on her beloved and, I must say, obedient grandson, floridly thought out loud about the gaps in upbringing, asking in conclusion about a personal favor - to take carefully the lessons of her appointed mentor.

The maid of honor, the mentor, was over forty, but the diminutiveness of the figure and the puppetry of the face concealed this circumstance. By candlelight, she generally looked like a teenage girl with a magnificent, precocious bust.

The lady enjoyed the special confidence of the queen. Every time, when tenderness for another handsome man from the palace guard flashed in Catherine's heart, she nodded to the maid of honor and sighed: "Ah, if I could hope for your little friendly service!" And on the same night, the lady-in-waiting, having got the guard in bed, arranged for him a frantic exam on the strength of the members, the indomitability of temperament and the pleasantness of manners. Almost all the favorites, before entering the Empress's chambers, underwent such a test.

And now the heir to the throne has been handed over to the care of a highly experienced examiner. Believing that the purpose of the lessons was explained to him, which was in no way possible without practical training, the lady nevertheless began from afar:

The seducer must act swiftly and assertively, she said, adjusting the rings on her thin, dry fingers, so that the girl, stunned by the onslaught, would come to her senses only after ...

And there are examples of this? - Alexander inquired busily.

Of course.

She decided to tell the young man the story of his father - Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, son of Catherine. The Empress herself was hostile to her offspring; naturally, her entourage, too, and therefore at every opportunity, Paul was exposed in a funny light. The story that happened to him gave a similar reason.

That summer, Catherine the Great decided to marry Paul to Wilhelmina, the daughter of the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. For the bride and her relatives, a squadron was equipped, one of the frigates of which was commanded by Count Andrei Razumovsky. He was two years older than Paul, managed to attend a course at the University of Strassburg and received a military education in England, serving in the Royal Navy. He completely charmed the Grand Duke, and he, returning with the Darmstadt family to St. Petersburg on the count's frigate, enthusiastically told Captain Razumovsky about his love for Wilhelmina and her ardent reciprocal feeling, about invisible spiritual threads connecting him with the princess, about long intelligent conversations and the coincidence of views on the nature of marriage and the sanctity of family ties ...

You, count, are my friend, and therefore answer honestly - the happy groom asked, - have you ever met a purer, more chaste and at the same time proud creature?

It never happened, - the count confessed. Upon arrival in the capital, Wilhelmina converted to Orthodoxy, now her name was Natalya Alekseevna. They married Paul. And after three years grand duchess passed away. During childbirth. From the casket of the deceased, Catherine the Great took out a bundle of letters from Razumovsky, which confirmed that Count Andrei enjoyed extraordinary success with the ladies, whose delights he enjoyed, regardless of the rules of strict morality. And the letters also testified: the captain there, on the ship, won not only the heart of the Tsarevich's bride - to mutual pleasure, all subsequent years they remained insatiable lovers.

The empress "presented" these epistols to the inconsolable widower and reproached: “Do you remember when I took you to the monastery? Do you remember how beautiful the nuns were there? I then specially chose them to teach you how to swing. If you hadn't refused, maybe everything would have turned out differently ... "

The lady-in-waiting, experienced in intrigues, caught herself in time - she was careful not to tell her son about her father's love embarrassment, not to make an enemy accidentally! The blessing of stories implicated in risky fornication is in abundance in the annals of the Russian court. Well, let’s say, isn’t it funny the episode attributed to the faithful adjutant of Peter the Great - the Frenchman Nikita Villeboa? “The most charming curiosity! - the maid of honor smiled, watching the expression in Alexander's eyes. - Once Peter Alekseevich, being in Strelna, sent officer Vilboa from there to Kronstadt, where Catherine the First was quartered. It was required to deliver her some urgent message ... "

The day was frosty, and Vilboa, so as not to freeze, took a bottle of vodka with him, sat in the sleigh and set off. While I was driving, I finished the bottle. Here is the palace. He was led into a hotly heated room, ordered to wait for the queen to be awakened. And then the adjutant got lucky. He was drunk at once and so much so that, finding himself near the bed of the still sleepy Empress, scattered on the feather bed, completely forgot why he was here. He saw a gorgeous naked woman and decided to prove his admiration for her. Catherine in vain called the servant - she, as usual, hesitated, and Vilboa, as a man quick in thoughts and actions, managed to express his adoration in a very unequivocal way, after which he fell to the floor and fell asleep.

The impudent person, of course, was punished? - Alexander specified.

The next day he remembered nothing. However, he was chained and exiled to hard labor. Tsar Peter forgave the poor man: they say, he, such a beast, did not know what he was doing! And six months later, Catherine also took mercy, the Frenchman was returned to the service ...

The writers of the Russian court did not record the delicate fact whether Alexander was trained by a trouble-free maid of honor, whether the plan of Catherine the Great came true. Most likely not, or the student turned out to be mediocre. Because when the crowned grandmother married her beloved grandson to the Baden princess Louise, renamed Elizabeth, he soon complained to Catherine: they say, your favorite Platon Zubov does not give my wife a pass. Platon Zubov was immediately pacified. But next to the slender, blue-eyed Elizabeth, captivating everyone with her grace and intelligence, a young Polish aristocrat Adam Czartorizki, a poet wandering around Europe, appeared. Alexander liked him, but Elizabeth liked him even more, which was instantly noticed by those around her. Elizabeth was angry, as soon as her husband approached her to kiss or caress her, she was openly rude ... and nevertheless, she gave birth. The newborn was shown to Emperor Paul, who succeeded Catherine the Great on the throne, and he, seeing the baby, was overly surprised.

Madam, is it possible, ”he puzzled the lady of state Lieven, who had brought the child,“ so that the husband of the blonde and the wife of the blonde had a black baby?

Sovereign, - answered the resourceful lady of the state, - God is almighty.

Was Paul I's answer satisfying? As he walked away, he muttered: "She reminds me of someone ..." And he probably would have remembered if Prince Czartorizhsky had not left the capital at the same time. Well, the black-haired girl died after that.

Well, we are all mortal: the great harlot Catherine II died, Paul I died (a violent death), but life triumphs. And again Elizabeth, now the wife of the emperor, presents Alexander with a daughter. Alexander is not at all happy, moreover, he is indignant when his mother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, chirps over the cradle: "Oh, what a lovely child!"

One of the biographers of Alexander Pavlovich explains: a certain Alexei Okhotnikov, the captain of the cavalry regiment, appearing at court balls, did not take his eyes off Elizabeth. She brought him closer to her, and in April she felt the signs of pregnancy. In November, her second daughter was born. The girl's father was the captain of the Hunters. A month before Elizabeth was relieved of her burden, Alexey Okhotnikov was stabbed to death with a dagger while leaving the theater. The killer could not be caught.

The sad fate of the captain, who was quickly forgotten, did not disturb anyone. However, they started talking about him again at the beginning of the last century in connection with the good news - Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna finally, after four daughters, the Lord gave an heir! For this, what they did not do! We went to holy places, invited healers and whoopers, hypnotists and holy fools, spiritualists and occultists ... And now - happiness!

And happiness turned out to be with a bitter taste. In the foreign press, notes flashed that Tsarevich Alexei strikingly resembles Orlov's aide-de-camp, who met the queen even when she was Princess Alice of Hesse, and later accompanied her on trips across Russia. And the court wits inadvertently joked:

"As soon as General Orlov got down to business, the boy was born right away ..." Whether there was even a grain of truth in the hints is difficult to find out for a long time, but it is certain that Orlov was hastily sent abroad and in the train carriage he suddenly died. "From consumption", - domestic journalists sarcastically. "He was poisoned!"- stated the French newspapers. "He was ordered to poison himself!"- said people close to the highest circles. The book "Secrets of the Russian Court", published in Paris, provided evidence of the violent death of the general and even the names of the executors of the seemingly secret sentence.

It was in this situation that the name of the captain Okhotnikov emerged from oblivion, to whom the hired killer was sent, according to rumors, by the Grand Duke Constantine. But not for that he sent to avenge the outraged honor of his brother Alexander, for the shadow cast on the proud family of the Romanovs' house. He, as they said, himself coveted the charms of the graceful Elizabeth, and she, you see, preferred a simple captain.

Well, from love to hate - one step. As well as from great to ridiculous.

Vladimir Svirin

Conspiracy Revealed! We are lost! - with such an exclamation Princess Vorontsova-Dashkova burst into Catherine's bedroom and froze on the threshold. The Empress washed her lace cuffs in a pelvis.

- Empress, what are you doing ?!

Can't you see I'm doing my laundry. What surprises you? I was not being prepared for a Russian empress, but, God forbid, for the wife of some German prince. Therefore, they taught to wash and cook.

Future empress of the huge Russian empire, Catherine the Great was born not in a luxurious palace, but in an ordinary German house and received a bourgeois education: she was really taught to clean and cook. Her father, Prince Christian Augustus, was younger brother a sovereign German prince, but due to a constant lack of money he was forced to take up the service. And Sophia-Augusta-Frederica-Emilia, as Catherine was called in childhood, despite her royal origin, played in the city square with the children of burghers, received slaps from her mother for poorly polished cauldrons and respectfully kissed the hem of the dress of the wives of rich townspeople, if they entered House. Catherine's mother, John Elisabeth, was a domineering and riotous woman. It was even rumored that the real father of Catherine was none other than Frederick the Great himself. He also proposed the candidacy of the young princess Sofikhen to the Russian heir to the throne, Peter, when he heard a rumor that Empress Elizaveta Petrovna was looking for a bride for her nephew, to whom she intended to leave the throne.

So the little German princess from the dirty city streets got into the Russian imperial palace shining with gold. Having received the name Catherine in baptism, the future wife of the heir to the throne began to study with the best court teachers and fabulously succeeded not only in Russian, but also in the art of flirting. Inherited from his mother indefatigable sexy temperament, Catherine used her seduction at the Russian court. Even before the wedding, she flirted so openly with the court don Juan Andrei Chernyshev that, in order to avoid rumors, Elizabeth was forced to send the poor count abroad.

As soon as Catherine turned sixteen, Elizaveta Petrovna hastened to marry the German princess with Peter, making it clear to her that her only duty is to give birth to an heir. After the wedding and a magnificent ball, the young were finally taken to the marriage chambers. But Catherine woke up, as she went to bed - a virgin. Peter remained cold to her both on their wedding night and for many months after. Some seek the reasons for this attitude towards their spouse in Peter's infantilism and dementia, others in his tragic love.

Peter fell in love with the maid of honor Natalia Lopukhina, whose mother was Elizabeth's personal enemy. Lopukhina Sr. was Anna Ioannovna's beloved state lady and in every possible way pleased the empress, humiliating her hated daughter-in-law, Tsarevna Elizabeth. A historical anecdote has been preserved. Balls were often held in the Lopukhins' house. Elizabeth was also invited there. Once Lopukhina bribed Elizabeth's maids and offered them a sample of yellow brocade with silver, from which the crown princess sewed herself a dress for the ball. When Elizabeth entered the living room, there was a burst of laughter. The walls, chairs, armchairs and sofas in the room were upholstered in the same yellow and silver brocade. The humiliated princess rushed out of the palace and sobbed for a long time in her bedroom. When Peter asked his reigning aunt for permission to marry her daughter Lopukhina, Elizabeth decided to take revenge. She accused Lopukhina of high treason, and the court sentenced the unfortunate countess to death. Elizabeth mitigated the punishment with her “great mercy”. Lopukhina Sr. was shamefully whipped with whips on Troitskaya Square, her tongue was cut out and exiled to Siberia. After this tragic story with the mother of his beloved, Tsarevich Peter went crazy. But Catherine did not seek to please her husband: she quickly found solace in the arms of the Swedish envoy, Count Polenberg. Empress Elizabeth closed her eyes to the relationship of the young: she needed an heir, but Catherine still could not get pregnant.

Meanwhile, in the bed of the eighteen-year-old crown princess, one favorite replaced another: Kirill Razumovsky, Stanislav Ponyatovsky, Zakhar Chernyshev (brother of Andrey exiled abroad), Lev Naryshkin and the Saltykov brothers, who knew a lot about love. Their mother, nee Golitsyna, was famous throughout Petersburg for drunkenness and debauchery in the soldiers' barracks - there were rumors that she had three hundred lovers among the empress's grenadiers.

After a few years of marriage, a miracle happened - Catherine became pregnant. Sergei Saltykov openly boasted that he was the father of the future heir, and was expelled from St. Petersburg. Later in Sweden, he spread terrible rumors about the debauchery of the Russian crown princess and assured that she herself hung around his neck, made appointments, and he, they say, deceived and did not come, which made Catherine suffer unspeakably.

Elizaveta Petrovna was so glad to hear good news that she gave her pregnant daughter-in-law one hundred thousand rubles and a lot of jewelry. The poor German princess, who came to Russia with three dresses and half a dozen handkerchiefs, began to waste money on the Russian treasury. The newborn baby was named Paul and was immediately taken away from the young mother. However, Catherine was not interested in her son and never loved him. It is still unknown who was the real father of Paul - they call Zakhar Chernyshev, Lev Naryshkin, and other lovers of the crown princess. Among the guesses, an amazing fact is noted: Pavel is unusually similar to his official father, Pyotr Fedorovich - why History is not joking ...

After the death of Elizabeth, Peter III ascended the throne and announced that for his depraved behavior he would send Catherine to a monastery, and he himself would marry Elizabeth Vorontsova, his mistress. But by that time, with the help of her favorites, Catherine had woven a huge net around Peter. Chancellor Panin, Prince Baryatinsky, Catherine's lover Grigory Orlov and four of his brothers organized a conspiracy against the emperor. But then one of the conspirators got cold feet and decided to warn the emperor - Peter did not attach any importance to his words, for which he paid not only with the throne, but also with his life.

At the court of Catherine II in Russia, favoritism became a new position, as at the court of Louis XIV in France, and bed careerists were recognized as people who served the fatherland and the throne. For their love efforts they received palaces and considerable financial resources from the Russian treasury. But Catherine was a passionate woman and could not live without a man. There was a special room in her palace with a huge bed. If necessary, a secret mechanism divided the bed into two parts by the wall - the favorite remained in the hidden half, and in the second, the empress, who was not cold from love joys, received ambassadors and ministers. Catherine had a weakness for huge, gigantic stature, men with a sensual face. Potential lovers were introduced to the Empress by Chancellor Panin and Countess Bruce, who at court was called "assay lady". Panin was Catherine's constant lover - he was smart, not demanding, not jealous. He appeared in the Empress's bedroom no more than once a week, and in his free time in his harem, consisting of serf concubines - every day he acquired a new girl, and gave away those who were boring to friends or sold them. For Catherine, he chose tall soldiers who did not differ in intelligence, so as not to create rivals for themselves. Once Panin and Countess Bruce recommended the handsome Potemkin.

Catherine was embarrassed that the lieutenant-general had only one eye (the second in a fit of jealousy was once knocked out by Grigory Orlov), but the countess convinced Catherine that Potemkin was going crazy with love for the empress. After a night of love, Catherine made Potemkin a lieutenant general, presented him with a magnificent palace and a million rubles for its arrangement. This is how bed quarries were made in one night under Catherine. But the imperial gifts seemed to Potemkin not enough - once at dinner he demanded that Catherine make him a member of the State Council. Catherine was horrified:

But my friend, this is impossible!

Perfectly! Then I go to the monastery. The role of your kept woman does not suit me!

Ekaterina burst into tears and left the table. Potemkin did not come to the favorites room. Catherine cried all night, and the next morning Potemkin was appointed senator.

Once Potemkin went to Petersburg on business for several days. But the Empress could not be left alone for a long time. Once in the Tsarskoye Selo palace, Catherine woke up at night from the cold. It was winter, and all the wood in the fireplace was burnt out. She slept alone - Potemkin was on business in Petersburg. Not finding the servant behind the screen, Catherine went out into the corridor, along which a stoker with a bundle of firewood on his shoulders was just walking. The sight of this young Hercules of enormous growth, carrying firewood like a feather, took Catherine's breath away.

Who are you?

Court Stoker, Your Majesty!

Why haven't I seen you before? Light the fireplace in my bedroom.

The young man was delighted with such a favor of the empress and lit a huge fire in the fireplace. But Catherine was unhappy:

Don't you understand how to warm up the empress?

And the stoker finally understood. And the next morning he received an order to grant him hereditary nobility, ten thousand peasants, an order never to return to Petersburg and change his surname to Teplov - in memory of how he warmed the empress.

In her old age, Catherine reached the point of complete depravity. Hefty men were no longer enough for her - and she turned her passion to a young gypsy, given to her by Potemkin. There were rumors at court about how the empress treated her maids and young peasant women. At the final exam at the Smolny Institute, the Empress drew attention to a beautiful graduate, who turned out to be Suvorov's daughter.

Give your daughter to me as my favorite.

Having heard about the empress's adventures, Suvorov replied:

Mother, to die for you - I will die, but I will not give you my Suvorochki!

The enraged empress sent the old man along with her daughter to their estate, forbidding them to appear at court - which was what Suvorov needed.

In the absence of Potemkin, Catherine had many lovers: Ambassador Bezborodko and his secretaries Zavadovsky and Mamonov, the nephew of the midwife Zorich, the officers of the Guard Korsakov and Khvostov, and finally, the provincial youth Alexander Lanskoy.

Twenty-year-old Lansky was accidentally seen by Potemkin and introduced to the empress. The young man had an angelic appearance: huge blue eyes filled with sadness, blond curls, a slight blush on his cheeks and coral lips. He would look like a girl if not for his huge height and broad shoulders. He took the attention of Catherine as the care of his mother, besides, he was too loyal to his state to deny something to the empress. He was ashamed of the position of the imperial concubine, but over time he became attached to Catherine with all his heart. The Empress was touched by such reading of the love of an innocent young man who had never known women before her. Her aging heart was jealous of Sasha so much that Catherine locked her lover in several rooms, surrounding him with unheard of luxury. The empress awarded Lansky with the title of count, vast lands, tens of thousands of peasants. But the young man in love did not need ranks and riches - perhaps he was the only favorite who loved the empress as a woman. And the empress said to Potemkin:

My soul, I'm going to marry Lansky.

How did he deserve such an honor?

He never cheated on me.

Potemkin dropped his eyes. He himself cheated on Catherine almost every day with different women.

A month later, Lanskoy took to bed. And not one court doctor could make an accurate diagnosis. Catherine knew that her lover had been poisoned on behalf of Potemkin. Catherine wrote to her friend: "I, crying, have the misfortune to tell you that General Lanskoy is gone ... and my room, which I loved so much before, has now turned into an empty cave." After the death of her beloved, the empress walked around the palace like a shadow. She abandoned all state affairs and did not accept anyone. It was so unlike her ... Apparently, love, which she did not know in her youth, overtook her in old age. The only topic on which the empress kept up the conversation was about Alexander Lansky, the only place she visited was his grave. She spent many hours at Lansky's grave in anguish and tears. Potemkin was furious. He was jealous - and to whom, to the deceased? In fits of anger, Potemkin circled like a kite among the guards officers. Finally, he settled on Peter Ermolov, made him his adjutant and sent him to Catherine. His calculation was justified: Ermolov occupied the favorites room, which had been empty for almost six months. Still, Catherine was a woman, and the craving for love overpowered her grief over the loss. Noticing that one of the ladies-in-waiting was retiring with Yeromlov, Catherine ordered the soldiers to whip the aristocrat to blood in the presence of the other eleven ladies-in-waiting - so that it would not be confusing. Ermolov was too stupid, arrogant and narcissistic, besides he loved to play and often ran away from the empress to play houses and to prostitutes. His place was soon taken by another adjutant of Potemkin, Alexander Mamonov.

"Priceless Sasha" - so called the Empress Mamonov. But Sasha began to disappear somewhere more and more often. He was not even that unfortunate night when the tired Catherine returned from the meeting of the Council. She waited for him midnight, but greeted him playfully:

Where are you, my dear sir, deigned to disappear?

Mother Empress ... - His tone and expression did not bode well. - You have always been kind to me, and I am frank with you. I can no longer carry out my duties at the side of your majesty.

Catherine's face changed:

What's the matter, in any way you deigned to joke?

Not at all, your majesty. I fell in love with another and ask your gracious permission to marry her. Her name is Princess Shcherbatova.

What can an aging woman, who has lost her former attractiveness, answer when a young lover says that he has fallen in love with another, good and young?

I give you permission to marry. Moreover, I will arrange your wedding myself.

Lizanka Shcherbatova kissed the Empress's hands for her kindness. Ekaterina gave the young wedding rings with diamonds, three thousand souls of peasants, ten thousand rubles in gold. For some reason, the young bride under the crown was crying all the time ... Maybe the empress forgave Count Mamonov's betrayal, but the offended woman could not forgive her. Two weeks later, soldiers broke into the newlyweds' home. Mamonov was tied to a chair and gagged, and the soldiers abused the young countess, after which they excised her with a whip until she was completely ugly. Lizanka miraculously survived. Count Mamonov took his ailing wife abroad to never return to Russia.

Meanwhile, a new and last favorite reigned in the palace - twenty-four-year-old Platon Zubov. He inherited the favorites room from his brother, Valerian Zubov, who was the Empress's lover for a short time. Platon Zubov was arrogant, arrogant and loved only one thing in the world - money. Having received unlimited power, he mocked Tsarevich Paul, fully confident that he would not get the throne. Potemkin planned to kill the new favorite, but did not have time - he died. The Empress sobbed for a long time and inconsolably, arranged a magnificent funeral for the former favorite and ordered two monuments to be erected for him. During the reign of Catherine from the Russian treasury, palaces and jewelry for nine million rubles and forty thousand peasants passed into Potemkin's pocket.

Catherine herself did not die in an imperial manner: in the outhouse. Did she experience the love she longed for in her life? Unlikely… Real love not bought for titles and palaces - this the Great Catherine never understood.