As a seasoned actress, she did not need the applause of her public to know that she had just scored another point. Having pronounced this sentence, which she (rightly) judged historical, she carried off the child in his diapers, robbing the cradle, and mounted once again her sleigh, still holding little Ivan VI in her arms. The first light of dawn was just gracing the city; the weather was very cold. The sky was heavy with fog and snow.
Some rare early risers, having caught wind of great events, ran to see the tsarevna drive by; they howled out a hoarse hurrah.
This was the fifth coup d’etat in fifteen years in their good city, all with the support of the Guard. They had become so ac«115»
Terrible Tsarinas customed to these sudden shifts of the political wind that they did not even speculate anymore as to who was actually running the country, among all these high-ranking persons whose names were honored one day and drawn through the mud the next.
Awakening to hear the news of this latest upheaval in the imperial palace cum theatre, the Scottish general Lascy, who had long been in the service of Russia, did not show any hint of surprise. When his interlocutor, curious to know his preferences, asked him, “Whom are you for?” he philosophically retorted, “For the one who reigns!” On the morning of November 25, 1741, this response might have s poken for all the Russians, except those who lost their positions or their fortunes due to the change.10
«116»
One Anna after Another
Footnotes 1. Letter dated 13 October 1741, published by Soloviev, Histoire de Russie, and cited by K. Waliszewski, op. cit.
2. K. Waliszewski, Ibid.
3. Cf. Mirnievitch: La Femme russe au XVIII siecle, and Waliszewski, op. cit.
4. Ibid.
5. Cited by Daria Olivier, op. cit.
6. Cf. Soloviev, op. cit.
7. Letter from La Chetardie to his minister, Amelot de Chailloux, dated 30 May (10 June) 1741; cf. Waliszewski, op. cit.
8. Ibid.
9. Cf. Miliukov, Seignobos and Eisenmann, Histoire de Russie. 10. Elizabeth’s coup d’etat and the remarks made at the time were reported in numerous documents dating from that period, including Les Archives du prince M. L. Vorontsov, and collected by K. Waliszewski, in L’Heritage de Pierre le Grand.
Peter the Great, by G. Kneller. London, Kensington Palace.
Photo A. C. Cooper (copyright reserved).
St. Petersburg in the time of Peter the Great.
The Neva Embankment, the Admiralty, and the Academy of Sciences.
Bibliotheque nationale de France, Prints Division. Photo B.N.
View of the Isaakievsky Bridge and St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Winter Palace, and the Hermitage, in St. Petersburg.
Photo Giraudon.
The Winter Palac e, St. Petersburg, 1843.
Russian School, Sodovnikov.
Preserved in Peterhof Library. Photo Josse.
The grand palace and the park at Tsarskoye Selo.
Engraving by Damane-Demartrais.
Catherine I (1682-1727), wife of Peter I (The Great).
Empress of Russia (1725-1727).
Empress Anna Ivanovna on her coronation day (1730).
Portrait of Elizabeth Petrovna,
Empress of Russia (1741-1762), daughter of Peter the Great.
Copper engraving, 1761, by Georg
Friedrich Schmidt (1696-1772), after a 1758 painting by Louis Toque (1696-1772).
Elizabeth 1st (1709-1762) on the anniversary of her coronation day.
The soldiers swear their fidelity to her. Russian School (1883).
St. Petersburg, The Hermitage Museum. Photo Josse.
Elizabeth Petrovna, Empress of Russia (1741-1761).
“Tsarina Elizabeth Petrovna, Portrait on horseback, with a Moor.”
Painted in 1743 by Georg Christoph Grooth (1716-1749). Detail.
Painted on canvas, 85 x 68.3 cm.
Moscow, Tretyakov Gallery.
Catherine II the Great (17291796) in her coronation gown.
By Stefano Torelli (1712-1784),
Italian School.
St. Petersburg, The Hermitage
Museum. Photo Josse.
Catherine II the Great. Empress of
Russia (1729-1796).
“The Coronation of Catherine II.”
Painted in 1777 by Stefano Torelli.
Oil on canvas. Moscow. AKG Photo.
VII
Coups d’etat having become a political tradition in Russia, Elizabeth felt morally and historically obliged to follow the protocol that usually applied in such extreme moments: solemnly proclaiming one’s rights to the throne, arresting one’s opponents en masse, and showering rewards upon one’s supporters. She must not have slept more than two hours that agitated night - but in moments of euphoria, the thrill of success is more reinvigorating than a simple nap could ever be. She was up at the break of day, beautifully dressed and beautifully coifed, smiling as if she had just enjoyed a refreshing sleep. Twenty courtiers were already squeezing themselves into her antechamber, seeking to be the first to pay homage to the new ruler. In a glance she discerned which of them were genuinely delighted by her victory and which were merely prostrating themselves before her in the hope of avoiding the punishment that they deserved. Deferring the pleasure of acting upon that judgment, she showed a pleasant face to all and, waving them aside, stepped out onto the balcony.
Below stood the regiments who had come to swear their al«127»
Terrible Tsarinas legiance to her. The soldiers, in parade formation, howled with joy - without breaking ranks. Their eyes shone as savagely as their bayonets. To Elizabeth, the cheers shattering the icy early morning air were an eloquent declaration of love to the “little mother.” Behind this rampart of gray uniforms, the people of St.
Petersburg crowded together, as impatient as the army to express its surprise and its approval. Facing this unanimous joy, it was very tempting for a sensitive woman to forgive those who had misplaced their loyalties. But Elizabeth stiffened her resolve against an indulgence that she might come to regret later on. She knew, through atavism if not through personal experience, that authority precludes charity. With a cold-minded wisdom, she chose to savor her happiness without giving up her resentment.
To avoid any confusion, she dispatched Prince Nikita Trubetskoy to bring the various embassies the official news of Her Majesty Elizabeth I’s accession to the throne; most of the foreign ministers had already been apprised of this event. No doubt the most pleased was His Excellency Jacques-Joachim Trotti de La Chetardie, who had made this cause his personal mission. Elizabeth’s triumph was to some extent his triumph, and he hoped to be suitably rewarded both by the principal interested party and by the French government.
He went by barouche to the Winter Palace to greet the new tsarina; along the way, the grenadiers who had taken part in the heroic tumult of the day before, and who were still wandering about in the streets, recognized him as he went by and gave him a formal escort, calling him batiushka frantsuz (“our French papa”) and “Guardian of Peter the Great’s daughter.” La Chetardie was moved to tears by this touching warmth. Seeing that the Russians had more heart than the French, and not wishing to let them down, he invited all these brave military men to come and drink to the health of France and Russia on the embassy grounds. How«128»