Peter II of Russia



Emperor of Russia (1727-1730)

fullname Pyotr Alekseyevich

Born: October 23 (Old Style October 12), 1715, Saint Petersburg Died: January 29 (Old Style January 19), 1730, Moscow

Son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and Princess Charlotte of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Peter II was the only male-line grandson of Peter I of Russia. From his childhood the orphan grand duke was kept in the strictest isolation. Peter was quite ignored during the reign of Catherine I, but before her death it became clear that the grandson of Peter the Great could not be kept out of his inheritance. The majority of nobles were on his side, while his uncle, Emperor Charles VI, persistently support his claims. On May 18, 1727, Peter II, according to the last will of Catherine I, was proclaimed Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias.

The education of the young tsar was wisely entrusted to the vice-chancellor Andrei Osterman. While the senate, the Privy Council and the guards took the oath of loyalty to Peter II. Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov, who took possession of Peter II, had intended to marry Peter to his daughter Maria. Menshikov became arrogant and domineering. He issued orders to the Emperor himself and then removed a silver plate that Peter had just given as a gift to his sister Natalya. To which the Emperor replied, "we shall see who is emperor, you or I." Then after Menshikov had recovered from a brief illness, Peter turned his back on him and soon arrested him. But Peter fell into the hands of Prince Vasily Lukich Dolgorukov, who carried him away from Saint Petersburg to Moscow. He was engaged to his mentor’s niece, Princess Catherine Dolgorukova, and the wedding was prepared in January 30, 1730, but on that very day the emperor died of smallpox. He is buried in the Kremlin, the only post- Russian monarch given that honor. With Peter's death, the direct male line of the Romanov Dynasty ended.