Peter III of Russia



Emperor of Russia (1762)

fullname Pyotr Fyodorovitch formerly Karl Peter Ulrich, Herzog (duke) von Holstein-Gottorp

Born: February 21, 1728, Kiel, Holstein-Gottorp Died :July 17, 1762 Ropsha

Son of Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (nephew of Charles XII of Sweden) and Anna Petrovna (daughter of Peter the Great of Russia). His mother died less than two weeks after his birth. In 1739, Peter’s father died, and he became Duke of Holstein-Gottorp as Karl Peter Ulrich. He could thus be considered the heir to both thrones of Russia and Sweden.

Heir to the Throne
During the Russo-Swedish War (1741-1743), when Russian troops held Finland, Peter was proclaimed King of Finland. The proclamation was based on his succession rights to territories held by his childless grand-uncle, Charles XII of Sweden, who had been Grand Duke of Finland. When his aunt Elizabeth became Empress of Russia, Peter was brought to Russia and proclaimed her heir in December 1744. Peter’s succession rights to Sweden were renounced on his behalf.

Raised a Lutheran with German as his first language, Grand Duke Peter received education in Russian and the Orthodox religion, to which he converted. Empress Elizabeth arranged him to marry his second cousin, Sophia Augusta Frederica who took the name Catherine (Yekaterina Alekseyevna). Peter, who was mentally frail and extremely pro-Prussian, alienated the feelings of his wife soon after their marriage in 1745. He had a keen interest in military affairs, particularly drill and fortification, and played the violin quite well, but he also loved dolls and puppets and enjoyed crude practical jokes and drinking. Although, their marriage was not a happy one, the couple produced one son, the future Emperor Paul (born 1754). Catherine later claimed that Paul was not fathered by Peter, and in fact, they had never consummated the marriage.

Short Reign
Peter III succeeded the throne after the death of Empress Elizabeth in 1762. His first act as a tsar was to take Russia out of the Seven Years’ War (1756-63) and to conclude an alliance with Frederick II of Prussia, whom he admired. He later engaged Russia against Denmark to help his native Holstein gain control of Schleswig. Although he was immoral and, it is alleged, mentally unbalanced, Peter's domestic policy was in some respects liberal. His reign saw a reduction in the salt tax and a temporary ban on the purchase of serfs for factories.

In March 1, 1762, Peter relieved the nobles from their obligations to serve in the military or civil service, abolishing the policy of Peter the Great. This decree increased speculation that Peter might have been planning to liberate the serfs. He also disbanded the imperial guards, and there were rumors that he intended to replace the existing guards, now required to wear Prussian uniforms, with men from Holstein. He also forced Russian priests to adopt Lutheran religious practices and was rumored that he intended to convert Russia to Lutheranism. Such accusations were exaggerated by Peter's opponents, who now desired to replace him with his popular wife.

Death and Aftermath
Catherine, who suspected that Peter was planning to divorce her, conspired with her lover Grigory Orlov and other members of the guards to overthrow him. In July 9, 1762, Orlov and the guards arrested and forced Peter III to abdicate. He was succeeded by his wife, Catherine II, the Great. Few days later, Peter was assassinated by his guards at Ropsha, near St. Petersburg. Rumors hinted that he is murdered by poison, suffocation, or shooting. His death, while not awakening Catherine’s regret, often came back to haunt her.

The mysterious circumstances of Peter III's death and the promising nature of some of his decree later made him a popular identity for pretenders, such as Pugachev who led a rebellion against Catherine II. Following Catherine's death in 1796, Emperor Paul I, who never doubted that Peter was his father, had his parents buried side by side in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, where other tsars were buried.