The Assassination of Paul I

Paul I (St Petersburg, Russia, 1st October 1754 – St Petersburg, Russia, 23rd March 1801)

Paul I of Russia by Vladimir Borovikovsky, 1800

After a pastoral turn around the gardens of Sheffield and a scientific sojourn, it is time to travel to Russia to witness a most dark moment in the history of that country. On this day, Emperor Paul I of Russia was five years into his reign and had made powerful and influential enemies. He believed that the noble class should behave in a chivalrous and honourable fashion and made efforts to deal with corruption in the highest government offices. Not only that, but he also increased rights for poorer citizens and put in place laws that ensured the poorest workers on estates could expect better treatment from their employers.

Paul feared assassination and was right to, for in the last months of Paul's life, a conspiracy was being planned against him by our old acquaintance, Count Pyotr Alexeevich Palen, Count Nikolay Zubov, Count Nikita Petrovich Panin and Admiral José de Ribas, who died before the assassination could be carried out.

As the night of 23rd March drew on, Paul hosted a dinner party in St Michael's Castle at which he was joined by his son, Grand Duke Alexander, who did not appear to enjoy the company of his father that evening. Presently Paul retired to his bedroom and began to prepare for rest as elsewhere, the conspirators waited for the appointed hour to strike. They spent the evening drinking and were admitted to the Castle by a member of staff who had been recruited to their cause, with the group making their way swiftly to the Emperor's chambers, where they easily overwhelmed domestic staff. Palen, meanwhile, made his way to Alexander's room where he and Paul's heir waited for the gruesome deed to be carried out.

St Michael's Castle

Hearing a commotion in the hallway, Paul took refuge behind a screen in his room as General Levin August, Count von Bennigsen and Prince Vladimir Mikhailovich Yashvil burst into the chamber with their supporters. Finding the bed empty, they turned the room over and dragged the terrified man from his hiding place. Forcing him to sit at his desk, they instructed Paul to sign abdication papers, which he refused to do. Paul's refusal enraged his attackers and when he tried to resist, he was struck with the blade of a sword by one of the band and then viciously attacked. In the ensuing chaos, the Emperor was strangled to death with a scarf and terribly beaten by his attackers. So did the reign of Paul I end in violence and Alexander I rise to power.

Alexander I of Russia by Franz Krüger

None of the conspirators faced real punishment for their part in the plot and Palen's influence and reach ensured that much of the conspiracy remained mired in mystery. Whether Alexander was involved we can never be sure and while some of those who visit the salon say that he was part of the plot, others hold that he knew of the scheme but believed his father would be forced to abdicate, and no blood would be shed. Whatever the truth of the matter, the young man always felt a sense of shame for winning the throne through his father's violent death and would later develop a paranoia that his own life might be threatened, a worry that would plague the final years of his reign.

Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

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From Tomboy to Tiaras: Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (Saint Petersburg, Empire of all the Russias, 16th February 1786 – Weimar, Germany, 23rd June 1859)

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia vy George Dawe, 1825

Today's noble visitor , Maria Pavlovna, was the daughter of Paul I of Russia and his wife, Maria Feodorovna (born Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg). Born into an illustrious dynasty, she could count two Tsars of Russia among her siblings as well as a previous guest at the salon, Anna Pavlovna of Russia.

As a little girl Maria was known for her tomboyish ways, liking nothing more than joining the boys in their games rather than favouring ladylike pursuits. A childhood brush with smallpox resulted in the young girl's face becoming scarred yet she did not allow this to hold back and devoted herself to the study of music under Kapellmeister Giuseppe Sarti  and Ludwig-Wilhelm Tepper de Ferguson, proving herself an exemplary pianist. 

Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia by Vladimir Borovikovsky 

Intelligent and inquisitive, she gave her consent to her betrothal to Charles Friedrich  Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in at the age of 18 and the couple were introduced in St Petersburg. they spent time getting to know one another and were married on 3rd August. The newlyweds remained in Russia for a year settling into life together and over their long marriage had had four children, three of whom lived to adulthood.

On her much-celebrated arrival in Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Maria was shocked at the poor state of her new homeland and devoted herself to culture and philanthropy, putting in place a programme of social welfare and hosting celebrated literary and scientific salons. The people and court took a liking to the new arrival and she threw herself wholeheartedly into philanthropic and cultural activities, beginning a lifelong interest in the welfare of the people of her nation.

Charles Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

In 1806 Maria was forced to leave Weimar as Napoleon advanced and they fled to Bohemia, where they remained until the Battle of Leipzig. Finally able to return to their territory, the Duke and Duchess participated in the Congress of Vienna and enjoyed significant gains thanks in part to Maria's negotiating skills. In 1828 the death of Grand Duke Carl August saw Maria and her husband finally attain the rank of Grand Duchess and Grand Duke, their court one that celebrated cultural achievement in Weimar.

A devoted mother and wife, Maria retired from public life when she became a widow in 1853 and expressed a wish to be buried beside her late husband at her own death, yet somehow still rest on Russian soil. She returned to her homeland just once in her later years, to attend the 1855 coronation of her nephew, Alexander II of Russia.

Following her death she was buried in the Goethe-Schiller Mausoleum beside the Grand Duke. In accordance with her wishes, the casket was lined with earth brought from Russia and the Grand Duchess was mourned deeply by those who had known her.


Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

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"Sounds of horn and lyre": Gavrila Derzhavin

Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin (Kazan, Russia, 14th July 1743 – Novgorod Governorate, Russia, 20th July 1816)

Gavrila Derzhavin by Vladimir Borovikovsky, 1795

We Gilflurts are noted for our artistic sensibilities, what with our harpsichords and our Wedgwood and none of us are more that way inclined than grandmother Gilflurt, a galavanter of no little renown. Her wanderings have taken her all over the world and on her last trip to Russia she brought back word of Derzhavin, a poet and statesman who occupied the highest offices during the reign of Catherine the Great.

Derzhavin's start in life was far from promising and he left his rural childhood home for a life in the Preobrazhensky Guards in St Petersburg. What he lacked in formal education he more than made up for in intelligence and political skills and his career began to advance dramatically. Leaving the life of a soldier behind him after more than a decade, Derzhavin rose through the ranks of government as a particular favourite of Catherine the Great until, in 1802, he was appointed Minister of Justice. In fact, he was in the position for less than a year before political wrangling saw him removed from office and he retired to Zvanka to pursue his love of poetry.

Derzhavin wrote a number of somewhat satirical odes to the adoring Empress and her court, delighting Catherine with his wit and wry attention to detail. More serious commissions included the lyrics to the Russian national anthem, the metaphysical ode, God (1785) and Waterfall, written in 1794 to commemorate the death of Prince Potemkin. His highly lyrical poems were translated into a number of languages and he was held up as a model to romantics who applauded his emphasis on the ode. Not content with his poetic achievements, he also wrote opera libretti and enjoyed a level of international fame that was unheard of for a Russian poet at the time.

Monument to Gavrila Derzhavin in Kazan 

In his later years, Derzhavin attended the final exams of a certain Aleksandr Pushkin at Tsarskoe Selo where he was overcome by emotion at the young man's lyrical verse. When he died in 1816, Derzhavin was recognised as the greatest Russian poet of his time, his works covering a vast range of topics and overflowing with beautiful imagery. A final poem remained on his desk at his death, the poignant lines forever unfinished.

The current of Time's river 
Will carry off all human deeds 
And sink into oblivion 
All peoples, kingdoms and their kings. 
And if there's something that remains 
Through sounds of horn and lyre, 
It too will disappear into the maw of time 

And not avoid the common pyre... [lines broken]