Peter Ludwig Graf von der Pahlen (russian: Пётр Алексе́евич Па́лен, translit= Pyotr Alekseyevich Palen; , Palms Manor, Palms (now ) – ,

Mitau Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united D ...

(now )), a

Baltic-German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

courtier and general, played a pivotal role in the assassination of Emperor Paul of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

in 1801. He became a general in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

in 1798, a

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

in 1799, and served as the Military Governor of St. Petersburg from 1798 to 1801.

Early career

Pahlen stemmed from a family of Baltic nobles. He was born in the manor of Palms, in present-day

Haljala Parish Haljala Parish ( et, Haljala vald) is a rural municipality of Estonia, in Lääne-Viru County. It has a population of 4297 (2021) and an area of 549 km². Populated places Small borough Haljala - Võsu Villages Aaspere - Aasu - Aasume ...

Lääne-Viru County Lääne-Viru County ( et, Lääne-Viru maakond or ''Lääne-Virumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is in northern Estonia, on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland. In Estonian, ''lääne'' means western and ''ida'' means east or easter ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

. He served in the horse guards and saw service in the

Russo-Turkish Wars The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...

. He was wounded at Bendery and invested with the

Order of St George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

of the 4th degree. During the Russo-Turkish War, 1787-92 he distinguished himself during the Siege of Ochakov (order of St. George the 3rd degree). In 1787 Pahlen was put in charge of the

Riga Governorate Riga Governorate or the Province of Riga (russian: Рижская губерния) was the administrative region of the Russian Empire in modern southern Estonia and northern Latvia from 1713 to 1783. The Province of Riga was formed to replace th ...

. He conducted the negotiations leading to the incorporation of

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia ...

Semigalia Semigallia, also spelt Semigalia, ( lv, Zemgale; german: Semgallen; lt, Žiemgala; pl, Semigalia; liv, Zemgāl) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located in the south of the Daugava river and the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. ...

, and other Biron possessions into the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

. After that, he was appointed the first Governor General of Courland Guberniya (1795).

Paul's reign

On December 3, 1796 Pahlen was appointed to command the Cuirassier Regiment of

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the ...

, but soon the new Emperor made him regret his former contacts with the disgraced prince

Platon Zubov Prince Platon Alexandrovich Zubov (russian: Платон Александрович Зубов; ) was the last of Catherine the Great's favourites and the most powerful man in the Russian Empire during the last years of her reign. Life The princ ...

. In January 1797 Pahlen was discharged from the governorship, and on 26 February he was relieved from his post in the regiment and excluded from the service. However, he was soon again accepted into active service and appointed as Inspector of the Cavalry and the commander of the Household Troops of Horse Regiment. He was rapid in acquiring the sovereign's confidence. Enjoying the unlimited favor of Pavel I, for three years (1798–1801) he served as the military governor of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, the governor of the Baltic provinces, the inspector of 6 military districts, the Grand Chancellor of the Maltese order, the chief director of mail, a member of the Imperial Council and of the Board of Foreign Affairs. During his time in office the building of

St Michael's Castle Saint Michael's Castle (russian: Миха́йловский за́мок, ''Mikhailovsky zamok''), also called the Mikhailovsky Castle or the Engineers' Castle (russian: Инженерный замок, ''Inzhenerny zamok''), is a former royal ...

and of the Naval Military School was completed. The

Field of Mars The term Field of Mars ( la, Campus Martius) goes back to antiquity, and designates an area, inside or near a city, used as a parade or exercise ground by the military. Notable examples of places which were used for these purposes include: * Campus ...

was graced with monuments honoring Field Marshal Rumyantsev and

Alexander Suvorov Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Суво́ров, Aleksándr Vasíl'yevich Suvórov; or 1730) was a Russian general in service of the Russian Empire. He was Count of Râmnicu Sărat, Rymnik, C ...

. The Imperial iron foundry was transferred from

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

to Petersburg and

Nikolai Rezanov Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov (russian: Николай Петрович Резанов) ( – ), a Russian nobleman and statesman, promoted the project of Russian colonization of Alaska and California to three successive Emperors of All Russia� ...

founded the

Russian-American Company The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty (russian: Под высочайшим Его Императорского Величества покровительством Российская-Американс� ...

Conspiracy and regicide

In August 1800 Pahlen was discharged from his governorship, only to be reappointed on October 21. Seeing how fragile his position was, he joined the conspirators plotting against the emperor in the house of

Olga Zherebtsova Olga Alexandrovna Zherebtsova, née Zubova, also known as Madame Gerebtzoff (russian: Ольга Александровна Жеребцова, 1766–1849), was a Russian aristocrat and socialite, known foremost for her political involvement and l ...

. Together with Nicholas Zubov he was one of plot's leaders and organizers. In the plot he played a dual role, trying in the case of failure to conceal his participation. He extracted from the emperor the written order to arrest his son and heir, Alexander Pavlovich, and showed this to him in order to overcome his fluctuation in the plot. He was present during Paul's strangling on the night of March 12, 1801. After the assassination he acquired an irreconcilable enemy in the Empress Maria Feodorovna who prevented him from occupying any important post under Alexander's reign. On 1 April 1801, he was discharged from the service and ordered to withdraw into his estates in

. Pahlen died in

on February 13, 1826.

Pahlen in film

In 1908 Dmitry Merezhkovsky wrote the play ''Pavel I'', which enjoyed limited popularity in Russia. In 2003 the director Vitaly Melnikov adapted the play into the movie ''

Poor Poor Paul ''Poor Poor Paul'' (russian: Бедный, бедный Павел, Bednyy bednyy Pavel) is a 2003 Russian historical drama film. It is a biopic of Czar Paul I of Russia and the final film of the historical trilogy of Vitaly Melnikov "The Empire. ...

''. In contrast to the play, the accent in the film is made not only on the fate of Pavel I, but also on Pahlen's role in the plot against him. Pahlen is seen as the tragic figure, which arranged the plot against his own will, worrying not about himself, but about the good of Russia. The role of Pahlen was played by

Oleg Yankovsky Oleg Ivanovich Yankovsky (russian: Оле́г Ива́нович Янко́вский; 23 February 1944 – 20 May 2009) was a Soviet and Russian actor who excelled in psychologically sophisticated roles of modern intellectuals. In 1991, he beca ...

, that of Paul - by

Viktor Sukhorukov Viktor Ivanovich Sukhorukov PAR (russian: Виктор Иванович Сухоруков; born 10 November 1951) is a Russian actor. He has appeared in more than 50 films and television shows since 1974. He starred in '' Happy Days'' (1991), ...

. In 1928, Lewis Stone played Pahlen in '' The Patriot'', starring

Emil Jannings Emil Jannings (born Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz, 23 July 1884 – 2 January 1950) was a Swiss born German actor, popular in the 1920s in Hollywood. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for his roles in '' The La ...

as Paul I. This film is considered lost, although fragments of it still exist in the UCLA Film Archives.

References

Pahlen in literature

Pahlen in Sartre's 'Nausea'Pahlen in the writing of John Quincy AdamsPahlen in the writings of Thomas Jefferson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pahlen, Petr Alekseevich 1745 births 1826 deaths People from Haljala Parish People from the Governorate of Estonia Baltic German people from the Russian Empire Nobility from the Russian Empire House of Pahlen Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Imperial Russian Army generals Russian Empire regicides Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Recipients of the Order of Saint Lazarus Paul I of Russia