Peter Ludwig Graf von der Pahlen (; ,

Palmse Palmse is a village in Haljala Parish, Lääne-Viru County, in northern Estonia, on the territory of Lahemaa National Park. Palmse manor Palmse estate () belonged to the convent of St. Michael in Tallinn in the Middle Ages and is referred to as ...

Governorate of Estonia The Governorate of Estonia, also known as the Esthonia (Estland) Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire. It was located in the northern Estonia with some islands in the West Estoni ...

– ,

Mitau Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

Courland Governorate Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland or Governorate of Kurland, and known from 1795 to 1796 as the Viceroyalty of Courland, was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the ...

(now Jelgava, Latvia)) was a Russian courtier and general of

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

stock, who played a pivotal role in the assassination of Emperor

Paul I of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the Pauline Laws, laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules ...

in 1801. He became a general in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

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 Military Governor of Saint Petersburg from 1798 to 1801.

Early career

Pahlen stemmed patrilineally from the Baltic German

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

family of

Pahlen The House of Pahlen (; , Palen) is an old German nobility, German, Estonian, Russian nobility, Russian, Lithuanian nobility, Lithuanian, Sweden, Swedish and Baltic German nobility, noble family of Pomeranian origin. History The family proba ...

. He was born in the manor of Palmse (Palms), in present-day

Lääne-Viru County Lääne-Viru County ( 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 eastern. Lääne-Viru borders Id ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

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

Russo-Turkish Wars The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

. He was wounded at

Bendery Bender (, ) or Bendery (, ; ), also known as Tighina ( mo-Cyrl, Тигина, links=no), is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under ''de facto'' control of the unrecognized Transnistria, Pridnestrovian Moldavian Rep ...

and invested with the

Order of St George Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

of the 4th degree. During the Russo-Turkish War, 1787-92 he distinguished himself during the Siege of

Ochakov Ochakiv (, ), also known as Ochakov (; ; or, archaically, ) and Alektor (), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Ochakiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. ...

(order of St. George the 3rd degree). In 1787, Pahlen was put in charge of the

Riga Governorate Riga Governorate (, ) was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, which existed from 1713 to 1783. The Province of Riga was formed to replace the Eastern Provinces of the Kin ...

. He conducted the negotiations leading to the incorporation of

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

Semigallia Semigallia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located to the south of the Daugava and to the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. The territory is split between Latvia and Lithuania, previously inhabited by the Semigallian Baltic tri ...

, and other Biron possessions into the Russian Empire. After that, he was appointed the first Governor General of the

(1795).

Paul's reign

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

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

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

Platon Zubov Prince Platon Alexandrovich Zubov (; ) 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. Early life The prince was a member of the Zubov Russian noble family a ...

. 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, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, 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 (, ''Mikhailovsky zamok''), also called the Mikhailovsky Castle or the Engineers' Castle (, ''Inzhenerny zamok''), is a former royal residence in the historic centre of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Saint Michael's Castle wa ...

and of the Naval Military School was completed. Monuments honoring Field Marshal Rumyantsev and

Alexander Suvorov Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...

were erected at the

Field of Mars The term Field of Mars () 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 Martius, an area i ...

. The Imperial iron foundry was transferred from

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

to Saint Petersburg and

Nikolai Rezanov Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov (, – ), a Russian nobleman and statesman, promoted the project of Russian colonization of Alaska and California to three successive Emperor of All Russia, Emperors of All Russia—Catherine the Great, Paul, and Alexa ...

founded the

Russian-American Company The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the Shelikhov-Golikov Company, United American Company. Emperor Paul I of Russia chartered the c ...

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; (; 1766–1849), also known as Madame Gerebtzoff, was a Russian aristocrat and socialite, known foremost for her political involvement and love life. She was the sister of the celebrated Zubov brothers, ...

. Together with

Nicholas Zubov Count Nikolay Alexandrovich Zubov (; 24 April 1763 – 9 August 1805) was the eldest of the Zubov brothers who, together with Count Pahlen, masterminded the conspiracy to assassinate Tsar Paul of Russia. In 1782 Zubov joined the Life Guard Hor ...

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 12 March 1801. After the assassination the Empress Maria Feodorovna became his irreconcilable enemy and prevented Pahlen 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 Courland. Pahlen died in Mitau (Jelgava) on 13 February 1826.

Pahlen in film

In 1908,

Dmitry Merezhkovsky Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky ( rus, Дми́трий Серге́евич Мережко́вский, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj; – December 9, 1941) was a Russian novelist, poet, religious think ...

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''. 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 (; 23 February 1944 – 20 May 2009) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian actor who excelled in psychologically sophisticated roles of modern intellectuals. In 1991, he became, together with , the last person to be nam ...

, that of Paul - by

Viktor Sukhorukov Viktor Ivanovich Sukhorukov PAR (; 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), which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the ...

. In 1928,

Lewis Stone Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular '' Andy ...

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 who was popular in Hollywood films in the 1920s. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for starring in '' ...

as Paul I. This film is considered lost, although fragments of it still exist in the UCLA Film Archives. Stone received an Academy Award nomination For Best Actor for his performance.

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 Kreis Wierland 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 Regicides from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Recipients of the Order of Saint Lazarus Paul I of Russia Ethnic German people from the Russian Empire Governors-general of Saint Petersburg