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Paul I (; – ) was
Emperor of Russia The emperor and autocrat of all Russia (, ), also translated as emperor and autocrat of all the Russias, was the official title of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarch from 1721 to 1917. The title originated in connection with Russia's ...
from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother,
Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
, for most of his life. He adopted the laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules that lasted until the end of the
Romanov dynasty The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russia. Ni ...
and 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 also imposed the first limitations on
serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...
with the
Manifesto of three-day corvee The Manifesto of three-day corvee or An Imperial Edict Forbidding Sunday Labor by Serfs () was issued by the Russian emperor Paul I on April 16, 1797, as a first ever legal attempt at extending the rights of Russian serfs. The document prohibit ...
, sought to curtail the privileges of the
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
, pursued various military reforms which were highly unpopular among officers and was known for his unpredictable behavior, all of which contributed to the conspiracy that would take his life. In 1799 he brought Russia into the
Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition () (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war targeting revolutionary France by many European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria, and Russia and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, ...
against Revolutionary France alongside
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
and
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
; the Russian forces achieved several victories at first but withdrew after facing setbacks. Paul then realigned Russia with France and led the creation of the
Second League of Armed Neutrality The Second League of Armed Neutrality or the League of the North was an alliance of the north European naval powers Denmark–Norway, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia. It existed between 1800 and 1801 during the War of the Second Coalition and was in ...
to oppose Britain after
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's rise to power. Toward the end of his reign, he added Kartli and Kakheti in Eastern Georgia to the Russian Empire. He was planning a joint invasion of British India with the French before being killed in a fight with his own officers who were trying to force his
abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...
. He was succeeded by his son
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...
. He was ''de facto'' Grand Master of the
Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...
from 1799 to 1801 and ordered the construction of a number of priories of the Order of Malta.


Early years

Paul was son of Emperor Peter III, nephew and anointed heir of the Empress
Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...
(second-eldest daughter of Tsar
Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
), and his wife
Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...
, born Sophie of
Anhalt-Zerbst Anhalt-Zerbst was a district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts Potsdam-Mittelmark (Brandenburg) and Wittenberg, the city of Dessau and the districts of Köthen, Schönebeck and Jerichower Lan ...
, daughter of a minor German prince who married into the Russian
Romanov dynasty The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russia. Ni ...
. Catherine subsequently deposed Paul's father, Peter III, to take the Russian throne and become Catherine the Great. While Catherine hinted in the first edition of her memoirs published by Alexander Herzen in 1859 that her lover Sergei Saltykov was Paul's biological father, she later recanted and asserted in the final edition that Peter III was Paul's true father.
Simon Sebag Montefiore Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore ( ; born 27 June 1965) is a British historian, television presenter and author of history books and novels, including '' Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar'' (2003), '' Jerusalem: The Biography'' (2011), '' The Rom ...
argues that while Paul's true paternity is "impossible to know ..he did look and behave like Peter." Paul was taken almost immediately after birth by the Empress Elizabeth, and had limited contact with his mother. As a boy, he was reported to be intelligent and good-looking, but sickly. His pug-nosed facial features in later life are attributed to an attack of
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
, from which he suffered in 1771. Paul was put in the charge of a trustworthy governor,
Nikita Ivanovich Panin Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin (; ) was an influential Russian statesman and political mentor to Catherine the Great for the first 18 years of her reign (1762–1780). In that role, he advocated the Northern Alliance, closer ties with Frederick the ...
, and of competent tutors. Panin's nephew went on to become one of Paul's assassins. One of Paul's tutors, Poroshin, complained that he was "always in a hurry", acting and speaking without reflection.


Under Catherine II

Empress Elizabeth died in 1762, when Paul was eight years old, and he became crown prince with the accession of his father to the throne as Peter III. However, within a matter of months, Paul's mother engineered a coup to depose her husband. Peter soon died in prison, either being killed by Catherine's supporters or due to a fit of apoplexy when exerting himself in a dispute with Prince Feodor, one of his jailers. The 8-year-old Paul retained his position as
Tsesarevich Tsesarevich (, ) was the title of the heir apparent or heir presumptive, presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the Eastern Slavic naming customs, given name and patronymic. Usage It is often confused with the much ...
, or heir apparent. In 1772, Paul took a mistress, named Sophia Razumovskaya, and had a child with her, named Semyon Veliky (1772 - 1794). Learning about this, Catherine sent Sophia to marry the son of a field marshal, and went to find Paul a wife. When her son and heir, Paul, turned eighteen. Paul and his adviser, Panin, believed he was the rightful tsar of Russia, as the only son of Peter III. His adviser had also taught him that the rule of women endangered good leadership, which was why he was so interested in gaining the throne. Distracting him, Catherine took trouble to find Paul a wife among the minor princesses of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. She chose Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt, who acquired the Russian name " Natalia Alexeievna", a daughter of Ludwig IX,
Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt () was a Imperial State, State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse among the four sons of Landgr ...
. The bride's older sister, Frederika Louisa, was already married to the Crown Prince of Prussia. Around this time, Catherine allowed Paul to attend the council in order that he might be trained for his work as Emperor. Wilhelmina and their child died in childbirth on 15 April 1776, three years after the wedding. It soon became even clearer to Catherine that Paul wanted power, including his separate court. There was talk of having both Paul and his mother co-rule Russia, but Catherine narrowly avoided it. A fierce rivalry began between them, as Catherine knew she could never truly trust her son, as his claim to the throne was superior to hers. Paul coveted his mother's position, and by the laws of succession prevalent then, it was rightfully his. After her daughter-in-law's death, Catherine began work forthwith on the project of finding another wife for Paul, and on 7 October 1776, less than six months after the death of his first wife and their child, Paul married again. The bride was the beautiful Sophia Dorothea of
Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...
, who received the new Russian name Maria Feodorovna. Their first child,
Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...
, was born in 1777, within a year of the wedding, and on this occasion the Empress gave Paul an estate, Pavlovsk. Paul and his wife gained leave to travel through western Europe in 1781–1782. In 1783, the Empress granted him another estate,
Gatchina Palace The Great Gatchina Palace () is a palace in Gatchina, Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It was built from 1766 to 1781 by Antonio Rinaldi (architect), Antonio Rinaldi for Count Grigori Grigoryevich Orlov, who was a favourite of Catherine the Great, in ...
, where he was allowed to maintain a brigade of soldiers whom he drilled on the
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n
model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...
, an unpopular stance at the time.


Relationship with Catherine the Great

Catherine and her son and heir Paul maintained a distant relationship throughout her reign. Empress Elizabeth had taken up the child and proved an obsessive but incapable caretaker, as she had not raised children of her own.McGrew, Roderick E. (1992), ''Paul I of Russia''. (Oxford: Clarendon Press) Paul was supervised by a variety of caregivers. Roderick McGrew briefly relates the neglect to which the infant heir was sometimes subject: "On one occasion he fell out of his crib and slept the night away unnoticed on the floor." Even after Elizabeth's death, relations with Catherine hardly improved. Paul was often jealous of the favours she would shower upon her lovers. In one instance, the empress gave to one of her favourites 50,000 rubles on her birthday, while Paul received a cheap watch.Sorokin, 185. Paul's early isolation from his mother created a distance between them that later events would reinforce. She never considered inviting him to share power in governing Russia. Once Paul's son Alexander was born, it appeared that she had found a more suitable heir. The use made of his name by the rebel
Yemelyan Pugachev Yemelyan Ivanovich Pugachev (also spelled Pugachyov; ; ) was an ataman of the Yaik Cossacks and the leader of the Pugachev's Rebellion, a major popular uprising in the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine the Great. The son of a Do ...
, who impersonated his father Peter, tended no doubt to render Paul's position more difficult. Catherine's absolute power and the delicate balance of courtier status greatly influenced the relationship at Court with Paul, who openly disregarded his mother's opinions. Paul adamantly protested his mother's policies, writing a veiled criticism in his ''Reflections'', a dissertation on military reform. In it he directly disparaged expansionist warfare in favour of a more defensive military policy. Unenthusiastically received by his mother, the ''Reflections'' questioned her authority and added weight to her suspicion of an internal conspiracy with Paul at its centre. For a courtier to have openly supported or shown intimacy towards Paul, especially following this publication, would have meant political suicide. Paul spent the following years away from the Imperial Court, content to remain at his private estates at Gatchina Palace with his growing family and perform Prussian drill exercises. As Catherine grew older, she became less concerned that her son attend court functions; her attentions focused primarily on the future Emperor Alexander I. It was not until 1787 that Catherine may have in fact decided to exclude her son from succession. After Alexander and his brother
Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...
were born, she had them placed under her charge, just as Elizabeth had done with Paul. That Catherine grew to favour Alexander as successor rather than Paul is unsurprising. She met secretly with Alexander's tutor,
Frédéric-César de La Harpe Frédéric-César de La Harpe (; 6 April 1754 – 30 March 1838) was a Swiss political leader, writer and journalist, best known for his pivotal role in the independence of the canton of Vaud from Bern and in the formation of the Helvetic Republ ...
, to discuss his pupil's ascension, and attempted to convince Alexander's mother Maria to sign a proposal authorizing her son's legitimacy. Both efforts proved fruitless, and though Alexander agreed to his grandmother's wishes, he remained respectful of his father's position as immediate successor to the Russian throne.


Accession to the throne

Catherine suffered a
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
on 17 November 1796, and died without regaining consciousness. Paul's first act as Emperor was to inquire about and, if possible, destroy her testament, as he feared it would exclude him from succession and leave the throne to Alexander. These fears may have contributed to Paul's promulgation of the
Pauline Laws The Pauline Laws are the house laws of the Romanov rulers of the Russian Empire. The name comes from the fact that they were initially established by Emperor Paul I of Russia in 1797. Previously drafted privately as a contract between Paul Petrov ...
, which established the strict principle of
primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...
in the House of Romanov, leaving the throne to the next male heir. The army, then poised to attack Persia in accordance with Catherine's last design, was recalled to the capital within one month of Paul's accession. In a remarkable poem, the Russian court poet Derzhavin commented bitterly on the inglorious return from that expedition of its commander Count
Valerian Zubov Count Valerian Aleksandrovich Zubov (; 1771–1804) was a Russian general who led the Persian Expedition of 1796. His siblings included Platon Zubov and Olga Zherebtsova. Biography Valerian was born into the powerful Russian noble Zubov fam ...
, who was the youthful brother of Prince Platon Zubov, the lover of the Empress Саtherine. Upon his death in 1762, Peter III had been buried without any honors in the Annunciation Church at the
Alexander Nevsky Monastery Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alex ...
in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
. Immediately after the death of his mother, Paul ordered his father's remains transferred, first to the church in the
Winter Palace The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. The floor area is 233,345 square ...
and then to the
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg The Peter and Paul Cathedral () is a Russian Orthodox cathedral located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the first and oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, built between 1712 and 1733 on Hare Isl ...
, the burial site of the Romanovs. 60-year-old Count Alexei Orlov, who had played a role in deposing Peter III and possibly also in his death, was made to walk in the funeral cortege, holding the Imperial Crown of Russia as he walked in front of Peter's coffin. Peter III had never been crowned so at the time of his reburial, Paul personally performed the ritual of coronation on his remains. Paul responded to the rumour of his illegitimacy by parading his descent from Peter the Great. The inscription on the monument to the first Emperor of Russia near the St. Michael's Castle reads in Russian "''To the Great-Grandfather from the Great-Grandson''". This is an allusion to the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
"PETRO PRIMO CATHARINA SECUNDA", the dedication by Catherine on the '
Bronze Horseman The ''Bronze Horseman'' (, literally "copper horseman") is an equestrian statue of Peter I of Russia, Peter the Great in the Senate Square (Saint Petersburg), Senate Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was opened to the public on 7 (18) Augu ...
' statue of Peter the Great.


Purported eccentricities

Paul was idealistic and capable of great generosity, but he was also mercurial and capable of vindictiveness. In spite of doubts of his legitimacy, he greatly resembled his father, Peter III, and other Romanovs as well and shared the same character. During the first year of his reign, Paul emphatically reversed many of his mother's policies. Although he accused many of
Jacobinism A Jacobin (; ) was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary political movement that was the most famous political club during the French Revolution (1789–1799). The club got its name from meeting at the Dominican rue Saint-Honoré ...
, he allowed Catherine's best known critic,
Alexander Radishchev Alexander Nikolayevich Radishchev (; – ) was a Russian author and social critic who was arrested and exiled under Catherine the Great. He brought the tradition of radicalism in Russian literature to prominence with his 1790 work '' Journey fr ...
, to return from
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
n exile. Besides Radishchev, he liberated
Nikolay Novikov Nikolay Ivanovich Novikov (; , Moscow Governorate – Moscow Governorate) was a Russian writer and philanthropy, philanthropist most representative of his country's Russian Enlightenment, Enlightenment. Frequently considered to be the first Russ ...
from Schlüsselburg fortress, and also
Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...
, yet after liberation both were confined to their own estates under police supervision. He viewed the
Russian nobility The Russian nobility or ''dvoryanstvo'' () arose in the Middle Ages. In 1914, it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members, out of a total population of 138,200,000. Up until the February Revolution of 1917, the Russian noble estates staffed ...
as decadent and corrupt, and was determined to transform them into a disciplined, principled, loyal caste resembling a medieval
chivalric order An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is a society, fellowship and college of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and pai ...
. To those few who conformed to his view of a modern-day knight (e.g., his favourites
Mikhail Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky (; – ) was a Field Marshal of the Russian Empire. He served as a military officer and a diplomat under the reign of three Romanov monarchs: Empress Catherine II, and Emperors Paul ...
,
Aleksey Arakcheyev Count Alexey Andreyevich Arakcheyev or Arakcheev (; b. in Garusovo – d. in Gruzino) was an Imperial Russian general and statesman during the reign of Tsar Alexander I. He served under Tsars Paul I and Alexander I as an army commander an ...
, and Feodor Rostopchin) he granted more serfs during the five years of his reign than his mother had presented to her lovers during her thirty-four years. Those who did not share his chivalric views were dismissed or lost their places at court: seven field marshals and 333 generals fell into this category. Paul made several idiosyncratic and deeply unpopular attempts to reform 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 ...
. Under Catherine's reign,
Grigori Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...
introduced new uniforms that were cheap, comfortable, practical and designed in a distinctly Russian style. Paul decided to fulfill his father Peter III's intention of introducing Prussian uniforms. Impractical for active duty, these were deeply unpopular with the men, as was the effort required to maintain them. His love of parades and ceremony was not well-liked either. He ordered that ''Wachtparad'' ("Watch parades") take place early every morning in the parade ground of the palace, regardless of the weather conditions. He would personally sentence soldiers to be flogged if they made a mistake, and on one occasion ordered a Guards regiment to march to Siberia after they became disordered during maneuvers, although he changed his mind after they had walked about . He attempted to reform the organization of the army in 1796 by introducing ''The Infantry Codes'', a series of guidelines for the army based largely upon show and glamour. But his greatest commander,
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 ...
, completely ignored them, believing them to be worthless. At great expense, he built three palaces in or around the Russian capital. Much was made of his
courtly love Courtly love ( ; ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing various deeds or services for ladies b ...
affair with
Anna Lopukhina Princess Anna Petrovna Lopukhina (; 8 November 1777 – 25 April 1805) was a royal mistress to Emperor Paul of Russia. In 1798, she replaced Catherine Nelidova as the chief mistress. Family She was the daughter of Prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Lo ...
. Emperor Paul also ordered the bones of
Grigori Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...
, the famed military commander and one of his mother's lovers, dug out of his grave and scattered.


Foreign affairs

Paul's early foreign policy can largely be seen as reactions against his mother's. In foreign policy, this meant that he opposed the many expansionary wars she fought and instead preferred to pursue a more peaceful, diplomatic path. Immediately upon taking the throne, he recalled all troops outside Russian borders, including the struggling expedition Catherine II had sent to conquer
Qajar Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic peoples, Turkic origin,Cyrus G ...
through the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
and the 60,000 men she had promised to
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
and
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
to help them defeat the
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
. Paul hated the French before their revolution, and afterwards, with their republican and anti-religious views, he detested them even more.Haukeil, 351. In addition to this, he knew French expansion hurt Russian interests, but he recalled his mother's troops primarily because he firmly opposed wars of expansion. He also believed that Russia needed substantial governmental and military reforms to avoid an economic collapse and a revolution, before Russia could wage war on foreign soil. Paul offered to mediate between Austria and France through Prussia and pushed Austria to make peace, but the two countries made peace without his assistance, signing the
Treaty of Campoformio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...
in October 1797. This treaty, with its affirmation of French control over islands in the Mediterranean and the partitioning of the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...
, upset Paul, who saw it as creating more instability in the region and displaying France's ambitions in the Mediterranean. In response, he offered asylum to the
Prince of Condé A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The f ...
and his army, as well as the future
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
, both of whom had been forced out of Austria by the treaty. By this point, the French Republic had overrun
Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...
, the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
and
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, establishing
republics A republic, based on the Latin phrase '' res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although ...
with constitutions in each, and Paul felt that Russia now needed to play an active role in Europe in order to overthrow what the republic had created and restore traditional authorities. In this goal he found a willing ally in the Austrian chancellor Baron Thugut, who hated the French and loudly criticized revolutionary principles. Britain joined Austria and Russia to stop French expansion, liberate territories under their control and re-establish old monarchies. The only major power in Europe who did not join Paul in his anti-French campaign was Prussia, whose distrust of Austria and the security they got from their current relationship with France prevented them from joining the
Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition () (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war targeting revolutionary France by many European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria, and Russia and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, ...
. Despite the Prussians’ reluctance, Paul decided to move ahead with the war, promising 60,000 men to support Austria in Italy and 45,000 men to help Britain in north Germany and Holland. Another important factor in Paul's decision to go to war with France was the island of
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
, the home of the
Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...
. In addition to Malta, the Order had priories in the Catholic countries of Europe that held large estates and paid the revenue from them to the Order. In 1796, the Order approached Paul about the Priory of Poland, which had been in a state of neglect and paid no revenue for 100 years, and was now on Russian land.McGrew, Roderick E. (1979) "Paul I and the Knights of Malta," in ''Paul I: A Reassessment of His Life and Reign'', ed. Hugh Ragsdale (Pittsburgh: University Center for International Studies, University of Pittsburgh) Paul as a child had read the histories of the Order and was impressed by their honor and connection to the old order it represented. He relocated the Priories of Poland to St. Petersburg in January 1797. The knights responded by making him a protector of the Order in August of that same year, an honour he had not expected but, in keeping with his chivalric ideals, he happily accepted. In June 1798, the French occupied Malta; this greatly offended Paul. In September, the Priory of St. Petersburg declared that Grand Master
Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, O.S.I. (9 November 1744 – 12 May 1805) was the 71st Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, formally the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, by then better known as the Knights of Malta. He was the first G ...
had betrayed the Order by "selling" Malta to Napoleon. A month later the Priory elected Paul Grand Master on 24 November 1798, according to the 1847 edition of the ''Glossary of Heraldry''. This election resulted in the establishment of the Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller within the Imperial Orders of Russia. The election of the sovereign of an Orthodox nation as the head of a Catholic order was controversial, and it was some time before the
Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...
or any of the Order's other priories approved it. This delay created political issues between Paul, who insisted on defending his legitimacy, and the priories’ respective countries. Though recognition of Paul's election would become a more divisive issue later in his reign, the election immediately gave Paul, as Grand Master of the Order, another reason to fight the French Republic: to reclaim the Order's ancestral home. The Russian army in Italy played the role of an auxiliary force sent to support the Austrians, though the Austrians offered the position of chief commander over all the allied armies to Alexander Suvorov, a distinguished Russian general. Under Suvorov, the allies managed to push the French out of Italy, though they suffered heavy losses. However, by this point in time, cracks had started to appear in the Russo-Austrian alliance, due to their different goals in Italy. While Paul and Suvorov wanted the liberation and restoration of the Italian monarchies, the Austrians sought territorial acquisitions in Italy, and were willing to sacrifice later Russian support to acquire them. The Austrians, therefore, happily saw Suvorov and his army out of Italy in 1799 to go meet up with the army of
Alexander Korsakov Alexander Mikhailovich Rimsky-Korsakov (; August 24, 1753 – May 25, 1840) was a Russian general remembered as an unlucky assistant to Alexander Suvorov during his Swiss expedition of 1799–1800. Early career Korsakov entered military service ...
, at the time assisting the Austrian
Archduke Charles Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Lawrence of Austria, Duke of Teschen (; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian Empire, Austrian field marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the youn ...
to expel the French armies currently occupying Switzerland. However, the campaign in Switzerland had become a stalemate, without much activity on either side until the Austrians withdrew. Because this happened before Korsakov and Suvorov could unite their forces, the French could attack their armies one at a time, destroying Korsakov's and forcing Suvorov to fight his way out of Switzerland, suffering heavy losses. Suvorov, shamed, blamed the Austrians for the terrible defeat in Switzerland, as did his furious sovereign. This defeat, combined with Austria's refusal to reinstate the old monarchies in Italy and their disrespect of the Russian flag during the taking of
Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...
, led to the formal cessation of the alliance in October 1799. Although by the fall of 1799 the Russo-Austrian alliance had more or less fallen apart, Paul still cooperated willingly with the British. Together, they planned to invade the
Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...
, and through that country attack France proper. Unlike Austria, neither Russia nor Britain appeared to have any secret territorial ambitions: they both simply sought to defeat the French. The
Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland The Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland (or Anglo-Russian expedition to Holland, or Helder Expedition) was a military campaign from 27 August to 19 November 1799 during the War of the Second Coalition, in which an expeditionary force of British and ...
started well, with a British victory at the
Battle of Callantsoog The Battle of Callantsoog (also known as the Battle of Groote Keeten) (27 August 1799) was an amphibious landing by a British invasion force under Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby near Callantsoog during the Anglo-Russian invasion of ...
on 27 August 1799. By the time the Russian army arrived in September, however, the allies found themselves faced with bad weather, poor coordination, and unexpectedly fierce resistance from the Batavian and French armies, and their success evaporated. As the month wore on, the weather worsened and the allies suffered more and more defeats, eventually signing an armistice in October 1799. The Russians suffered three-quarters of allied losses and surviving Russian troops were sent by the British to the
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
after the retreat, as it was illegal for foreign troops to enter Britain. The invasion's defeat and the perceived poor treatment of Russian troops by Britain strained Anglo-Russian relations, but a definitive break did not occur until later. The reasons for this break are less clear and simple than those of the split with Austria, but several key events occurred over the winter of 1799–1800 that helped: France released 7,000 Russian prisoners of war that Britain had refused to ransom; Paul grew closer to
Denmark–Norway Denmark–Norway (Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian: ) is a term for the 16th-to-19th-century multi-national and multi-lingual real unionFeldbæk 1998:11 consisting of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of Norway (includ ...
and
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, whose claim to neutral shipping rights angered Britain; Paul recalled Britain's ambassador to Russia Charles Whitworth in 1800 and the
first Pitt ministry William Pitt the Younger led the government of the Kingdom of Great Britain from 1783 to 1801. In 1800, the Acts of Union between Great Britain and Ireland were accepted by their respective parliaments, creating the new United Kingdom of Grea ...
did not replace him, without any clear reason given as to why; and Britain, needing to choose between their two allies, chose Austria, who were seen as more reliable than the Russians. Finally, two events occurred in rapid succession that destroyed the Anglo-Russian alliance completely: first, in July 1800, the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
seized a Danish frigate, prompting Paul to close all British factories in St. Petersburg and impound all British merchantmen and cargo in Russian ports; second, even though this crisis was resolved, Paul was incensed by Britain's refusal to hand Malta over the Knights Hospitaller– and thus to Paul– when they captured it from France in September 1800. To force Britain to hand over Malta, Paul seized all British vessels in Russian ports, sent their crews to
concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
s and took British traders hostage. Over the next winter, he went further, using the
Second League of Armed Neutrality The Second League of Armed Neutrality or the League of the North was an alliance of the north European naval powers Denmark–Norway, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia. It existed between 1800 and 1801 during the War of the Second Coalition and was in ...
he formed with Sweden, Denmark and Prussia to prepare the Baltic against possible attacks by the Royal Navy and prevent them from searching neutral merchant vessels, along with freezing all British trade in Northern Europe. As France had already closed most of Western and Southern Europe to British trade, Britain, which relied heavily upon imports such as timber, naval products, and grain, reacted fast to Paul's aggression. In March 1801, Britain sent a fleet under Vice-Admiral
Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
to Denmark, defeating a Danish fleet off Copenhagen in the beginning of April. Nelson's fleet then sailed towards St. Petersburg, reaching
Reval Tallinn is the capital and most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and administratively lies in the Harju ''maakond'' (co ...
on 14 May 1801, but after the conspiracy assassinated Paul on 23 March 1801, the new Tsar Alexander opened peace negotiations with Britain shortly after taking the throne. The most original aspect of Paul I's foreign policy was his rapprochement with France after the coalition fell apart. Several scholars have argued that this change in position, radical though it seemed, made sense, as Bonaparte became
First Consul The Consulate () was the top-level government of the First French Republic from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799 until the start of the French Empire on 18 May 1804. During this period, Napoleon Bonap ...
and made France a more conservative state, consistent with Paul's view of the world. Paul also decided to send an army to invade British India, as Britain itself was almost impervious to direct attack, being an island nation with a formidable navy, but the British had left their Indian possessions largely unguarded and would have great difficulty staving off a force that came by land to attack it. The British themselves considered this enough of a problem that they signed three treaties with Persia, in
1801 Events January–March *January 1 ** The legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland is completed under the Act of Union 1800, bringing about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the abolition of the Parliament of Ir ...
, 1809 and 1812, to guard against a European army invading India through Central Asia. Paul sought to attack the British where they were weakest: through their commerce and colonies. Throughout his reign, his policies focused reestablishing peace and the balance of power in Europe, while supporting autocracy and old monarchies, without seeking to expand Russia's borders.


Irano-Georgian matters

In lieu of Russia's failure to honour the terms of the
Treaty of Georgievsk The Treaty of Georgievsk (; ka, გეორგიევსკის ტრაქტატი, tr) was a bilateral treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and the east Georgian kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti on July 24, 1783. The treaty establi ...
, Qajar Iran reinvaded Georgia. Georgian rulers felt they had nowhere else to turn now as Georgia was again re-subjugated by Iran.
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
was captured and burnt to the ground, and eastern Georgia reconquered. However,
Agha Mohammad Khan Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar (; 14 March 1742 – 17 June 1797), also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah (), was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Qajar Iran, Iran, ruling from 1789 to 1797 as Shah. Originally a chieftain of the Quwanlu ...
, Persia's ruler, was assassinated in 1797 in
Shusha Shusha (, ) or Shushi () is a city in Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Situated at an altitude of 1,400–1,800 metres (4,600–5,900 ft) in the Karabakh mountains, the city was a mountain resort in the Soviet Union, Soviet ...
, after which the Persian grip on Georgia softened again. Erekle, King of Kartli-Kakheti, still dreaming of a united Georgia, died a year later. After his death, a civil war broke out over the succession to the throne of Kartli-Kakheti, and one of the rival candidates called on Russia to intervene and decide matters. On 8 January 1801, Tsar Paul I signed a decree on the incorporation of Georgia (Kartli-Kakheti) within the Russian Empire, which was confirmed by Tsar Alexander I on 12 September 1801. The Georgian envoy in Saint Petersburg,
Garsevan Chavchavadze Prince Garsevan Chavchavadze ( ka, გარსევან ჭავჭავაძე) (July 20, 1757 - April 7, 1811) was a Georgia (country), Georgian nobleman (''tavadi''), politician and diplomat primarily known as the Georgian ambassador t ...
, reacted with a note of protest that was presented to the Russian vice-chancellor
Alexander Kurakin Prince Alexander Borisovich Kurakin, sometimes spelled ''Kourakine'' (; 18 January 1752 – Weimar, 6 / 24 June 1818) was a Russian statesman and diplomat, a member of the State Council (from 1810), who was ranked Active Privy Counsellor 1st Cl ...
. In May 1801, after Paul's death, Russian General Carl Heinrich von Knorring removed the Georgian heir to the throne,
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
Batonishvili ''Batonishvili'' ( ka, ბატონიშვილი, ) is a title for royal princes and princesses who descend from the Kings of Georgia from the Bagrationi dynasty. ''Batonishvili'' is suffixed after or before the given names e.g. David ' ...
, from power and deployed a provisional government headed by General Ivan Petrovich Lazarev.


Assassination

Paul's premonitions of
assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
were well-founded. His attempts to force the nobility to adopt a code of
chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric language, is an informal and varying code of conduct that developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It is associated with the medieval Christianity, Christian institution of knighthood, with knights being members of ...
alienated many of his trusted advisors. The Emperor also discovered outrageous machinations and
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
in the Russian
treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
. A
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
was organized, some months before it was executed, by Counts
Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen Peter Ludwig Graf von der Pahlen (; , Palmse, Governorate of Estonia – , Mitau, Courland Governorate (now Jelgava, Latvia)) was a Russian courtier and general of Baltic German stock, who played a pivotal role in the assassination of Emperor ...
, Nikita Petrovich Panin, and Admiral de Ribas, with the alleged support of the British ambassador in Saint Petersburg, Charles Whitworth. The death of de Ribas in December 1800 delayed the assassination; but, on the night of , a band of dismissed officers murdered Paul at the newly completed palace of
Saint 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 ...
. The assassins included General
Levin August, Count von Bennigsen Levin August Gottlieb Theophil, Graf von Bennigsen (, as well in ; 10 February 1745 – 3 December 1826) was a German general in the service of the Russian Empire. Bennigsen made a name for himself in Russian history as the man who fought Napoleon ...
, a
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
ian in the Russian service; and General
Vladimir Mikhailovich Yashvil Prince Vladimir Mikhailovich Yashvil (; ka, ვლადიმერ იაშვილი) (July 15, 1764 – July 20, 1815) was a Russian general of Georgian noble origin (Iashvili) personally involved in the assassination of Paul I of Rus ...
, a Georgian. They charged into Paul's bedroom, flushed with drink after dining together, and found the emperor hiding behind some drapes in the corner. The conspirators pulled him out, forced him to the table, and tried to compel him to sign his
abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...
. Paul offered some resistance, and
Nikolay Zubov Nikolay Zubov may refer to: * Nikolay Alexandrovich Zubov (1763-1805), Russian nobleman * Nikolay Nikolaevich Zubov (1885-1960), Russian naval officer and oceanographer * Nikolay Zubov (icebreaker), see Project 23550 patrol ship {{hndis, Zubov, ...
struck him with a sword, after which the assassins strangled and trampled him to death. Paul's successor on the Russian throne, his 23-year-old son Alexander, was actually in the palace at the time of the killing; he had "given his consent to the overthrow of Paul, but had not supposed that this would be carried out by means of assassination". Zubov announced his accession to the heir, accompanied by the admonition, "Time to grow up! Go and rule!" Alexander I did not punish the assassins, and the court physician, James Wylie, declared
apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...
the official cause of death.


Legacy

There is some evidence that Paul I was venerated as a saint among the Russian Orthodox populace, even though he was never officially canonized by any of the Orthodox Churches. The city of Pavlograd (Pavlohrad) in
Eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or East Ukraine (; ) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts (provinces). Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are often also regarded as ...
is claimed to have been named for Paul (the city was renamed from "Luhanske" in 1783), although the modern government have denied this, saying the name refers to
Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
.


Portrayals in popular culture

* In 1906,
Dmitry Merezhkovsky Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky ( rus, Дми́трий Серге́евич Мережко́вский, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj; – December 9, 1941) was a Russian novelist, poet, religious think ...
published his tragedy ''Paul I''; the most prominent performance of which was made on the Soviet Army Theatre's stage in 1989, with
Oleg Borisov Oleg Ivanovich Borisov (8 November 192928 April 1994, born Albert Ivanovich Borisov) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. People's Artist of the USSR (1978). Biography Childhood and youth Oleg Borisov was born Albert Ivanovich Boriso ...
as Paul. * '' The Patriot'' (1928 film), directed by
Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; ; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; a ...
, is a biopic 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. It won the Best Writing Oscar at the
2nd Academy Awards The 2nd Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on April 3, 1930, at an awards banquet in the Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, honored the best films released between August 1, ...
. It is now mostly lost, with about one-third of the film preserved in archives. * The Soviet film ''
Lieutenant Kijé Lieutenant Kijé or Kizhe (, translit. Poruchik Kizhe), originally Kizh (Киж), is a fictional character in an anecdote about the reign of Emperor Paul I of Russia, in which the cover up of a transcription error leads to the creation of a ...
'' (1937), directed by Aleksandr Faintsimmer and based on a novella of the same name by Yury Tynyanov, satirizes Paul's obsession with rigid drill, instant obedience, and martinet discipline. * In
Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French ph ...
's novel ''
Nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...
'' (1938), Marquis de Rollebon, a fictional character being studied by the protagonist Antoine Roquentin, is implicit in Paul I's assassination. * The Soviet experimental film ''
Assa Assa may refer to: Places * Assa (Chalcidice), a town of Chalcidice in ancient Macedonia, Greece * Assa, Morocco, a town in Southern Morocco in the Jbel Ouarkziz * Asa River (Kazakhstan), river in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan * Assa (river), river ...
'' (1987) has a subplot revolving around Paul's murder; Paul is portrayed by . * '' Poor Poor Paul'' (2003; Бе́дный бе́дный Па́вел) is a film about Paul's rule produced by
Lenfilm Lenfilm (, acronym of Leningrad Films) is a Russian production and distribution company with its own film studio located in Saint Petersburg (the city was called Leningrad from 1924 to 1991, thus the name). It is a corporation with its stakes s ...
, directed by Vitaliy Mel'nikov, and starring
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 ...
as Paul and
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 ...
as Count Pahlen, who headed the conspiracy against him. The film portrays Paul more compassionately than the long-existing stories about him. The movie won the Michael Tariverdiev Prize for best music to a film at the Open Russian Film Festival
Kinotavr Kinotavr (), also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival was an open film festival held in the resort city of Sochi, Russia annually in June since 1991, until it was cancelled in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.Russia-1 Russia-1 () is a state-owned Russian television channel, first aired on 14 February 1956 as Programme Two in the Soviet Union. It was relaunched as RTR on 13 May 1991, and is known today as Russia-1. It is the flagship channel of the All-Russia ...
television series ''Ekaterina'' and features heavily as a main character in its second, third, and fourth seasons. * The young Paul is portrayed by Joseph Quinn in the 2019
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
mini-series ''
Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
''. * An adult Paul is portrayed by Bruce Langley in the third season of the 2020
Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
series ''
The Great This is a list of people known as the Great, or the equivalent, in their own language. Other languages have their own suffixes, such as Persian ''e Bozorg'' and Hindustani ''e Azam''. In Persia, the title "the Great" at first seems to have be ...
''.


Archives

Paul's letters to his first mother-in-law,
Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken Caroline of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken (Caroline Henriette Christiane Philippine Louise; 9 March 1721 – 30 March 1774) was Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt by marriage to Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was famed as one of the m ...
, (together with letters from his first wife to her mother) are preserved in the Hessian State Archive (Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt) in
Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
, Germany. In addition, Paul's letters to his first father-in-law, Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, (together with letters from his first wife to her father) are also preserved in the Hessian State Archive in Darmstadt. Paul's correspondence with his brother-in-law, King
Frederick I of Württemberg Frederick I (Frederick William Charles, ; 6 November 1754 – 30 October 1816) was the ruler of Württemberg from 1797 to his death. He was the last Duke of Württemberg from 1797 to 1803, then the first and only Elector of Württemberg from ...
(Maria Feodorovna's brother), written between 1776 and 1801, is preserved in the State Archive of Stuttgart (Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart) in Stuttgart, Germany. Paul's correspondence with his parents-in-law,
Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg Friedrich Eugen, Duke of Württemberg (21 January 1732 – 23 December 1797) was the fourth son of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis. He was born in Stuttgart. From 1795 until 1797, he was Duke ...
, and Friederike of Brandenburg-Schwedt, written between 1776 and 1797, is also preserved in the State Archive of Stuttgart.


Issue

Paul and Sophie had ten children; nine survived to adulthood (and from whom can be traced 30 legitimate grandchildren):


Mistresses and illegitimate children

* Sophia Razumovskaya (1746–1803), lady in waiting of
Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
. ** Semyon Afanasyevich Velikiy (1772 – 13 August 1794)– became a naval officer and died in a shipwreck in the
Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
. Retrieved 20 January 2022 * Mavra Yuryeva (1760–1828), spouse of Aleksey Vakar ** Marfa Pavlovna Musina-Yuryeva (1801–1803) – died prematurely


Ancestry


See also

*
Manifesto of three-day corvee The Manifesto of three-day corvee or An Imperial Edict Forbidding Sunday Labor by Serfs () was issued by the Russian emperor Paul I on April 16, 1797, as a first ever legal attempt at extending the rights of Russian serfs. The document prohibit ...
*
Tsars of Russia family tree The following is a family tree of the monarchs of Russia. Rurik dynasty Romanov dynasty ...


Notes


References


Attribution

* *


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *
online review
* * * * *


External links



at AlexanderPalace.org * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul 01 Of Russia 18th-century Russian monarchs 19th-century murdered monarchs 19th-century Russian monarchs 1754 births 1801 deaths Assassinated politicians from the Russian Empire Burials at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg Children of Catherine the Great Deaths by strangulation Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp Grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller House of Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov Knights of Malta Murdered Russian monarchs Royalty from Saint Petersburg People of the Russo-Persian Wars Emperors of Russia Grand dukes of Russia Tsesarevichs of Russia Sons of Russian emperors Sons of empresses regnant People murdered in 1801 Assassinations in the Russian Empire Politicians assassinated in the 1800s