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They say that any power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts completely. Russian rulers different eras were no exception to this rule, and they cannot be called ascetic people even by a stretch. ABOUT Russian tsars and queens, many historical anecdotes have been preserved. We offer you some of them.

Peter the Great and the dwarfs

Emperor Peter I loved dwarfs from childhood, and during his reign it was common practice for noble nobles to keep Lilliputians as jesters. However, Peter himself took this hobby to the extreme. From time to time he ordered a naked midget to be baked in a pie, so that in the middle of dinner he would suddenly jump out of the pie to the fear of the guests and to the amusement of the emperor.

Peter even tried to breed dwarfs. For the wedding of the Tsar's jester Yakim Volkov and the dwarf who served the Tsarina, more than seventy dwarfs, mostly poor peasants, were brought from all over Russia. They were dressed in specially tailored clothes of European styles, drunk with wine and forced to dance to entertain those present. The emperor was very pleased.

Catherine the Second and the collection of erotica

By official version, the collection was destroyed in 1950. A catalog issued in the 1930s and several photographs taken by German officers during World War II have been preserved. There is a version that Catherine II’s secret office was located not in Gatchina, but in Peterhof, and can still be found.

Ivan the Terrible and the fake Tsar

During the 11 months of Simeon's reign, Ivan, with his hands, returned to the treasury all the lands previously granted to monasteries and boyars, and in August 1576 he just as suddenly took the throne again. Simeon's relations with subsequent kings were extremely unhappy. Boris Godunov ordered him to be blinded, False Dmitry I forced him to go to a monastery, Vasily Shuisky exiled him to Solovki. The burial place of Simeon is located under the foundation of the cultural center of the Likhachev Plant, on the site where the necropolis of the Simonov Monastery was once located.

Alexander II and his sense of humor

Alexander III and genealogy

Elizaveta Petrovna and women's pride

One day, after a ball, the court hairdresser was unable to wash and comb Elizabeth’s hair, which was sticky from hairdressing potions. The Empress was forced to cut her hair. Immediately, the ladies of the court were ordered to shave their heads and wear black wigs until the order was rescinded. I only avoided shaving my head. future Catherine The second, who recently suffered from an illness and lost her hair during it. Moscow ladies were allowed not to shave their heads, provided that they hide their hairstyles under black wigs.

Paul I and official zeal

Two hours before the end of the exercises, the emperor, along with the regiments besieging the fortress, was caught in a heavy downpour. The commandant of the fortress was ordered to immediately open the gates and let Paul in, but he flatly refused to carry out the order. The Emperor was soaked through. Exactly at twelve o'clock the gates opened, and Pavel, bursting into the fortress in anger, attacked the commandant with reproaches.

He calmly showed the emperor the order signed in his own hand. Pavel had no choice but to praise the colonel for his diligence and discipline. The commandant immediately received the rank of major general and was sent to stand guard in the continuing rain.

Alexander I and honesty

Seeing the book in the same place, the emperor again asked the caretaker if he had read the book since they saw each other. The caretaker again warmly assured him that he had read it more than once. Alexander leafed through the Bible - the banknotes were in place. He chided the caretaker for deception and ordered the money to be distributed to the orphans.

We invite you to read about the most striking love stories in the Russian imperial dynasty.
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Power is not the most in the best possible way affects people.

Absolute power is especially corrupting.

This is clearly seen in the example of the Russian tsars and queens, who had unusual hobbies and falling into funny stories.

Peter the Great and Charles

Emperor Peter I is one of the most eccentric Russian rulers

Emperor Peter I loved dwarfs from childhood, and during his reign it was common practice for noble nobles to keep Lilliputians as jesters. However, Peter himself took this hobby to the extreme. From time to time he ordered a naked midget to be baked in a pie, so that in the middle of dinner he would suddenly jump out of the pie to the fear of the guests and to the amusement of the emperor.

Peter I arranged the weddings of the Lilliputians

Peter even tried to breed dwarfs. For the wedding of the Tsar's jester Yakim Volkov and the dwarf who served the Tsarina, more than seventy dwarfs, mostly poor peasants, were brought from all over Russia. They were dressed in specially tailored clothes of European styles, drunk with wine and forced to dance to entertain those present. The emperor was very pleased.

Catherine the Second and the collection of erotica

According to rumors, the office, furnished with custom-made furniture with frivolous carvings, adjoined the empress’s private chambers in the Gatchina Palace. The room was filled with the finest examples of erotic painting and sculpture, some of which came from excavations in Pompeii.

Catherine II collected large collection erotic sculptures

According to the official version, the collection was destroyed in 1950. A catalog issued in the 1930s and several photographs taken by German officers during World War II have been preserved. There is a version that the secret office was located not in Gatchina, but in Peterhof, and can still be found.

Ivan the Terrible and the fake Tsar

In 1575, Ivan IV unexpectedly abdicated the throne and declared that from now on he would become a simple boyar, Vladimir of Moscow. He handed over the throne to the baptized Tatar Simeon Bekbulatovich, a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. Simeon was officially crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral, and Ivan settled in Petrovka. From time to time, the retired tsar sent petitions to Simeon, signed by Ivanets Vasiliev.

Ivan the Terrible abdicated the throne “for show”

During the 11 months of Simeon's reign, Ivan, with his hands, returned to the treasury all the lands previously granted to monasteries and boyars, and in August 1576 he just as suddenly took the throne again. Simeon's relations with subsequent kings were extremely unhappy. Boris Godunov ordered him to be blinded, False Dmitry I forced him to go to a monastery, Vasily Shuisky exiled him to Solovki. The burial place of Simeon is located under the foundation of the cultural center of the Likhachev Plant, on the site where the necropolis of the Simonov Monastery was once located.

Alexander II and his sense of humor

One day, Alexander II, passing through a small provincial town, decided to attend a church service. The temple was overcrowded. The chief of the local police, seeing the emperor, began to clear the way for him among the parishioners with blows of his fists and shouts: “With respect! With trepidation!" Alexander, having heard the words of the police chief, laughed and said that he now understands how exactly in Russia they teach humility and respect. Another ironic phrase attributed to Alexander II: “It is not difficult to rule Russia, but it is pointless.”

Alexander II had a specific sense of humor

Alexander III and genealogy

The penultimate emperor, nicknamed the Peacemaker (under him, the Russian Empire did not participate in wars), loved everything Russian, wore a thick beard and had difficulty accepting the fact that the royal family actually consisted of Germans. Soon after the coronation, Alexander gathered his closest courtiers and asked them who the real father of Paul I was. The historiographer Barskov replied that, most likely, Alexander's great-great-grandfather was Count Sergei Vasilyevich Saltykov. "God bless!" - the emperor exclaimed, crossing himself. - “So, I have at least a little Russian blood in me!”

Alexander III was a consistent Slavophile

Elizaveta Petrovna and women's pride

Possessing a naturally gentle character, the daughter of Peter the Great did not make concessions only in matters of fashion and beauty. No one was allowed to copy the style of clothing and hairstyle of the Empress or appear at the reception in an outfit that was more luxurious than Elizabeth’s dress. At one of the balls, the empress personally cut off the ribbons and hairpins of the wife of Chief Chamberlain Naryshkin, along with the hair, under the pretext that her hairstyle vaguely resembled the royal one.

Elizaveta Petrovna loved balls and dresses most of all

One day, after a ball, the court hairdresser was unable to wash and comb Elizabeth’s hair, which was sticky from hairdressing potions. The Empress was forced to cut her hair. Immediately, the ladies of the court were ordered to shave their heads and wear black wigs until the order was rescinded. Only the future Catherine II, who had recently suffered an illness and lost her hair during the illness, avoided shaving her head. Moscow ladies were allowed not to shave their heads, provided that they hide their hairstyles under black wigs.

Paul I and official zeal

Since childhood, Pavel Petrovich had a passion for strict order, military uniform and maneuvers. Alexander Suvorov, according to rumors, was removed from command of the army due to statements about the inappropriateness of a German powdered wig and uncomfortable boots with buckles on a Russian soldier. One day Paul conducted a mock siege of a fortress, the defenders of which were ordered to hold out by all means until noon.

Paul I spent a lot of time in amusing fights

Two hours before the end of the exercises, the emperor, along with the regiments besieging the fortress, was caught in a heavy downpour. The commandant of the fortress was ordered to immediately open the gates and let Paul in, but he flatly refused to carry out the order. The Emperor was soaked through. Exactly at twelve o'clock the gates opened, and Pavel, bursting into the fortress in anger, attacked the commandant with reproaches.

Paul I built his residence, the Engineering Castle, as a fortress

He calmly showed the emperor the order signed in his own hand. Pavel had no choice but to praise the colonel for his diligence and discipline. The commandant immediately received the rank of major general and was sent to stand guard in the continuing rain.

Alexander I and honesty

In the last years of his life, Alexander the First was a very God-fearing person. On Christmas Eve, while making a pilgrimage, the emperor stopped briefly at the post station. Entering the station superintendent's hut, Alexander saw the Bible on the table and asked how often the superintendent reads it.

There is a legend that Alexander I did not die, but went to a monastery under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich

Seeing the book in the same place, the emperor again asked the caretaker if he had read the book since they saw each other. The caretaker again warmly assured him that he had read it more than once. Alexander leafed through the Bible - the banknotes were in place. He chided the caretaker for deception and ordered the money to be distributed to the orphans.

For almost 400 years of the existence of this title, it was worn completely different people- from adventurers and liberals to tyrants and conservatives.

Rurikovich

Over the years, Russia (from Rurik to Putin) has changed many times political system. At first rulers wore princely title. When after the period political fragmentation something new has developed around Moscow Russian state, the owners of the Kremlin began to think about accepting the royal title.

This was accomplished under Ivan the Terrible (1547-1584). This one decided to marry into the kingdom. And this decision was not accidental. So the Moscow monarch emphasized that he was the legal successor. It was they who bestowed Orthodoxy on Russia. In the 16th century, Byzantium no longer existed (it fell under the onslaught of the Ottomans), so Ivan the Terrible rightly believed that his act would have serious symbolic significance.

Historical figures such as this king influenced big influence for the development of the entire country. In addition to changing his title, Ivan the Terrible also captured the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, beginning Russian expansion to the East.

Ivan's son Fedor (1584-1598) was distinguished weak character and health. Nevertheless, under him the state continued to develop. The patriarchate was established. Rulers have always paid a lot of attention to the issue of succession to the throne. This time he became especially acute. Fedor had no children. When he died, the Rurik dynasty on the Moscow throne came to an end.

Time of Troubles

After Fyodor's death, Boris Godunov (1598-1605), his brother-in-law, came to power. He did not belong to the reigning family, and many considered him a usurper. With him because of natural disasters a colossal famine began. The tsars and presidents of Russia have always tried to maintain calm in the provinces. Due to the tense situation, Godunov was unable to do this. Several peasant uprisings took place in the country.

In addition, the adventurer Grishka Otrepyev called himself one of the sons of Ivan the Terrible and began a military campaign against Moscow. He actually managed to capture the capital and become king. Boris Godunov did not live to see this moment - he died from health complications. His son Feodor II was captured by the comrades of False Dmitry and killed.

The impostor ruled for only a year, after which he was overthrown during the Moscow uprising, inspired by disgruntled Russian boyars who did not like the fact that False Dmitry surrounded himself with Catholic Poles. decided to transfer the crown to Vasily Shuisky (1606-1610). IN Troubled times The rulers of Russia changed frequently.

The princes, tsars and presidents of Russia had to carefully guard their power. Shuisky could not restrain her and was overthrown by the Polish interventionists.

The first Romanovs

When Moscow was liberated from foreign invaders in 1613, the question arose of who should be made sovereign. This text presents all the kings of Russia in order (with portraits). Now the time has come to talk about the rise to the throne of the Romanov dynasty.

The first sovereign from this family, Mikhail (1613-1645), was just a youth when he was put in charge of a huge country. His main goal was the fight with Poland for the lands it captured during the Time of Troubles.

These were the biographies of the rulers and the dates of their reign until the middle of the 17th century. After Mikhail, his son Alexei (1645-1676) ruled. He annexed left-bank Ukraine and Kyiv to Russia. So, after several centuries of fragmentation and Lithuanian rule fraternal peoples finally began to live in the same country.

Alexei had many sons. The eldest of them Feodor III(1676-1682), died at a young age. After him came the simultaneous reign of two children - Ivan and Peter.

Peter the Great

Ivan Alekseevich was unable to govern the country. Therefore, in 1689, the sole reign of Peter the Great began. He completely rebuilt the country in a European manner. Russia - from Rurik to Putin (in chronological order consider all the rulers) - knows few examples of an era so saturated with changes.

A new army and navy appeared. For this, Peter started a war against Sweden. The Northern War lasted 21 years. During it, the Swedish army was defeated, and the kingdom agreed to cede its southern Baltic lands. St. Petersburg was founded in this region in 1703 - new capital Russia. Peter's successes made him think about changing his title. In 1721 he became emperor. However, this change did not abolish the royal title - in everyday speech, monarchs continued to be called kings.

The era of palace coups

Peter's death was followed by a long period of instability in power. Monarchs replaced each other with enviable regularity, which was facilitated by the Guard or certain courtiers, as a rule, at the head of these changes. This era was ruled by Catherine I (1725-1727), Peter II (1727-1730), Anna Ioannovna (1730-1740), Ivan VI (1740-1741), Elizaveta Petrovna (1741-1761) and Peter III (1761-1762) ).

The last of them was German by birth. Under Peter III's predecessor, Elizabeth, Russia waged a victorious war against Prussia. The new monarch renounced all his conquests, returned Berlin to the king and concluded a peace treaty. With this act he signed his own death warrant. The Guard organized another palace coup, after which Peter’s wife Catherine II took the throne.

Catherine II and Paul I

Catherine II (1762-1796) had a deep state mind. On the throne, she began to pursue a policy of enlightened absolutism. The Empress organized the work of the famous laid down commission, the purpose of which was to prepare a comprehensive project of reforms in Russia. She also wrote the Order. This document contained many considerations about the transformations necessary for the country. The reforms were curtailed when a peasant uprising led by Pugachev broke out in the Volga region in the 1770s.

All the tsars and presidents of Russia (we have listed all the royal persons in chronological order) made sure that the country looked decent in the external arena. She was no exception. She conducted several successful military campaigns against Turkey. As a result, Crimea and other important Black Sea regions were annexed to Russia. At the end of Catherine's reign, three divisions of Poland occurred. Thus, the Russian Empire received important acquisitions in the west.

After death great empress Her son Paul I (1796-1801) came to power. This quarrelsome man was not liked by many in the St. Petersburg elite.

First half of the 19th century

In 1801, the next and last palace coup took place. A group of conspirators dealt with Pavel. His son Alexander I (1801-1825) was on the throne. His reign was Patriotic War and Napoleon's invasion. Rulers Russian state For two centuries they have not faced such a serious enemy intervention. Despite the capture of Moscow, Bonaparte was defeated. Alexander became the most popular and famous monarch of the Old World. He was also called the "liberator of Europe."

Within his country, Alexander in his youth tried to implement liberal reforms. Historical figures often change their policies as they age. So Alexander soon abandoned his ideas. He died in Taganrog in 1825 under mysterious circumstances.

At the beginning of the reign of his brother Nicholas I (1825-1855), the Decembrist uprising occurred. Because of this, conservative orders triumphed in the country for thirty years.

Second half of the 19th century

All the kings of Russia are presented here in order, with portraits. Next we will talk about the main reformer of Russian statehood - Alexander II (1855-1881). He initiated the manifesto for the liberation of the peasants. The destruction of serfdom allowed the Russian market and capitalism to develop. Economic growth began in the country. The reforms also affected the judiciary, local government, administrative and conscription systems. The monarch tried to get the country back on its feet and learn the lessons that the lost beginnings under Nicholas I taught him.

But Alexander's reforms were not enough for the radicals. Terrorists made several attempts on his life. In 1881 they achieved success. Alexander II died from a bomb explosion. The news came as a shock to the whole world.

Because of what happened, the son of the deceased monarch, Alexander III (1881-1894), forever became a tough reactionary and conservative. But most of all he is known as a peacemaker. During his reign, Russia did not wage a single war.

The last king

In 1894, Alexander III died. Power passed into the hands of Nicholas II (1894-1917) - his son and the last Russian monarch. By that time, the old world order with the absolute power of kings and kings had already outlived its usefulness. Russia - from Rurik to Putin - has known a lot of upheavals, but it was under Nicholas that more than ever happened.

In 1904-1905 The country experienced a humiliating war with Japan. It was followed by the first revolution. Although the unrest was suppressed, the king had to make concessions public opinion. He agreed to establish a constitutional monarchy and parliament.

Tsars and presidents of Russia at all times faced a certain opposition within the state. Now people could elect deputies who expressed these sentiments.

In 1914 the First World War. No one then suspected that it would end with the fall of several empires at once, including the Russian one. In 1917 it broke out February Revolution, and the last king had to abdicate the throne. Nicholas II and his family were shot by the Bolsheviks in the basement of the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg.

Power does not have the best effect on people. Absolute power is especially corrupting. This is clearly seen in the example of Russian tsars and queens, who had unusual hobbies and got into funny stories.

Peter the Great and Charles

Emperor Peter I is one of the most eccentric Russian rulers

Emperor Peter I loved dwarfs from childhood, and during his reign it was common practice for noble nobles to keep Lilliputians as jesters. However, Peter himself took this hobby to the extreme. From time to time he ordered a naked midget to be baked in a pie, so that in the middle of dinner he would suddenly jump out of the pie to the fear of the guests and to the amusement of the emperor.

Peter I arranged the weddings of the Lilliputians

Peter even tried to breed dwarfs. For the wedding of the Tsar's jester Yakim Volkov and the dwarf who served the Tsarina, more than seventy dwarfs, mostly poor peasants, were brought from all over Russia. They were dressed in specially tailored clothes of European styles, drunk with wine and forced to dance to entertain those present. The emperor was very pleased.

Catherine the Second and the collection of erotica

According to rumors, the office, furnished with custom-made furniture with frivolous carvings, adjoined the empress’s private chambers in the Gatchina Palace. The room was filled with the finest examples of erotic painting and sculpture, some of which came from excavations in Pompeii.

Catherine II collected a large collection of erotic sculptures

According to the official version, the collection was destroyed in 1950. A catalog issued in the 1930s and several photographs taken by German officers during World War II have been preserved. There is a version that the secret office was located not in Gatchina, but in Peterhof, and can still be found.

Ivan the Terrible and the fake Tsar

In 1575, Ivan IV unexpectedly abdicated the throne and declared that from now on he would become a simple boyar, Vladimir of Moscow. He handed over the throne to the baptized Tatar Simeon Bekbulatovich, a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. Simeon was officially crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral, and Ivan settled in Petrovka. From time to time, the retired tsar sent petitions to Simeon, signed by Ivanets Vasiliev.

Ivan the Terrible abdicated the throne “for show”

During the 11 months of Simeon's reign, Ivan, with his hands, returned to the treasury all the lands previously granted to monasteries and boyars, and in August 1576 he just as suddenly took the throne again. Simeon's relations with subsequent kings were extremely unhappy. Boris Godunov ordered him to be blinded, False Dmitry I forced him to go to a monastery, Vasily Shuisky exiled him to Solovki. The burial place of Simeon is located under the foundation of the cultural center of the Likhachev Plant, on the site where the necropolis of the Simonov Monastery was once located.

Alexander II and his sense of humor

One day, Alexander II, passing through a small provincial town, decided to attend a church service. The temple was overcrowded. The chief of the local police, seeing the emperor, began to clear the way for him among the parishioners with blows of his fists and shouts: “With respect! With trepidation!" Alexander, having heard the words of the police chief, laughed and said that he now understands how exactly in Russia they teach humility and respect. Another ironic phrase attributed to Alexander II: “It is not difficult to rule Russia, but it is pointless.”

Alexander II had a specific sense of humor

Alexander III and genealogy

The penultimate emperor, nicknamed the Peacemaker (under him, the Russian Empire did not participate in wars), loved everything Russian, wore a thick beard and had difficulty accepting the fact that the royal family actually consisted of Germans. Soon after the coronation, Alexander gathered his closest courtiers and asked them who the real father of Paul I was. The historiographer Barskov replied that, most likely, Alexander's great-great-grandfather was Count Sergei Vasilyevich Saltykov. "God bless!" - the emperor exclaimed, crossing himself. - “So, I have at least a little Russian blood in me!”

Alexander III was a consistent Slavophile

Elizaveta Petrovna and women's pride

Possessing a naturally gentle character, the daughter of Peter the Great did not make concessions only in matters of fashion and beauty. No one was allowed to copy the style of clothing and hairstyle of the Empress or appear at the reception in an outfit that was more luxurious than Elizabeth’s dress. At one of the balls, the empress personally cut off the ribbons and hairpins of the wife of Chief Chamberlain Naryshkin, along with the hair, under the pretext that her hairstyle vaguely resembled the royal one.

Elizaveta Petrovna loved balls and dresses most of all

One day, after a ball, the court hairdresser was unable to wash and comb Elizabeth’s hair, which was sticky from hairdressing potions. The Empress was forced to cut her hair. Immediately, the ladies of the court were ordered to shave their heads and wear black wigs until the order was rescinded. Only the future Catherine II, who had recently suffered an illness and lost her hair during the illness, avoided shaving her head. Moscow ladies were allowed not to shave their heads, provided that they hide their hairstyles under black wigs.

Paul I and official zeal

Since childhood, Pavel Petrovich had a passion for strict order, military uniform and maneuvers. Alexander Suvorov, according to rumors, was removed from command of the army due to statements about the inappropriateness of a German powdered wig and uncomfortable boots with buckles on a Russian soldier. One day Paul conducted a mock siege of a fortress, the defenders of which were ordered to hold out by all means until noon.

Paul I spent a lot of time in amusing fights

Two hours before the end of the exercises, the emperor, along with the regiments besieging the fortress, was caught in a heavy downpour. The commandant of the fortress was ordered to immediately open the gates and let Paul in, but he flatly refused to carry out the order. The Emperor was soaked through. Exactly at twelve o'clock the gates opened, and Pavel, bursting into the fortress in anger, attacked the commandant with reproaches.

Paul I built his residence, the Engineering Castle, as a fortress

He calmly showed the emperor the order signed in his own hand. Pavel had no choice but to praise the colonel for his diligence and discipline. The commandant immediately received the rank of major general and was sent to stand guard in the continuing rain.

Alexander I and honesty

In the last years of his life, Alexander the First was a very God-fearing person. On Christmas Eve, while making a pilgrimage, the emperor stopped briefly at the post station. Entering the station superintendent's hut, Alexander saw the Bible on the table and asked how often the superintendent reads it.

By the end of his life, Alexander I became a very pious man

He assured the king that very often. Having sent the caretaker out of the room under some pretext, the emperor inserted five hundred-ruble banknotes (giant money at that time) between the pages of Scripture and soon left. Twelve days later, on Epiphany, Alexander returned to St. Petersburg through the same station.

There is a legend that Alexander I did not die, but went to a monastery under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich

Seeing the book in the same place, the emperor again asked the caretaker if he had read the book since they saw each other. The caretaker again warmly assured him that he had read it more than once. Alexander leafed through the Bible - the banknotes were in place. He chided the caretaker for deception and ordered the money to be distributed to the orphans.

Russian history provides answers to many questions, but it contains even more secrets. Particularly interesting are the mysteries that the autocrats left behind. They knew how to keep secrets.

Was there Rurik?

This main Russian question, along with “Who is to blame?” and “What should I do?” A question that we are unlikely to ever get an answer to.

The personality of Rurik (d. 879) to this day causes much controversy, even to the point of denying his existence. For many, the famous Varangian is nothing more than a semi-mythical figure. This is understandable. In the historiography of the 19th – 20th centuries, the Norman theory was criticized because national science The thought of the Slavs’ inability to create their own state was intolerable.
Modern historians are more loyal to the Norman theory. Thus, academician Boris Rybakov puts forward a hypothesis that in one of the raids on Slavic lands Rurik’s squad captured Novgorod, although another historian, Igor Froyanov, supports the peaceful version of the “calling of the Varangians” to reign.

The problem is that the image of Rurik lacks specificity. According to some sources, he could be the Danish Viking Rorik of Jutland, according to others, the Swede Eirik Emundarson, who raided the lands of the Balts.

There is also a Slavic version of the origin of Rurik. His name is associated with the word “Rerek” (or “Rarog”), which in the Slavic tribe of Obodrits meant falcon. And, indeed, during excavations of early settlements of the Rurik dynasty, many images of this bird were found.

Secret seal of Ivan III

The double-headed eagle in Russia first appeared on state seal Grand Duke Ivan III in 1497. Historians almost categorically assert that the eagle appeared in Rus' with light hand Sophia Paleologus, niece of the last Byzantine emperor and wife of Ivan III.

But why Grand Duke decided to use the eagle only two decades later, no one explains. It is interesting that precisely at the same time in Western Europe double headed eagle became fashionable among alchemists. Authors of alchemical works put the eagle on their books as a sign of quality.

The double-headed eagle meant that the author received Philosopher's Stone, capable of turning metals into gold. The fact that Ivan III gathered around him foreign architects, engineers, and doctors, who probably practiced then fashionable alchemy, indirectly proves that the tsar had an idea of ​​the essence of the “feathered” symbol.

Death of the son of Ivan the Terrible

Moscow is the capital of Russia, the Volga flows into the Caspian Sea, and Ivan the Terrible killed his son. The main evidence is Repin's painting... Seriously, Ivan Vasilyevich's murder of his heir is a very controversial fact. So, in 1963, the tombs of Ivan the Terrible and his son were opened in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Research has made it possible to claim that Tsarevich John was poisoned. The poison content in his remains is many times higher than permissible norm. Interestingly, the same poison was found in the bones of Ivan Vasilyevich. Scientists have concluded that the royal family was the victim of poisoners for several decades.

Ivan the Terrible did not kill his son. This is precisely the version adhered to, for example, by the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Konstantin Pobedonostsev. Having seen at the exhibition famous painting Repin, he was outraged and wrote to the emperor Alexander III: “You can’t call the picture historical, since this moment... is purely fantastic.” The version of the murder was based on the stories of the papal legate Antonio Possevino, who can hardly be called a disinterested person.

Dmitry with the prefix "false"

We have already accepted that False Dmitry I is the fugitive monk Grishka Otrepiev. The idea that “it was easier to save than to fake Demetrius” was expressed by the famous Russian historian Nikolai Kostomarov. And indeed, it looks very surreal, which at first Dmitry (with the prefix “false”) admitted with all honest people birth mother, princes, boyars, and after some time - everyone suddenly saw the light.

The pathological nature of the situation is added by the fact that the prince himself was completely convinced of his naturalness, as his contemporaries wrote about. Either this is schizophrenia, or he had reasons. It is not possible, at least today, to check the “originality” of Tsar Dmitry Ivanovich. Therefore, we are waiting for the invention of the time machine and, just in case, we keep a fig in our pocket - about the Impostor.

“But the king is not real!”

Many Russian boyars were of this conviction after the return of Peter I from a 15-month tour of Europe. And the point here was not only in the new royal “outfit”. Particularly attentive persons found inconsistencies of a physiological nature: firstly, the king had grown significantly, and, secondly, his facial features had changed, and, thirdly, the size of his legs had become much smaller.

Rumors spread throughout Muscovy about the replacement of the sovereign. According to one version, Peter was “put into the wall,” and instead of him, an impostor with a similar face was sent to Rus'. According to another, “the Germans put the Tsar in a barrel and sent it to sea.” Adding fuel to the fire was the fact that Peter, who returned from Europe, began a large-scale destruction of “ancient Russian antiquity.” It is interesting that there were versions that the Tsar was replaced in infancy: “The Tsar is not of Russian breed, and not the son of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich; taken in infancy from a German settlement, from a foreigner on exchange. The queen gave birth to a princess, and instead of the princess they took him, the sovereign, and gave the princess instead of him.”

Pavel I Saltykov

Emperor Paul I unwittingly continued the tradition of generating rumors around the House of Romanov. Immediately after the birth of the heir, rumors spread throughout the court, and then throughout Russia, that the real father of Paul I was not Peter III, but the first favorite Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna, Count Sergei Vasilievich Saltykov. This was indirectly confirmed by Catherine II, who in her memoirs recalled how Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, so that the dynasty would not fade away, ordered the wife of her heir to give birth to a child, regardless of who his genetic father would be. There are also folk legend the birth of Paul I: according to her, Catherine gave birth to a dead child from Peter, and he was replaced by a certain “Chukhon” boy.

His Majesty Fyodor Kuzmich

The “tabloid” theme of Paul I was continued by his son, Alexander I. Firstly, he became a direct participant in the murder of his father. Well, secondly, and this main legend, Alexander left the royal throne, falsifying his own death, and went to wander around Rus' under the name of Fyodor Kuzmich.

There are several indirect confirmations of this legend. Thus, witnesses concluded that on his deathbed Alexander was categorically unlike himself. In addition, for unclear reasons, Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, the Tsar's wife, did not participate in the funeral ceremony. The famous Russian lawyer Anatoly Koni conducted a thorough comparative study of the handwriting of the emperor and Fyodor Kuzmich and came to the conclusion that “the letters of the emperor and the notes of the wanderer were written by the hand of the same person.”