The king, as you know, is also a man. Even as fierce as Ivan the Terrible. And this ruler had outlets in the form of favorite activities. Ivan Vasilyevich was fond of astrology, and not only wanted to know what the stars had prepared, but he himself dabbled in making forecasts and maps. Under the wise guidance of the Englishman Elisha Bomelius, however, in 1575 the "teacher" was accused of some kind of conspiracy and executed.
And the king has one more hobby - playing chess. He met his death at the chessboard. There is evidence that on that day the king arranged the pieces and the king fell off the board three times.
Falcon hunting
It was the passion of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov. Under which the position of falconer was very important and honorable. The tsar could not boast of health, and therefore, when ailments did not allow him to go hunting with falcons, Alexei the Quietest was compiling a document with the rules of his favorite type of hunting.
Comprehensively developed personality
Tsar-reformer Peter the Great, greedy for life, was interested in everything from building ships to pulling out teeth from his subjects. They say that he even tried to master the weaving of bast shoes, but there was a catastrophic lack of time and patience for this. Peter studied carpentry and turning, was interested in clock design and anatomy.
Hunting and drinking
These were the main hobbies of the grandson of Peter I, Peter II. He disappeared hunting for weeks, months, and the court with seals, documents and decrees was forced to follow the young emperor in the hope that in the intervals between the fight of animals and drunkenness, state issues would be resolved.
However, the boy simply accepted what the slanderers and temporary workers persuaded him to, hoping for the mercy of the king.
The game of toy soldiers
Such was favorite hobby Peter III, to whom he devoted his free time. He also forced his supruna to play soldiers, dressing her in the uniform of a sentry. When Ekaterina Alekseevna got tired of this, did she overthrow her husband from the throne?
Soldier figurines could be made from different material, sometimes they were molded from starch. Once there was an incident: a rat wandered into the chambers of the emperor and ate several figurines with appetite. The king sentenced the criminal.
Seamstress and turner
Such was the couple Paul I and his wife Maria Fedorovna. True, the roles were a little unexpectedly distributed. It was the imperial wife who, in her free time, sharpened lathe various products. Including quite skillful cameos made from natural minerals. And the husband loved cutting and sewing.
It is to Paul I that the soldiers of the Russian army owe the appearance of a hat with earflaps. The sovereign personally reshaped the foreign cocked hat, in which many soldiers simply froze their ears in winter.
Son to father or mother?
No, Nicholas I was not fond of sewing. But from his father he inherited a love for military uniforms, and from his mother - a passion for fine arts. The king painted. And not just anything, but a new one military uniform for the Russian army.
Numerous sketches made by the hand of Nikolai Pavlovich have been preserved, and he was ready to devote day and night to his favorite pastime. And the sovereign drew very well.
Everything real men love
The brutal Emperor Alexander III respected traditional male occupations. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, devoting his hobbies and energy and time. And the mighty sovereign hunted bears from the age of 20. And, as of old, he loved to go after the clubfoot personally with a horn and a shoemaker's knife.
While hunting in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the tsar caught a cold, earning acute inflammation of the kidneys, which became fatal. And Alexander III painted beautifully. Mostly the sea and ships. The emperor loved the fleet. His wife Maria Fedorovna fully shared her husband's passion for painting.
Here is an incomplete list of favorite activities of Nicholas II. However, he also drew well, but he also played music tolerably, and he simply adored tennis. But chopping and sawing firewood is a completely unusual hobby. But who knows, maybe the king just relieved stress in this way?
The hobby of our rulers, or what the kings played As you know, passion for any occupation always enriches a person, develops his horizons, susceptibility to something new and diligence. The versatility of interests has always been an indicator of the extraordinary personality, especially if this person is burdened with power.
Ivan groznyj
He was seriously fond of astrology and chess. True, Ivan Vasilyevich somehow failed to instill this passion in his court. The tsar unsuccessfully taught the rules of the game to the chief guardsman Malyuta Skuratov, but he never became a worthy player. IN last years life constant partners of Ivan IV in the chess game were his favorites Boris Godunov and Prince Ivan Glinsky. According to legend, the formidable king died at the chessboard.
Peter I
He was perhaps the most addicted of the rulers of Russia. And what was he doing! During his life, Peter mastered many crafts. He learned shipbuilding, navigation, watch making, took drawing and engraving lessons, learned how to make paper, mastered the craft of a carpenter, bricklayer, gardener, and also attended an anatomical theater, where he studied the structure of the human body and practiced surgery. Often, as a detente, he was engaged in dentistry - he pulled out bad teeth. At the same time, he sometimes got carried away and practically healthy people could get under the distribution. But one craft was not given to Peter. Once he learned to weave bast shoes, but he could not master this science, exclaiming in his hearts: “There is no craft more wise than bast shoes ...”. Peter 1 easily compensated for this shortcoming by inventing skates in the form in which we are used to seeing them now. Initially, skates were tied to shoes with ropes and straps. But the tsar, being somehow in Holland on his ship business and being carried away there in earnest by skating on ice, came up with skates that were more convenient for him with runners fixed to the sole.
Catherine I
The “fighting friend” of the great reformer tsar, the cook and laundress, who became the empress, danced and drank after the death of Peter. But sometimes, tired of fun and revelry, the ruler of a huge empire went down to the kitchen and, according to old memory, cooked in the kitchen.
Peter III
He liked to play with soldiers, sometimes, they say, he flirted: once he ordered a rat to be hanged, which ate two of his little sentries made of starch. His collection of soldiers is very impressive: it included not only simple figurines made of wood, wax, lead, but even cotton wool fixed with powdered sugar, in addition to this, his collection included mechanical figurines of Saxon work. The emperor had a special office, on the shelves of which there were many soldiers, and on the table - a toy fortification, where he played out battles, studied military affairs.
Elizaveta Petrovna
She loved masquerades, balls, dresses and hairstyles. True, once she unsuccessfully dyed her hair, which had to be cut. So there was a decree for all court ladies to shave their heads. After her death, a collection of more than 15 thousand dresses was counted in the wardrobe of the Empress.
Alexander I
He loved and played the violin very well. The king had a good collection of tools. In 1814, his best violin was presented to him by the “Russian Stradivarius” Ivan Batov, whose violins were not inferior in sound to the violins of the great Guarneri, they were bought by the best musicians. For new instruments made by Batov, they gave 800 rubles in banknotes, and the old ones were valued even more. If Peter I sewed boots, then Nicholas I personally developed the cut and details of uniforms for the army and courtiers up to the smallest details. The emperor was very fond of and respected military affairs and sought to streamline the world even at home. Among his many decrees, one can find a decree on painting city roofs only in strictly defined colors.
Lenin
had every respect for healthy lifestyle life, gymnastics, douches cold water and so on. The leader of the world proletariat also loved cycling. During one of them in Paris, the most natural collision was made on Lenin. Ilyich was run over not by some unlucky hard worker-motorist, but by a real French aristocrat. Surely it was the social origin of the violator that forced Vladimir Ilyich not to leave the said “reckless driver” without retribution. This is how Lenin himself describes the incident that happened: “I was driving from Juvisy, and the car crushed my bicycle (I managed to jump off). The audience helped me write down the number, gave witnesses. I recognized the owner of the car (Viscount, damn him!) and now I'm suing him through a lawyer. (…) I hope to win.” (Paris, 1910). Considering that Lenin himself was a lawyer by education, foreign languages was fluent, so that the fact of applying for a lawyer's help in a simple, it would seem, court case remains without comment. Apparently, years without daily legal practice made themselves felt. Be that as it may, the process for Ilyich ended quite successfully. Word to the winner: “The weather is so good that I hope to take up the bike again, since I won the process and should soon receive money from the owner of the car” (Paris, 1910).
Leonida Ilyich Brezhnev
For many years, Brezhnev's main passion was hunting. From her general secretary did not refuse even in the last years of his life. As a rule, he spent his weekends in Zavidovo, a military hunting farm. Wild boars were fed potatoes there, and they approached the hunters at 25-30 meters. It was almost impossible to miss. But just in case, the huntsman fired at the same time as Brezhnev.
Yuri Andropov
Wrote poetry. And very good ones too. Moreover, he equally succeeded in both lyrical and comic works, sometimes even obscene ones. Unfortunately, they have not yet been published. One day, Bovin and Arbatov sent him a letter of congratulations on some occasion and expressed a slight concern that the authorities were corrupting people. He responded with a poem:
Some bastard screwed up
As if spoiling the power of people.
That's what all the wise men say
Since then, for many years in a row,
Without noticing (that's the attack!),
That more often people spoil the power.
What did the rulers of the Russian lands play, what sports did they like to do - from Peter I to Vladimir Putin.
Let's start with Peter the Great, because I did not find information about the hobbies, games and hobbies of earlier rulers. Probably not looking well...
Peter I
Peter I - the last Tsar of All Rus' (since 1682) and the first All-Russian Emperor (since 1721) from childhood was an outstanding and restless child. Peter's favorite game was war. And, if in childhood we played “war games” in the yard, then from childhood the young ruler had everything in an adult way, on a large scale and for real.
Peter from childhood loved to play in the war. His children's room with wooden horses, soldiers, guns, cannons scattered everywhere resembled a battlefield. Once in Preobrazhenskoye, the boy felt like a fish in water: expanse, groves, glades were all around, the Yauza was flowing nearby.
He could not sit beside his mother, listening to her confidantes' annoying gossip about the hated Miloslavskys, and at every opportunity he ran out into the street. Now the whole village with its country palace, servants' huts, stables, kennels becomes his children's room. For the first time in Russian, and perhaps the entire world history, a minor monarch got the opportunity to be himself and do whatever his heart desires.
True, now instead of wooden guns he has real muskets and even cannons, instead of wooden soldiers - amusing soldiers from among the domestics and local peasants. The quiet, blessed place near Moscow resounds with the roar of drums, blank shots and shouts of “Hurrah!”. True, on some days the young tsar seemed to lose interest in the "Mars fun". But then in Preobrazhensky axes clatter, saws screech. It is on the orders of the king-boy that the amusing fortress of Pressburg is being built and, therefore, soon the drums will crackle again and “Hurrah!” will be heard.
A. D. Kivshenko. "War games of amusing troops of Peter I near the village of Kozhukhovo The mother queen, of course, was worried, did not sleep at night, worrying that Petrusha would not be killed during these games. But what can she do? Although he is a minor, he is a king, and it is better not to argue with kings. Yes, and with a purely maternal instinct, she guesses that such energy is seething in her lanky, ankle-length son that if you don’t let her go out, she will tear her beloved child to pieces ... This is how the amusing troops of Peter the Great were born, perhaps one of the most beloved hobbies and games of all life emperor. By the way, we have already written about them - I recommend it.
It is also known that Peter I loved checkers and chess. So, going on campaigns, he took with him not only chess, but also two permanent partners. He himself played excellently and ordered to arrange rooms for games at the assemblies.
In the so-called chess, the famous Persian game, truly royal in name and course, they play daily, developing their mind by it to an amazing degree. Roman Ambassador to Muscovy Jacob Reitenfels.
Catherine II
Empress of All Russia from 1762 to 1796.
In addition to palace intrigues and reckless amorousness, Catherine II passionately loved to play quadruple chess, fashionable in the 18th century. "Quadruple" chess is a game of "pair for a pair", which made it possible to blame one's ally in case of a loss. Knowing about Catherine's hobby, Stroganov gave her chess. Only not simple, but ... alive. The lawn with highlighted squares of turf served as a chessboard, and instead of figures, servants dressed in medieval clothes moved around the field according to the orders of the players. Once, King of Sweden Gustav IV, who was visiting Stroganov's country palace, was invited to a "live chess game" with Catherine herself. However, historians do not know who won that game.
These Russians are excellent at chess; our best players in front of them are schoolchildren. Adam Olearius.
live chess, Palace Square Nicholas II
The last emperor of Russia. Years of government 1894-1917
Nicholas II was a big fan of tennis. Apparently, he became acquainted with the game of "lawn-tennis" during his visits to England in the mid-1890s. However, in England, he only watched how they play.
In Russia, Nicholas II first entered the tennis court in the village of Ilyinsky near Moscow, where he rested after his coronation in Moscow in 1896. The diary of Nicholas II records the exact date when he first picked up a tennis racket. On June 2, 1896, he wrote:
After tea I went to play lawn-tennis with the others for the first time.
On the tennis court in the village of Ilyinsky, Nicholas II received his first playing skills. And since Nicholas II was physically well developed, his game went well.
Usually the tsar in his diary entries called this game lawn-tennis, net, or tennis in Russian.
The partners of Nicholas II, as a rule, were officers of the security units or officers of the imperial yacht Shtandart.
The first tennis court for Nicholas II was built in the summer of 1896 in the Peterhof Alexandria Park, shortly after the tsar's return from Moscow. It was this tennis court that became the most frequently used of all the royal tennis courts. In total, by order of the emperor, 5 truly royal tennis courts were built.
The emperor addicted to tennis and all his five children. Even the hemophiliac heir Alexei, who was not recommended by doctors to make sudden movements, got carried away. Once, after playing tennis, Alexei's illness began to worsen: “Alexey had a pain in his right elbow from the increased movements of his hands during the game. He could not sleep for a long time and suffered greatly, poor man!” - the Sovereign Emperor wrote in his diary.
The Grand Duchesses also loved to play tennis. Tennis courts were in Tsarskoye Selo, in Peterhof, in Livadia. Often, photographs of the Royal Family playing tennis appeared on the pages of the St. Petersburg magazine Lawn Tennis. The last time the Tsar played tennis was on July 16, 1914. Three days later, Germany declared war on Russia, the first World War. More Nicholas II did not go to court.
Also, one of the most favorite games of the emperor and the entire royal family was card game- bezic. The family especially liked to play bezique in the evenings, before going to bed.
Bezique(fr. besique), an old card game of French origin.
Vladimir Lenin
Lenin did not go in for sports, he was sick a lot in childhood and adolescence, apparently it was not for him to strengthen his body with physical activity. The leader of the socialist revolution, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, was by no means proletarian in his hobbies.
Contrary to the ideals of social equality, Lenin was interested in cars, he was very fond of hunting, cycling and horseback riding, and chess. But I did not find a single source about what games besides chess, or what sports Vladimir Lenin played. If my reader is more purposeful and inquisitive, I will be glad for any information in the format of this article.
Stalin and sport
There is a myth that Stalin was not physically developed, did not go in for physical education and sports.
Stalin was not really a hero. As a child, he was a lively and active child, he loved to play all the games accepted at that time by boys. Subsequently, when he plunged headlong into politics, he had no time to play sports and even physical education. With regard to physical disabilities, as you know, his left hand did not unbend at the elbow, which was a consequence of a serious injury received in childhood. Concerning physical culture and sports, then first of all it should be borne in mind that he, in general, had no time to do this, at least regularly. Having headed the party and the state, he worked all the time, even on holidays, even on his birthdays.
Nevertheless, this does not mean that he was completely far from physical education and sports. He was very fond of playing the old Russian game "towns", which he learned in exile.
Stalin himself did not play so well. After each hit, he did not hide his joy and would certainly say: "This is how we can do it." And when he missed, he immediately began to look for matches in his pockets.
He loved billiards, enjoyed playing skittles with heavy balls. Stalin perfectly shot from a pistol, a revolver, a rifle, a hunting rifle. He was a good hunter. Photographs have been preserved in which he is depicted while hunting with friends. Although not often, he trained in shooting. He shot very accurately. He calmly hit the cartridge case from a revolver from a small-caliber rifle from a long distance.
Contrary to all the stories, Stalin knew how to ride a horse, but since he did not have enough time for constant training in riding, he, as a rule, did not demonstrate this skill.
Brezhnev and sports
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev headed the USSR for a long 18 years. Many articles, books, and several films have been made about him. Interest is attracted not only by his biographical data and activities as a politician, but also by his personal life, his passions and tastes.
Those who knew Brezhnev note that, having become the leader of the USSR, his tastes have changed a bit. And this is not strange, because now he had a high position and great opportunities. Yet he was a simple man by nature. Of his main passions was the pool - he loved to swim in the morning. There was billiards at Brezhnev's dacha, and next to the house there was a tennis court, but the leader did not play billiards or tennis.
The Secretary General felt great love for cars and awards. He often liked to drive at breakneck speed. As long as his health allowed, he always drove himself. In addition, he loved playing dominoes and chess.
Khrushchev, Andropov, Gorbachev
Khrushchev in his memoirs (or his son Sergei writes about it) recalls that he was surprised to see Brezhnev playing dominoes with such passion: too primitive entertainment for a statesman. But nothing is known about Khrushchev's own sports hobbies. He liked to hunt and drink, but this has nothing to do with sports.
But Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, who did not stay long at the post of General Secretary, but is better known as the most mysterious chairman of the KGB of the USSR, wrote poetry. In general, Andropov was, especially by Kremlin standards, an intellectual and aesthete. Also, no sources about sports hobbies and passions are reported anywhere.
As for Mikhail Gorbachev, he closes the top three most unsportsmanlike leaders who are in charge of the country. Already retired, Gorbachev Special attention devotes to fitness and healthy lifestyle, hiking in the fresh air and proper nutrition. But nothing beyond being known. Alas and ah.
Yeltsin
The first president of Russia, Boris Nikolaevich, was a controversial personality. He held a "stopper" in one hand, and a racket in the other. The Yeltsin era was remembered by many, but in the format of an article, we recall only Yeltsin's sports hobbies.
Yeltsin's favorite game was tennis. Although, in his youth he received a master of sports in volleyball.
Boris Yeltsin started playing tennis to cope with stress and made it a habit to play two or three times a week. Under Yeltsin's management, tennis, which was not very popular in the Soviet Union, received a lot of financial support. It was under Yeltsin that Russia began producing a steady stream of world-class tennis champions, both men and women.
Yeltsin was so keen on tennis that he appointed Shamil Tarpishchev, longtime captain of the Soviet Union men's tennis team, as his personal trainer and provided him with an office in the Kremlin.
Shamil Tarpishchev:- He fell in love with tennis, of course, quite sincerely. I remember the situation of the period when he was already retired. I’m driving in a car, Boris Nikolaevich calls me and asks: “Shamil, where is Zhidkov in the rating now?” And she stood at the end of a hundred, at ninety some place. I say: "Boris Nikolaevich, I'm driving, can I call you back in 15 minutes - I'll tell you for sure?" And he says this phrase to me: “You see, I am interested in tennis, but you are not.”
Yeltsin's sports training was relatively good - after all, he was a master of sports in volleyball. The feeling of the ball, excitement - all this was present. He was always very worried about every ball, he tried to win by all means - a sports nature.
Dmitry Medvedev
The 3rd President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, along with thousands of Russians, turned out to be a fan of the ancient Indian art of yoga. Yoga, he explained, helps him relax and get rid of the stress he gets at work. At one time, there was a famous bike from The Moscow Times on the net:
The first president staged a tennis revolution, the second encouraged his people to engage in martial arts, and under the third, the whole country will soon stand on its head.
Banned during the Soviet era due to its ties to Hindu religious practices, yoga is becoming increasingly popular in Russia. It seems to me that if the head of state has a hobby, then it becomes a hobby for the whole people. But there is nothing wrong with that.
By the way, in his youth, Dmitry Anatolyevich was quite seriously involved in weightlifting and rowing.
Medvedev has repeatedly stated that he considers sports to be the best antidepressant. At one of the meetings with journalists in 2008, after being elected, and not yet being inducted as head of state, Medvedev admitted that he “did not come to an understanding of this right away” - 10 years ago he thought that everything was fine, but when the workload began to increase , I realized that you can’t do without everyday sports.
Medvedev also loves badminton. (By the way, a very dynamic game - I recommend it to everyone.) In October 2011, he took the initiative to introduce badminton lessons in the country's schools.
In addition, Medvedev pretty much scares his security service with a passion for extreme sports. He prefers ATVs, snowmobiles and skis, and he tries to choose domestic ski resorts for skiing.
Most recently, Dmitry Anatolyevich was noted in a sensational photo shoot, where he, together with Vladimir Putin, had a joint workout in the gym. I consider all this as a kind of message to the whole country, unobtrusive and well-reasoned. You can look decent at any age.
Vladimir Putin
Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has learned to appreciate martial arts. Putin, a black belt in judo, also known among his friends and members of the judo club for his haraigoshi, or underhand tuck, started judo at the age of 14. Putin and Yasuhiro Yamashita, world judo champion from Japan, released a joint video tutorial on judo.
Already during Putin's tenure as the second president of Russia, the popularity of judo has grown markedly, competitions and competitions have often been shown on television. documentaries in judo. And now the popularization of judo is developing dynamically. Why not? The desire to instill in compatriots an interest in an active lifestyle is a very powerful argument. Look at the "physics" in which Putin is. I would like to recall the age of the "first" - 63 years. Personally, I admire.
Sambo and judo.
Martial arts, according to Vladimir Putin, provide such knowledge, skills and abilities that a politician simply needs. Putin believes that judo is an activity for both the body and the mind. It develops strength, reaction, endurance, teaches you to control yourself, feel the sharpness of the moment, see strong and weak sides opponent, strive for best result and constantly work on yourself.
Putin has been practicing sambo and judo since the age of 11. “I came to judo as a boy. And I became seriously interested in martial arts, their special philosophy, the culture of relationships with an opponent and the rules of wrestling, ”recalls Putin, who has the title of master of sports in judo. In September 2006, he became the honorary president of the European Judo Union, and in 2010 he received an honorary diploma "Doctor in Judo" from South Korea's Yongin University.
Putin is also a repeated champion of St. Petersburg in sambo and a master of sports in this type of martial arts. He has a black belt in karate.
Judo teaches to control oneself, to feel the sharpness of the moment, to see the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent, to strive for the best result. Agree, all this knowledge, skills and abilities are simply necessary for a politician. V. Putin
Skiing.
Alpine skiing Vladimir Putin got carried away for a long time. According to him, he rides with great pleasure. “This is a dynamic, technical sport and a great opportunity to actively and profitably relax, keep fit, get a boost of energy and good mood,” Putin said. Soviet champion in this sport Leonid Tyagachev says that Vladimir Putin's technique is stable, and he descends the mountain at a very high speed.
Hockey
Another serious sporting passion for Putin is hockey.
In February 2011, Vladimir Putin promised the participants of the Universiade in Turkey to learn how to skate. “I thought it was simply impossible for me! I tried to do this once, when I was still actively engaged in wrestling, ”Putin recalls. But, since the promise was given, he began training.
For two months he trained under the guidance of the famous hockey player Alexei Kasatonov. Training very often took place after midnight, when Vladimir Putin ended his working day. By mid-April, he was already confidently skating and on April 15, 2011, he took part in the training of young hockey players before the final of the Golden Puck tournament, where he even threw a few goals into the goal.
And just recently, on October 7, the President celebrated his birthday on the ice by playing hockey and scoring seven goals in the Night Hockey League (NHL) gala match in Sochi.
If you missed something - do not judge strictly. If you liked the article, feel free to share it with your friends. Go in for sports - be healthy!
Biography
Russian history knows many incomprehensible characters. One of them can be called Peter III, who was destined to become the emperor of our country. Peter-Ulrich, such is his full name, was the son of Anna Petrovna, and she, in turn, was the eldest daughter of Peter, and the Duke of Holstein Cal (his name was Friedrich). The future emperor of Russia was born on February 21, 1728. His mother, Anna Petrovna, died of consumption only three months after the birth of her boy. At the age of 11, Peter-Ulrich also loses his father. And the Swedish king himself, a famous historical figure, Charles XII was his uncle. Peter himself had every right to both the Swedish and Russian thrones. The future emperor lived in Sweden from the age of 11. It was there that he was brought up in every possible way in the spirit of, so to speak, Swedish patriotism, as well as fierce hatred for Russia. Peter-Ulrich grew up as a sickly and nervous boy. To a greater extent, this was due to the manner of his upbringing. Teachers took very harsh and humiliating measures against him.
In 1741 Elizaveta Petrovna, Peter Ulrich's aunt, became Empress of Russia. She immediately proclaimed an heir. It is not surprising that Peter-Ulrich himself turned out to be the successor. However, he had an unhealthy appearance, a low level of education and a mediocre mind. In 1945, Peter III entered into a legal marriage with a certain Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst. Immediately at baptism, she was given the name Ekaterina Alekseevna. She, after a certain period of time, occupied the Russian throne, and went down in history as Catherine II. The relationship between the spouses did not work out from the very beginning. He was too infantile and limited, but Ekaterina Alekseevna did not like it. For example, he played soldiers with great gusto, and indulged in various children's amusements. In a word, Peter III was not going to grow up. After the death of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna herself (this happened on December 25, 1761), it was Peter Fedorovich who immediately ascended the Russian throne. But he did not have time to crown himself.
Policy
Having ascended the Russian throne, Emperor Peter III immediately did an unprecedented thing. It is worth recalling that Russia then took part in the Seven Years' War (Alexander Suvorov was tempered at that time on the battlefields). So, the Seven Years' War developed so successfully that it was absolutely safe to put an end to the existence of the German state. There was another option - to oblige Prussia to pay a huge, at that time, indemnity, as well as to knock out trade agreements that were unfavorable to her. Peter III turned out to be a great admirer of Frederick II. Therefore, together with the above actions, he simply concluded a gratuitous peace with Prussia. The Russian people could not like this, because people achieved success on the battlefields with blood and courage. Therefore, this step on the part of the emperor can only be called tyranny and betrayal.
If we talk about the domestic policy of Peter III, then here he launched a rather active activity. He issued a huge number of different legal acts, and all this in a short period of time. It is worth highlighting from them the manifesto on the freedom of the nobility, the fight against dissent and the liquidation of the Secret Chancellery. It was under Peter III that the persecution of the Old Believers completely ceased. But in the army, the emperor began to impose the Prussian order. Thus, in a short time, he managed to turn a significant part of the country's society against him.
Pyotr Fedorovich never acted within the framework of a single political program. Most of his actions, according to historians, had, so to speak, a chaotic order. Every day the discontent of the society became stronger, and then a coup d'état followed. Immediately after this (in 1962), the Russian throne was taken by the wife of Peter III - Ekaterina Alekseevna. History will remember her as Catherine II.
Peter III died under very mysterious circumstances in the suburbs of St. Petersburg. Someone believes that it was a transient illness that knocked him down, while others believe that the conspirators, who are also supporters of Catherine II, simply helped him die. Emperor Peter III ruled for only six months (December 1761-July 1762). This time can be characterized by only one word - misunderstanding.
Many people have hobbies that have nothing to do with their main profession. Called the overseas word hobby (from English hobby), such a pastime was no exception among the rulers of our country, the autocrats of the Russian state sometimes had very interesting and unusual activities “for the soul”.
For example, Ivan the Terrible was seriously interested in astrology. It is not surprising that the English astrologer Elisey Bomeley was at the court of the king, who not only compiled horoscopes for Ivan IV, but also taught him the wisdom of his work. True, the Englishman was involved in palace intrigues, and was executed on August 2, 1575.
Another passion of the ruler was chess. Ivan the Terrible even died at the chessboard, arranging the pieces. According to the recollections of eyewitnesses, the king could not manage to put the king in his place, who fell several times.
Alexei Mikhailovich's favorite pastime was falconry. At that time, the position of the royal falconer was very honorable. Aleksey Mikhailovich personally drew up a special charter - "The constable of the falconer's way", which contained the rules of hunting.
To list all the hobbies of the great reformer Peter the Great is not an easy task. Whatever the sovereign did not do: he built ships, sewed boots, tore the teeth of the courtiers. I even tried to learn how to weave bast shoes, however, unsuccessfully. Peter angrily threw away the unwoven bast shoe, declaring "that there is no trickier craft."
But Emperor Peter the Third liked to play with soldiers. Once the sovereign even ordered the execution of a rat that crept into his chambers and ate two soldiers made of starch. The perfidious animal was hanged.
Nicholas the First rested from state affairs, developing sketches of uniforms for Russian army. The emperor was so passionate about this occupation that he could sit for days on drawings of a military uniform.
Alexander III was passionate about fishing and hunting. At the age of twenty, he was already hunting bears. In 1894, the autocrat caught a bad cold while hunting in Belovezhskaya Pushcha and developed nephritis - an acute inflammation of the kidneys. At the insistence of doctors, the emperor left for treatment in the Crimea, where he died on October 20, 1894.
Nicholas II loved to play tennis, play the violin and chop wood. Even in 1918, while in custody with his family in Yekaterinburg, Nikolai was very lamented that he was deprived of the opportunity to do what he loved.
