Causes of the palace coups
No clear rule. In 1722 Peter ruled that the monarch may name any heir. When he died in 1725 he had named nobody, so many people could claim the throne.
Weak family line. Peter's son Alexei had died in 1718. The next rulers were women, a boy and an infant, who could not rule firmly alone.
The Guards. Elite regiments (the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky) lived near the palace in the capital. Whoever they backed could take power fast, often at night, with little fighting.
Court groups. Noble families and officials formed rival groups and used the Guards to win. A palace coup is a change of ruler made inside the palace and army by a small group, not a rising of the people.
The rulers, one by one
Catherine I (1725 to 1727): Peter's wife. Prince Menshikov and the Guards put her on the throne. Peter II (1727 to 1730): Peter's young grandson; he died of smallpox aged 14.
Anna (1730 to 1740): Peter's niece. A small group in the Supreme Privy Council invited her but wanted to limit her power with written Conditions. Many nobles and the Guards disliked this; she tore up the Conditions and ruled as full autocrat.
Ivan VI (1740 to 1741): a baby named by Anna; regents ruled for him. Elizabeth (1741 to 1761): Peter's daughter; in November 1741 she went to the Preobrazhensky Guards, who made her empress overnight. Her reign was calmer and rich in culture.
Peter III (1761 to 1762): her nephew. He ended a war with Prussia and freed nobles from compulsory service, but many in the capital disliked him. In June 1762 his wife Catherine II took the throne with the Guards.
Favouritism: friends with power
Favouritism means a ruler gives wealth and power to a close friend, not because of skill but because of closeness. Menshikov under Catherine I, Biron under Anna, Razumovsky and the Shuvalov family under Elizabeth, and the Orlov brothers who helped Catherine II are famous examples.
Favourites could shape laws, lands and jobs. Under Anna many Germans held high posts, and Russian nobles resented it. Favourites also rose and fell quickly: Menshikov was exiled in 1727.
Meanwhile nobles gained: in 1736 their service was cut to 25 years, and in 1762 it became voluntary. The Senate and other offices stayed weak.
Key formulas and definitions
- Succession law (1722): the ruler may name any heir.
- Palace coup: a change of ruler made by a small group inside the palace and army.
- Guards regiments: elite troops in the capital who decided who ruled.
- Favourite: a close friend of the ruler given great power and wealth.
- Era of palace coups: 1725 to 1762 (37 years, six rulers before Catherine II).
- Conditions (1730): limits on Anna's power, which she tore up.
Worked examples
1. Name three causes of the palace coups.
No clear succession rule after the 1722 law and no heir named in 1725; weak rulers such as women, a boy and an infant; and the Guards regiments in the capital that could make or break a ruler.
2. How did Elizabeth become empress in 1741?
She went to the Preobrazhensky Guards at night. They backed her as Peter's daughter, arrested the baby Ivan VI and his regent, and made her empress without a big fight.
3. Why is the 1730 event with Anna important?
A group in the Council tried to limit her power with written Conditions. Many nobles and the Guards backed her instead and she tore them up, so autocracy stayed.
Common mistakes
- Calling palace coups "revolutions". They were changes of ruler by small court groups, not rising of the people.
- Saying Peter named his heir. He did not; the 1722 law only allowed him to name one.
- Thinking Elizabeth was the first ruler after Peter. She came in 1741, after Catherine I, Peter II, Anna and Ivan VI.
- Forgetting that the era ended in 1762 with Catherine II, not with Elizabeth.