Terrible tsarinas

«92»

The Extravagant Anna named Regent of the empire until the child - who had been just proclaimed heir to the throne - came to majority. This brazen request unleashed the indignation of the dying empress’s other councilors: Loewenwolde, Ostermann and Munnich. They were soon joined in their palace plot by Cherkassky and Bestuzhev.

After hours of secret discussions, they agreed that the greatest danger ahead was by no means their compatriot Buhren, but the clique of Russian aristocrats, who still had not accepted being brushed aside. In the final analysis, they reckoned, given the danger that some champion of the old-stock nobility would make an attempt to seize power, it would be preferable, for the German clan, to support their dear old accomplice Buhren. Thus, these five confederates (three of whom were of Germanic origin while the two others had ties to foreign courts) decided to place the destiny of the empire in the hands of a character who had never shown any concern for the traditions of Russia and who had not even taken the trouble to learn the language of the country that he claimed to govern. Having come to this resolve, they so advised Buhren - who had never doubted that they would see things his way.

Now they were all reconciled, united around a common interest, and they strove to convince the empress. Rocked between bouts of pain and delusion, she never left her bed anymore. She must hardly have been able to hear Buhren as he tried to explain to her what he wanted: a simple signature at the bottom of a page. Since she seemed too tired to answer him, he slipped the document under her pillow. Surprised by this gesture, she whispered, “Do you need that?” Then she turned her head and refused to speak anymore.

A few days later, Bestuzhev drafted another declaration, by which the Senate and the Generalite implored Her Majesty to entrust the regency to Buhren, in order to ensure the continuation of