Terrible tsarinas

«104»

One Anna after Another the minuet” in her childhood. Although she read very little, she appreciated the spirit of that nation that was supposed to be courageous, and at the same time, rebellious and frivolous. She surely could get over the fact that, in her early youth, she had been offered in marriage to Louis XV, before being offered (without any greater success), to the prince-bishop of Lubeck and finally to Peter II, who had died prematurely. The mirage of Versailles continued to dazzle her, despite the many disappointments in love that she had suffered. Those who admired her grace and her expansive exuberance, as she entered her thirtieth year, claimed that in spite of her plumpness she “made men hot,” that she her skirt was very light and that, in her vicinity, one had the sensation of being surrounded by French music. The Saxon agent Lefort wrote, with a mixture of respect and impertinence, “It seems that she was, indeed, born for France, as she likes only superficial glitter.”3 For his part, the English ambassador Edward Finch, while recognizing that the tsarevna was very spirited, judged her “too fat to conspire.”4 However, Elizabeth Petrovna’s penchant for the French refinements of fashion and culture did not keep her from reveling in Russian rusticity when it came to her nightly pleasures. Even before she held an official position at her niece’s court, she took as her lover a Ukrainian peasant who had been named cantor in the choir of the palace chapel: Alexis Razumovsky. His deep voice, athletic physique and crude ways were all the more appreciated in the bedroom, coming as they did after hours spent amid the affectations and the mincing ways of the salons. An avid consumer of simple carnal satisfactions and elegance as well, the princess expressed her true nature through this contradiction. A fullblooded man, Alexis Razumovsky had a weakness for drink, often for too much drink, and when he had had his fill he would sometimes raise his voice, utter coarse words, and toss about the furni«105»

Terrible Tsarinas ture, while his mistress was a little bit frightened and very much amused by his vulgarity. Hearing about this “misalliance,” those fastidious advisers who were in close communication with the tsarevna recommended she conduct herself with prudence, or at least discretion, in order to avoid a damaging scandal. However, both the Shuvalovs (Alexander and Ivan), the chamberlain Mikhail Vorontsov and most of Elizabeth’s partisans had to admit that, in the barracks and on the street, the news of this liaison between the daughter of Peter the Great and a man of the people was greeted with indulgence and even good-naturedness - as if the folks “at the bottom” liked her all the more for not scorning one of their own.

At the same time, in the palace, the Francophile party was getting cozier with Elizabeth. That rendered her suspicious to Ostermann who, as a declared champion of the Germanic cause in Russia, was unlikely to tolerate the least obstacle to his plans.

When the British ambassador Edward Finch asked his opinion of the princess’s overt preferences in international relations, he peevishly retorted that, if she continued to exhibit such “ambiguous conduct,” she would be “locked up in a convent.” Reporting this conversation in one of his dispatches, the Englishman observed ironically: “That could be a dangerous expedient, for she is not at all suited to the life of a nun and she is extremely popular.”5 He was right. From one day to the next, dissatisfaction was escalating within the regiments of the Guard. The men secretly wondered what they were waiting for, in the palace, to drive out all the Germans who were lording it over the Russian. From the humblest of the gvardeitsy to the highest officers, they decried the injustice done to the daughter of Peter the Great, sole heiress of the Romanov line and lineage, by depriving her of the crown.

Some dared to insinuate that the regent, her outsider of a husband Anthony Ulrich and her baby of a tsar were all usurpers. Contrast