Terrible Tsarinas

rising star among the ordinary people and the middle aristocracy

was the French ambassador, the marquis de La Chétardie. He

very quickly understood the advantages he could derive for his

country and himself by winning Elizabeth Petrovna’s confidence,

and even friendship.

He was assisted in this campaign of diplomatic seduction by

the princess’s designated doctor, a Hanoverian of French origin,

Armand Lestocq, whose ancestors had settled in Germany after

the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. This man, about 50 years

old, skilled in his art and absolutely amoral in his private conduct,

had been introduced to Elizabeth Petrovna when she was only an

obscure young girl, flirtatious and sensual. The marquis de La

Chétardie often called upon him to try to penetrate the tsarevna’s

varying moods and the shifting public opinion in Russia. What

stood out, in Lestocq’s comments, was that unlike the women

who had preceded her at the head of the country, this one found

France very attractive. She had learned French and even “danced

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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 cou-

rageous, and at the same time, rebellious and frivolous. She surely

could get over the fact that, in her early youth, she had been of-

fered in marriage to Louis XV, before being offered (without any

greater success), to the prince-bishop of Lübeck and finally to Pe-

ter II, who had died prematurely. The mirage of Versailles contin-

ued 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 sur-

rounded by French music. The Saxon agent Lefort wrote, with a

mixture of respect and impertinence, “It seems that she was, in-

deed, 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 con-

spire.”4

However, Elizabeth Petrovna’s penchant for the French re-

finements of fashion and culture did not keep her from reveling in

Russian rusticity when it came to her nightly pleasures. Even be-

fore 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 affec-

tations and the mincing ways of the salons. An avid consumer of

simple carnal satisfactions and elegance as well, the princess ex-

pressed her true nature through this contradiction. A full-

blooded man, Alexis Razumovsky had a weakness for drink, often

for too much drink, and when he had had his fill he would some-

times raise his voice, utter coarse words, and toss about the furni-

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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 Mik-

hail Vorontsov and most of Elizabeth’s partisans had to admit

that, in the barracks and on the street, the news of this liaison be-

tween 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 pee-

vishly 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.