Terrible Tsarinas

Some dared to insinuate that the regent, her outsider of a husband

Anthony Ulrich and her baby of a tsar were all usurpers. Contrast

< 106 >

One Anna after Another

to that lot the luminous goodness of the matushka Elizabeth Pet-

rovna, who, as they said, showed “the spark of Peter the Great.”

Already, seditious cries could be heard in the city outskirts. In the

depths of their barracks, the soldiers muttered among themselves,

after an exhausting and pointless review, “Isn’t there anyone who

can order us to take up our weapons in favor of the matushka?”6

Despite the frequency of these spontaneous demonstrations,

the marquis de La Chétardie still hesitated to promise France’s

moral support for a coup d’état. But Lestocq, supported by

Schwartz (a former German captain who had gone over into the

service of Russia), decided that the moment had come to acquaint

the army with the plot. However, at the same time, the Swedish

minister Nolken let La Chétardie know that his government had

given him a credit line of 100,000 ecus to help consolidate Anna

Leopoldovna’s hold on power, or, “according to the circum-

stances,” to bolster the aspirations of the tsarevna Elizabeth Pet-

rovna. It was his call. Put in an awkward position by a decision

that was beyond his competence to make, Nolken relied on his

French colleague for guidance. La Chétardie, a prudent man, was

terrified by such a responsibility and, no more able to make up his

mind than Nolken had been, answered evasively. On this subject,

Paris urged him to go along with Sweden and to quietly support

the cause of Elizabeth Petrovna.

Having been brought up to date on these unexpected devel-

opments, it was Elizabeth’s turn to hesitate. Should she take the

plunge? She could already see what would happen if she failed —

she would be denounced, thrown into prison, have her head

shaved, and end her days in a loneliness worse than death. La

Chétardie shared a similar concern for himself and admitted that

he no longer closed his eyes at night, and that at the least noise he

would “run to the window, believing that all was lost.”7 And fur-

thermore, he had already incurred the wrath of Ostermann, re-

< 107 >

Terrible Tsarinas

cently, following an alleged diplomatic faux pas; he had been in-

vited not to set foot again in the Summer Palace until further or-

ders. He took refuge in the villa that he had let at the gates of the

capital, but he did not feel safe anywhere. He took to receiving

Elizabeth’s emissaries on the sly, preferably at nightfall. He be-

lieved he had been politically excommunicated, for good; but, af-

ter a period of penitence, Ostermann authorized him to tender his

letters of accreditation — provided that he presented them to the

baby tsar in person. Once again admitted to the court, the ambas-

sador took the opportunity to meet Elizabeth Petrovna and to

murmur to her, during an aside, that France had great plans for

her. Serene and smiling, she replied, “Being the daughter of Peter

the Great, I believe I remain faithful to my father’s memory by

placing my confidence in the friendship of France and in asking

for its support in exercising my proper rights.”8

La Chétardie was careful not to reveal these subversive re-

marks, but the rumor of a conspiracy began to spread throughout

the regent’s entourage. At once, Anna Leopoldovna’s supporters

were aflame with vindicatory zeal. Anthony Ulrich, as her hus-

band, and the count of Lynar, as her favorite, both warned her of

the risk she was running. They urged her to increase the security

at the gates of the imperial residence and to arrest the ambassador

of France at once. Impassive, she shrugged off these rumors and

refused to overreact. She doubted her informants’ reports; but her

chief rival, Elizabeth, having heard of the suspicions that swirled

around her undertaking, was alarmed and begged La Chétardie to

take greater care. Bundles of compromising documents were

burned and Elizabeth, out of prudence, left the capital. She found

some early conspirators in friendly villas close to Peterhof.

On August 13, 1741, Russia went to war with Sweden. The

diplomats may have known the obscure reasons behind this con-

flict, but the people did not. All that was known, in the country-

< 108 >

One Anna after Another

side, was that on the grounds of some very convoluted questions

of national prestige, borders, and the succession, thousands of

men were going to die, far from home, at the hand of the enemy.

But, for the moment, the imperial guard was not involved. And

that was all.

At the end of November 1741, Elizabeth sadly noted that a

plot as adventurous as hers would go nowhere without solid fi-

nancial backing. Called to the rescue, La Chétardie scraped up

what funds he could, and then called for the court of France to

extend an additional advance of 15,000 ducats. As the French gov-

ernment persisted in turning a deaf ear, Lestocq prodded La

Chétardie to take action, come what may, without waiting for