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marching feet and the neighing of the horses must surely catch the

attention of a sentinel or some townsman who suffered from in-

somnia. Descending from her sleigh, she thought of making it the

rest of the way on foot. But her ankle boots sank deep in the

snow. She faltered. Two grenadiers dashed forward to help,

picked her up in their arms and carried her all the way to the en-

trance of the palace. Having arrived at the guard post, eight men

from the escort, detached by Lestocq, advanced with grim faces

and gave the password that had been communicated to them by

an accomplice, disarming the four sentries planted in front of the

gate. The officer who commanded the guard shouted, “Na Karaul!

(“To arms!”). One of the grenadiers pointed his bayonet at the

fellow’s chest, ready to slit him open at the first sign of resistance.

But Elizabeth set aside the weapon with a sweep of her hand.

This gesture of leniency completely won over the detachment

charged with ensuring palace security.

Meanwhile, a few of the conspirators had reached the

“private apartments.” Coming to the regent’s room, Elizabeth sur-

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prised her in bed. Her lover still being away, Anna Leopoldovna

was sleeping beside her husband. She opened her frightened eyes

to find the tsarevna staring down at her with a disconcerting gen-

tleness. Without raising her voice, Elizabeth said to her, “It’s time

to get up, little sister!” Stupefied, the regent did not move. But

Anthony Ulrich, having awakened in his turn, protested loudly

and called for the Guard with all his might. Nobody came run-

ning. While he continued to holler, Anna Leopoldovna was first

to realize that she had been defeated; she accepted this with the

docility of a sleepwalker, and only asked that she not be separated

from Julie Mengden.

While the couple self-consciously dressed, under the suspi-

cious eye of the conspirators, Elizabeth went into the child’s

room. There lay the baby tsar, resting in his cradle all draped with

voile and lace. A moment later, disturbed by the commotion, he

opened his eyes and let out an inarticulate wail. Leaning over him,

Elizabeth cooed with feigned affection — or was she truly

touched? Then she picked up the infant in her arms, took it over

toward the guards (all melting at this tender sight), and said in a

tone that was distinct enough to be heard by one and all, “Poor

little dear, you are innocent! Your parents alone are guilty!”

As a seasoned actress, she did not need the applause of her

public to know that she had just scored another point. Having

pronounced this sentence, which she (rightly) judged historical,

she carried off the child in his diapers, robbing the cradle, and

mounted once again her sleigh, still holding little Ivan VI in her

arms. The first light of dawn was just gracing the city; the

weather was very cold. The sky was heavy with fog and snow.

Some rare early risers, having caught wind of great events, ran to

see the tsarevna drive by; they howled out a hoarse hurrah.

This was the fifth coup d’état in fifteen years in their good

city, all with the support of the Guard. They had become so ac-

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customed to these sudden shifts of the political wind that they

did not even speculate anymore as to who was actually running

the country, among all these high-ranking persons whose names

were honored one day and drawn through the mud the next.

Awakening to hear the news of this latest upheaval in the

imperial palace cum theatre, the Scottish general Lascy, who had

long been in the service of Russia, did not show any hint of sur-

prise. When his interlocutor, curious to know his preferences,

asked him, “Whom are you for?” he philosophically retorted, “For

the one who reigns!” On the morning of November 25, 1741, this

response might have spoken for all the Russians, except those

who lost their positions or their fortunes due to the change.10

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Footnotes

1. Letter dated 13 October 1741, published by Soloviev, Histoire de Russie, and

cited by K. Waliszewski, op. cit.

2. K. Waliszewski, Ibid.

3. Cf. Mirnievitch: La Femme russe au XVIII siècle, and Waliszewski, op. cit.

4. Ibid.

5. Cited by Daria Olivier, op. cit.

6. Cf. Soloviev, op. cit.

7. Letter from La Chétardie to his minister, Amelot de Chailloux, dated 30

May (10 June) 1741; cf. Waliszewski, op. cit.

8. Ibid.

9. Cf. Miliukov, Seignobos and Eisenmann, Histoire de Russie.

10. Elizabeth’s coup d’état and the remarks made at the time were reported

in numerous documents dating from that period, including Les Archives du

prince M. L. Vorontsov, and collected by K. Waliszewski, in L’Héritage de

Pierre le Grand.

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Peter the Great, by G. Kneller. London, Kensington Palace.

Photo A. C. Cooper (copyright reserved).