Terrible Tsarinas

dynasty, she would have liked to throw stones at the crafty up-

start who had made it possible, and who seemed to be manifesting

a sensuality, an amorality and an audacity almost equal to her

own; but she had to be circumspect, because it would be the his-

torians of tomorrow who would judge her reign. In the eyes of the

court, Her Majesty awaited with pious joy to see her so-

affectionate daughter-in-law bring into the world the first son of

Grand Duke Peter, the providential fruit of a love blessed by the

Church. It was not a woman who was to be confined, but all of

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Russia that was preparing to bring forth its future emperor.

For weeks, Elizabeth lodged in the apartment next to the

chamber where the grand duchess waited for the great moment.

One reason she wanted to stay so close to her daughter-in-law

was to prevent the enterprising Sergei Saltykov from visiting her

too often, which would set tongues wagging. Let Catherine just

give birth, and let her present the country with a boy! Day after

day, the tsarina made her calculations, questioned the doctors,

consulted fortune-tellers and prayed before the icons.

During the night of September 19, 1754, after nine years of

marriage, Catherine finally felt the first pains. The empress,

Count Alexander Shuvalov and the Grand Duke Peter rushed to

join her. At midday on September 20, 1754, seeing the baby, still

sticky and smeared with blood, in the hands of the midwife, Eliza-

beth exulted: praise the Lord, it was a male! She had already cho-

sen his first name: he would be Paul Petrovich (Paul, son of Peter).

Washed, wrapped in a blanket, and baptized by Her Majesty’s

confessor, the newborn baby stayed only a minute in his mother’s

arms. She barely had time to hold him, to take in his softness and

his scent. He belonged not to her, but to all of Russia — or,

rather, to the empress!

Leaving behind the exhausted and groaning grand duchess,

Elizabeth carried Paul in her arms like a treasure that had been

won at great cost. From now on, she would keep him in her pri-

vate apartments, under her own care; she didn’t need Catherine

anymore. Having fulfilled her role by giving birth, the grand

duchess was of no further interest. She could just as well return

to Germany, and no one in the palace would miss her.

The infant did not exhibit any distinctive “family resem-

blance” at this age; and so much the better. And anyway, whether

he took after Catherine’s lover or her husband, the result would be

the same. From this point forward, the Grand Duke Peter, preten-

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tious monkey that he was, was only taking up space in the palace.

He could disappear: the succession was assured!

All over the city, guns thundered in salute and bells rang joy-

fully. In her room, Catherine was quite abandoned; and not far

away, behind the door sat the grand duke, surrounded by the offi-

cers of his Holstein regiment, emptying glass after glass to the

health of “his son Paul.” As for the diplomats, Elizabeth suspected

that in their usual caustic way they would have a field day com-

menting on the strange lineage of the heir to the throne. But she

also knew that, even if the professionals were not taken in by this

sleight-of-hand, nobody would dare to say out loud that little Paul

Petrovich was a bastard and that the Grand Duke Peter was the

most glorious cuckold of Russia. And it was that tacit adherence

to an untruth, on the part of her contemporaries, that would

transform it into certainty for the future generations. And Eliza-

beth cared above all for the judgment of posterity.

On the occasion of the baptism, Elizabeth decided to demon-

strate how pleased she was with the mother by presenting her

with a tray of jewels and an treasury order the sum of 100,000 ru-

bles: the purchase price of an authentic heir. Then, considering

that she had shown her sufficient solicitude, she ordered (for the

sake of decency) Sergei Saltykov dispatched on a mission to

Stockholm. He was charged with conveying to the king of Swe-

den the official announcement of the birth of His Highness Paul

Petrovich in St. Petersburg. She didn’t hesitate for a moment over

the irony of sending the illegitimate father to collect congratula-

tions for the legitimate father of the child. How long would such a

mission last? Elizabeth did not specify, and Catherine was des-

perate. The tsarina had had too many romantic or sensual affairs

in her life to wallow in sentiment over those of others.

While Catherine languished in her bed, waiting for the offi-

cial “churching,” Elizabeth hosted receptions, balls and banquets.

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There was nonstop celebration at the palace for this event that

had been ten years in the making. Finally, on November 1, 1754,

forty days after giving birth, protocol required that the grand

duchess receive the congratulations of the diplomatic corps and

the court. Catherine, semi-recumbent on a ceremonial chaise up-