Terrible Tsarinas

holstered in rose-colored velvet and embroidered in silver, re-

ceived her visitors in a room that was richly furnished and

brightly illuminated for the occasion. The tsarina herself came to

inspect the rooms before the ceremony. But, immediately after the

homage had been paid, she had the superfluous furniture and can-

delabra removed; at her instructions, the grand ducal couple

found themselves back in their usual apartments at the Winter

Palace — a subtle message to let Catherine know that her role

was over and that, henceforth, reality would take the place of

dreams.

Taking no notice of this family fracas, Peter returned to his

puerile games and drinking bouts, while the grand duchess had to

face the replacement of her former mentor, Choglokov, who had

meanwhile passed away. The new “master of the junior court,”

who seemed to be particularly nosy and meddlesome, was Count

Alexander Shuvalov, Ivan’s brother. From the first moment, he

sought to gain the sympathy of the habitués of the princely house-

hold; he cultivated Peter’s friendship and applauded his ill-

considered passion for Prussia. With his support, the grand duke

now let his Germanophilia run wild. He invited more recruits

from Holstein and organized a fortified camp (which he gave the

Germanic name of Peterstadt), in the park of the palace of

Oranienbaum.

While he was thus amusing himself by pretending to be a

German officer, commanding German troops on land that he

wished were German, Catherine, feeling more forsaken than ever,

sank into depression. As she had feared, shortly after she gave

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birth, Sergei Saltykov was sent first to Sweden, and then as Rus-

sia’s resident ambassador to Hamburg. Elizabeth may have hated

her adoptive son, but she made a point of cutting off all ties be-

tween the two lovers. Moreover, she allowed Catherine to see her

baby only on an exceptional basis. More than a possessive

mother-in-law, she mounted a guard by the cradle and did not

tolerate any input from the grand duchess on how the child was

to be raised. Elizabeth ousted Catherine entirely from the role of

mother, after she had carried Paul in her womb for nine months

and gone through the pain of bringing him into the world.

Robbed and discouraged, Catherine turned to books: Taci-

tus’ Annals, Montesquieu’s The Spirit of Laws, and various essays by

Voltaire. Cut off from love, she sought to mitigate this lack of hu-

man warmth by delving into the realms of philosophy and poli-

tics. Attending the salons of the capital, she listened with more

attention than before to the conversations, often brilliant, of the

diplomats. While her husband was entirely absorbed in military

nonsense, she was gaining assurance and a maturity of mind that

did not escape those in her entourage. Elizabeth, whose health

was declining as that of Catherine was blossoming, became aware

of the progressive metamorphosis of her daughter-in-law — but

she could not tell whether she should be delighted or upset. Suf-

fering from asthma and dropsy, in her declining years the tsarina

clung to the still young and handsome Ivan Shuvalov. He became

her principal reason for living and her best adviser. She wondered

whether it would not be better if Catherine, like she, had a desig-

nated lover who would fulfill her in every sense and keep her from

interfering in public affairs.

In 1751, at Pentecost, a new English plenipotentiary arrived

in St. Petersburg. His name was Charles Hambury Williams and

in his retinue was a bright young Polish aristocrat, Stanislaw Au-

gust Poniatowski. The 23-year-old Poniatowski was avidly inter-

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ested in Western culture, had participated in all the European

salons, and was personally acquainted with the famous Mme.

Geoffrin in Paris and in London enjoyed the friendship of the min-

ister, Horace Walpole. He was said to be fluent in every language,

at ease in every milieu and pleasing to every lady.

As soon as they set foot in Russia, Williams set out to use

“the Pole” to seduce the grand duchess and make her an ally in the

fight he intended to wage against the grand duke’s pro-Prussian

passion. And the Chancellor, supported by everyone in the

“Russian party,” was happy to go along with the British ambassa-

dor’s plans. Having seen which way the wind was blowing, Bes-

tuzhev wanted to see Russia openly aligned with the English in

the event of a conflict with Frederick II. According to the rumor

mill, Louis XV himself, smelling war, was impatient to re-

establish contact with Russia. Day by day, thanks to her conver-

sations with Stanislaw Poniatowski, Catherine became immersed

in every aspect of the European chaos, studying international

questions while studying the face of the attractive Pole.

But Poniatowski, despite his many social successes, was ter-

ribly shy. Quick with words, he was nonetheless paralyzed by the

elegance, grace and talented repartee of the grand duchess. It