Reform and regicide : the reign of Peter III of Russia / Carol S. Leonard.

By:

Leonard, Carol Scott, 1945-

Material type: Text

TextSeries: Indiana-Michigan series in Russian and East European studiesPublication details: Bloomington : Indiana University Press, �1993.Description: 1 online resource (232 pages)Content type:

text

Media type:

computer

Carrier type:

online resource

ISBN:

058520103X
9780585201030

Subject(s):

Genre/Form:

Additional physical formats: Print version:: Reform and regicide.DDC classification:

947/.062 20

LOC classification:

DK166 .L64 1993eb

Other classification:

15.70

Online resources:

Click here to access online

Contents:

Origins of reform -- Emancipation of the Russian nobility -- Secularization of the ecclesiastical estates -- National revenues -- Foreign policy -- Why the coup? -- Conclusion: Russian autocracy at mid-century.

Action note:

digitized 2010 committed to preserve

Summary: The victim of a coup engineered by his wife, the future Catherine the Great, who portrayed him as "a libertine, a halfwit, and a drunkard whose contempt for ordinary decency and for his country made imperative his removal," Emperor Peter III has received short shrift from Russian and Western historians. Challenging traditional interpretations, Carol S. Leonard argues that the policies and legislation pursued by Peter III during his short reign in 1762 were not foolish and arbitrary but rather were firmly rooted in the traditions of Russian absolutism and the intellectual climate of the mid-eighteenth century. Leonard views Peter III as a serious ruler who, with a circle of talented advisors, instituted fundamental changes of an enlightened nature. Important turning points during Peter III's reign involved the emancipation of the nobility from compulsory service, the secularization of church property, the institution of progressive economic policies, the extrication of Russia from its costly participation in the Seven Years War, and the inception of an alliance with Prussia that was to be the cornerstone of Russian foreign policy through much of the Imperial period.

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Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-228) and index.

The victim of a coup engineered by his wife, the future Catherine the Great, who portrayed him as "a libertine, a halfwit, and a drunkard whose contempt for ordinary decency and for his country made imperative his removal," Emperor Peter III has received short shrift from Russian and Western historians. Challenging traditional interpretations, Carol S. Leonard argues that the policies and legislation pursued by Peter III during his short reign in 1762 were not foolish and arbitrary but rather were firmly rooted in the traditions of Russian absolutism and the intellectual climate of the mid-eighteenth century. Leonard views Peter III as a serious ruler who, with a circle of talented advisors, instituted fundamental changes of an enlightened nature. Important turning points during Peter III's reign involved the emancipation of the nobility from compulsory service, the secularization of church property, the institution of progressive economic policies, the extrication of Russia from its costly participation in the Seven Years War, and the inception of an alliance with Prussia that was to be the cornerstone of Russian foreign policy through much of the Imperial period.

Print version record.

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English.

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