Person:Peter III of Russia (1)

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Peter III ( – ) (Pyotr III Fyodorovich) was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was born in Kiel as Karl Peter Ulrich von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, the only child of Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (the son of Hedvig Sophia of Sweden, sister of Charles XII), and Anna Petrovna (the elder surviving daughter of Peter the Great). The German Peter could hardly speak Russian and pursued a strongly pro-Prussian policy, which made him an unpopular leader. He was deposed and possibly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his German wife, Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II; however, another theory suggests, his death could also have been the result of a drunken brawl with his bodyguard, whilst he was being held captive after Catherine's coup.

Peter was progressive. During his short reign, he proclaimed religious freedom (a very progressive move for the time), encouraged education, sought to modernize the Russian army, abolished the secret police which had been infamous for its extreme violence, and made it illegal for landowners killing their serfs without going to court; however, nearly all of his reforms were reverted by Catherine.

The constroversy of whether Peter was a great tsar who was overthrown by the military and aristocrats to keep their control over the monarchy or was an idiotic weak tyrant is under much debate. What is certain though, is that his ambitious wife, Catherine the Great, overshadowed and tarnished his reign.

1.   Peter III of Russia, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Petr III Romanov, Tsar of Russia, in Lundy, Darryl. The Peerage: A genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe.
3. ↑ Vermoord