Here is a generalissimo. Here is such a generalissimo Liberation of princes and princesses
Ivan VI Antonovich (1740-1764) - Russian emperor, who ruled in 1740-1741. He ascended the throne at the age of 2 months after the death of Empress Anna Ioannovna. The late empress had no children, but she really did not want state power to be in the hands of the descendants of Peter I.
Of the closest relatives, the mother empress had only her niece Anna Leopoldovna (1718-1746) - the daughter of Catherine Ioannovna (1691-1733), the elder sister of Anna Ioannovna. So all the hopes of the Romanov family were placed on her, who did not have a single direct heir in the male line.
In 1731, the empress ordered her subjects to swear allegiance to the unborn child who would be born to Anna Leopoldovna. And in 1733, a groom was found for a grown girl. Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick (1714-1776) became them.
He arrived in St. Petersburg, but neither the Empress, nor her court, nor the bride liked it. For several years he served in the Russian army, and in 1739 he was nevertheless married to a noticeably matured bride. In the first half of August 1740, a boy was born to a young couple. They named him Ivan. Thus was the beginning of the Braunschweig family.
Anna Leopoldovna, mother of Ivan VI Antonovich
(Unknown artist)
Accession to the throne of Ivan VI Antonovich
He was in complete isolation and did not even see the faces of his guards. In 1764, Lieutenant Vasily Yakovlevich Mirovich, who was on the staff of the guard of the Shlisselburg fortress, gathered like-minded people around him and tried to free the legitimate emperor.
But the guards first stabbed Ivan with sabers, and only then surrendered to the rebels. As for Mirovich, he was then arrested, tried as a state criminal and beheaded. The body of the murdered emperor was secretly buried on the territory of the Shlisselburg fortress.
Anton Ulrich of Brunswick (artist A. Roslin)
Brunswick family
Even before the exile, Anna Leopoldovna gave birth in 1741 to the girl Ekaterina (1741-1807). Already living in Kholmogory, the woman gave birth to Elizabeth (1743-1782), Peter (1745-1798) and Alexei (1746-1787). After the last childbirth, she died of childbed fever.
Her husband Anton Ulrich of Brunswick shared all the hardships of exile with his wife and children. When Catherine II came to the Russian throne in 1762, she suggested that the prince leave Russia, but without children. He refused to leave them alone in prison. This man died in 1776 in Kholmogory at the age of 61.
The children lived in captivity for almost 40 years. When during the reign of Catherine II an official came to them and asked about their desires, the captives said: "We heard that flowers grow in the fields outside the walls of the prison. We would like to see them at least once."
In 1780, the children of Anton Ulrich and Anna Leopoldovna were sent abroad to Denmark. There they subsequently died. The Brunswick family ceased to exist after their death.
As for those who committed atrocities against absolutely innocent people, God's punishment passed them. Retribution took place only after more than 100 years, when Emperor Nicholas II and his family were brutally murdered. The punishment came, but it was not the villains themselves who went to the block, but their descendants. God's judgment is always late, because Heaven has its own concept of time.
Alexey Starikov
Here is a generalissimo
About two years ago, the remains of supposedly Anton Ulrich of Brunswick, Generalissimo of the Russian Army, who was secretly buried after his death in many years of exile, were found in Kholmogory.
In our history, he is most often remembered as the husband of Anna Leopoldovna and the father of the unfortunate baby emperor Ivan Antonovich.
Empress Anna Ioannovna, being childless, raised her niece, Anna Leopoldovna, as her own daughter, in order to later pass the Russian throne to her descendants. The bridegroom of the princess was supposed to be Anton Ulrich. She immediately began to show antipathy towards him, but those who knew her well believed that the main reason for hostility was that the groom was imposed on her. In the end, Anna did not object to this marriage, especially since the only alternative was the son of the famous favorite of Anna Ioannovna, Biron, and she did not want this at all.
Anton Ulrich of Brunswick
Since 1733, Anton Ulrich served in the army of the Russian Empire, being a colonel of one of the cuirassier regiments. According to the testimony of the French and English envoys, the frail physique and unmanly appearance of the prince surprised everyone, but soon everyone was also surprised that he "seemed to be smart in mind." During the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-1739, Anton Ulrich successfully acted in the capture of Ochakov and in the campaign to the Dniester. H. A. Minich was very pleased with him: “Despite any cold and great heat, dust, ashes and long marches, always being on horseback, as an old soldier should, but he was never in a carriage. And his courage is evidenced by the assault that took place under Ochakov, and he acted as an old and honored general should. Empress Anna Ioannovna wrote to the prince's mother that "her son distinguished himself gloriously in the capture of Ochakovo." In 1737 he was promoted to major general and awarded the orders of St. Andrew the First-Called and St. Alexander Nevsky. Anton Ulrich took his military duties very seriously, reading a lot of ancient and modern authors on the art of warfare.
The wedding of the Prince of Brunswick took place in 1739, and a year later, John Antonovich was born, according to the plan of Anna Ioannovna, heir to the throne. He became them after the death of the Empress. According to the will, Biron was appointed regent for the young emperor. The boy's parents were unhappy with this. Anton Ulrich was desperately looking for supporters among the courtiers, but they only persuaded him not to do rash acts.
The regent, when meeting with Anton Ulrich, often neglected the requirements of etiquette so much that a direct confrontation was expected at court. However, this did not happen.
The prince's military career, however, continued. In 1740 he received the rank of lieutenant general and was appointed chief of the cuirassier regiment (later His Majesty's Cuirassier Life Guards Regiment).
Biron suspected Anton Ulrich of participating in the conspiracy, but he, who was not very decisive by nature, apparently was not capable of complex court intrigues. However, when the conspiracy of the guards was discovered, the prince was transparently hinted that for any part in the attempt to overthrow Biron, he would be treated the same as with any Russian subject, and forced to sign a request for resignation from all military positions.
Realizing that everything could end badly, and most importantly, worrying that she could be separated from her child, Anna Leopoldovna got down to business. She goes to H. A. Minich, and he, delighted that the princess is on his side, begins to prepare a new plot, about which Anton Ulrich probably did not know anything. As a result, Biron was eliminated, Anna Leopoldovna became regent, and three days later the prince received the rank of generalissimo, which he had long dreamed of. Apparently, he did not feel gratitude for this, since almost immediately he began to intrigue against Munnich. He, realizing that at the moment everyone was against him, resigned himself. He was allowed to live in Petersburg and was no longer persecuted.
At this time, Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, is activated on the Russian political scene. Anton Ulrich, by all means available to him, tried to weaken her role and prevent her from coming to power. But Elizabeth is supported by the guards. Standing at the head of the conspiracy, she did not want the shedding of blood. The arrest of the Braunschweig family took place almost without noise. The children suffered the most: the awakened Ivan Antonovich was frightened by the guards surrounding him, and he, sobbing, was carried away after his mother, and his younger sister remained deaf and mute for life, as she was dropped to the floor in the confusion.
Elizaveta Petrovna at first wanted to simply send the family out of Russia, but suddenly changed her mind, ordered them to be returned halfway, arrested and imprisoned in the Riga fortress. From there they were transferred to Dynamünd and then to Ranenburg. Three years later they were ordered to throw Ranenburg and go to Kholmogory.
When Catherine II ascended the throne in 1762, Anton Ulrich was offered to leave Russia himself, leaving his four children in Kholmogory. Here the decisiveness and courage of which he was capable were manifested. The Prince of Brunswick refused to leave the children and died in 1774.
Probably, in other, more favorable circumstances, the prince's military career could have been much more successful. But still, assigning him the rank of generalissimo was a purely political move, and Anton Ulrich of Brunswick entered that part of Russian history that has nothing to do with exploits and military glory.
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From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (GE) of the author TSBNot many in our country even know the name of the town - Kholmogory. However, in pre-Petrine times and earlier, it was a rather large and glorious city for those times. And there is one story in which Kholmogory played an important role.
For 12 years in Kholmogory, the deposed young Russian emperor Ivan VI (John Antonovich), who formally ruled the Russian Empire from 1740 to 1741, was secretly kept. In fact, his mother ruled - Princess Anna Leopoldovna, who served as regent for her young son, but this unfortunate baby entered Russian history precisely as an emperor.
Agree, the case is unique - the legitimate Russian emperor was secretly kept in Kholmogory from 1744 to 1756. Then he was transferred to Shlisselburg, where in April 1764 he was killed by security officers.
The mother of the emperor Anna Leopoldovna - from November 9, 1740 to November 25, 1741, the all-powerful regent-ruler of the Russian Empire - died during exile in 1746 in Kholmogory. The body was transported to St. Petersburg and beautified under the floor of the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick, father of Russian Emperor Ivan VI, born in 1714, died in 1776. He spent 32 years in Kholmogory imprisonment. Anton Ulrich was buried near the wall of the Assumption Cathedral in Kholmogory. A memorial cross has now been erected, but the exact location of his grave is unknown.
Anton Ulrich came from a branched old family of the Dukes of Brunswick. His relatives occupied a very high position in Europe. The English King George I was his uncle, his aunt Elizabeth Christiana became Queen of Austria, his younger sister was married to Frederick the Great, and his older brother was married to Frederick's sister. Yes, and Anton Ulrich himself, before he got to Kholmogory, was a Russian generalissimo and commander of the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment.
Initially, it was planned to keep the Braunschweig family in the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery, on the very shore of the White Sea, but when transporting the family along the Dvina, they were forced to stay in Kholmogory until the end of freezing. The temporary stop dragged on for a long three decades ... Maybe this is for the best.
In Europe, they simply did not know where to look for the Braunschweig family, whether they were alive. Russian "iron masks" have sunk into oblivion. It is hard to imagine what could have happened if the Germans had managed to take the Braunschweigs to the West.
Russia waged a bloody Seven Years' War against the Prussian King Frederick the Great. The younger sister of the Kholmogory prisoner Anton Ulrich of Brunswick was Friedrich's wife, and the older brother was married to Friedrich's sister. Family ties with the royal dynasty of Prussia are the strongest. If Friedrich knew where the Braunschweig family was hiding and organized their escape, then the history of Russia could change dramatically. The legitimate Russian emperor Ivan VI would have ended up in the camp of Frederick, and it is not a fact that the “married”, illegitimate Elizabeth Petrovna, who had overthrown him, who came to power as a result of a palace coup, would have managed to retain power.
It was quite realistic to escape their Kholmogor by water with external support. You can go down on a fishing boat along the Northern Dvina, bypass the customs gates in the labyrinth of islands, immerse yourself in the Dvina Bay on a ship and depart for Europe. A day on the Dvina, a month at sea - and the political alignment will change dramatically. The main thing is to find a pilot, bribe or neutralize the guards and not let the alarm be raised for 20 hours after the escape, and then look for winds in the sea.
But it didn't happen. The grown-up emperor was transferred to Shlisselburg, where on July 5, 1764, during an unsuccessful attempt by lieutenant Vasily Mirovich to free the prisoner, he was killed.
The burial place of Ivan Antonovich remained unknown for a long time. But there was a hypothesis that his body was transported to Kholmogory and buried there. And in 2008, during the demolition of the water tower, a grave was discovered, which at first was considered the grave of Anton Ulrich. But on the basis of objective data obtained during a preliminary examination of the remains, it was suggested that this burial may belong to a member of the Brunswick family - the eldest son of Anton Ulrich - Ivan Antonovich, Emperor of Russia Ivan VI. The remains were sent to Moscow, to the Russian Center for Forensic Medical Examination.
At present, the examination has shown that this is most likely Ivan VI. The only thing missing is genetic testing.
"Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick".
ANTON ULRICH(08/28/1714-05/04/1774) - father of Emperor Ivan VI Antonovich, husband of Anna Leopoldovna.
The youngest son of the Duke of Brunswick, Ferdinand Albrecht, came to Russia in 1733 at the insistence of Empress Anna Ivanovna. Participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-1739. In 1739 he married Anna Leopoldovna, Anna Ivanovna's niece. Their infant son Ivan Antonovich became emperor in the fall of 1740, and his wife became the ruler of Russia. Anton Ulrich received the title of Imperial Highness and the rank of Generalissimo, but did not play a role in governing the country. According to contemporaries, the prince was "although of a low mind, but a light-hearted and merciful person."
After the coup on November 25, 1741, Elizaveta Petrovna came to power. Anton Ulrich was stripped of his ranks and titles and sent into exile with his family. From 1744 he lived in Kholmogory, in 1746 he became a widow. In 1762 he was offered to go abroad, but he refused to leave his four children.
School Encyclopedia. Moscow, "OLMA-PRESS Education". 2003
"Portrait of Anton von Ulrich".
It seems that the death of Ivan Antonovich delighted Catherine II and her entourage. Nikita Panin wrote to the Empress: "The deed was carried out with a desperate grasp, which was stopped by the inexpressibly laudable resolution of Captain Vlasyev and Lieutenant Chekin." Catherine answered: “I read your reports with great surprise and all the divas that happened in Shlisselburg: God’s guidance is wonderful and untested!” In a word, according to the well-known proverb: there is no person - there is no problem. Vlasyev and Chekin received an award - seven thousand rubles each - and a complete resignation.
Of course, the “problem” was solved, but not all of it: “the well-known commission in Kholmogory,” as the prisoners of the Bishop’s house were called in official documents, continued to “work”. The family of Prince Anton Ulrich (himself, two daughters and two sons) still lived there. The house stood on the banks of the Dvina, which was barely visible from one window, was surrounded by a high fence that closed a large yard with a pond, a vegetable garden, a bathhouse and a carriage house. Men lived in one room, and women - in another, and "from rest to rest - one door, old chambers, small and cramped." Other rooms were filled with soldiers, numerous servants of the prince and his children.
Living together for years, decades, under the same roof (the last guard did not change for twelve years), these people quarreled, reconciled, fell in love, denounced each other. Scandals followed one after another: either Anton Ulrich quarreled with Bina (Yakobina Mengden, Yulia's sister, who, unlike her sister, was allowed to go to Kholmogory), then the soldiers were caught stealing, then the officers were caught on cupids with nurses. Stories with Bina dragged on for several years: it turned out that she had a lover - a doctor who came from Kholmogory, and in September 1749 she gave birth to a "male" child, for which she was locked in a separate room, and she was rowdy, beat those who came to her with checking officers. Many complaints from the Kholmogory prisoners related to the quality of the provisions delivered by the local inhabitants.
The prince, as always, was quiet and meek. Over the years, he grew fat, flabby. After the death of his wife, he began to live with servants, and in Kholmogory there were many of his illegitimate children, who, growing up, became servants of members of the Braunschweig family. Occasionally, the prince wrote letters to the empress: he thanked for the sent bottles of Hungarian or for some other alms transfer. He was especially poor without coffee, which he needed daily.
In 1766, Catherine II sent General A. I. Bibikov to Kholmogory, who, on behalf of the Empress, suggested that the prince leave Russia. But he refused. A Danish diplomat wrote that the prince, "accustomed to his confinement, sick and discouraged, refused the freedom offered to him." This is inaccurate - the prince did not want freedom for himself alone, he wanted to leave with the children. But these conditions did not suit Catherine. She was alarmed both by the Mirovich case and by talks in society that she could marry one of the "Ivashka brothers" - after all, royal blood, not like the low-bred Grigory Orlov, who dreamed of a formal marriage with the empress. The prince was told that it was impossible to let him go with his children, "until our affairs are strengthened in the order in which they have now accepted their new position for the well-being of our empire."
So Anton Ulrich did not wait for the affairs of the Empress to take a favorable position for him. By the age of sixty, he became decrepit, blind, and after spending thirty-four years in prison, he died on May 4, 1776. At night, the coffin with his body was secretly taken out into the courtyard. There he was buried - without a priest, without a ceremony, like a suicide or a vagabond. Did the children accompany him on his last journey? We don't even know that.
Anisimov Evgeny. "Women on the Russian Throne".
One of the most tragic figures in Russian history was the young emperor Ivan Antonovich of Brunswick, who formally occupied the throne from October 17, 1740 to November 25, 1741. He was born on August 12, 1740 in the family of Anna Leopoldovna, the native niece of Empress Anna Ioannovna, and Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick and died on July 5, 1764 in the Shliselburg fortress, where he was in custody. John Antonovich became emperor under a ban. He and his family were sacrificed to what is commonly called the well-being of the state, as well as the tranquility of those persons who were in power throughout the life of the unfortunate emperor.
Peter the Great made continuous attempts to bring Russia into the big European politics, not limited only by economic and military means, he began to strengthen the threads of the political interests of the state by ties of dynastic marriages connecting the Romanovs with the houses of foreign rulers from Western Europe. The result of this policy was the marriage of the daughter of his older brother, Ekaterina Ivanovna, and the Duke of Mecklenburg, Karl Leopold, concluded in 1716. The fruit of this marriage was the birth of a girl on December 7/18, 1718 in Rostock, who was baptized according to Lutheran custom and named Elizabeth Catherine Christina. The marriage was unsuccessful, and in the summer of 1722, Ekaterina Ivanovna, at the invitation of her mother Praskovya Fedorovna, came to Russia and never returned to her husband.
In 1730, the childless Anna Ioannovna, the aunt of Elizabeth Catherine Christina, occupied the imperial throne. From now on, they began to look at the little princess as a possible heir to the empress. The princess remained so far in the Lutheran religion and did not officially change her name, but they began to call her Anna. Anna Ioannovna herself did not initially express any definite intentions at the expense of her niece, however, in 1731 she confirmed the right of the monarch declared by Peter I to appoint the heir to the throne of his own free will.
I. G. VEDEKIND. Portrait of Anna Leopoldovna
Later, the project of Vice-Chancellor Andrei Ivanovich Osterman and Ober-Stalmeister Karl Gustav Levenwolde arose, according to which Anna should have been married off to one of the foreign princes, and her child, at the choice of the empress and regardless of the birthright, would inherit the throne. So Levenwolde was sent to Germany to find an acceptable candidate for the groom. He completed the mission and chose two candidates - Prince Karl of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Bevernsky. Anna Ioannovna decided to opt for the second choice and invite Anton Ulrich to be appointed colonel of the cuirassier regiment, having determined his financial allowance.
I. G. VEDEKIND. Portrait of Anton-Ulrich (?)
Anton Ulrich was born on August 28, 1714 in the family of the Duke of Brunswick-Bevern Ferdinand Albrecht II and his wife Antoinette Amalia. He was the second son, the family's funds were small, so a trip to Russia and the opportunity to marry the Empress's niece were perceived as a smile of Fortune. The official reason for the trip was the admission to the Russian military service. The prince arrived in St. Petersburg on February 3/14, 1733. For residence, Anton Ulrich was prepared located near the royal palace of Chernyshev. The Empress, Duchess of Mecklenburg Ekaterina Ivanovna and even Elizabeth Ekaterina Khristina herself received him quite favorably. The prince studied the Russian language and other sciences he needed, one of his teachers is the poet Trediakovsky. Soon he converted to Orthodoxy. But the matter of marriage for various reasons did not go well. And the prospective bride herself did not have tender feelings for Anton Ulrich and in 1735 was carried away by the Saxon envoy Count Moritz Linar. In order to avoid a major scandal, the empress expelled from Russia the tutor of the princess, Madame d'Adercas, who patronized this hobby. Linar was also recalled from Petersburg.
In 1737, the prince went on his first military campaign against the Turks as a simple volunteer under the command of Field Marshal Munnich. In his report on the capture of Ochakov, Minich wrote that Anton Ulrich showed extraordinary courage and was in the very center of the battle. After that, the prince gained a reputation as a fearless warrior. In 1738, the Empress granted him the highest order of the empire - the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, and he was also promoted to prime major of the Semenovsky Guards Regiment. In the same year, the prince went on a new campaign, and the famous Karl Hieronymus von Munchausen rode in his retinue. The prince again participated in the battles, and in the battle near the Biloch River, his regiments covered the right flank of the Russian artillery, which did not have time to take up a combat position.
However, Princess Anna remained cold to Anton Ulrich, and the matter of marriage did not go well. The impetus for the denouement was given by an attempt by Empress Biron's favorite to marry Anna to his eldest son Peter, who, moreover, was younger than her.
Insulted by the refusal of the princess, Biron convinced Anna Ioannovna to finally resolve the matter with the marriage of Anton Ulrich. Preparations for the wedding have begun. On July 2, 1739, the engagement took place in the Great Hall of the Winter Palace. The next day, a wedding ceremony took place in the Kazan Church. The festivities continued for a week, all days and evenings of which were filled with banquets, fireworks, illuminations, balls, masquerades.
Anna Leopoldovna was not immediately able to get pregnant, which caused discontent of the Empress, kindled by Biron. For some time, everyone's attention switched to the Holstein Prince Karl Peter, the grandson of Peter I, the son of his daughter Anna. However, on August 12, 1740, Anna Leopoldovna gave birth to such a long-awaited son, named after his great-grandfather Ivan.
At the same time, more and more rumors appeared about the discord between the young spouses, as well as about the serious illness of the empress. Anna Ioannovna immediately published a manifesto in which she named John Antonovich as the heir to the throne, and, in the event of his death, any other senior prince born in the family of Anna Leopoldovna and Anton Ulrich. This manifesto played a tragic role in the fate of other children in the Brunswick family, making them rivals of those who occupied the throne. Almost at the bedside of the dying empress, a struggle broke out over the regency under the infant emperor. Anton Ulrich was also named among the possible candidates, but the empress decided the case in favor of her favorite Biron.
The regent gave Anton Ulrich and Anna Leopoldovna a salary of 200,000 rubles a year, but the prince of Brunswick himself wanted to be the ruler with his son. Biron heard rumors about a conspiracy, the leader of which could be the father of John Antonovich. A conversation took place between Biron and the prince and princess, during which the regent threatened to expel the entire family from Russia, and Anna Leopoldovna was forced to beg forgiveness for herself and her husband. The matter did not come to expulsion, but all those close to the prince were arrested, Anton Ulrich himself was summoned to explain before a convened meeting of senators, cabinet ministers and generals, and Ushakov led the interrogation, where the prince confessed in an attempt to remove Biron, and was also forced to refuse all military officials.
Portrait of Anton-Ulrich (?) by an unknown artist
However, Biron was removed, and this was done by Field Marshal Count Buchard-Christopher Munnich, his longtime opponent. The coup took place on the night of November 7-8, 1740, the regent and his entire family were sent into exile in Pelym. Anna Leopoldovna was proclaimed ruler under the young emperor, and Anton Ulrich received the rank of Generalissimo of the Russian army. All persons who contributed and sympathized with the coup were generously rewarded.
The reign of Anna Leopoldovna cannot be called successful. Quarrels and strife broke out between the rival courtiers from the very first days. There was practically no concern for the little emperor, although all decrees were issued on his behalf. Minich was not satisfied and sought to concentrate all power in his hands.
There was no agreement between the spouses, especially since soon Linar again arrived at the court, and Anna Leopoldovna was going to marry him to her beloved maid of honor Juliana Mengden in order to forever bind him to the Russian court. On April 14, 1741, Minich was resigned, and the affairs of the empire passed to Osterman, since the ruler herself was not interested in them. Her close and permanent entourage was made up of people who were dear to her, but absolutely useless in matters of government: Juliana Mengden, Minister of the Vienna Court Botta d’Adorno, Chief Chamberlain Ernst Minich, Field Marshal’s son, Linar. After a few months of ruling, Anna Leopoldovna practically stepped aside from state affairs, limiting herself to imposing a resolution on the documents submitted to her.
Portrait of Juliana Mengden with Ivan Antonovich in her arms Unknown artist
Anton Ulrich was more active. He attended meetings of the military board, made proposals for discussion in the Senate, personally selected soldiers and officers. For the first time, regimental hospitals were created in the guards regiments. He inspected the construction of new barracks, increased his political experience by daily long conversations with Osterman. But he did not have real power, primarily because there was no warm relationship between him and his wife, the ruler.
Thus, Anna Leopoldovna was unable to foresee the dangers from the side of Tsarina Elizaveta Petrovna, who, with the help of the French envoy Chétardie, managed to plot, leading it herself. On the night of November 24-25, 1741, the reign of the infant Emperor John III, as he was called at that time, counting from Ivan the Terrible, was overthrown.
The further fate of the Braunschweig family is tragic. At first, it was decided to expel the young emperor, his parents and little sister Catherine from Russia. The carriages with the Braunschweig family set off on the road, but a new order from the empress followed, according to which they should be kept in custody in Riga. At the end of 1742, the royal prisoners were transferred to Ranenburg, where they were kept until 1744, when, by order of Elizabeth, John Antonovich was separated from his parents. However, both the former emperor and his family were kept in Kholmogory at different ends of the vast bishop's house. From now on, Emperor John began to be called Gregory.
Anna Leopoldovna died in Kholmogory in 1746, never knowing anything about the fate of her eldest son. She left four more children in the care of her husband: Catherine, Elizabeth, Alexei and Peter. The body of the former ruler of Russia was transported to St. Petersburg and buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
L. Caravacc. Portrait of Anna Leopoldovna
After the death of his mother, John Antonovich stayed in Kholmogory for another 6 years, after which he was transferred to Shlisselburg. Here, on the night of July 4-5, 1764, he was killed by his guards in order to prevent the so-called Mirovich plot from being carried out. The body of the unfortunate prisoner was lost ...
The remaining members of the Braunschweig family continued to be kept in Kholmogory, deprived of the opportunity to communicate with the outside world. Some time after the Shlisselburg disaster, Empress Catherine intended to release Prince Anton Ulrich and send him to Germany, considering him not dangerous, but he refused freedom for the sake of his children. In 1776 he went blind and died, and his children remained imprisoned until 1780, when Catherine decided to grant them freedom. This news frightened rather than delighted the prisoners, who had spent their entire lives within the walls of the Bishop's house. However, on the ship "Polar Star" they were delivered to the city of Bergen, from where they were transported on the Danish ship "Mars" to the city of Gorzens, in Jutland, in Danish possessions. Here they lived quietly and calmly. Elizabeth died in 1782, Alexei died in 1787, Peter died in 1798, and Catherine died in 1807.
None of them left offspring. They were buried in the Lutheran church in Gorzens, their tombs have survived to this day, unlike the graves of their father and elder crowned brother.
According to materials:
1. Librovich S.F. Emperor under ban: Twenty-four years of Russian history. M. 2001
2. Levin L. Russian Generalissimo Duke Anton Ulrich (history of the "Brunswick family in Russia"). SPb., 2000