Paul the First

Па́вел Петро́вич

The Mad Czar

Sasha Jouravlev

Paul Petrovich was born to Grand Duchess Ekaterina Velikaya, also known as Cathrine the Great, and Grand Duke Pyotr Fyodorovich.

Much is unclear about who his father was due to hints from Cathrine the Great that his father was in fact Sergei Saltykov, one of Cathrine the Great’s lovers.

Paul was immediately taken in by his aunt, Czarina Elizabeth Pertranova. He was raised without the bond of any parent and was often ignored even throughout his adulthood. His mother thought he was stupid and ugly. Many attribute his strange behavior and accusations of being mentally ill from this mistreatment.

His mother wanted Paul to strictly produce a “worthy” successor. He was married to two German brides: the first died early into the marriage due to child birth complications. The second wife had 10 children with Paul among whom were two future czars and two future queens.

Paul had become Czar with the death of his mother in 1796. Because of his mistreatment, Paul set out to undo most of his mother’s work. As czar, he limited the work done by serfs, educated their children, and instituted a system of free medical care. He was set out to end the suffering of the enslaved serfs and improve their lives.

Paul the First was assassinated March 23, 1801 in his palace in St.Petersburg. Three conspirators planned to force him to sign a letter of abdication. Paul refused so they strangled him to death. His son, Alexander the First, succeeded his father as the Czar.

Works Citedhttp://www.alexanderpalace.org/palace/Paul.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_I_of_Russia