Who replaced the ceremony with the rite of the imperial coronation. "Holy coronation": coronation. Unexpected cases of the coronation

Sheogorath wants us to lead one of the Houses, overthrowing the Forces or Teydon. To learn more about the Coronation Ritual, you should talk to the priests in the chapel.

The high priest of Mania, Dervenin, will explain that the outgoing ruler of Mania must die of a broken heart from an overdose of felldu. The successor brings the collected blood to the Chapel of Arden-Sul on the Altar.

Arctus, the High Priest of Dementia, can also learn about the ritual of Dementia's coronation. To do this, you need to cut out the heart of the current duke and lay it on the Altar in the Chapel in the Chapel.

Ritual of Mania

The High Priest of Mania will advise you to start by talking to the Argonian Wide Eyes, who controls Theydon. You can find it in the vicinity of the Palace.

The wide-eyed one will tell about Teydon's daily routine and let it slip that at noon she will have to complete a very important task. At noon, we carefully sneak behind Wide-eyed, who will leave the Palace and head to a dead end with a bust of Sheogorath. It turns out that the bust is a kind of lock that opens a secret door leading to the dungeon where felldew is kept. Go down after the Argonian, but try not to catch the eye of the golden saints.

Wideeye will be in storage with a large mountain of green pollen. Be careful, take two servings of pollen for yourself and quietly move away from the dungeon. Now you also need to quietly get into the kitchen, where the cook Gundlar pours pollen into Teydon's food. Your task is to increase the dose to lethal. One serving should be poured into food, the second should be mixed with wine, there is a large bottle in the sideboard. After that, we quietly leave the room.

At eight o'clock in the evening, enter the throne room of the House of Mania. You can even sit at the table. Teidon, having supper, will begin to read poetry and, stuttering, will clutch his chest and collapse dead. Collect Theydon's Toxic Blood and head to the Chapel of Arden-Sul. Pour your blood on the altar and congratulations as Duke of Mania. Before you have time to talk with Sheogorath, an outraged Force will burst into the Chapel with threats, which will declare that it is going over to the side of the Prince of Order.

Notes: Becoming the Duke of Mania, in addition to the title, you will receive a Ring of Power that increases charm, disease resistance and shield skill, as well as the ability to summon golden saints.

Ritual of Dementia

If you decide to become the Duke of Dementia, High Priest Arctus will advise you to speak with the close associates of the Forces, Kitlan and Anya Herrick. If Anya Herrick's attitude towards you is above 60, she promises to help you and distract the guards, Kitlan, in turn, will give the key to all the doors of the House of Dementia. Now you should quietly sneak into the chambers of the Forces and end it.

Entering the bedrooms of the Duchess, you will see her sleeping on the bed. However, this is not a duchess, but a scarecrow. Apparently, Syl felt something and disappeared. Kitlan will confirm that this is one of the ploys of the Forces, and will suggest that the duchess most likely escaped through a secret passage in the garden.

We head to the bust of Sheogorath, which is located to the right of the entrance to the ducal chambers, and go down the secret passage into the dungeon.

The underground ruins are full of traps that shoot health absorption spells and hostile dark seducers. Once in a room with tables piled in a heap, look on the left for a button that opens a passage in the wall. In the depths of the dungeon, behind the next door, we encounter Force, armed with a hammer and equipped with armor. After dealing with the duchess, do not forget to cut out her heart of the duchess and return to the Palace

Back at the Chapel of Arden-Sul, place the heart of the Powers on the altar and be congratulated as the new ruler of Dementia. During a conversation with Sheogorath, an outraged Thedon will run in, who will declare that he is going to go over to the side of Jyggalag.

Notes: After completing the Ritual of Dementia, in addition to the title, you will receive the Ring of Power, which increases stamina, resistance to poisons and the chameleon spell, as well as the ability to summon a dark seducer.

State ceremonies reflect society's ideas about power. Under a monarchical form of government, an analogue of the inauguration is the coronation. The crowning of the kingdom of the monarch and the inauguration, which can be said to be a kind of wedding or initiation, have completely different meanings. In an absolute monarchy, the king is considered to be the anointed of God, the Lord crowns his kingdom, and not the people, party or army. The inauguration of a democratically elected president is a solemn and overvalued, but by no means sacral and sacred event. The monarch rises above living people with their momentary concerns, and the earthly apparatus of government is just an appendix to the hierarchy of celestials. A modern president who wins an election does not separate from his constituents.

Rice. 25. Crowning as a whole is a fusion of two principles- religious and secular

On the contrary, at the inauguration, he swears allegiance to them, promises to fulfill their hopes, wishes, requests. He serves them first and then God. The president has less power than the king, because it is not for life and not inherited.

The coronation, as one of the most important events in the life of the emperor and society as a whole, is a fusion of two principles - religious and secular. Coronation is a solemn, combined with church rites, acceptance by the monarch of the symbols of his power. It is called "sacred", as it is combined with chrismation (tse-

remonia, leading its origin from the Hebrew anointing of kings to the kingdom) "".

The chrismation performed at the wedding of kings to the kingdom is interpreted by the church as follows. This is neither a special sacrament nor a repetition of what was previously perfect. The sacred anointing of the sovereign means only a higher degree of communication of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, necessary for him to fulfill the ministry to which he is called by God. The ritual of coronation and chrismation of the king is a solemn act, culminating in the introduction of the sovereign to the altar, where he takes communion at the throne as God's anointed, patron and defender of the church.

Thus, the coronation is a sacred ceremony, during which a certain special quality is transferred to the anointed one, elevating him above other people. The inauguration is a solemn, but quite rational ceremony, in modern terms, on the occasion of the conclusion of another contract, a fixed-term employment agreement for a period stipulated by the Constitution between a management specialist and his taxpaying employers.

At its core, the ritual part of the inauguration is largely borrowed from the coronation ceremony of monarchs. Only today the new head of state receives the badges of presidential distinction, and earlier - the crown. The ceremony ends with a salute and a short speech by the new president. This is how the inauguration takes place in countries with a republican form of government. But the festive section of the protocol and the obligatory speech upon taking office existed before.

Historians remind that the presidential regiment as a separate military unit, which passes through a solemn march, as well as a special presidential order "For Merit to the Fatherland" of the first degree, salute, as on the occasion of a great victory - all these are monarchical attributes that sprout through the democratic shell of power . Perhaps someone will be surprised why the name of B. Yeltsin is engraved on the reverse side of the sign of V. Putin's presidential power. This has its roots in a different tradition - the Roman principate, when the emperor adopted and appointed his future successor as co-ruler, who, in turn, had to honor the benefactor and make sacrifices to him. All this - with strict observance of the republican procedure.

Coronation- in Russia, a solemn ceremony of crowning the emperor and empress, symbolizing their accession to the throne; united with their chrismation. This day was considered a holiday on a par with royal birthdays and namesakes. The coronation took place some time after the actual accession to the throne and took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin with a meeting of all the highest dignitaries and hierarchs of the church, representatives of the nobility and other estates.

Vinogradova N.N. The rite of coronation and its transformation in Russia. In the context of the continuity of Western traditions.- http://ideashistory.org.ru/almanacs/alml6/06Vinogradova.htm.

viy; in the cathedral a platform was built under a canopy and a throne was placed. At 8 o'clock in the morning, a prayer service was performed, and at the signal of a cannon, the invitees gathered in the Kremlin Palace. At 10 o'clock, the sovereign and empress solemnly went out, accompanied by those invited to the cathedral, where the emperor laid purple and a crown on himself, and then, putting the regalia on a pillow, covered the empress with a crown. After the liturgy, one of the metropolitans performed the rite of chrismation. The coronation was accompanied by bells, volleys of cannons and church singing. During the ceremony, the state banner, shield and sword were carried in front of the sovereign. After the end of the ceremony, the monarch in regalia bowed three times to the people from the Red Porch of the Kremlin

palace. The coronation was celebrated by asking for arrears, alleviating the fate of criminals and other favors, and the announcement of some decrees. Gala dinners, balls and treats, illumination and fireworks were organized for the guests and the people.

The rite of coronation of Russian tsars came from Byzantium; for a long time it was observed with all the strictness of court ceremonial. Byzantium borrowed ceremonial from even more ancient cultures.

Coronation came to Christianity from the ancient Jews, who had two kinds of anointing - private and solemn. Private anointing was usually performed secretly, in the circle of relatives, and solemn - in public, in churches and squares with a large number of participants and guests: initially a crown (or diadem) was laid, after which anointing was performed. The people and the king gave each other oaths. The people swore fidelity and readiness to take care of the life of the king and the strength of his reign, and the king swore an oath to honor God and not violate the precepts of Moses. With the advent of the Christian era, the rite became more magnificent and significant.

The Western tradition of inaugural anointing dates back to the anointing of Pepin the Short (754). Charlemagne was anointed three times as king (rex), and when he was appointed emperor in Rome, he was only crowned. In the 10th century, when papal power was growing, in order to emphasize the superiority of spiritual power over secular power, the order of anointing changed: instead of the head, the right hand and between the shoulders were anointed, and the ceremony was performed not with the world, but with oil. By the 15th century the ceremony became so significant that it had a huge impact on the political life of all Europe. So, during the Hundred Years War, the English king Edward sought to

capture Reims in 1359, since it was the Reims archbishops who received in the 11th century. from Rome the exclusive right to anoint French kings.

The coronation ceremony of Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953 was broadcast on radio and television around the world, accompanied by parades and fireworks throughout the UK and the British Commonwealth. Representatives of both houses of the British Parliament, all significant public organizations of the country, prime ministers and heads of state of other countries of the British Commonwealth, as well as representatives of many foreign states, paid their respects to the new queen.

The Eastern practice of crowning is younger than the Western one. The first anointing in Byzantium took place only in 1204 under the influence of the West. Byzantium is an elective empire, where the supreme ruler was elected by the Senate, the people, the army, and the coronation of the Byzantine emperor by the patriarch was fundamentally different from the papal one. The patriarch carried out the coronation on behalf of the electors (senate, people, army), the pope exercised one of the most important rights of the church 12 . Church and state in Byzantium were closely connected with each other. Their relationship is often defined as "caesaropapism". However, this term, implying the subordination of the church to the state or emperor, is somewhat misleading: in fact, it was about interdependence, not subordination. The emperor was not the head of the church, he did not have the right to perform the duties of a clergyman. However, the court ceremonial was closely connected with worship.

During the coronation and important receptions, the basileus was dressed in so many clothes and jewelry that he could hardly bear their weight. Michael V Calafat even fainted at the coronation, and was barely brought to his senses. They prostrated before the basileus, during the speech from the throne he was covered with special curtains, and only a few received the right to sit in his presence. Only the highest ranks of the empire were allowed to eat at his meal (an invitation to the royal meal was considered a great honor). His clothes and household items were of a certain color, usually purple. The only one among the laity, the basileus, had the right to enter the altar. Solemn hymns and hymns were composed in his honor. In his letters, he spoke of himself most often in the plural: “our kingship” (sometimes: “my kingship”). He did not get tired of praising his own deeds: all his vigilant cares and hard work are aimed only at the benefit of the people, and the people, of course, "prosper" under his scepter 13 .

The coronation was part of the political mechanisms that maintained the stability of imperial power and helped to carry out the rotation of personnel. After the coronation of the basileus, his confidants re-equipped the entire or almost the entire palace staff, changed dignitaries, disposed of the treasury, the possessions of the crown, decided the fate of the army, war and peace. Often, children were crowned immediately after birth, which ensured the continuity of the dynasty. If the emperor was a child or incapable

The Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. IV: The Byzantine Empire. P. 11: Government, Church and Civilization. Cambridge, 1968. P. 1-6; Guilland R. Le droit divin a Byzance // Eos. 1947 Vol. 42, F. 1. P. 140-145. Litavrin G.G. How did the Byzantines live? - http://www.krotov.org.

ruler, crowned junior emperors, or co-rulers, who may or may not have belonged to the ruling dynasty. Sometimes commanders or naval commanders became co-rulers, who first acquired control over the state, and then legitimized their position, for example, through marriage. This is how the naval commander Roman 1 Lekapin and the commander Nikephoros II Phocas (reigned 963-969) came to power. Thus, the most important feature of the Byzantine system of government was the strict succession of dynasties. There were sometimes periods of bloody struggle for the throne, civil wars and inept government, but they were short-lived 14 .

Rice. 26. Coronation

The coronation ceremony came to Russia 500 years later than to Byzantium. The year 1498 opened a succession of ranks of the royal wedding. There were 19 such ranks in total. The coronation ritual basically remained unchanged until Alexander III, although it changed in some details. “Innovations occurred mainly in the church rank. For example, details were introduced, thanks to which he took on the integral form of a special prayer chant. If earlier a prayer service was performed before the coronation in front of the icon of Our Lady of Vladimir, now the prayer service and coronation have become a single sacred rite. During this period, the royal regalia are replaced: the cap of Monomakh is replaced by a crown, the ancient royal clothes are replaced by modern ones, barmas and the chain of the life-giving cross are replaced by purple and the Order of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called; the boyar retinue is replaced by court and military ranks. The reason for all this was, of course, the transformation of Peter, who took the imperial title and tried to transfer Western European traditions to Russian soil.

14 Byzantine Empire // Encyclopedia Around the World. - http://krugosvet.ru.

15 Vinogradova N.N. Decree. op.

Experts see the reasons for such a late establishment of the institution of coronation on domestic soil in social history. Vladimir Monomakh, who received royal regalia from the Byzantine emperor Alexei Komnenos, was crowned Neophyte Metropolitan of Ephesus in the Kiev Sophia Cathedral. Until the 15th century feudal fragmentation reigned in Russia, competition for the throne between princely families close in blood. The wedding of one of them as the only anointed of God could only increase mutual enmity. Therefore, before his death, Monomakh gathered the clergy, boyars, merchants and bequeathed that no one should be crowned king after his death. Then came the long-term Tatar-Mongol yoke, during which the Russian princes received a label for rule from the hands of the khan who ruled at that moment.

In the history of our country of the XV century. entered as a unifying - the time of gathering Russian lands and creating a centralized state. And along with it, the ideology framing the growing power appears: "Moscow is the third Rome." The revival of the image, culture and ideology of Byzantium could not but lead to the revival of the Byzantine tradition of the sacralization of secular power. True, by this time the political elite had either forgotten how the coronation ritual took place in Byzantium, or did not know it at all, but much had changed in the restored model. Both in the West and in Byzantium, the anointing of the crowned monarch preceded the wedding itself (i.e., coronation); in Russia, it was performed after the wedding. The Russian ruler, as it were, was likened to Christ, while both in the West and in Byzantium, the anointed one was equated with the kings of Israel. In the future, according to B. Uspensky 16, the presence of a special charisma in the tsar - the charisma of power, which was communicated precisely through chrismation - was specially emphasized by the church. The repeated chrismation meant that after the coronation the tsar acquires a qualitatively new status - different from the status of other people 17 .

Uspensky B.A. Tsar and emperor: anointing to the kingdom and the semantics of royal titles. M., 2000. From 18-35.

Vinogradova N.N. Decree. op.

STATUS BEHAVIOR

Status, especially high, imposes certain obligations on its bearer - a set of restrictions that relate primarily to behavior. It is behavior, although high status expresses itself in special insignia, privileges, dress code or size of real estate.

origin). Thus, the ritual has a special meaning of God's blessing on the kingdom, mystical wedding with the state, etc.

ceremonial

papal coronations

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Notes

Literature

• Slyunkova I. N. Projects for decorating coronation celebrations in Russia in the 19th century. - M., Booksmart, 2013 438 p. ISBN 978-5-906190-9

Links

An excerpt characterizing the Coronation

At half past six, Napoleon rode on horseback to the village of Shevardin.
It began to dawn, the sky cleared, only one cloud lay in the east. Abandoned fires burned out in the faint morning light.
To the right, a thick lone cannon shot rang out, swept and froze in the general silence. Several minutes passed. There was a second, third shot, the air shook; the fourth and fifth resounded close and solemnly somewhere to the right.
The first shots had not yet finished ringing before others rang out, again and again, merging and interrupting one another.
Napoleon rode up with his retinue to the Shevardinsky redoubt and dismounted from his horse. The game has begun.

Returning from Prince Andrei to Gorki, Pierre, having ordered the bereator to prepare the horses and wake him up early in the morning, immediately fell asleep behind the partition, in the corner that Boris gave him.
When Pierre woke up completely the next morning, there was no one in the hut. Glass rattled in the small windows. The Rector stood pushing him aside.
“Your excellency, your excellency, your excellency ...” the bereytor said stubbornly, without looking at Pierre and, apparently, having lost hope of waking him up, shaking him by the shoulder.
- What? Started? Is it time? Pierre spoke, waking up.
“If you please, hear the firing,” said the bereytor, a retired soldier, “already all the gentlemen have risen, the brightest ones themselves have long passed.
Pierre hastily dressed and ran out onto the porch. Outside it was clear, fresh, dewy and cheerful. The sun, having just escaped from behind the cloud that obscured it, splashed up to half of its rays, broken by a cloud, through the roofs of the opposite street, onto the dew-covered dust of the road, onto the walls of houses, on the windows of the fence and on Pierre's horses standing by the hut. The rumble of cannons was heard more clearly in the yard. An adjutant with a Cossack roared down the street.
- It's time, Count, it's time! shouted the adjutant.
Ordering to lead the horse behind him, Pierre went down the street to the mound, from which he had looked at the battlefield yesterday. There was a crowd of military men on this mound, and the French dialect of the staff was heard, and Kutuzov's gray-haired head was visible with his white cap with a red band and a gray-haired nape sunk into his shoulders. Kutuzov looked through the pipe ahead along the high road.
Entering the steps of the entrance to the mound, Pierre looked ahead of him and froze in admiration before the beauty of the spectacle. It was the same panorama that he had admired yesterday from this mound; but now the whole area was covered with troops and the smoke of shots, and the slanting rays of the bright sun, rising behind, to the left of Pierre, threw on her in the clear morning air a piercing light with a golden and pink hue and dark, long shadows. The distant forests that complete the panorama, as if carved from some kind of precious yellow-green stone, could be seen with their curved line of peaks on the horizon, and between them, behind Valuev, the big Smolensk road cut through, all covered with troops. Closer, golden fields and copses gleamed. Everywhere - in front, on the right and on the left - troops were visible. All this was lively, majestic and unexpected; but what struck Pierre most of all was the view of the battlefield itself, Borodino and the hollow above Kolochaya on both sides of it.
Above Kolochaya, in Borodino and on both sides of it, especially to the left, where the Voyna flows into Kolocha in the swampy banks, there was that fog that melts, blurs and shines through when the bright sun comes out and magically colors and outlines everything seen through it. This fog was joined by the smoke of shots, and through this fog and smoke lightnings of morning light shone everywhere - now on the water, now on the dew, now on the bayonets of the troops crowding along the banks and in Borodino. Through this fog one could see the white church, in some places the roofs of Borodin's huts, in some places solid masses of soldiers, in some places green boxes, cannons. And it all moved, or seemed to move, because the mist and smoke stretched all over this space. Both in this locality of the lower parts near Borodino, covered with fog, and outside it, higher and especially to the left along the entire line, through the forests, through the fields, in the lower parts, on the tops of the elevations, were constantly born of themselves, out of nothing, cannon, then lonely, now lumpy, now rare, now frequent clouds of smoke, which, swelling, growing, swirling, merging, were visible throughout this space.
These gunshot smokes and, strange to say, their sounds produced the main beauty of the spectacle.
Puff! - suddenly one could see round, dense smoke playing with purple, gray and milky white colors, and boom! - the sound of this smoke was heard in a second.
"Poof poof" - two smokes rose, pushing and merging; and "boom boom" - confirmed the sounds that the eye saw.
Pierre looked back at the first smoke that he had left in a rounded dense ball, and already in its place were balls of smoke stretching to the side, and poof ... (with a stop) poof poof - three more, four more, and for each, with the same constellations, boom ... boom boom boom - answered beautiful, solid, true sounds. It seemed that these smokes were running, that they were standing, and forests, fields and shiny bayonets were running past them. On the left side, over the fields and bushes, these large smokes with their solemn echoes were constantly born, and closer still, along the lower levels and forests, small smokes of guns, which did not have time to round off, flared up and gave their small echoes in the same way. Fuck ta ta tah - the guns crackled, although often, but incorrectly and poorly in comparison with gun shots.

Imperial crown jewels and coronation ritual

By the middle of the XIX century. most of the "treasures" of the Romanovs were already stored in banal interest-bearing papers, regularly bringing annual profits. However, the treasures of the Romanovs also had a visible form, its visual embodiment was the coronation regalia of Moscow tsars and Russian emperors.

Second half of the 15th century was the time of completion of the unification of Russian lands around Moscow and the time of the beginning of the formation of the Moscow kingdom. Such major political processes required ideological and political formalization. The ideology of the new kingdom resulted in the chased formula of the monk Philotheus: “The first and second Rome fell. Moscow is the third Rome, and there will be no fourth. The tradition of the coronation of Russian sovereigns (Grand Dukes), which began with the coronation of Ivan III's grandson Dmitry in 1498, became a visible embodiment of the unifying political processes. The Kremlin of Ivan IV (he entered our history as Grozny). It was then that the chrismation ceremony became the core of coronation celebrations that turn an ordinary person into God's anointed one.

Gradually, in the course of subsequent coronations, a complex of royal regalia is formed, used during the coronation celebrations, called the "big outfit". The ideological essence of the coronation celebrations in the holy temples of the Moscow Kremlin was the idea of ​​God's grace, which descended on the sovereigns during the procedure of their chrismation. Actually, this is where the official wording "God's anointed" came from.

John IV

The procedure of coronation celebrations throughout the 17th century. under the first Romanovs, it took on finished forms and did not change until the coronation of 1682, when at the same time the half-brothers Peter I and Ivan V were solemnly anointed with myrrh. However, the new political realities of the beginning of the 18th century. a lot has changed in Russia. These processes also affected the coronation traditions.

As you know, at the end of the reign of Peter I, the issue of succession to the throne was very acute. On February 3, 1718, the son of Peter I from his first marriage, Tsarevich Alexei, was deprived of the rights of inheritance to the Russian throne. These rights passed to Pyotr Petrovich, the tsar's son from his second marriage with Ekaterina Alekseevna, the future Empress Catherine I. Then Pyotr Petrovich was 3 years old, but he was already called "the most noble sovereign-tsesarevich."

After the tragic death of Alexei Petrovich in the casemate of the Peter and Paul Fortress on June 26, 1718, the right to inherit the throne of the Moscow tsars was finally assigned to Petr Petrovich. However, on April 25, 1719, Peter Petrovich died. As a result, Peter I was left with a 4-year-old grandson, the future Peter II, whom the tsar categorically did not want to see as his successor, and daughters from his second marriage - Anna and Elizabeth, according to Moscow traditions, they could not claim to inherit the throne.

Apparently, it was in 1719 that Peter I came up with the idea of ​​taking on the title of emperor and coronations according to the new "imperial standard", his second wife, Ekaterina Alekseevna, behind whom stood the new nobility, headed by A.D. Menshikov. The reason for such serious changes was to be the end of the Northern War, its end was already clearly marked.

John V and Peter I

One of the steps of Peter I in this direction was the decree (December 1719), according to which the Chamber Collegium was created. First, paragraph 20 of the document stipulated a list of “proper things for the State”: “State apple, crown, scepter, key and sword.” Secondly, the place of their storage was indicated - the Royal rent (treasury). Thirdly, the mode of storage was approved - "in a large chest behind three locks." Fourthly, the regime of admission to state regalia was established. Since the value of the regalia and their significance in the ceremonial life of the imperial residences were very significant, the order of access to them provided for multiple insurance in case of abuse or any accidents. Therefore, only three officials: the Chamber-President, the Chamber-Counselor and the Tsar's Rental Master, each having one key to one of the three locks of the chest, could extract the regalia from this chest. Naturally, in order to open the chest with regalia, the simultaneous presence of all three officials was required. 63

double throne

Attributes of power of Moscow tsars

In 1721, a new decree of the emperor followed, according to which the state regalia kept by the College of Chambers were again listed: crown, scepter, orb, key, seal and sword. It should be recalled that in 1721 the Treaty of Nystadt was signed with Sweden, which ended the Northern War, which lasted 21 years. It was in this year that Peter I assumed the title of emperor, marking the beginning of the imperial period in the history of Russia. At the same time, Peter the Great, by decree on May 16, 1721, ordered that the day of the coronation be considered a holiday along with the royal birthdays and namesakes. 64

The new title of the first person of the country had to be visibly formalized, and by 1721 the formation of a new complex was being completed. imperial regalia. It should be emphasized that all this was done “under Catherine”, since Peter I considered the coronation “according to the imperial standard” for himself to be completely unnecessary, rightly considering the divine legitimacy of his power to be completely indisputable.

Terminological innovations include the appearance of the term itself. "regalia". Before Peter I, this term was not used, but there were concepts "royal order" or " big outfit." This "big outfit" included: royal crown, orb, scepter, chains, life-giving cross, barmas. The throne was not part of the concept of "regalia". 19th century explorers numbered about 39 items related to the items of the royal rank and the crowning of the kingdom. Of all these items in the list imperial regalia only switched scepter and power.

Speaking about the imperial regalia, it must be emphasized that if under the Moscow tsars the main place during the coronation ceremonies was occupied by the so-called life-giving crosses(“Philotheevsky Cross”), then from the time of Peter I they become power. The scepter and orb were used old, from the ancient coronation "large outfits" of Moscow tsars, visibly linking coronation celebrations of Moscow tsars and Russian emperors (empresses).

With all the organizational innovations, Peter I made a fundamental decision not to transfer the coronation celebrations from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Despite his tough attitude towards the Orthodox Church, which was consistently turned into a part of an obedient bureaucratic apparatus, he believed that the divine legitimacy of the coronation celebrations could be fully ensured only in the ancient churches of the Moscow Kremlin, at least in the eyes of the people. Pyotr Alekseevich was a pragmatist, perfectly representing the precarious position of his second wife as his possible successor, so he did not neglect such an important “detail”. As a result, following the example of previous coronations, Ekaterina Alekseevna turned into an empress in the ancient Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, where, starting from Ivan IV, all the kings of the Moscow kingdom were crowned.

Thus, the coronation traditions of Moscow tsars and Russian emperors linked both the regalia (orb and scepter) and the place of the coronation (Assumption Cathedral). And the “scenario” of the coronation celebrations itself was preserved, including both the key role of the higher Orthodox clergy and the procedure of chrismation itself.

The forthcoming coronation of Ekaterina Alekseevna was announced in a manifesto on November 15, 1723. In this document, the tsar pointed out the merits of his wife to the fatherland in the most difficult times for him. The emperor explained the desire to crown his wife by the fact that “in all Christian states it is certainly the custom for potentates to crown their spouses, and not only now, but also in ancient times, this happened many times among the Orthodox Greek emperors, namely: Emperor Basiliscus to his wife Zinovia, Emperor Justinian to his wife Lupitia , Emperor Heraclius crowned his wife Martinius, Emperor Leo the Wise crowned his wife Mary with an imperial crown. 65

First coronation according to imperial standards, took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin in May 1724. Two thrones were placed in the cathedral, next to them on a special table were imperial regalia. It should be noted that until 1724 the royal regalia from the “large outfit” were kept in the Treasury. 66

It was with this new coronation procedure that Peter I found it necessary to strengthen the legitimacy of the position of his second wife, Ekaterina Alekseevna, as his possible successor.

Coronation dress of Catherine I. 1724

It was not only the first coronation by imperial standards, but also the first coronation of a woman. Moreover, women of low birth, the stormy "stages of her biography" were no secret to anyone. At the same time, this coronation became a visible demonstration of the power of the young empire, which was emphasized by the splendor and richness of the ceremony itself. Peter I deliberately went for it, although in private life he was organically ascetic.

It is known that for the coronation of Catherine I, the scepter and orb of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, the first of the Romanovs, were used. These regalia were taken from the Treasury. Of the "novelties" for Catherine I, they urgently made a special crown, a crown studded with diamonds, which Peter the Great himself placed on her.

The first imperial crown of Russia was made by master Samson Larionov. The idea was based on the drawing of the crown of King Constantine. Only the silver gilded skeleton of the crown of Catherine I, which is currently stored in the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin, has come down to us. This crown weighed 1.8 kg, and it cost the treasury 1.5 million rubles. It was then that a huge spinel ruby, almost 400 carats in weight, appeared on the top of the crown for the first time, brought in 1676 by the merchant Spafariy to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich from China and estimated in 1725 at 60,000 rubles.

Contemporaries described the new crown as follows: "The imperial crown was composed entirely of diamonds, diamonds, between which there was a great number of amazing size." 67 It was this crown, studded with diamonds, that turned them into the main stones of the 18th century, into the official, award stones of the ruling dynasty. And Spafaria's spinel subsequently crowned the crowns of Anna Ioannovna, Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II.

During the coronation of 1724, such a novelty as imperial mantle (porphyry) weighing more than 60 kg. 68

A special clasp was made for this mantle, which cost, according to the chamber junker Berholz, 100,000 rubles. The porphyry was laid on his wife by Peter I himself. (If the reader has ever picked up a serious tourist backpack, then he can imagine the weight of the porphyry.)

After the coronation ceremony, Peter I made another extraordinary move. He ordered all the items of the royal rank to be put "behind the glass" in the Treasury and to show them to people whenever possible. In memory of the coronation, a medal with portraits of Peter and Catherine was knocked out for the first time. The medal reflects the main plot of the coronation - Peter I, placing the crown on the head of his wife.

After the coronation of the infant Peter II, which took place on February 25, 1728, the imperial regalia were again mentioned in a separate decree, by a special order they were transferred for storage to the Master Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin under the responsibility of Prince Vasily Odoevsky and the court quartermaster Pyotr Moshkov. 69 As follows from this document, the same crown jewels were used. From December 1726, Vasily Odoevsky was also entrusted with the responsibility of managing the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin. In 1727, he made an inventory of all the valuables stored in the Moscow Armory.

Returning to the coronation of 1728, it should be noted that the crown was placed on the head of 13-year-old Peter II by the Archbishop of Novgorod Feofan. 70 Recall that in 1724 Peter I placed the crown on Catherine I's head. It is clear that all the movements at the coronation were thought out and deeply symbolic. Therefore, the very fact of placing the crown on the head of the young emperor by the archbishop actually meant a course towards the restoration of the old relationship between church and state, that is, a return to relations that existed in pre-Petrine Russia. After all, to all Moscow tsars, including the young Peter I in 1682, the patriarch laid the cap of Monomakh. Peter I changed this system of relations, liquidating the institution of the patriarchate and including the structures of the Orthodox Church in the bureaucratic apparatus of power. It is noteworthy that the same archbishop laid the crown on Anna Ioannovna in 1730, who also initially positioned herself as a supporter of pre-Petrine "old times".

Elizaveta Petrovna returned to her father's political course. This was manifested in big and small, including the fact that during her coronation she herself placed the imperial crown on herself. After Elizabeth Petrovna, church hierarchs only presented the crown to the emperors, but they placed it on themselves.

Coronation dress of Anna Ioannovna. 1730

On January 19, 1730, suddenly, on the eve of the wedding, 15-year-old Peter II died. After Anna Ioannovna, the Duchess of Courland, quickly put an end to the "invention of the leaders", she immediately began preparations for her own coronation. The coronation of Anna Ioannovna took place on April 28, 1730. The imperial regalia - a mantle, a crown, were placed on her by Archbishop Feofan. The orb and the scepter were used by the old ones, from the “big outfit” of the Moscow tsars. But for this coronation, in a very short time, the jeweler Gottfried Wilhelm Dunkel made a new crown, on the top of which, as on the crown of Catherine I, was the same Spafaria spinel. 71 Of the coronation jewelry “novelties”, we can mention a diamond agraph, made as a clasp for a porphyry (mantle). Also, during the coronation of Anna Ioannovna, for the first time, a diamond chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called was placed on her over the porphyry. 72 In addition to the “large” crown, they made for Anna Ioannovna small crown for ceremonial occasions. Also, for the first time, a special prayer was introduced into the coronation rite, proclaimed by the sovereign kneeling in purple.

There were also nuances. At coronations during the chrismation, the shoulders were supposed to be anointed. For female empresses, clad in corsets, this presented a certain “technical” difficulty. Therefore, during the coronation of Anna Ioannovna, anointing occurred only on one shoulder. The ancient tradition of anointing the shoulders of the empresses was finally abolished during the coronation of Paul I. Empress Maria Feodorovna was anointed according to the “abbreviated version”.

The palace coup that elevated "daughter Petrova" to the Russian imperial throne took place on November 24, 1741. Exactly five months later, on April 25, 1742, the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna took place. Special chief marshal and chief master of ceremonies were appointed to arrange the celebration. 73

G.V. Dunkel. Grand Crown of Empress Anna Ioannovna

When developing the script for the coronation celebrations, among other things, changes were made to the list of imperial regalia. Since 1742, this list mentions for the first time State Sword. During the coronation, he was solemnly carried to the Faceted Chamber by Prince General Naryshkin, for the ceremony of taking out the sword, he was sewn special gloves made of elk skin with gold fringe and braids. For the coronation of Elizabeth, they made another, already the third in a row, new imperial crown, which has not been preserved. The jeweler I. Pozier, who then worked at the Imperial Court, mentions that “the crown of Empress Elizabeth, which is extremely expensive, consists, like all her attire, of semi-precious stones: rubies, sapphires, emeralds. All these stones are incomparable in their size and beauty.” 74

It is curious that after more than 160 years, in 1905, which was so alarming for the ruling power, the search for the coronation crown of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna began. But the specialists of the Armory and the Hermitage, officials of the Cameral Department failed to find her. 75

Returning to the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna, it should be noted that Empress Elizabeth Petrovna placed the mantle and crown on herself. However, as happened earlier, after the death of Elizabeth Petrovna, the crown was dismantled, the metal was melted down, and the stones were used on the large crown of Catherine II. 76 We emphasize once again that the large crown of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna has not been preserved.

At the end of the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, another jewelry rarity appeared, which became an indispensable element of the coronation attire of Russian empresses. They became a diamond buckle-agraph, which cleaved off the stole of Elizabeth. The buckle was made in 1757–1760, and starting from Catherine II, a massive “brilliant agraph”, which can withstand a significant weight of the stole, was used to fasten the ends of a heavy mantle worn during coronations or ceremonial exits of empresses. 77 This agraph has been preserved and is exhibited in the historical hall of the Diamond Fund of the Moscow Kremlin.

Coronation dress of Elizabeth Petrovna. 1742

All the "new" coronation regalia were literally strewn with diamonds, and over time, the fashion for diamonds as stones, symbolizing power and proximity to power, strengthened, reaching its climax under Catherine II. It was then that diamonds appeared on nobles in the most unexpected places and combinations. An order for diamond buttons for clothes, for snuff boxes studded with diamonds became a common thing. Even when playing cards, stacks of diamonds or rough diamonds sometimes lay next to stacks of gold coins.

Thus, by the middle of the XVIII century. a new coronation practice developed, its scenario, on the one hand, was associated with the traditions of the Muscovite kingdom, and on the other hand, by this time new traditions of coronation celebrations according to “imperial standards” had been established. An important part of the new standards was the Large and Small Imperial Crowns, made for each of the described coronations. Speaking of imperial regalia, it should also be emphasized that jewelry collections of this kind do not arise at once. As a rule, they have their own history. It can be argued that a relatively well-established set of coronation regalia was formed by 1742, in preparation for the coronation of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. However, the completion of this process can be attributed to the beginning of the 1760s, when hasty preparations began for the coronation of Catherine II, which took place in September 1762. 78

The basis of the list of imperial regalia of Catherine II was the things hastily created by court jewelers specifically for her coronation. The urgency of the work is evidenced by the fact that the coup that placed the Empress on the throne took place on June 28, 1762, and the coronation took place in Moscow on September 22 of the same year. Empress Catherine II announced her intention to be crowned four days after her accession to the throne, promulgating the corresponding manifesto. 79 In fact, the court jewelers had only two and a half months to work, during which they had to not only “give birth” to the idea of ​​new crown jewels, but also to embody it in metal and stones. The main task of the jewelers was to create the Great Imperial Crown.

A.P. Antropov

Portrait of Emperor Peter III

In his notes, the jeweler I. Pozier, describing the moment of “placement of the order”, did not even mention that Georg Friedrich Eckart worked with him on the creation of a new crown: “... since the Empress told me that she wanted this crown to remain in the same form after the coronation, then I selected all the largest stones that were not suitable for fashionable decoration, partly diamonds, partly colored, which amounted to the richest thing that exists in Europe. 80 Actually, this phrase exhausts the description of the process of working on the crown. From earlier episodes in the memoirs of I. Pozier, we know that before starting work “in metal”, the jeweler first made a wax copy of the frame of the thing, into which he pressed real diamonds, achieving the most advantageous jewelry compositional combinations. For Russia in the middle of the XVIII century. it was certainly innovative.

One way or another, but the jewelers Jeremiah Pozier and Georg Friedrich Eckart managed to solve the main “jewelry problem” in a short time - to create Big imperial crown which all Russian monarchs were crowned from 1762 to 1896. If we talk about the specific “contribution” to the idea of ​​the “design” of the crown of each of the jewelers, then, oddly enough, mutual hostility and overt rivalry brought brilliant results. So, the sketch of the crown was made by Pozier, the idea of ​​the slotted frame belonged to Eckart, he selected and fastened the stones on the frame of Pozier, etc. 81

A.P. Pntropov

Catherine II. Before 1766

The gems that adorn the Great Imperial Crown amaze with their splendor and luxury. 82 In total, 75 pearls and 4936 diamonds are fixed on the crown. The top of the crown is decorated with a magnificent dark red spinel of 398.72 carats. The huge spinel and 75 pearls weighed about 800 g, and together with the metal the crown weighed 2 kg. 83 Initially, 1 pound of gold and 20 pounds of silver were allotted for the crown. The length of the lower circumference of the crown is 64 cm, the height with the cross is 27.5 cm.

Apparently, Catherine II, giving jewelers "carte blanche" to use any stones and materials in the manufacture of the crown, expressed some specific wishes. This is evidenced by the phrase in the notes of I. Pozier that he tried to make the crown as light as possible: “Despite all the precautions I took to make the crown light and use only the most necessary materials to hold the stones, it turned out to be five pounds weight." 84

Nevertheless, the master managed to please the customer, who received a magnificent thing and in a very short time. The court jeweler I. Pozier personally “tried on the crown to Her Majesty”, and Catherine II was “very pleased with her”, saying that “for four or five hours during the ceremony she would somehow hold this weight”. 85 It is clear that Catherine II at that “hot” time was only interested in pragmatic considerations. Subsequently, before each coronation, jewelers adjusted this crown “over the head” of each of the monarchs.

In addition to the Great Imperial Crown, the jeweler Georg Friedrich Eckart, for the coronation of 1762, made imperial state. I must say that the master spent a lot of effort and nerves on the power.

Crown Jewels: Grand Imperial Crown (1762), Orb (1762), Scepter (1773), Small Imperial Crown (1856)

After all, it was originally supposed to use the orb that was from the ancient “big outfit” of the Moscow tsars and with which Catherine I was married to the kingdom in 1724. But, to the horror of the organizers of the coronation, it turned out that shortly after the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1742, from the orb By order of the empress, precious stones were broken out, and then gold was also used in business. 86 As a result, the ancient coronal power was destroyed. This story came to light only on September 7, 1762, and the coronation was scheduled for September 22. The jeweler had only two weeks to make a new orb. Nevertheless, Eckart not only met the deadline, but also made an item that was impeccable in terms of composition, which served at eight coronations (1762, 1797, 1801, 1826, 1829 (the coronation of Nicholas I in Warsaw), 1856, 1883, 1896).

Changes were made to the appearance of the state of the 1762 model during subsequent coronations. The most fundamental ones were at the coronation of Paul I in 1797. Then a huge sapphire appeared under the cross and a triangular diamond on the girdle, purchased from Ivan Ambelikov and for a long time being the second largest in Russia after the famous Orlov diamond. In total, 86,000 rubles were spent on jewelry work on the coronation. 87

In addition to the Great Imperial Crown and orb at the coronation in 1762, they used "Big Bouquet”, made for Elizabeth Petrovna in 1757–1760. It served as an adornment of the bodice of the ceremonial coronation dress of Catherine II. For the first time, this "bouquet" adorned the toilet of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The bouquet was made up of diamonds and emeralds. Multi-colored foil placed under the diamonds (a common technique used by jewelers in the past) created the effect of a multicolored “live” bouquet. Only the lilac-pink 15-carat diamond in the bouquet has a natural color.

Stefano Torelli.

Coronation of Empress Catherine II

A little later, a new one was made for Catherine II. Imperial scepter, adorned with a diamond "Orlov" weighing 189.62 carats. This diamond was presented to the Empress by G.G. Orlov November 24, 1773. After some time, the diamond was inserted into a scepter that was already ready “under the diamond”. Since that time (1773), the three main coronation regalia (crown, scepter and orb) have not changed. 88 Under Paul I, the new scepter was first used during the coronation and thus officially included in the number of imperial regalia.

The last coronation of the XVIII century. was the coronation of Paul I and Empress Maria Feodorovna. It was this coronation that finally fixed the order of coronation celebrations that were reproduced throughout the 19th century. First, it was the first joint coronation of an emperor and an empress. Secondly, Paul I laid the foundation for the tradition - before the solemn entry into Moscow, to stop at the Petrovsky Palace, built by Catherine II. Thirdly, during the coronation, on April 5, 1797 (on the first day of Easter), Emperor Paul I laid on himself a dalmatic 89, and only then purple.

Coronation of Emperor Paul I and Empress Maria Feodorovna in the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

Fourthly, during the coronation procedure itself, Paul I first sat on the throne and, putting the regalia on the pillows, called the Empress Maria Feodorovna to her, who knelt before him. Taking off the crown, Pavel Petrovich touched it to the head of the empress and then again put the crown on himself. Then a small diamond crown was presented, the emperor placed it on the head of the empress. It was this procedure that was repeated during the coronations of Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II. After the completion of the ceremony of chrismation right in the Assumption Cathedral, Paul I publicly read the Act of Succession to the Throne 90 .

As for the Small Diamond Crown, placed by Paul I on the head of Empress Maria Feodorovna, it was commissioned by the jeweler Jean-Francois Loubier by Catherine II at the end of 1795. The jeweler completed work on the crown after the death of the Empress, just in time for the start of preparations for a new coronation. Then this Small coronation crown until 1828 it was kept in the rooms of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna.

After the death of Maria Feodorovna in November 1828, the crown entered the Diamond Room of the Winter Palace, where it was valued at 48,750 rubles. It was kept there until the early 1840s, when, at the direction of Nicholas I, it was made into a diamond dress for Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna (daughter of Nicholas I).

Having become emperor, Paul I changed the legal status of the crown imperial regalia. It was under Paul I that they ceased to be "consumable inventory" and acquired the status of hereditary. Therefore, the complex of imperial regalia ceased to be radically updated from coronation to coronation, but began to be inherited, increasing in number. This was also facilitated by the factor of dynastic stability, provided both by the decree on succession to the throne in 1797, and by a sufficient number of legitimate male heirs.

On the eve of each subsequent coronation, the court jewelers not only sorted and cleaned the stones of the crown, but also adjusted the lower rim of the Big and Small imperial crowns on the head of the monarchs who were crowned the kingdom.

Speaking about the short reign of Paul I, one can also mention a very colorful episode in which the imperial regalia took part. Peter III, who was killed shortly after the accession of Catherine II to the throne, was not crowned. After his death, the “tender” wife buried Peter III not in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, where he was supposed to lie “according to status”, but on the outskirts - in the Annunciation Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

In November 1796, after the death of Catherine II, Paul I ordered to open the grave of his father and posthumously crowned him, touching the Great Imperial Crown to the skull of Peter III. Then, the funeral cortege with the body of Peter III went to the Peter and Paul Fortress. The funeral chariot was accompanied by participants in the coup of 1762, who carried the imperial regalia. As a result, Catherine II and Peter III were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral at the same time.

The coronation of Alexander I, who became emperor on the tragic night of March 12, 1801, took place on September 15, 1801. This “one-on-one” coronation copied the coronation of Paul I. No changes were made either to the coronation ceremony itself or to the list of coronation regalia was not entered.

During the laying of the Small Imperial Crown, Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna did not kneel before her husband-emperor, as Empress Maria Feodorovna did in 1797. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna did the same in 1826. Only during the coronation of 1856, Empress Maria Alexandrovna knelt down when the crown was placed on her. Empress Maria Feodorovna did the same in 1883 and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in 1896.

Since there is no room for improvisation in the coronation procedure, this “gesture” of Elizaveta Alekseevna in 1801, of course, is not accidental. Today we can only guess whether this was a reflection of the peculiarities of her relationship with her husband or a manifestation of the liberal hobbies of Alexander I himself?

Crown Jewels

Emperor Nicholas I began his reign with the tragic events of December 14, 1825. Then there were the investigation and execution of five Decembrists at the Kronverk of the Peter and Paul Fortress. Only after finishing this “case” did Nikolai Pavlovich find it possible to hold the coronation ceremony, which took place on August 22, 1826. Two fundamental innovations were introduced into the procedure for coronation celebrations. Firstly, dressed in imperial regalia, with the Great Imperial Crown on his head, holding in his hands the symbols of power - the scepter and orb, Nikolai Pavlovich bowed three times to the people from the Red Porch of the Faceted Chamber. Secondly, Nikolai Pavlovich, the first of the Russian emperors, held a second coronation in Warsaw on May 12, 1829.

If we talk about the "Moscow coronation", then it generally repeated the coronation of his father Paul I and older brother Alexander I. But there were some nuances. In addition to bowing three times to the people from the Red Porch, 91 Nikolai Pavlovich kissed Alexandra Fedorovna before placing the Small Imperial Crown on her.

The "Warsaw Coronation" took place in the Senate Hall in the Warsaw Palace in the presence of senators, nuncios and deputies of the Kingdom of Poland. After listening to mass in the Orthodox Church, the emperor appeared in the hall.

The persons bearing the regalia stood on both sides of the throne. The Archbishop Primate said a prayer. Nicholas I put on himself the Imperial crown, put on a purple, took in his hands the orb and the scepter. After that, the archbishop proclaimed three times: "Vivat, rex in aeternum!" Then the emperor, on bended knee, said a prayer for himself and the people entrusted to him by God. Having done it, he stood alone on the dais of the throne, and all those present fell on their knees.

It is quite possible that Nikolai Pavlovich was married to the kingdom in Warsaw with the Grand Imperial Crown of Anna Ioannovna, which from that time became known as the Polish one. Until 1917, her image was placed above the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Poland in the State Emblem of the Russian Empire 92 . The "Polish" coronation of 1829 was the first and last for the Russian autocrats. After the Polish uprising of 1831, the constitution of Poland was abolished, after which the course was implemented for the Russification of Poland and its transformation from the Kingdom of Poland and the Vistula provinces of the Russian Empire.

Nicholas I died in February 1855, after which the reign of Alexander II began. This was the first calmly legitimate transfer of power, not accompanied by murders (Peter III and Paul I), coups (Elizaveta Petrovna and others), burning of wills (Paul I), suppression of uprisings (Nicholas I). Therefore, the young emperor first solved the most urgent tasks. The first of these was the withdrawal of Russia from the Crimean War. By a special manifesto, the emperor announced to the country that the coronation would not take place "until the thunder of battle ceases." 93 Finally, on March 18, 1856, the Treaty of Paris was signed; it put an end to the war.

The coronation of Alexander II took place on August 26, 1856. The splendor of the coronation celebrations was supposed to smooth out the national humiliation experienced by Russia after the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

M. Zichy. Coronation of Alexander II in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin on August 26, 1856

The young monarch symbolized the coming revival of Russia's prestige as a great empire. Then the Great Imperial Crown became a visible symbol, which was long remembered by contemporaries: “At the sight of the canopy, under which the crowned monarch walked, the crowd of people around him, sparkling with gold, as well as the motley, immense crowd of people, equally trembled with delight and fullness of feelings. . A beautiful sunny day lit this sea with brilliance, and the culminating point of the light was the crown on the head of the emperor. It is difficult to describe the delight and jubilation of the crowd, which reached a frenzy. 94

The peculiarity of this coronation was that the situation of 1801 and 1826 was repeated, when two empresses were present at the coronation. In 1856, these were the widowed Alexandra Feodorovna and the reigning Maria Alexandrovna. Therefore, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, as in previous coronations, three thrones were placed on a dais. The first was the historical throne of Grand Duke Ivan III, it was intended for Alexander II. The second throne of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich for Empress Maria Alexandrovna. And finally, the third throne of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich - for the Dowager Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

Coronation Jewels of Alexander II

Since two empresses were present at the coronation, another Small Imperial Crown was made for the ceremony, which was intended for Empress Maria Alexandrovna. Since that time, she has become one of the hereditary imperial regalia. Two "female" crowns were needed in 1883 for the coronation of Alexander III and in 1896 for the coronation of Nicholas II. The small imperial crown 95, made for the coronation in 1826 for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and in which she was at the coronation of her son in August 1856, "according to tradition" after the death of the empress (in 1861) was broken "by resolution of the Cabinet" in 1865 and the diamonds received from the crown, valued at 60,029 rubles, were recorded in the parish and intended "for doing things." 96

Coronation dress of Maria Alexandrovna

Alexander III became emperor on March 1, 1881, the day his father died at the hands of the People's Volunteer terrorists. Since there was a real threat of a repetition of a terrorist act against the new emperor, for security reasons, the coronation celebrations were postponed. In addition, the legitimacy of Alexander III as emperor was not in doubt, so there was no need to hurry with the coronation.

J. Becker. Coronation of Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Feodorovna. 1888

These two-plus years have become a tense time of changing the internal and foreign policy guidelines of the authorities, recruiting personnel for key positions and reorganizing the power structures. An important factor was the fact that in two years it was possible to put an end to the revolutionary underground, which from 1879 to 1881 literally terrorized the central authorities.

All coronations had their own budget. Of course, they did not save on the most important action for the autocratic power, which gave the entire system of power the legitimacy bestowed by God. The coronation of 1883 was prepared with particular care, since there was quite enough time for its preparation.

The coronation of Emperor Alexander III took place on May 15, 1883. If we focus only on the imperial regalia and features of the coronation, then it should be recognized that the coronation of 1883 was carried out in the most traditional way. Tradition, a certain return "to the origins", were part of the emerging scenario of the power of Alexander III. It should be noted that they not only did not strive for innovations in the coronation celebrations of 1883, but tried with all their might to avoid them, since the observance of the “letter” and “tradition” of the coronation celebrations was a visible evidence of the succession of the power of Russian monarchs. One of the manifestations of this was that in 1883 the set of imperial regalia prepared for the coronation of 1856 was fully used. This was perhaps the first coronation when a set of imperial regalia was used without any changes.

V.P. Vereshchagin. Solemn exit from the first fence of the Kremlin. 1883

Enormous funds were allocated for the coronation both from the State Treasury (exactly 4 million rubles) and from the funds of the Ministry of the Imperial Court (2,228,944 rubles). An important part of the preparations for the coronation celebrations was the large-scale restoration work carried out not only in the Moscow Kremlin, but also in other palace and theater buildings in Moscow. This was necessary, since many of these buildings and palaces fell into disrepair during the reign of Alexander II. The total amount of restoration work on the complex of buildings of the Grand Kremlin Palace alone amounted to 627,962 rubles. The total cost of repair work on the renovation of the Assumption and Archangel Cathedrals, Chudov and Ascension monasteries amounted to 180,411 rubles. 97

When the coronation celebrations ended, when forming the final balance for the coronation celebrations, all expenses were reduced to almost 100 items.

Among them were the costs of making the coronation (“silver”) “dress of the Empress Empress”, which cost 17,357 rubles, and the purchase of various things “for the Empress Empress” for a huge amount of 158,517 rubles. Without a doubt, most of this amount went to the jewelry that Empress Maria Feodorovna loved so much.

Imperial regalia were also transported from the Diamond Room of the Winter Palace to Moscow. This important event was not only carefully worked out in terms of ensuring the protection of national shrines, but also appropriately funded. Firstly, the regalia were “put in order” (1222 rubles 25 kopecks). This position meant not only the corresponding jewelry work, but also the traditional fitting of the coronation crowns "over the heads" of Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna.

The small imperial crown, placed by Alexander III on the head of Empress Maria Feodorovna, was renewed. This Small Imperial Crown was made for Empress Maria Alexandrovna and was used during the coronation celebrations of 1856. The Inventory of Crown Diamonds of 1838 98 lists its value as 56,608 rubles. In February 1861, the crown was transferred to the Diamond Room of the Winter Palace, where it was kept until the coronation in 1883.

Table 9

This crown was made of traditional silver, on which many diamonds were set (see table 9).

Entrance ticket to the coronation celebrations. 1883

Large coronation medal of Alexander III. 1883

Coronation token of Alexander III. 1883

The decision on "repair work" on the Small Imperial Crown was made by the Minister of the Imperial Court, Count. I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov October 12, 1882 (resolution of the Cabinet of H.I.V. No. 2780), he authorized the restoration of the missing “25 solitaires in the rim of the crown under No. 41, 43, 44 and 54, for a total of 52,700 rubles.” 99 Apparently 25 solitaire diamonds were removed from the crown, despite their status, for jewelry. In addition, on the eve of the coronation, 4 diamond pins worth 1660 rubles were picked up to the Small Imperial Crown. In the Inventory of 1865, they were listed under No. 363, as "four diamond pins to the Small Crown, in which 4 solitaires."

Delivery of imperial regalia from St. Petersburg to Moscow and back cost 2675 rubles. After the end of the celebrations and the return of the imperial regalia from Moscow to the Diamond Room of the Winter Palace, they were “repaired and cleaned”, which cost the Cabinet 3971 rubles. 25 kop. All expenses associated with the imperial regalia in 1882-1883. amounted to 7868 rubles. 50 kop. one hundred

Much attention was paid to the organization of the national holiday on the Khodynka field. Along with ensuring the safety of the holiday itself, free gifts to the people were financed at the rate of 400,000 people. All these activities cost the treasury 564,974 rubles. 93 kop.

It is noteworthy that even then great importance was attached to the coverage of the coronation in the press, Russian and foreign. It was in 1883 that a correspondent bureau was first created - the prototype of modern press centers. It was then that the correspondents received not accreditation cards, but special badges in the form of the Great Imperial Crown. Correspondents were settled in Moscow hotels, paying for their housing, they were also fed free of charge. As a result, expenses under the item "correspondents" amounted to 49,467 rubles.

Great and understandable attention was paid to "the interpretation of the Highest Persons, foreign Princes, persons of the Retinue, etc." (302,704 rubles). Only the costs of creating and replicating highly artistic menus, which became the "culinary" political "program" of the new reign, amounted to 12,877 rubles. 50 kop.

The poor in Moscow and other cities of Russia have not been forgotten either. So, 60,000 rubles were allocated for the distribution of free meals to the poor. Also 20,000 rubles. went to the arrangement of free canteens during the coronation celebrations.

After summing up the expenses, it turned out that in total 6,294,636 rubles were spent on the coronation in 1883.

Quite a few things have survived from the coronation of Alexander III to the present day. Along with various tokens and commemorative signs, the coronation costumes of Alexander III and Maria Feodorovna are kept in the Armory to this day.

Speaking in such detail about the “material component” of the coronations of Russian sovereigns, one should also keep in mind the emotional component of the ceremony, consecrated by centuries of tradition. For all Russian monarchs, without exception, the very moment of laying the crown had a distinct sacred meaning of "betrothal" to their own people. It was at the moment of the coronation that the emperor literally turned into the "anointed of God." Russian monarchs in the XIX century. ascended the throne as mature people, clearly aware of the significance of this ceremony and the holiness of the very “royal place” in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

When the monument to Alexander III was opened in Moscow in 1912, the emperor was depicted on this monument precisely at the time of the coronation in 1883, sitting on the throne, in the Great Imperial Crown, with a scepter and an orb in his hands.

After the death of 49-year-old Alexander III on October 20, 1894, his eldest son, 26-year-old Nicholas II, became emperor. Then no one could have imagined that this would be the last Russian emperor. According to tradition, coronation celebrations became the most important event of the beginning of a new reign. Only after this solemn action, consecrated by age-old traditions, did the power of the new king acquire final legitimacy in the eyes of the people.

Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II

In May 1896, the coronation of Nicholas II took place in Moscow. In the Armory, three imperial coronation costumes were deposited from these events, each of which, according to tradition, was worked on by dozens of craftsmen.

The material for the dress, the so-called "silver edge", was ordered from one of the oldest suppliers of the Imperial Court, who worked as early as the coronation of 1856, the Moscow factory of the Sapozhnikov brothers.

Embroideries on the manufactured fabric were made in the workshop of Anna Martini Zaleman. It should be noted that the gold embroidery workshop of Ekaterina Zaleman received the title of supplier of the Imperial Court as early as 1861. Vladimir Zaleman continued the family business, he became a supplier in 1875. Anna Martini Zaleman, apparently, already in 1895 was "at the helm" of the company, performing the prestigious coronation order, but received the title of supplier only in 1903.

The coronation dress of the Empress was sewn by craftswoman Ivanova. Apparently, this was the dressmaker Evdokia Ivanova, who received the title of supplier in 1898. Thus, the total cost of making the coronation dress of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna amounted to 4040 rubles.

During the coronation of 1896, special attention was paid to the coronation dress of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. It should be emphasized that the “accepted for production” sketch of the Empress’s coronation dress was prepared not by professional fashion designers, but, in fact, by an amateur. Maid of honor of Alexandra Fedorovna - M.N. Yermolova presented four projects of dress designs for the imperial couple to choose from. Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna chose a project prepared by the maid of honor M.N. Yermolova, based on the paintings in the ancient sacristy of the Novospassky Moscow Monastery. The preparation of the sketch was paid for in the amount of 300 rubles.

The coronation uniform of Nicholas II and the coronation dress of Alexandra Feodorovna

Coronation mantle of Nicholas II

Coronation dress of Alexandra Feodorovna

As a replica, we can mention that the ladies-aristocrats very closely followed the latest trends in the development of European fashion in the "glossy-glamour" magazines of that time. Some of them were no strangers to creativity, designing on their own. So, the elder sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna “usually invented the styles of her dresses ... she usually invented herself, making sketches and painting them with watercolors, developed them with care and wore them with a special art that distinguishes her special manner.” 101 Therefore, in the very fact of participation in the design of the coronation dress of the maid of honor M.N. Yermolova is not surprising.

Imperial regalia

The final sketch of the dress was drawn, embroidered on paper, and then on fabric in the workshop of Mrs. Teyhart for 200 rubles. The fabric was ordered at the Moscow factory of the Sapozhnikov brothers. When making the material, a very important nuance for Alexandra Feodorovna was taken into account: she had sore legs, and she could hardly withstand long palace ceremonies. During the coronation celebrations, it was important to lighten the weight of her dress for the Empress, taking into account the fact that she had to support the weight of the mantle, crown and other jewelry. Therefore, the Sapozhnikovs ordered a “lightweight” version of brocade, but on the condition that it did not differ in appearance from ordinary heavy brocade fabrics. The manufacturers fulfilled the order, taking 747 rubles for it. The embroidery on precious brocade was made by nuns from the Moscow Ivanovo Monastery. They offered to do embroidery for free, but the Ministry of the Court paid for their painstaking work (4,000 rubles). From the prepared material, the coronation dress was sewn by the “craftswoman Bulbenkova” of the M-me Olga company, who specialized in making court dresses for empresses. For this work, Olga Bulbenkova took 610 rubles. As a result, the total cost of the coronation dress of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna amounted to 5857 rubles. According to tradition, after the coronation, this dress was handed over to the Armory 102, where it is to this day.

Another small "coronation nuance". Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was taller than her husband (Nicholas II was 168 cm tall), judging by the photographs, by 1–1.5 cm. Therefore, coronation brocade shoes were made for her with very low heels, which, as you know, are comfortable when walking for a long time. For the empress, whose legs hurt (many photographs of her in a wheelchair have been preserved), comfortable low-heeled shoes were very important for such a responsible procedure as the coronation. For those who ensured the image of the royal family, it was also important that the empress looked only slightly taller than her crowned husband.

In addition to the fabric for the dresses of the empresses, the Moscow Sapozhnikov factory produced the State Banner for the coronation celebrations. On the banner, the woven pattern of the state emblem was made with impeccable accuracy with multi-colored silks against a background of golden eyelet. These works (together with silver nails) cost 5016 rubles.

On the eve of the coronation of Nicholas II, the jewelers cleaned and put the imperial regalia in order. At the same time, in the spring of 1896, the fitting of the Great Imperial Crown by the young emperor took place. The crown fit right in. The only thing that was done was a new crimson velvet cap was ordered (lining under the silver crown), in which an incision was made in the place where Nicholas II had a growth on his head. This callus appeared on the crowned bearer in 1891, after an assassination attempt on him in Japan, when he received two blows to the head with a saber. According to memoirists, he was often tormented by headaches at that time, so the comfort of the crown, in which he had to be for several hours on the day of the coronation, was of no small importance. 103

After the coronation, there were rumors. So, A. Bogdanovich recorded one of these rumors: "The king's crown was so large that he had to support it so that it would not fall off at all." 104 The fact that the crown was too big is also mentioned by the Chairman of the II State Duma F.A. Golovin: "... Pale, tired, with a large imperial crown, pulled down to his ears, crushed by heavy brocade, lined with ermine, clumsy porphyry ...". 105

On the eve of the coronation, the jewelers of the Cabinet made a crown for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. This crown was made by the jeweler Carl August Hahn in the image and likeness of the crown of Empress Maria Feodorovna (in fact, it was the crown of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, made in 1856), but without the use of stones from crown diamonds. In addition to the crown for Alexandra Feodorovna, the same jeweler Gan made a diamond order of St. Andrew the First-Called, valued at 7663 rubles.

As a result, the expenses for the Cameral Department of the Cabinet of E.I.V. "for the coronation" amounted to 898,004 rubles. 91 kopecks: vestments, gifts, the crown of Alexandra Feodorovna, two purples, dresses of Alexandra Feodorovna and Maria Feodorovna, clothes of heralds, singers, portraits, etc. Since the costs of the coronation of 1896 were constantly correlated with the costs of the coronation of 1883, the expenses for the Cameral Department in 1896 amounted to 898,004 rubles, respectively. 91 kop. against 653,539 rubles. 68 kop. in 1883 106

In fact, the coronation celebrations began with a very responsible procedure for transporting imperial regalia from St. Petersburg to Moscow. It was necessary to solve many organizational issues, among which the issue of ensuring the safety of the imperial regalia during their transportation occupied a considerable place. It should be noted that during the entire existence of the regalia there was not a single case of any attempt to steal them. 107 For each coronation, the “Ceremonial of the Transportation of the Imperial Regalia from the Winter Palace to the Station of the Nikolaev Railway” was approved by the Highest. For this, a squadron of the elite Life Guards Cavalry Guards Regiment was allocated "for escorting regalia." After the opening of Pantry No. 1 (or as it was called the “Diamond Room”) in the Winter Palace, officials responsible for their transportation received regalia from the hands of the Minister of the Imperial Court. More precisely, dignitaries received it, but it was the officials of the Cameral Department who were personally responsible for the safety of the regalia.

Among the coronation regalia carried as "main positions" were: diamond orders and diamond chains of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called; power; scepter; crowns of two empresses and the Great Imperial Crown.

When transferring the regalia to the carriage, the palace grenadiers accompanied. Each item was accompanied by two grenadiers, who walked on both sides near each regalia. From the Winter Palace, along Nevsky Prospekt, to the Nikolaevsky Station (now Moscow) followed a cortege of carriages with regalia. For each thing, a separate four-seater carriage harnessed by a train was provided. On the sides of the carriage rode two cavalry guards. In fact, this ceremony became the beginning of the coronation celebrations, the visible embodiment of the greatness of the autocratic monarchy.

After the completion of the solemn procedure of "transportation of regalia", a responsible, but nevertheless "prose of life" began. In a special train, the imperial regalia were placed in special boxes-safes, sent by officials from the Cabinet of His Majesty. The same officials of the Cameral Department, accompanied by 10 people of the palace grenadiers with one non-commissioned officer under the command of the adjutant general, accompanied the regalia to Moscow. 108

To ensure the safety of the imperial regalia, officials of the Cameral Department of the Cabinet of H.I.V. So, at the coronation in 1896, the head of the cameral department, the actual state councilor V. Sipyagin, went to Moscow, who was accompanied by an appraiser of the Cabinet E.I.V. Carl August Hahn (1836–1899?). It is noteworthy that after the completion of the coronation celebrations, Gan immediately acquired a new status, turning from an appraiser of the Cabinet into a court supplier. In addition to Sipyagin and Gan, 25 officials left the Cabinet for Moscow. 109

In the schedule of coronation celebrations, everything that was connected with the imperial regalia stood out as a special line. For example, during the coronation of Alexander III in May 1883, the following positions stood out: the transfer of regalia from the Armory to the Throne Room (May 13); transferring the regalia to the Chamber of Facets (May 19); transfer of regalia to the Armory (May 20). For each of the listed actions, a special, highly approved ceremonial was compiled. As a rule, this ceremonial, which was approved for each coronation, duplicated the ceremonial of the previous coronation. Thus, the “Highly Approved Ceremony of Transferring the Imperial Regalia in Moscow from the Armory to the Throne Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace” in 1896 duplicated a similar ceremonial approved by Alexander III in 1883.

The ceremonies made an impression on everyone who was around at that time. Remember this event and the children. So, many years later, the prince of imperial blood, Gabriel Konstantinovich, recalled how he, an 8-year-old boy, watched how “the royal regalia were transferred from the Armory to the Kremlin Palace. It was a very beautiful sight: on pillows they carried a crown, a scepter, an orb and other regalia; there were heralds in golden suits and large round hats with feathers, and palace grenadiers.

How complicated the coronation procedure is, we can track the movements of the imperial regalia. To do this, let us turn to the coronation celebrations of Nicholas II in May 1896.

On the eve of the coronation, the imperial regalia transported from St. Petersburg to Moscow and stored in the Armory of the Moscow Kremlin, the Supreme Marshal handed "in due sequence" to the assistants of those dignitaries who, on the day of the coronation, participated in the procession to the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The assistants, having received the regalia, solemnly transferred them from the Armory to the Throne Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace.

The procedure for carrying the imperial regalia along this route was as follows. At the beginning of the procession, a platoon of palace grenadiers moved, followed by two ceremonial masters with batons, then two coronation chief ceremonial masters with batons. Only after them came dignitaries with regalia, two people in a row. Regalia were carried on pillows of golden brocade, bordered with multi-colored, in the colors of the empire, braid and tassels. First they carried the "Chain of the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called of Her Majesty the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna." Then dignitaries walked in a row, carrying the State Sword, the State Banner and the State Seal. Then they solemnly carried the "Porphyry of Her Imperial Majesty" and the "Porphyry of His Imperial Majesty".

V. Gray. Chrismation of Emperor Nicholas II. 1897

They were followed by dignitaries carrying the orb and scepter. The last pair of dignitaries carried the "Imperial Crown Small" and the "Imperial Crown Large". The third crown, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, did not take part in these solemn movements.

Each of the pairs of dignitaries bearing the regalia was accompanied on each side by a palace grenadier. The procession was completed by the Supreme Master of Ceremonies with a staff and two heralds "in their attire", followed by a platoon of a company of Palace Grenadiers. 110

In the Throne Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace, the Supreme Marshal, “handing over his baton to one of the chamberlains participating in the procession and accepting the regalia in the sequence in which they were carried from the Armory,” laid them on a specially prepared table on the right side of the throne. At the same time, the State Banner was installed “on the abutment”, behind this table. At the end of the ceremony, a guard of the palace grenadiers was installed next to the table and the chamberlain on duty was constantly present.

It is noteworthy that the ceremonial stipulated the possibility of transferring the imperial regalia from the Armory to the Grand Kremlin Palace along the “short route” in case of rainy weather.

On the day of the coronation, when the coronation cortege lined up at precisely prescribed places, the imperial regalia were also “fitted” into it. So, in the "Ceremonial of the Holy Coronation" it is indicated that the imperial regalia should be carried in the 45th position (from the head of the column). At the same time, the order of carrying them was the same as the day before, but on the sides of the imperial regalia were no longer palace grenadiers, but “adjutant wing, retinues of His Majesty, major generals and adjutant generals, major general and lieutenant general rank” . Nicholas II was in the 50th position, followed by Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.

After the cortege entered the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, the most important part of the celebrations began - the coronation procedure itself, during which the imperial regalia played a crucial role. The dignitaries carrying the Large and Small Imperial Crowns stopped on the upper platform of the throne at the table, on which the crowns were placed.

When the coronation ceremony began, Nicholas II, taking off the ordinary chain of the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called and giving it to one of the assistants, ordered to put on himself the imperial purple “with the diamond chain of this order belonging to it”, and the metropolitans of St. Petersburg and Kievsky, having accepted the purple from the dignitaries, brought it to the king on two pillows and helped him put it on himself. Recall that porphyry was the name given to a large imperial mantle made of golden brocade, lined with ermine and embroidered with large state emblems.

Each of the described actions was accompanied by a prayer. At the end of the second prayer, Nicholas II ordered to give himself the Great Imperial Crown. The dignitary who carried it during the procession brought the crown on a pillow to the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, and he passed it from hand to hand to the tsar. It should be emphasized that all the regalia fell into the hands of the emperor only from the hands of the highest church hierarchs. Further, Nicholas II, having taken the crown from the pillow, laid it himself on his head. After the prayer, Nicholas II ordered to give himself a scepter and orb. Having taken the scepter in his right hand, and in his left power, the king sat on the throne. According to V.F. Dzhunkovsky, Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna sat "on the thrones of Tsars Mikhail Fedorovich and John III."

Having “fixed” this position “for eternity”, Nicholas II laid both regalia on the pillows given by the dignitaries who carried them, and called the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna to him.

Nicholas II places the Small Imperial Crown on the head of Alexandra Feodorovna

As she approached, she knelt on the crimson velvet cushion. After that, Nicholas II, having removed the Great Imperial Crown from himself, touched the head of the Empress with it and then put it on himself again. Then Nicholas II was presented with the Small Imperial Crown, which he placed on the head of Alexandra Feodorovna. The Empress's assistants were two brothers, the younger sons of Alexander II, Grand Dukes Sergei Alexandrovich and Pavel Alexandrovich.

The four ladies of state who accompanied the empress immediately straightened the crown, pinning it with special hairpins to the empress's hair. After the laying of the crown, the Empress was presented with a porphyry (mantle) and a “female” diamond chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. The same ladies of state straightened their robes immediately. After that, Alexandra Feodorovna rose and returned to her throne, and Nicholas II again accepted the scepter and orb. Actually, these described actions were the coronation ceremony of the imperial family. The protodeacon proclaimed the entire imperial title and wished "many years ...". At that moment, all the bells began to ring, and the people counted 101 cannon volleys.

At the end of the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, Nicholas II, rising from the throne and giving the scepter and orb to dignitaries, kneeled to read the "established prayer." Also, on his knees, the metropolitan read the prayer “on behalf of the whole people”. During this prayer, Nicholas II stood, and all the dignitaries who were in the Assumption Cathedral, following the metropolitan, knelt down. This picture sunk into the soul - the metropolitan reading a prayer "from all the people" on his knees, the entire military-political beau monde also kneeling and the emperor towering over thousands of kneeling dignitaries.

It should be noted that the Assumption Cathedral in the "emergency coronation regime" could accommodate about 5,000 people. Taking into account the numerous guests, all places were distributed very tightly. All those present were dressed according to the protocol, strictly prescribing the dress code. Even the slightest deviations from this form had to be coordinated almost at the highest level. At least the oldest of the Grand Duchesses Alexandra Iosifovna, dressed "in form" in a Russian dress made of silver brocade, with marvelous jewelry, "... asked Their Majesties' permission not to be in the neckline, fearing a cold, and therefore the bodice of her dress was closed." By the way, this was the third coronation for Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna (1856, 1883 and 1896).

After the end of the bell ringing and the Divine Liturgy, Nicholas II, who removed the crown for this time, again placed it on himself. Once again “fixing the moment” for eternity, Nicholas II again took off his crown and, accompanied by the Empress, marched to the Golden Gate of the Assumption Cathedral. In front of the king were dignitaries carrying the imperial regalia: the Great and Small imperial crowns, the scepter and orb. The regalia was followed by the emperor and the empress. At the same time, dignitaries with the State sword, seal and other regalia remained in their places.

In the altar part of the cathedral, behind the Royal Doors, the most important ceremony of chrismation began, during which Nicholas II's eyes, nostrils, lips, ears, chest and hands were smeared with sacred myrrh. In order not to unfasten the coronation uniform when lubricating the chest, the emperor put on the uniform on his naked body, and a special valve “under the ceremony” was sewn onto the uniform, through which the king’s chest was lubricated. Passed the ceremony of chrismation and the Empress. After the end of the ceremony, Nicholas II kissed the holy cross and again placed the Great Imperial Crown on himself and took the scepter and orb in his hands.

After a brief ceremony of congratulations, the ceremony of going around the Kremlin temples began, in which the reigning emperor was supposed to venerate the coffins of his ancestors - the Moscow grand dukes and tsars. The imperial couple in robes and crowns, with a scepter and orb, first followed to the Archangel Cathedral. The dignitaries carrying the State Sword and other regalia walked in front, but they did not enter the cathedral.

A. Edelfelt. Exit Nicholas after the coronation on the Red Porch. 1896

Nicholas II, entering the Archangel Cathedral, again took off the Great Imperial Crown and gave it with a scepter and orb to the dignitaries accompanying him. He himself began to venerate the holy icons and relics of his ancestors. After the end of the ceremony, the king again placed the crown on himself and took the scepter with the orb. In the Cathedral of the Annunciation, the ceremony was completely repeated. After going around the temples, Nicholas II went to the Red Porch, through which he passed to the Grand Kremlin Palace.

On the Red Porch, the traditional ceremony introduced by Nicholas I was repeated. Grand Duke Gabriel Konstantinovich recalled: “We saw the Sovereign and Empress walking under a canopy across the square, along the walkways, and climbed, bypassing the cathedrals, to the Red Porch. From the Porch they made deep bows to the crowd below. They bowed three times in a row: straight ahead, to the right, and to the left. I still remember the bowed heads of the Sovereign and the Empress, crowned with crowns, the thunderous “cheers” of the crowd and the sounds of the anthem.

Passing through the state rooms and ending up in the Throne Room, Nicholas II gave the scepter and orb to the dignitaries, and then the imperial couple in crowns and porphyries followed to the inner rooms for a short rest, waiting for an invitation to the Faceted Chamber, where the next ceremony was to take place - a solemn meal. During the rest of the monarchs, the regalia remained under protection in the Throne Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace.

After the resumption of celebrations, the imperial couple in crowns and purples left their rooms and followed to the Throne Room. There, Nicholas II again took the scepter and orb and then went to the Faceted Chamber.

In the Faceted Chamber, the imperial family sat down in special "royal seats". At the same time, three devices were served on the table, since the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna also took part in the coronation celebrations, who underwent the same procedure 13 years earlier, in 1883. After the food was brought, Nicholas II removed the Great Imperial Crown from the head and handed it over with a scepter and orb to dignitaries. After that, a solemn meal began.

After the end of the meal, Nicholas II, descending from the throne, again placed the crown on himself and took the scepter and orb in his hands. Returning to the Throne Hall of the palace, the king finally took off his crown and handed over the scepter and orb to the dignitaries, after which he left for the inner chambers.

This ended that part of the coronation celebrations, during which Nicholas II actively included a demonstration of imperial regalia in the traditional ceremonial. As it is easy to calculate, only the Great Imperial Crown Nicholas II laid on himself seven times in a few hours of coronation actions. Then there was the tragedy of Khodynka, with its thousands of crushed and maimed.

The ceremony of anointing and crowning the king, as well as the presentation of imperial regalia, passed to Russia and Western Europe from the Byzantine Empire.

In ancient Russian phraseology, the expression "sed on the table" meant princely rule. "Table" - the throne, the throne of the prince. "Sit on the table" could only the Grand Duke

The Grand Duke, elected by the veche, was greeted with a procession at the entrance to the city. In the local cathedral, he listened to the prayer, sat on the "father's table" (throne), and spiritually and the lord blessed him with a cross. Starting with Vasily the Dark, the appointment to the great reign took place in the Moscow Assumption Cathedral.

In 1498, the wedding to the kingdom of the grandson of John III - Dmitry took place. As O.V. Mareev, “the wedding of Dmitry Ivanovich, apparently, was by no means the first wedding in Russian history. In some written sources of the XV beginning of the XVI century. refers to the "royal crown" placed on the great princes. The grand ducal wedding of Dmitry Ivanovich is not an indirect mention of the laying of the “royal crown”, but the first written official document that has come down to us.

The coronation regalia symbolized the basic ideas of supreme power; the word "crown", coming from the word "twist" or "to weave", literally also means "to connect". “Therefore, the royal crown serves as a sign of the closest connection of the king as the head with the people - a sign of the assertion of his supreme power over the people from the Lord, in whose name the royal crown is placed on the king, as well as a sign of the crowned man’s own merits.”

To weaken the autocracy of the boyars, John IV decided to take the title of king. To do this, it was necessary to have a church blessing and to lay on the recipient the royal regalia that belonged to the Greek kings. On January 16, 1547, the wedding to the kingdom of John IV took place. The signs of the royal dignity - the cross of the Life-Giving Tree, barmas and the cap of Monomakh - were assigned to John IV by the metropolitan. The Metropolitan elevated John IV to a pre-prepared royal place and gave him a lesson, and then during the liturgy he placed the golden chain of Monomakh on him. On the same day, a meal was arranged for the metropolitan, bishops and noble people at the king, gifts were distributed, alms were given to the poor. Thus, from the time of Ivan the Terrible, the ancient rite of initiation into the kingdom in Russia - "setting on the table" - gives way to a new form of royal wedding "according to the ancient Tsaregrad rank." In all official papers, Moscow grand dukes began to be called tsars.

In the coronation ceremony, along with other regalia, thrones were used. The Throne of Ivan the Terrible was probably commissioned in 1547. The entire surface of the wooden throne is lined with carved ivory plates. Most of the images tell of the virtue, wisdom and courage of King David. “To sit on a raised platform is the privilege of a deity or his earthly deputy (king). Hence the sacredness of the throne (altar) as the seat of the highest symbol of order. Such an elevation is a kind of navel of the earth, that point through which the world axis passes, one of the incarnations of which is the throne (altar, table, myrrh tree, mountain and other options).

Probably, one of the initiators of the adoption of the royal title by John the Terrible was Metropolitan Macarius. To strengthen the authority of the sovereign inside and outside of Russia with the help of a new title, the relatives of John IV Glinsky must have also sought. In March 1547, "the Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich of All Russia" married Anastasia, the daughter of R.Yu. Zakharyin, a representative of an old Moscow boyar family. Relatives of the young queen soon occupied prominent positions in the government.

On May 31, 1584, the coronation of Fyodor Ioannovich took place. On this day, a solemn procession led by the metropolitan, archbishops, and bishops left the palace and headed for the Cathedral of the Annunciation. Then the king with all the nobility went to the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, and from there - “to the Church of the Most Pure (Prechista) Mother of God, which is their cathedral. In the center of it was the royal place, which was occupied on similar solemn occasions by the ancestors of the king. His clothes were taken off and replaced with the richest and most priceless on the side. The king was elevated to the royal place, his nobility stood around in ranks<...>; the metropolitan put the crown on the king's head,<...>all six crowns were placed in front of the tsar - symbols of his power over the lands of the country, and Lord Boris Fedorovich stood on his right hand, ”recalled D. Horsey. After the metropolitan blessed the new tsar, he was led from the royal place, the ceremonial procession headed to the Great Church Gates, accompanied by the cries of the people: "God save Tsar Fedor Ivanovich of All Russia."

When Fyodor Ivanovich was crowned king in 1584, Metropolitan Dionisy for the first time gave the tsar a scepter, which became a symbol of supreme royal power. "The scepter signifies the rod by which those who are dependent and subject, like branches on a tree, are guarded and held<...>Therefore, to be under the scepter means to be dependent on what branches are from the tree, children - from their ancestor, believers - from the Savior. At large exits, the scepter was carried in front of the king by the solicitors. Boris Godunov carried the scepter at the wedding of Fyodor Ioannovich to the kingdom. Dmitry Ivanovich Godunov paraded with one of the tsar's crowns. Contemporaries noted the great influence at court of the representatives of the Godunov family, which was reflected in their participation in the coronation ceremony. On that day, Boris Godunov was elevated to the rank of equestrian and received the title of a close great boyar and governor of two kingdoms - Astrakhan and Kazan. After a short speech delivered in the chamber of the Duma, the tsar allowed everyone to kiss his hand. He then moved to his royal seat at the table. The festivities continued for a whole week and ended with the so-called royal firing of 170 large guns of various calibers two miles from the city.

For the honor of being the first to be accepted by the new king and to present him with gifts, there were genuine battles among foreign merchants. So, D. Horsey said that he would rather allow his legs to be cut off than allow a subject of the King of Spain to get ahead of him in presenting gifts, as this would be a demonstration of disrespect for the Queen of England. Having learned from those close to him about the statements of Horsey, the king ordered to receive him first. “He was allowed to kiss the hand of the king, who graciously accepted the gift and promised, out of respect for his sister, Queen Elizabeth, to be as merciful to English merchants as his father was.”

Shortly after the coronation of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, judges, military leaders, and governors convicted of taking bribes were deposed throughout the country. The new officials were ordered to administer justice regardless of faces. To encourage their activities, their annual salary and land holdings were increased. Taxes levied on the population have been reduced, and some have been completely abolished. Thus, there have been major changes in governance, and without upheaval, peacefully. Such a policy testified to the strength of the Russian state and caused a commotion in the camp of neighbors: Murat Giray, who had been on the Crimean throne for several months, descended on a visit to Moscow from Astrakhan; more than a thousand Polish nobles went to the service of the Russian Tsar; Circassians and natives of other countries offered their services. Messengers from different countries vying with each other hastened to pay their respects to Fyodor Ioannovich.

Boris Godunov was married to the kingdom on September 1, 1598 with special solemnity, due to participation in the rite of the coronation of the patriarch. Patriarch Job gave the king, in addition to the usual regalia, the orb. The wedding rite was also supplemented with new prayers and actions.

The triumph of Christianity over the world was confirmed by the cross, which crowned the golden ball of power, personifying the Earth. The first Russian Patriarch Job, at the wedding of Boris Godunov, presented the orb to the tsar with the words: “This apple is a sign of your reign. As you hold this apple in your hand, so hold the whole kingdom given to you from God, protecting you from enemies unshakably.

During embassy receptions, she lay on a silver stand to the left of the king. On that day, some persons were granted the titles of grooms, boyars and roundabouts; a double salary was given to service people; merchants received the right of duty-free trade for two years; the farmers were released for a year from taxes; prisoners in the dungeons were given freedom, and widows and orphans were given money and provisions. Novgorodians were allowed free trade with Lithuania and the Germans, and a letter was granted on the destruction of their farmed taverns and the abolition of dues from their yards, shops and other commercial premises. The son of Boris Godunov, Fedor, died after a two-month reign, without waiting for the wedding.

On the day Dmitry the Pretender entered Moscow, all the bells in the city rang. The people so filled the streets that it was impossible to pass; roofs, walls, gates, through which Dmitry had to pass, were strewn with people, many of whom were crying with joy. At the place of execution, False Dmitry was met by the clergy. The boyars presented him with clothes adorned with precious stones. Soon after the arrival of the Pretender, there were changes at court; clerks, clerks, grooms, housekeepers, stolniks, cooks and servants were removed and replaced by proxies of the new ruler. Approximate False Dmitry were granted high positions, large salaries. The tsar ordered them to dress in German dress, which was distinguished by special luxury.

From the Germans and Livonians, the tsar chose 300 people and established a detachment of halberdiers (200 people) and mounted riflemen (100 people). During the exits of False Dmitry, they were in front and behind him.

The bride of False Dmitry Marina Mnishek entered Moscow on May 2, 1606, surrounded by a retinue of more than 400 people. From the triumphal gates to the Kremlin, she was greeted by nobles and boyar children in smart clothes. The royal wedding of Mnishek took place in the Assumption Cathedral, after the rite of betrothal at the liturgy, the patriarch put on the royal bride the Monomakhov chain, anointed her with myrrh and communed, but the orb and scepter were not given to her. At the end of the congratulations, the third rite was performed - the marriage wedding of False Dmitry with Marina Mnishek. The next day, from early morning until late in the evening, music thundered in Moscow and drums beat.

Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky, taking advantage of the discontent of the Muscovites (the people were outraged by the wedding of a foreign Catholic woman to the kingdom and the willfulness of the Poles who arrived with her), made a coup on the night of May 16-17 and was proclaimed king. When Shuisky ascended the throne, the cathedral summoned Patriarch Job to Moscow so that he, together with Patriarch Hermogenes, would free the people from the oath given to Godunov. For permission from the oath publicly from the pulpit, the archdeacon was reading a farewell or permissive letter for not performing the kiss of the cross.

Announcing his accession, Shuisky sent out two "under-cross records" throughout the city. In one of them, he kissed the cross that he would not put the death penalty without trial, listen to false denunciations, take the property of the wives and children of criminals to the treasury and protect people from violence. According to another entry, the subjects had to swear allegiance to the king, each swore that “in food, drink, dress, and in nothing else, he will not do any dashing, and whoever starts talking about some kind of dashing against the sovereign, informs the latter or his close associates about it.” , do not look for another king, do not communicate with traitors, and do not leave for another state.

On June 1, 1606, the wedding to the kingdom of Shuisky took place; On June 6, the tsar sent out a letter in which he spoke of the intention of the Pretender to introduce the Roman faith in Russia, to kill the boyars, nobles, heads, centurions, archers and "black people". The king justified himself in his accession to the throne, and the state was torn apart by unrest. On July 20, 1610, a letter was sent to the cities about the overthrow of Shuisky from the throne and the election of the king "by all the earth."

On May 2, 1613, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was in Moscow, and on Sunday, July 11, the coronation was scheduled. In the period of preparation for the celebration, an elevation was arranged in the middle of the Assumption Cathedral, from which 12 steps, upholstered in scarlet cloth, led to the altar. On the dais - the chamber - a "throne" was placed for the king and next to it was a chair for the metropolitan. Scarlet cloth was spread from the last step to the Royal Doors, and on both sides there were benches for the higher clergy, decorated with Persian carpets, velvet, satin, etc.

On the eve of the solemn day in the Assumption and other cathedrals, in all the capital's monasteries and churches, all-night vigils were sent. At dawn on July 11, the ringing of the Kremlin bells began, which continued until the tsar arrived at the cathedral, brought in a cross with a part of the Life-Giving Tree and regalia - the royal diadem (barma), the royal crown (hat), the scepter, orb (apple) and the chain of "Arabian gold". The Metropolitan and the clergy were waiting in the cathedral. When the regalia were placed on three lecterns, Metropolitan Ephraim sent word to the king that everything was ready for the start of the celebration.

The procession of the tsar to the cathedral from the Golden Chamber was opened by the boyars, then followed by the roundabouts and 10 stewards. Archpriest Kirill walked in front of the tsar with a cross and holy water, sprinkling the path of Mikhail Fedorovich with it. To the right and left of the tsar were roundabout, archery heads and various officials. The procession was closed by the boyars, duma people, roundabouts, stewards, solicitors, Moscow nobles, boyar children, nobles from other cities, etc.

Upon the entry of the procession into the cathedral, the tsar's many years were proclaimed. After the prayer service, the metropolitan led the tsar to the place of worship, and he himself sat on a chair to the left of the tsar. The right side of Mikhail Fedorovich was occupied by the boyars and secular authorities, the left side by the cathedral elders. The rest of the clergy were seated on benches, in the direction from the place of worship to the pulpit. After a short time, the tsar and the metropolitan stood up, and the sovereign addressed the bishop with a speech. In response, the metropolitan, describing the troubled times, the liberation of Moscow and the very election of the tsar, solemnly announced that, by right of kinship with Tsar Fedor Ioannovich and in accordance with the decision of the whole people, the clergy bless Mikhail Fedorovich “on the great and glorious state of the Russian kingdom and crown him according to the ancient royal rank and wealth."

After the laying of the cross on the tsar, a small litany was read and the metropolitan blessed Mikhail Fedorovich. Then the metropolitan laid barmy on the shoulders of the sovereign, after prayer - the royal crown on his head. Taking Mikhail Fedorovich by the hand, he elevated him to the royal place, to the chamber, then blessed the tsar, bowed to him and stood to the left of the tsar; he answered the metropolitan with a bow, slightly raising his crown. After that, the metropolitan handed over the scepter to Mikhail Fedorovich (he took it in his right hand, and the orb in his left) and delivered a speech.

The king bowed to the metropolitan. After blessing the clergy, Metropolitan Ephraim, once again blessing the king, took him by the right hand and seated him on the throne, while he himself took a place on the left in the chair. After the litany, the protodeacon from the pulpit proclaimed many years to the sovereign; the archpriests and priests sang many years in the altar, and then it was repeated by the singers on the right and left kliros. The clergy gathered at the drawing place to congratulate the king. When the sovereign was congratulated by the boyars, the okolnichy and the rest of the people, the metropolitan turned to Mikhail Fedorovich with an instructive word, explaining the importance of his dignity and the duties imposed by this dignity. The ceremony of the royal wedding ended with the fall of the cross and prayer. During mass, the king stood in all the signs of royal dignity, except for the chain.

After the small entrance, when the archdeacon offered him the Holy Gospel for kissing, during the reading of the Holy Gospel and during the great exit, Ivan Nikitich Romanov held the crown on a golden platter. After the great entrance at the Royal Doors, the metropolitan laid on the king a golden chain, sent, according to legend, by the emperor of Byzantium Constantine Monomakh.

Standing at the very Royal Gates, the sovereign again took off his crown and handed it over to I.N. Romanov, the scepter - to Prince D.I. Trubetskoy, power - Prince D.M. Pozharsky (according to other sources - F.I. Sheremetev). The bishops presented the Metropolitan with Holy Chrism, and he performed the chrismation of the tsar. After Communion of the Holy Mysteries, the sovereign again accepted the signs of the royal dignity and returned to his place. After the Liturgy, the Metropolitan and the clergy congratulated the Tsar on his chrismation and acceptance of the Holy Mysteries. Mikhail Fedorovich, having thanked those who congratulated him and invited them to his royal meal, left the cathedral and went to the Archangel Cathedral, accompanied by all the secular authorities who were at the celebration. When leaving the southern doors of the cathedral, the boyar F.I. Mstislavsky showered the king with gold and silver coins three times. In the Archangel Cathedral, the sovereign venerated the relics of the Holy Saints and bowed to the royal and princely tombs. Upon leaving the cathedral, the king was again showered with coins three times. From the Annunciation Cathedral, Mikhail Fedorovich proceeded to the chambers. At this time, the throne, benches and carpets were removed from the Assumption Cathedral, and the cloth and decorations of the drawing place were dismantled in memory of the royal wedding by the people.

A feast was arranged in the Faceted Chamber, which was attended by the highest clergy and representatives of secular authorities. All those present were ordered to be "without places" and it was forbidden in local disputes to refer to the positions and places that everyone occupied these days. During dinner, Mikhail Fedorovich was at a special table, at the meal he was served by the bed-keeper K.I. Mikhalkov. The steward B.M. was watching the royal dish. Saltykov. At the table closest to the king, intended for the higher clergy, the steward V.M. Buturlin, and the steward, Prince Yu. Enshin-Suleshev, watched the table, where the boyars, okolnichy, duma people, etc. were seated. The wine was under the supervision of the steward I.F. Troekurov, and the position of cupbearer was performed by Prince A.V. Lobanov-Rostovsky.

On the same day, dinners were arranged for the poor. The next day - July 12, the day of the tsar's name day - the hero of the liberation of Moscow from the Poles, Kozma Minin, was granted to the Duma nobles. On July 13, the coronation celebrations ended. In the Palace of the Facets, for the first time, the wives of the boyars were present at the royal meal, each sitting opposite her husband.

As O.V. Mareeva: “The Romanovs tried to introduce a new type of ceremonial dress into use, which should symbolize the legitimacy and inviolability of royal power.<...>With the accession of the Romanov dynasty with their three-tiered crowns, the form of the royal ceremonial headdress again acquires a symbolic meaning associated with the imperial ambitions of the representatives of the ruling house.

At the wedding of Ivan Alekseevich and Peter Alekseevich, the Monomakh's hat and its copy were used - thus the continuity of power of the Romanovs from the Rurikovichs was emphasized. The enthronement of the sons of Alexei Mikhailovich took place during the period of the Streltsy uprisings, when it became necessary to return to the original symbol of royal power, which was Monomakh's hat. In addition to the regalia, the “large sovereign outfit” included ceremonial vestments and precious items that were used during solemn ceremonies.

From the very beginning of the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, as M. Martynova notes, the tsar paid special attention to the creation of new regalia. Only with his consent was the purchase of new materials and decorations. Defects that appeared on objects were often corrected in the presence of the king himself. The "Big Outfit" was kept in the Big Treasury, located between the Annunciation and Archangel Cathedrals. Special persons appointed by the tsar kept items of the “large sovereign attire” in chests upholstered in velvet, sealed with a special sovereign seal. The scepter of Mikhail Fedorovich was most likely made in Prague.

At the end of the XVI century. Rudolph II, a great connoisseur and collector of works of art, founded the famous court workshops in Prague, in which skillful wood carvers and jewelers worked. As M. Martynova emphasizes, the receipt of regalia by Boris Godunov from Rudolf II was a confirmation of his title of "emperor or king."

At the simultaneous wedding of Ivan and Peter Alekseevich to the kingdom, Ivan Alekseevich received the scepter and orb of Mikhail Fedorovich from the hands of the highest church hierarch, as his elder brother. For the wedding ceremony of Ivan and Peter Alekseevich, a double silver throne was made in the Kremlin workshops. To help young Peter in conducting state ceremonies, a window was cut in the back of the right chair, intended for Princess Sophia or other mentors.

For several years, Peter I collected references in the Byzantine annals about the coronation ceremony. The coronation of Catherine I was thought out very carefully. “A study of the documents allows us to assert that the preparation for the coronation was carried out mainly by the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, which was in charge of managing diplomatic and court ceremonies.” It is also likely that diplomats took part in the preparations for the ceremony: "Prince Alexander Kurakin - minister at the French court, Alexei Bestuzhev - minister at the Danish court, Ludovik Lanchinsky - minister at the Vienna court." At the end of the ceremony, these persons were elevated to the rank of State Councilors.

When preparing the coronation, descriptions of coronations in France, Sweden, the Holy Roman Empire, and Denmark were used. Reports of Russian diplomats about the coronations of Maria Medici, Louis XIV, Louis XV, Caesar of Rome Charles VI to the kings of Bohemia, the Swedish king Frederick I were collected. But the ceremony of the wedding of Russian sovereigns was studied especially carefully, taking into account the changes that took place in the ceremonial in the 17th century. The wedding rite became the basis for compiling the coronation ceremony.

In November 1723, Peter the Great issued a manifesto in which he explained the reasons that prompted him to marry his wife to the kingdom. In this document, he pointed to her merits and referred to the example of the Byzantine emperors and sovereigns of Western Europe, who also crowned their spouses. After the publication of the manifesto in the Kremlin, the preparation of the royal premises began, in which no one lived for about 20 years. But due to the illness of the emperor, the coronation was postponed until spring.

The crown of the Byzantine Empire, made up of two hemispheres, symbolizing the unity of the eastern and western parts of the Roman Empire, became a model for creating the first Russian crown, made of gilded silver and precious stones, which were subsequently transferred to the crown of Anna Ioannovna.

The dress and train of the coronation dress of Catherine I were cut and embroidered in Berlin - this city was famous for sewing with silver and gold threads.

In the Assumption Cathedral, the floor was covered with carpets, golden candles were inserted into the chandelier, two altars were placed in the middle of the temple, above which towered a canopy with a black embroidered eagle. To the right were seats for the princesses and duchesses of Mecklenburg and Courland, as well as for the Duke of Holstein. The solemn procession to the cathedral, to the sound of bells and the sounds of regimental bands, was opened by a detachment of the Life Guards. Then came 12 pages of the empress, 4 orderlies of the sovereign, a master of ceremonies with deputies from the provinces and generals, a state marshal, accompanied by two heralds. Then they carried the purple of the Empress, orb, scepter and crown.

The sovereign in a sky-blue caftan, personally embroidered by the empress with silver, and in a hat with a white feather followed the regalia. Behind him was the Empress, who was led by the arm of the Duke of Holstein. Next moved the ladies of state and court cavaliers. The procession was brought up to the rear by another detachment of the Life Guards. The higher clergy met the imperial couple on the porch of the cathedral.

In the cathedral, the emperor elevated his wife to the throne, from where they bowed to the audience. Until the emperor sat down in the place allotted to him, Catherine refused to take her throne. When the empress uttered the "Creed of Faith" and the bishop read the prayer, the mantle was brought to the emperor, and with the help of his assistants he placed it on the empress. Having laid the crown on her and handed over the power, Peter I led Catherine to the Royal Doors for chrismation. During the laying of the crown, during the chrismation and communion, volleys thundered from all the guns in the city, and the regiments located on the square saluted.

Bora, the sovereign returned to the palace, and the empress went to the Archangel Cathedral. HELL. Menshikov threw gold and silver tokens at that time to the people. At the end of the prayer service, the empress went in a carriage to the Ascension Monastery, from where she returned to the palace. General Lassi and two heralds rode near the carriage, throwing gold and silver medals at the people. On the same day, a dinner was given in the Faceted Chamber. Peter I and Catherine sat under a canopy at the right wall of the hall. After the first break, A.D. Menshikov distributed large gold medals to those present, and for the people in front of the palace there was a large roasted bull, on the sides of which two fountains beat with white and red wine. The dinner lasted about two hours. In the evening the city was illuminated. The next day, the Empress received congratulations. On May 10, a folk dinner was held and fireworks were arranged in the evening.

With the adoption of the imperial title by Peter I and with the reformation of the church, the ceremony of crowning the kingdom also changed significantly. If earlier the leading role in the performance of the ceremony belonged to the patriarch or metropolitan, now it has passed to the crowned himself. Before Peter I, the royal regalia were assigned to the king by the highest clergyman. This person sat next to the king in the place of the devil and turned to the king with a lesson.

After the destruction of the patriarchate, Peter I himself crowned his wife, Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna, with the crown, which was presented to him by the archbishops Theodosia and Theophanes (May 17, 1724). Since that time, those wishing to attend the ceremony began to be allowed on tickets. It became impossible to fill the Kremlin and the Assumption Cathedral with people of different ranks.

Under Peter I, the foundation was laid for the formation of a complex of state regalia corresponding to a new type of state structure. The regalia of the first coronation included the crown, scepter, orb and imperial mantle. In the Petrine era, there was information about such symbols as the sword, seal, banner. Each subsequent coronation began with the study of the previous one. With the change in ideas about power, the ceremonial also changed. The coronation secured a new type of state structure in Russia. During the solemn procession of the Russian emperors to the capital, on both sides of their path, troops lined up in espaliers. The ceremonial entry into the capital and the coronation celebrations themselves took on the character of a national holiday: these days not only folk entertainments were arranged, but also various favors that were bestowed on the population.

On April 27 and May 18, decrees were issued that gave a deferment in the payment of arrears in cash fees, provisions, fodder and government debts.

Peter II solemnly entered Moscow for the coronation on February 4, 1728. This was the first imperial coronation procession to Moscow, which was heading to the Kremlin from the village of All Saints, where the sovereign stopped on his way from St. Petersburg. The procession was opened and closed by the grenadiers. The emperor followed along with Osterman in a carriage drawn by eight horses. The governor-general, noble citizens and officials met the emperor at the entrance to Earthen City, in front of the White City the magistrate and merchants were waiting for him, and at the Assumption Cathedral - the clergy. During the passage through the gates, cannons fired, and during the procession through the city, all Moscow bells rang.

On February 24, 1728, the coronation took place. The church wedding rite was the same as over Catherine I.

The coronation of Emperor Peter II was accompanied by the promulgation of the highest manifesto, which was composed of arrears and alleviated the fate of those convicted of crimes. On the day of the coronation, Princes Dolgoruky and Trubetskoy were promoted to field marshals, and Minikh was given the title of count.

Under Elizabeth Petrovna, some additions were made to the church rite. For the first time, litany, troparion, proverbs and reading from the table and the Gospel were introduced into the rank. The litany, along with the usual prayer petitions, included a prayer for the crowned monarch: "On the hedgehog be blessed by His royal wedding with the blessing of the king of kings and the Lord of lords." As can be seen from the above text, when reading the litany, the term "wedding" was used, while in secular society this ceremonial was called the coronation.

Starting from the XVIII century. the imperial banner with the image of a double-headed eagle was made of gold-colored fabric. In total, four banners were made: in 1742, 1856, 1883 and 1886. For the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna, a banner was made, on the yellow satin canvas of which is depicted “a black double-headed eagle with three crowns, holding a golden scepter in its right paw, and an orb in its left. On the chest of the eagle is depicted the Moscow coat of arms on a red field. St. George the Victorious, sitting on a white horse and striking a dragon with a spear, around the shield is the chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, on the edges of the canvas there are coats of arms of kingdoms, principalities and regions. On the upper border are the coats of arms of Kiev, Vladimir, Novgorod, the kingdoms of Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberia, the coat of arms of the great principalities of Smolensk and Pskov; on the side borders - the coats of arms of Estonian, Livonian, Karelian, Oldenburg, Tver, Yugorsky, Perm, Vyatka, Bolgarsky, Nizhny Novgorod, Seversky lands, Chernigov, Yaroslavl and Belozersky; on the lower border - Udora, Obdorsky, Kondiya, Iberian lands, Kartalinsky, Georgian, Cherkasy and Mountain lands. The same emblems are repeated on the other side of the banner.

In subsequent years, in connection with the expansion of the state, some coats of arms were painted over and instead of them the coats of arms of the regions that became part of the empire after 1762 were written. Before the coronation of Nicholas I, instead of the Vladimir coat of arms, the coat of arms of Tauric Chersonesus was written, instead of Siberian - the coat of arms of the Principality of Lithuania, etc.

Elizaveta Petrovna, even before the coronation ceremony, published a manifesto in which the people were granted a large number of benefits, in particular, all state arrears from 1719 to 1730 were added up; the per capita salary from landlord peasants was lowered, persons who committed some not very serious crimes, as well as those who stole or squandered state money and things, if they were insolvent, were exempted from punishment, exile, fines; those exiled to hard labor were released with the right to enter the civil service; sentenced to death, the latter was replaced by hard labor or exile, according to the degree of their guilt. In the manifesto issued by the empress to commemorate the coronation, among the numerous favors, the abolition of the death penalty occupied the first place.

On the occasion of the coronation of Catherine II on September 13, 1762, a solemn entry into the capital took place. On the eve of Moscow, streets were cleaned, pavements were repaired, houses and street lights were painted. Triumphal gates with allegorical images were erected in the city.

During the ceremony, Catherine the Great - the first of the reigning persons - personally put on a crown; after chrismation, she passed through the Royal Doors to the throne and there she communed the Holy Mysteries according to the royal rank. On the same day, two manifestos were made public. In the first of them, it was ordered to release all convicts, with the exception of murderers and those exiled to indefinite hard labor, and return them to their homeland; the death penalty and eternal exile with public punishment were abolished. Instead, it was ordered to deprive the nobles of their ranks and the opportunity to engage in public service. Those held in custody for schismatic, salt, and tavern cases were also released, and the guilt of those who failed to fulfill their posts was forgiven. The second manifesto confirmed the rights and benefits granted by Elizaveta Petrovna to the Russian army, and approved a commission to deal with cases of persons undeservedly expelled from service and bypassed by ranks and awards. The participants in the battles of Palzig and Frankfurt were ordered to give out half a year's salary. Participants in the palace coup of 1762 were awarded generous awards from the Empress.

Preparations for the coronation of Pavel Petrovich were carried out very economically, since the sovereign, “being an enemy of luxury and unnecessary expenses”, ordered the office of ceremonial affairs to announce to the highest: “so that all courtiers and other ladies who come to court should appear on solemn holidays on the occasion of the coronation in robes from black velvet, i.e. robe corset and velvet train; the skirt may be of rich or embroidered matter. And the ladies, who are afraid of such a cost, have the power to make it out of simple matter.

The solemn entry into the capital took place on Palm Sunday, March 28, 1797. The emperor rode on horseback, and the empress in a carriage. All along the way, troops were lined up with tapestries, and covered galleries were built for spectators, five new triumphal arches were erected, and the old ones were decorated with paintings. At the Iberian chapel, two young pupils of the Trinity-Sergius Seminary approached the sovereign and read poetry. On Great Saturday, on the eve of the coronation day, the emperor and his wife moved to the Kremlin.

Pavel Petrovich, the first of the Russian tsars and emperors, was crowned together with the empress, his wife. After the rite was performed on the special emperor, the monarch, taking his place on the throne and placing the regalia on the pillows, called his wife to him. When she came up and knelt before him, the sovereign took off his crown and, touching it to the forehead of the empress, put it on himself. Then he placed on the empress a smaller crown, the chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, the imperial purple.

The first governmental act of particular importance was the act of succession to the throne, promulgated during the coronation on April 5, 1797. Instead of the former, established by Peter the Great in 1722, the procedure for the arbitrary appointment of the heir to the throne by the reigning person, an invariable order was established for the transfer of the throne in a direct descending line from father to eldest son .

The law on succession to the throne was read by Pavel Petrovich on the day of the coronation, then the emperor entered the altar and placed the act on the altar of the Assumption Cathedral, in a silver ark, for eternal storage. When putting on the royal regalia, the emperor “put on over his uniform an ancient royal attire - a dalmatic, intended only for males. Thus, Paul I wanted to emphasize the rule he had established to crown only autocrats to the kingdom. The coronation mantle (porphyry) was placed on Emperor Paul over a dalmatic.

On the day of the coronation, 109 persons were given estates with a population of more than 100,000 male souls, and more than 600 persons were awarded ranks and awards. Mercies of this magnitude have never been given before or since.

On September 15, 1801, the coronation of Alexander Pavlovich took place. To the chagrin of many contemporaries, the awards bestowed on this day were not generous. The peasants were not distributed at all. To one of the dignitaries, who asked for an estate, Alexander I replied: “Most of the peasants in Russia are slaves, I consider it superfluous to talk about the humiliation of mankind and the misfortune of such a state. I took a vow not to increase their numbers and therefore made it a rule not to distribute peasants as property.

Of the decrees that accompanied the coronation, we note the decree on the elimination of torture, as well as the order to the president of the Academy of Sciences that no advertisements for the sale of people without land should be printed in St. Petersburg Vedomosti. The names of the old regiments were restored in the army and the Russian uniform was returned. The troops sent to India were recalled to their homeland. Alexander I destroyed the Secret Chancellery, which was engaged in cases related to treason to the sovereign and the state, with an insult to the royal majesty. More than a thousand prisoners were released; 12,000 people regained access to government positions. Travel abroad became free, restrictions on trade abroad were lifted. The nobility returned all their privileges.

On the days of the coronation, a draft of the “Most Merciful Letter Complained to the Russian People” was prepared, which stated: “It is no less a rule for ourselves to recognize this truth that it is not the peoples who are made for sovereigns, but the sovereigns themselves, by the providence of God, are established for the benefit and well-being of peoples, under the power their living." The project was an attempt to limit the power of the emperor; this was probably the reason why the letter did not see the light of day.

A bronze medal was struck to commemorate the coronation; on one side of it was the image of the sovereign, and on the back - part of the column with the inscription on it: "Law", - and around the word: "The pledge of bliss for everyone and everyone."

The ceremony is not only a reflection of the moral state of society. This is a kind of prologue to the future political program of the supreme power.

During the coronation of Nikolai Pavlovich, he was presented with a cross for kissing, which was on Peter I during the Battle of Poltava; this cross saved him from death: the bullet, hitting the cross, bounced off it. Thus, the church emphasized the heroic spirit of the emperor, manifested during the uprising on December 14, 1825.

Nikolai Pavlovich, the only Russian emperor, was crowned twice: in 1826 - in Moscow and in 1829 - in Warsaw as the Tsar of Poland. To do this, even the eagle in the royal scepter was made removable: during the coronation in Warsaw, the two-headed "Russian" eagle was replaced by a single-headed "Polish" eagle. The arrival in Moscow for the coronation celebrations of Nikolai Pavlovich, his brother Konstantin Pavlovich, according to Benckendorff, “was a brilliant nationwide evidence of obedience to his new sovereign. The public was delighted, and the diplomatic corps was surprised. The dignitaries surrounded him with signs of the most respectful reverence.

Since the beginning of the XIX century. The uniform of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, corresponding to the rank of its owner, became the official coronation attire of Russian emperors. The succession of power was also symbolized by the monogram of the predecessor on the epaulettes of the uniform. On the chain of the Order of the White Eagle, made for the coronation of Nicholas I on the Polish throne, the drawings of the AI ​​cipher, a Polish eagle made of white enamel and a Russian double-headed eagle made of black enamel alternated.

The coronation of Nicholas I in Warsaw took place in the Senate meeting room. The crown, scepter, orb and other regalia were brought by the chief master of ceremonies from St. Petersburg. When Their Imperial Majesties went from the throne room to the coronation hall, 71 cannon shots were fired. The clergy, having sprinkled their majesties with holy water, preceded them. Nicholas I himself laid the crown on his head; the primate gave him the scepter and the orb and proclaimed three times: "Vivat, Rexir aeternum." Then the sovereign laid the chain of the Order of the White Eagle on his wife. At one o'clock in the afternoon, the emperor and those accompanying him went to the Cathedral of St. John. The primate met their majesties at the doors of the cathedral, escorted them to the place prepared for them and said: "We praise God to you." After that, their majesties returned to the palace.

The empress walked to and from the cathedral under a majestic canopy carried by 16 generals. In the evening, Their Majesties rode around Warsaw in an open carriage, admiring the magnificent illumination.

The coronation makes sense if the divine origin of power is recognized. The constitution assumes that the source of power is the people. Polish nationalists were not satisfied with the state system that existed in Poland. Emperor Nicholas I, in turn, was not going to make concessions in resolving the territorial issue - to allow the expansion of Polish borders by annexing new regions of the Russian Empire.

The French Revolution of 1830 gave impetus to the Polish uprising. The Polish Sejm declared the Romanov dynasty deprived of the Polish throne and established a provisional revolutionary government. The entire Polish army joined the rebels. In 1831 Warsaw was taken by storm. The constitutional charter of 1815 was canceled as an independent army - the Polish army was destroyed, the kingdom of Poland was divided into provinces and subordinated to the imperial governor.

Thus, the coronation ceremony, not supported by real acts of the indisputability and inviolability of monarchical power, not only did not contribute to the stabilization of the political situation in Poland, on the contrary, it gave impetus to the development of the revolutionary situation.

On August 19, 1856, the solemn entry into Moscow of Alexander II took place. This event was described in detail by the correspondent of the London Times: “The celebration was in every respect majestic and amazing; the wealth of a vast kingdom was paraded with Oriental luxury, and the latter was this time combined with the taste of the educated West. Instead of a crowded stage, the spectacle was played out in the ancient capital of the most vast state that ever existed in the world; instead of tinsel and sparkles, pure gold, silver and precious stones burned. The pictures were so diverse that thought would have tried in vain to renew the series of sensations that were born and disappeared every minute. It is unlikely that any of the strangers who were present at this ceremony saw anything like that. The reverence and deep religious feeling of the monarch and his people, their visible humility before God, resembled the faith and rituals of past centuries and differently shaded the manifestation of the military might of a military power. The splendor of carriages and uniforms, liveries and harnesses was worthy of the Roman emperors or the most famous rulers of the East. It is said that the coronation cost Russia six million silver rubles, or one million pounds sterling.”

A correspondent for the French newspaper Le Nord concludes a detailed description of the wedding ceremony for the kingdom of Alexander II with the following words: “You had to see this spectacle in order to understand its meaning; it was not enough to see him to describe him. The coronation of Baldwin of Constantinople, handed down to posterity by the painter in a painting in Versailles, is not such a striking sight; imagination could not find anything more majestic even in the brightest moments of creative inspiration.

To commemorate the coronation of Alexander II, a new state banner was consecrated. “The State Emblem, written in colors, the fringe is twisted from gold, silver and black silk. The blue ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called is reinforced at the top with a bow, the ends of the ribbon are decorated on both sides with double-headed silver and gilded eagles; signatures go up from them, embroidered with gold: on one ribbon: “God bless us” and the years of the beginning of the Russian state (862) and the adoption of the Christian religion (988); on the other “God bless us” and the year of adoption of the emblem of the Eastern Empire (1497) and the title of the All-Russian Empire (1721). On the bow is a medallion with a silver gilded eagle; two similar tassels hang from the bow on three-color cords. On the shaft is a silver gilded apple, on it is a double-headed eagle, silver, covered with enamel.

Among the numerous spectators of the coronation on the Kremlin Square were Elena and Mikhail Volkonsky, the children of the Decembrist Prince S.G. Volkonsky. Getting acquainted with relatives in Moscow and St. Petersburg, young people brought up in hard labor impressed the high society with their manners and education. On the day of the coronation, the royal word about the fate of the Siberian convicts was to be heard. When the children of Sergei Grigoryevich were sitting at dinner in their apartment on Spiridonovka, the bell rang. A courier from the Kremlin brought a summons addressed to M.S. Volkonsky with an order to appear before the chief of the gendarmes, Prince Dolgoruky. At a court ball in the Kremlin halls, the new emperor, bypassing the guests, stopped in front of Elena Sergeevna. “I am happy,” said Alexander II, “that I can return your father from exile, and I was glad to send your brother after him.”

On May 10, 1883, the solemn entry of Emperor Alexander III into Moscow took place. The procession was led by the chief of police and 12 mounted gendarmes, two in a row. This was followed by His Imperial Majesty's own convoy, the Life Squadron of the Life Guards of the Cossack Regiment and the squadron of the 1st Life Dragoon of His Majesty's Moscow Regiment. The southern regions of the Russian Empire delegated their representatives to Moscow, who rode horses two abreast in front of the deputation of the Moscow nobility.

The first ranks of the court and members of the State Council were in quadruple ceremonial gilded carriages, the chamberlain and chief marshal in open chaises. The emperor rode after the Life Squadron of His Majesty's Cavalry Guards Regiment and the Life Squadron of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. The emperor was followed by the minister of the imperial court, the minister of war, the commander of the main imperial apartment, the adjutant general, the major general of his majesty's retinue and the adjutant wing, the grand dukes and the princes of foreign sovereign houses who arrived in Moscow. Grand Dukes Vladimir Alexandrovich and Sergei Alexandrovich and Prince Alexander Petrovich of Oldenburg preferred to be in service. Empress Maria Feodorovna and Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna rode in a ceremonial gilded carriage drawn by eight horses, four Cossack chambers in full dress walked along the sides, six chamber pages on horseback behind the carriage, and behind them two grooms, also on horseback. The Life Squadron of the Life Guards of His Majesty's Hussars and the Life Squadron of the Life Guards of the Lancers of His Majesty's regiments closed the procession.

Six masters of ceremonies were responsible for organizing the procession, who rode along the sides of the procession on horseback. From early morning, the entire space between the Petrovsky Palace and the Kremlin was filled with thousands of people. At the Triumphal Gates, their Imperial Majesties were met by the Governor-General Prince Vl. Dolgorukov with adjutants. When the procession entered the Earthen City, it was greeted with bread and salt by the mayor B.N. on the square of the Strastnoy Monastery, the emperor was met by the chairman and members of the Moscow provincial Zemstvo Council; the Moscow nobility, headed by the provincial marshal Count L.V. Bobrinsky was waiting for the emperor in front of the governor-general's house.

After visiting the Assumption Cathedral, the emperor proceeded to the Archangel and Annunciation Cathedrals. At the Red Porch of the Grand Kremlin Palace, Supreme Marshal Prince Vl. Dolgorukov. Immediately, 101 shots were fired, and ringing began in all churches. In the evening the whole city, except for the Kremlin, was illuminated.

On May 11, a solemn ceremony of consecrating the new State Banner took place in the Armory.

On May 14, the imperial regalia were solemnly transferred from the Armory to the Andreevsky throne room of the Kremlin Palace. On the same day, masters of ceremonies in gilded carriages went to inform foreign ambassadors about the day of the sacred coronation.

On the morning of the coronation day, May 15, 1883, Moscow streets looked unusual. All the shops were closed, and there were no carriages or pedestrians to be seen anywhere. All life was concentrated in the Kremlin, where thousands of people gathered.

A wide amphitheater of stands covered the square from the Annunciation Cathedral to the Church of the Twelve Apostles in a semicircle. A tribune was set up between the Red Porch and the Cathedral of the Annunciation. The people occupied the entire right side of the Kremlin's cathedral square. In addition to the internal tribunes, another external tribune was arranged, overlooking the square of the Nikolaevsky Palace. Representatives of the Eastern peoples occupied a large podium opposite the Assumption Cathedral. Dressed in bright national costumes, these spectators presented a very picturesque picture.

At the end of the coronation ceremony, Their Imperial Majesties proceeded from the Assumption Cathedral, first to the Archangel Cathedral, and then to the Cathedral of the Annunciation. Having ascended to the upper platform of the Red Porch, Their Majesties bowed three times to the people.

A ceremonial dinner was held in the Faceted Chamber. In the intervals between dishes, the imperial artists and the choir performed a cantata to the music of P.I. Tchaikovsky. At the end of the dinner, His Majesty, having descended from the throne, placed the crown on the head and, taking the scepter and orb in his hands, marched with the Empress while singing “Glory” in the choir to the St. Andrew's Hall. Leaving all the regalia there, Their Majesties retired to the inner chambers.

On May 16, Their Imperial Majesties received congratulations from military and civil officials and from the volost elders. There were more than 2,000 of those who presented themselves. On the evening of that day, a ball was held in the Palace of the Facets, which ended around midnight.

Emperor Alexander III addressed the volost foremen in the Petrovsky Palace with the following words: “Follow the advice to the leadership of your leaders of the nobility and do not believe absurd and ridiculous rumors and talk about redistribution of land, free cuts, etc. These rumors are spread by our enemies. All property, just like yours, must be inviolable.

In a circular sent to the representatives of Russia under foreign powers, Emperor Alexander III defined the main task of his reign as follows: governments. His Majesty's foreign policy will be completely peaceful." At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Alexander III, it was announced from the throne: “The voice of God commands us to become cheerful in the cause of government in the hope of Divine Providence, with faith in the strength and truth of autocratic power, which we are called upon to establish and protect for the good of the people from all encroachments on it. ".

On May 17 and 18, the emperor received congratulations from military, civil and court officials, as well as court ladies of the first four classes.

The coronation celebrations ended on May 28 with the highest review of the troops, on the same day Their Imperial Majesties departed for St. Petersburg.

Continuing the traditions of his father, Emperor Alexander III, Nicholas II, in a special decree to the ruling Senate on the occasion of the coronation, ordered representatives of the Russian Empire to be summoned to Moscow from the nobility, from the Zemstvo, from the urban population, from the Cossack troops, from the Grand Duchy of Finland, from the regions under control military department, from the clergy of other faiths. The organization of the call was entrusted to the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of War, the Minister of State Secretary of the Grand Duchy of Finland.

On April 4, 1896, an emergency train of the Nikolaevskaya railway arrived in Moscow with imperial regalia. At the station, the train was met by the Moscow Governor-General, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, senior dignitaries, military officials, court officials who were in Moscow.

When the imperial regalia were taken out of the car, the lined up military unit kept on guard, the drummer beat the march, and all those present saluted. Upon the arrival of the procession with regalia to the Armory, they were met by the head of the palace part in Moscow, the head of the Moscow palace administration. A guard of honor from the 1st Life Grenadier Ekaterinoslav Emperor Alexander III Regiment was lined up here.

The arrival of Their Imperial Majesties at the Petrovsky Palace took place on May 6, 1896, on the birthday of Nicholas II. From this day begins a series of daily ceremonial celebrations: May 9 - entry into the Alexander Palace; May 10 and 11 reception of extraordinary envoys; May 13, the Day of the Holy Spirit - announcement of the holy coronation, transfer of imperial regalia, moving to the Kremlin; On May 14, the holy coronation took place, the meal of Their Imperial Majesties in the Faceted Chamber, illumination; On May 15, on the day of memory of the Holy Coronation of Alexander III, a dinner was given for the clergy and persons of the first two classes in the Faceted Chamber. The celebrations ended on May 26 with a parade of troops and a dinner for representatives of Moscow government and class institutions in the Alexander Hall of the Kremlin Palace. On the same day the emperor departed from Moscow.

The celebrations on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas II were overshadowed by a terrible tragedy.

Since the time of Peter the Great, coronation celebrations have acquired the character of a nationwide holiday: treats for the people are exhibited, entertainment is organized.

On the day of the coronation of Peter II, the people were treated to wine and roasted bulls stuffed with poultry. Under Anna Ioannovna, festivities were no different from previous coronations and boiled down to treating ordinary people with drinks and dishes.

On one of the days of the coronation celebrations of Elizabeth Petrovna, the ball in the Faceted Chamber was preceded by a feast for the people. The festivities lasted almost a month and ended with fireworks.

On the day of the coronation of Paul I, tables and chests with roasted bulls were placed from the Nikolsky Gate all over Lubyanka Square; fountains spouted red and white wine. Tables with refreshments stretched along Myasnitskaya Street to the Red Gate.

During the coronation of Nicholas I, a grand celebration took place on the Maiden's Field in Moscow with a free treat, consisting of "pies and roasted bulls and white and red wine<...>At the first sign, the crowd rushed to the tables with a frenzy<...>In a few minutes, pies and meat were snatched up, wine was spilled by the pressure of the masses, tables and chairs were broken, and someone dragged home a chair, someone just a board, in full confidence that this was not a robbery, because the tsar granted the people, ”recalled M.A. Dmitriev.

The coronation of Alexander III attracted more than half a million people.

During the last coronation celebrations on the Khodynka field in Moscow, the authorities did not take appropriate security measures. The whole field was pitted with pits and wells, there was also a deep ditch, from where sand and clay were taken for construction work for a long time. Some potholes were somehow covered with wooden flooring, others were left open.

Enamel, white and gold, colorfully painted mugs were on display in many stores. And many went to Khodynka to get this mug or some other gift. The people made fires in the moat all night long so that in the morning they would be the first to be at the booths with gifts. When the sun rose, almost 500,000 people crowded into a relatively small space, making their way

Despite the Khodyn disaster, the coronation celebrations were not cancelled. In the evening of the same day, a ball was held at the French ambassador Montebello. The Tsar danced the first country dance with the Countess of Montebello, and the Empress with the French ambassador. Many advised the emperor not to go to the ball, to cancel the festivities, but he did not agree.

Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich compared the emperor with the French kings who danced in Versailles and did not notice the impending storm. “Remember, Niki,” he finished, looking Nicholas II straight in the eyes, “the blood of these five thousand men, women and children will remain an indelible stain on your reign. You are not able to raise the dead, but you can take care of their families ... Do not give your enemies a reason to say that the young king is dancing when his dead loyal subjects are being taken to the dead.

The French embassy had been preparing for this reception for several months. On the day of the coronation, classes were canceled in French schools and lyceums, officials were sent home earlier than usual. Paris was decorated with Russian flags. The French government, headed by President Felix Faure, attended a solemn service in the Russian Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky.

As A.N. Bokhanov: “Such an open expression of friendly sympathy for Russia was not observed in any other country. And now what? The emperor must refuse to attend the reception and thereby offend the French allies. Nicholas II was sure that they would not understand this abroad, and rumors would begin. For reasons of international prestige, he could not agree to this.”

Foreign representatives closely followed the course of the coronation ritual, reporting in detail to their governments about the smallest details of its conduct.

The rite of coronation in Russia in the 18th - 19th centuries. was an important national and international event.

Palace ceremonies

The concept of "diplomacy" unites the foreign policy activities of the leaders of states and the highest bodies of state power. At various stages of the development of society, the methods and means of diplomacy changed.

In the 16th century, having thrown off the Mongol yoke, the Russian state became a full member of the international community. “And there was nothing strange in the instruction to the Russian ambassador Athanasius Nagoy, who went to the Crimea in 1563 on a diplomatic mission, to “take care of it tightly”, so that the Crimean Khan would in no case attach “scarlet nishan” (that is, red print). In those days, the color of the print was often more important than the content of the document. "Scarlet Nishan" on the contract turned it into a letter of commendation, that is, it testified not to the equality of the contracting parties, but to the recognition of the dependence of one side on the other. The new tasks of foreign policy demanded new forms of negotiation.

The word "protocol" comes from the Greek "protokollon" ("protos" - the first, "kolla" - to glue). In the Middle Ages, the protocol is the rules for processing documents and maintaining archives. Subsequently, the content of this concept was expanded, ceremonial issues began to be attributed to the diplomatic protocol. According to the definition given by the Diplomatic Dictionary, a diplomatic protocol is "a set of generally accepted rules, traditions and conventions observed by governments, foreign affairs departments, diplomatic missions and officials in international communication."

The foundations of the ambassadorial ceremonial were laid in ancient Greece. The ambassador was given instructions for negotiating, written on two cards or tablets folded in half. They were called diplomas. This is where the word "diplomacy" comes from. The god Hermes was considered the patron of ambassadors in Ancient Greece, so the ancient Greek ambassadors wore special "rods of Hermes". The top of such a wand was entwined with laurel as a sign of honor and glory, bird wings were attached to it, indicating the maneuverability and mobility of the envoy, and two interlaced knots - symbols of his cunning.

In ancient Rome, a college of fetials was established - a priestly college, the duties of whose members included the religious consecration of war and the conclusion of peace. These rites were performed under the supervision of two priests - the “holy father” (“pater patratus”) and the “father carrying a verbena branch” (“pater verbenarius”).

The conclusion of the peace was accompanied by the following ceremonial: pater patratus with the scepter of Jupiter in his hand, accompanied by pater verbenarius, who carried a sprout of sacred verbena from the garden from the Capitoline Hill, ordered the treaty to be read to the ambassadors of the other side, cursed the one who in the future would dare to violate the terms of this treaty, and then committed sacrifice, cutting the pig's throat with a stone knife.

Ancient Rome sent embassies of three to ten people to other countries, depending on the importance of the event. Each of the ambassadors received a golden ring - a sign of the strength and power of the Roman state and the powers of the Roman ambassador. This ring gave the right to duty-free transportation of embassy baggage across the border. Roman ambassadors were usually accompanied by an escort of ships.

To organize receptions in Rome, a special position was created - the "master of ceremonial".

In Byzantium, in an effort to emphasize the military power of the empire, foreign delegations were obliged to attend parades, during which troops, appearing from one gate and leaving through another, moved in a circle, changing only weapons. To raise the prestige of the head of Byzantium, the meeting of the emperor with foreign guests was arranged with a number of obligatory ceremonies, for example, when delegations approached the throne of the emperor, gilded mechanical lions roared, and the imperial throne itself rose.

In Russia, the conclusion of treaties with foreigners was also furnished with a number of protocol formalities: after the prayer service, the court archpriest read the “incantational letter about the content of eternal rest” (the provisions of the peace treaty), the words of which were repeated after the priest by the Grand Duke, and later by the Tsar. The contract itself - "final letter" - at that time lay under the Gospel. At the end of the reading of the oath, the tsar kissed the cross and, taking the “finishing letter”, handed it over to the head of the delegation of the state with which the contract was concluded.

Under Ivan IV, a special embassy ceremony was established, which, with minor changes, existed in Russia until the end of the 17th century. Ivan the Terrible was careful to ensure that the head of the delegation, when receiving the “final letter”, also swore by “kissing the cross”, and kissing “on the very cross”, and not “past the cross, and not with the nose”. After such a ceremony, the treaty was considered inviolable "in all articles, commas and points, without any derogation in its entirety."

12 days after the arrival of Richard Chancellor in Moscow, the secretary in charge of the affairs of foreigners informed him that the Grand Duke wanted him to come to him with the letters of his king. “I was very pleased with this and carefully prepared for the reception. When the Grand Duke took his place, the interpreter followed me into the outer chambers, where 100 or more nobles were sitting, all in luxurious golden clothes; from there I went to the council hall, where the Grand Duke himself was sitting with his nobility, which made up a magnificent retinue.

The king’s entourage sat along the walls of the room, but at the same time the king towered over them on a gilded throne “in a long robe trimmed with gold leaf, in a royal crown on his head and with a rod of gold and crystal in his right hand; with the other hand he leaned on the arm of the chair. After Chancellor bowed and handed over his letters, the king asked him about the health of the English king and then invited him to dinner.

The Dutch ambassadors, who visited Russia on a diplomatic mission in 1630 - 1631, were met a third of a mile from Moscow by the stables, who, on behalf of the tsar, handed them “two royal sleighs, and a retinue of 17 argamaks, or Persian horses. Sitting in this sleigh, we saw many hundreds of horsemen dressed in the native way in the most brilliant way; these were princes, boyars and other noble persons who, by order of the tsar, were to be present at our entrance, ”recalled A.K. Burkh.

When the ambassadors had driven off a little, the tsar’s interpreter stopped by the sleigh and asked them to come out in order to listen to the tsar’s greeting “from the lips of the big people he had sent here ... Big people in brocade caftans and in gangs of silver foxes first of all shook hands with each of us, and then the eldest of them, named Fyodor Ivanovich Chemodanov, a nobleman who had previously been a governor in Siberia, bared his head<...>and began his speech.

The embassy retinue moved towards the city, surrounded by royal dignitaries, with a huge confluence of people crowding on the road and in the streets. Streltsy lined up on both sides of the city streets. The ambassadors of the crowned persons stayed in the Persian Compound, where they expected the royal audience. On the day of the reception, the ambassadors were taken to the Kremlin between rows of archers stationed in full armor on both sides of the road, surrounded by an incredible crowd of people. “Finally, we reached the porch of the building where we had an audience. Here we got off the sleigh, and we were led through a covered passage into the vestibule, which were filled with "guests", that is, Russian court merchants in brocade robes and hats made of silver foxes.

The king sat in the chamber on the throne in patterned brocade clothes, in a precious crown, with a scepter in his right hand. On the right side sat the patriarch in spiritual attire and in a golden miter with a cross. On the left side of the king was a golden pyramid with a crown, which symbolized the absent prince. “Four stolniks were standing next to the king. Golden axes (rynds) hung crosswise on their chests. In the hall were also "the most important princes, boyars and nobles of the state" in brocade robes and high hats made of silver foxes. The embassy retinue could not leave the residence without special permission and go out into the street and the market without an escort of an archer or a guard.

Solemn receptions of foreign ambassadors took place in the Faceted Chamber. About 150 stewards served drinks and food to the guests, the number of which reached 500.

The ambassadors came to the Faceted Chamber with numerous gifts, which the duma clerk handed over to the tsar. Gifts were objects brought to the king by the ambassador personally from himself, his retinue or merchants. Gifts to the king from the sultan or the king were called amateur commemorations. The custom of offering gifts pursued certain political goals. The richer the gifts were, the more the ambassador counted on the success of his mission.

In 1811, in commemoration of the conclusion of peace in Tilsit, Napoleon presented Alexander I with coffee, tea and dessert, the so-called Olympic, sets. In 1896, an ivory eagle was sent from Japan, sitting on a massive stump of a Japanese tree. At the same time, a screen depicting the surf was donated. In the same year, a black wooden cabinet inlaid with mother-of-pearl was sent from Korea. Each gift was carefully evaluated and recorded in a special book. This was necessary in order to know how much to send gifts in return.

The collection of embassy gifts in the Armory is the largest in the world. Gifts from Iran, Turkey, England, Poland, Holland, Denmark, Austria, Sweden and other countries are presented here.

“The support of rapprochement” and “support of goodwill” was called diplomatic gifts by one of the historians of the Middle Ages.

To show the wealth of the Russian state, to emphasize their power, the great princes and tsars furnished palace ceremonies with brilliance and splendor.

Until the 70s of the 17th century, when Russia concluded the first agreements on diplomatic ceremonial with the Commonwealth (1672), Sweden (1674) and the Holy Roman Empire (1675), the norms of embassy custom lived in oral tradition. . The absence of generally accepted norms of the protocol created grounds for serious international conflicts. On September 30, 1661, a quarrel broke out between the French ambassador d "Estrada and the servants of the Spanish ambassador Watteville over a place in the cortege at the meeting of the Swedish ambassador in London. Louis XIV demanded that the Spanish ambassador be punished. The Spanish ambassadors were ordered to give way to the ambassadors of France. Otherwise France threatened to open hostilities.

Behind the external aspects of the ceremonial, the problems of the prestige of the state in the international arena were hidden. In Russia, the procedure for the audience of ambassadors was developed to the smallest detail under Elizaveta Petrovna (1744) and was called the “Ceremonial for Foreign Ambassadors at the Imperial All-Russian Court”. It began with the so-called public entry of the ambassador into the capital. On the eve of the ceremony, the following actions were taken. To accompany the ambassador, a commissar from a noble family with the rank of General-in-Chief was appointed. The chief master of ceremonies announced to the generals, ministers and courtiers on what day and hour the ambassador would enter, “so that they send their carriages in trains and with livery, according to their measure, to multiply the crew and the honor of the Ambassador.”

The ambassador's entry into the city was arranged solemnly. He was accompanied by a cortege of crews of St. Petersburg nobility. Two runners walked in front of the carriage, as well as 6, 8, 10 or 12 footmen on foot. On both sides of the carriage there was one haiduk or footman, the pages were placed on the front belts. If the nobleman had a ringmaster, then the latter led the cortege. Three ceremonial carriages of the emperor were also sent for the entry of the ambassador. They were accompanied by pages, haiduks, lackeys, and runners.

The commissioner of the monarch sat in the first carriage, intended for the ambassador, to his left - the chief master of ceremonies. The second and third carriages were intended for the secretary of the embassy and the embassy nobles. On the day of the public entry, the ambassador arrived incognito at the house assigned to him.

The march order was as follows:

47. - 1) Six non-commissioned officers (only not from the Guard) on horseback.

The carriage of the master of ceremonies.

Noble persons empty carriages<...>

<...>12 clockwork horses, richly dressed.

Third carriage of Her Imperial Majesty<...>

The second carriage of Her Imperial Majesty<...>

Twelve grooms of Her Imperial Majesty on horseback, two side by side.

Hoff Furier on horseback, followed by four runners and 24 lackeys of Her Imperial Majesty<...>

The leading carriage of Her Imperial Majesty in a train, in which the ambassador sits in the first place<...>

Then follows the embassy house and its carriages<...>

Then follows the carriage of the imperial commissioner<...>

Four non-commissioned officers (but not from the Guard) to conclude the march<...>».

On the evening of the day of the public entry, the master of ceremonies was sent to the ambassador announcing the day and hour of the public audience with the monarch. The master of ceremonies checked whether the placement of the non-commissioned officers of the guard with halberds and 400 people of the guards grenadiers with officers, who were built in ranks on both sides of the "big gate, even to the place where the gallebardiers would be placed," was in accordance with the rules of the ceremonial. When the embassy motorcade drove up to the gates of the imperial palace, all the participants in the ceremony dismounted from their horses, left the karst and moved in the established order to the place where the ambassador was supposed to leave the imperial karst.

While following the ambassador, the guard salutes him, and the reytars have naked broadswords, while beating appel drums or a call when the banners are dismissed. The ambassador passed through the palace apartments, accompanied by the master of ceremonies (on the right) and the chamber junker (on the left), to the embassy hall, where he rested for some time and waited for the reception.

In the audience hall, the monarch stood on the imperial throne. To the right of the throne - the chancellor and vice-chancellor, behind at some distance - the chief chamberlain, ladies of state, ladies-in-waiting and other ladies; Cavaliers took their places on the left side. Entering the hall and taking a few steps, the ambassador gave the first bow to the monarch, in the center of the hall - the second and in front of the throne - the third. In continuation of his speech, pronouncing the name of the Russian emperor or his monarch, he bowed each time. Then, having presented the sovereign with his credentials, the ambassador introduced his secretary and the nobles of the embassy, ​​who approached the monarch's hand. At the end of the performance, the ambassador gave a low bow and moved to the exit from the hall, without turning his back to the throne.

In 1827, the norms developed in the ceremonial of 1744 were supplemented in the "Highest approved etiquette at the Imperial Russian Court ...". The Department of Ceremonial Affairs notified the ambassador of all public ceremonies.

On October 29, 1858, a decree was issued "On joining the expedition of ceremonial affairs to the composition of the Ministry of the Imperial Court." According to the highest approved position, the expedition of ceremonial affairs consisted of the chief master of ceremonies, masters of ceremonies, the director of affairs of the expedition and two secretaries. The expedition maintained constant contact with the diplomatic corps and was engaged in compiling ceremonials for festivities and celebrations at the royal court.

The duties of the employees of the expedition of ceremonial affairs in relation to representatives of the diplomatic corps were determined by the highest approved etiquette, which was observed at court. On the basis of this etiquette, the heads of foreign missions who wished to receive an audience with the emperor first turned to the minister of foreign affairs, who, having received the consent of the emperor, informed the foreign ministers and at the same time the minister of the imperial court about the day and hour of the audience. The latter, in turn, informed the chief marshal and the chief master of ceremonies about this.

Thus, in the XVIII - early XIX century. the norms of the Russian diplomatic protocol were summarized and approved. Court etiquette strictly regulated palace life. It was determined in advance who accompanies the monarch, how the highest exits, audience ceremonies, balls, and dinners are held.

Among the most important ceremonies of the Russian court were the imperial exits. The procession of members of the most august families from the inner apartments to the church and back was called the exit at the royal court. They were divided into large and small. Large ones took place on especially significant church holidays and solemn days in the Great Church of the Winter Palace and in the churches of other palaces, depending on the place of residence of the emperor; small ones - on the same holidays and solemn days (as well as on ordinary holidays and Sundays) in the Small Church of the Winter Palace and the churches of other palaces. Court officials and all who were in court ranks, members of the State Council, senators, generals of the fleet, army and guards, headquarters and chief officers, adjutants of the grand dukes and generals with them were obliged to appear at large exits. In addition to those mentioned, civil ranks of the first five classes had the right to be present at the exits. In some cases, members of the Holy Synod, noble clergy, the diplomatic corps, Russian and foreign merchants of the first guild were invited to the ceremony.

Half an hour before the appointed time, members of the imperial family arrived at the Malachite Hall of the Winter Palace, the entrance to which was guarded by Arabs in full dress. The courtiers gathered in other halls, where the ranks of the ceremonial part supervised the observance of the schedule.

When the cortege was fully formed, the minister of the court reported to the monarch about it. Immediately after this, the great princes lined up after the emperor according to the order of succession to the throne. The Grand Duchesses took places according to the rank of their fathers and husbands.

When leaving the Malachite Hall, the sovereign and the empress mother followed in the first pair, Alexandra Feodorovna in the second. The minister of the court was to the right of the sovereign, followed by the adjutant general, the retinue general and the adjutant wing. The remaining members of the cortege moved in pairs.

Entering the Concert Hall, Their Majesties answered the bows of the persons gathered there, who had the right to enter the hall "for the cavalry guards." (During large exits at the door, from where the imperial family appeared, there was a picket of cavalry guards. It was considered a great privilege to have an entrance to the hall “for the cavalry guards”. All court ladies, court officials and members of the State Council, senators, statesmen who were in court ranks, gathered here secretaries, honorary guardians, etc.) When the emperor stopped to talk with those present, adjutant generals, governors general, military governors, full generals, admirals and active privy councilors who were at foreign Russian courts entered the hall "for the cavalry guards" ambassadors, head of the main department of destinies.

Before the start of the exit, the first ranks of the court stood facing the sovereign. After the sign of the Chief of Ceremonies “to start the exit”, they marched in the order corresponding to their rank in relation to the king: the higher the order, the closer to the emperor. Behind the sovereign were members of the imperial family, then court ladies, dignitaries, ministers, senators, and a military retinue.

The procession passed through the Nicholas Hall, occupied by officers of the Guards regiments. Other halls housed other persons admitted to the ceremony and eminent merchants, in the choirs - correspondents of newspapers. In the church where the emperor was, there were only grand dukes, especially important dignitaries and chamberlains. The rest waited for the end of the service outside the church. The masters of ceremonies ensured that those present did not speak loudly and in a timely manner, until the end of the service, returned to their places in the halls.

Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich was distinguished by special accuracy and accuracy. He entered the church at exactly eleven o'clock, and the service immediately began. The emperor strictly monitored the observance of the ceremonial rules by the courtiers. In special cases, an official of the Ministry of the Court appeared to the ladies and gentlemen of the retinue with an official paper containing the highest reprimand for inaccuracy; the perpetrators had to put their signature on the paper. It was considered a special honor to be presented to the emperor during the exit. This right could be used by military and civil ranks of the first four classes, colonels, commanders of individual parts of the guard troops, former ladies-in-waiting, spouses of colonels of the Life Guards, and some others. In the Concert Hall, the presentation of the newly appointed ladies-in-waiting usually took place, and after Epiphany - the diplomatic corps.

Not only the state, but also the private life of members of the imperial family was heavily ritualized. The Historical and Literary Archive of the Russian Noble Assembly contains the highest approved ceremonial of the holy baptism of Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna, who was born in 1897. This document describes in detail the actions of various participants in the celebration. Almost all members of the Russian imperial house and many representatives of the ruling houses of Europe, as well as many court officials, members of the diplomatic corps, and high clergy took part in the ceremony. Cavaliers were supposed to be in dress uniform, and ladies - in Russian dresses.

The ceremony took place in the Grand Peterhof Palace. After the manager of the Ministry of the Imperial Court informed the emperor that everything was ready for the procession to the church, the procession began. It was opened by hof-furiers and chamber-furiers, masters of ceremonies and chief ceremonies, the second ranks of the court, followed by the first and the chief marshal of the highest court.

The courtiers were followed by Nicholas II and the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. The Empress was not present at the ceremony. Following the crowned persons were the grand dukes and grand duchesses, princes of imperial blood, princes and dukes in order of succession to the throne. The procession was closed by chamberlains, ladies of state and chamber maids of honor of empresses and grand duchesses, senators, secretaries of state "and other noble persons of both sexes."

From Alexandria, the high-born was taken to the palace in a gilded carriage with an honorary escort. Tatyana Nikolaevna was in the arms of the Chief Chamberlain Alexandra Feodorovna, the Serene Highness Princess M.M. Golitsyna. She brought the girl to the palace church. Chief Jägermeister Prince Golitsyn and Adjutant General Count Vorontsov-Dashkov supported the veil on which the Grand Duchess lay on both sides.

The sacrament of baptism was performed by the confessor of the sovereign and empress, Father I. Yanyshev. The recipients were Russian grand dukes, foreign kings and crown princes, including representatives of the British royal house of Windsor. During the laying on the little Grand Duchess of the signs of the Order of St. Catherine in Peterhof, a salute of 101 shots began and the bell ringing of all Peterhof churches was heard. Then Nicholas II and Maria Feodorovna accepted congratulations, and the ceremony ended. In the evening, Peterhof and all of Petersburg were festively illuminated.

According to contemporaries, receptions at the Russian court were particularly pompous and performed with impeccable care.

When appointed to a position, awarded an order, promoted to the rank for generals, state councilors, their wives and daughters appointed to maids of honor, a special court ceremony was arranged - a presentation to the emperor. The men asked permission to introduce themselves through the chamberlains, the ladies - through the chamberlain. On the appointed day, those presenting themselves lined up according to rank, in a row, ladies - according to the ranks of their husbands, daughters to the left of their mothers, if the daughter was appointed to the ladies-in-waiting, she became with other ladies-in-waiting.

At the entrance of the highest person, a general bow was made; at the presentation, the bow was repeated. The conversation was started by the august person, when addressing in Russian they used “You” with the frequent addition of the title of the interlocutor. With a special introduction, the conversation was conducted while sitting, it was possible to leave when the highest person gave a sign to this, getting up or saying goodbye.

Men came to the performance in full dress uniforms and orders, ladies in bright waists without cutouts and hats - in the morning and in elegant dresses with a neckline and short sleeves, in headdresses - in the evening, girls - with flowers in their hair. Cavaliers and ladies took off their right glove, as it was supposed to kiss the hand of the person they introduced themselves to.

Emperor Pavel Petrovich tried to establish at court the same strict rules in observing ceremonial as in military parades. “During the ceremony of kissing the hand, which was repeated constantly, at every opportunity, on Sundays and on all holidays, it was necessary, after making a deep bow, to kneel on one knee and in this position to kiss the emperor’s hand with a long and, most importantly, distinct kiss, and the emperor kissed you on the cheek. Then it was necessary to approach the empress with the same kneeling and then leave, moving backwards, due to which those who advanced forward had to step on their feet, ”recalled Prince Czartoryski.

During the highest performance, etiquette was observed with no less care than during other ceremonials. Here is how it looked as presented by Maria Petrovna Frederiks. Her proximity to the imperial house was predetermined by fate - Maria Petrovna's mother was a close friend of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. When Maria Petrovna turned 17, the Empress demanded that the girl be presented to her officially.

The ceremony took place on the eve of the name day of Alexandra Feodorovna, December 5. In the Malachite Drawing Room of the Winter Palace, Chief of Ceremonies Count Vorontsov-Dashkov lined up the ladies in order of seniority. Maria Petrovna, having already been granted a maid of honor, was the first. When everything was ready, the count reported this to her majesty. The doors of the inner chambers flung open, and the empress entered, accompanied by the lady-in-waiting, her retinue and chamber-pages. Despite the fact that the Empress knew Maria Petrovna from birth, no exception was made for her, and Alexandra Feodorovna, approaching the ladies, turned to the maid of honor on duty with the question: “Gui est cette demoiselle?” “I, red as a cancer, was ready to fall through the ground. Needless to say, our angel empress, although she herself laughed terribly at my embarrassment, immediately caressed me and reassured me with her usual treatment and kindness towards me.

Etiquette developed over the years maintained the prestige of court life. “This is not only a barrier that separates the sovereign from his subjects, it is at the same time the protection of subjects from the arbitrariness of the sovereign. Etiquette creates an atmosphere of universal respect, when everyone, at the cost of freedom and comfort, maintains his dignity. Where etiquette reigns, courtiers are nobles and ladies of the world; where there is no etiquette, they descend to the level of lackeys and maids, for intimacy without intimacy and without equality is always humiliating, equally for those who impose it, as well as for those to whom it is imposed. Diderot very wittily said about the Duke of Orleans: “This nobleman wants to stand on one foot with me, but I remove him with respect,” wrote A.F. Tyutchev.

The audience of the monarch to private persons was of a more modest nature, however, there were also many conventions here. So, the visit of A.A. Bakhrushin to Nicholas II began with a trip on the imperial train to Tsarskoye Selo. At the station, those invited to the audience were met by court carriages. In the palace, Bakhrushin was met by the duty marshal, who escorted him to the reception room, where he gave the following instructions: “At 11 o’clock the reception will begin, they will call by name, patronymic and surname, answer only the emperor’s questions, do not ask questions yourself, the audience will last about five minutes, when leaving, do not turn your back on the sovereign.

At eleven o'clock the door of the tsar's office opened. The footman proclaimed: "Bakhrushin, Alexei Alexandrovich!" When Bakhrushin entered, the emperor got up from his desk and went towards him, holding out his hand. Thanking Alexei Alexandrovich for the unique collection of theatrical antiquities donated to the state, the tsar asked him several questions. At a quarter to twelve Bakhrushin left the office of Nikolai Alexandrovich, and the emperor thanked the guest for an interesting conversation.

Despite the fact that under Alexander III and Nicholas II there were few palace receptions, St. Petersburg remained one of the most elegant and secular capitals of Europe. Foreign diplomats were struck by the luxury at the receptions of Northern Palmyra. Holidays at the Orlovs, Beloselskys, Shuvalovs, Baryatinskys, Vorontsovs, Sheremetevs were distinguished by exquisite splendor. “Only after this catastrophe (the Russo-Japanese war. - O.Z.) did some decline in secular life begin to be noticed. However, since the 10th year of this century, it seemed that in high society they were returning to the old customs. But dissatisfaction among the rank and file, ever growing, undermined the optimism of the world, and during the great war this mood, from our first failures, turned into gloomy pessimism. The frivolous representatives of society thought exclusively about their well-being, and, looking for the culprit of Russia's failures, they attacked the sovereign, and especially Alexandra Feodorovna.

On October 17, 1905, the sovereign decided to give the country a Legislative Assembly. Wishing to raise the new institution to its due height, the deputies were invited to a solemn reception at the Winter Palace, where the emperor delivered his first and last speech from the throne before the Duma.

When the chief master of ceremonies Count V.A. Gendrikov had to deal with the reception of members of the State Duma, he created a whole commission of people who had the opportunity to attend similar receptions abroad. Heading it personally, Count Gendrikov walked around the halls of the palace, drew lines on the floor with chalk, along which it was supposed to line up the guests. “He, I remember, was very and clearly nervous: he was afraid that the deputies, an element alien to the court and palace customs, would not be able to stand in the order that they would be instructed,” wrote the head of the office of the Minister of the Court, General A.A. Mosolov.

On the day of the reception, the procession moved from the inner chambers of the Winter Palace to the Throne Room. In front of the emperor, the highest state officials carried the banner, seal, scepter, orb and crown. They were accompanied by palace grenadiers in high bearskin hats, in full dress uniform. In the hall to the right of the exit were deputies and senators, to the left - members of the State Duma, the Council, the highest ranks of the court and ministers. The regalia were carried to the dais on both sides of the throne. The royal family stopped in the middle of the hall. The sovereign received sprinkling from the St. Petersburg Metropolitan. The prayer began. Then the empress and the highest persons passed by the sovereign to the dais on the left side of the trail. The king stood alone in the middle of the hall and waited for them to take their places, then he went to the throne and sat on it. After handing him the speech from the throne, he read it out standing and descended from the steps of the throne. The exit followed in the same order, but without the removal of regalia. And the deputies, at the end of the throne speech, went to the Taurida Palace for the first meeting of the State Duma.

Count Fredericks, after the completion of the official reception, could not restrain himself from a sharp assessment of the people's choices. “These deputies are more like a flock of criminals waiting for a signal to kill everyone sitting on the government bench. What nasty faces! My foot will no longer be in the Duma.

According to contemporaries, the magnificent ceremony brought the opposite result than expected. Against the background of the deputies, who were dressed in tailcoats, who were in gray jackets and even in peasant clothes, the court, with their uniforms embroidered with gold and the splendor of the Throne Hall, caused only irritation and did not raise the prestige of the monarch in any way. It was a clash of two eras.