On 15 November 2024 the exhibition "The Legacy of Peter the Great and Coups d'Etat in the Russian Empire" will be held in the exhibition halls of the Patriarch's Palace and the Assumption Belfry, and will focus on the "era of court storms" that began after the death of Peter the Great. This large-scale exhibition project involves 14 of the largest museums, archives and libraries in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which are lending 260 exhibits.
The events of the palace coups are an important theme both for historians and for the general public. Literary works, theatre productions, films and TV series are devoted to it, not always in accordance with the realities of the past. The exhibition at the Moscow Kremlin Museums presents a new approach to the familiar theme of palace coups, focusing on the historical figures who created and inspired them.
Peter the Great died in 1725 without having time to leave a will, and the clans of the court aristocracy began fighting amongst each other. Using the Guard, the Tsar's widow Catherine I became the first woman to sit on the Russian throne. Subsequently, the support of officers and soldiers often became a decisive factor in the struggle for power and could determine its outcome.
The exposition, designed to show the complexity of the destinies of Russia's rulers, will reveal the history of palace coups, beginning with the first successors of Peter I. It reflects the palace intrigues of Prince Menshikov, Count Osterman and the Dolgorukov clan, who enthroned Catherine I and Peter II. Other parts of the display are devoted to the reigns of Anna Ioannovna, Peter III, Catherine the Great and Paul I – all of whom relied on different aristocratic clans and had their favourites.
The exhibition presents authentic pieces of the time of the palace coups, preserved in Russian museums – portraits and engravings of the participants of the events, their personal belongings, arms, guards' uniforms, medals in honour of the accession to the throne and coins, some of which were reissued from the money minted during the reign of the deposed predecessor.
Visitors can see such important historical documents as the Statute on the Succession to the Throne of 1722, the Testament of Empress Catherine I of 1727, the Conditio of Empress Anna Ioannovna of 1730, the Cypher Table – the key to deciphering secret correspondence of 1744, and finally the Act of Succession to the Throne, personally read and promulgated by Emperor Paul I on the day of his coronation, 5 April 1797.
The Moscow Kremlin Museums have traditionally prepared an extensive educational and excursion programme to accompany the project, including lectures for schoolchildren and adults, interactive programmes, guided tours and a quest.
General sponsor:
Exhibition will run from 15 November 2024 to 23 February 2025.
Exhibition hall of the Patriarch's Palace, exhibition hall of the Assumption Belfry.
For further information, please contact
Press Office of The Moscow Kremlin Museums:
press@kremlin.museum.ru
+7 (495) 695-41-87