March 23, 1801.. the day Tsar Paul I was strangled by his officers

The French magazine Le Point said that, on this day, March 23, 1801, at midnight, Generals Leonce Bennigsen and Yachviel, followed by dozens of officers, entered the palace of Saint-Michel, where Caesar Paul I was;

They want to assassinate him, and they are half drunk because they drank too much champagne to encourage themselves.

In a report by Frédéric Luino and Gwendolyn dos Santos, the magazine explained that the two generals and their henchmen arrived at the door of the Caesar's bedroom after they killed the guard at the door with a sword stroke, and the ceremonial man also met the same fate when he opened the antechamber door.

The conspirators looked at each other for the last time before entering the Caesar's apartment, but Paul I - who was alerted by the chaos - tried to escape through a secret hatch that leads to his wife's apartment, but he found it - his unfortunate moment - closed. The conspirators claim that "the bird has flown out of the nest".

But General Bennigsen, noticing the warmth of the bed, ordered a search into the room, and, seeing the Kaiser's feet sticking out from under the curtain, exclaimed, "He's here."

The conspirators dragged the tsar before a table, and General Zubov asked him to sign an abdication that he had prepared for him in advance, but Paul I, despite his fear, refused to sign, saying, "No. No. I will not sign." The conspirators insisted on the necessity of signing, but he confirmed his refusal.

It was a matter of haste, for a commotion began to be heard in the rest of the palace, and Bennigsen drew his sword, and addressed the Kaiser again, saying, "Lord, you are my captive, and your covenant is over. You must sign at once a contract of abdication in favor of the Grand Duke Alexander."

Paul's first vanity was excessive and he had sudden tantrums, as well as suffering from paranoia that frightened those around him, for he said: "There is no important person in Russia except whom I speak to, and only when I speak with him."

crazy era

The report indicated that this group of men were encouraged to assassinate the son of Catherine II, Queen of Russia, because they saw him as a danger to the country, as he had shown strange whims since he ascended the throne in 1797, and to take revenge on his mother, who wanted to make her grandson Alexander her heir, he began to destroy everything His daughter during her reign, he also decided to humiliate nobles whom he considered corrupt and decadent.

Thus, he prohibited the waltz as being too daring, and prohibited the wearing of shorts, high-heeled shoes, and round hats, as well as the use of certain words such as "citizen", "club", "society" and "revolution", because he was afraid to the point of panic from disturbances such as those brought about by the French Revolution.

This tsar dismissed competent ministers without any justification, ordered an invasion of India, and, besides his excessive vanity, sudden outbursts of rage, and the paranoia that frightened those around him, said, "There is no important person in Russia but whom I speak to, and only when I speak with him."

Therefore, the Russian aristocracy, after 4 years of crazy rule, wanted to get rid of this crazy man.

Count Pierre-Alexander Bahlin, governor of Saint Petersburg, General Bennigsen, originally from Hanover, and the Zubov brothers returning from exile, planned a conspiracy in which about 50 officers and aristocrats joined, seeking to get rid of the Tsar and crown his son Alexander, who knows about the plot, but he agreed to it on the condition to preserve the life of mother.

After the crime was completed, the conspirators left to announce that Caesar had died suddenly of a stroke

It's too late to back off

Tsar Paul I took the abdication document from Bennigsen's hand, but instead of signing it, he destroyed it with his own hands before throwing it to the ground. Then Prince Platon Zubov shouted, "You're no longer Tsar. Alexander is our king." The rebels were stunned, some even wanting to flee, had they not been obstructed by Bennigsen, at a time when the sound of guns began to draw nearer and nearer to the bedroom.

General Yashvili said, "Now it's too late to retreat, Emir (Zubov), enough talk. Now he will sign what you want, or tomorrow our heads will roll."

They had to go to the end: assassinate the screaming tsar in self-defense, and at last Zubov grabbed a can of pure gold and struck Paul I, who fell to the ground unconscious.

Panic arose among the rebels, some rushed to Zubov to grab the sword that was in his hand, while others threw Paul I on the bed unconscious, but a guard named Yakov Skaryatin finished him off by strangling him with a scarf, Bennigsen later claimed that he left the room during the assassination to bring A flame when the one in the room went out inadvertently.

After the crime was completed, the conspirators left to announce that the tsar had died suddenly of a stroke, and had Nicholas Zubov instructed to inform Alexander in his room that from now on he had become the new tsar. She refused to pledge allegiance to her son when she regained consciousness, before surrendering to the fait accompli.

Then Alexander went to his father's room, and when he lifted the hat that hides his face, the injury astonished him, then his mother turned to him with deep sadness, saying, "Blessed are you, today you are the new Tsar." And upon hearing her, Alexander collapsed to the ground unconscious.