Peter III of Russia (Person) AKA Karl Peter Ulrich, Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp
Peter III of Russia
1728 AD - 1762 AD
AKA Karl Peter Ulrich, Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp
- Emperor of Russia for 6 months in 1762 before coup by his wife Catherine the Great
The classical view of Peter's character is mainly drawn out of the memoirs of his wife and successor. She described him as an "idiot", "drunkard from Holstein" and "good-for-nothing"; this portrait of Peter can be found in most history books, including 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica:
Nature had made him mean, the smallpox had made him hideous, and his degraded habits made him loathsome. And Peter had all the sentiments of the worst kind of small German prince of the time. He had the conviction that his princeship entitled him to disregard decency and the feelings of others. He planned brutal practical jokes, in which blows had always a share. His most manly taste did not rise above the kind of military interest which has been defined as "corporal's mania," the passion for uniforms, pipeclay, buttons, the "tricks of parade and the froth of discipline." He detested the Russians, and surrounded himself with Holsteiners.
- Spouse
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08/21/1745 AD
- Issue
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10/01/1754 AD
- Parents