Free Terrible Tsarinas: Five Russian Women in Power by Henri Troyat Page B

“decision-makers” felt guilty for the tragic decline of the monarchy. Taking advantage of the general confusion, Vasily Dolgoruky chose his moment and, hoisting his sword, gave a rallying cry: “Long live Her Majesty, Catherine!” And he cited the recently fabricated will, to justify this proclamation of victory. Thanks to this intrigue, the Dolgorukys had a chance of attaining the highest position in the empire. The goal was worth a little cheating. But the clan of those who opposed that choice struck back at once: Dmitri Golitsyn stared down Vasily Dolgoruky and sharply asserted that the will was false.
    And he looked as though he could somehow prove it. The Dolgorukys, fearing that the document would not stand up to serious examination and that they would then be liable to serious charges of counterfeit, decided not to push their luck any further.
    That was the end of it for Catherine; there was no more talk of giving her a throne. Just as she was poised to take her seat, it was whisked out from under her. Pressing his advantage, Dmitri Golitsyn declared that in the absence of a male successor directly descended from Peter the Great, the Supreme Privy Council should turn to the offspring of the elder branch and offer the crown to one of the children of Peter I’s brother Ivan V (known as “the Simple”; although sickly and indolent, he had been “co-tsar” with Peter the Great during the five years when their sister Sophia had served as regent).
    But, as luck would have it, Ivan V had produced only female progeny. So that even in that case, they would have to accept a woman ruler for Russia. Wasn’t that dangerous? Another harsh debate broke out over the advantages and disadvantages of a “gynocracy.” Admittedly, Catherine I had recently proven that a woman can be courageous, determined and clear-minded when circumstances require. However, as everyone knows, “that sex” is slave to the senses. Thus a female sovereign would be likely to sacrifice the grandeur of the fatherland for the pleasures dispensed by her lover. Those who supported this thesis bolstered it by citing Menshikov who, they pointed out, had led Catherine by the nose. But wouldn’t a tsar be as weak as the tsarina had been in the hands of the Most Serene, if he had a lover who was as adept and skilful at both loving and intrigues? Didn’t Peter II himself demonstrate complete abdication of authority under the wiles of female seduction? So that what mattered, when it came to choosing whom to place on the throne, was not the gender per se so much as the character of the individual in whom the country was placing its confidence. Under these conditions, asserted Dmitri Golitsyn, a matriarchy would be entirely acceptable, provided that the individual being offered such an honor was worthy to assume it.
    This principle having been accepted by everyone present, he went on to consider the remaining candidates. From the very beginning, he brushed aside the absurd idea of installing Elizabeth Petrovna, Peter II’s aunt, since in his opinion she would have given up the success ion implicitly by leaving the capital to live as a recluse in the countryside, bad-mouthing all her relatives and complaining about everything. All three daughters of Ivan V seemed more promising, to him, than this daughter of Peter the Great. However, the eldest, Catherine Ivanovna, was known for her strange moods and crotchety temperament. Moreover her husband, Prince Charles Leopold of Mecklenburg, was a nervous and unstable man, an eternal rebel, always ready to fight - be it against his neighbors or his subjects. The fact that Catherine Ivanovna had lived apart from him for ten years was not a sufficient guarantee for, if she were proclaimed empress, he would return to her at a gallop and would never stop dragging the country into costly and useless wars. The youngest, Praskovya Ivanovna, rickety and scrofulous, had neither the health, the clear thinking, nor the moral