The History of Russia Podcast · Damon Boar

Episode 83 - Death in the afternoon

·26 min·2 clips

At this point Peter stood up and said and now I've got to do a Peter voice I thi

The episode opens in the aftermath. It briefly sets out the wider Seven Years' War context, then leaves that behind to stay with the final days of June and the first days of July 1762 in and around St. Petersburg. The order of events matters here. Catherine's earlier messages to Peter, and to the people around him, are revisited so the listener can see how fast the situation changes once she takes control. Peter still thinks he has room to breathe. He receives Catherine's reply, insists on an abdication in writing, and only then signs away the throne, believing he will be safe and soon on his way to Holstein with Elizabeth Vorontsova. That hope does not hold. Catherine sends a small detachment under Alexei Orlov to arrest him, but Orlov first finds that Peter is not where he expects and has to ride on to Oranienbaum after following the recent flow of messages. The capture is still clumsy. Once Orlov reaches him, the former tsar and his mistress are put into a dusty old carriage and driven back to Peterhof under guard, with strict orders that Peter not speak or leave the carriage. He does not get an audience. When Peter asks to see Catherine, the request is refused, while Vorontsova is allowed to go and Peter assumes their separation will only last until they are reunited in Holstein. They never meet again. Back at the palace, Peter is made to hand over his sword, his royal insignia, and his uniform, leaving a tsar with little left. Panin arrives later. Catherine sends Nikita Panin to see her husband, and the episode uses that visit to widen the frame from arrest to the harder question of what should happen next to a deposed ruler. The ending turns darker. The episode weighs the evidence around Peter's death, including the signs that point to strangulation and the possibility that a cravat and gloves were used to hide the physical traces of a desperate struggle. Certainty is limited. The episode closes by promising to return to the political fallout later, after a State of the Nations detour that will place Russia back into a broader European frame.

As heard by us

A coup turns into a chain of messages and surrender.

This episode stays in late June and early July 1762, when Peter III's rule gives way to abdication, arrest, and a string of closely timed messages. It follows Catherine's coup and the unglamorous work that comes after it, with each dispatch, detour, and arrival placed in order.

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Why you'd press play

You want the day Peter III gives up the throne.

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