Elizabeth of Russia
Elizabeth
Empress and Autocrat of All the Russias
Portrait painted by Charles van Loo
Reign
December 6, 1741–January 5,
1762
Coronation March 6, 1742
Predecessor
Ivan VI
Successor
Peter III
Spouse
Alexey Razumovsky
Father
Peter I
Mother
Catherine I
Born
December 29, 1709(1709-12-29)
Kolomenskoye
Died
January 5, 1762 (aged 52)
Elizaveta Petrovna
(Russian: Елизаве́та
(Елисаве́т) Петро́вна) (December 29, 1709 –
January 5, 1762 (New Style); December 18,
1709 – December 25, 1761 (Old Style)), also
known as Yelisavet and Elizabeth, was an
Empress of Russia (1741–1762) who took the
country into the War of Austrian Succession
(1740–1748) and the Seven Years’ War (1756
– 1763). On the eve of her death in 1762, the
Russian empire spanned almost 4 billion
acres
(more
than 16 million
squared
kilometres).
Her domestic policies allowed the nobles
to gain dominance in local government while
shortening their terms of service to the state.
She encouraged Lomonosov’s establishment
of the University of Moscow and Shuvalov’s
foundation of the Academy of Fine Arts in
Saint Petersburg. She also spent exorbitant
sums of money on the grandiose baroque pro-
jects of her favourite architect, Bartolomeo
Rastrelli,
particularly
in
Peterhof
and
Tsarskoye Selo. The Winter Palace and the
Smolny Cathedral remain the chief monu-
ments of her reign in Saint Petersburg. Gen-
erally, she was one of the best loved Russian
monarchs, because she did not allow Ger-
mans in the government and not one person
was executed during her reign.[1]
Life before becoming
Empress
Elizabeth,
the second-oldest daughter of
Peter the Great and Catherine I of Russia,
was born at Kolomenskoye, near Moscow, on
December 18, 1709 (O.S.).[2] Her parents
were secretly married in the Cathedral of the
Holy Trinity in St.Petersburg in November
1707.[3] The marriage was made public in
February 1712.[4] As her parents were not
publicly acknowledged as being married at
the
time
of
her
birth,
Elizabeth’s
’illegitimacy’ would be used by political op-
ponents to c