Portrait of Russian Emperor Ivan VI Antonovich, author unknown
- Years of life: August 23 (12th century), 1740 – July 16 (5th century), 1764
- Years of reign: October 28 (17), 1740 – December 6 (November 25), 1741
- Father and mother: Anton Ulrich of Brunswick and.
- Spouse: No.
- Children: No.
Ioann Antonovich Romanov (23 (12) August 1740 – 16 (5) July 1764) was a Russian emperor who reigned from October 1740 to November 1741. Ivan VI's mother was Anna Leopoldovna, and his father was Anton Ulrich of Brunswick.
John Antonovich: ascension to the throne and reign
Even before his birth, Ivan VI was appointed heir to the Russian throne. chose him when Ivan was not yet born, and his mother was only 13 years old.
On October 28 (17), 1740, Anna Ioannovna died. After her, Ivan VI became the head of state, but since he was still a child, a regent was appointed under him - Ernst Johann Biron, who was also chosen by Anna.
But Anna Leopoldovna and her husband plotted against Biron; on November 20 (9) of the same year, Field Marshal Count Christopher Minich arrested him and his wife. After the trial, Biron was sent into exile.
Anna Leopoldovna became the new regent of Ivan VI. But the new regent was not particularly interested in politics; Minich was first involved in managing the empire, and after his resignation, power went to Osterman.
At this time, supporters were planning a conspiracy. Anna Leopoldovna was informed about this, but she still did not believe that Elizabeth could overthrow her.
But already on December 6 (November 25), 1741, a palace coup took place, as a result of which Elizaveta Petrovna became empress, and Ivan VI and his entire family were arrested.
Ioann Antonovich: life in exile
Initially, Elizaveta Petrovna decided to expel Ivan and his parents from the Russian Empire. But when Anna Leopoldovna and Anton-Ulrich reached the border, she changed her mind, the whole family was detained in Riga and sent to prison.
On December 13, 1742, the former emperor and his parents were transported to Dunamünde, Ivan Antonovich was placed in the center of the fortress - the gunpowder tower.
At the beginning of 1744, Anna and Anton-Ulrich were transported to Oranienburg, and in July to Kholmogory.
In 1756, Ivan VI was taken from his parents and placed in solitary confinement in the Shlisselburg fortress. The name of the former emperor was kept secret; even the commandant did not know who his prisoner was. Only Miller and his servants could enter the room. Ivan hasn't seen people for years. Even when someone came to see him, the former emperor had to stand behind a screen. The place of his imprisonment was kept secret from everyone, including Ivan himself. Despite complete isolation, Ivan knew that he was of royal origin, and he was taught to read and write. The young man dreamed of life in a monastery.
There is also an opinion that under such conditions Ivan VI went crazy, as stated in 1762. In turn, the jailers believed that Ivan was actually sane, and that he was feigning madness.
Destruction of evidence of the life of Ivan VI
On December 31, 1742, a decree was issued, according to which all coins with the name of the former Emperor Ivan VI must be confiscated and melted down. They were gradually removed from circulation, after some time such coins lost their value, they were sold at a price less than their face value, and from 1745 they became completely illegal. People who kept such coins or used them for payment were accused of treason, for which they were tortured or sent into exile.
The authorities also destroyed other evidence of the existence of Ivan VI: portraits, church books, passports, propaganda materials, odes, etc. Not all documents were destroyed; some of them were sealed and placed in the archive.
Only under Catherine II the ban on the name of Ivan VI was stopped. Access to documents relating to the former emperor was opened only in the 1860s.
In 1913, he was mentioned on the Faberge egg for the “Tercentenary of the House of Romanov”, and in 1914 - on the Romanov Obelisk located in the Alexander Garden.
Ivan VI: last years of life and death
Despite active prohibitions, attempts to destroy all evidence of the existence of Ivan VI and his complete isolation, there were supporters of the former emperor who tried to free him and return him to the throne.
In 1762, Catherine II learned of a conspiracy against her. She returned the force to the instructions of Peter III, according to which, if necessary, force can be used against Ivan, put on a chain, and in the event of an attempt to free him, the guards must kill Ivan.
On July 16 (5), 1764, Second Lieutenant V. Ya. Mirovich, together with part of the garrison, organized a conspiracy. At that time he served in the Shlisselburg fortress and wanted to free Ivan. As a result, the guards Captain Vlasyev and Lieutenant Chekin stabbed Ivan VI, and Mirovich was executed after the trial.
The exact burial place of Ivan VI still remains unknown. But it is believed that he was buried on the territory of the Shlisselburg fortress.
Afterwards there were impostors who pretended to be Ivan Antonovich, but their attempts were unsuccessful.
Ivan VI Antonovich (1740-1764). Years on the throne - 1740-1741. Some sources refer to him as John III, taking account from the Russian ruler Ivan the Terrible; later they began to call him Ivan VI, counting from Ivan I Kalita.
He was the son of the niece of Anna Ioannovna, the Russian Empress, that is, the son of Anna Leopoldovna and Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Brevern-Lüneburg. After the death of Anna Ioannovna, little Ivan, who was only 2 months old, was proclaimed Russian Emperor. Duke Biron was first appointed regent, and then the baby's mother. Only two weeks before the coup, Ivan VI Antonovich was on the throne. The guards, commanded by Field Marshal Minich, arrested Biron, depriving him of power.
The new emperor was born at the end of the reign of Anna Ioannovna, and the empress really wanted the throne to remain with the descendants of her father, Ivan V. She was worried by the fact that the throne could be taken by the descendants of Peter I. Having written her will, she established that the throne would be inherited by Ivan Antonovich, and if he dies, then Anna Leopoldovna’s other children should take the throne according to seniority.
Anna Leopoldovna was completely unable to govern the country, and Minich seized power. But he did not rule for long, until Osterman dismissed him. But he did not hold power in his hands for long. A year later, Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter I, with the help of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, arrested not only Osterman, but also the little emperor, his family and all his associates, ordering them to be put in prison. Little Ivan was completely isolated from his parents. All the moving and separation from her son undermined Anna Leopoldovna’s health; she died in 1746.
Elizabeth was so afraid of a new coup that she ordered Ivan to be sent from Kholmogory to the Shlisselburg fortress, where he was destined for a fate: to be isolated in solitary confinement. Since 1756, the little emperor was in complete isolation. He couldn't see anyone, not even the prison guards. But he still learned about his royal origins, later learned to write and read, and dreamed of joining a monastery. Life in solitary confinement left its mark on his psyche and in 1759 he began to show signs of insanity. In 1762, Catherine II saw Ivan VI and confirmed this fact. The jailers believed that the prisoner was faking.
During his imprisonment, they tried to free Ivan and put him back on the throne. In 1764, when the Russian throne was occupied by the young Catherine II, second lieutenant V. Ya. Mirovich tried to free Ivan.
But Elizabeth, who did not want to let go of power, ordered her guards, Captain Vlasyev and Lieutenant Chekin, to be stationed at the prisoner’s cell, and as soon as rumors of a new conspiracy spread, the guards stabbed Ivan to death. He was only 24 years old. It is still unknown where Ivan VI was buried.
In Russia, immediately after the death of Peter the Great, a stage began that historians called the “period of temporary workers.” It lasted from 1725 to 1741.
Russian throne
At this time, among the members of the royal dynasty there was no one who was able to retain power. And therefore it ended up in the hands of court nobles - “temporary workers” or random favorites of the rulers. And although Russia was formally headed by the heir to the throne, all issues were resolved by the people who installed him as king. As a result of the irreconcilable enmity of Peter’s associates, one after another (Alekseevna) was in power, then after whom Anna Ivanovna ascended the throne and finally Ivan 6.
Biography
This almost unknown Russian emperor had virtually no rights to the throne. he was just a great-grandson. Born in the summer of 1740, Ivan Antonovich, just two months old, was named emperor by Anna Ioannovna’s manifesto. His regent until he came of age was the Duke of Courland Biron.
His mother Anna Leopoldovna - Catherine's eldest granddaughter - was Anna Ioannovna's most beloved niece. This pleasant, pretty blonde had a good-natured and meek character, but at the same time she was lazy, sloppy and weak-willed. After the fall of Biron, her aunt’s favorite, it was she who was proclaimed the Russian ruler. This circumstance was at first sympathetically accepted by the people, but soon this fact began to cause condemnation among the common population and the elite. The main reason for this attitude was that key positions in governing the country still remained in the hands of the Germans, who came to power during the reign of Anna Ioannovna. According to the latter's will, the Russian throne was received by Emperor Ivan VI, and in the event of his death, Anna Leopoldovna's other heirs, according to seniority.
She herself did not even have a basic understanding of how to govern a state that was increasingly weakening in foreign hands. In addition, Russian culture was alien to her. Historians also note her indifference to the suffering and concerns of the common population.
The nobles, dissatisfied with the dominance of the Germans in power, grouped around Princess Elizaveta Petrovna. Both the people and the guard considered her to be the liberator of the state from foreign rule. Gradually, a conspiracy began to mature against the ruler and, naturally, her baby. At that time, Emperor Ivan VI Antonovich was still a one-year-old child and understood little about court intrigue.
Historians call the impetus for the uprising of the conspirators the decision of Anna Leopoldovna to declare herself the Russian Empress. A solemn ceremony was scheduled for December 9, 1741. Deciding that she could no longer hesitate, she entered the royal palace with a group of guards loyal to her on the night of November twenty-fifth, two weeks before this event. The entire Brunswick family was arrested: the little Emperor Ivan VI, and her husband. Thus, the baby did not rule for long: from 1740 to 1741.
Insulation
To the family of the former ruler, including the deposed John VI and his parents, Elizaveta Petrovna promised freedom, as well as unhindered travel abroad. They were initially sent to Riga, but were taken into custody there. After which Anna Leopoldovna was charged with the fact that, as a ruler, she was going to send Elizaveta Petrovna to captivity in a monastery. The little emperor and his parents were sent to the Shlisselburg fortress, after which they were transferred to the territory and from there to Kholmogory. Here the former king, referred to in official sources during his lifetime as John VI, was completely isolated and kept separately from the rest of his family.
"Famous Prisoner"
In 1756, Ivan VI was transported from Kholmogory again to the Shlisselburg fortress. Here he was placed in a separate cell. In the fortress, the former emperor was officially called a “famous prisoner.” He, being in complete isolation, had no right to see anyone. This even applied to prison officials. Historians say that during his entire imprisonment he was never able to see a single human face, although there are documents indicating that the “famous prisoner” was aware of his royal origins. In addition, Ivan VI, taught by some unknown person to read and write, always dreamed of a monastery. Since 1759, the prisoner began to show signs of inadequacy. This was confidently stated by Empress Catherine the Second, who met with John in 1762. However, the jailers believed that the former emperor was faking.
Demise
While Ivan VI was in captivity, many attempts were made to free him in order to restore him to the throne. The last of them turned out to be death for the young prisoner. When in 1764, already during the reign of Catherine II, Second Lieutenant Mirovich, an officer of the guard service of the Shlisselburg fortress, was able to win over most of the garrison to his side, another attempt was made to free Ivan.
However, the guards - Captain Vlasyev and Lieutenant Chekin - had secret instructions to immediately kill the prisoner when they came for him. Even the decree of the empress could not cancel this order, therefore, in response to Mirovich’s sharp demands to surrender and hand over the “famous prisoner” to them, they first stabbed him to death and only then surrendered. The place where Ivan VI was buried is not known for certain. It is generally accepted that the former emperor was buried there - in the Shlisselburg fortress.
Thus ended the fate of one of the most unfortunate Russian rulers - Ivan Antonovich, whom historiographers also called John. With his death, the history of the royal branch, the head of which was Ivan V Alekseevich and which left behind neither good memory nor glorious deeds, ended.
On July 17 (July 4, Old Style), 1764, the innocent sufferer Sovereign Passion-Bearer John VI Antonovich was killed.
Brief historical background:
Ivan VI (Ioann Antonovich) (12 (23) August 1740, St. Petersburg - 5 (16) July 1764, Shlisselburg) - Russian emperor from the Brunswick branch of the Romanov dynasty from October 1740 to November 1741, great-grandson of Ivan V. Formally reigned for the first year his life under the regency of first Biron, and then his own mother Anna Leopoldovna. A year later there was a revolution. Peter the Great's daughter Elizabeth and the Transfiguration men arrested the emperor, his parents and all their associates. In 1742, the entire family was secretly transferred to the Riga suburb of Dunamünde, in 1744 to Oranienburg, then to Kholmogory, where little Ivan was completely isolated from his parents. In 1756 he was transported to solitary confinement in the Shlisselburg fortress. Ivan (who was called a “famous prisoner”) was not even allowed to see the serf servants. The infant emperor was overthrown, spent almost his entire life imprisoned in prisons, in solitary confinement, and already during the reign of Catherine II he was killed by guards at the age of 23 while trying to free him. During his entire imprisonment, he never saw a single human face. But documents show that the prisoner knew about his royal origin, was taught to read and write and dreamed of life in a monastery. The guards were given secret instructions to kill the prisoner if they tried to free him (even after presenting a decree from the empress to this effect). In official lifetime sources he is mentioned as John III, that is, the account is traced back to the first Russian Tsar, Ivan the Terrible; in later historiography, a tradition was established to call him Ivan (John) VI, counting from Ivan I Kalita.
Russian history has many blind spots and dark places, complicated plots and forgotten heroes. One of its most mysterious and tragic characters is Emperor John Antonovich (born August 2, 1740, killed July 4, 1764).
Little is known about him.
John VI with his mother Anna Leopoldovna
Monogram of John VI
His entire official biography could be summarized in a few lines. He was the son of Prince Anton-Ulrich of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Anna Leopoldovna, granddaughter of Tsar John Alekseevich. He became Emperor of Russia according to the will of Anna Ioannovna in 1740. But his reign did not last long. On the night of November 24-25, 1741, the young Emperor was overthrown from the throne, which passed to Elizaveta Petrovna, daughter of Emperor Peter I. Throughout his entire life he was in prison, where he died after a failed attempt at the “Mirovich conspiracy.”
Being in inhuman conditions, John Antonovich read the Gospel and prayed to God, although he did not have any conditions for normal church life.
The Baby Emperor who became the Martyr Emperor...
It seems that not a single ruler of Russia had such a sad fate. Of the less than twenty-four years of his life, he spent more than twenty in the most sinister prisons of the Russian Empire, guilty without guilt.
The theme of the Royal Family and, more broadly, the Romanov Dynasty attracts the attention of many historians, publicists, church and cultural figures. However, among the huge number of publications on this topic, not all works are trustworthy. One gets the impression that some authors see their task as creating a new mythology. The history of the Brunswick family in Russia is especially indicative in this regard.
Before the 1917 revolution, this topic was taboo for obvious reasons.
Although even then there were researchers who studied this topic. In this regard, we note the activities of S.M. Solovyova, M.I. Semevsky, N.N. Firsova, V.O. Klyuchevsky, A.G. Brickner, M.A. Korfa.
After the revolution, the entire history of Russia from the pre-Soviet period was banned. It was as if she didn't exist at all.
With the collapse of Soviet power, the situation began to change little by little. However, the bibliography dedicated to the Brunswick family in Russia is still very modest.
Among the works of modern Russian authors, it is worth highlighting the publications of E.V. Anisimova, L.I. Levina, I.V. Kurukina, N.I. Pavlenko, K.A. Pisarenko, A.V. Demkin, who introduce little-known documents from Russian and foreign archives into scientific circulation.
These documents allow us to better navigate the intricacies of Russian politics in the post-Petrine era. The heroes of that time also appear in a new way: ruler Anna Leopoldovna, Generalissimo Anton-Ulrich, their children, including Emperor John Antonovich.
Even the burial place of Emperor John Antonovich is still unknown. Either this is the Shlisselburg Fortress, or the Tikhvin Mother of God Monastery...
But this is our Russian Emperor, who had the same rights to the throne as “Petrov’s daughter” Elizabeth and his grandson Karl-Peter-Ulrich (Peter III).
The royal baby was separated from his parents and did not have any proper care or education. However, he independently mastered the Holy Scriptures. He prayed a lot and earnestly. I kept my fasts. He expressed a desire to take monastic vows.
Did not work out.
But he went down in history as the righteous Emperor.
The bullying of the jailers did not break Emperor John VI. He did not die spiritually. And if so, then, according to the logic of the struggle for power, he should have been eliminated! Him, the living, sane, legitimate Emperor of Russia!..
Therefore, the persons guarding John received unspoken instructions to mock him and bully him in every possible way. In written instructions they were recommended to use physical violence against John, and in case of alarm, to kill him.
The prisoner even lost his real name.
He was called either the “Nameless” convict or “Gregory” (a mocking analogy with the impostor Grigory Otrepyev).
On December 31, 1741, the empress issued a decree on the population handing over all coins with the name of Ivan Antonovich (see in the photo) for subsequent melting.
Any images of Ivan Antonovich were removed from circulation, as well as all documents where his name was even accidentally mentioned. The later falsifiers of Russian history had a lot to learn from the figures of the post-Petrine era.
Future regicides received a “safe-conduct” for any atrocities. They understood perfectly well that nothing threatened them personally. They were not afraid to “go too far”, since their bosses strongly recommended that they use it more often.
The executioners went about their favorite business: driving a person completely and completely dependent on them to madness. Along the way, they ate heartily, drank sweetly, dressed well and made a living at his expense.
And since the guards were also rare selfish people who deliberately chose a career as prison guards, they most naturally sought not only to conscientiously fulfill the order, but also to protect themselves. And so that their disgusting actions, unworthy of the honor of Russian officers, would not cause censure from their superiors, they also cried about their miserable fate and unhappy lot.
What a “monster” they have to protect! After all, they are so kind and soft. But what kind of meanness can you do “for the sake of the Fatherland” if your superiors order it!
That's what they did. With feeling, with sense, with arrangement.
And their bosses helped them with this with their detailed “instructions.”
This is where these endless inventions about the inappropriate behavior of the “mad prisoner” come from!
The guards first provoked the Emperor to perform extraordinary actions, and then, having mocked the defenseless man, described them with relish in their illiterate and deceitful denunciations.
They especially made fun of the devout faith of the Orthodox Emperor. They were amused precisely by the fact that the Tsar, who was in inhuman conditions, humbled himself, apparently accepting the feat of foolishness.
This, in our opinion, explains the “inappropriate” behavior of John VI, who combined the shocking actions of a holy fool with the depth and wisdom of an ascetic. However, the jailers could not give a correct assessment of this behavior due to their deep ignorance.
If Ivan Antonovich was insane, then why was he guarded so vigilantly? If he was insane, then why kill him?
The historical facts that have reached us indicate that he was not crazy.
Apparently, Peter III, and then Catherine II, were very surprised when, instead of the “vegetable” man they expected, broken by many years of imprisonment, they saw, although sick (where does health come from in such conditions?), but a very intelligent man who well understood who he was . It was this, and nothing else, that apparently brought the Emperor’s death closer.
The result of the story is this. In June 1764, Saint Blessed Xenia of Petersburg began to cry bitterly all day long. All the people who met her, seeing her in tears, pitied the blessed one, thinking that someone had offended her. Passers-by asked: “Why are you, Andrei Fedorovich, crying? Did anyone offend you?”
The blessed one answered: “There is blood, blood, blood! There the rivers are filled with blood, there are bloody canals, there is blood, blood.". And she cried even more.
But no one understood these strange words then.
And three weeks later, Blessed Xenia’s prediction came true: during an attempt to liberate, Ivan Antonovich was brutally killed in the casemate of the Shlisselburg fortress.
In 1764, when Catherine II was already reigning, second lieutenant V.Ya. Mirovich, who was on guard duty in the Shlisselburg fortress, won over part of the garrison to his side in order to free the prisoner. In response to Mirovich’s demand for surrender, the guards stabbed Ivan Antonovich and only then surrendered. Second Lieutenant Mirovich, who tried to free Emperor Ivan Antonovich, was arrested and on September 15, 1764, beheaded in St. Petersburg as a state criminal.
There is an unconfirmed version that Mirovich was provoked into attempting a coup in order to get rid of Emperor Ivan Antonovich. Mirovich's "revolt" served as the theme for the novel by G.P. Danilevsky "Mirovich".
Mirovich in front of the body of Ivan VI. Painting by Ivan Tvorozhnikov (1884)
The regicides received a generous reward.
From the depths of centuries the words of Ivan Antonovich reach us: “I am the prince and your Sovereign of the local empire!”
The past, of course, cannot be changed. But historical justice must still prevail. We must remember this name!
Anatoly Trunov, Elena Chernikova, Belgorod
Dedicated to the innocently murdered Russian Emperor John VI Antonovich
The flower grew among the stones,
He dreamed of the sun
About love and goodness
Quietly I cried out to God!
Was hidden from the light
The cold prevailed
That beautiful flower
He grew up on the rocks.
He wanted to surprise
The world with its beauty,
Shine at dawn
Cold dew.
He wanted, shuddering,
Stand in the wind
Substituting petals
I'll rain in the morning.
He grew painfully
I was completely alone.
And with a villainous hand
The Flower was destroyed!
Was mercilessly torn down
Without leaving a trace.
Only left on a stone
Like tears are dew...
An angel descended from heaven
And collected the petals.
Birds were screaming in the sky
From insane melancholy.
But the Flower did not disappear, -
He went to the Garden of Eden
So that someday again
Go back.
To remind you
That our world will be saved by beauty,
Teach us patience
In the name of Christ.
I fell on a stone,
I'll silently shed tears
Where that Flower grew
In that harsh land...
Elena Chernikova
Ivan VI (John III) Antonovich |
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Coronation: |
not crowned |
Predecessor: |
Anna Ioannovna |
Successor: |
Elizaveta Petrovna |
Birth: |
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Buried: |
Shlisselburg Fortress, the exact location is not known |
Dynasty: |
Romanovs (Welphs) |
Anton Ulrich of Brunswick |
|
Anna Leopoldovna |
|
Monogram: |
|
Reign
Insulation
Shlisselburg
Murder
Ivan VI (Ioann Antonovich)(12 (23) August 1740-5 (16) July 1764) - Russian emperor from the Welf dynasty from October 1740 to November 1741, great-grandson of Ivan V.
Formally, he reigned for the first year of his life under the regency of first Biron, and then his own mother Anna Leopoldovna. The infant emperor was overthrown by Elizaveta Petrovna, spent his entire life imprisoned in prisons, in solitary confinement, and was killed at the age of 24 while trying to escape.
In official lifetime sources it is mentioned as John III, that is, the account is kept from the first Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible; in later historiography, a tradition was established to call him Ivan (John) VI, counting from Ivan I Kalita.
Reign
After the death of Empress Anna Ioannovna, the son of Anna Leopoldovna (niece of Anna Ioannovna) and Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick-Bevern-Lüneburg, two-month-old Ivan Antonovich was proclaimed emperor under the regency of Duke Biron of Courland.
He was born at the very end of Anna Ioannovna’s reign, so the question of who to appoint as regent tormented the empress, who was dying, for a long time. Anna Ioannovna wanted to leave the throne to the descendants of her father Ivan V and was very worried that it would pass in the future to the descendants of Peter I. Therefore, in her will she stipulated that the heir was Ivan Antonovich, and in the event of his death, Anna Leopoldovna’s other children in order of precedence if they are born.
Two weeks after the baby’s accession to the throne, a coup took place in the country, as a result of which the guards, led by Field Marshal Minich, arrested Biron and removed him from power. The emperor's mother was announced as the new regent. Unable to rule the country and living in illusions, Anna gradually transferred all her power to Minich, and then Osterman took possession of it, sending the field marshal into retirement. But a year later there was a new revolution. Peter the Great's daughter Elizabeth and the Transfiguration men arrested Osterman, the emperor, his parents and all their associates.
Insulation
At first, Elizabeth intended to expel the “Brunswick family” from Russia (as was officially stated in the manifesto justifying her rights to the throne), but changed her mind, fearing that she would be dangerous abroad, and ordered the former regent and her husband to be imprisoned. On December 31, 1741, the empress issued a decree on the population handing over all coins with the name of Ivan Antonovich for subsequent melting. Later, a decree was published on the destruction of portraits depicting Ivan Antonovich, as well as on the replacement of business papers, passports and other documents with the name of the emperor with new ones. In 1742, in secret for everyone, the whole family was transferred to the suburb of Riga - Dunamünde, then in 1744 to Oranienburg, and then, away from the border, to the north of the country - to Kholmogory, where little Ivan was completely isolated from his parents. Long northern campaigns greatly affected Anna Leopoldovna’s health: in 1746 she died.
Shlisselburg
Elizabeth's fear of a possible new coup led to Ivan's new journey. In 1756 he was transported from Kholmogory to solitary confinement in the Shlisselburg fortress. In the fortress, Ivan (officially called the “famous prisoner”) was in complete isolation; he was not allowed to see anyone, not even the serf servants. During his entire imprisonment, he never saw a single human face. However, documents indicate that the prisoner knew about his royal origin, was taught to read and write and dreamed of life in a monastery. From 1759, Ivan began to show signs of inappropriate behavior. Empress Catherine II, who saw Ivan VI in 1762, affirmed this with complete confidence; but the jailers believed that this was just a pathetic simulation.
Murder
While Ivan was in captivity, many attempts were made to free the deposed emperor and restore him to the throne. The last attempt turned out to be death for the young prisoner. In 1764, when Catherine II was already reigning, second lieutenant V. Ya. Mirovich, who was on guard duty in the Shlisselburg fortress, won over part of the garrison to his side in order to free Ivan.
However, Ivan’s guards were given secret instructions to kill the prisoner if they tried to free him (even after presenting the empress’s decree about this), so in response to Mirovich’s demand for surrender, they stabbed Ivan and only then surrendered.
Mirovich was arrested and beheaded in St. Petersburg as a state criminal. There is an unconfirmed version according to which Catherine provoked him in order to get rid of the former emperor.
The “famous prisoner” is buried, as is usually believed, in the Shlisselburg fortress; The exact location of the burial is unknown.