The Palace Coup of 1725: Some Historical Aspects; Дворцовый переворот 1725 года: некоторые исторические аспекты

This study is dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the first palace coup in the Russian Empire in the 18th century, which marked the beginning of a period called the era of palace coups by historians. The materials of the work were the works of pre-revolutionary (S.M. Solovyov, V.O. Klyuchevsky, N.I. Kostomarov, K.N. Arsenyev, N.A. Belozerskaya, Ya.K. Grot, etc.) and modern historians (N.I. Pavlenko, I.V. Kurukin, M.M. Istomina, etc.). Historiographical, historical-genetic, historical-comparative, historical-systemic and other methods were used as methods. The coup of 1725, to the credit of its participants, turned out to be quiet: the parties did not shed each other's blood, but peacefully agreed with each other, dividing the spheres of influence. Two influential groups fought for power: hereditary aristocrats led by Prince D.M. Golitsyn and low-class Petrovsky nobles led by Field Marshal A.D. Menshikov. Having lured the guard and influential officials to their side, Menshikov and Ekaterina were able to seize power and force the leadership of the main administrative bodies of the empire to swear allegiance to themselves. Despite its peaceful nature, the coup of 1725 had very far-reaching consequences, beginning the so-called era of palace coups, the end of which is usually dated to 1762 and the accession of Catherine II to the throne. However, it would be fair to call the upper chronological boundary the year 1801, when Paul I was assassinated and Alexander I came to power. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.