Why did Peter III abdicate power?
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Once on the throne, Peter III reversed his aunt's foreign policy, withdrew Russia from the Seven Years War and struck an alliance with Prussia, Russia's enemy. He set out to wage war against Denmark and gain back his native land of Holstein. The move was seen as a betrayal of Russian war sacrifices and alienated him politically among the military and powerful court cliques. While historically Peter's actions have been viewed as treasonous, recent scholarship has suggested they may have been part of a pragmatic plan to expand Russia's influence westward.
Peter III also instituted many domestic reforms that today seem democratic, including proclaiming religious freedom, abolishing the secret police and outlawing the killing of serfs by their landowners. He established the first state bank in Russia and encouraged mercantilism by increasing grain exports and placing embargos on materials that could be found in Russia.
There is wide speculation as to Peter III's demise. Traditionally, it has been believed that he had alienated the Orthodox Church and much of the nobility with his reforms, and that because his personality and policies were seen as so bizarre and unpredictable, these factions went to Catherine for help and plotted against him. But recent scholarship points to Catherine as the mastermind of a conspiracy to rid herself of her husband because she thought he was going to divorce her. On June 28, 1762, Peter III was arrested and forced to abdicate. He was taken to Ropsha, outside St. Petersburg, where he was supposedly assassinated on July 17, though this has never been confirmed, and some evidence shows he might have committed suicide.
Peter III also instituted many domestic reforms that today seem democratic, including proclaiming religious freedom, abolishing the secret police and outlawing the killing of serfs by their landowners. He established the first state bank in Russia and encouraged mercantilism by increasing grain exports and placing embargos on materials that could be found in Russia.
There is wide speculation as to Peter III's demise. Traditionally, it has been believed that he had alienated the Orthodox Church and much of the nobility with his reforms, and that because his personality and policies were seen as so bizarre and unpredictable, these factions went to Catherine for help and plotted against him. But recent scholarship points to Catherine as the mastermind of a conspiracy to rid herself of her husband because she thought he was going to divorce her. On June 28, 1762, Peter III was arrested and forced to abdicate. He was taken to Ropsha, outside St. Petersburg, where he was supposedly assassinated on July 17, though this has never been confirmed, and some evidence shows he might have committed suicide.
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