Anna was a cold, repulsive woman, whose temper it was said had been soured by the indignities suffered in her youth, and she promptly proceeded to take vengeance upon her opponents right and left. She threw herself entirely in the hands of the Germans, her chief adviser being a man named Biren, a native of Courland, and of low origin.
She banished the Russian nobles from her court, sending some to Siberia, while others were executed. She went so far in the humiliation of the noble families as to abolish the right of primogeniture. She made herself felt in the politics of Poland, and interfered in the succession upon a vacancy occurring on the Polish throne. She opposed the accession of Stanislaus, who escaped with difficulty from Dantzic.
Then she had a war with Turkey, in conjunction with Austria, which lasted four years, from 1735 to 1739. This campaign was not very successful, but the Russian generals gained the possession of a few towns, when Anna was deserted by Austria, who signed the treaty of Belgrade with the Turks and put the campaign to and end.
She died in 1740, after a reign of exactly ten years, and left the crown to Ivan, the son of her niece Anna, daughter of her sister Catherine, the Duchess of Mecklenburg.
During his minority, Biren was to be regent. A revolt ensued against the German adventurer and he was deposed and sent to exile in Siberia. Matters did not rest here, however, and taking advantage of the general unpopularity of the German faction, the adherents of Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, resolved to place her upon the throne. The infant sovereign was deposed and placed in close confinement, where he passed the rest of his life.
Previous article Next article
From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
