By Zinaida Osipova
Hardly one of the greatest but certainly one of the most peculiar Russian rulers was the son of Catherine the Great, Paul I (1796–1801). I have always been fascinated by his personality: being in the shade of his mother most of his life, Paul spent his short reign abolishing her decrees and alienating nobles, who eventually assassinated him in his newly-built Saint Michael’s Castle in 1801. Could there be anything on Paul here, at Miami University? As it turns out, the Havighurst Special Collections has three volumes of the 1800–1802 Secret Memoires on Russia: and Particularly on the End of the Rule of Catherine II and the Beginning of That of Paul I (Mémoires secrets sur la Russie : et particulièrement sur la fin du règne de Catherine II et le commencement de celui de Paul I) by Charles François Philibert Masson. The texts cover a wide range of topics, from Catherine’s favorites and Paul’s character to Russia’s financial and educational systems and its involvement in wars. In his account of Paul’s reign, Masson presents his analysis of figures of the court; however, while he tries to be fair in his memoir, his contempt for many of whom he speaks is clear. Nonetheless, Secret Memoirs offers some valuable insights from an insider to late eighteenth-century Russia.
Charles Masson (1762–1807) was a tutor of the children of Nikolay Saltykov, who, in turn, was a tutor of the grand dukes Konstantin and Alexander, the children of Paul. Eventually, Masson became a mathematics teacher to the Romanov children as well. As a liberal and a supporter of the French Revolution, he had to hide his views from the royal court and keep his educational program in check. Additionally, Paul, who had no control over his sons’ education, detested Masson, and as soon as Catherine died, he expelled the teacher from Russia.[1] His Secret Memoires were written shortly after he lost his position, which undoubtedly affected the undertone of his work. Although Masson’s Secret Memoires cover a diverse range of subjects, driven by my interest in Paul’s life, I focused on his account of the tsar’s character and reign.
An educator, Masson sees Paul’s character flaws as products of Catherine’s mistreatment, for she “morally killed her son” by repressing his good traits, making it to his list of her worst crimes along with the murder of her husband, Ivan VI, and usurpation of the throne. Masson compares Catherine’s conduct toward Paul with that of Elizabeth toward Peter III, Paul’s father: “They only sought to prolong their childhood, to perpetuate their nullity, and even to make them hate and despise people.”[2] From this brief pedagogical analysis we learn that the two Russian empresses sought to keep power by rendering their heirs unworthy of the throne and that Masson had disdain for their conducts.
Masson claims to be fair in his representation by including an account of the “glimpses of reason, justice, and sense” (such as Paul entrusting his sons with a regiment of guards, confirming the ministers in their positions and reburying previously dishonored Peter III) lest they become lost in “the heap of violence, eccentricity, and pettiness” (such as arrests for wearing round hats, changes to the military uniform and requirement of elaborate etiquette rules). “He wanted not to improve but to change” is his take on Paul’s first days of his reign.[3] The author’s focus on Paul’s edicts regarding trivial matters shows both the tsar’s fastidiousness and Masson’s desire to expose this trait of his ex-master specifically. Since Masson was expelled quickly after Paul’s ascension to power in 1796, but published his memoir in 1800, his references to the many absurdities and violence must not have been based on first-hand knowledge.
Masson gives credit to the tsar’s initial desire to answer his subjects’ letters and fix the country’s economic situation, which Paul deemed to be the government rogues’ fault. This is where the author comments that “theft is an inherent vice of the Russian government, which stems from the national character, which lacks morals, probity and public spirit.” Discussing the tsar’s punishment of court members, Masson notes that “Paul could not but hit the guilty ones as those who were about the throne were corrupt.”[4] These are unflattering comments about those around whom Masson spent many years of his life, which, unsubstantiated, imply more bitterness than justice on the author’s part.
Since Secret Memoirs was published in 1800, the author could not have been aware of the plots that would soon lead to Paul’s assassination. The timing of publication makes Masson’s conclusions, in a chapter titled “Should Paul Fear the Fate of Peter III?,” all the more intriguing. Masson argues that because Paul received a better education, has a more able entourage, and possesses better knowledge of the national character (still referring, one assumes, to the character that lacks morals), the catastrophe “is not probable: or at least it is distant.” Ironically, he also discards the possibility of the threat coming from Platon Zubov, the last favorite of Catherine; as we know, Zubov was one of the conspirators of Paul’s assassination.[5] Masson’s question and his analysis served as his claim to importance, but they also tell us that when Masson was still in Russia in 1796, there were no signs of incipient conspiracy.
Rather unexpectedly, Masson concludes his chapter with a brief paragraph giving credit to some of Paul’s good deeds, stating that “several beneficent and just traits testify that he is more of a capricious than a bad man.” Additionally, in his memoir, Masson acknowledges Paul’s superior conduct toward the clergy, mentions some of Catherine’s and Maria Feodorovna’s positive traits, and showers his student, Alexander [the eventual Tsar Alexander I], in compliments. However, in talking about Maria Feodorovna’s progeny, he does not fail to contrast the “beautiful blood” of Holsteins with the “barbarity” of that of the Romanovs’.[6]
Even though Masson must have seen much of what was happening in the court, he offers many other anecdotes that came after he left it. Hence, while his psychological analyses of those whom he knew and his account of Russia contribute to our knowledge of the period, albeit one through a former insider who had lost that status, it is imperative to take his memoir with a grain of salt, especially considering the circumstances of his being expelled from the country.
Bibliography:
Masson, Charles François Philibert. Mémoires Secrets Sur La Russie : Et Particulièrement Sur La Fin Du Règne De Catherine Ii Et Le Commencement De Celui De Paul I. [Secret Memoires on Russia: and particularly on the end of the rule of Catherine II and the beginning of that of Paul I]. 3 vols. Paris: Charles Pougens, 1800, Amsterdam: Bertrandet, 1802.
Skorobogaotv A.V., Kuanchaleeva L.Sh.. “Дворцовый Переворот 11 Марта 1801 Года (Историко-Правовое Исследование) [Palace Coup of 11 March 1801 (Historical and Legal Research)].” Актуальные проблемы экономики и права [Current Issues of Economics and Law] 2, no. 10 (2009).
Voshchinskaya, Natalya. “Воспитание Львов: Шарль Массон – Гувернёр [Lions’ Upbringing: Charles Masson – Tutor].” Французский ежегодник [French Annual] 43 (2011): 294-314.
[1] Natalya Voshchinskaya, “Воспитание Львов: Шарль Массон – Гувернёр [Lions’ Upbringing: Charles Masson – Tutor],” Французский ежегодник [French Annual] 43 (2011): 294, 296-297, 301, 303.
[2] Charles François Philibert Masson, Mémoires Secrets Sur La Russie : Et Particulièrement Sur La Fin Du Règne De Catherine Ii Et Le Commencement De Celui De Paul I [Secret Memoires on Russia: and particularly on the end of the rule of Catherine II and the beginning of that of Paul I], 3 vols, Vol. 1 (Paris: Charles Pougens), 179-180, 253-254.
[3] Ibid., 190-207.
[4] Ibid., 216-217, 250.
[5] Ibid., 253-290. A.V. Skorobogaotv, L.Sh. Kuanchaleeva, “Дворцовый Переворот 11 Марта 1801 Года (Историко-Правовое Исследование),” Актуальные проблемы экономики и права [Current Issues of Economics and Law] 2, no. 10 (2009): 117.
[6] Masson, 253-290, 345.