Paul I of Russia

Paul I of Russia (Russian: Pavel Petrovich, ????? I ????????) (October 1, 1754 - March 23, 1801) was an Emperor (Tsar) of Russia (1796 - 1801).

Assassination

A conspiracy was organized—some months before it was executed—by Counts Pahlen, Panin, and a half-Spanish, half-Neapolitan adventurer named Admiral Ribas. The death of Ribas delayed the execution. On the night of the March 23 1801, Paul was murdered in his bedroom in the St Michael Palace by a band of dismissed officers headed by General Bennigsen, a Hanoverian in the Russian service. They burst into his bedroom after supping together and when flushed with drink. The conspirators forced him to the table, and tried to compel him to sign his abdication. Paul offered some resistance, and one of the assassins struck him with a sword, and he was then strangled and trampled to death. He was succeeded by his son, the Emperor Alexander I, who was actually in the palace, and to whom general Nicholas Zubov, one of the assassins, announced his accession.

Related Topics:
March 23 - 1801 - General Bennigsen - Hanover - Alexander I - Nicholas Zubov

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