Year Thirteen,
Great to all of you at History Society today. We will finish off Ivan the Terrible next week. Perhaps Empress Anna Ioannovna was not so brutal, but this article suggests that she was certainly more of a party girl; as well as another true autocratic ruler.
“On March 8, a coup d’état headed by Anna’s most trusted retainers rounded up members of the Supreme Privy Council. Anna shredded the contracts before their eyes, and sentenced them all to death or exile. With the power of the Russian throne consolidated, Anna was officially crowned Empress of Russia on April 28, 1730. Empress Anna was protective of her newfound position to the point of paranoia. This led to the dreaded revival of the Secret Search Chancellery. A secret police force beholden only to Anna herself, they bore full authority to kill or torture any political opponents to the throne.”
How does all this relate to our A Level course ? Well, think about our timeline today. Perhaps repression was the only way to effectively rule this “prison of peoples”.
Mr Kydd.
