PAOLO I Romanoff, emperor of RUSSIA. — Born on 20 September 1754, died at Petersburg on 12 March 1801. Son of Pietro III and Caterina II, he was never able to forgive his mother for the coup d’état of 1762 by which she had seized power through Pietro’s assassination; he therefore fell into the displeasure of the Tsarina, who effectively confined him to the estate of Gatcina, where he awaited until 1796 the moment to don the crown in his turn.
Having ascended the throne, he made the total reversal of Caterina’s policy the guiding principle of his government: only the desire to oppose the advances of the French Revolution persuaded him not to break with Austria. An Austro-Russian army, under the command of Suvaroff, entered Italy in 1799 and defeated the French, restoring the former governments. A few months later P., a typical autocrat, suddenly reversed the course of his policy, drawing closer to France out of personal sympathy for Napoleon, and negotiated the conclusion of a Franco-Russian alliance and a League of Neutrals opposed to England. This fickleness and the extreme absolutism of his government provoked deep resentment against the Emperor: on the night of 12 March 1801 a group of officers surprised him in his chambers and compelled him to abdicate. His refusal cost him his life. A characteristic episode in P.’s life was the protection he accorded to the Order of Malta, although he was of «orthodox» religion, after the Maltese Archipelago had been occupied by France. Perhaps for this reason as well, he pursued a policy of benevolence toward the Catholics of his Empire and of respect for the Roman Pontificate.