CHAPTER IITHE "CONSTITUTIONALISM" OF EMPEROR ALEXANDER I
Rarely had an Emperor's death been greeted with more unabashed
joy and happiness than the sudden end of Paul I on the night of
March 11-12, 1801. While the Imperial family (in particular Paul's
widow and his son, Alexander, the new Emperor) experienced a grief
that was inextricably mixed with the pangs of a bad conscience, the
capital celebrated exuberantly. The four years of Paul's reign had
been well-nigh an uninterrupted nightmare for Russian "society" in
general, and for the officers and officials in the capital in particular.
The Emperor's odd caprices, manias, inconsistencies, and his outbursts
of uncontrolled rage had kept the country trembling with fear. Getting
ready for their tour of duty, officers always took extra money with
them, for Paul's dissatisfaction or sudden impulse might turn into
an order to march off to Siberia directly from the Parade Grounds. 1
The Monarch's suspiciousness in regard to his imperial and personal
dignity (too long kept insecure by his mother, Catherine II), knew no
bounds and manifested itself in the most obnoxious and silly ways. At
his approach in the street, everybody was required to dismount or
step off the carriage and curtsy; to underscore the distance between
himself and other mortals, Paul forbade the inhabitants of St. Petersburg
to harness more than two horses to their carriages. His hatred of the
French Revolution led to a meticulous regulation of dress: round hats,
long trousers, various feminine clothing accessories, reminiscent of
French innovations in the domain of fashion, were banned underheavy penalties. To prevent the spread of harmful ideas from entering
his realm, Paul closed the borders to all printed material, includi~g
musical scores, forbade the use of certain foreign words, and ke'pt his
subjects from traveling abroad. 21 See Materialy dlia biografii imperatora Pavla I pp. 29-33.
1I A list of Paul's annoying and petty restrictions is given in Memoires de l'Amiral
Tchitchagoff, pp. 25-30.