Jacques-Joachim Trotti, marquis de La Chétardie (3 October 1705 – 1 January 1759) was a French
diplomat
A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
who engineered the
coup d'etat that brought
Elizaveta Petrovna to the Russian throne in 1741. In the course of his eventful career, La Chetardie was sent on diplomatic errands throughout Europe: in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
(1727), then in
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
and
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
, in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
twice, and finally in
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
in 1749 in the company of
Jean-Louis Favier.
When he arrived as
ambassador to Saint Petersburg in 1739, he found all the key positions in the imperial administration in the hands of ethnic Germans, inimical to his own country. In order to counterbalance their influence, La Chetardie approached his compatriot,
Count Lestocq
Count Jean Armand de L'Estocq (; ; 29 April 1692, in Lüneburg – 12 June 1767, in Saint Petersburg) was a French adventurer and court physician in Russia. He wielded immense influence on Russian foreign policy during the early reign of Empress E ...
, and the Swedish ambassador, who was preparing the
war with Russia. Their complex manoeuvring resulted in the
coup d'etat which made
Peter the Great
Peter I (, ;
– ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
's daughter
Elizaveta Elizaveta () may refer to:
People
* Elizaveta Alexandrova-Zorina, (born 1984), Russian-born writer
* Elizaveta Arzamasova (born 1995), Russian actress
* Elizaveta Akhmatova (1820–1904), Russian writer, publisher and translator
* Elizaveta Ax ...
the new Empress.
Upon her accession to the throne, she awarded La Chetardie with the
Order of Saint Andrew
The Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle the First-Called () is the highest order conferred by both the Russian Imperial Family (as an order of chivalry) and by the Russian Federation (as a state order). Established as the first and highest order o ...
and
Order of Saint Anna
The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, on 14 February 1735, in hono ...
, and he triumphantly returned to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, rather naively expecting (and persuading his peers in
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
) that Elizaveta would abolish her father's reforms, restore the capital to
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, and return Russia to its pre-Petrine state, when the Russian diplomacy had not dared to meddle with French designs. Yet he proved to be mistaken as Elizabeth persevered in establishing Russia as a great power to be reckoned with, entrusting the task to the Austrophilic
Chancellor Bestuzhev.
In 1743 La Chetardie was again in the Russian capital, clamoring for attention from the Empress and busily intriguing with
Elizabeth of Holstein (
Catherine II
Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...
's mother) and Lestocq against Bestuzhev. Their correspondence was intercepted by the latter's agents and divulged to the Empress, who ordered the intriguer to be expelled from the country. The disgruntled
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
had him immured in the citadel of
Montpellier
Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...
. Upon his release, La Chetardie took part in the
Battle of Rossbach
The Battle of Rossbach took place on 5November 1757 during the Third Silesian War (1756–1763, part of the Seven Years' War) near the village of Rossbach (Roßbach), in the Electorate of Saxony. It is sometimes called the Battle of, or at, ...
and served as the castellan of
Hanau
Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...
, where he died.
Further reading and references
*
*Joseph Fitzgerald Molloy. ''The Russian Court in the Eighteenth Century''. Hutchinson, 1905.
External links
La Chetardie's secret correspondence online
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Chetardie
1705 births
1759 deaths
Diplomats from Paris
Ambassadors of France to the Russian Empire
Ambassadors of France to Prussia
18th-century French diplomats
Recipients of the Order of St. Anna
Court of Elizabeth of Russia