January 6 — by decree of Paul I, the construction of St. Isaac’s Cathedral, which had been built to a design by Antonio Rinaldi, was halted, and all the marble and other building materials began to be transported to the Mikhailovsky (St. Michael’s) Castle then under construction. Later, work was resumed under a cheaper and inferior project drawn up by Vincenzo Brenna.
January 24 — Paul I issued a decree banning “German dress” and round hats. “Immediately announce in the city, with the utmost strictness, that apart from three-cornered hats and ordinary round caps, no one is to wear any others.” Those guilty of violating the decree were ordered to be taken into custody.
April 5 — in Moscow, the first joint coronation of an emperor and an empress was performed upon the accession of Emperor Paul I; he was also the first of the sovereigns who, before the ceremonial entry into Moscow, stopped at the Petrovsky Palace built by Catherine II. At the Coronation, Emperor Paul put on a dalmatic, and only then the porphyry mantle. After the completion of the coronation, the emperor sat on the throne and, placing the regalia on cushions, summoned the empress to him; she knelt before him. Removing his crown, he touched it to the empress’s head and then placed the crown back on himself; then a smaller crown was brought, which the emperor placed on the empress’s head. On the same day, the emperor issued the “Manifesto on the Three-Day Corvée,” which limited corvée labor to three days a week and forbade landowners to force peasants to work on Sundays. A Manifesto on Succession to the Throne was also issued: Russia adopted the Austrian system of succession — from father to son, or to a brother.
Under Catherine II, abuses in the sphere of military service flourished widely. Nobles enrolled their sons in regiments as privates immediately upon birth, obtained leave for them “for education,” and by the age of 14–16 these minors received officer ranks. The quality of the officer corps declined sharply. For example, with 3.5 thousand privates in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, there were 6 thousand non-commissioned officers on the rolls, of whom no more than 100 were actually in formation.
After ascending the throne, Paul I decisively and harshly broke the corrupt practice of fictitious service by nobles’ children. From 1797, only graduates of cadet classes and schools, and noble NCOs who had served at least three years, could be commissioned as officers. NCOs of non-noble origin could receive an officer’s rank after 12 years of service.
March 28 — in the United States, Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire patented the first washing machine, a wooden box with a movable frame.