1748 he became the lieutenant-colonel of life-guards. On 5 September (NS: 16 September) 1756 he received the rank of field marshal. During Elizabeth Petrovna's reign he kept an exclusive position at court (though in his last years he was rivalled by the younger Ivan Shuvalov); in 1744, the empress visited his native village and met members of his family. Razumovsky's apartments in the Summer Palace directly adjoined to Elizabeth's apartments, and he had constant access to her. Razumovsky was not interested in politics, but he quite often supported chancellor Bestuzhev. On his advice, the office of Ukrainian hetman was restored and his younger brother Kirill Razumovsky was made a hetman and president of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Later years Before her death, the empress made her successor Peter III promise not to offend her favourites. In 1762, Razumovsky submitted his resignation and moved from the Winter Palace to the Anichkov Palace, which had been presented to him by Elizabeth. After Catherine II's accession to the throne, Razumovsky refused the title of highness that was offered to him. At the empress's request, he destroyed all documents about his marriage with Elizabeth. He died on 6 July (NS 17 July) 1771 in St. Petersburg and was buried in the Annunciation Church of the Alexandro-Nevskaya Lavra. The question of Razumovsky and Elizabeth Petrovna's children remains unresolved and subject to many legends. The best known pretenders were two princesses Tarakanova, one of whom (Augusta Tarakanova) became a nun under the name Dosifeya. She died in 1810 and was buried in the Romanov family crypt; another (Elizabeth Tarakanova) was arrested in Livorno, Tuscany by Aleksei Grigoryevich Orlov and returned to Russia in February 1775. She was then imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, where she died from tuberculosis. The legend of her being drowned during the floods of 1777 served as the plot for a painting by artist Konstantin Flavitsky (1864, Tretyakov Gallery). References 1709 births 1771 deaths Field marshals of Russia Ukrainian people in the Russian Empire Kobzarstvo Torbanists Alexei 18th-century people from the Russian Empire Male lovers of Russian royalty Princes of the Holy Roman Empire Morganatic spouses of Russian royalty Burials at the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)