How Emperor Paul I challenged ALL European monarchs to a duel

Several months earlier, Paul had received King Gustav IV of Sweden in St. Petersburg. They discussed forming a coalition with Denmark and Prussia, which would push England back at sea. The war had become tiresome and there was no end in sight on the European continent. In one conversation, Paul I expressed a dream: If only, in accordance with the notions of chivalry, all conflicts were resolved in a duel between the heads of state. Those gathered laughed, but the emperor was more serious than ever – that very night he asked for a letter to be drafted and distributed to the European press.

In it, he proposed that his counterparts select prominent ministers and military leaders as seconds, squires and referees for the duel. He himself planned to take generals Pahlen and Kutuzov with him.

In December 1800, the letter was published in a St. Petersburg newspaper, but only in German. In January of the following year, it also appeared in foreign publications. The monarchs of various countries remained silent, while the press discussed how Paul's plan to end all wars with a duel resembled a conspiracy. Most likely, the tsar had already been killed and the forged letter was intended to prove he was insane.

So, no one answered Paul's challenge. Or, at least, they didn't have time. A month and a half later, by a cruel twist of fate and not without irony, the emperor died… as a result of a conspiracy. Among its participants was Count Pahlen, one of the likely seconds in the aforementioned failed duel.