Peter III of Russia executes a treasonous… rat?

>One day, [Catherine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Catherine_II_by_J.B.Lampi_%281780s%2C_Kunsthistorisches_Museum%29.jpg) walked into [Peter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Peter_III_by_anonymous_after_Rokotov_%28Hermitage%29.jpg)’s room and found a rat hanging, “with all the formality of an execution,” she wrote, from a makeshift gallows. The rodent had committed treason, the grand duke explained, having devoured two of his toy soldiers made of starch. And there it would remain “for three days, as an example.” ________________________________ **Source:** Farquhar, Michael. “Chapter 6 – Peter III (1762): “Nature Made Him a Mere Poltroon”.” *Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia*. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014. 102. Print. ________________________________ **Further Reading:** [Catherine II (Russian: Екатерина Алексеевна) / Catherine the Great (Екатери́на Вели́кая)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_the_Great) [Peter III of Russia (Russian: Пётр III Фëдорович)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_III_of_Russia) ________________________________ **If you enjoy this type of content, please consider donating to my [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/HistoryLockeBox)!**