Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1669, Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, the wife of Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia, died due to childbirth complications following the birth of her thirteenth child who also died. The death of Tsar Alexei’s heir 15-year-old Tsarevich Alexei in January 1670, so soon after his wife’s death, was especially difficult for the Tsar because his only surviving sons were Feodor, who was disabled by an unknown disease that left him disfigured and partially paralyzed, and Ivan, who had serious physical and mental disabilities. On February 1, 1671, Alexei married 19-year-old Natalya Kyrillovna Naryshkina, hoping his second marriage would give him a healthy son to continue the fledgling Romanov dynasty, and it did – a son who is now known as Peter the Great.

Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia (Pyotr Alexeievich) was the eldest of the three children of Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia, the second ruler of the Romanov dynasty, and his second wife Natalya Kyrillovna Naryshkina. Named after the apostle St. Peter, he was born at the Moscow Kremlin on June 9, 1672. The infant was robust and healthy, not like the sickly sons of Alexei’s first marriage.

Peter had two siblings:

  • Tsarevna Natalya Alexeievna (1673–1716), unmarried, a playwright and founder of the first public theater in Russia
  • Tsarevna Fyodora Alexeievna (1674–1677)

Peter had thirteen half-siblings from his father’s first marriage to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya but at the time of his birth in 1672, only eight were living.  None of Peter’s sisters married.  They lived their lives in isolation in the terem, separate living quarters, and were prevented from socialization with men outside their immediate family.

Alexei did not expect his sickly sons from his first marriage, Feodor and Ivan, to survive him. Only 43 years old at the time of Peter’s birth, Alexei expected to reign for many more years before Peter would come to the throne. However, on February 9, 1676, five years after marrying Natalya Kyrillovna Naryshkina, Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia died of a heart attack at the age of 46.

Alexei was succeeded by 15-year-old Feodor III, his eldest surviving son from his first marriage. Even though Feodor was well educated and had a fine intellect, his debilitating physical condition prevented him from fully participating in reigning. Throughout Feodor’s reign, the government was largely run by Artamon Sergeyevich Matveev, who had raised Natalya Kirillovna and had become a close friend of her husband Alexei.

While Natalya Kyrillovna Naryshkina was married to Tsar Alexei, her family held powerful positions. However, with a new Tsar who was the son of Alexei’s first wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, the Miloslavsky family came back to power. Feodor III held no ill feelings against his stepmother and his half-siblings but Natalya knew her son Peter was the Naryshkin family’s hope for the future and feared for his safety. As time progressed, Natalya realized that Peter was still an important figure and that Feodor III was also kind and sympathetic towards them. Natalya and her children faded from public view remaining cloistered in the Moscow Kremlin.

Peter as a child; Credit – Wikipedia

Peter had started his education while his father was still alive, learning the alphabet and numbers. When he was five years old, Peter was given a tutor, Nikita Moiseevich Zotov.  Historians differ regarding the quality of Zotov’s teaching but he remained a lifelong friend of Peter. Although initially asked to teach reading and writing, Zotov found Peter curious and interested in many things. Peter asked for lessons on Russian history, battles, and heroes. At Zotov’s request, Peter’s mother ordered engravings of foreign cities and palaces, sailing ships, weapons, and historical events. Zotov placed them in Peter’s classroom, along with a globe. Other tutors and experts instructed Peter in royal and military history, blacksmithing, carpentry, printing, sailing, and shipbuilding – all subjects Peter wanted to learn. His tutor Nikita Moiseevich Zotov stimulated his curiosity and facilitated his learning. Peter chose what he wanted to learn and, in effect, became a self-made man.

Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia had married twice but he had no surviving children and died on May 7, 1682, at the age of 20. Feodor’s death triggered the Streltsy Uprising of 1682, a struggle for the succession between the families of the two wives of Alexei I. Feodor was followed next in the line of succession by his only surviving full brother, the 15-year-old Ivan, who had serious physical and mental disabilities but nevertheless, was the choice of the Miloslavsky family to become Tsar. The family of Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, instead wanted the healthy ten-year-old Peter to succeed. The Boyar Duma, a council of Russian nobles, chose Peter to become Tsar of All Russia with his mother as regent.

To protect Ivan’s interests, Sophia Alexeievna, Alexei’s eldest surviving daughter from his first marriage and Ivan’s sister, led a rebellion of the Streltsy, an elite military corps, in April – May 1682. During the rebellion, some of Peter’s relatives and allies were murdered, including two of his maternal uncles and his father’s good friend Artamon Sergeyevich Matveev. The young Peter witnessed some of these violent acts.

Ivan Naryshkin, Natalya’s brother, is dragged out of the palace while Peter I consoles his mother and Sophia watches with satisfaction; Credit – Wikipedia

The rebellion made it possible for Sophia Alexeevna, her maternal family the Miloslavskys, and their allies to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint Tsars, with Ivan being the senior Tsar. Although Ivan was called the senior Tsar, he never directly dealt with government affairs due to his disabilities. He did, however, participate in ceremonies. On  June 25, 1682, Ivan V and Peter I were crowned in the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

Coronation of Ivan V and Peter I; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophia acted as regent during the minority of Ivan and Peter. During this time, Natalya Kirillovna received her only financial support from the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and lived away from the court, at Tsar Alexei’s former summer residence in Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow.

In 1689, 17-year-old Peter overthrew his half-sister Sophia Alexeevna. Peter I and Ivan V continued as co-tsars, and Sophia was forced to enter a convent and give up her position as a member of the royal family. Because of his young age, Peter could not acquire actual control over Russian affairs. Instead, the power was controlled by his mother and her brother Lev Naryshkin who was appointed the minister of foreign affairs and was the de facto prime minister. It was not until his mother died in 1694 and his half-brother’s death in 1696 that Peter assumed complete authority.

In 1689, at the insistence of his mother, Peter married Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina, the last ethnic Russian and non-foreign wife of a Russian monarch.  Eudoxia was brought up staunchly Russian Orthodox, basically uneducated, and with a strong dislike of anything foreign. Her future husband Peter I was the complete opposite. Peter’s mother Natalya Kyrillovna Naryshkina thought if the 17-year-old Peter married, he would settle down, and turn from an adolescent into a man.

Peter accepted his mother’s will without argument but had minimal interest in the marriage plans. He agreed to the traditional bride-show but he decided instead of him, his mother would choose his bride from among the young women assembled. Once his mother had chosen Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina, Peter made no complaint and the couple was married on January 27, 1689.

Eudoxia Feodorovna Lopukhina; Credit – Wikipedia

The marriage was a disaster from the start, although within two years, Eudoxia had given birth to two sons, however, the second son died after seven months. By that time, Peter was so estranged from Eudoxia that he did not even attend his son’s funeral. Peter had abandoned his wife for a mistress, Anna Mons, the daughter of a Dutch wine merchant. Their relationship lasted for twelve years until Peter met Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya, first his mistress, then his second wife renamed Catherine (Ekaterina) Alexeievna, and finally his successor on the Russian throne as Catherine I, Empress of All Russia. In 1698, Peter forced Eudoxia to become a nun, freeing himself from the unsuccessful marriage.

Peter and Eudoxia had two sons but only the eldest survived infancy.

Peter was an imposing person, both personally and physically. He grew to be exceptionally tall, 6 feet 8 inches (203 cm), and implemented sweeping reforms aimed at modernizing Russia. His reforms and ideas have had a lasting effect on Russia. During his lifetime, “the Great” was added to his titles.

Peter (on the left) building ships in the Netherlands; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1697, Peter traveled incognito to Western Europe on an 18-month tour called the “Grand Embassy”.  He used a pseudonym, allowing him to escape social and diplomatic events but since he was far taller than most others, he did not fool anyone of importance. In the Netherlands, he studied shipbuilding which he later used to build the Russian navy. In England, Peter met with King William III, visited Greenwich and Oxford, posed for artist Sir Godfrey Kneller, and saw a Royal Navy Fleet Review. He traveled to Manchester to learn the techniques of city-building which he would later use to found the city of St. Petersburg.

Kneller’s portrait of Peter, a gift to King William III of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Peter’s modernization reforms included:

  • Reorganizing the Russian army along modern lines
  • Establishing a Russian navy
  • Introducing French and Western dress to his court
  • Requiring courtiers, state officials, and the military to shave their beards and adopt modern clothing styles
  • Made calendar adjustments to be in line with Western Europe
  • Reorganized government agencies
  • Succession decree stating that the reigning emperor appoints a successor during his lifetime and that anyone may be named as his heir – in effect until the reign of Paul I
  • Created a new order of precedence known as the Table of Ranks
  • Compulsory education for 10- to 15-year-old children of the nobility, government clerks, and lesser-ranked officials
  • The first Russian newspaper was founded and translations of many books into Russian appeared
  • Abolished the land tax and household tax and replaced them with a poll tax
  • Reformed the Russian Orthodox Church administration
  • Founded schools of higher education: a school of mathematical and navigational sciences, artillery, engineering, and medical schools, and a naval academy
  • 4,500 new words were added to the Russian language, borrowed from European languages

Forcible beard shaving; Credit – Автор: неизвестен – неизвестен, Общественное достояние, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3741279

In 1703, Peter met 19-year-old Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya, born Marta Helena Skowrońska, the Polish widow of a soldier. Marta has a sketchy early background. After her town was invaded by the Russian army, Marta, a maid or mistress of the Russian general, traveled back to the Russian court with the army. She became part of the household of Prince Alexander Menshikov, Peter’s best friend. Peter met Marta while visiting Menshikov. By 1704, Marta was well established in Peter’s household as his mistress and given birth to a son. In 1705, she converted to Russian Orthodoxy from Roman Catholicism and took the name of Catherine (Ekaterina) Alexeievna. Although no official record exists, Peter and Catherine secretly married between October 23 and December 1, 1707, in St. Petersburg. They married publicly on February 19, 1712, at St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Their daughters Anna and Elizabeth were the bridal attendants.

Peter’s second wife Catherine Alexeievna; Credit – Wikipedia

Catherine and Peter had twelve children, all of whom died in childhood except Anna and Elizabeth:

Peter’s daughters Anna and Elizabeth; Credit – Wikipedia

Perhaps Peter’s biggest accomplishment was founding the city of St. Petersburg. Peter was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he wanted Russia to have a seaport to be able to trade with other maritime nations. He needed a better seaport than Arkhangelsk, that was on the White Sea to the north and closed to shipping during the winter.

In 1611, Swedish colonists built Nyenskans, a fortress at the mouth of the Neva River. During the Great Northern War in 1703, Peter captured Nyenskans and replaced the fortress. On Zayachy Island in the Neva River, Peter built the Peter and Paul Fortress which became the first permanent structure of the new city of St. Petersburg.

The city was built by conscripted peasants from all over Russia and Swedish prisoners of war under the supervision of Peter’s friend Prince Alexander Menshikov. In 1712, Peter moved the capital of Russia from Moscow to St. Petersburg.

Aerial view of Zayachy Island and the Peter and Paul Fortress; St. Peter and Paul Cathedral with the tall gold spire, the burial place of the Romanovs, is in the middle of the fortress; Photo Credit – By Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51488758

While St. Petersburg was being built, Peter lived in a three-room log cabin with his second wife Catherine, where she cooked and cared for the children, and he tended a garden as though they were an ordinary couple. The relationship was the most successful of Peter’s life and many letters exist demonstrating the strong affection between Catherine and Peter. Catherine was very energetic, compassionate, charming, and always cheerful. She was the only one able to calm Peter in his frequent rages.

The cabin where Peter and Catherine lived while St. Petersburg was being built; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia; Credit -Wikipedia

In 1718, Peter’s eldest child and heir Tsarevich Alexei was suspected of plotting to overthrow his father.  In 1715, Peter became dissatisfied with Alexei’s lack of enthusiasm and lackluster performance of his duties as heir to the throne. Peter sent Alexei a stern letter, urging him to take interest in the affairs of the state and threatening to cut him out of the succession. Alexei, in reply, offered to renounce the succession in favor of his infant son. Peter would agree but only on the condition that Alexei would remove himself as a dynastic threat by becoming a monk.

While Alexei was deciding what to do, he received a letter from his father in August 1716 ordering him to report to Peter and the army without delay if he wished to remain the heir to the throne. Instead, Alexei fled to Vienna and placed himself under the protection of his brother-in-law Karl VI, Holy Roman Emperor, who was married to a sister of his deceased wife Charlotte Christine. Peter felt insulted. The flight of the Tsarevich of Russia to a foreign monarch was a scandal. Peter ordered Alexei brought back to Russia at all costs.

Alexei was returned to Russia in January 1718 and Peter began an inquisition regarding Alexei’s behavior. Under torture, Alexei confessed to being involved in a plot to overthrow his father and implicated most of his friends. His mother Eudoxia was dragged from her monastery, publicly tried for alleged adultery, and then transferred to the Ladoga Uspensky Monastery where she lived for seven years under strict supervision until Peter I’s death. Anyone who had befriended Alexei was brutally executed including Eudoxia’s brother Abram Fedorovich Lopukhin.

Alexei was tried, convicted, and sentenced to be executed. The sentence could be carried out only with Peter’s signed authorization but Peter hesitated to authorize his son’s execution. On July 7, 1718, 28-year-old Alexei died at the Fortress of St. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg. His death most likely resulted from injuries suffered during his torture.

Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei about his plotting; Credit – Wikipedia

Previously titled Tsar of All Russia, Peter was officially proclaimed Emperor of All Russia on October 22, 1721.  In 1724, all of Peter’s sons were dead and Peter had his second wife Catherine crowned as Empress and named co-ruler, although Peter remained Russia’s actual ruler.

During the last two years of his life, Peter suffered from urinary tract problems. In the summer of 1724, doctors performed surgery that released four pounds of blocked urine and Peter remained bedridden until late autumn. On February 8, 1725, Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia died at the age of 52 from a bladder infection without naming a successor. He was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. A coup arranged by Peter’s best friend Prince Alexander Menshikov proclaimed Catherine, Peter’s second wife, the ruler of Russia. During the two-year reign of Catherine I, Empress of All Russia, the real power was held by Menshikov and members of the Supreme Privy Council.

Tomb of Peter the Great; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Peter the Great. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_the_Great [Accessed 20 Dec. 2017].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
  • Massie, Robert K. (1980). Peter The Great: His Life and World. New York, NY.: Alfred A. Knopf
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Пётр I. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%91%D1%82%D1%80_I [Accessed 20 Dec. 2017].

Praskovia Feodorovna Saltykova, Tsaritsa of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Credit – Wikipedia

Praskovia Feodorovna Saltykova, the wife of Ivan V, Tsar of All Russia and the mother of Anna I, Empress of All Russia, was born on October 23, 1664. Her father was Feodor Petrovich Saltykov and her mother was either Yekaterina Fyodorovna <surname unknown> or Anna Mikhailovna Tatishcheva. The Saltykovs were an old Boyar (noble) family as were the Romanovs originally. The later Saltykovs were descended from Tatiana Feodorovna Romanova, a sister of Michael, the first Romanov Tsar.

Praskovia Feodorovna had three siblings:

  • Vasily Fedorovich Saltykov (1672 – 1730), married (1) Princess Agrafena Petrovna Prozorovskaya (2) Princess Alexandra Grigorievna Dolgorukova
  • Anastasia Fedorovna Saltykova (died 1736), married Prince Ivan Fedorovich Romodanovsky, had one daughter
  • Fedosya Fedorovna Saltykova, married Vasily Ivanovich Kasimovsky

When Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia died on May 7, 1682, at the age of 20, he left no children although he had been married twice. His death triggered the Streltsy Uprising of 1682, a struggle for the succession between the families of the two wives of Alexei I, Feodor III’s father. Feodor, the son of Alexei I’s first wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya,  was followed next in the line of succession by his only surviving full brother, 15-year-old Ivan who was physically and mentally disabled. The family of his father’s second wife Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, instead wanted her healthy ten-year-old son Peter (the future Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia) to succeed. The Boyar Duma, a council of Russian nobles, chose Peter to become Tsar of All Russia with his mother as regent.

To protect her brother Ivan’s interests, his sister Sophia Alexeievna led a rebellion of the Streltsy, an elite military corps, in April – May 1682. The rebellion made it possible for Sophia, her maternal family the Miloslavskys, and their allies to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint Tsars, with Ivan being the senior Tsar. Sophia acted as Regent during the minority of Ivan V and Peter I. Although Ivan was called the senior Tsar, he never directly dealt with government affairs due to his disability.

Ivan V, Tsar of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophia recognized that her brother Ivan would never be able to truly reign because of his mental and physical disabilities. She thought if she could arrange a marriage for Ivan and if he could father a son, Ivan might be recognized as Russia’s sole Tsar. Sophia could then continue as Ivan’s Regent and if Ivan died before his son reached the age of majority, she could then be her nephew’s Regent. A bride-show, the custom of Byzantine emperors and Russian tsars used to choose a wife from among the most beautiful maidens of the country, was held and 19-year-old Praskovia Feodorovna Saltykova was chosen to be 17-year-old Ivan V’s wife. This was the last time the bride-show was used to choose the wife of the Tsar of Russia. On January 9, 1684, Ivan and Praskovia were married.

For five years, the couple was childless but in 1689, the first of their five daughters was born.

In 1689, 17-year-old Peter I overthrew his half-sister Sophia Alexeievna. Peter I and Ivan V continued as co-rulers, and Sophia was forced to enter a convent and give up her position as a member of the royal family. With Ivan being both incapable and disinterested, Peter functioned as though he were the only Tsar, and eventually Ivan became a non-entity in the Russian court. For the last decade of his life, Ivan spent his days with Praskovia fasting and praying and was completely overshadowed by Peter.

By the age of 27, Ivan V was senile, paralyzed, and almost blind. He died on February 8, 1696, at the age of 29. Because Ivan’s children were all daughters, there was no question about the succession upon his death. Peter I (the Great), his half-brother and co-ruler, was left to be Tsar of All Russia and later Emperor of All Russia.

Praskovia Feodorovna in her later years; Credit – Wikipedia

After Ivan’s death, Praskovia lived in Alexei I’s Izmailovo Estate outside of Moscow and began a long-term affair with her steward, the noble Vassili Alexeievich Yushkov who was accepted by Peter I as a member of his sister-in-law’s household. Peter’s surviving daughters Elizabeth (the future Empress) and Anna (the mother of the future Peter III) were educated in Praskovia’s household.

In 1708, Praskovia and her family, by order of Peter I, moved to the new city of St. Petersburg where Peter gifted her with a home on the banks of the Neva River. She had great respect for her brother-in-law Peter I and often served as the first lady, welcoming visitors to the Russian court. Praskovia understood the need for the changes Peter was making in Russia, and raised her daughters and held her court in a modern Western manner, which made her well-regarded by Peter.

Praskovia’s health began to suffer towards the end of her life and she suffered from several ailments. On October 24, 1723, the day after her 59th birthday, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Praskovia Fedorovna died. Her funeral, which Peter I attended, was held on November 2, 1723, at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery of St. Petersburg where Praskovia was buried in the crypt of the Annunciation Church in front of the altar.

Annunciation Church at Alexander Nevsky Monastery; Photo Credit – Автор: Gautama buddha – собственная работа, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16548438

Tombstone of Praskovia Feodorovna; Photo Credit – Автор: Shakko – собственная работа, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26602205

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Praskovia Saltykova. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praskovia_Saltykova [Accessed 19 Dec. 2017].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Салтыкова, Прасковья Фёдоровна. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%82%D1%8B%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0,_%D0%9F%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8C%D1%8F_%D0%A4%D1%91%D0%B4%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0 [Accessed 19 Dec. 2017].

Ivan V, Tsar of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Ivan V, Tsar of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Co-ruler with his half-brother Peter I (the Great), Ivan V, Tsar of All Russia (Ivan Alexeevich) was born in Moscow on September 6, 1666. He was the twelfth of the thirteen children and the youngest of the five sons of Alexei, Tsar of All Russia and his first wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.

Ivan had twelve siblings. None of his sisters married. They lived in seclusion with their sisters and aunts in the terem, the separate living quarters occupied by royal and noble Russian women. Only two of Ivan’s seven brothers survived childhood.

From childhood, Ivan had serious physical and mental disabilities which may have been caused by Down’s Syndrome or a consequence of a disease. In 1669, 3-year-old Ivan’s mother Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya died due to childbirth complications following the birth of her thirteenth child who also died. The death of Ivan’s brother the heir 15-year-old Tsarevich Alexei in January 1670, so soon after his mother’s death, was especially difficult for his father Tsar Alexei because his only surviving sons were the physically and mentally disabled Ivan and his elder brother Feodor who was disabled by an unknown disease which left him disfigured and partially paralyzed.

Nineteen-year-old Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina was picked as Tsar Alexei’s second wife. On February 1, 1671, the couple was married in Moscow. Alexei hoped his second marriage would give him a healthy son, and it did, Peter the Great.

Ivan had three half-siblings from his father’s second marriage with Alexei Nataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina:

On February 9, 1676, five years after marrying Natalya Kiillovna, Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia died of a heart attack at the age of 46. He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son from his first marriage, 15-year-old Feodor III. Even though Feodor was well educated and had a fine intellect, his debilitating physical condition prevented him from really reigning. Throughout Feodor’s reign, the government was largely run by Artamon Sergeyevich Matveev, who had raised Natalya Kirillovna and had become a close friend of her husband Alexei. Feodor married twice but he had no surviving children and died on May 7, 1682, at the age of 20.

Feodor’s death triggered the Streltsy Uprising of 1682, a struggle for the succession between the families of the two wives of Alexei I. Alexei’s son by his first wife, Feodor III, left no surviving heir. Feodor was followed next in the line of succession by his only surviving full brother, 15-year-old Ivan. The family of Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, instead wanted her healthy ten-year-old son Peter to succeed. The Boyar Duma, a council of Russian nobles, chose Peter to become Tsar of All Russia with his mother as regent.

To protect her brother Ivan’s interests, his sister Sophia Alexeievna led a rebellion of the Streltsy, an elite military corps, in April – May 1682. During the rebellion, some of Peter’s relatives and allies were murdered, including two of his maternal uncles and his father’s good friend Artamon Sergeyevich Matveev. The rebellion made it possible for Sophia, her maternal family the Miloslavskys, and their allies to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint Tsars, with Ivan being the senior Tsar. Sophia acted as Regent during the minority of Ivan and Peter and ruled as an autocrat. Although Ivan was called the senior Tsar, he never directly dealt with government affairs due to his disability. He did, however, participate in ritual ceremonies. On  June 25, 1682, Ivan V and Peter I were crowned in the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

Coronation of Ivan V and Peter I; Credit – Wikipedia

Sophia recognized that Ivan would never be able to truly reign. She thought if she could arrange a marriage for Ivan and if he could father a son, Ivan might be recognized as Russia’s sole Tsar. Sophia could then continue as Ivan’s Regent and if Ivan died before his son reached the age of majority, she could then be her nephew’s Regent. Finding a bride for disabled Ivan was easy. Young Russian noblewomen were fated to arranged marriages or living lives in isolation in the terem and they would be eager to marry the gentle Ivan. On January 9, 1684, Ivan married Praskovia Feodorovna Saltykova.

Praskovia Feodorovna Saltykova; Credit – Wikipedia

Ivan and Praskovia had five children but all of them were daughters.

In 1689, 17-year-old Peter overthrew his half-sister Sophia Alexeievna. Peter I and Ivan V continued as co-rulers, and Sophia was forced to enter a convent and give up her position as a member of the royal family. With Ivan being both incapable and disinterested, Peter functioned as though he were the only Tsar, and eventually Ivan became a non-entity in the Russian court. For the last decade of his life, Ivan spent his days with his wife Praskovia fasting and praying and was completely overshadowed by Peter.

By the age of 27, Ivan was senile, paralyzed, and almost blind. He died February 8, 1696, at the age of 29, and was buried in the Cathedral of the Archangel in the Moscow Kremlin. Because Ivan’s children were all daughters, there was no question about the succession upon his death. Peter I (the Great), his half-brother and co-ruler, was left to be Tsar of All Russia and later Emperor of All Russia.

Tombs of Tsar Feodor III and his brother Tsar Ivan V; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2017). Iwan V. (Russland). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iwan_V._(Russland) [Accessed 18 Dec. 2017].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Ivan V of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_V_of_Russia [Accessed 18 Dec. 2017].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Иван V. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%98%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD_V [Accessed 18 Dec. 2017].

Tsarevna Sophia Alexeievna, Regent of Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Tsarevna Sophia Alexeievna, Regent of Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Regent of Russia for seven years during the early co-reign of her brother Ivan V and her half-brother Peter I (the Great), Tsarevna Sophia Alexeievna was the sixth of the thirteen children and the fourth (but the third surviving) of the eight daughters of Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia and his first wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. She was born on September 27, 1657, in Moscow.

Sophia had twelve siblings:

Neither Sophia nor any of her sisters married. They grew up with their aunts in the terem, the separate living quarters occupied by royal and noble Russian women. They were prevented from socializing with men outside their immediate family and shielded from the public eye in closed carriages or heavily concealing clothing. However, it does seem that Sophia received an education from Simeon Polotsky who also taught her brothers and her father’s heirs Tsarevich Alexei and Tsarevich Feodor.

In 1669, 12-year-old Sophia’s mother Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya died due to childbirth complications following the birth of her thirteenth child who also died. The death of Sophia’s brother the heir 15-year-old Tsarevich Alexei in January 1670, so soon after her mother’s death, was especially difficult for father Tsar Alexei because his only surviving sons were the future Tsars, Feodor III, who was disabled by an unknown disease which left him disfigured and partially paralyzed, and Ivan V, who had serious physical and mental disabilities.

Nineteen-year-old Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina was picked as Tsar Alexei’s second wife. On February 1, 1671, the couple was married in Moscow. Alexei hoped his second marriage would give him a healthy son, and it did, Peter the Great.

Sophia had three half-siblings from her father’s second marriage to Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina:

On February 9, 1676, five years after marrying Natalya Kiillovna, Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia died of a heart attack at the age of 46. He was succeeded by 15-year-old Feodor III, his eldest surviving son from his first marriage. Even though Feodor was well educated and had a fine intellect, his debilitating physical condition prevented him from fully reigning. Throughout Feodor’s reign, the government was largely run by Artamon Sergeyevich Matveev, who had raised Natalya Kirillovna and had become a close friend of her husband Alexei. Feodor married twice but he had no surviving children and died on May 7, 1682, at the age of 20.

Feodor’s death triggered the Streltsy Uprising of 1682, a struggle for the succession between the families of the two wives of Alexei I. Alexei’s son by his first wife, Feodor III, left no surviving heir. Feodor was followed next in the line of succession by his only surviving full brother, the 15-year-old Ivan, who had serious physical and mental disabilities. The family of Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, instead wanted her ten-year-old son Peter to succeed. The Boyar Duma, a council of Russian nobles, chose Peter to become Tsar of All Russia with his mother as regent.

To protect the interests of her brother Ivan, Sophia led a rebellion of the Streltsy, an elite military corps, in April – May 1682. During the rebellion, some of Peter’s relatives and allies were murdered, including two of his maternal uncles and his father’s good friend Artamon Sergeyevich Matveev. The rebellion made it possible for Sophia, her maternal family the Miloslavskys, and their allies to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint Tsars, with Ivan being the senior Tsar. Sophia acted as Regent during the minority of Ivan and Peter and ruled as an autocrat.

Streltsy Uprising of 1682 – Ivan Naryshkin, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina’s brother, is dragged out of the palace while Peter I consoles his mother and Sophia watches with satisfaction; Credit – Wikipedia

For the first time since Elena Vasilyevna Glinskaya ruled as Regent for her son Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) from 1533 – 1538, a woman was in charge of Russia. Prince Vasily Golitsyn was Sophia’s adviser and favorite, and possibly her lover. During her regency, Sophia continued the military reforms of her father Alexei I and her brother Feodor III. Golitsyn oversaw foreign policy and his most important accomplishments were the Eternal Peace Treaty of 1686 with Poland and the 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk with China. However, the Russian defeat in the Crimean campaigns of 1687 and 1689 began to lead to Sophia’s downfall.

The military defeats meant that Peter I’s reputation increased. His political involvement grew and his popularity with the Russian people increased. Even the infirm Ivan V began to rebel against his sister Sophia. With Peter’s coming of age and his marriage, the possibility of Sophia’s dismissal as Regent seemed very real. Therefore, Sophia and her followers planned to assassinate Peter but he was told of the plot and escaped. Eventually, Sophia had no followers willing to take risks for her interests. She was arrested, forced to give up her position as a member of the royal family, and forced to withdraw to the Novodevichy Convent under guard.

Ilya Repin’s 1879 painting portrays Sophia after her fall from power, confined to a cell in the Novodevichy Convent; Credit – Wikipedia

During the Streltsy Uprising of 1698, the Streltsy secretly contacted Sophia and asked for her help. After Peter put down the rebellion, Sophia was forced to become a nun under the name of Susanna. She remained in the strictest seclusion with the other nuns allowed to see her only on Easter. Sophia Alexeievna died on July 14, 1704, at the age of 46, and was buried in the Smolensk Cathedral at the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow.

Smolensk Cathedral at Novodevichy Convent, burial place of Sophia Alexeevna; Photo Credit – By A.Savin (Wikimedia Commons · WikiPhotoSpace) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21361787

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Work Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2017). Sofia Alexejewna. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Alexejewna [Accessed 16 Dec. 2017].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophia_Alekseyevna_of_Russia [Accessed 16 Dec. 2017].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Софья Алексеевна. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BE%D1%84%D1%8C%D1%8F_%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0 [Accessed 16 Dec. 2017].

Wives of Feodor III of Russia: Agaphia Semenovna Grushevskaya and Marfa Matveyevna Apraksina

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Agaphia Semenovna Grushevskaya, Tsaritsa of All Russia

Patron Icon of Feodor III and Agaphia Semenovna showing the saints Fyodor Stratilat and Great Martyr Agafia; Credit – Wikipedia

Born in 1663, the first wife of Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia, Agaphia Semenovna Grushevskaya was one of the three daughters of the noble Semyon Feodorovich Grushetsky and his wife Maria Ivanovna Zaborovskaya.

Agaphia Semenovna had two sisters:

  • Anna Semenovna, married Tsarevich Vasily Alekseevich of Siberia
  • Fyokla Semenovna, married Feodor Semenovich Urusov

Agaphia Semenovna was educated in a Western manner and could speak Russian, Polish, French, and Latin, and play the harpsichord. When she was 14 years-old, Agaphia was sent to live with her maternal uncle Semyon Ivanovich Zaborovsky, who did not wish her to marry. However, on Palm Sunday in 1680, 18-year-old Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia saw Agaphia in the crowd and made inquiries about her. Aware that her uncle did not wish her to marry, Feodor arranged a bride-show, a custom of Byzantine emperors and Russian tsars to choose a wife from among the most beautiful maidens of the country. Of course, Feodor chose Agaphia Semenovna. The couple was married on July 28, 1680, at the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

Sometime in early childhood, Feodor was disabled by an unknown disease that left him disfigured and partially paralyzed. However, Feodor was very intelligent, received an excellent education, and had been exposed to the Western European way of life. Agaphia had a strong influence on her husband and played a significant role in court life. Feodor was the first Russian tsar to wear Western dress and to cut his hair and beard. Traditionally, Russian noblewomen lived in the terem, separate living quarters, and were prevented from socializing with men outside their immediate family. Agaphia openly appeared before people and often sat and walked next to the tsar, something that had never happened before.

On July 21, 1681, Agaphia gave birth to a son Tsarevich Ilya Feodorovich. Sadly, Agaphia died of puerperal fever (childbed fever) three days later at the age of 18. Tsarevich Ilya Feodorovich survived his mother by a week. Feodor III was so grief-stricken that he was unable to attend his wife’s funeral. Agaphia was buried at the Ascension Convent, a Russian Orthodox nunnery in the Moscow Kremlin where royal and noblewomen were buried. In 1929, the Ascension Convent was dismantled by the Soviets to make room for the Red Commanders School. At that time, the remains of those buried there were moved to the crypt of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

Ascension Convent, Agaphia Semenovna’s original burial place; Credit – Wikipedia

Archangel Cathedral, Agaphia Semenovna’s current burial place; Credit – Wikipedia

Marfa Matveyevna Apraksina

Marfa Matveyevna Apraksina; Credit – Wikipedia

Marfa Matveyevna Apraksina was the second wife of Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia. Born in 1664, she was the daughter of Matvey Vasilyevich Apraksin and Domna Bogdanovna Lovchikova. Marfa had three brothers who all became statesmen and military commanders under Peter the Great.

  • Pyotr Matveyevich Apraksin (1659 – 1728), married (1) Princess Stepanida Matveyevna Obolenskaya, had four children (2) Princess Natalia Alekseevna Lvova
  • Feodor Matveyevich Apraksin (1661- 1728), married Domna Bogdanovna Khrushcheva, no children
  • Andrey Matveyevich Apraksin (1663 – 1731), married Akulin Fedorovna, had two children

At the beginning of 1682, Ivan Yazykov, a friend of Feodor III, suggested that the tsar marry Marfa, expecting his situation at court to improve. Feodor married Marfa Matveyevna Apraksin on February 24, 1682. However, the marriage lasted a little more than two months. Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia died on May 7, 1682, aged twenty, childless, and without making an order concerning the succession to the throne. His death triggered the Streltsy Uprising of 1682, a struggle for the succession between the families of the two wives of Feodor’s father Alexei I. This was eventually resolved by the decision to have two tsars at the same time – Feodor’s brother Ivan V and his half-brother Peter I under the regency of Sophia Alexeevna, the eldest surviving daughter of Alexei I and his first wife.

Marfa never remarried but remained a widow for the rest of her life. She lived in Moscow, and then in St. Petersburg in her own palace, at the corner of the Admiralty Square and the Nevsky Prospect. With her skillful behavior, Marfa created a position for herself at the court of Peter I (the Great), her husband’s younger half-brother. Keeping Peter’s trust and respect, she received a financial allowance for the rest of her life and did not engage in the intrigues of political life.

Marfa Matveyevna died in St. Petersburg on January 11, 1716, and was buried in the entrance of Peter and Paul Cathedral at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, the fourth Romanov buried at the not yet finished cathedral.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agafja_Semjonowna_Gruschezkaja
  • De.wikipedia.org. (2017). Marfa Matwejewna Apraxina. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa_Matwejewna_Apraxina [Accessed 13 Dec. 2017].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Agafya Grushetskaya. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agafya_Grushetskaya [Accessed 13 Dec. 2017].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Marfa Apraksina. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa_Apraksina [Accessed 13 Dec. 2017].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday.
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Грушецкая, Агафья Семёновна. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D1%80%D1%83%D1%88%D0%B5%D1%86%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F,_%D0%90%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%84%D1%8C%D1%8F_%D0%A1%D0%B5%D0%BC%D1%91%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0 [Accessed 13 Dec. 2017].
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Апраксина, Марфа Матвеевна. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0,_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%84%D0%B0_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0 [Accessed 13 Dec. 2017].

Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Born in Moscow on June 9, 1661, Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia was the ninth child and the third but the eldest surviving son of Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia and his first wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya.

Feodor had twelve siblings. None of his sisters married. They lived in seclusion in the terem , the separate living quarters of women, with their sisters and aunts.

Sometime in early childhood, Feodor was disabled by an unknown disease that left him disfigured and partially paralyzed. Scurvy, the vitamin C deficiency disease, is mentioned in some sources as the disease Feodor had. Vitamin C is necessary for the body’s production of enzymes and collagen. The body uses collagen for wound healing and bone growth. Untreated scurvy is usually fatal.

However, Feodor was intelligent and received an excellent education from the monk Symeon Polotsky, a supporter of Eastern Slavic culture and a theologian, poet, playwright, and translator, the tutor of all Alexei’s children. Polotsky exposed Feodor to the Western European way of life.

Feodor’s mother, Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya; Credit – Wikipedia

In March 1669, Feodor’s mother Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya died due to childbirth complications following the birth of her thirteenth child who also died. The death of Feodor’s younger brother Simeon in June 1669 and the death of his elder brother the heir 15-year-old Tsarevich Alexei in January 1670, so soon after his mother’s death, was difficult for his father Tsar Alexei because his only surviving sons were Feodor who was disabled and Ivan who had serious physical and mental disabilities.

Nineteen-year-old Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, daughter of Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin and his wife Anna Leontyevna Leontyeva, was picked as Tsar Alexei’s second wife during a bride-show. On February 1, 1671, the couple was married in Moscow. Tsar Alexei hoped his second marriage would give him a healthy son, and it did, Peter the Great.

Feodor had three half-siblings from his father’s second marriage to Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina:

On February 9, 1676, five years after marrying Natalya Kiillovna, Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia unexpectedly died of a heart attack at the age of 46. His eldest surviving son succeeded him from his first marriage, 15-year-old Feodor. Even though Feodor had been well educated and had a fine intellect, his debilitating physical condition prevented him from really reigning. Throughout Feodor’s reign, the government was largely run by Artamon Sergeyevich Matveev, who had raised Natalya Kirillovna and had become a close friend of her husband Alexei.

During Feodor’s reign, many reforms were started, but most of them could not be completed due to his short reign. Military reforms begun during the reigns of the two previous tsars continued. Further reforms strengthened the centralization of the government and reduced the influence of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church in state affairs. Like his father, Feodor was very devout and also wrote some hymns. He was also the first tsar to dress in the Western style and not to have a beard. Under his rule, the Russian Empire moved closer to European influence.

On the advice of his court favorites, Feodor married Agaphia Simeonovna Grushevskaya on July 18, 1680, at the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. Feodor’s only child Tsarevich Ilya Feodorovich was born on July 11, 1681, and died ten days later. Agaphia Simeonovna had died three days after her son’s birth. Feodor married a second time to Marfa Matveyevna Apraksin on February 24, 1682, but the marriage was childless.

A little more than two months after his second wedding, Feodor III, Tsar of All Russia died on May 7, 1682, at the age of 20, childless and without making an order concerning the succession to the throne. He was buried in the Cathedral of the Archangel in the Moscow Kremlin. His death triggered the Streltsy Uprising of 1682, a struggle for the succession between the families of the two wives of Alexei I. This was eventually resolved by the decision to have two tsars at the same time – Feodor’s brother Ivan V and his half-brother Peter I under the regency of Sofia Alexeevna, the eldest surviving daughter of Alexei and his first wife.

Tombs of Tsar Feodor III and his brother Tsar Ivan V; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2017). Fjodor III.. [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fjodor_III. [Accessed 12 Dec. 2017].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Feodor III of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feodor_III_of_Russia [Accessed 12 Dec. 2017].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday.
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Фёдор III Алексеевич. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%91%D0%B4%D0%BE%D1%80_III_%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87 [Accessed 12 Dec. 2017].

Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, Tsaritsa of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, Tsaritsa of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina was the second wife of Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia and the mother of Peter I (the Great), Emperor of All Russia. The eldest of the seven children of Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin and his wife Anna Leontyevna Leontyeva, Natalya Kirillovna was born in Moscow on September 1, 1651. She was brought up in the Moscow home of her distant relative, the Western-influenced statesman, diplomat, and reformer Artamon Sergeyevich Matveev. Mateev even married a Western woman, Eudoxie Hamilton from Scotland. Because of Mateev’s influence, Natalya Kirillovna’s upbringing was freer and more Western than other Russian women of the period. She certainly had an effect upon her son Peter the Great who was greatly influenced by Western advisers and implemented major reforms to modernize Russia.

Natalya Kirillovna had six younger siblings:

  • Ivan Kirillovich (1658 – 1682), married Praskovia Alexeevna Lykova, no children, killed during the Streltsy Uprising of 1682
  • Afanasii Kirillovich (1662 – 1682), killed during the Streltsy Uprising of 1682
  • Lev Kirillovich (1664 – 1705), married (1) Praskovia Feodorovna, had seven children (2) Anna Petrovna Saltykova, had two children
  • Martemian Kirillovich (1665 – 1697), married Tsarevna Evdokiya Vasilievna of Siberia, had one daughter
  • Feodor Kirillovich (1666 – 1691), married Praskovia Dmitrievna Golitsyna
  • Evdokia Kirillovna (died 1682)

In 1669, Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, the first wife of Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia, died due to childbirth complications following the birth of her thirteenth child who also died. Nineteen-year-old Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina was picked as Alexei’s second wife during a bride-show, a custom of Byzantine emperors and Russian tsars used to choose a wife from among the most beautiful young women in the country. On February 1, 1671, the couple was married in Moscow. Alexei’s only surviving sons from his first marriage were the future Tsar Feodor III, who was disabled by an unknown disease that left him disfigured and partially paralyzed, and the future Tsar Ivan V, who had serious physical and mental disabilities. Alexei hoped his second marriage would give him a healthy son, and it did, Peter the Great.

Marriage of Natalya and Alexei; Credit – Wikipedia

Natalya Kirillovna and Alexei had three children:

On February 9, 1676, five years after marrying Natalya, Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia died from a heart attack at the age of 46. 15-year-old Feodor III, his eldest surviving son from his first marriage, became Tsar of All Russia. Even though Feodor was well educated and had a fine intellect, his debilitating physical condition prevented him from reigning as he should. Throughout Feodor’s reign, the government was largely run by Artamon Sergeyevich Matveev, who had raised Natalya Kirillovna and had become a close friend of her husband Alexei. Feodor married twice but he had no surviving children and died on May 7, 1682, at the age of 20.

Feodor’s death triggered the Streltsy Uprising of 1682, a struggle for the succession between the families of the two wives of Alexei I. Alexei’s son by his first wife, Feodor III, left no surviving heir. Feodor was followed next in the line of succession by his only surviving full brother, the 15-year-old Ivan, who had serious physical and mental disabilities. The family of Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, instead wanted Natalya’s ten-year-old son Peter to succeed. The Boyar Duma, a council of Russian nobles, chose Peter to become Tsar of All Russia with his mother as regent.

Sophia Alexeevna, Alexei’s eldest surviving daughter from his first marriage and Ivan’s sister, led a rebellion of the Streltsy, an elite military corps, in April – May 1682. During the rebellion, some of Peter’s relatives and allies were murdered, including two of his maternal uncles and his father’s good friend Artamon Sergeyevich Matveev. The young Peter witnessed some of these violent acts.

Ivan Naryshkin, Natalya’s brother, is dragged out of the palace while Peter I consoles his mother and Sophia watches with satisfaction; Credit – Wikipedia

The rebellion made it possible for Sophia Alexeevna, her maternal family the Miloslavskys, and their allies to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint Tsars, with Ivan being the senior Tsar. Sophia acted as regent during the minority of Ivan and Peter and ruled as an autocrat. During this period, Natalya Kirillovna received her only financial support from the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. She lived away from the court at Alexei’s former summer residence in Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow.

In 1689, 17-year-old Peter overthrew his half-sister Sophia Alexeevna. Peter I and Ivan V continued as co-tsars, and Sophia was forced to enter a convent and give up her position as a member of the royal family. Because of his young age, Peter could not acquire actual control over Russian affairs. Instead, the power was controlled by his mother and her brother Lev Naryshkin who was appointed the minister of foreign affairs and was the de facto prime minister.

It was not until his mother died in 1694 and his half-brother’s death in 1696 that Peter assumed complete authority. Natalya Kirillovna died from heart disease at the age of 42 on February 4, 1694, at the Moscow Kremlin. She was buried at the Ascension Convent, a Russian Orthodox nunnery in the Moscow Kremlin where royal and noble women were buried. In 1929, the Ascension Convent was dismantled by the Soviets to make room for the Red Commanders School. At that time, the remains of those buried there were moved to the crypt of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

Ascension Convent, Natalya Kirillovna’s original burial place; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Archangel Cathedral, Natalya Kirillovna’s current burial place; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Natalya Naryshkina. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalya_Naryshkina [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Нарышкина, Наталья Кирилловна. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%88%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0,_%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%8F_%D0%9A%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0 [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].

Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, Tsaritsa of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, Tsaritsa of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

The first wife of Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia, Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya was born in Moscow, Russia on April 11, 1624. She was the youngest of the four daughters of the boyar (noble) and diplomat Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky and his wife Ekaterina Feodorovna Narbekova. Maria was the mother of thirteen children including two Tsars of All Russia, Fyodor III and Ivan V, and Sophia Alexeevna, who served as Regent for her brother Ivan V and half-brother Peter I (the Great).

Maria Ilyinichna had three older sisters:

  • Anna Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya (? – 1667), married Boris Ivanovich Morozov, Alexei I’s tutor and advisor, no children
  • Ekaterina Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, married Prince Fyodor Lvovich Volkonsky, statesman and military leader, had two sons
  • Irina Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya (? – 1645), married Prince Dmitry Alekseevich Dolgorukov, statesman and military leader, had two children

Tsar Alexei chooses his bride by Grigory Sedov; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1647, a bride-show, a custom of Byzantine emperors and Russian tsars used to choose a wife from among the most beautiful maidens of the country, was arranged for Alexei, who had become Tsar of All Russia two years earlier upon the death of his father Michael I, the first ruler of the Romanov dynasty. Nearly two hundred girls were brought to see Alexei. His choice fell upon Euphemia Feodorovna Vsevolozhskaya, the daughter of a statesman and wealthy landowner. However, the proposed wedding was prevented by Boris Ivanovich Morozov, Alexei’s tutor and advisor, who had great power at court. Morozov wanted to be related to the tsar and had a scheme to marry Alexei to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, a daughter of Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky who was a supporter of Morozov, while Morozov then married Maria’s eldest sister Anna. Morozov bribed a hairdresser who pulled Euphemia Feodorovna’s hair so hard that she fainted. Then a court physician was bribed to diagnose Euphemia Feodorovna with epilepsy. Her father was accused of concealing the disease, the betrothal was annulled, and the whole Vsevolozhsky family was sent into exile.

The first meeting of Alexis Mikhailovich and Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya; Credit – Wikipedia

Morozov then introduced Alexei to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, who was beautiful and declared healthy by the court physicians. The wedding took place on January 16, 1648, in Moscow. Ten days later, Boris Ivanovich Morozov married the new Tsaritsa’s sister Anna Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, strengthening his position at court.

Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya and Alexei had thirteen children. None of their daughters married. They lived in seclusion in the terem with their sisters and aunts.

Tsaritsa Maria Ilyinichna; Credit – Wikipedia

During this time, the life of Russian noblewomen, including the Tsaritsa of All Russia, was not a public one. They were expected to live in seclusion with little contact with men. Maria Ilyinichna was mainly involved in charitable and religious activities such as donating to facilities for the poor, sick, and disabled and supporting the work of Feodor Mikhailovich Rtishchev, a boyar and close friend of Alexei who was famous for his piety and work with the poor. She acted as the protector of the cult of St. Mary of Egypt, who eventually became a patron saint of the Romanov dynasty. At that time, the only church in Moscow devoted to St. Mary of Egypt was at the Sretensky Monastery. Alexei and Maria Ilyinichna commissioned an icon for the monastery St. Alexis, a Man of God and St. Mary of Egypt.

On March 13, 1669, 45-year-old Maria Ilyinichna died of puerperal fever (childbed fever) five days after her most difficult childbirth. Her thirteenth child Yevdokia Alexeevna lived for only two days. Maria Ilyinichna and her child were buried at the Ascension Convent, a Russian Orthodox nunnery in the Moscow Kremlin where royal and noblewomen were buried. In 1929, the Ascension Convent was dismantled by the Soviets to make room for the Red Commanders School. At that time, the remains of those buried there were moved to the crypt of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

Ascension Convent, Maria Ilyinichna’s original burial place; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Archangel Cathedral, Maria Ilyinichna’s current burial place; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Maria Miloslavskaya. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Miloslavskaya [Accessed 4 Dec. 2017].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday.
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Милославская, Мария Ильинична. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F,_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%98%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%B0 [Accessed 4 Dec. 2017].

Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

Credit – Wikipedia

Born in Moscow on March 19, 1629, Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia (Aleksey Mikhailovich) was the fourth of the ten children of Michael I, Tsar of All Russia and his second wife Eudoxia Lukyanovna Streshnev.

Alexei had nine siblings but only three sisters reached adulthood:

  • Tsarevna Irina (1627 – 1679), unmarried, engaged to marry Valdemar Christian, Count of Schleswig-Holstein who refused to convert to Russian Orthodoxy so no marriage took place
  • Tsarevna Pelagia (1628 – 1629)
  • Tsarevna Anna (1630 – 1692), unmarried
  • Tsarevna Marfa (1631 – 1632)
  • Tsarevich Ivan (1633 – 1639)
  • Tsarevna Sophia (1634 – 1636)
  • Tsarevna Tatiana (1636 – 1706), unmarried
  • Tsarevna Eudoxia (born and died 1637)
  • Tsarevich Vasili (born and died 1639)

Until he was five years old, Alexei stayed in the terem, the separate living quarters for women. During the 17th century, it was customary for noble and royal women to be confined in separate quarters and to be prevented from socializing with men outside their immediate family. In addition, when in public, women were shielded in closed carriages or heavily concealing clothing. At the age of five, Alexei began his education with his tutor Boris Ivanovich Morozov.  Morozov taught Alexei how to read and write and oversaw his education in the liturgy and rituals of the Russian Orthodox Church. At that time, princes traditionally received only a cursory education but under Morozov, Alexei received a formal education unlike that of any other Moscow prince. He studied foreign languages, science, military strategies, and tactics. His education helped blaze the trail for his son Peter the Great’s Western education and the reforms of his reign.

Alexei’s father died on July 12, 1645, and the sixteen-year-old became the second Tsar of All Russia from the Romanov dynasty. With his accession to the throne, the young Alexei had to deal with many issues that concerned Russian life in the 17th century. Not yet prepared to resolve these kinds of issues, he initially listened to the opinion of his tutor Morozov but soon he began to take an independent part in the affairs of government.

Tsar Alexei chooses his bride by Grigory Sedov; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1647, a bride-show, a custom of Byzantine emperors and Russian tsars used to choose a wife from among the most beautiful maidens of the country, was arranged for Alexei, who had become Tsar of All Russia two years earlier upon the death of his father Michael I, the first ruler of the Romanov dynasty. Nearly two hundred girls were brought to see Alexei. His choice fell upon Euphemia Feodorovna Vsevolozhskaya, the daughter of a statesman and wealthy landowner. However, the proposed wedding was prevented by Morozov, Alexei’s tutor and advisor, who had great power at court. Morozov wanted to be related to the tsar and had a scheme to marry Alexei to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, a daughter of Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky who was a supporter of Morozov, while Morozov then married Maria’s eldest sister Anna. Morozov bribed a hairdresser who pulled Euphemia Feodorovna’s hair so hard that she fainted. Then a bribed court physician diagnosed Euphemia Feodorovna with epilepsy. Her father was accused of concealing the disease, the betrothal was annulled, and the whole Vsevolozhsky family was sent into exile.

The first meeting of Alexei Mikhailovich and Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya; Credit – Wikipedia

Morozov then introduced Alexei to Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, who was beautiful and declared healthy by the court physicians. The wedding took place on January 16, 1648, in Moscow. Ten days later, Boris Ivanovich Morozov married the new Tsaritsa’s sister Anna Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya, strengthening his position at court.

Alexei and his first wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya had thirteen children. None of their daughters married. They lived in seclusion in the terem with their sisters and aunts.

Alexei’s government increased the suppression of peasants and increased tax burdens, which led to city uprisings in Moscow, Tomsk, Pskov, and Novgorod. In 1648, the people of Moscow rebelled against a new tax on salt. The Salt Riot was an early challenge to the reign of Alexei I, eventually resulting in the temporary exile of Alexei’s advisor Boris Morozov who later regained some of his power. In 1649, as a result of the city uprisings, the Sobornoye Ulozheniye, a legal code that consolidated Russia’s slaves and free peasants into a new hereditary serf class, was established. In addition, travel between towns without an internal passport was prohibited and the Russian nobility agreed to serve in the army but were granted the exclusive privilege of owning serfs.

Salt Riot on Red Square, by Ernest Lissner; Credit – Wikipedia

By 1651, the 22-year-old Alexei no longer needed a “parental” advisor as Morozov had been. He needed an advisor who was also a friend and he found this in Nikon, at that time Metropolitan (Bishop) of Novgorod. In 1646, Nikon had come to Moscow to pay homage to the young tsar. Alexei, who was very pious, was impressed with Nikon and appointed him archimandrite (prior) of the Novospassky Monastery in Moscow traditionally associated with the House of Romanov. In 1652, began Nikon was elected Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. He then began to exert a direct influence on state affairs, particularly in foreign relations. Although Nikon did advise Alexei, his more important role was that of a colleague and friend to him. This relationship was positive for a while but eventually soured.

Patriarch Nikon; Credit – Wikipedia

Nikon and Alexei’s different views regarding the relationship between church and state caused a dispute that affected their relationship. In addition, Nikon introduced many reforms in the Russian Orthodox Church which eventually led to a lasting schism known as Raskol, the splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church into an official church and the Old Believers. In 1666, Alexei convened the Great Moscow Synod to address the problems caused by Nikon. The synod agreed to formally depose Nikon. He was to be known as the monk Nikon and was sent to a monastery in northern Russia.

During his reign, Alexei continued the reform of the army which started during his father’s reign. New regiments were created using the organizational system of Western Europe: Cavalry, Soldiers, Dragoons, and Hussars. To fulfill the military reform goals, a large number of European military specialists were hired for service. Two major wars were fought during Alexei’s reign: the Russo-Polish War (1654-67) which ended with significant Russian territorial gains and marked the beginning of the rise of Russia as a great power in Eastern Europe, and the Russo-Swedish War (1656–58) which was unsuccessful.

In 1669, Alexei’s wife Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya died due to childbirth complications following the birth of her thirteenth child who also died. The death of Alexei’s heir 15-year-old Tsarevich Alexei in January 1670, so soon after his wife’s death, was especially difficult for Alexei because his only surviving sons were the future Tsars, Feodor III, who was disabled by an unknown disease which left him disfigured and partially paralyzed, and Ivan V, who had serious physical and mental disabilities.

Marriage of Alexei and Natalya; Credit – Wikipedia

Nineteen-year-old Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, daughter of Kirill Poluektovich Naryshkin and his wife Anna Leontyevna Leontyeva, was picked as Alexei’s second wife during a bride-show. On February 1, 1671, the couple was married in Moscow. Alexei hoped his second marriage would give him a healthy son, and it did, Peter the Great.

Alexei and his second wife Nataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina had three children:

On February 8, 1676, five years after marrying Natalya Kiillovna, Alexei I, Tsar of All Russia died of a heart attack at the age of 46. He was buried in the Cathedral of the Archangel in the Moscow Kremlin.

Tombs of (from left to right) Tsar Alexei I, Alexei’s son Tsarevich Alexei, Tsar Michael I and Michael’s infant sons Vasily and Ivan; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • De.wikipedia.org. (2017). Alexei I. (Russland). [online] Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_I._(Russland) [Accessed 9 Dec. 2017].
  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Alexis of Russia. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_of_Russia [Accessed 9 Dec. 2017].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Алексей Михайлович. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%9C%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87 [Accessed 9 Dec. 2017].

Eudoxia Lukyanovna Streshneva, Tsaritsa of All Russia

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2018

Eudoxia Lukyanovna Streshneva, Tsaritsa of All Russia; Credit – Wikipedia

Eudoxia Lukyanovna Streshneva was the second wife of the first Romanov ruler, Michael I, Tsar of All Russia. She was probably born in 1608 in Meshchovsk, Kaluga, Russia, the eldest of the five children of Lukyan Stepanovich Streshnev and Princess Anne Konstantinovna Volkonskaya.

Eudoxia had four siblings:

  • Maria Anna Lukyanovna Streshneva (died 1635), married Prince Alexei Ivanovich Vorotynsky
  • Feodosya Lukyanovna Streshneva, married Ivan Pavlovich Matyushkin
  • Stepan Lukyanovich Streshnev (died 1666), married Princess Maria Alekseevna Lykova
  • Irina Lukyanovna Streshneva, married Elizar Chebukov

Mikhail Fyodorovich Choosing His Bride, by Ilya Repin; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1624, Michael I, Tsar of All Russia married Maria Vladimirovna Dolgorukova but she died four months after the wedding. The following year, Michael ordered a bride-show, a custom of Byzantine emperors and Russian tsars to choose a wife from among the most beautiful maidens of the country. Sixty young Russian women were assembled but Michael did not like any of them. Eudoxia Lukyanovna Streshneva had accompanied one of the sixty women. Michael’s parents forced him to make a choice but he called for an examination of all the unmarried women present. He chose Eudoxia for her beauty, courtesy, and gentle temper.

On February 5, 1626, Michael and Eudoxia were married at the Annunciation Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

Wedding of Michael and Eudoxia; Credit – Wikipedia

Michael and Eudoxia wife had ten children, but only four reached adulthood:

Eudoxia’s life under the watchful eye of her powerful mother-in-law who dominated the court, the nun Marfa, was not easy. Marfa was ever-present, always accompanying Eudoxia. Eudoxia’s life was concerned with childbearing to continue the new Romanov dynasty and there was much pressure on her to produce a son, especially after her first two children turned out to be girls. Eudoxia became the founder of many charitable institutions that helped the poor and the church. In 1642, she made a large contribution to fund the restoration of St. George Monastery in her birthplace.

Michael I, Tsar of All Russia died in Moscow on July 23, 1645, at the age of 49. Consumed by grief over her husband’s death, Eudoxia survived him by only a few weeks, dying on August 18, 1645, at the age of 36. She was buried at the Ascension Convent, a Russian Orthodox nunnery in the Moscow Kremlin where royal and noblewomen were buried. In 1929, the Ascension Convent was dismantled by the Soviets to make room for the Red Commanders School. At that time, the remains of those buried there were moved to the crypt of the Archangel Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin.

Ascension Convent, Eudoxia’s original burial place; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Archangel Cathedral, Eudoxia’s current burial place; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Romanov Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Works Cited

  • En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Eudoxia Streshneva. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eudoxia_Streshneva [Accessed 26 Nov. 2017].
  • Lincoln, W. Bruce. (1981). The Romanovs: Autocrats of  All the Russias. New York, NY.: Doubleday.
  • Ru.wikipedia.org. (2017). Стрешнева, Евдокия Лукьяновна. [online] Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%88%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B0,_%D0%95%D0%B2%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%9B%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%8C%D1%8F%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0 [Accessed 26 Nov. 2017].