1725-1727 Empress of Russia.
She was the first Empress of Russia, following her husband Peter the Great. During her very short rule Peter I’s reforms were generally continued.
Background
Lived: 1684-1727.
The life of Marta Skowronska was a true Cinderella story. She was an orphan and worked as a housemaid in Marienburg. After the town fell to the Russians, Sheremetev took her to Moscow to work in the guard regiment laundry.
From Sheremetev she was passed on to Menshikov to be his mistress. Some time after Peter the Great met her in 1703, he took her as his own mistress. They married secretly in 1707. In 1724, Catherine was crowned as co-ruler.
Family
Catherine is said to have been a perfect wife for Peter, as she had a calming effect on him when he fell into one of his frequent fits of rage. They had 12 children, of whom only Elizabeth and Anna Petrovna survived.
Their relationship went through a crisis in 1724, when Catherine’s lover Wilhelm Mons, was discovered and then executed with his head presented to Catherine in a glass jar.
Empress
Peter the Great died in 1725 without naming an heir. There was a large group of nobles who did not desire any changes in the political course of the empire and wanted Catherine to govern alone. They were led by Alexander Menshikov and Pyotr Tolstoy. Another party of old nobles preferred someone from pre-Peter times.
In 1725, during a meeting of a council to decide the successor, Menshikov carried out a coup with the help of the guards regiments and Catherine was declared the new ruler of Russia.
Reign
Empress Catherine left the ruling of the empire entirely to Menshikov. A special Supreme Privy Council was formed for that purpose. Her own energies were spent on entertainment. She died two years after Peter of abscess of the lungs.
Catherine I
1725-1727 Empress of Russia.
She was the first Empress of Russia, following her husband Peter the Great. During her very short rule Peter I’s reforms were generally continued.
Background
Lived: 1684-1727.
The life of Marta Skowronska was a true Cinderella story. She was an orphan and worked as a housemaid in Marienburg. After the town fell to the Russians, Sheremetev took her to Moscow to work in the guard regiment laundry.
From Sheremetev she was passed on to Menshikov to be his mistress. Some time after Peter the Great met her in 1703, he took her as his own mistress. They married secretly in 1707. In 1724, Catherine was crowned as co-ruler.
Family
Catherine is said to have been a perfect wife for Peter, as she had a calming effect on him when he fell into one of his frequent fits of rage. They had 12 children, of whom only Elizabeth and Anna Petrovna survived.
Their relationship went through a crisis in 1724, when Catherine’s lover Wilhelm Mons, was discovered and then executed with his head presented to Catherine in a glass jar.
Empress
Peter the Great died in 1725 without naming an heir. There was a large group of nobles who did not desire any changes in the political course of the empire and wanted Catherine to govern alone. They were led by Alexander Menshikov and Pyotr Tolstoy. Another party of old nobles preferred someone from pre-Peter times.
In 1725, during a meeting of a council to decide the successor, Menshikov carried out a coup with the help of the guards regiments and Catherine was declared the new ruler of Russia.
Reign
Empress Catherine left the ruling of the empire entirely to Menshikov. A special Supreme Privy Council was formed for that purpose. Her own energies were spent on entertainment. She died two years after Peter of abscess of the lungs.
Alexander Menshikov