Tsarevich Alexei was born in February 1690 from the first marriage of Peter I with Evdokia Lopukhina. Little is known about the childhood of the young heir. The first years of his life he was mainly raised by his grandmother Natalya Kirillovna. At the age of eight, the prince lost his mother - Peter decided to send his unloved wife to a monastery. At the same time, the father began to initiate his son into government affairs, and after a couple of years - to take him on military campaigns. However, the heir made no progress in either field.

"When in the midst Northern War King Charles XII of Sweden moved with troops to Moscow to capture it and dictate peace terms. Alexei, unlike Peter, who ordered to strengthen the Kremlin, asked one of his associates to find a good place where he could hide. That is, Alexey was thinking not about Russia, but about himself. Peter I fought with his soldiers during the Battle of Poltava. But Tsarevich Alexei did not show any valor, he was completely unworthy of the title of a man,” the doctor noted in an interview with RT historical sciences, specialist in the history of Russia during the reign of Peter the Great Pavel Krotov.

Alexey treated his father’s activities without any enthusiasm. Like his mother, the prince loved the “old times” and hated any reformist changes.

• Portraits of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and Charlotte Christina of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
• Wikimedia Commons

In 1709, Peter sent his heir to study in Dresden. There, at the court of King Augustus, Alexey met his future wife, Princess Charlotte, who would later be called Natalya Petrovna in Russia. Two years later, by order of Peter I, their wedding took place.

By this time, Martha Skavronskaya, a former servant who was captured during the capture of the Swedish fortress and known as Catherine I, became the wife of Peter himself. The new empress gave birth to Peter two daughters, Anna and Elizabeth, and then another contender for the throne, Peter Petrovich.

After the birth of an heir from his second marriage, Alexei's position weakened. By this time, he had two children from the German princess: Natalya and Peter (the future Emperor Peter II, the last representative of the Romanovs in the direct male line).

“Liberal writers (for example, Daniil Granin) have their own version: he believes that Peter’s wife, Catherine, was intriguing against Alexei. If Alexei were on the throne, then all of her offspring would be under threat. Objectively, it was important for Catherine to eliminate Alexei,” noted Pavel Krotov.

Shortly after the birth of their son, Alexei’s wife died. After the funeral of Natalya Petrovna in October 1715, the prince received a letter from his father, irritated by the lack of will and inability of the heir to state affairs: “...I thought with sorrow and, seeing that I could not incline you to good in any way, for the sake of goodness I invented this last testament to write to you and to wait a little longer, if you turn unhypocritically. If not, then be aware that I will greatly deprive you of your inheritance, like a gangrenous oud, and do not imagine that I am only writing this for fear: truly I will fulfill it, for for my fatherland and people I have not and do not regret my life, then How can I feel sorry for you indecently? It’s better to be someone else’s kindness than your own indecent one.”

In a response letter, Alexei renounced the inheritance and stated that he would never lay claim to the throne. But Peter was not satisfied with this answer. The emperor suggested that he either become less wayward and behave worthy of the future crown, or go to a monastery. Alexei decided to become a monk. But my father could not come to terms with such an answer. Then the prince went on the run.

In November 1716, under the fictitious name of a Polish nobleman, he arrived in Vienna, in the domain of Emperor Charles VI, who was Alexei's brother-in-law.

“Documentary evidence has been preserved that when Tsarevich Alexei fled to the West, to Austria, then to Italy, he entered into negotiations with the enemy of Russia, King Charles XII of Sweden, so that he would probably help him get the Russian crown. This is no longer worthy of the title of not only a ruler, but also a person,” emphasized Pavel Krotov.

The tragic end of the prodigal son

Having learned about his son’s escape, Peter I sent his associates, Peter Tolstoy and Alexander Rumyantsev, to search for him, giving them the following instructions: “They should go to Vienna and in a private audience announce to the Caesar that we have truly been informed through Captain Rumyantsev that our son Alexei has been accepted under the protection of the crown prince and was sent secretly to the Tyrolean castle of Ehrenberg, and was quickly sent from that castle, behind a strong guard, to the city of Naples, where he was kept on guard in the fortress, to which Captain Rumyantsev witnessed it.”

• Paul Delaroche, portrait of Peter I (1838)

Judging by this instruction, Peter called on the prodigal son to return to Russia, promising him all support and the absence of fatherly anger for disobedience. If the prince declared to Tolstoy and Rumyantsev that he did not intend to return to his homeland, then they were ordered to announce to Alexei the parental and church curse.

After much persuasion, the prince returned to Russia in the fall of 1717.

The emperor kept his promise and decided to pardon his son, but only under certain conditions. The prince had to refuse to inherit the crown and hand over the assistants who organized his escape. Alexei accepted all his father’s conditions and on February 3, 1718, renounced his rights to the throne.

At the same time, a series of investigations and interrogations of everyone close to the court began. Peter's associates demanded to know the details of the alleged conspiracy against the emperor.

In June 1718, the prince was put in the Peter and Paul Fortress and began to be tortured, demanding to confess to conspiring with foreign enemies. Under threats, Alexei admitted that he had negotiated with Charles VI and hoped that Austrian intervention would help him seize power in the country. And although Alexey wrote all his testimony in the subjunctive mood, without the slightest hint of the actual actions he took, it turned out to be enough for the trial. He was sentenced to death, which, however, was never carried out - Alexei suddenly died.

His death is still shrouded in mystery. According to the official version, Alexey took the news of the verdict very hard, which is why he fell into unconsciousness and died. Also, various sources indicate that the prince could have died from torture, was poisoned or strangled with a pillow. Historians are still arguing about what actually happened.

Alexei was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Since the death of the prince coincided with the celebration of the anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Poltava, the emperor decided not to declare mourning.

• Still from the film “Tsarevich Alexei” (1996)

“Peter eliminated him as a person who would destroy all the achievements of state reform. Peter acted like the emperors of Ancient Rome, who executed their sons for state crimes. Peter acted not as a man, but as statesman, for whom the main thing is not personal, but the interests of the country, which were threatened by an unworthy son, in fact a state criminal. In addition, Alexey was going to lead the measured life of an ordinary person, and at the head of Russia there was supposed to be a “locomotive” that would continue the work of Peter,” explained Pavel Krotov.

The fate of Alexei’s children also turned out to be tragic. Daughter Natalya died in 1728. Son Peter, having ascended the throne in 1727, after the death of Catherine I, died three years later.

Thus, in 1730, the male line of the Romanovs was interrupted in a straight line.

Why did Peter the Great kill his son? December 19th, 2017

We went through this material at school. At first, of course, everyone knew that Ivan the Terrible killed his son, and only then did they remember that Peter the Great also killed him. Or rather tortured him to death.

And who remembers why?

Common Explanation tragic fate The prince is well known. It says that Alexei, who grew up in an atmosphere hostile to Peter and all his endeavors, fell under the harmful influence of the reactionary clergy and backward Moscow nobility. And when the father had enough, it was already too late, and all efforts to re-educate his son only led to him running away abroad. During the investigation, which began upon his return, it turned out that, together with a few henchmen, Alexei was impatiently awaiting the death of the king and was ready to destroy everything he had done. The court of senators and senior dignitaries sentenced the perpetrator of treason to death, which became a kind of monument to the integrity of Peter I.

Initially, not feeling much desire to live the life that his father lived, by this time the prince was simply unable to bridge the gap that was deepening between them. He was burdened by the current situation and, like any person of not very strong character, his thoughts were carried away into another reality, where Peter did not exist. Waiting for the death of the father, even wishing for it - terrible sin! But when the deeply religious Alexey confessed to him in confession, he suddenly heard from his confessor Yakov Ignatiev: “God will forgive you, and we all wish him death.” It turned out that his personal, deeply intimate problem had another dimension: his formidable and unloved father was also an unpopular sovereign. Alexey himself automatically turned into the object of the hopes and hopes of the dissatisfied. Life that seemed worthless suddenly took on some meaning!

The meeting of father and son took place on February 3, 1718 in the Kremlin Palace in the presence of the clergy and secular nobles. Alexei cried and repented, but Peter again promised him forgiveness on condition of unconditional renunciation of the inheritance, full recognition and surrender of his accomplices. The investigation actually began the very next day after the ceremonial reconciliation of the prince with his father and his solemn abdication of the throne. Later, the Secret Chancellery was created specifically to investigate the alleged conspiracy, headed by the same P. A. Tolstoy, whose career after Alexei’s successful return to Russia clearly took off.

The prince was tortured several times. Broken long before the physical torture, he tried his best to protect himself. Initially, Peter was inclined to lay the blame on Alexei’s mother, his closest advisors and the “bearded men” (clergy), but during the six months of the investigation, a picture emerged of such large-scale and deep dissatisfaction with his policies among the elite that there could be no question of punishing all the “defendants” in the case. speech. Then the king resorted to the standard move, making the suspects judges and thereby placing on them symbolic responsibility for the fate of the main accused. On June 24, the Supreme Court, consisting of the highest dignitaries of the state, unanimously sentenced Alexei to death.

We will probably never know exactly how the prince died. His father was least interested in divulging the details of the unheard-of execution of his own son (and there is almost no doubt that it was an execution).

Peter by nature was wild and unbridled, like Ivan the Terrible. Peter's favorite pastime is tormenting people. He spent hours in dungeons, torturing people with his own hands. He crushed and broke the old life in Russia, carried out a reform of church government, issued a decree on mandatory conscription nobility. He married soldier Martha Skavronskaya, with whom he had three daughters - Elizaveta, Anna and Katerina, son Peter

Having married, he issues a decree that his children should be considered legitimate. Tsarevich Alexei was outraged by the marriage and actions of his father while his wife was alive and imprisoned in a monastery

Alexei himself was already married to the German princess Charlotte of Wolfenbüttel, who hated Russia. And everyone at court hated her. The princess suffered a lot from the drunken Catherine. Finally, she died from childbirth. They say that Catherine poisoned her.

This former soldier wanted to clear the way to the throne for her son. She was disturbed by Tsarevich Alexei and his son Pyotr Alekseevich.

After the violent death of his wife, Tsarevich Alexei sent his daughter to Germany so that Catherine would not do evil. The son remained in Russia.

He didn't miss his wife. For a long time he had a mistress, a serf girl, whom he bought from Prince Vyazemsky, his favorite courtier. Evfrosinya Fedorova, or, as she was called at court, the girl Afrosinya, was very pretty. Seeing that a German soldier had become a Russian queen, she decided that she too could get a job in the same way.

Alexei himself wanted to marry her. But Peter fell into a terrible anger. Marrying a German "girl" is nothing. But in Russian! What a disgrace! He wanted a new "alliance" abroad. One of the Austrian archduchesses agreed to become Alexei's wife.

Then Alexei fled with Euphrosyne abroad. He was hidden in Vienna, and meanwhile the Viennese government was negotiating with Peter about the extradition of the prince. Catherine and Menshikov worked with all their might to destroy the prince and all his associates. Catherine wanted her “Bump,” her little son Petya, to become heir to the throne.

Menshikov assured Peter that Tsarevich Alexei was preparing a conspiracy and wanted to take the throne from his father.
Tolstoy and Rumyantsev, the tsar's favorites, forced the Viennese government to hand over Alexei. The unfortunate prince was deceived into thinking that the king had forgiven him and allowed him to marry Euphrosyne. But Alexey was already married to her. He was married by an Old Believer priest back in Russia. The Tsarevich went to Russia, to meet a terrible death. Peter was expecting the prince in Moscow.

When Alexei was brought in, the trial of his friends began.

Alexei was forced to publicly abdicate the throne, accusing him of conspiracy and an attempt on his father’s life. Prince Vasily Dolgoruky, the prince's tutor, Prince Vyazemsky, Colonel Kikin and the Old Believer bishop Dosifey Glebov were arrested. After painful torture they were killed.

Besides them, Tsarevich’s friends Pustynsky, Zhuravsky and Dorukin also died. Peter spent whole days in dungeons, torturing the unfortunate. He took Alexei to St. Petersburg. Soon they brought Euphrosyne, who gave birth to a son on the way. Alexei, on his knees, begged Catherine not to destroy him, saying that he did not need the kingdom. But the ruthless German woman completed her job.

Princes Vyazemsky and Dolgoruky did not admit to anything. And there was nothing to it. They were executed in vain, and Peter, like Sophia, violated the restrictive certificate signed by Mikhail that the tsar did not dare execute nobles, but only exile them with the consent of the nobility.

Through the machinations of “Katenka” and Menshikov, Evfrosinya Fedorova was taken to the dungeon.

An unhappy woman, separated from her husband and little son, was frightened by the royal torture and slandered both herself and Alexei. She showed Peter, who interrogated her himself, that the prince really wanted to kill him, wanting to turn Rus' again towards the Russians and drive out the foreigners.

Alexei was taken to the dungeon. Peter, as if on a holiday, brought his own son and all his favorites to torture: Menshikov, Prince Dolgoruky (a relative of the executed), Prince Golovkin, with whose wife he was in a relationship, Feodor Apraksin, Musin-Pushkin, Streshnev, Tolstoy, Shafirov and General Buturlin .

The Tsarevich was tortured for three hours, from eight to eleven in the morning!

They tortured him for three days in a row, June 19, 24 and 26, 1717, giving him respites to recover a little from his torment.

That's what a beast Peter was! He even tortured his own son mercilessly. And what can we say about the people?
The monster king personally tortured his son.

On June 26, at 6 pm, the unfortunate prince died from torture. He was so crippled that, looking at him, even the guards of the Trubetskoy bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress, who were accustomed to everything, could not help but sob. Everyone felt sorry for the Russian prince, shamefully beaten with whips, tortured thanks to the intrigues of the royal concubine. Catherine-Martha killed Alexei.

But soon her son Peter died. Still, God sees all the dirty tricks that non-humans do and rewards them for it. She committed her crime in vain. The son of Tsarevich Alexei, Pyotr Alekseevich, was declared the heir.

These are such different and emotional opinions.

Do you think the son of Peter the Great deserved such a death and which version is closer to the truth?

Sources:

Who is Tsarevich Alexei? A traitor, a traitor, or an unfortunate person who failed to please his oppressive father? Who influenced the conflict between Peter and his son, which led to the famous Decree on Succession to the Throne of February 5, 1722.

"The king is played by his retinue"

A young man- his educators. The first blow befell the prince in childhood - he became an orphan while his mother was alive. Peter I decides to get rid of his legal but unloved wife Evdokia Lopukhina and sends her to a monastery, and transfers his son to be raised by his sister Natalya Alekseevna.
From the age of seven, the semi-literate Nikita Vyazemsky has been educating the boy. Peter at one time thought about sending his son to study abroad, following his example, but the war with Sweden distracted the Russian Tsar from such an unimportant matter as the education of an heir. Only in 1703, when Alexei was already 13 years old, Peter found him a suitable teacher - the German baron Heinrich von Huyssen. He makes a brilliant one for the boy educational program: foreign languages, politics, arithmetic, geometry, fencing, horse riding. But through the intrigues of Menshikov, Huyssen was removed from the upbringing of the prince and sent abroad on a minor assignment.
Later, Alexey will note during one of the interrogations: “from my infancy, I lived somewhat with my mother and with the girls, where I learned nothing other than hut amusements, but rather learned to be a prude, to which I am naturally inclined...”.

Menshikov's care

Without the participation of this man, perhaps not a single event of Peter the Great’s era took place. Among Menshikov’s other merits, Peter I lists “the education of our son, according to the rank of supreme ruler.” But did the emperor know what influence his closest associate had on the young prince?
Menshikov was appointed by Peter as the highest trustee of the heir. But he performed his service without much zeal. He gave the orphaned young man complete freedom, he lived in St. Petersburg, and sent Alexei to Moscow, to Preobrazhenskoye, where he immediately fell under the influence of his relatives, who were dissatisfied with Peter’s policies. From a young age, Alexei, left without supervision, drank alcohol immoderately, gave free rein to his tongue and hands while drunk, and got it from his teachers, his comrades, and even the prince’s confessor.
Peter's particular dissatisfaction was caused by the prince's secret correspondence with the disgraced queen Evdokia and his meeting with her in the Suzdal monastery. What about Menshikov? Did the Most Serene Prince neglect his duties or deliberately push the Tsarevich to the abyss?

Stepmother's intrigues

The marriage of Peter I and Catherine is an almost unprecedented case in history. A peasant woman originally from Livonia becomes the Russian empress, and, of course, feels the fragility of her position. Today she is loved, her children live in prosperity and prosperity, she herself has a huge influence on her husband. But all this may come to an end after the death of Peter and the accession of Alexei. At first, the relationship between the stepson and stepmother is developing well, but after the marriage of Alexei and Princess Charlotte, the Empress greatly lost interest in the young man. And when the princess became pregnant, Catherine began to bully the young couple. The salary promised to Alexei and Charlotte, already small, was either cut or not paid on time. The prince also continued to abuse alcohol. Conflicts constantly broke out between the spouses, and alienation grew. Finally, Alexey leaves his pregnant wife and leaves for Carlsbaden “to get some water.”

Femme fatale

In 1715, Princess Charlotte dies, but her husband is not too upset. He found it a long time ago new love– former serf Euphrosyne Fedorova.
A stern ultimatum comes from Peter, who is in Holland at this time: either Alexei takes part in military operations (which the prince had no inclination for) or he will be tonsured a monk. Then Alexey runs abroad. He is accompanied by Euphrosyne, disguised as a page. When, succumbing to threats and persuasion, Alexey returns, his only condition is to marry her. At that time, the girl was already expecting a child from him.
In Russia, the prince is arrested, and Euphrosyne is brought to trial. The records do not mention any child; apparently he died. At the confrontation, the girl confidently denounces the prince, talks about the letters that Alexei wrote to foreign rulers, about the conspiracy against his father and stepmother.
Judging by the official protocols, torture was not used against Euphrosyne Fedorova; moreover, Peter expressed his sympathy for her. What made her testify against the man who loved her selflessly?
Some believe that Euphrosyne was bribed. There is a version according to which she was initially assigned to Tsarevich Menshikov as a secret agent. One thing is clear - it was the betrayal of this woman that led to the death of the prince.

Charles VI

On the advice of his closest circle, Alexei seeks the protection of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Once in Vienna, he goes to Vice-Chancellor Schönborn and tells him about the reasons for fleeing: the humiliation and rudeness that he suffered at court, the constant fear for his life and the lives of his children.
Schönborn immediately notifies the emperor. Karl decides to take the fugitive under his wing, but did not allow him to approach his person. From Austria the unfortunate prince is transferred to Ehrenberg Castle, and from there to Naples. It seems to Charles VI that Alexei is reliably hidden from the royal spies.
Imagine the emperor’s surprise when Peter’s envoys arrived at the Vienna court, who politely but firmly reported that the Russian Tsar demanded the release of the prince, otherwise he would have to be returned to his homeland “with an armed hand.” Karl understands that hiding Alexei is no longer safe, he convinces the prince to reconcile with his father, and even threatens to remove Euphrosyne from him. This becomes the last straw, and the rebellious prince agrees to return home.

Petr Andreevich Tolstoy

One of the envoys of the Russian Tsar in Vienna was Count Pyotr Andreevich Tolstoy, privy councilor and, by the way, the great-great-grandfather of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. He had to conduct official negotiations with high officials of the Viennese court.
We can say that the negotiations were successful. Viceroyal Secretary Weingard, on Tolstoy's orders, informed Alexei that Karl was not going to protect him, and in the event of a military threat, he would immediately hand him over to his father. At the same time, Tolstoy intimidates the Viceroy and threatens Russian military intervention.
But the main thing is that Tolstoy manages to “recruit” Alexei’s mistress, Euphrosyne. She dissuades the prince from fleeing to Rome and seeking the protection of the Pope. Finally, accompanied by Tolstoy, Alexey goes home, the only condition being marriage with Euphrosyne. Tolstoy, on behalf of Peter I, gives consent to this union - but not abroad. Thus, through bribery, blackmail and threats, Tolstoy achieves his goal and brings the disgraced heir to Peter.

A few months later, the eldest son of the first emperor would die in the Peter and Paul Fortress, convicted of treason.

When it comes to the emperor's children Peter the Great, as a rule, they remember the eldest son Tsarevich Alexei, and also a daughter Elizaveta Petrovna who became empress.

In fact, in two marriages, Peter I had more than 10 children. Why did he not have obvious heirs at the time of the emperor’s death, and what was the fate of the offspring of the most famous Russian reformer?

Tsarevich Alexey Petrovich. reproduction

Alexei

Firstborn of Peter and his first wife Evdokia Lopukhina, named Alexey, was born on February 18 (28 according to the new style) 1690 in the village of Preobrazhenskoye.

The first years of his life, Alexei Petrovich was in the care of his grandmother, the queen Natalia Kirillovna. The father, immersed in state affairs, paid practically no attention to raising his son.

After the death of Natalya Kirillovna and the imprisonment of his mother, Evdokia Lopukhina, in a monastery, Peter handed over his son to be raised by his sister, Natalya Alekseevna.

Peter I, who nevertheless became concerned with the education of the heir to the throne, could not find worthy teachers for him.

Alexey Petrovich spent most of his time away from his father, surrounded by people who were not distinguished by high moral principles. Peter's attempts to involve his son in state affairs turned out to be failures.

In 1711, Peter arranged the marriage of his son with the princess Charlotte of Wolfenbüttel, who gave birth to Alexey’s daughter Natalia and son Petra. Shortly after the birth of her son, she died.

The gap between Peter and Alexei by that time had become almost insurmountable. And after the emperor’s second wife gave birth to his son, named Peter, the emperor began to seek from the first-born his renunciation of rights to the throne. Alexei decided to flee and left the country in 1716.

The situation was extremely unpleasant for Peter I - the heir could well be used in political games against him. Russian diplomats were ordered to return the prince to his homeland at any cost.

At the end of 1717, Alexei agreed to return to Russia and in February 1718 solemnly renounced his rights to the throne.

Despite this, the Secret Chancellery began an investigation, suspecting Alexei of treason. As a result of the investigation, the prince was put on trial and sentenced to death as a traitor. He died in the Peter and Paul Fortress on June 26 (July 7), 1718, according to the official version, from a stroke.

Peter I published an official notice, which said that, having heard the death sentence, the prince was horrified, demanded his father, asked him for forgiveness and died in a Christian way, in complete repentance for his deeds.

Alexander and Pavel

Alexander, the second child of Peter and Evdokia Lopukhina, like his older brother, was born in the village of Preobrazhenskoye on October 3 (13), 1691.

The boy lived only seven months and died in Moscow on May 14 (May 24), 1692. The prince was buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The inscription on his tombstone reads: “In the summer of 7200 of the month of May, from the 13th day at the fifth hour of the night in the second quarter from Friday to Saturday, in memory of the holy martyr Isidore, who on the island of Chios reposed the servant of God of the Blessed and Pious Great Sovereign Tsar and Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich, all Great and Little and White Russia Autocrat, and the Blessed and Pious Sovereign Tsarina and Grand Duchess Evdokia Feodorovna son, the Blessed Sovereign Tsarevich and Grand Duke Alexander Petrovich, of all Great and Small and White Russia, and was buried in this place of the same month on the 14th day.”

The existence of another son of Peter and Evdokia Lopukhina, Pavel, is completely questioned by historians. The boy was born in 1693, but died almost immediately.

Catherine

In 1703, she became the mistress of Emperor Peter I Marta Skavronskaya, which the king in the first years of the relationship called in letters Katerina Vasilevskaya.

Even before marriage, Peter's mistress was pregnant several times by him. The first two children were boys who died shortly after birth.

On December 28, 1706 (January 8, 1707) in Moscow, Marta Skavronskaya gave birth to a daughter named Ekaterina. The girl lived for one year and seven months and died on July 27, 1708 (August 8, 1709).

Like her two younger sisters, Catherine was born out of wedlock, but was later officially recognized by her father and posthumously recognized as a Grand Duchess.

She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

Commons.wikimedia.org

Anna

Anna Petrovna was born on January 27 (February 7), 1708. The girl, being an illegitimate child, received the same family name “Anna”, like her legal cousin, the daughter of Ivan V Anna Ioannovna.

Anna became the first of Peter's daughters and the first of Martha Skavronskaya's children to survive infancy.

In 1711, the father, having not yet entered into a legal marriage with Anna’s mother, officially proclaimed her and her sister Elizabeth princesses.

A large plot of land in St. Petersburg was transferred to Anna's ownership. Subsequently, the country estate Annenhof was built for Anna near Ekateringhof.

In 1724, Peter I gave his consent to his daughter’s marriage to the Duke Karl Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp.

According to the marriage contract, Anna Petrovna retained the Orthodox religion and could raise daughters born in marriage in Orthodoxy, while sons had to be raised in the faith of their father. Anna and her husband refused the opportunity to claim the Russian crown, but the agreement had a secret article, according to which Peter reserved the right to proclaim the son from their marriage as heir.

The father did not see his daughter's wedding - Peter died two months after signing the marriage contract, and the marriage was concluded on May 21 (June 1), 1725.

Anna and her husband were very influential figures in St. Petersburg during the short reign of her mother, formerly Maria Skavronskaya, who ascended the throne as Catherine I.

After Catherine's death in 1727, Anna and her husband were forced to leave for Holstein. In February 1728, Anna gave birth to a son, who was named Karl Peter Ulrich. In the future, Anna's son ascended the Russian throne under the name of Emperor Peter III.

Anna Petrovna died in the spring of 1728. According to some sources, the cause was the consequences of childbirth; according to another, Anna caught a bad cold at the celebrations in honor of the birth of her son.

Before her death, Anna expressed a desire to be buried in St. Petersburg, in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, next to her father’s grave, which was fulfilled in November 1728.

Artist Toke Louis (1696-1772). Reproduction.

Elizabeth

The third daughter of Peter I and his second wife was born on December 18 (29), 1709, during the celebrations of the victory over Charles XII. In 1711, together with older sister Anna, Elizabeth was officially proclaimed princess.

Her father made big plans for Elizabeth, intending to become related to the French kings, but proposals for such a marriage were rejected.

During the reign of Catherine I, Elizabeth was considered as the heir to the Russian throne. Opponents, primarily Prince Menshikov, in response began to promote the project of the princess’s marriage. The groom, Prince Karl August of Holstein-Gottorp, came to Russia to marry, but in May 1727, in the midst of preparations for the wedding, he contracted smallpox and died.

After the death of Emperor Peter II in 1730, the throne passed to Elizabeth's cousin, Anna Ioannovna. For ten years of her cousin's reign, Elizabeth was in disgrace and under constant surveillance.

In 1741, after the death of Anna Ioannovna, Elizabeth led a coup against the young Emperor Ivan VI and his relatives. Having achieved success, she ascended the throne under the name of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.

Peter's daughter occupied the throne for twenty years, until her death. Unable to enter into an official marriage, and, accordingly, give birth to legitimate heirs to the throne, Elizaveta Petrovna returned her nephew, Duke Karl-Peter Ulrich of Holstein, from abroad. Upon arrival in Russia, he was renamed in the Russian manner to Peter Fedorovich, and the words “grandson of Peter the Great” were included in the official title.

Elizabeth died in St. Petersburg on December 25, 1761 (January 5, 1762) at the age of 52, and was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Natalya (senior) and Margarita

On March 3 (14), 1713, in St. Petersburg, Peter I and his second wife had a daughter, who was named Natalia. The girl became the first legitimate child of the emperor and his new wife.

Named after her grandmother, the mother of Peter the Great, Natalya lived for 2 years and 2 months. She died on May 27 (June 7), 1715 and was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

On September 3 (14), 1714, Tsarina Catherine gave birth to another daughter, who was named Margarita. The girl lived for 10 months and 24 days and died on July 27 (August 7), 1715, that is, exactly two months after her sister. Margarita was also buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

Tsarevich Peter Petrovich in the image of Cupid in a portrait by Louis Caravaque Photo: reproduction

Peter

On October 29 (November 9), 1715, the son of Peter the Great was born, who, like his father, was named Peter. The Tsar made big plans in connection with the birth of his son - he was supposed to succeed his older brother Alexei as heir to the throne.

But the boy was in poor health; by the age of three he did not begin to walk or speak. The worst fears of doctors and parents came true - at the age of three and a half years, on April 25 (May 6), 1719, Pyotr Petrovich died.

For Peter the Great, this death was a heavy blow. The hope for a son who would continue the business was completely destroyed.

Paul

Unlike Pavel, who was allegedly born to Evdokia Lopukhina, the fact of the birth of a son with that name by the second wife of Peter I was confirmed.

The boy was born on January 2 (13), 1717 in Wesel, Germany, during Peter the Great’s foreign trip. The king was in Amsterdam at that time and did not find his son alive. Pavel Petrovich died after living only one day. However, he received the title of Grand Duke and was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg, becoming the first male of the Romanov family to be buried there.

Natalya (junior)

On August 20 (31), 1718, during peace negotiations with Sweden, the queen gave birth to Peter the Great another daughter, who was destined to become his last child.

The baby was named Natalya, despite the fact that just three years earlier, the royal couple’s daughter with the same name died.

The youngest Natalya, unlike most of her brothers and sisters, managed to survive infancy. At the time of official proclamation Russian Empire in 1721, only three daughters of Peter the Great remained alive - Anna, Elizabeth and Natalya.

Alas, this girl was not destined to become an adult. In January 1725, her father, Peter I, died without leaving a will. A fierce struggle for power broke out among the tsar's associates. Under these conditions, few people paid attention to the child. Natasha fell ill with measles and died on March 4 (15), 1725.

By that time, Peter I had not yet been buried, and the coffins of father and daughter were exhibited together in the same room. Natalya Petrovna was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral next to her brothers and sisters.

Rus' and its autocrats Anishkin Valery Georgievich

TSAREVICH ALEXEY PETROVICH, SON OF PETER I

Born on February 18, 1690 from Evdokia Lopukhina and Peter I. Seeing how his father treated his mother, Alexey could not feel filial love for him, but felt fear. Orthodox Church was on the side of Peter’s wife, so Alexey also involuntarily reached out to everything religious-Orthodox. In Moscow, he was immediately surrounded by people who condemned Peter's transformations.

Tsarevich Alexei did not have any special abilities or talents. Under his mother, Nikifor Vyazemsky taught him, mainly grammar, and then he was raised by the German Neugebauer. This German treated the Russians with arrogance and, in the end, angered Peter himself so much that he expelled him.

Peter wanted to send his son abroad, but changed his mind, perhaps because he saw how foreign courts immediately began to fuss in the hope of getting the heir to the Russian throne. A new teacher, Huysen, was assigned to Alexei, who taught him superficially, only so that the prince could show some education in conversations. When Peter took his son with him on campaigns, his training was interrupted. After Huysen, the prince continued to teach German, geometry, fortification under the leadership of Vyazemsky, who reported to Peter that Alexei was doing poorly in his studies. When the upbringing of the prince was entrusted to A. Menshikov, he deliberately did not work with him, so that later he could be presented as incapable of inheriting the throne.

Peter mutually disliked his son and recognized him as heir only because he was heir by birth and Russia had no other choice.

In 1711, by order of his father, Alexei married Princess Sophia Charlotte of Wolfenbüttel, from whom was born a son, Peter, the future Emperor Peter III. Shortly after the birth of her son, Charlotte died.

Among the close people surrounded by Alexei were the Naryshkins (Vasily and Mikhail Grigorievich, Alexey and Ivan Ivanovich), the Vyazemskys (teacher Nikifor, Sergei, Lev, Peter, Andrei), housekeeper Fyodor Evarlakov, the husband of the Tsarevich's wet nurse Kolychev, Krutitsy Bishop Hilarion and several priests and monks (confessor, Verkhospassky priest, then archpriest Yakov Ignatiev, Blagoveshchensk sacristan Alexey, priest Leonty, etc.). It is also necessary to name Alexander Kikin, since he became the main culprit in the death of Alexei.

Alexei's entertainment was similar to that of his father with his all-drunken cathedral. The Tsarevich’s company was also called the cathedral, and his friends were called by nicknames: Father Cow, Father Judas, Hell, Zhibanda, Mr. Zasypka, Zakhlyustka, Moloch, Shaved, Rook, etc. “We had a lot of fun yesterday,” the Tsarevich wrote to his confessor. “My spiritual father Chizh went home barely alive, let’s support him with his son.”

Alexey began to hide his thoughts from his father early and, fearing denunciations, preferred to be careful.

In 1716, Alexei fled to Vienna with his mistress Euphrosyne Fedorova, a former serf of Vyazemsky, to whom the prince was very attached.

Hiding abroad, Alexei was afraid that his compatriots sent to him would kill him. Emperor Charles VI considered such an outcome quite possible. In the West at that time, there was generally an idea of ​​Russians as a people capable of any wild act prohibited by European rules.

Tolstoy and Rumyantsev cunningly lured Alexei from Vienna, where he was hiding with Charles VI, and brought him to Moscow.

Peter I did not keep his word to give his son permission to marry Euphrosyne and let him go with her to the village. He ordered him to renounce the succession to the throne in writing and to hand over those who advised him to flee abroad.

Under torture, Alexey slandered many people. On June 24, 1718, one hundred and twenty members of the court sentenced the prince to death. On June 25 he was still interrogated, and on June 26 he died. According to one version, Alexey was strangled in prison.

On June 30, 1718, Tsarevich Alexei was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral next to his wife. There was no mourning for the deceased.

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