Tsarina Tsarina or tsaritsa (also spelled ''csarina'' or ''csaricsa'', ''tzarina'' or ''tzaritza'', or ''czarina'' or ''czaricza''; bg, царица, tsaritsa; sr, / ; russian: царица, tsaritsa) is the title of a female autocratic ruler (mon ...

Eudoxia Fyodorovna Lopukhina ( rus, Евдоки́я Фёдоровна Лопухина́, Yevdokíya Fyodorovna Lopukhiná; in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

– in Moscow) was a Russian Tsaritsa as the first wife of

Peter I of Russia Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

, and the last ethnic Russian and non-foreign wife of a Russian monarch. She was the mother of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and the paternal grandmother of

Peter II of Russia Peter II Alexeyevich (russian: Пётр II, Пётр Алексеевич, ''Pyotr Vtoroy'', ''Pyotr Alekseyevich'', – ) reigned as Emperor of Russia from 1727 until his untimely death at the age of 14. He was the only son of Tsarevich Alexei ...

Early life

Eudoxia was born to Feodor Abramovich Lopukhin and Ustinia Bogdanovna Rtishcheva, making her a member of the

Lopukhin family The Lopukhin family was a noble family of the Russian Empire, forming one of the branches of the Sorokoumova-Glebov family. Eudoxia Lopukhina married Peter the Great. When Pyotr Lopukhin's son died childless, the family's princely title passed t ...

. Like parents of all the 17th century

s, they did not belong to the highest aristocracy.

Tsaritsa

She was chosen as a bride for the Tsar by his mother

Natalia Naryshkina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina (russian: Ната́лья Кири́лловна Нары́шкина; 1 September 1651 – 4 February 1694) was the Tsaritsa of Russia from 1671–1676 as the second spouse of Tsar Alexis I of Russia, and reg ...

primarily on account of Eudoxia's mother's relation to the famous

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Russian nobility, Russia, Boyars of Moldavia and Wallachia, Wallachia and ...

Fyodor Rtishchev Feodor Mikhailovich Rtishchev (russian: Фёдор Миха́йлович Рти́щев; April 16, 1625, Chekalinsky uyezd – July 1, 1673, Moscow) was a boyar and an intimate friend of Alexis I of Russia who was renowned for his piety and alms ...

. She was crowned Tsarina in 1689 and gave birth to Grand Duke Alexei Petrovich of Russia the following year. She had two more sons by Peter, Alexander in 1692 and Paul in 1693, but both died during infancy. The Tsar could not stand her conservative relatives and soon abandoned her for a Dutch beauty, Anna Mons. Eudoxia's letters to Peter were full of complaints and expressions of unrequited love. In 1696, during his prolonged journey to

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

, Peter asked his Naryshkin relatives to persuade Eudoxia to enter a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

. This could not be effected until 1698, when she was finally banished to the Intercession Convent of

Suzdal Suzdal ( rus, Суздаль, p=ˈsuzdəlʲ) is a town that serves as the administrative center of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which is located on the Kamenka River, north of the city of Vladimir. Vladimir is the admin ...

."Putin's divorce breaks long taboo in Russian politics: Leaders keep personal lives private"
''

foxnews.com The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative cable television, cable List of news televisi ...

'', 7 June 2013.

Later years

The local

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

, however, allowed her to live there much as a lay woman would. She even found herself a lover, an officer named Stepan Glebov. Nine years later, when Peter the Great learned about their affair, he sentenced Glebov to execution by

impalement Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in response to "crimes aga ...

. According to the legend, the Emperor also ordered the soldiers to force Eudoxia to watch her lover's death. Gradually, Eudoxia and her son became the centre of opposition to Peter's reforms, primarily from the church officials. In his sermons, Demetrius of Rostov referred to Eudoxia as "our great sovereign" and prophesied her impending return to the throne. This conservative party was shattered by Peter in 1718. During the prosecution of

Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich of Russia Grand Duke Alexei Petrovich of Russia (28 February 1690 – 26 June 1718) was a Russian Tsarevich. He was born in Moscow, the son of Tsar Peter I and his first wife, Eudoxia Lopukhina. Alexei despised his father and repeatedly thwarted Peter's ...

, all the bishops who supported her were executed, and Eudoxia was transferred to a convent in Ladoga. After Peter's death and the rise of his second Empress consort

Catherine I Catherine I ( rus, Екатери́на I Алексе́евна Миха́йлова, Yekaterína I Alekséyevna Mikháylova; born , ; – ) was the second wife and empress consort of Peter the Great, and Empress Regnant of Russia from 1725 un ...

on the throne, Eudoxia was secretly moved to

Shlisselburg Fortress The fortress at Shlisselburg is one of a series of fortifications built in Shlisselburg on Orekhovy Island in Lake Ladoga, near the present-day city of Saint Petersburg, Russia. The first fortress was built in 1323. It was the scene of many confli ...

near

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, where she was under strict custody as a state prisoner in a dungeon. In 1727, her grandson Peter II ascended the Russian throne and immediately recalled her to

. She returned to the former capital with a great pomp and was allowed to keep her own court at the

Novodevichy Convent Novodevichy Convent, also known as Bogoroditse-Smolensky Monastery (russian: Новоде́вичий монасты́рь, Богоро́дице-Смоле́нский монасты́рь), is probably the best-known clois ...

until her death in 1731. After the death of Peter II, she was among the nominated candidates of the new monarch, but she declined, in favor of her niece-in-law

Empress Anna Anna Ioannovna (russian: Анна Иоанновна; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much ...

, so Anna continued to honor her.

References

External links

Full genealogy of the Lopukhin familyEvdokiya's profile at Geni
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopukhina, Eudoxia 1669 births 1731 deaths 17th-century Russian people 18th-century people from the Russian Empire 17th-century Russian women 18th-century women from the Russian Empire Russian tsarinas House of Romanov Russian nobility Eudoxia Prisoners of Shlisselburg fortress