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 ...
inya Kseniya Ioannovna (Ivanovna) Shestova (russian: Ксения Ивановна Шестова (or Романова); 1560
–1631) was a spouse of
Fyodor Romanov
Feodor Nikitich Romanov (russian: Фео́дор Ники́тич Рома́нов, ; 1553 – 1 October 1633) was a Russian boyar who after temporary disgrace rose to become patriarch of Moscow as Filaret (russian: Филаре́т, ), and bec ...
and the mother of
Mikhail Romanov
Michael I (Russian: Михаил Фёдорович Романов, ''Mikhaíl Fyódorovich Románov'') () became the first Russian tsar of the House of Romanov after the Zemskiy Sobor of 1613 elected him to rule the Tsardom of Russia.
He w ...
.
Life
The origins of Xeniya Ivanovna have been disputed by genealogists for centuries. It is currently accepted that her surname was Shestova (Шестова; rather than Shastunova, as was previously believed) and that her grandfather was Timofey Gryaznoy, a rich landowner from
Uglich
Uglich ( rus, У́глич, p=ˈuɡlʲɪtɕ) is a historic town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River. Population:
History
The city was first documented in 1148 as ''Ugliche Pole'' (''Corner Field''). The town's name is though ...
.
During
Boris Godunov
Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...
's repression of the Romanovs, she was forced to take the veil, changing her name to Martha (Russian: Марфа). After several years of exile at Tolvuyskiy
pogost
''Pogost'' (russian: погост, from Old East Slavic: погостъ) is a historical term with several meanings in the Russian language. It has also been borrowed into Latgalian (''pogosts''), Finnish (''pogosta'') and Latvian (''pagasts'' ...
, she settled with her son in
Kostroma
Kostroma ( rus, Кострома́, p=kəstrɐˈma) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. Popu ...
. It was there that the ambassadors arrived to inform Mikhail about his election to the Russian throne in 1613. As the previous tsars had been
either killed or disgraced, Martha at first declined to bless her son and let him go to Moscow.
During the first years of his reign, Martha (or the "great nun" as she came to be known) exerted great influence on her moribund and listless son. She placed her relatives, the Saltykovs, at important posts in the government, leading to widespread corruption. Her husband's return from Poland in 1619 put an end to their (and her own) influence in court. She died on 27 January 1631 and was buried in the
Novospassky Monastery
Novospassky Monastery (''New Monastery of the Savior'', russian: Новоспасский монастырь) is one of the fortified monasteries surrounding Moscow from the south-east. Like all medieval Russian monasteries, it was built by the Ru ...
.
Notes
External links
Xenia Ivanovna Romanovain the
Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
The ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopaedic Dictionary'' (Russian: Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона, abbr. ЭСБЕ, tr. ; 35 volumes, small; 86 volumes, large) is a comprehensive multi-volume ...
(''in Russian'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shestova, Xenia
1560 births
1631 deaths
House of Romanov
17th-century Eastern Orthodox nuns
Tsardom of Russia nuns