Political wedding
In Russia, the official divorce of the first person of the state last happened 316 years ago, when Peter the Great broke up with Evdokia Lopukhina.
The wedding of Peter and Evdokia took place in January 1689, and the bride was three years older than her future husband - he was 17, she was 20 years old.
To say that this marriage was not for love means to say nothing. The young tsar did not take any part in the election of the bride and in the very decision about marriage - the whole process was taken over by his mother Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, the widow of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. By the way, Natalya Kirillovna herself was the second wife of the tsar. True, Alexey Mikhailovich did not divorce - his first wife, who gave birth to thirteen children, died from the consequences of another birth.
Natalya Kirillovna, arranging the marriage of her son, was worried not so much about his family happiness as about issues of big politics. By that time, a difficult situation had developed in Russia: after the Streltsy revolt, two tsars were officially on the throne - Ivan and Peter, whose duties as regent were performed by their elder sister Sophia. Various political forces tried to consolidate their influence.
Evdokia Lopukhina in monasticism.
Tsar Ivan Alekseevich married Praskovya Saltykova, and the couple was expecting a child. In this situation, the father of the family, Ivan, in the eyes of society, looked like a more legitimate head of state than Peter, who did not have a family. In addition, marriage at that time was perceived by society as reaching adulthood, which allowed the king to get rid of the persistent care of his older sister.
Natalya Kirillovna chose Evdokia Lopukhina as a bride for her son for a reason - the Lopukhins acted as allies of the Naryshkins, were popular in the streltsy troops, moreover, this family was extremely numerous, which was also an important factor.
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Did not get along
Peter was already fascinated by the army, shipbuilding, the Western way of life, while Evdokia was brought up in the traditions of Domostroi. However, for about a year, the couple's relationship was that of a couple in love. This is not surprising - in the traditions of that time, young people simply did not have the experience of first love, and they were drawn to each other by the novelty of new sensations.
However, later in the family discord began, for several reasons. Firstly, as already mentioned, Evdokia did not share her husband's interests. Secondly, contemporaries note that, despite the external beauty, Evdokia Lopukhina did not shine with her mind, and did not know how to adapt to her husband. Thirdly, the relationship with her mother-in-law did not work out either - Natalya Kirillovna was unhappy with her daughter-in-law. Relatives also "contributed" here - the Lopukhins turned out not to be reliable allies, but to greedy and greedy people who arranged a noisy division of government posts.
During the first three years, Evdokia gave birth to three sons to Peter: Alexei, Alexander and Paul, but the two younger died in infancy.
The royal marriage was bursting at the seams: in 1692, Peter the Great started an affair with Anna Mons, a resident of the German settlement. Until the death of Natalya Kirillovna in 1694, the tsar, however, tried not to express his negative attitude towards his wife.
Death for love
By 1697, the royal spouses did not even correspond, and moreover, the queen joined the party of opponents of Peter the Great. After that, the king made the final decision on divorce. While in the Grand Embassy abroad, he gave an order to the fellow boyars who remained in Moscow to persuade Evdokia to take monastic vows as a nun - this was the fate awaiting the “divorced” queens in Russia at that time.
Evdokia refused, citing her concern for her son, Tsarevich Alexei.
The queen had more than enough supporters, even Patriarch Andrian tried to "reason" Peter.
Parsun with the image of Evdokia Lopukhina.
This, however, backfired - the angry tsar gave the order to force Evdokia to be a nun. In September 1698, the queen was imprisoned in the Suzdal-Pokrovsky monastery, where she became a nun under the name Elena. Moreover, the tsar did not allocate money for the maintenance of his ex-wife, entrusting the care of her to her relatives Lopukhin.
Peter did not take into account one thing - the strength of Russian traditions and the degree of resistance to his reforms. While he, busy with the construction of Petersburg, the fleet, the war with the Swedes, did not remember his former wife, she lived in a monastery as a laywoman, came into contact with the opponents of the tsar, accepted the honors due to the tsarina and, which was completely unthinkable, made herself a lover.
Evdokia's relationship with Major Stepan Glebov began around 1709 and continued for a long time. The truth surfaced during the investigation of the "case of Tsarevich Alexei", when Peter the Great suspected his son and his entourage of conspiracy.
Evdokia was also involved in the investigation of the conspiracy in 1718. During interrogation, she did not deny that she was in contact with Glebov, for which, according to the verdict of the court, the priests were whipped. Many of the queen's entourage were executed.
The most terrible fate befell Stepan Glebov - he was tortured for a long time, seeking recognition in a conspiracy against the sovereign. Glebov, who confessed in connection with the tsarina, denied this accusation. He was executed by impaling and died painfully for 14 hours. Some contemporaries argued that Evdokia was forced to attend the execution of her lover.
The curse of Evdokia
The queen herself was transported to the Ladoga Monastery, and seven years later to Shlisselburg.
She got an amazing fate - Evdokia survived her husband, second wife of Peter, son and even grandson of Peter II, who released her from prison, allocated a financial support and restored her in all rights.
In 1730, after the sudden death of Peter II, Evdokia Lopukhina was named as a contender for the throne. However, by that time she was already 60 years old, her health was undermined during imprisonment.
Evdokia Lopukhina died on August 27, 1731 in Moscow, and was buried in the Novodevichy Convent.
Evdokia Lopukhina is credited with a curse that prophesies the death of Petersburg. "This place is empty to be!" - allegedly exclaimed the queen when she was taken to the monastery. Someone thinks that the prophecy was fulfilled during the period of the monstrous siege of Leningrad, someone sees its fulfillment in the loss of Peter the capital status, someone sees the devastation of the Northern capital in the future.
Author: Andrey Sidorchik