Catherine I of Russia

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H.I.M. Ekaterina I, Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias

Catherine I (In Russian: Екатерина I Алексеевна) (April 15, 1684 – May 17,1727), the second wife of Peter the Great, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death. She also functioned as co-ruler with her husband from 1724 until his death early in the next year.

There are no documents that confirm the descent of Catherine. The commonly accepted version is that Catherine was born in Jakobstadt (Jēkabpils), in present-day Latvia. Originally named Marta Skavronska, she was the daughter of Samuel Skavronski, a Lithuanian peasant. She was adopted by Ernst Glück, the Lutheran pastor and educator who first translated the Bible into Latvian, in Marienburg. At the age of seventeen, she married a Swedish dragoon. Russian forces captured Marienburg and forced Marta to work in the laundry of the victorious regiment.

Later sent to Prince Aleksandr Menshikov, the best friend of Peter the Great, she became his mistress. In 1703, while visiting Menshikov at his home, Peter met Marta, and shortly after, he took her as his own mistress. In 1705, she converted to Orthodoxy and changed her name to Yekaterina Alexeyevna. She married Peter in February of 1712. Together they had 11 children, all of whom died in childhood except for Anna and Yelizaveta:

Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna (1708 - 1728)
Empress Yelizaveta Petrovna (1709 - 1762)
Grand Duchess Natalia Petrovna (1713 - 1715)
Grand Duchess Margarita Petrovna (1714 - 1715)
Grand Duke Pyotr Petrovich (1715 - 1719)
Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich (1717 - 1717)
Grand Duchess Natalia Petrovna (1718 - 1725)

Despite the scandalous Mons Affair, Peter made Catherine Tsaritsa and joint ruler in 1724. He died (28 January 1725 Old Style) without naming a successor, which encouraged the guards regiments to proclaim Catherine as the ruler of Russia, giving her the title of Empress. The real power, however, lay with her former lover, Menshikov, and with the Supreme Privy Council. Catherine was the first royal owner of the Sarskoje Selo estate, where the Catherine Palace bears her name.

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