Marfa Apraksina

In this name that followsEastern Slavic naming customs,thepatronymicisMatveyevnaand thefamily nameisApraksina.

Marfa Apraksina
Tsarina of Russia
Portrait of Marfa Apraksina, by an unknown painter.
Tsarina of Russia
Tenure	14 February 1682 – 7 May 1682
Born	1664(1664)
Died	1716 (aged 51–52)
Burial	7 January 1716 Peter and Paul Cathedral
Spouse	Feodor III of Russia ​ ​ (m.1682; died 1682)​
Names Marfa Matveyevna Apraksina Russian:Марфа Матвеевна Апраксина
House	Romanov
Father	Matvey Vasilyevich Apraksin
Mother	Domna Bogdanovna Lovchikova

Marfa Matveyevna Apraksina(Russian:Марфа Матвеевна Апраксина;1664–1716) was aTsarinaofRussiaand the second spouse of TsarFeodor III of Russia.

Life

She was the daughter of thepantlerMatvey Vasilyevich Apraksin and Domna Bogdanovna Apraksina,néeLovchikova.Marfa Matveyevna had three brothers, Peter,Fyodorand Andrey, who all became leading statesmen.

Her marriage to the widowed Tsar was arranged by his friend,Ivan Yazykov,who hoped to strengthen his position atcourt.Marfa Matveyevna was approved as a bride byMetropolitanHilarion, himself close to the Apraksin family. She received the status of royalbridein December 1681.Theweddingof seventeen-year-old Marfa Matveyevna to the twenty-year-old Tsar took place on 15 February 1682 (O.S.; 25 February N.S.).

Marfa Matveyevna wastsarinafor only 71 days, from her wedding day to 27 April 1682 (O.S.; 7 May), when the Tsar died ofscurvy.Marfa Matveyevna, beingchildless,still avirginaccording to some assumptions,remained inmourningfor more than thirty years.She first lived inMoscow,then inSaint Petersburgin her ownpalace,at the corner of Admiralty Square and Nevskaya Prospect,near the mansion of her brother,Admiral GeneralFyodor Matveyevich Apraksin. Today, theWinter Palaceis located there.

By her skillful behavior,she created a strong position for herself at court. She retained the trust and respect of her husband's younger brother,Peter the Great,and the whole royal family, and received anallowancefrom thetreasuryuntil the end of her life, without participating in political intrigues.

In December 1715, Marfa Matveyevna visited the sick Tsar, but suddenly became ill herself. On 25, 28 and 30 December, the Tsar visited her, and she died on 31 December. According toFriedrich Christian Weber,the cause of the queen's death waspoisoningfrompickled mushrooms.The Tsar personally attended theautopsy,as, according toPyotr Dolgorukov,he 'wanted to know the truth about [her] short marriage'. Peter 'did not stop before examining the corpse: only having convinced himself of the virginity of his deceased sister-in-law with his own eyes, he handed over to [her brother] the enormous riches bequeathed to [him] for life'.

The Tsarina'sfuneraltook place on 7 January 1716 in thePeter and Paul CathedralinSaint Petersburg,as the fourthburialthere. Marfa Matveyevna was a devout woman, observing the old rituals.She was the last member of theRomanov familywhose funeral and burial were according to the ancient traditions,prohibited by Peter afterwards in the whole country.

References

• Grigoryan VG Romanov. Biographical Directory. - Moscow: AST, 2007.