Maria Cantemir: biography, family. The Last Love of Peter the Great

The daughter of the Moldovan prince Maria Cantemir is the last favorite of Peter I. Their romance began already at the end of the life of the first Russian emperor. He was complicated by palace intrigues and Peter's marriage with Catherine I. Mary became pregnant with the tsar, but the baby born soon died. The favorite survived the autocrat for 32 years.

A family

Maria Cantemir was born in 1700 in the family of the Moldovan prince Dmitry Kantemir. The girl spent her childhood in Istanbul, where her high-ranking father lived. In 1711, Mr .. Dmitry swore to the Russian Tsar. Peter I then began the Prut march, intending to fortify himself on the Black Sea and weaken the Turkish sultan, whose vassal before was Cantemir. The military campaign failed. Peter I had to sign an unprofitable peace treaty, and his Moldovan defector to remain in Russia (Peter called it "reasonable and in the Soviets capable").

Following the example of his father, Maria Cantemir, having Romanian roots, received a Greek education. She knew Latin and Italian languages, astronomy, the basics of mathematics, rhetoric, philosophy and history. Reading in ancient Greek opened for her ancient literature. The girl was fond of drawing and music.

Moving to Russia

In 1711, Maria Cantemir moved with her family to Kharkov, and in 1713 she was in Moscow. In addition, her father was granted large estates in the Sevsk and Kursk districts. The place of permanent residence of the family was a village near Moscow with a remarkable name Black Dirt. It was located on the road that led to the new capital of St. Petersburg. Before this estate belonged to Prince Vasily Golitsyn - a favorite of the princess Sophia.

Cantemir Maria Dmitrievna settled in a wooden house, built in the old Russian style. One-story, with sloping roofs, it was very different from the architecture that was familiar to the child. Mary in general had to open the world again. Russian literacy was taught by a famous writer and translator Ivan Ilyinsky. The love of reading in Mary also came about thanks to Cassandra's mother, endowed with many good qualities. It was she who was responsible for raising children in those periods when the father could not take care of children. Maria had a sister, Smaragda and four brothers: Matvey, Constantine, Sergei and Antiochus (they all had each other almost pogodkami).

Istanbul teacher

Another teacher, who influenced the fate of the last woman of Peter the Great, was Anastasiya Kondoidi. This person was a Greek priest and connected his life with the Kantemirov family even at the time when she lived in Istanbul. In the Turkish capital, the Russian tsar, as it should have been, had a carefully conspiratorial spy network. Anastasia Kondoidi occupied an important position among those Moscow secret agents. He transmitted his information through a diplomat Peter Tolstoy. With the omnipotent Count, Cantemir Maria Dmitriyevna will maintain relations, already being in the capital.

As for Kondoidi, it was he who introduced his pupil to Italian culture (the priest spent a lot of time on the Apennine peninsula). Espionage activities Anastasia caused suspicions in Istanbul, and he had to flee the Ottoman Empire. He was reunited with Kantemir after their move to Russia, and in his old age under the name of Athanasius assumed monasticism.

Life in Moscow

Still quite young mother of Mary Cantemir Cassandra died in 1713 at the age of 32 years. Chuzhbina was burdened by it, and the tests connected with the moveings and shocks undermined the fragile health. The children were left in the care of their father alone. He gave them all his time until the transfer of Kantemirov to Petersburg. His reason was the rapprochement of Dmitry Konstantinovich and Peter.

In 1717, the king arrived in Moscow, where he lived for 2.5 months. This was one of the most difficult periods in the life of the autocrat. On the eve abroad, his son Alexei fled. Now the tsarevich was trying to return Count Tolstoy to his homeland, and Peter was in a bad mood in Moscow. In early 1718 followed the official abdication of Alexis from the throne. The ceremony of deprivation of the right to the throne took place in the Assumption Cathedral. Then Peter and Dmitry Cantemir began to communicate much more than before. The former Moldavian ruler began to visit the tsar frequently. Unfortunately, the subject of their frequent conversations of that time remained a mystery.

Acquaintance with the Tsar

For the first time, Maria Cantemir saw Peter I in 1711 during the Prut march, when he, together with his wife Catherine, visited the Moldavian capital Iasi. Personal acquaintance took place in 1717 in the father's house near Moscow. Peter 1, having dealt with his family affairs (the returning Tsarevich Alexei died in prison), got rid of many of his close officials, whom he suspected of treason. Now the king needed new people. This circumstance explains his challenge to Dmitry Kantemir in St. Petersburg.

Judging by the way the Moldavian prince hesitated with the move, he did not want to leave Moscow at all. Nevertheless, he could not refuse the formidable tsar. In the newly founded capital, he took with him children, including the young Mary. Petersburg greeted guests with unprecedented in Moscow orders of high society. 57-year-old grandee fell in love with the court beauty Anastasia Trubetskoy, which soon married. After this unexpected turn, Princess Maria Cantemir had to say goodbye to her former, sedate, closed life.

In the capital

Petersburg's higher light lived according to the habits of the king. Peter 1 could not stand Moscow's patriarchy and made the new capital the abode of Western customs. For Mary, who was born in Moldova, such orders were all the more unaccustomed. She reluctantly refused the eastern dress she was accustomed to and put on European fashionable clothes that were fashionable in Petersburg.

Dmitry Cantemir with his young wife and elder daughter was a regular guest at the royal holidays. Peter liked to organize assemblies, skating and balls. Especially plentiful were the holidays in the winter of 1721-1722, which came after the victory of Russia over Sweden in the Northern War. Before that, Peter had been on the road or in the army for two decades. He lived on an inhuman schedule and just made his whole country work. Now there have been weeks of unprecedented celebrations. Their apotheosis turned out to be a merrily masquerade lasting several days. Maria Cantemir and Peter the First met several times on this never-ending feast. In addition, they met because of the joint work of the Tsar and Prince Dmitry.

Favorite

What could Cantemir and Peter the First be attached to each other? First of all, the Moldavian princess was very educated, especially by the standards of both ordinary and noble Russian women of that time. It is known that Peter was distinguished by a great erudition and curiosity. He was fond of science and was constantly drawn to something new. In addition, Mary was different from surrounding women in that she had a lot of foreign and especially Greek. On the exterior of the same girl, almost nothing is known. Her historical portraits were painted posthumously and were compiled according to the fragmentary information of contemporaries.

The girl quickly obeyed the charm of Peter. In the meantime, Maria Cantemir's father was going to marry the girl. Her hands were asked by Prince Ivan Dolgoruky. Dmitry Konstantinovich gave his consent, but Maria, who already had an affair with the emperor, refused to marry. Here it should be noted that the king lived in a marriage. He had a wife - the future Empress Catherine I. She was not just the wife of the Emperor. Catherine remained a longtime companion of the autocrat. His wife accompanied him in military campaigns and did not shun public affairs. It was not easy to replace it.

Pregnancy

In 1722 Dmitry Cantemir wrote a detailed letter to the tsarina, explaining that he had no idea about the relationship of the daughter to the autocrat. However, biographers and historians agree that the prince lied. The mediator between him and Catherine was the same Count Peter Tolstoy, known for his intrigue. The ambitious former ruler hoped that the mistress of Emperor Peter the Great would eventually become his wife, and the Cantemirs and the Romanovs would unite in a dynastic marriage.

Plans Dmitry Konstantinovich approached the implementation, when it became known that Mary is pregnant. Meanwhile, Peter was tired of a peaceful life and began to organize a campaign in Persia. Going to the east, he took with him and Dmitry with his daughter as a retinue. Cantemir was needed by the tsar in order to compose appeals in the Turkish language for residents of the border regions with Persia.

Unsuccessful births

Expedition to Persia started from Astrakhan in July 1722. Peter for a few months stuck in a new war. While he was not there, Maria, who was left in Astrakhan, gave birth. She was solved by the boy, but the baby was premature and quickly died. After the death of the baby Dmitry Cantemir's plans to marry Peter to his daughter fell apart. Moreover, during the campaign in Persia, the prince became seriously ill. He was struck dry (from the same illness, the sister of Maria Smaragda died).

Kantemiry for a long time did not dare to leave Astrakhan. Finally, a strong winter road was established. At first the family planned to get to Moscow, however on the way it turned into the estate Dmitrovka in the modern Orel region. There, Dmitry Konstantinovich became even worse. Father Mary died on September 1, 1723.

Death of Peter

Princess Maria Cantemir, whose biography is a typical example of a rejected favorite, received a paternal inheritance, but in fact she was excommunicated from the court. In this situation, she took up family business. The girl had four younger brothers and a very tiny sister from her second father's marriage.

The situation radically changed in the autumn of 1724. The Empress Catherine had a romance with the camera-junker Will Mons. The tsar became aware of this connection. Peter I was terrible in anger. He executed Mons, but he did not deal with his wife, who shortly before he crowned himself and made his successor on the throne. Nevertheless, their relationship was destroyed. Then Peter again became close with Maria Cantemir. However, this time the connection between the king and the favorite was not destined to continue. At the beginning of 1725 the autocrat fell ill, and on February 8 died.

Future life

With the death of Peter Maria was in disgrace. However, it did not last long. When in 1727 Catherine I died, the princess again became a court figure. At first she lived in St. Petersburg, but then moved to Moscow closer to the brothers who served in the Mother See. Maria enjoyed the favor of Natalia - the sister of Emperor Peter I, and the next ruler Anna Ioannovna in 1830 made her a maid of honor.

Cantemir never married. Her family relationships were limited to caring for her brothers, her sister and numerous lawsuits with her stepmother, the same age. The subject of the dispute was, of course, inheritance. In 1730, Maria Dmitrievna contained a literary salon in her Moscow house. The vice-governor of St. Petersburg Fyodor Naumov was wooing her, but was refused.

Last years

In 1741, Maria attended the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna, who ascended the throne after another palace coup. One of the princess's brothers, Antiochus, moved to Paris. Relatives supported the curious for historians correspondence in the Greek and Italian languages.

In 1745, a favorite of Peter I acquired a Moscow estate near Ulitkino, where she began to live a quiet, measured life. There she built a new church, and in her will indicated that she wanted a monastery to appear on the site of the temple. Maria died on September 9, 1757.