The curse of Evdokia. The tragic fate of Evdokia Lopukhina - the first wife of Tsar Peter I. The wife of Peter 1 was a servant

There were legends about the cool temperament of Peter I. He did not spare his enemies, and dealt with personal rivals with particular cruelty. Both of his wives were convicted of infidelity, and those who turned the king into a cuckold paid for it with their lives. And in choosing methods of execution, Peter I showed incredible ingenuity...

G. Kneller. Portrait of Peter I, 1697. Fragment

Peter's family idyll with his first wife Evdokia Lopukhina did not last long: the tsar lost interest in his wife a year later, and soon he completely exiled her to the Suzdal Intercession Monastery. For more than 10 years, Evdokia lived there completely alone, but one day Major Glebov arrived from Moscow to Suzdal to conduct a recruitment drive. Having met the former queen, he lost his head. His feelings turned out to be mutual, and the love correspondence grew into a relationship that lasted several years.

P. Gunst. Peter I. Engraving from the work of G. Kneller

Peter himself imprisoned his wife in a monastery and himself achieved a divorce from her, but upon learning of her infidelity, he was furious. During a search of Glebov, love letters from the queen were found. Blinded by jealousy and anger, Peter I subjected Stepan Glebov to terrible torture. First, he received 34 blows with a whip on the rack, then burning coals were sprinkled on his open wounds, and after that he was tied to a board studded with nails. At the same time, the major held on courageously, admitting his guilt, but denying the queen’s guilt - although their love affair at that time was a proven fact.

Stepan Glebov was sentenced to death, however, for “high treason.” The execution was sophisticated and painful: when criminals were impaled, the execution instrument passed right through the person’s body, and death occurred quite quickly. But for Glebov they prepared a stake with a crossbar, which did not allow the tip to pass through the entire body and prolonged the torment and agony. The stake was erected on Red Square, for everyone to see and intimidate. Glebov died only on the second day, without making a sound. He was not even allowed to receive communion before his death - the priests were afraid of the royal wrath. The body of the executed man was thrown into a ditch. But Peter did not stop there and 3 years later he ordered the Holy Synod to anathematize him.

Peter's first wife Evdokia Lopukhina

The second wife of Peter I, Catherine, cheated on him with the chamberlain Willim Mons, the brother of one of his former favorites. At that time, he was a fairly influential person at the queen’s court - he was in charge of finances and palace management, supervised purchases, organized holidays and celebrations, and accompanied the queen on trips around Russia and abroad. Catherine's reputation was not impeccable - they said that she was always prone to drunkenness and debauchery, so it is not surprising that Mons soon became her lover.

Unknown artist. Portrait of Peter I and Catherine I

Despite all the caution and prudence of Catherine and Willim Mons, Peter eventually learned of the betrayal. In addition, it was discovered that, taking advantage of his official position, Mons repeatedly took bribes for interceding with the royal couple and delivering petitions to them. During interrogation, he confessed to everything and admitted his guilt. According to the decree of October 25, 1723, bribery in the public service was punishable by death and confiscation of property, so Mons was sentenced to death.

Peter's second wife Catherine I

The night before his execution, Mons wrote poems in German in which he declared his love for the queen. In November 1724 the sentence was carried out. Catherine was brought to the place of execution and forced to watch as Mons' head was cut off. Then Peter ordered the severed head to be placed in a jar of alcohol and placed in his wife’s bedroom.

P. Zharkov. Peter I, 1796. Fragment

Catherine miraculously managed to avoid the fate of Peter's first wife and her lover. If the queen had been convicted of adultery and executed, the question of the true paternity of her daughters would have arisen, and then none of the European princes would have married Russian princesses. Therefore, Peter had mercy on his wife and was even able to forgive her. And after the death of the king in 1725, she became an autocratic empress and returned freedom to all those convicted in the Mons case.

Peter's second wife Ekaterina

In Russia, the last official divorce of the first person of the state happened 316 years ago, when Peter the Great separated from 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 is to say nothing. The young tsar did not take any part in the selection of the bride and in the decision about the marriage itself - the whole process was taken into her own hands by his mother Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, the widow of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

By the way, Natalya Kirillovna herself was the tsar’s second wife. True, Alexey Mikhailovich did not get a divorce - his first wife, who gave birth to thirteen children, died from the consequences of another birth.

Natalya Kirillovna, arranging her son’s marriage, cared 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 rebellion, two kings were officially on the throne - Ivan and Peter, with their elder sister Sophia performing the duties of regent. Various political forces tried to strengthen their influence.

Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina

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 guardianship 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, and this clan was extremely numerous, which was also an important factor.

Did not get along

Peter was already passionate about the army, shipbuilding, and the Western way of life, while Evdokia was raised in the traditions of Domostroy. However, for about a year, the couple's relationship was that of a couple in love.

The drawing is located at the beginning of the “Book of Love, a sign in an honest marriage,” presented in 1689 as a wedding gift to Peter the Great.

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 discord began in the family, for which there were several reasons. Firstly, as already mentioned, Evdokia did not share her husband’s interests. Secondly, contemporaries note that despite her external beauty, Evdokia Lopukhina did not shine with intelligence, and did not know how to adapt to her husband.

Thirdly, the relationship with the mother-in-law did not work out either - Natalya Kirillovna was dissatisfied with her daughter-in-law. Relatives also “contributed” here - the Lopukhins turned out to be not reliable allies, but greedy and selfish people who arranged a noisy division of government posts.

During the first three years, Evdokia bore Peter three sons: Alexei, Alexander and Pavel, but the youngest two died in infancy.

The royal marriage was bursting at the seams: in 1692, Peter the Great began 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 this, the king made the final decision on divorce.

While at the Grand Embassy abroad, he gave the order to the nearby boyars who remained in Moscow to persuade Evdokia to become a nun - this was precisely the fate that awaited the “divorced” queens in Russia during this period of time.

Evdokia refused, citing concern for her son, Tsarevich Alexei. The queen had more than enough supporters, even Patriarch Andrian tried to “reason” with Peter.

Evdokia Fedorovna Lopukhina went down in history as the first wife of the reformer Tsar, the first Russian Emperor Peter I, and as the mother of Tsarevich Alexei. In addition, she became the last Russian queen (since after her, female reigning persons bore the title of empress) and the last reigning equal non-foreign wife of the Russian monarch.

This, however, had the opposite effect - the enraged king gave the order to tonsure Evdokia as a nun by force. 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, the Lopukhins.

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 St. Petersburg, the fleet, and the war with the Swedes, did not remember his ex-wife, she lived in the monastery as a laywoman, came into contact with the Tsar’s opponents, accepted the honors due to the Tsarina and, which was completely unthinkable, took a lover.

Evdokia's relationship with Major Stepan Glebov began around 1709 and lasted for a long time. The truth emerged during the investigation of the “case of Tsarevich Alexei”, when Peter the Great suspected his son and his entourage of conspiracy.

Evdokia Lopukhina

Evdokia was also involved in the investigation of the conspiracy in 1718. During interrogation, she did not deny her connection with Glebov, for which she was whipped by the verdict of the clergy court. Many of the queen's entourage were executed.

The most terrible fate befell Stepan Glebov - he was tortured for a long time, trying to force him to confess to a conspiracy against the sovereign. Glebov, who admitted having an affair with the queen, denied this accusation. He was executed by impalement and died painfully within 14 hours. Some contemporaries claimed that Evdokia was forced to be present at the execution of her lover.

Curse of Evdokia

The queen herself was transported to the Ladoga Monastery, and seven years later to Shlisselburg.

She suffered an amazing fate - Evdokia outlived her husband, Peter’s second wife, son and even grandson of Peter II, who freed her from prison, provided her with financial support and restored her to 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 her imprisonment.

Borel, P. F. Portrait of Evdokia Fedorovna Lopukhina, Elena as a monk: [Print]. - 1854

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 St. Petersburg. " This place is empty!”– the queen allegedly exclaimed when she was taken to the monastery.

Some believe that the prophecy was fulfilled during the monstrous siege of Leningrad, others see its fulfillment in the loss of St. Petersburg’s capital status, others see the devastation of the Northern capital in the future...

Today, many analysts are increasingly considering alternative versions of historical facts. The events that will be discussed could dramatically change Russian history and, perhaps, not for the worse. The wedding of the prince...

Today, many analysts are increasingly considering alternative versions of historical facts. The events that will be discussed could dramatically change Russian history and, perhaps, not for the worse.

The wedding of Tsarevich Peter and Evdokia, the daughter of the sovereign's steward, took place in the winter of 1689. The bride was 20 years old, and the groom was three years younger than her. It so happened that Evdokia became the last Russian queen of non-foreign origin. Neither Peter nor his young bride made a decision about marriage: the initiative belonged to the prince’s mother, Natalya Kirillovna (nee Naryshkina). The queen, arranging the marriage of her beloved son, solved several problems: she wanted to weaken the forces of opponents who wanted Princess Sophia to remain on the throne, acting as regent for her minor brothers, Ivan and Peter; strengthen Peter’s position by gaining the bride’s large and numerous family, the Lopukhins, as supporters. Natalya Kirillovna was in a hurry because the second heir to the throne, Ivan Alekseevich, and his wife Praskovya Saltykova were already expecting a child, which means Ivan was perceived by society as an adult heir ready to rule the state.

Peter did not love his wife and married only at the insistence of his mother. The wedding was not distinguished by splendor: everything was very modest and quiet. A year later, Peter and Evdokia had a son, named Alexei in honor of his grandfather. Few people know that after 1.5 years Evdokia gave birth to a second son, Alexander, but he lived only seven months, and in 1692 a son, Pavel, was born, who died at the age of one year.

Peter was rarely with his family: he spent all his time having fun on Lake Pereyaslavl. Evdokia tried very hard to be a good and loving wife. During her husband’s numerous absences, she sent him messages in which she called her husband “sweetie” and asked him to return home as quickly as possible. But Peter had long lost interest in his wife and excluded her from his life. The German Lefort became Peter’s friend and adviser. It was he who introduced the future Russian emperor to his mistress Anna Mons, who became a close person to Peter for many years. Anna fully corresponded to the desires of the young tsar: cheerful, well-mannered, loving - she was able to maintain the interest of the Russian sovereign in herself. It so happened that Peter I spent most of his time in the company of Annushka, and not next to his wife and son. It is possible that it was under the influence of Lefort and Anna Mons that Tsar Peter hated and laughed at his wife, considering her a stupid and uneducated woman.

Natalya Kirillovna, as best she could, supported the fragile relationship between her son and daughter-in-law. But after her death, Peter decided to leave his wife. He ordered the boyars to convince Evdokia to become a nun, but she refused. The angry king ordered Evdokia to be forcibly taken to the Intercession Monastery, located in the city of Suzdal. The young woman was taken to the monastery in a simple carriage. Evdokia had a hard time being separated from her only son; she refused to take monastic vows, not wanting to live out her life in a cramped monastic cell away from her child. And although, over time, she agreed, even as a nun, she lived with the hope of changing her fate for the better. In the monastery they loved her and treated her like an empress. Peter I did not give any money for her maintenance, but Evdokia was still provided with everything she needed: she had servants who accompanied her on pilgrimages, and she retained the court rituals due to the empress.

All the years spent in the monastery, Evdokia thought about her son. The only time mother and son managed to meet was in 1708, but this meeting aroused the king’s anger; he subsequently forbade the son to communicate with his mother. He was especially angry that everyone considered Evdokia an empress, despite her removal from her reigning husband and imprisonment in a monastery.

In 1710, a young officer Stepan Glebov arrived in the city where the exiled queen lived. He owned rich landowners' lands and had influential patrons in the capital. He recruited recruits for the army. Having learned from his confessor that Queen Evdokia lived in a cold cell in the monastery, he sent her expensive furs. Soon their meeting took place. Evdokia and Stepan fell in love with each other. But their happiness did not last long: soon the officer got tired of their secret meetings, he broke off all relations with her. In addition, he quite rightly feared the wrath of the sovereign.

In 1720, Lieutenant Skornyakov arrived at the monastery, who was tasked with investigating the conspiracy against the sovereign. The version of the conspiracy was based on the fact that the majority of the people considered Evdokia only temporarily removed from power and continued to treat her as a true empress. About 45 people were arrested and sent to Moscow. Evdokia was scared and confessed her love for Glebov. This confession cost the young officer his life: he was brutally tortured, trying to extract a confession to the conspiracy, and executed in front of his beloved - this was Peter’s revenge on the man who encroached on “his property.” The name of Stepan Glebov was soon forgotten, Evdokia was taken to the Assumption Monastery on Ladoga. But Peter did not give up his attempts to prove that the queen was the instigator of the conspiracy. There is information that Evdokia tried to save her son Alexei, taking advantage of her relatives’ connections. It is not known for certain whether Glebov helped her in this. But since Alexei died, it means that Evdokia was unable to help her son.

After the death of Peter I, Evdokia did not receive freedom. She was transferred to the Schlisserburg fortress and placed in an underground prison. The queen fell ill, and only one old, feeble old woman looked after her. Evdokia spent two long years in terrible conditions.

Only upon the accession to the throne of her grandson Peter II, the prisoner was visited by the emperor himself with his sister Natalya and aunt Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter I. The young emperor demanded from the Supreme Council not only to release the grandmother from captivity, but also to assign her sufficient maintenance at the expense of the state treasury.

Since then, Queen Evdokia was sometimes seen at court. She was next to her grandson during his betrothal to Ekaterina Dolgoruka, as well as at the coronation of Peter I’s niece, Anna Ioannovna. They say that after the ceremony was completed, the new empress approached the old empress and hugged her, expressing her affection for Evdokia.

It should be noted that after the death of the grandson of Peter II, there were proposals to elevate Queen Evdokia to the Russian throne, but the seventy-year-old woman decided that she did not have the strength to lead the state.

Evdokia Lopukhina died in the summer of 1731 and was buried on the territory of the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow.

Legends say that Queen Evdokia, when she was taken to the monastery on the orders of her husband, cursed St. Petersburg. Perhaps the prophecy came true during the siege of the city by the Nazis, or the curse worked when St. Petersburg lost its status as the capital of the state. But this, perhaps, is not important today - everyone lives their life as fate has destined for them - and the city too.

The mystery of history is that it is unknown what the fate of the Russian state would have been like if Queen Evdokia had managed to save her son’s life. Perhaps this would have led to a completely different historical network of events!

Evdokia Lopukhina became the last queen of Russian origin, all other wives of Russian emperors will be foreigners. But the fact that this marriage was concluded with a Russian girl of the Orthodox confession is the merit of the Tsar’s mother.

Praskovya Lopukhina, as the girl was named at birth, was born on July 30 (August 9), 1669 in the village of Serebreno, Meshchovsky district. She came from an ancient family, the ancestor of which was considered the legendary Prince Rededya.

The Lopukhins owned Tver and Novgorod estates and served at the sovereign's court. By the end of the 17th century they were among the most influential noble families. The Lopukhins were in friendly relations with the Naryshkins, who rose to prominence thanks to the marriage of Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

Good relations with the Naryshkins contributed to the rise of the Lopukhin family, now through marriage with the son of Alexei Mikhailovich, Tsar Peter. The marriage of young Peter, who quite early began to join in the “joys” of adult life, became one of the main thoughts of Natalya Kirillovna’s mother. The writer Alexei Tolstoy, author of the novel “Peter I,” describes maternal worries and anxieties this way:

“Petrusha needs to be married,” he became tall, twitching, drinking wine, all with German girls, with girls... He’ll get married, calm down... Yes, I should go with him, with the young queen, to the monasteries, beg God for happiness, protection from Sonya’s sorcery , fortresses from the rage of the people..."

On the advice of her brother Lev Kirillovich, Tsarina Natalya began to consider Praskovya Lopukhina as a match for sixteen-year-old Peter:

“Well, sister, marry him, it won’t be worse... Here at the Lopukhins, at the devious Larion, the girl Evdokia is of marriageable age, in her prime... The Lopukhins are loudmouths, a numerous, seedy race... Like dogs will be around you ..."

Peter fulfilled his mother's will, the bride was truly prominent. Boris Kurakin notes that there was "The princess has a pretty face." Before the wedding, the girl’s name and patronymic were changed, from Praskovya Illarionovna to Evdokia Fedorovna, and in January 1689, young Peter and Evdokia were married.

Since, according to medieval Russian concepts, it is not age that makes a person an adult, but marriage, the tsar received every right to rid himself of the tutelage of the ruler’s sister Sophia. Thus, the main task was solved; there was no need for Sophia’s regency, and Peter actually became the sole ruler of the state.

Did the young tsar stop visiting the German settlement after his marriage? In the first year, I probably stopped. As Kurakin reports, first love between spouses “There was a fair amount of it, but it only lasted for a year.” Later, the tsar again became interested in German girls, and even wanted to marry the German Anna Mons, Lefort introduced him to her, in order to gain leverage over Peter.

The cooling of relations between the spouses began quite quickly and soon reached such an extent that the king began to persuade the mother of his sons to accept monasticism. The Lopukhins, over whom a shadow fell after the discovery of the conspiracy, fell into disgrace, and the queen herself was sent to the Suzdal Intercession Monastery and forced to take monastic vows with the name Elena.

In Suzdal, the former queen met Major Stepan Glebov, for whom she began to have feelings; this connection brought the major to the chopping block and tightened Lopukhina’s position. She was transferred to the Staraya Ladoga Assumption Monastery, where she remained until the death of Peter Alekseevich. But his death did not bring deliverance to the involuntary nun; Catherine I, fearing that Lopukhina’s candidacy would be used in claims to the throne, imprisoned her in the Shlisselburg fortress, where nun Elena spent two years.

Only the grandson, Tsar Peter II Alekseevich, freed the grandmother from captivity, transported her to Moscow and restored the honor and dignity of the queen. After 29 years of imprisonment, the queen spent 4 years in freedom.

She died in 1731, at the age of 62, and was buried in the Smolensk Church of the Novodevichy Convent.

“God made me know the true price of greatness and earthly happiness,”- said Evdokia Feodorovna before her death.

Queen Evdokia Fedorovna nee Lopukhina(at birth Praskovya Illarionovna, in monasticism Elena; June 30, 1669 - August 28, 1731) - queen, first wife of Peter I (from January 27, 1689 to 1698), mother of Tsarevich Alexei, the last Russian queen and the last reigning equal non-foreign wife of the Russian monarch.

Evdokia's father was Fyodor Avraamovich Lopukhin, a lawyer at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Under Fyodor Alekseevich, Evdokia's father became a colonel and head of the Streltsy, later - the sovereign's steward and okolnichy, and in connection with the wedding of Evdokia and Peter I, he was elevated to the rank of boyar. Evdokia was born in the family patrimony of the village of Serebreno, Meshchovsky district. The city of Meshchovsk was the birthplace of Tsarina Evdokia Streshneva, the wife of Mikhail Fedorovich, the grandfather of Peter I. During the wedding, the name “Praskovya” was changed to the more euphonious and befitting Tsarina “Evdokia”, perhaps in honor of her compatriot, and also, perhaps, so as not to coincide with the name of the wife of co-ruler Peter I - Praskovya Saltykova, wife of Ivan V. The patronymic was changed to “Fedorovna” (traditionally, in honor of the shrine of the Romanovs - the Feodorovskaya icon).

Drawing at the beginning "Books of love are a sign in an honest marriage," presented in 1689 as a wedding gift to Peter the Great.

She was chosen as a bride by Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna without agreeing on this issue with her 16-year-old groom. The mother was prompted to the idea that it was time for her son to get married by the news that Praskovya Saltykova was expecting a child (2 months after Peter’s wedding to Lopukhina, Princess Maria Ivanovna was born). Natalya Kirillovna was seduced in this marriage by the fact that although the Lopukhin family, which was among the Naryshkin allies, was seedy, it was numerous, and she hoped that they would guard the interests of her son, being popular in the Streltsy troops. Although there was talk about Peter's marriage to a relative of Golitsyn, the Naryshkins and Tikhon Streshnev prevented this.

The wedding of Peter I and Lopukhina took place on January 27, 1689 in the church of the Transfiguration Palace near Moscow. The event was significant for those who were waiting for Peter to replace the ruler Sophia, “since according to Russian concepts, a married man was considered an adult, and Peter, in the eyes of his people, received the full moral right to rid himself of his sister’s guardianship.”

Evdokia was raised according to the ancient customs of Domostroy, and did not share the interests of her pro-Western husband. Boris Ivanovich Kurakin was married to her sister Ksenia in 1691. He left a description of Evdokia in the “History of Tsar Peter Alekseevich”: “And the princess had a fair face, only an average mind and disposition not similar to her husband, which is why she lost all her happiness and ruined her entire family... True, at first there was love between them, the king Peter and his wife, it was a fair one, but it only lasted for a year. But then she stopped; Moreover, Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna hated her daughter-in-law and wanted to see her in disagreement with her husband rather than in love. And so it came to the end that from this marriage great deeds followed in the Russian state, which were already obvious to the whole world...” He characterizes the Lopukhin family, who soon after the wedding found themselves “in full view” of court life: “... evil people , stingy sneakers, of the lowest minds and not knowing the slightest bit about courtyard manners... And by that time everyone hated them and began to reason that if they came to mercy, they would destroy everyone and take over the state. And, in short, they were hated by everyone and everyone sought harm from them or were in danger from them.”

From this marriage, during the first three years, three sons were born: the youngest, Alexander and Pavel, died in infancy, and the eldest, Tsarevich Alexei, born in 1690, was destined to a more fatal fate - he would die on the orders of his father in 1718.

Peter quickly lost interest in his wife and from 1692 became close to Anna Mons in the German settlement. But while his mother was alive, the king did not openly demonstrate antipathy towards his wife. After the death of Natalya Kirillovna in 1694, when Peter left for Arkhangelsk, he stopped maintaining correspondence with her. Although Evdokia was also called the queen, and she lived with her son in a palace in the Kremlin, her relatives, the Lopukhins, who held prominent government positions, fell into disgrace. The young queen began to maintain communication with people dissatisfied with Peter's policies.

In 1697, just before the tsar’s departure abroad, in connection with the discovery of the conspiracy of Sokovnin, Tsykler and Pushkin, the tsarina’s father and his two brothers, the boyars Sergei and Vasily, were exiled by governors away from Moscow. In 1697, Peter, while on the Grand Embassy, ​​wrote from London to his uncle Lev Naryshkin and boyar Tikhon Streshnev, as well as the queen’s confessor, to persuade Evdokia to become a nun (according to the custom accepted in Rus' instead of divorce). Evdokia did not agree, citing her son’s youth and his need for her. But upon returning from abroad on August 25, 1698, the king went straight to Anna Mons.

Having visited his mistress on the first day and visited several more houses, the tsar only a week later saw his legal wife, and not at home, but in the chambers of Andrei Vinius, the head of the Postal Department. Repeated persuasion was unsuccessful - Evdokia refused to take her hair, and on the same day asked for the intercession of Patriarch Adrian, who stood up for her, but to no avail, only provoking the rage of Peter. After 3 weeks she was taken under escort to the monastery. (There are indications that he actually wanted to execute her first, but was persuaded by Lefort).

Evdokia Lopukhina in monastic vestments

On September 23, 1698, she was sent to the Suzdal-Pokrovsky Monastery (the traditional place of exile for queens), where she was tonsured under the name of Elena. The archimandrite of the monastery did not agree to tonsure her, for which he was taken into custody. In the Manifesto, later published in connection with the “case of Tsarevich Alexei,” Peter I formulated charges against the former queen “...for some of her disgusts and suspicions.” It is worth noting that in the same 1698, Peter tonsured his two half-sisters Martha and Theodosia for their sympathy for the deposed princess Sophia.

Six months later, she actually left monastic life, beginning to live in a monastery as a laywoman, and in 1709-10 she entered into a relationship with Major Stepan Glebov, who came to Suzdal to conduct a recruitment drive, which was introduced to her by her confessor Fyodor Pustynny.

From Evdokia’s letter of gratitude to Peter: “Most merciful sir! In past years, and in which I don’t remember, according to my promise, I was tonsured in the Suzdal Intercession Monastery as an old woman and I was given the name Elena. And after being tonsured, she wore a monastic dress for six months; and not wanting to be a monk, leaving monasticism and throwing off her dress, she lived in that monastery secretly, under the guise of monasticism, as a laywoman..."

According to some indications, the Glebovs were neighbors of the Lopukhins, and Evdokia could have known him since childhood.

From Evdokia’s letter to Glebov: “My light, my father, my soul, my joy! I know that the damned hour has come that I must part with you! It would be better if my soul parted with my body! Oh, my light! How can I be in the world without you, how can I be alive? My damned heart has already heard a lot of something that makes me sick, I’ve been crying for a long time. Oh, with you, I know it will grow. I don’t have any lover than you, by God! Oh, my dear friend! Why are you so dear to me? My life in the world is no longer for me! Why were you angry with me, my soul? Why didn't you write to me? Wear, my heart, my ring, loving me; and I made the same one for myself; That’s why I took it from you”

The case of Tsarevich Alexei

Suzdal Intercession Monastery

Sympathy for the exiled queen remained. Bishop Dositheus of Rostov prophesied that Evdokia would soon be a queen again and commemorated her in churches as the “great empress.” They also predicted that Peter would reconcile with his wife and leave the newly founded Petersburg and his reforms. All this was revealed from the so-called. Kikinsky search in the case of Tsarevich Alexei in 1718, during the trial of which Peter learned about her life and relations with opponents of reforms. Her participation in the conspiracy was open. Captain-Lieutenant Skornyakov-Pisarev was sent to Suzdal to search, and he arrested her along with her supporters.

On February 3, 1718, Peter gave him the command: “Decree of the bombardment company to captain-lieutenant Pisarev. You should go to Suzdal and there, in the cells of my ex-wife and her favorites, inspect the letters, and if there are any suspicious ones, according to the letters from whom you took them, take them under arrest and bring them with you along with the letters, leaving a guard at the gate.”

Skornyakov-Pisarev found the former queen in a secular dress, and in the church of the monastery he found a note where she was remembered not by a nun, but by “Our pious great empress, queen and Grand Duchess Evdokia Fedorovna,” and wished her and Tsarevich Alexei “a prosperous stay and a peaceful life , health and salvation and in all good haste now and henceforth many and countless years to come, in a prosperous stay for many years to live.” .

Tsarevich Alexei, the only surviving son of Evdokia

During interrogation, Glebov testified, “And I fell in love with her through the old woman Kaptelina and lived fornication with her.” Elders Martemyan and Kaptelina testified that “nun Elena allowed her lover to come to her day and night, and Stepan Glebov hugged and kissed her, and we were either sent away by the padded warmers to go to our cells, or walked out.” Captain Lev Izmailov, who conducted a search of the guards, found 9 letters from the queen from Glebov. In them, she asked to leave military service and achieve the position of governor in Suzdal, recommended how to achieve success in various matters, but mainly they were dedicated to their love passion. Evdokia herself testified: “I lived fornicately with him while he was recruiting, and that’s my fault.” In a letter to Peter, she confessed everything and asked for forgiveness so that she “You cannot die a worthless death.”

On February 14, Pisarev arrested everyone and took them to Moscow. On February 20, 1718, in the Preobrazhensky dungeon, a confrontation took place between Glebov and Lopukhina, who were not locked in their relationship. Glebov was accused of writing “tsifir” letters, in which he poured out “dishonest reproaches concerning the banner of the high person of His Royal Majesty, and to indignation against His Majesty of the people.” The Austrian Player wrote to his homeland: “Major Stepan Glebov, terribly tortured in Moscow with a whip, hot iron, burning coals, tied to a post for three days on a board with wooden nails, did not confess to anything.” Then Glebov was impaled and suffered for 14 hours before dying. According to some instructions, Evdokia was forced to be present at the execution and was not allowed to close her eyes or turn away.

After a brutal search, other supporters of Evdokia were executed, others were whipped and exiled. Monks and nuns of Suzdal monasteries, Krutitsy Metropolitan Ignatius and many others were convicted of sympathy for Evdokia. The abbess of the Intercession Monastery Martha, the treasurer Mariamne, the nun Capitolina and several other nuns were convicted and executed on Red Square in Moscow in March 1718. The council of clergy sentenced her to be beaten with a whip, and in their presence she was flogged. On June 26 of the same year, her only son, Tsarevich Alexei, died. In December 1718, her brother Lopukhin, Abram Fedorovich, was executed.

As a result, in 1718 she was transferred from Suzdal to the Ladoga Assumption Monastery, where she lived for 7 years under strict supervision until the death of her ex-husband. In 1725 she was sent to Shlisselburg, where Catherine I kept her in strictly secret custody as a state criminal under the title of “famous person” (Evdokia posed a greater threat to the new empress, whose rights were questionable, than to her husband, the real Romanov).

After the accession of Peter II

Peter II and Grand Duchess Natalya Alekseevna are the grandchildren of Evdokia

With the accession of her grandson Peter II (several months later), she was honorably transported to Moscow and lived first in the Ascension Monastery in the Kremlin, then in the Novodevichy Convent - in the Lopukhin Chambers. The Supreme Privy Council issued a Decree on restoring the honor and dignity of the queen with the confiscation of all documents discrediting her and canceled its 1722 decision on the appointment of an heir by the Emperor according to his own intentions, without taking into account the rights to the throne (although Alexander Menshikov strenuously resisted this). She was given a large allowance and a special courtyard. 4,500 rubles were allocated for her maintenance. per year, upon the arrival of Peter II in Moscow, the amount was increased to 60 thousand rubles. annually. Lopukhina did not play any role at the court of Peter II.

After the death of Peter II in 1730, the question arose about who would become his heir, and Evdokia was mentioned among the candidates. There is evidence that Evdokia Feodorovna refused the throne offered to her by members of the Supreme Privy Council.

She died in 1731 during the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna, who treated her with respect and came to her funeral. Before her death, her last words were: “God made me know the true price of greatness and earthly happiness.” She was buried in the cathedral church of the Novodevichy Convent near the southern wall of the Cathedral of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God next to the tombs of princesses Sophia and her sister Ekaterina Alekseevna.