Empress Catherine I, wife of Peter the Great

[agordon2000]

it's admirable that she didn't forget about her family. i think she was in her own way an admirable person.

i also think peter 2nd's exclusion to the throne before catherine has something to do with the fact that alexei had an appalling relationship with his father. peter 1st probably was not very pleased with the idea of being succeeded by alexei's son. i wonder why he chose catherine and not one of his daughters, say... future tsarina elizabeth?

He did not choose anyone. It is thought he would have appointed his daughter Anna but died saying leave all to.....  The appointment of his wife was arranged in a palace coup by the 'New Men."

[agordon2000]

It's a romantic story, the story of Catherine I and her humble origins. Unfortunately she spent most of her reign in an alcoholic haze! It's difficult to judge with such a short reign, whether she would have been a good  Empress or not, but on balance, I think not. She was lucky to survive the Mons affair (think - Henry VIII!!), mostly due to Peter's bad health. Both were heavy drinkers, by the way.

Ok first of all she did not survive the Mons affair due to the bad health of Peter. After three months of not speaking they finally talked at the request of their daughter and after a few hours of crying on her knees they made up. She was not unfaithful she had participated in corruption and accepted bribes for her influence which infuriated Peter when he found out. Her reign was said to be good until the last six month when she was very ill.

[agordon2000]

It's a romantic story, the story of Catherine I and her humble origins. Unfortunately she spent most of her reign in an alcoholic haze! It's difficult to judge with such a short reign, whether she would have been a good  Empress or not, but on balance, I think not. She was lucky to survive the Mons affair (think - Henry VIII!!), mostly due to Peter's bad health. Both were heavy drinkers, by the way.

Well, I think you´re true when you say that she was lucky to survive the Mons affair. I agreed with Massie, who states in his bio on Peter that there was not a sexual relationship between the handsome Willen and Ekaterina. She could have been felt atractted by her gentleman of the bedchamber...but she had forty years, she was not a romantic or a foolish girl, she was a woman with a good deal of common sense. But, of course, Ekaterina was fond of both Willen and his sister Matryona, so she overlooked they were selling their influence to those who wanted to access the emperor or the empress. She played with fire...and she was burned at the end. Willen suffered a very cruel death while Matryona, with ten or eleven beats of knut, was banished from court, exiled in Siberia. Ekaterina loose at the same time Matryona and Willen.


She did not ignore them selling influence - she was part of it. She sold her access to Peter and kept her money in accounts in Amsterdam. Peter was furious.

[agordon2000]

It is hard to know about this relationship, etc. I think it is possible they weren't lovers, as Catherine might have known how Peter the great would react to that, I would think. He would not have anything to do with his once mistress Anna Mons after finding out about her infidelity. Surely Catherine knew that would be a dumb thing to do, I would think. But, she was a very brave woman, and not very inhibited as her short reign proved, so maybe she thought she could get away with something or thought she would could be lovers with him, and it would not hurt. Both she and Peter did drink, but that didn't prevent Peter from accomplishing much.

It is thought Willem was in love with Anna not her mother. Catherine was however involved in he and his sister's corruption scheme. This was never a matter of infidelity, this was a rumor of diplomats in the court. But Peter had fought corruption all his life and then found his closest companion was part of it.