Praskovia Saltykova

Praskovia Fyodorovna Saltykova (Russian: Прасковья Фёдоровна Салтыкова) (12 October 1664 – 13 October 1723) was the tsaritsa of Russia as the only wife of Ivan V of Russia. She was the mother of Empress Anna of Russia. She played an important part as the most senior woman of the Russian court in 1698–1712.

Biography

Praskovia Fyodorovna, the daughter of Fyodor Petrovich Saltykov and of a certain Yekaterina Fyodorovna or of Anna Mikhailovna Tatishcheva, became the future bride of Tsar Ivan in the traditional way - by selection from a parade of potential candidates before him (in the last use of this method to choose a tsarina in Russia). Ivan V and Praskovia had five daughters. One of them — Anna Ivanovna — would assume the imperial throne of Russia in 1730. Another daughter, Catherine, became the mother of regent of Russia Anna Leopoldovna (in office: 1740-1741).

Following Ivan V's death in 1696, Praskovia began a long affair with the boyar Vassili Yushkov, whom her husband's successor and younger brother Peter I accepted as a member of his sister-in-law's household. Peter's daughters Elizabeth (future empress) and Anna (mother of future emperor, Peter III) were also educated at Praskovia's court.

Praskovia Fyodorovna lived as a dowager tsarina for a long time after her husband's death - in Moscow and in Saint Petersburg. She had great respect for her brother-in-law emperor Peter I, for whom she held an open court in her palace, as Peter had no legal wife at that time, for which reason there was no place to welcome foreign guests: she thereby functioned as the first lady of the Russian court. Although raised in the old Russian culture, she understood the need for reformation, and hosted her court, as well as raised her daughters, in a modern Western way, which made her well regarded by Peter the Great.

Issue

• Tsarevna Maria Ivanovna (1689–1692)
• Tsarevna Feodosia Ivanovna (1690–1691)
• Tsarevna Ekaterina Ivanovna (1691–1733)
• Tsarevna Anna Ivanovna (1693–1740)
• Tsarevna Praskovia Ivanovna (1694–1731)

References

Other sources

• Nndb.com

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