Maria Miloslavskaya
Encyclopedia
Maria Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya was the first wife of tsar Alexis of Russia and mother of the tsars Feodor III of Russia
Feodor III of Russia
Feodor III Alexeevich of Russia was the Tsar of all Russia between 1676 and 1682....

 and Ivan V of Russia
Ivan V of Russia
Ivan V Alekseyevich Romanov was a joint Tsar of Russia who co-reigned between 1682 and 1696. He was the youngest son of Alexis I of Russia and Maria Miloslavskaya. His reign was only formal, since he had serious physical and mental disabilities...

, as well as regent princess Sophia Alekseyevna
Sophia Alekseyevna
Sophia Alekseyevna was a regent of Russian Tsardom who allied herself with a singularly capable courtier and politician, Prince Vasily Galitzine, to install herself as a regent during the minority of her brothers, Peter the Great and Ivan V...

.

Biography

Maria Ilinichna was a younger daughter of the noble Ilya Danilovich Miloslavsky. In 1648 tsar Alexis I of Russia
Alexis I of Russia
Aleksey Mikhailovich Romanov was the Tsar of Russia during some of the most eventful decades of the mid-17th century...

 reached the age required for marriage. The tsar was to choose his bride among hundreds of noble girls. The selection was managed by tsar's tutor Boris Morozov
Boris Morozov
Boris Ivanovich Morozov was a Muscovite statesman and boyar who led the Russian government during the early reign of Tsar Alexis, whose tutor and brother-in-law he was....

, who arranged the tsar's marriage to Maria, himself marrying her sister Anna. Another tsarina's sister, Irina, married Prince Dmitry Dolgorukov.

The weddings brought much power to Morozov and especially Ilya Miloslavsky, who was made boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....

 and was one of the most powerful courtiers between the wedding in 1648 and his own death in 1668. The marriage was described as happy. Maria was described as beautiful, but there was also a rumour that Maria was a witch with a goat foot who could master sorcery. Maria died several months after her father. When she died, it was first believed, that her widower would never remarry.

Family

Maria had thirteen children but only two sons survived infancy: the future tsar Feodor III of Russia
Feodor III of Russia
Feodor III Alexeevich of Russia was the Tsar of all Russia between 1676 and 1682....

 and the future Ivan V of Russia
Ivan V of Russia
Ivan V Alekseyevich Romanov was a joint Tsar of Russia who co-reigned between 1682 and 1696. He was the youngest son of Alexis I of Russia and Maria Miloslavskaya. His reign was only formal, since he had serious physical and mental disabilities...

, who co-ruled with his half-brother Peter I of Russia
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...

. Maria's granddaughter became Empress Anna of Russia
Anna of Russia
Anna of Russia or Anna Ivanovna reigned as Duchess of Courland from 1711 to 1730 and as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740.-Accession to the throne:Anna was the daughter of Ivan V of Russia, as well as the niece of Peter the Great...

. Maria also had six surviving daughters. The third daughter, Sophia Alekseyevna
Sophia Alekseyevna
Sophia Alekseyevna was a regent of Russian Tsardom who allied herself with a singularly capable courtier and politician, Prince Vasily Galitzine, to install herself as a regent during the minority of her brothers, Peter the Great and Ivan V...

 became regent of Russia during the minority of Peter I.

Maria's sisters died childless. A distant cousin, Solomonida Mikhailovna Miloslavskaya, however, married Andrey Vasiliyevich Tolstoy, becoming the ancestor of the later Tolstoys. In the 20th century, the senior of her descendants was authorized by Nicholas II to add the name of the long-extinct Miloslavskys to his surname. His posterity has been known as the Tolstoy-Miloslavskys.

Issue

  • Tsarevich Dmitri Alexeevich (1648–1649)
  • Tsarevna
    Tsarevna
    Tsarevna or czarevna is the daughter of a Tsar or Tsaritsa, similar to a princess being the daughter of a King or Queen. A Tsarevna could also be the wife to a Tsar's son....

     Yevdokia Alexeevna (1650–1712)
  • Tsarevna
    Tsarevna
    Tsarevna or czarevna is the daughter of a Tsar or Tsaritsa, similar to a princess being the daughter of a King or Queen. A Tsarevna could also be the wife to a Tsar's son....

     Marfa Alexeevna (1652–1707)
  • Tsarevich Alexei Alexeevich (1654–1670)
  • Tsarevna
    Tsarevna
    Tsarevna or czarevna is the daughter of a Tsar or Tsaritsa, similar to a princess being the daughter of a King or Queen. A Tsarevna could also be the wife to a Tsar's son....

     Anna Alexeevna (1655–1659)
  • Tsarevna Sofia Alexeevna (1657–1704)
  • Tsarevna
    Tsarevna
    Tsarevna or czarevna is the daughter of a Tsar or Tsaritsa, similar to a princess being the daughter of a King or Queen. A Tsarevna could also be the wife to a Tsar's son....

     Ekaterina Alexeevna (1658–1718)
  • Tsarevna
    Tsarevna
    Tsarevna or czarevna is the daughter of a Tsar or Tsaritsa, similar to a princess being the daughter of a King or Queen. A Tsarevna could also be the wife to a Tsar's son....

     Maria Alexeevna (1660–1723)
  • Fyodor III
    Feodor III of Russia
    Feodor III Alexeevich of Russia was the Tsar of all Russia between 1676 and 1682....

     (1661–1682)
  • Tsarevna
    Tsarevna
    Tsarevna or czarevna is the daughter of a Tsar or Tsaritsa, similar to a princess being the daughter of a King or Queen. A Tsarevna could also be the wife to a Tsar's son....

     Feodosia Alexeevna (1662–1713)
  • Simeon (1665–1669)
  • Ivan V
    Ivan V of Russia
    Ivan V Alekseyevich Romanov was a joint Tsar of Russia who co-reigned between 1682 and 1696. He was the youngest son of Alexis I of Russia and Maria Miloslavskaya. His reign was only formal, since he had serious physical and mental disabilities...

     (1666–1696)
  • Tsarevna
    Tsarevna
    Tsarevna or czarevna is the daughter of a Tsar or Tsaritsa, similar to a princess being the daughter of a King or Queen. A Tsarevna could also be the wife to a Tsar's son....

    Yevdokia Alexeevna (1669–1669)
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