Maria Cantemir, Peter I's last love, who was prevented from bearing the emperor an heir by Catherine I's intrigues.
Maria Cantemir, the daughter of the Moldavian ruler Dimitrie Cantemir, could have given Peter I a son and heir who would have had a stronger claim to the throne than the daughters of the humble Catherine I. But she was prevented from doing so.
Princess Maria was the daughter of the Moldavian ruler Dimitrie Cantemir and a Greek woman, Cassandra Cantacuzene. She was born in 1700 and, as a very young child, was brought to Constantinople, where her father, who had been deprived of the Moldavian throne, lived. In 1710, Dimitrie Cantemir finally became Moldavian ruler and returned with his family to Iași, the capital of the Moldavian Principality.
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1710-1713, Cantemir sided with Russia. Peter I lost the war, Moldavia remained under Turkish rule, and Dimitrie Cantemir and his family—his wife and children—arrived in Russia. He was awarded the title of prince and began serving Peter I.
Dmitrie Cantemir had six children, the eldest of whom was a daughter, Maria. The girl received an excellent education – she was taught ancient Greek, Latin, and Italian, the basics of mathematics and astronomy. She was interested in rhetoric and philosophy, classical and Western European literature and history, and was a skilled artist and musician. After moving to Russia, she also began to learn Russian and Slavic literacy.
In 1713, Dimitri Cantemir's wife died, and 13-year-old Maria took on the care of her brothers and sister, the youngest of whom, Antioch (the future Russian poet, writer, and diplomat), was only four years old. In 1717, Maria acquired a stepmother – Prince Dimitri Cantemir married the young Princess Anastasia Trubetskaya, who was the same age as Maria.
The Kantemirs moved to St. Petersburg and became active participants in the capital's social life. The couple also hosted assemblies in their home. Tsar Peter attended, and he could not help but notice the host's eldest daughter. The girl was exceptionally beautiful—with delicate skin, large eyes, and Greek features. Peter was attracted not only by the young princess's beauty, but also by her intelligence and erudition.
Their romance began in the winter of 1721. Although Prince Ivan Grigoryevich Dolgorukov proposed to Maria, Maria refused out of love for the Tsar. His daughter's affair with the Tsar was encouraged by her father. He hoped that if Maria became pregnant and bore Peter a son and heir, he would divorce Catherine, whose only surviving children were two daughters, and marry Maria. He himself would become the Tsar's father-in-law, and his grandson would become the Russian Emperor.
Therefore, there is serious reason to believe that the Kantemir family physician, Polikala, who monitored the health of the pregnant Maria and delivered the baby, was bribed by Catherine and arranged for the labor to begin prematurely. This was also noted by contemporaries of the events.
As the French ambassador, Jacques de Campredon, wrote in his dispatch:
"If the princess gives birth to a son, the Tsarina fears a divorce from her and a marriage to her mistress..."
And historian and academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, Leonid Maikov, wrote:
"While this expedition was taking place, in Astrakhan, at the Tsar's Fish Yard, where quarters had been set aside for the Kantemir family, a dark plot, carefully planned from afar, was carried out. Princess Maria gave birth prematurely to a premature infant. There is information that this labor was artificially accelerated by measures taken by Polikala, the Kantemir family's physician, who also served at the tsarina's court. Polikala's actions were directed by none other than Prince Dmitry's friend, P.A. Tolstoy. It was not the first time he had played a dual role: while bringing the princess closer to Peter, he simultaneously sought to please Catherine. The unfortunate princess found herself his victim, a fragile plaything in his cruel hands. Now Peter's wife could rest easy; the danger she had feared was averted.
Pyotr Tolstoy, the head of Peter I's Secret Chancellery, also played a major role in this tragic story. An intriguer and a deceitful man, he was friends with both Dimitrie Cantemir and Tsarina Catherine. But Catherine's patronage was more important, and it was he who guided the actions of Maria's doctor.
Cooling and the Second Stage of the Relationship with Peter
After the tragic birth, the relationship between Peter and Maria cooled. Rejected by both the Tsar and society, Maria withdrew into her family circle, devoting herself to raising her younger brothers and sisters, including her daughter, born to her stepmother.
Meanwhile, Peter crowned Catherine, making her empress. He was still unaware of his wife's affair with the handsome Villiam Mons. And when all was revealed, Mons was executed in November 1724, and he alienated Catherine.
During this period, the relationship between Peter and Maria Cantemir flared up again. But this time, their romance was very short-lived – Peter soon fell ill and died at the end of January 1725. His unfaithful wife, Catherine I, ascended the throne.
Life after Peter's Death
Having lost her beloved again, this time forever, Maria fell gravely ill. But her youthful body recovered, Maria recovered, and moved to St. Petersburg, where her brothers lived and served. She took no part in court life – she had fallen into disgrace under Empress Catherine. When, after Catherine's death, the throne passed to Peter II, who moved the capital back to Moscow, Maria followed her brothers there. The emperor's sister, Natalia, was very fond of her, and her disgrace was lifted.
In 1730, Anna Ioannovna ascended the throne and invited Maria to court as a lady-in-waiting. But Maria didn't devote much time to court service—she was forced to deal with family matters, including a legal battle with her stepmother over her father's estates. And when the court returned to St. Petersburg, Maria was allowed to remain in Moscow.
Maria built a house for herself on Pokrovsky Boulevard. Initially, it was wooden, but it soon burned down, so she built a second one of stone. Maria lived there. She took no part in court life, but she was no recluse either. She maintained relationships with Elizabeth Petrovna, Biron, Osterman, and the Moscow nobility. Her home housed a literary salon. Maria Cantemir never married, although the Georgian Tsarevich Alexander Bakarovich and the senator and privy councilor Fyodor Vasilyevich Naumov all proposed her hand.
At one point, Maria Cantemir even considered building a monastery on her property and taking monastic vows. But her younger brother, Antioch, with whom she was closest, categorically opposed this decision and threatened to sever all ties with her, and Maria reneged. Her brother, a diplomat, was living in Paris at the time, and they corresponded frequently. Their correspondence has survived and contains much interesting historical information.
In 1741, Maria Cantemir attended the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna. In 1745, she acquired the Ulitkino (Maryino) estate near Moscow, where she built the Church of Mary Magdalene.
Maria Cantemir died on September 9, 1757, at the age of 57. She was buried in the church she built.
