Tsarevna Natalya Alexeyevna of Russia

Who was Tsarevna Natalya Alexeyevna of Russia?

Tsarevna Natalya Alexeyevna of Russia was a Russian playwright. She was the elder daughter of Tsar Alexis and his second wife, Natalia Naryshkina, and the sister of Peter the Great.

Natalia shared the difficulties of her mother and brother during the regency of her half-sister, Tsarevna Sophia. She was very close to her brother Peter, and the siblings shared a very close relationship. She shared Peter’s wish to reform Russia to a Western country, and it was said that ”she loved everything that her brother liked”, and she supported his ideas from their childhood. During his reign, Peter always thought it was important to inform his sister about his achievements and the affairs of the state, and every time he won a victory, he either informed her personally or had Golovin and Menshikov do so.

She was young when Peter instituted his Western reforms, and in contrast to her half-sisters, it was not hard for her to adjust to the new ideals. Her position was also raised after Peter separated from his first spouse Eudoxia Lopukhina in 1698 and she thereby became the hostess of Peter’s court. It was at her court that Peter met his lovers Anisya Kirillovna and Varvara Mikhailovna. Natalia was never married, and there is nothing to indicate that Peter ever contemplated arranging a marriage for his sister – he preferred to have her with him.