Part III
Russian Duchess and Polish Tsarina
A XIX century fantasy portrait of Agafia Grushetskaya (portrait ordered to 200th anniversary of her birthday)
In 1676 the tragedy came into the House of Kettler – the eldest son and heir, Frederick Casimir Kettler, was killed in action in Dutch service.
His younger brother, Karl Jacob, was promptly recalled to the homeland – to be prepared for eventual inheritance and to find a bride of his own. Countess Sophie Amalie of Nassau-Siegen, widow of Frederick Casimir, declined the offer, so the search of the bride for Karl started elsewhere.
The neighbor and potential ally of Jacob Kettler, Alexis I, Tsar of Russia, had a number of daughters on their own – even though the last time the Russian Tsarevna was married to a foreign Prince was in times of Ivan the Terrible. The best efforts since then ended in disaster, and even these involved foreign princes moving into Russia, not a Russian princess leaving to become consort.
However, there were two circumstances that made this situation different – first of all, Russia, being a major trading partner of Courland, still wanted to retake the lands lost to Sweden under the Treaty of Stolbovo, and that was the mutual interest of Russian and Couronian courts. Second, Tsar Alexis I had a daughter of marriageable age who had the reputation of prodigy – 20-years old Sophia spoke Polish and Latin, wrote poetry, and was reported to have “a keen intellect, not fit for her sex, but rather for a man”.
Without doubt, had Sophia been born a man, the Russian succession would have been more secure. As of now the heir apparent of Alexis I, Tsarevich Feodor, was recovering from a horse accident he suffered a year before – the accident that near took the young’s man life. Had it happened, the Russian government would have faced with difficult situation of Regency for a minor boy – since the spare heirs from both marriages of Tsar Alexis were but children.
The Couronian embassy, sent to inspect the candidacy of “exotic” Duchess Consort, was met with interest, but the negotiations were delayed a bit – Russia was entering the war with Turks, and the Tsar Alexis died from stroke in the middle of negotiations in January 1677, a few months after his 48th birthday.
However, his son, newly crowned Feodor III, despite the apparent sickness, was found sympathizing with Couronian adventure. 16-years old Tsar was interested in foreign politics, and thought that alliance with Electorate of Brandenburg was to be the key for successful foreign policy of Russia – since after ongoing war with Ottoman Empire Russia was to face either Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth, an unreliable ally at the best of times, or Sweden, the target of revanchist ambitions and the Baltic juggernaut.
At least, these were the wars of Feodor’s father. Pleasant as he found the company of his elder sister, he did not want to fight the wars his father did without allies. And thus Sophia had to marry a nephew of Elector of Brandenburg.
Entire 1677 was spent smoothing over legal details – with precedents taken from match of Maria of Staritsa and Danish Prince Magnus, as well as match of Elena of Russia to King Alexander of Poland – the last successful Russian matches abroad.
The end results was that Sophia was to be able to practice her faith in peace, despite her children are to be raised Lutheran (though the younger ones could be sent to Moscow, where they would be educated in the faith of their mother, Sophia was to leave control over religious upbringing of her eldest son to her husband). The dowry offered by Russian government was fabulous, amounting to 200,000 rubles – part of it paid in jewels and in precious furs, the entire sum being paid in installments due to difficulties caused by ongoing war in Ukraine. However, even this was enough to remove the Duke Jacob’s financial woes for a time being.
Courland was to become the leading dealer for Russian goods in the Baltics, with agreement reached that naval goods are to be supplied from Russia at discount rate (in fact, part of the dowry costs was to be paid in raw materials). That was enough for the Couronian naval program to be resumed, and the Navy which once was third strongest in the Baltics to be rebuild.
The marriage was to be celebrated twice – first in Novgorod in the territory of Russia according to the Russian Orthodox rite, and then the wedding party was to leave for Mitau where the ceremony would be repeated according to the Lutheran rite.
The marriage contract was signed on August 1, 1677, and the next day the ceremonies began celebrating the marriage of Tsarevna and heir to the Duchy of Courland.
Sophia saw her husband in person soon after her 20th birthday, on September 20, 1677, when the Russian and Couronian parties met in Novgorod. The wedding celebrated in the Novgorod St. Sophia cathedral (aptly named after patron saint of the bride) was officiated by Patriarch Ioakim himself. After the ceremony Sophia said goodbye to the family members accompanying her so far away from home, and left for the new, unknown life, wedding ceremony being repeated in Mitau a month after.
An engraving of Sophia and her retinue entering the St. Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod
Adjustment to the life in Courland took time, but in 1680 there was a celebratory exchange of correspondence between Moscow and Mitau – Sophia informing her brother on birth of her first child, a son named Theodor Jacob, after his uncle, father and grandfather, while the letter from Moscow informed that her brother finally married.
The lady selected at customary brideshow was a daughter of minor noble from recently annexed Smolensk lands, Agafia Grushetskaya, living in Moscow at her uncle’s house. The bride was of customary upbringing for a Polish noblewoman, knowing Latin and Polish, understanding French, able to play clavichords – raised at the household of hetman Michał Kazimierz Pac, whom her father served for some time. Nevertheless, despite the accusations of “Latin sin”, the bride was pious and devout Orthodox, “as pretty and as kind-hearted as an angel”.
These two marriages were to change the fates of Russia forever.