Natalia I the Great, Empress of Russia

Natalia I the Great: Empress of Russia

By the Empire of Althistory

OOC: This timeline arose out of my great interest in the history of Russia, in particular that of the Russian Empire (1721-1917). I had read a book about Russia, titled Russia in the Age of Peter the Great, which inspired my interest into writing this timeline. In this timeline, I have created another child of Peter the Great, named Natalia, who survives beyond childhood and goes on to reign over Russia as Empress for nearly fifty years. In this timeline, I endeavor to maintain proper grammar and pronunication. After I make a couple of posts, I shall create another thread on the AltHistory Writer's forum, to organize all the posrts of my story into one.

IC:

Natalia Petronva Romanov was born in the Second Winter Palace, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on January 18, 1721, the youngest child of the Russian Emperor Peter the Great and his wife, the future Catherine I of Russia. Peter wrote that his daughter was a "plump and healthy baby girl, about nineteen inches in length." As their youngest child, Natalia was to be beloved by both of her parents, who had unique and interesting personalities and manners of character.

Natalia's father, Peter the Great, was a energetic and ambitious man, standing at 6 feet 8 inches tall. Thus he dominated over everyone else simply because of his great height. Yet Peter could be a rough and cruel figure, bullying and prodding his associates and friends into stressfull enterprises. Despite this, he believed that his native homeland, Russia, needed to be Westernized and modernized to bring it on par with western and central Europe. He instigated numerous reforms that strengthened Russia. These included the establishment of a regular army, the creation of a navy, the streamlining of government administration, and the facilitaton of commerce and industries. Peter also engaged in the Great Northern War, which had extended Russian territory to the Baltic seaboard. Natalia was to consider her father a role-model for her own reforms.

Natalia's mother, Catherine, on the other hand, was a overweight and illiterate woman. Many nobles and contemporaries comented on Catherine's "lowly origins". Catherine also shared the crude sense of humor and the manners that her husband had. Despite this, she could be a "pleasant presence", and was regarded as homly by many around the court. Despite her educational defiencies, Catherine was concerned about the welfare and education of her daughters, especially Natalia.
 
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Interesting to give Peter the Great one more surviving daughter. A small nitpick I would say is that I think her name should simply be Natalia Petrovna Romanov. I'm not an expert on Russian namings, but it seems to me that their is only one "-vich" (for boys)/"-vna" (for gilrs) name after the first one and that it's only that of the father.

I wonder how this will affect History though... Technically, Natalia will be 18 in 1739, in the middle of the reign of her cousin Tsarina Anna Ivanovna. Even if things go OTL and Ivan V's bloodline is put aside, Natalia will preceded by her sister Elizabeth Petrovna and by her nephew Peter III. She could be a good contestant agaisnt Catherine II though...

Well, I'll have to see for myself in the next updates I guess. ;)
 

Arrix85

Donor
Natalia, the youngest daughter of Peter, was born in 1718 not in 1721, and die in 1725 so if you are creating another daughter she couldn't be named Natalia.
 
Interesting to give Peter the Great one more surviving daughter. A small nitpick I would say is that I think her name should simply be Natalia Petrovna Romanov. I'm not an expert on Russian namings, but it seems to me that their is only one "-vich" (for boys)/"-vna" (for gilrs) name after the first one and that it's only that of the father.

I wonder how this will affect History though... Technically, Natalia will be 18 in 1739, in the middle of the reign of her cousin Tsarina Anna Ivanovna. Even if things go OTL and Ivan V's bloodline is put aside, Natalia will preceded by her sister Elizabeth Petrovna and by her nephew Peter III. She could be a good contestant agaisnt Catherine II though...

Well, I'll have to see for myself in the next updates I guess. ;)

And also, I will have it diverge from OTL, to allow her to come to power much earlier, at the expense of Elizabeth and Peter III....
 
Natalia was to have a privileged and happy childhood, but she would spend most of this period of her life without her parents. On January 28, 1725, just one week after Natalia's 4th birthday, her father, Peter the Great, died from urinary tract problems. Because the deceased Emperor had not named his successor before his death (as required in his ill-fated Law of Succession of 1722), his wife, and Natalia's Mother, Catherine, was proclaimed the Empress Regant of Russia by a group of nobles and military officers. Catherine, however, reigned for just barely two years, before dying in May 1727. After the death of Catherine I, a variety of other rulers came to power:

First, Peter the Great's grandson, also named Peter, ascended to the throne, as Peter II. However, young Peter reigned for only three years and was largely dominated by his advisors. He died in 1730 and was succeeded by Peter the Great's niece, Anna, the Duchess of Courland. Anna reigned for ten years. However, she was a largely ineffective ruler and was controlled by her German lover and adviser, Ernest Biron. The only action that she conducted which might have benefited Russia was the War of 1736-39, by which Russia reacquired Azov for "commerical and economic purposes". She then died in 1740 and was succeeded by her great-nephew, Ivan VI, who was only a baby. Ivan's mother and Biron acted as his regents and wielded supreme power in his name. Just a year later, in 1741, Ivan was deposed by Natalia's elder sister Elizabeth, who would then rule until she in turn was deposed in 1745 by Natalia herself.

During the twenty years between the death of her father and her own ascension to the throne, Natalia matured into a beautiful, intelligent, and kind young woman, with great energy, wit, and charm. This was largely achieved by her brilliant tutor, the Frenchman Francois Dobare. Dobare, a energetic but firm man, believed that the princess needed to be educated in the best manner possible in order to strive and succeed. Thus, under Dobare, Natalia learned the following five languages, besides her native Russian: English, French, Dutch, German, and Italian. She also read and understood Polish and Latin. Natalia learned about a great variety of subjects, including history, mathematics, the arts, literature, geography and commerical matters, chemistry and physics, astronomy, amongst others. She became known as a kind and respectful person and had a fond love of both music and dance. Dobare was to later write of his student: "the princess is a intelligent and talented women, with great qualities and skills."

Acting on Dobare's advice, Natalia set out on a traveling and educational tour to central and Western Europe on March 17, 1739. She was accompanied by Dobare and her household. Among the travelers included priests, ladies-in-waiting, guards officers, young noblemen, doctors, mathematicians, and experts of various other fields. It even included peasants who Natalia had bought and freed from certain noblemen, as a act of kindness and humanity. She wanted them to learn and mature as well. Anyways, over the next two years, the entourage visited Prussia, Poland, Austria, Venice, the Holy Roman Empire, Holland, France, and Britain. Like her father, Peter the Great, had done in his Grand Embassy of 1697-98, Natalia took in considerable amounts of information and knowledge about the customs, societies, governments, and peoples of the European nations she visited. She learned a great deal that would never had been properly provided by mere education back in Russia alone. During the trip, Natalia met with various European monarchs and princes, including Frederick William I of Prussia, Augustus III of Poland, Charles VI of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire, Louis XV of France, and George II of Britain and Hanover. She met the future Maria Theresa of Austria and the future Frederick the Great of Prussia (both of whom ascended to the thrones of their respective nations in 1740). The princess also met with various French, German, Austrian, Dutch, and British scientists, writers, philosophers, and other such intellectuals, primarily of Enlightenment beliefs. With her exposure to Western European ideals and beliefs, Natalia grew yet more aware of how backward Russia was compared to Western Europe.

Natalia and her entourage returned to Russia on January 8, 1741. She had gained a great deal of considerable insight and knowledge, which she would put to use when she became Empress. The princess had received numerous favorable comments from those who had met or saw her. For example, George II of Britain wrote in his private journal that "the Russian princess was a delightful presence, with such energy and vivacity as befits a beautiful woman of her stature. I would surely wish for no other visitor." The well known French writer Voltaire, a future mentor of Natalia's, wrote that "the Princess Natalia was a energetic person, asking all kinds of questions about various subjects of great meaning....now that is what a ruler should be like: a person filled with energy and curiosity..."
 
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Firstly, I would like to say, WELCOME!

you obviously have already proved yourself as a competent and productive member of our society or silly people who like to think about things that didn't happen :p

this is good work, quite original, and look i forward to more
 
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