Queen of Kukui, beloved of Peter I and mistress of Lefort: The tragedy of the brilliant Anna Mons

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

This was, apparently, not the first and certainly not the last time when a European young lady charmed a Russian man, herself remaining indifferent to him. And if the reasons why they fell in love with Anna Mons were enough, then it is quite difficult to explain the inability of the applicant to evoke reciprocal feelings in her heart, because Tsar Peter I himself was such a challenger.

Acquaintance of the Russian tsar and the German summer resident

Anna Mons was born in 1672 (according to other sources - in 1675) in Moscow, in the German settlement, in the family of Johann Georg Mons, a wine merchant from the city of Minden, in Germany. Mother, Modesta Mogerfleisch, who became Matryona in Russia, gave birth to her husband three more children, two of whom played no less role in the life of the state than their sister Anna. Fate itself contributed to the fact that the paths of the young girl Mons and Tsar Peter Alekseevich sooner or later crossed: she was good-looking, perfectly managed the household and knew how to entertain guests with an interesting conversation, besides, her father, a successful businessman who supplied provisions for the Russian army, was wealthy enough to receive a king in his house.

Mons, especially Matryona, were distinguished by their desire for luxury and ambition, therefore it is likely that the mother herself contributed to the relationship between her daughter and the king. It was equally important and far-sighted at that period to be friends and maintain good relations with Franz Lefort, the closest adviser to Peter at that time, with whom the young tsar became close in the 1690s. It was he who introduced Anna Mons to the sovereign in 1691. It is believed that the girl was by that time the mistress of Lefort himself, and her relationship with Peter would have contributed to the strengthening of his political position at court. Despite the fact that Johann Mons was a wealthy man, after his death, the widow had to sell the shop and mill, and the house and hotel continued to serve the family properly.

Peter himself, after meeting the girl Mons, left his then favorite Elena Fademrech and focused on Anna. By the way, since 1689 he was married - to Evdokia Lopukhina, the mother of Tsarevich Alexei, Natalia Naryshkina picked up the bride for her son. Unfortunately, to this day not a single portrait of Anna Mons has survived, if they existed, it is only known that Anna was very beautiful … True, there is no general opinion even regarding the color of her eyes - some contemporaries said that they were blue, others claimed that they were black.

Anna was an excellent housewife, she cultivated the land with pleasure and knowledge of the matter, took care of the garden. The tsar was really fascinated - he did not just visit Anna at every opportunity, he also gave her expensive gifts. In the Nemetskaya Sloboda, a two-story stone house was bought especially for her, an annual boarding house was assigned from the treasury - to her and his mother-widow, as a decoration Peter presented Anna his portrait in miniature, decorated with diamonds worth a thousand rubles. Mons received from the tsar the Dudin volost in the Kozelsk district.

Almost a queen

Peter, thanks to close communication with Anna and other foreigners, including his longtime mentors, thought more and more about the European way of organizing the state, was interested in Western technologies, medicine and the way of life in general. Anna was in the eyes of the tsar the best that only European civilization can give.

In 1697, under the name of the sergeant Peter Mikhailov, the tsar went abroad to study local customs and establish diplomatic relations with a number of states. Peter's incognito was nominal, he personally met with kings and electors, entered into alliances and reached foreign policy agreements, and also studied shipbuilding and other crafts. Russia during the time of his father, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, was such a power unlike Europe that one can only be surprised at the determination of the young tsar, who embarked on such drastic changes. But if we take into account his deep love for Anna, and according to the testimony of his contemporaries, he was really extremely attached to his favorite, it becomes clear where the most important Russian reformer got his strength and inspiration from.

Anna, as they said, perfectly knew how to behave in society, was witty, cheerful, flirtatious. Is it any wonder that one of Peter's innovations will be the holding of assemblies, where from now on it will be ordered to invite women. Immediately after returning from the Grand Embassy, on August 25, 1698, the king went to his beloved, without even meeting his wife. Moreover, a few days later he was still able to send her to the Suzdal Pokrovsky Monastery. People called Anna Mons the Queen of Kukui - after the name of the German settlement, Kukui, which, in turn, received a nickname from the stream of the same name.

The gap

It would seem that after a ten-year relationship, the favorite could simply bore the sovereign, but this did not happen. But the circumstances were revealed, proving that Anna Mons was unfaithful to her patron. In the fall of 1703, the body of the Saxon envoy Königsek, who had drowned six months earlier, was pulled out of the Neva. In his belongings, they found love letters written by Anna - they were dated to the period during which the Great Embassy fell. By the way, the correspondence that Mons addressed to Peter did not contain a word about love - evil tongues claimed that the German woman not only did not feel tender feelings for the sovereign, moreover, he caused her real disgust. "".

Perhaps this version was not far from the truth - one way or another, since 1704, the favorite, already a former one, was placed under house arrest, she was only allowed to attend church, and only two years later. The "vile, public woman" had to endure the accusations of divination against Peter, which led to the arrest and trial of several dozen people, and Anna's house was confiscated.

Since 1705, the tsar was already in close relations with Martha Skavronskaya, the future Empress Catherine I, but for several years the Prussian envoy Georg Johann von Keyserling sought Anna's hand - Peter did not give his permission for marriage. Moreover, even a small diplomatic scandal erupted when the envoy was beaten by the ruler and Alexander Menshikov - the conflict was settled by the king of Prussia, Frederick I.

The wedding still took place, it happened on June 18, 1711, and in September the newly-made husband died on the way to Berlin under unclear circumstances. Anna faced several years of litigation with her husband's older brother, as a result of which she still received the Courland estate. But soon she herself died - from consumption. It happened in 1714. Anna Mons bequeathed her rather large fortune to her last beloved, Swedish captain Karl Johann von Miller. Apparently, Anna had no children.

Brother Willim became famous for having achieved the special favor of Empress Catherine, and together with his sister Matryona, the lady of state, for several years gained enormous influence in palace circles. But in 1724 he was executed by order of Peter on charges of economic crimes - the Mons did not hesitate to take bribes from interested parties. Matryona, by that time the wife of Peter's protege F. N. Balka, which is why it received the nickname Balksha among the people, was exiled to Tobolsk. On the way, she was caught by the news of the death of the emperor and of Catherine's order to pardon and return back those convicted in this case.

About the Great Embassy of Peter: here.