Catherine I, originally Martha 1684-1727
Empress of Russia and wife of Peter the Great

She was probably of Lithuanian peasant stock, and after her Swedish husband deserted her, she became mistress of Peter I's Chief Minister, Prince Aleksandr Menshikov, and later of Peter himself, changing her name to Catherine and converting to Orthodoxy (1708). The tsar married her as his second wife (1712), and in 1722 he passed a law allowing the tsar to nominate his successor. Catherine was crowned empress in 1724, and after Peter's death (1725) Prince Menshikov ensured her succession to the throne. Illiterate and licentious, she allowed Menshikov to govern in her name. During her reign taxation was lowered and the power of local bureaucracies was reduced. She was succeeded by Peter's grandson, Peter II.