Avdotya Chernysheva

Avdotya Chernysheva

Avdotya Ivanovna Chernysheva (Russian: Авдотья Ивановна Чернышева; February 12, 1693 – June 17, 1747) was a Russian noble and lady in waiting. She was the royal mistress of Tsar Peter the Great of Russia. She was the daughter of Prince Ivan Ivanovitch Rzyevskiy and Daria Gavrilovna and in 1710 married to Prince Grigorij Petrovitch Chernyshev (1672–1745).

The relationship to Peter continued on and off from 1708 until 1725. In 1717, she was involved in the fall of her rival Mary Hamilton (lady in waiting). It is rumored that Peter died of syphilis after having been infected by Chernysheva, but there is nothing to indicate that she was herself ill. She was the lady in waiting of Empress Anna of Russia in 1730–1745.

References

• Русский биографический словарь: В 25 т. /А. А. Половцов. — М., 1896—1918