Avdotya Chernysheva

Who was Avdotya Chernysheva?

Avdotya Ivanovna Chernysheva 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 Ivanovitj Rzyevskiy and Daria Gavrilovna and in 1710 married to Prince Grigorij Petrovitj Chernyshev.

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. 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.