The burial ceremony for members of the royal family was strictly regulated. The preparation and conduct of all mourning events was in charge of the Sad Commission, created after the death of the monarchs.
Death and funeral of the royal couple
Russian Emperor Peter the Great died in the Winter Palace in January 1725 at the age of 52. The cause of death was bladder inflammation, which turned into gangrene. The body of the emperor was exhibited in the funeral hall of the Winter Palace so that everyone could say goodbye to him. The farewell period lasted for more than a month. Peter was lying in a coffin in a brocade jacket with lace, in boots with spurs, with a sword and the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called on his chest. As a result, the corpse began to decompose, and an unpleasant smell began to spread throughout the palace. The body of the emperor was embalmed and transferred to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. However, only 6 years later, the body of the emperor was buried in the Tsar's tomb of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, before that the coffin with the embalmed body simply stood in the temporary chapel of the cathedral that was still under construction.
The wife of Peter I, Catherine, outlived her husband by only 2 years. Balls, entertainment and revelry, which the Dowager Empress indulged in day and night, greatly undermined her health. Catherine died in May 1725 at the age of 43. If Peter I, by birthright, was supposed to rest in the Tsar's tomb, then his wife could not boast of a noble birth. Catherine I, nee Marta Skavronskaya, was born into a Baltic peasant family. She was captured by the Russian army during the Northern War. Peter was so fascinated by the captive peasant woman that he even married her and crowned her empress. The body of the empress, like her husband, was buried only in 1731 by order of Anna Ioannovna.
Royal tombs
In the pre-Petrine era, all members of the ruling dynasty in Russia were buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. All Moscow princes and tsars are buried there, starting with Ivan Kalita. During the reign of Peter I, there was no specific burial place for royalty. Members of the imperial family were buried in the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In 1715, the youngest daughter of Peter and Catherine Natalya died. The emperor ordered her to be buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which at that time had not yet been completed. From that year on, the Peter and Paul Cathedral became the new royal burial vault.
All Russian tsars are buried within the walls of the Peter and Paul Cathedral: from Peter I to Alexander III. The burials of Peter and his wife Catherine are located near the southern entrance to the cathedral. Their graves are small crypts that are located under a stone floor. These crypts contain metal arks with coffins. There are marble slabs over the graves, decorated with inscriptions and golden crosses.
History of the Peter and Paul Cathedral
The construction of the Peter and Paul Cathedral began in 1712; Emperor Peter personally laid the first stone in its foundation. The work was supervised by the Italian architect Domenico Trezzini. The interior of the temple was striking in its luxury and splendor. The vaults were decorated with 18 paintings with scenes from the New Testament. In the cathedral there was a special royal place under a canopy, which was occupied by the monarch during the divine services. With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, the cathedral and the tomb were closed and sealed. All church values were confiscated to help the starving. In 1998, the remains of Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their daughters Tatyana, Olga and Anastasia were buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
