Catherine I of Russia to bribe the Ottoman grand vizier Baltacı Mehmet Pasha into allowing a retreat. Mehmet allowed the retreat, whether motivated by the bribe or considerations of trade and diplomacy. In any case Peter credited Catherine and proceeded to marry her again (this time officially) at Saint Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg on 9 February 1712. Catherine was Peter's second wife; he had previously married and divorced Eudoxia Lopukhina, who had borne him the Tsarevich Alexis Petrovich. Upon their wedding, Catherine took the style of her husband and became Tsarina. When Peter elevated the Russian Tsardom to Empire, Catherine became Empress. The
Tsardom of Russia also continued and war with Persia brought about the acquisition of territory in the Caucasus, although Russia surrendered those gains after Peter's death in 1725. There was no single flag during the Tsardom. Instead, there were multiple flags: Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia (, "Russkoje tsarstvo" later changed to , "Rossiyskoye tsarstvo"), Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth called it Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. From 1551 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km