Grand Duchess Natalia Petrovna of Russia (1718–1725) children in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Grand Duchess Natalia Petrovna of Russia (1718–1725) Grand Duchess Natalia Petrovna of Russia was the youngest daughter of Peter the Great and his second wife Catherine I. Born in St. Petersburg, on 20 August 1718, during the peace negotiations with Sweden (Aland Congress). When Peter was at this time on the teachings of the galley fleet, and to learn about the birth of his daughter, made a feast, and sent his fleet to St. Petersburg. "This day August 20 at Trinity glorified Almighty God has bestowed His Imperial Majesty the
Catherine I of Russia of Empress. Supporting evidence was "produced" from Peter's secretary Makarov and the Bishop of Pskov, both "new men" with motivation to see Catherine take over. The real power, however, lay with Menshikov, Peter Tolstoy and with other members of the Supreme Privy Council. She died two years after Peter, at age 43, in St. Petersburg, where she was buried at St. Peter and St. Paul Fortress. Tuberculosis, diagnosed as an abscess of the lungs, caused her early demise. Catherine was the first woman to rule Imperial Russia, opening the legal path for a century almost entirely dominated by women, including