Catherine I Alexeyevna — Empress of All Russia. The daughter of the Lithuanian peasant Samuil Skavronsky, she had formerly borne the name Marta. Her mother, having become a widow, moved to Livonia and placed her daughter in service with Pastor Daut, from whom she went to Superintendent Gluck, where she received an upbringing together with his daughters. This education, by the standards of the time, was limited to literacy, household management, and needlework. In Livonia, Marta married a Swedish dragoon, who was summoned to his regiment the next day; she remained in Marienburg with Pastor Gluck. After Marienburg was taken by the Russians, Marta was taken into service by Sheremetev, and from Sheremetev she passed to Menshikov. In 1705 Peter saw her, and from that time he never parted with her.
A new decree was issued establishing a penalty for wearing a beard.