Anna Petrovna

1757–1759

Born: 8 Mar 1757, Saint Petersburg
Country of birth: Russian Empire, today Russia
Died: 1759, Saint Petersburg

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Facts and their sources

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Birth8 Mar 1757, Saint PetersburgProbableDisputed1 competing claim1 source
Death1759, Saint PetersburgProbableDisputed2 competing claims1 source
ParentPeter III of RussiaConfirmed1 source
ParentCatherine II of RussiaConfirmed1 source

A life in time

8 Mar 1757
Born · Saint Petersburg
Birth, Saint Petersburg
1759
Died · Saint Petersburg
Death, Saint Petersburg

What was it like?

The world around Saint Petersburg, 1757: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Anna was born around the same time as Paul I of Russia, Mary Darby Robinson, and Luigi Marchesi.

Born around the same time

Paul I of Russia
1754 · The ninth Emperor of Russia from 1796 to 1801 (1754-1801)
Mary Darby Robinson
1758 · English poet, novelist, dramatist, actress (1758–1800)
Luigi Marchesi
1754 · Italian opera singer
António Leal Moreira
1758 · composer
James Monroe
1758 · president of the United States from 1817 to 1825 (1758–1831)
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord
1754 · French diplomat (1754-1838)

Fashion

Inherited silk festive clothing of wealthy families

Merchant and wealthy peasant women cherished festive clothing made from thick silk fabrics like satin and brocade, which were passed down through generations. These colorful, expensive garments were often adorned with large, bright floral patterns that reflected a blend of European trends and traditional folk art.

Around 1760–1799

Peasant everyday winter and summer clothing

Peasant men wore linen shirts and trousers, while women wore long linen shirts and a checkered woolen skirt called a poneva. In winter, both wore sheepskin coats with the fur turned inward to stay warm.

Music

Popular Portable Clavichords for Outdoor Music

Clavichords became very popular in the eighteenth century and were nicknamed picnic pianos because their small size allowed them to be easily taken outdoors to accompany people in parks.

Social Gatherings and Folk Music Traditions

During the eighteenth century, young people often organized gatherings where they sang and danced, such as the cabbage-chopping parties, where work was followed by music and dancing once the older adults left the room.

Getting around

Average travel speed by carriage

In the 18th century, the average speed of travel for noble families using their own horses and carriages was about 5 km/h.

Speed of professional couriers

Couriers using fast post horses could travel up to 125 km in a single day during this period.

Daily life

Home-based literacy for children

Due to a lack of public schools, children in noble families typically began learning literacy at home between the ages of 5 and 8. Teachers were often parents, relatives, local priests, or even household servants who knew how to read and write.

Small, dim living spaces in wooden huts

The main living area of a typical wooden izba was quite small, often providing only 2 to 3 square meters per person. Rooms were frequently lit by splinter torches, and windows were often unglazed, covered instead with bull's bladder.

Food

Kvas was the universal drink

Kvas, a light, slightly alcoholic drink made from fermented rye bread, was a universal beverage for ordinary people. It was so essential that it was also used as a base for soups and to braise meat.

Rye bread was the daily staple

Ordinary families relied on rye bread as a daily staple, with an adult consuming up to two pounds of this dense, sour-leavened bread each day. Because bread was time-consuming to make, it was typically baked in a Russian oven only once a week.

Prices and wages

Annual wages for factory workers

In the mid-18th century, unskilled factory workers or general laborers typically earned around 16 rubles per year, while skilled masters could earn 30 to 60 rubles annually. Some workers also received payment in kind, such as flour, grain, salt, or meat, to supplement their low cash wages.

Costs of food and footwear

In Moscow around 1750, a pound of beef cost 12 kopecks, while a pair of boots generally cost between 25 and 50 kopecks. Prices for staples like flour and meat increased significantly during the second half of the century as the cost of living rose.

Work

Agrarian life and serfdom dominated society

The vast majority of the population were agrarian peasants, with most working as serfs bound to a landowner's estate. Households relied on farming, while many also engaged in seasonal wage labor, crafts, or tributary industrial duties.

Long factory hours and seasonal construction work

Working days in factories often stretched from eleven to fifteen hours, sometimes involving two shifts, for 230 to 280 days per year. Construction work was typically seasonal, often limited to the period between May and October.

News and letters

Mail could take months across Russia

The vast size of the empire meant that mail could be very slow; even under ideal conditions, a letter from Moscow to Tobolsk could take two months to arrive.

Postal rates were inconsistent and status-based

Before 1783, postal fees for letters and parcels were inconsistent, often varying by route and sometimes by the sender's social status, such as being classified as noble or merchant.

Family

Parents

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.