Xenia Borisovna Godunova (russian: Ксения Борисовна Годунова) (1582–1622) was a Russian

Tsarevna Tsarevna (russian: Царевна) was the daughter of a Tsar of Russia before the 18th century. The name is meant as a daughter of a Tsar, or as a wife of a Tsarevich. All of them were unmarried, and grew old in convents or in the Terem Palace, ...

, daughter of Tsar Boris Godunov, and sister of Tsar

Feodor II of Russia Fyodor II Borisovich Godunov (russian: Фёдор II Борисович Годунов) (1589 – 20 June 1605) was tsar of Russia during the spring of 1605, at the beginning of the Time of Troubles. Life Fyodor II was born in Moscow, the son a ...

Life

She was described as very beautiful and well educated, with an average height, a white and ruddy face, with black wavy hair and large black eyes. Among her fiancés were: *

Prince Gustav of Sweden A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

, who arrived in Moscow in 1600, but the engagement was broken because of his dissolute life. * John, Prince of Schleswig-Holstein, arrived in 1602, but fell ill and died before the marriage. Xenia remained a maiden until her father's death in 1605, when her brother Feodor become a Tsar. Some months later, when the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (russian: Смутное время, ), or Smuta (russian: Смута), was a period of political crisis during the Tsardom of Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Fyodor I (Fyodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik dy ...

started, her mother and her brother, Feodor, were killed by order of

False Dmitriy I False Dmitry I ( rus, Лжедмитрий I, Lzhedmitriy I) (or Pseudo-Demetrius I) reigned as the Tsar of Russia from 10 June 1605 until his death on 17 May 1606 under the name of Dmitriy Ivanovich ( rus, Дмитрий Иванович). ...

. She was spared, but False Dmitriy

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

d her and kept her in his palace as a concubine lasting five months. Before the arrival of his bride

Marina Mniszech Marina Mniszech, ( pl, Maryna Mniszech; russian: Марина Мнишек, Marina Mnishek, ) also known in Russian lore as Marinka the Witch ( 1588 – 24 December 1614) was a Polish noblewoman who became the Tsaritsa of Russia during the Time ...

, Xenia was sent to the Voskresensky Monastery in Beloozero and forced to take monastic vows, whereupon she was given the name "Olga". Subsequently, she was transferred to the Assumption Princess Monastery in

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

. According to one account, she was pregnant and bore a son of False Dmitry in the monastery. In 1606 she sojourned to the

Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius The Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (russian: Тро́ице-Се́ргиева ла́вра) is the most important Russian monastery and the spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church. The monastery is situated in the town of Sergiyev Pos ...

to attend the reburial of her father; vestments she sewed as a nun are on display at that Lavra. In 1610, the monastery was attacked by Cossack troops, and the nuns including Xenia were raped by them. Her name is inscribed as "Nun Olga Borisovna" at the crypt of the Godunovs near the entrance of the Assumption Cathedral at Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra where she is buried with her parents and brother.

In the arts

She is one of the characters in Mussorgsky's opera '' Boris Godunov'', but plays only a minor role in the story. She also appears in Antonín Dvořák's opera ''

Dimitrij Dimitrij is a masculine given name related to Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitr ...

'', where the False Dmitry and her relationship to him is portrayed in a more sympathetic light. The opera is only loosely based on the historical account; she is murdered on

's orders rather than sent to the monastic life. A fictionalized dramatization of her life during the time of troubles appeared in the Russian film ''1612'', where she was played by actress Violetta Davydovskaya.

References

{{authority control 1582 births 1622 deaths Russian tsarevnas House of Godunov 16th-century Russian people 17th-century Russian people 16th-century Russian women 17th-century Russian women Rape in Russia