Posted on Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Dr. Russell Martin, Westminster College associate professor of history, is the author of "Ritual and Religion in the Foreign Marriages of Three Muscovite Princesses" published in the fall/winter issue of Russian History/Histoire Russe.
"The article is an analysis of Orthodox wedding ritual and Russian foreign diplomacy," Martin said. "Specifically, I look at the wedding rituals of three Russian princesses-Elena Ivanovna, who married Grand Duke Alexander of Poland-Lithuania in 1495; Maria Staritskaia and Magnus of Denmark in 1571; and Anna Petrovna to Karl-Friedrich of Holstein-Gottorp in 1725-to see how the complex and highly ritualized Orthodox wedding service was modified to accommodate the Catholic and Protestant sensibilities of the grooms. In each case, the Russian side was compelled to substantially, if not equally, change the ritual so as not to offend the groom. Russia was generally unwilling to make these changes and did so with reluctance and regret."
"In the end, I argue that Russia's ability to use dynastic marriages to prop up its international diplomatic relationships was severely limited by Russia's unwillingness to let members of its dynasty convert to foreign faiths," he continued. "Russia was, from an early date, handicapped in its diplomacy, accounting for much of its diplomatic, cultural, and political isolation. Interestingly, these barriers continued into Peter the Great's reign (1682-1725), despite being known as the tsar who radically westernized Russia."
Research for Martin's article was funded by a Westminster Faculty Development grant.
Martin, who has been with Westminster since 1996, earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's and Ph.D. from Harvard University.
Martin appeared on A&E Biography in a broadcast on Ivan the Terrible as an expert on the controversial ruler. He is the co-founder of the Muscovite Biographical Database, a Russian-American computerized register based in Moscow of early modern Russian notables. The Neville Island, Pa., native is not only fluent in Russian, but also reads Old Church Slavonic/Russian, French, German, Latin, and Polish.
Martin continues to translate from Russian to English the official Webpage of Her Imperial Highness, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, the legitimate heiress to the vacant Russian throne. Translations are available at www.imperialhouse.ru.
Contact Martin at (724) 946-6254 or e-mail martinre@westminster.edu for additional information.
