Elena Kurakina
favorite of Peter III (1735-1768)
Princess Elena Stepanovna Kurakina, Russian: Еле́на Степа́новна Кура́кина, née Apraksina, Russian: Апра́ксина) (September 5, 1735 – October 29, 1768) was the daughter of Field Marshal Stepan Apraksin, the wife of Senator Boris–Leonty Kurakin, one of the favorites of Emperor Peter III.
Biography
She came from an untitled branch of the Apraksins. The eldest daughter of Field Marshal Stepan Apraksin (1702–1760) from his marriage to Agrafena Soimonova (1719–1771). From childhood she was accustomed to court life; Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna recalled:
One day the Empress went to have dinner with General Stepan Apraksin; we were among those invited... The next day I learned that the third daughter of General Stepan Apraksin, with whom we had dined the day before, died that day from smallpox; I was scared: all the ladies invited with us to dinner at General Apraksin's were constantly scurrying back and forth from this sick child's room to the chambers where we were. But this time I escaped only with fear. I saw for the first time that day the two daughters of General Apraksin, the eldest of whom was becoming very beautiful – she could have been about 13 years old then; this is the same one who later married Prince Kurakin...
On February 6, 1751, 15–year–old Elena Stepanovna married the chamberlain, senator Prince Boris–Leonty Kurakin. Due to her husband's official duties and her own inclination towards social life, Elena Stepanovna lived in Saint Petersburg in the winter, and preferred to spend the summer at the Saint Petersburg dacha on the Neva or at the Eldigino Estate near Moscow.
In her "Notes", Catherine II noted (when describing the events of 1756) the open connection of Elena Kurakina with the General Feldzeugmeister Count Pyotr Shuvalov. According to Catherine, on Kurakina's part, the main role in this relationship was played by calculation, not love: Elena used Shuvalov to support her father's reputation at court, especially during the investigation of him.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Elena Kurakina” is favorite of Peter III (1735-1768). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Elena, Kurakina and favorite, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “favorite of Peter III (1735-1768)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4247747. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1735, 1768, 1702 and 1760.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Elena Kurakina”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Elena Kurakina primary sources, Elena Kurakina archive and Elena research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Elena Kurakina”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Elena Kurakina” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.