She was the daughter of the pantler Matvey Vasilyevich Apraksin and Domna Bogdanovna Apraksina, née Lovchikova.^[1] Marfa Matveyevna had three brothers, Peter, Fyodor and Andrey, who all became leading statesmen.

Her marriage to the widowed Tsar was arranged by his friend, Ivan Yazykov, who hoped to strengthen his position at court. Marfa Matveyevna was approved as a bride by Metropolitan Hilarion, himself close to the Apraksin family. She received the status of royal bride in December 1681.^[2] The wedding of seventeen-year-old Marfa Matveyevna to the twenty-year-old Tsar took place on 15 February 1682 (O.S.; 25 February N.S.).

Marfa Matveyevna was tsarina for only 71 days, from her wedding day to 27 April 1682 (O.S.; 7 May), when the Tsar died of scurvy. Marfa Matveyevna, being childless, still a virgin according to some assumptions,^{[clarification needed]} remained in mourning for more than thirty years.^[3] She first lived in Moscow, then in Saint Petersburg in her own palace, at the corner of Admiralty Square and Nevskaya Prospect,^[4] near the mansion of her brother, Admiral General Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin. Today, the Winter Palace is located there.

By her skillful behavior,^{[clarification needed]} she created a strong position for herself at court. She retained the trust and respect of her husband's younger brother, Peter the Great, and the whole royal family, and received an allowance from the treasury until the end of her life, without participating in political intrigues.

In December 1715, Marfa Matveyevna visited the sick Tsar, but suddenly became ill herself. On 25, 28 and 30 December, the Tsar visited her, and she died on 31 December. According to Friedrich Christian Weber, the cause of the queen's death was poisoning from pickled mushrooms.^[5] The Tsar personally attended the autopsy, as, according to Pyotr Dolgorukov, he 'wanted to know the truth about [her] short marriage'. Peter 'did not stop before examining the corpse: only having convinced himself of the virginity of his deceased sister-in-law with his own eyes, he handed over to [her brother] the enormous riches bequeathed to [him] for life'.^[6]

The Tsarina's funeral took place on 7 January 1716 in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, as the fourth burial there. Marfa Matveyevna was a devout woman, observing the old rituals.^{[clarification needed]} She was the last member of the Romanov family whose funeral and burial were according to the ancient traditions,^{[clarification needed]} prohibited by Peter afterwards in the whole country.

• Grigoryan VG Romanov. Biographical Directory. - Moscow: AST, 2007.