| Maria I Vladimirovna | |
|---|---|
| Empress of all Russia | |
| Coronation | 1992 |
| Full name | Maria I Vladimirovna Romanova |
| Russian name: | Мария Владимировна Романова |
| Birthplace |  Yekaterinburg, Russian Empire |
| Consort | "Peter" Karl Louis, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
| Offspring | Grand Duke George II Petrovich Grand Duke Peter II Petrovich Hereditary Princess Catherine I Petrovna Hereditary Princess Athena I Petrovna Hereditary Princess Anna I Petrovna Hereditary Prince John I Petrovich Hereditary Prince Louis I Petrovich |
| Royal House | Romanov |
| Father | Vladimir the Tumultuous |
| Mother | Anna I Pavlovna, Duchess of Chernigov |
| Religious beliefs | Russian Orthodox |
Maria I Vladimirovna Romanova (Russian: Мария Владимировна Романова; born 23 December 1972), also known by Maria I, is the current Empress of the Russian Empire, officially titled as Her Majesty, Maria I Vladimirovna - Empress of all Russia. She is also known by Maria the Gracious.
She is the second-youngest child of Vladimir the Tumultuous and Anna I Pavlovna, Duchess of Chernigov.
Unlike past heiresses of the Romanovs, Maria ascended the throne, not by mere lineage, but by choice of Vladimir himself, a style of inheritance that he adopted from the Manchu and Chinese monarchies, after the Russians occupied Manchuria from Japan following their victory against Manchukuo. Having demonstrated leadership skills, her father chose her to the the next in line of succession.
However, she ascended the throne during the Tumultuous 1990s, however in spite of her fiercely enforcing the Tsarist state, she was known to be forgiving, and did not enact harsh cultural repressions against ethnicities normally associated with the rebels, hence where she got the Maria the Gracious. A personality resembling Elizbeth II of Russia and Catherine the Great, Maria made attempts to reconcile Russia with the West, without damaging its international image as a sovereign state.
As the head of the House of Romanov, she is considered one of the wealthiest people in the world, with a net worth of approximately ₽2.1 trillion ($2.1 trillion OTL USD).
Military service[]
Grand Duchess Maria I joined the Imperial Russian military, as an Navy Medic, within the Imperial Russian Navy. In spite of being a military medic, Maria I often improved on her shooting skills, and spent time training with firearms and weapons, ever-in-case it "became handy". She became a sharpshooter within the Imperial Navy, and even other soldiers, in positions specialized in handling weapons could not bear her in shooting competitions.
The news reached the ears of her father Emperor Vladimir the Tumultuous. After he service with the Imperial Navy finished, her father noticed that she had truly become a hardened leader, but also ultimately knew how to tct like a lady in the royal court. Therefore, Vladimir chose her to by the Heiress. Due to her military service, her rank was changed from Hereditary Princess, to a Grand Duchess.
Marriage[]
Maria I married Peter Karl Louis, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and her fluency in German played a large role in this. As the latter was the only son of Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Archduchess Ilona of Austria, they weren't too content, but eventually came to terms with it.
As the marriage would be producing heirs and heiresses of the House of Romanov, Peter Karl Louis would become baptized into the Russian Orthodox faith as Peter I Georgievich, Grand Duke of Russia.
Becoming the Empress[]
In 1992, Vladimir I passed away, thus, where he earned the nickname Vladimir the Tumultuous. She thus, became the Empress of all Russia, but the coronation was skipped, and she went straight to work to fight the enemies of the Tsarist state. She worked closely with Russian generals, and those below her ranks, earning the respects of regular Russian peoples and the non-nobility.
Unlike past post-Nicholas II emperors, she did wield her constitutional powers, by ordering the overthrow of Procurator-General Pavel Grachev, Prime Minister Franko Korkunov and Foreign Minister Wolfgang Rasskazov, whom she felt were useless, or either secretly traitors against Russia. She thus, ordered their execution, becoming the first of Cyril I's line to ever order an execution.
She publicly told interviewers, "They were given near a decade to fix the situation and do their jobs, we've had enough."
After the situation had quelled, thanks to appointing Baron Wassily Vladimirovich Felgenhauer become Procurator-General in 1994, she was coronated in 1996, but after a proper funeral pyre for her father.
In spite of becoming Empress, under her rule, Russia transformed into a constitutional monarchy much like the United Kingdom. In addition, most of the rebels failed to achieve their goals of independence.
In spite of order being restored, Russia underwent painful economic consequences as a result, and receded from the global stage as a superpower, leaving the United States and China to fill in the power vacuum. In addition, while she remained respected, even in NATO countries, the rest of Russia suffered deteriorated relations against NATO, as NATO expanded into the areas of the former Warsaw Pact.
For the rest of tenure as the Empress, Maria I honored Russia's democratic path, and once-again, allowed elected officials to run politics. The Tumultuous 1990s increased support for hardliner nationalist parties, in in the early 21st century, the Nationalist Front had dominated not only the Senate, but also the Assembly.
Personal life[]
Maria I is fluent in French, German, English and Italian in addition to Russian. Her German-fluency is what enabled her to marry a Duke of Germany, as German is the second-most spoken language within the House of Romanov, apart from Russian.