The personal life of Ivan the Terrible is much less known than we would like. Historians cannot even name the exact number of wives of a ruler. There were at least six. But not all of them were legal from the Orthodox point of view.
King character
Ivan the Terrible was a tyrant, tyrant. Such is the textbook image of the first Russian Tsar. However, a number of historical documents indicate that this was a very controversial person.
Below is information about the wives of Ivan the Terrible. Their fate was tragic. Ivan IV used to imprison disgusting wives in a monastery. But this, of course, does not mean that the ruler got rid of everyone by such harsh methods. As a rule, they died early and did not have time to disappoint their formidable husband. Some historians argue that he was not such a tyrant, and the version of a mental illness manifested by unjustified aggression is doubtful.
Fate experienced the Moscow prince from an early age. He was only three years old when his father died, a few years later his mother died. Ivan was left alone with the insidious Shuisky. He had no childhood, no one ever loved him. It is not surprising that in each he saw an enemy and a traitor. But, in addition to the death of his parents, another event occurred that left a deep imprint on his soul. This is the death of the first wife.
Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yuryeva
That was the name of the king’s first wife. Ivan the Terrible was married to the kingdom on January 16, 1547. Then he was barely seventeen. In February of that year, a brides ’show was organized. Applicants for the role of wife were brought from all over Russia. Ivan made a choice in favor of Anastasia - a girl who was distinguished by unusual beauty. She was not tall, had regular features, dark and thick hair.
The historian Karamzin argued that the choice of the young ruler was not motivated by nobility, but by the personal merits of the future wife. Contemporaries of Ivan the Terrible attributed to her such virtues as humility, chastity, sensitivity, piety. And, of course, not one of the "contestants" could compete with Anastasia in beauty. The wedding took place on February 3.
Anastasia did not intervene in state affairs, but exerted a favorable influence on her husband, who was distinguished by a quick-tempered character. She spent most of her time embroidering. Anastasia gave birth to six children, but four died in infancy.
Anastasia’s health was undermined by frequent childbirth and diseases, which medieval healers could not fight. When she fell ill again, in 1559, the tsar had a conflict with one of his advisers, who often opposed the Zakharyins. A few months later, a fire broke out in Moscow. The tsarina was transferred to Kolomenskoye, where she died.
Ivan the Terrible in his personal life was sometimes as cruel as in dealing with boyars. But his character changed precisely after the death of his first wife. For a long time he blamed his close associates for her death , and it is worth saying that it is not unreasonable. In 2000, an examination was conducted, as a result of which it was proved: Anastasia was indeed poisoned.
Children of Ivan IV from their first marriage - Ivan and Fedor. The latter ascended the throne in 1584.
Maria Temryukovna
The circumstances of the personal life of Ivan the Terrible were a matter of national importance. The king must certainly have a wife, and therefore, eight days after the death of Anastasia, the boyars announced the search for a new bride for the ruler. In 1560, Ivan IV sent matchmakers to the Caucasus. They had to conduct a review of the daughters of the princes Cherkassky and choose the best. On July 15, Princess Kucheney was brought to Moscow. A few days later she was christened and called Mary.
This marriage led to the exaltation of the princes of Cherkassky and their wives. Fate with Ivan the Terrible, however, again played a cruel joke. Mary, like her predecessor, died young. The king blamed the boyars for her death.
Unlike Anastasia, Maria is depicted by contemporaries as malevolent and cruel. A version was also expressed about its detrimental effect on the character of Ivan the Terrible. Mary was only 25 years old when she died. Anastasia lived a little longer - the first wife of Ivan the Terrible died at age 30.
Marfa Vasilievna Sobakina
And again, the personal life of Ivan the Terrible was in the hands of his associates. After all, the tsar did not have to independently search for the bride. The boyars organized a "casting" in which Marfa Sobakina showed herself from the best side. Researchers provide some information about its origin. How was the brides review? When the girls were brought, the king went to their room, talked a little and said goodbye. This was enough to understand which of the girls deserves the role of the future queen.
Ivan the Terrible married Marfa Sobakina on October 28, 1571. This marriage was fleeting. A few days after the wedding, the young wife began to languish before her eyes. Two weeks later she died. Needless to say, the king blamed the insidious boyars for her death?
Victims of the formidable king
Distrust and suspicion accompanied Ivan the Terrible all his life. Why terrible? Why did the first Russian Tsar get this nickname? For pathological cruelty, which has escalated over the years. But if in the case of the first two wives, Ivan the Terrible limited himself to verbal accusations, then after the death of Martha Sobakina he organized real repressions against the boyars.
About twenty people were executed. The tsar never found out who had plagued Martha, but in a fit of anger sentenced several of her relatives to death. He sent the father of his dead wife to the monastery. Perhaps it was after these events that the tsar received the nickname Grozny.
Why did Ivan the Terrible accuse Martha’s close relatives and relatives of poisoning her? In those days, it was the easiest way to get rid of a person. Perhaps the presence of the Sobakins in the royal palace created inconvenience for the boyars. An examination conducted in the nineties of the last century did not reveal any toxic substances in the remains of Ivan IV's third wife. Although it is possible the use of potions prepared on a plant basis. Such poison is not amenable to chemical analysis.
Anna Alekseevna Koltovskaya
The fourth wife of Ivan the Terrible was the daughter of a nobleman Koltovsky. She was orphaned early and brought up in the house of Andrei Kurbsky. After the death of Martha Sobakina, brides were not examined. Anna Koltovskaya’s candidacy was confirmed immediately after the funeral of the tsar’s third wife. According to the laws of that time, the ruler did not have the right to marry for the fourth time. But since Martha died two weeks after the wedding and her husband “did not allow her virginity,” the higher clergy made an exception.
The family life of the king, and this time unhappy. Six months after the wedding, Ivan the Terrible sent his wife to the monastery. There is no exact information about what caused this act. The king could imprison in a monastery for two reasons: as a result of treason or due to the sterility of his wife. Ivan the Terrible had no reason to suspect his young wife of betrayal. He could not accuse her of infertility, because he lived with her for only six months. Probably, king Anna quickly lost her temper.
The fourth wife of Ivan the Terrible spent several years in Suzdal, but during her life she changed the monastery several times. In 1624 she became abbess. Anna Koltovskaya died in 1626.
Maria Dolgorukaya
The king did not marry this woman. Moreover, even the fact of the existence of Maria Dolgoruky has not been proven. Perhaps this is a fictional character. Nikolai Karamzin, talking about the family of Ivan the Terrible, does not mention her name. Nevertheless, the old documents set out a story telling about the terrible fate of the fifth wife of the king. Ivan the Terrible, learning that Mary had "lost her virginity before," ordered her to be put in a hitch pulled by greyhounds and knocked over into the water. Here it is worth saying a few more words about the peculiar character of Ivan the Terrible.
He hastily ordered the execution of the one in whose loyalty he doubted. He sentenced dozens of people to painful death. Ivan IV created several instruments for torture. The only person who never fell out of favor with him was the executioner Malyuta Skuratov. But after the next execution, Ivan the Terrible began to vehemently forgive sins. He allocated huge money from the treasury for monasteries in memory of his victims. They meticulously put their names on the list. None of the lists mention Maria Dolgorukaya. Historians cite this fact, arguing that the story of a woman executed by the king is nothing more than idle fiction.
Vasilchikova Anna Grigoryevna
Researchers consider it her fifth wife, Ivan the Terrible, because the story of Maria Dolgoruky is nothing but a legend. Anna Vasilchikova, according to one version, was the daughter of a boyar and a diplomat. According to Karamzin, by the mid-seventies the tsar had ceased to observe even visible decency, and therefore did not demand the blessing of the bishops, and without any church permission he married Anna. But a year later cooled to her. Anna Vasilchikova was sent to the Suzdal monastery, where she did not live long. She died in 1577.
Vasilisa Melentieva
Some call her the sixth wife of the king. Others are his concubine. The existence of Vasilisa Melentieva is questioned, but her image is often found in works of art that are dedicated to the Russian Tsar. According to legend, Vasilisa fell into disgrace after she showed attention to a certain young man whom the king subsequently executed. Where is the grave of the concubine of Ivan the Terrible, is unknown.
Maria Nagaya
The daughter of the near-nothing Fedor Nagy-Fedts became the last wife of Grozny. In this marriage, the third of the surviving sons of the king - Dmitry Uglitsky.
Maria Nagaya outlived her husband by 17 years. In 1584, she was removed with her son to the city of Uglich. The exact date of death of the last wife of Ivan the Terrible is unknown.