Chronology from John

This is not a historical narrative, although almost all of its characters are real historical figures, and it is based on the eschatological concept of the oprichnina, developed by Doctor of Historical Sciences Andrey Lvovich Yurganov. This is a mystery novel. In it, riders of the Apocalypse appear over the Kremlin, and the queen transforms into biblical locusts, in it Jesus buries Russian warriors, cut down near Polotsk, while Ivan the Terrible feasts with sorcerers, witches, and the dead. The novel is not a chronicle of the atrocities of the "grim ones", but a parable about the curse of Russian power. Ivan the Terrible awaits the End of the World. In the pride of tyranny, he imagines himself as the savior of his people, the Christ of the second coming. And he establishes the oprichnina - the order of defense of faith. If the people believe in the tsar as in God, the tsar will become a miracle worker. With a wave of his hand, he will crush all enemies into dust and cover the land with rich fields. It only requires making the people believe in the tsar. To make them believe by force - through the terror of the oprichnina. But the Solovetsky abbot Philip, a simple and clear man, cannot serve the tsar as God. And then eyes stare into eyes, and against the swing of the axe, the cross is raised.