The Black Terem. The First Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible and His Wives - How Love Defined Politics and How Politics Defined Love

Ivan the Terrible entered history as a tyrant king, and his wives – as voiceless shadows, disappearing in chronicles in a single line. They became victims of his suspicion and cruelty. This book is an attempt to glimpse behind the lines of ancient texts at the living women: young, frightened, doomed. Their brief lives are tragic episodes, reflections of an era where even a royal bride was just a pawn in dynastic games. Nevertheless, the marriage with each of them influenced both the personality of the tsar and the history of the state. Did the death of Anastasia Zakharina really change the tsar forever, hardening his heart? How did Maria Temryukovna manage the tsar's eastern policy? Was Marfa Sobakina an agent of Malyuta Skuratov? How did monasteries turn into political prisons for women? What do historians still argue about? This book tells of the role that, despite their precarious position, the queens played at the court of Ivan IV. Through their stories, the reader will see the price paid for the "great" reign and why women's names were so easily erased from memory. Delving into these fates, we learn more about the past and ponder the nature of power, fear, and powerlessness – questions that, unfortunately, remain relevant.