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[Music]
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the six to eight wives of ivan the
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terrible
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what 16th century megalomaniac monarch
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magnified the power of his nation
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ordered the violent executions of
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thousands of his own people became
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obsessed with fathering male heirs and
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went through at least six wives several
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of whom were murdered why ivan the
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terrible tsar of russia of course
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in fact he outdid henry viii of england
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in many terrible ways including having
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not six unfortunate spouses but as many
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as eight the exact number is still
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debated by historians but six or eight
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they would all come to regret their
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wedding vows
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let's meet the women who were
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unfortunate enough to call one of the
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most evil men in history their husband
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after the terror of his childhood it's
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little wonder that ivan turned out so
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terrible himself his very birth was
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believed to have been cursed
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his father vasily grandprince of moscow
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had been married for 20 years but his
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wife had failed to give him an heir so
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he locked her up in a convent and
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married again to a beautiful 16 year old
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named elena glinskaya a priest condemned
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the sinful second marriage you will have
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a wicked son your state will be prey to
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terror and tears rivers of blood will
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flow cities will be devoured in flames
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it took elena for tense years to become
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pregnant and it was rumored that she
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brought sami witches from northern
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finland to help her conceive using black
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magic but on a stormy night in august
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1530 ivan was born
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the prince grew up in a hostile
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environment of political intrigue and
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violence when he was just three his
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father died of an abscess on his leg the
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toddler was proclaimed grand prince of
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moscow and his mother elena acted as
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regent she tried desperately to protect
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ivan and his younger brother yuri and
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run the government she fended off the
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claims of her brothers-in-law and had
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them both imprisoned but the boyars
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russia's noble families would stop at
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nothing to claim power at 27 grand
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princess elena was poisoned
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her son's governess was arrested for the
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crime without his mother eight-year-old
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ivan was completely vulnerable the boyar
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families struggled to control the throne
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and the young prince was held prisoner
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by whoever was in power ivan and yuri
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were neglected dressed in dirty rags and
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often had to beg for food if the grand
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prince was needed for a presentation to
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important state visitors he would be
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bathed dressed in finery and paraded out
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only to be ignored again once the guests
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departed at least 14 people close to him
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were murdered during his youth moscow's
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high priest was beaten to death
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and a group of men were skinned alive
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right before his impressionable eyes
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the damaged boy began expressing his own
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cruelty by throwing dogs and cats from
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the belfry of the cathedral
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at the age of 13 ivan made a power play
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to rest back control during a christmas
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banquet the teenage prince stood up and
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accused the boyars of treason you have
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all conspired to steal my throne but i
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will be satisfied if one among you
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prince andre schwieski is punished
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schwisky was dragged to the kennels
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where ivan's dogs ripped him apart
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with this act ivan made it clear that
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the boyar's struggles were over and the
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throne now belonged to him alone
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at 16 ivan had himself crowned in a
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lavish coronation not merely as grand
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prince of moscow but the first tsar of
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all the ruse
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the title tsar derives from the ancient
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roman title caesar meaning emperor
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ivan declared moscow to be the third
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rome the second being constantinople the
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heart of the byzantine empire from which
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earlier russian rulers had adopted their
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religion and a great deal of cultural
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and artistic influence
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thus he established the tsardom of
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russia with moscow at its heart
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though not yet the full expanse of
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russia today
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ivan's empire stretched one million
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square miles dwarfing all the kingdoms
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in western europe
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a month after his coronation ivan
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invited all the noble houses of russia
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to travel to moscow and present their
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eligible daughters before him so that he
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might choose a bride between 500 and
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1500 young women were paraded before the
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teenage tsar this custom known as a
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bride show was common practice among
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rulers of russia and the byzantine
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empire
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the lady selected from the many
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candidates was anastasia romanovna
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daughter of a boyar named roman
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eurevitch zorkin ivan had likely met or
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at least seen anastasia during their
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childhood as her father and uncles were
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members of the court
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she had been raised by her mother and
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educated primarily in religion and
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domestic skills as was typical for upper
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class girls at the time anastasia was a
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beauty of small stature with fine and
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soft features dark eyes and rich
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chestnut hair she had a kind and mild
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personality and was pious and honest in
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character
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in typical sour grapes fashion many
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noble families decried ivan's choice as
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they considered anastasia beneath the
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greatness of the tsar they would have
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preferred one of their own daughters be
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crowned his sarina ivan and anastasia
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were married at the cathedral of the
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annunciation she was 16 the same age as
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her groom and the pair got on well and
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had an affectionate relationship she
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calmed his volatile nature and harsh
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tendencies and she was one of the few
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people he trusted and listened to the
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years of their marriage were the
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happiest of ivan's life and a golden age
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for his court the poles germans turks
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and english all sought peaceful
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relations with ivan an envoy from queen
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elizabeth the first of england recorded
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of the royal couple he being young and
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riotous she ruled him with admirable
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affability and wisdom
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ivan ordered the construction of saint
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basil's cathedral which remains one of
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the most recognizable landmarks in
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russia anastasia and ivan's first two
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children were daughters
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anna and maria but they both died within
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their first year of life from common
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childhood ailments
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in 1552 a sun and heir dimitri was
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delivered and the tsar rejoiced ivan
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made the boyars swear loyalty to his son
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and named him the first sarovich of
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russia the title of the heir apparent
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ivan decided to take his wife and baby
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son on a pilgrimage to saint cyril's
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monastery a monk warned the tsar that he
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should not go such a long way with his
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wife and newborn lad but ivan wasn't one
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to heed advice
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while traveling down the river the royal
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boat was hit by a wave and overturned
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baby dimitri was dropped by his wet
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nurse the adult managed to escape but by
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the time they got to dimitri he had
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drowned
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anastasia gave birth to three more
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children ivan eudozia and theodore the
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daughter eudoxia died at 20 months of
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age but the sons ivan and fyodor both
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survived to adulthood
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while he may have been tender at home
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ivan was ruthless everywhere else he
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created a standing army and firmed up
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the russian feudal system establishing a
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hierarchy of localized governments
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all of which was designed to weaken the
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power of the boyers and consolidated
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into his own hands
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ivan left no doubt that the boyars owed
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their position to him
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and felt no qualms about destroying them
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at will
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though thanks to anastasia's mediations
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most were spared execution when the tsar
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learned of corruption among a group of
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local officials he had all 70 of them
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stripped naked in the snow and had their
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beards burned off but he didn't have
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them killed
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his ferocity earned the tsar countless
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enemies but he feared assassination at
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every turn and guarded his own safety
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fanatically
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anastasia was a more vulnerable target
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in the summer of 1560 after 13 years of
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marriage anastasia fell ill with a
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raging fever doctors were unable to
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treat the ailing sarina and ivan watched
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helpless as his beloved wife suffered
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and died at the age of 29. the
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heartbroken tsar had a complete
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emotional collapse
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he banged his head on the floor and
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smashed his furniture
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he tore his hair out and ripped his
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clothes
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at his wife's funeral he cried
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uncontrollably and could barely stand
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courtiers had to support him so that he
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could walk behind her coffin
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all the people of moscow came to
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ascension convent to bury their first
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beloved sarina
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ivan emerged from the ordeal a changed
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man he had lost his mother to poison and
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he was now convinced that his beloved
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wife had been taken from him in the same
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fashion though he had no evidence of
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foul play he turned on everyone around
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him once trusted advisors and generals
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were imprisoned tortured and executed
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several of the prominent boyar families
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were wiped out it was said the closer to
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the tsar the closer to death
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20th century examination of anastasia's
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remains found extremely high levels of
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mercury so ivan was right to suspect
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that she had been poisoned
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even though he was heartbroken ivan
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needed to remarry he had two young sons
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but as four of his six offspring had
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already died this was not enough to
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secure the future of his dynasty
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negotiations for the hand of catherine
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yegelon daughter of king zigmund the
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first of poland fell through
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the tsar was instead captivated by a
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beautiful young woman who was presented
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to him at the russian court she was a
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kyrgyzstan muslim by the name of
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koishinay bint timur anastasia had
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warned ivan on her deathbed not to marry
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a pagan so when he declared that he
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would marry coishnae she converted to
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russian orthodoxy and took the christian
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name maria to moriak nova she was 16
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just as anastasia had been on their
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wedding day
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and ivan hoped to recapture his lost
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happiness with his new bride but he soon
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regretted marrying her maria did not
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integrate well into russian society
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and was hated by the court who
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considered her illiterate manipulative
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and vindictive
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rumors of witchcraft circled her as they
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did many other 16th century women in
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power she was also considered a poor
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stepmother to ivan's two young sons ivan
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and theodore maria gave birth to a son
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of her own vasili but he died within a
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year of his birth
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ivan's top general defected to lithuania
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and invaded russia's western border this
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blatant defiance outraged the tsar and
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made him all the more paranoid about the
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loyalty of those around him like
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anastasia maria had a great deal of
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influence on her husband though hers was
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not always as benevolent
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some historians believe it was she who
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incited him to his next power play
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the tsar and zarina packed their bags
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and left the kremlin ivan sent a letter
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back to the people of moscow complaining
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that the boyars were stealing from him
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and that he was not being allowed to
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rule so he abdicated the throne without
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atsar the country feared chaos and civil
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war just as ivan had hoped the people
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begged him to return he agreed only on
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the condition that he be allowed to
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punish his enemies without constraint
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and so the real terror began
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ivan created the ulprich nikki a core of
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fearsome secret police
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six thousand men recruited from the
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dregs of society they dressed in black
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cloaks rode black horses and were given
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free reign to terrorize the russian
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people into total submission to the
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tsar's will with ivan's blessing the
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ulbridge nicki targeted boyar families
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turned them out of their homes raped the
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women and tortured or outright killed
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the man
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the tsar himself became a connoisseur of
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torture and enjoyed inventing new
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methods of mutilation and murder he
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roasted people alive and blew up priests
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with gunpowder so that they would be
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shot straight to heaven ivan himself
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wrote that atsar has to inspire terror
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and so he earned the nickname ivan
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grossney ivan the terrible
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he became convinced without evidence
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that the city of novgorod was on the
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verge of rebellion so he rode to
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novgorod at the head of the operating
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army and they reigned death upon the
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city
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hundreds of citizens were hanged or tied
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in bags and thrown in the icy river
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after a month of devastation the city of
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novgorod was gone
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while ivan was busy decimating his own
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people russia's longtime nemesis the
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totters took the opportunity to ride in
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and burn moscow to the ground
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the wooden metropolis was destroyed in
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three hours and 160 000 people died so
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many bodies were dumped in the river
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that it changed course
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many who survived the holocaust were
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sold into slavery after the disaster in
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the heart of the empire ivan's fury
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burned out but like any good psychopath
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he refused to accept responsibility
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he blamed the albrechniki for failing to
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protect the capital and disbanded them
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sarina maria may also have been a victim
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of her husband's bloodlust
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at the age of 25 after nine years of
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marriage she felt dead from poison
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though ivan had 20 servants tortured on
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suspicion of her assassination it is
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believed that he killed her himself
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over the next decade the rest of ivan's
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wives would come fast and furious the
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tsar called for another bride show and
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from the 12 finalists he selected martha
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sobikina to be his third wife the 18
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year old beauty was the daughter of a
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merchant a surprisingly lowly choice for
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itsar but his relationship with the
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noble families wasn't exactly friendly
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ivan also wed his 17 year old son and
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heir ivan ivanovic to one of the
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brideshow contestants he himself had
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rejected
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marfa's mother was eager that her
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daughter might please the tsar by
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conceiving quickly and bearing him a son
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so she fed her a potion meant to
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increase her fertility by the wedding
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day marfa was rapidly losing weight and
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could barely stand up at the altar she
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died 16 days into her honeymoon
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ivan naturally suspected poison and his
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paranoia grew he put yet more people to
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death including his second wife's
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brother who was impaled in 1849
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lev may wrote the tsar's bride which
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dramatizes marfa's life and death
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nikolai
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rimsky-korsakov transformed the play
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into an opera and it remains a
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repertoire piece in russia
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with three brides buried tsar ivan
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turned his gaze to the runner-up in the
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previous bride show
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anna koltovskaya she was the daughter of
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a courtesan a sex worker who catered to
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the nobles of the court but the church
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wasn't keen on allowing the tsar to
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marry for a fourth time russian orthodox
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law stated that the first marriage is
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law the second an extraordinary
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concession the third is a violation of
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the law the fourth is an impiety a state
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similar to that of animals
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ivan met the high-ranking priests at the
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church of the assumption he claimed that
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because of marfa's frail health he had
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never consummated that marriage and it
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therefore didn't count he compelled them
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to bless this one final marriage
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and they agreed with a few conditions
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ivan could not attend church until
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easter and for a year he must spend his
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time with penitence the tsar took his
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new bride on a honeymoon to novgorod the
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city which only two years earlier he had
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massacred
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what a romantic
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but after two years of marriage anna
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failed to become pregnant he banished
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her to a convent where she spent the
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rest of her life she was one of only two
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wives to outlive the monstrous monarch
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ivan moved on to wife number five
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anna vasilichikova by this time the
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church flat out refused to bless any
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more of the tsar's marriages little is
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known of ana's background and she only
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lasted as sarina for a year before she
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too was banished to a convent for
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failing to get pregnant
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vasilisa melinda was wife number six or
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maybe not she may be referred to in a
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court document as a concubine to the
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tsar but many historians now believe she
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was made up in the 19th century to
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exaggerate ivan's terribleness as though
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that were needed alexander ostrovsky
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wrote a play about vasilisa in 1867. the
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story of vasilisa is that she was the
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widow of a war hero whom the tsar took
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to his bed after banishing the two anas
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but when ivan discovered that she was
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having an affair with a prince he forced
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her to watch as her lover was impaled
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and then sent her to join his previous
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wives at the convent
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seventh wife maria dolgarukaya also
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fails to appear in official records and
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may 2 have been a 19th century fantasy
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the story goes that the aging tsar
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discovered his young bride was not a
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virgin on their wedding night and in a
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rage he had her drowned
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wife number eight or six maria nagaya
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did undoubtedly exist and had the
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distinction of being the elderly tsar's
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last unfortunate spouse the surly and
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bitter 50 year old king treated his 28
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year old bride coldly and would have
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banished her to a convent as well had
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she not bore him a son ivan named his
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last child dimitri after his firstborn
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son who had died more than 30 years
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earlier he offered to divorce maria in
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order to marry elizabeth the first
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cousin mary hastings but the english
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queen declined
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while ivan had cut back on the wholesale
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massacre of his people he was still an
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abusive tyrant at home
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since arranging his son ivan ivanovich's
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marriage at 17 he had demanded that his
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daughter-in-law become pregnant at once
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when she failed to do so he had her
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banished to a convent and replaced then
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he had the replacement replaced the
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tsaravich was now on wife number three
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yalina sharimitiva and she was finally
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pregnant
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but ivan accused her of wearing a modest
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clothing and disrespecting him he flew
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into a rage and beat her causing her to
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miscarry the long-awaited child
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hearing her screams that sarovic rushed
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to his wife's defense an argument ensued
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and that sar struck his air in the
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temple with his scepter
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the sarovich fell to the floor bleeding
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and ivan immediately ran to him cradled
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him kissed his face and tried to stop
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the bleeding he cried
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may i be damned i've killed my son i've
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killed my son
00:23:14
ivan ivanovic died and with him the
00:23:17
tsar's hopes for the future
00:23:20
he prayed for days for his son to be
00:23:23
miraculously resurrected but to no avail
00:23:27
in his final years ivan the terrible
00:23:30
unraveled he was haunted by the many
00:23:34
thousands he had murdered not least of
00:23:36
which his own son and unborn grandchild
00:23:41
but he never truly accepted his own
00:23:44
responsibility for the bloodshed he
00:23:46
wrote to an old enemy why did you
00:23:49
separate me from my wife anastasia if
00:23:52
you hadn't taken my young wife from me
00:23:55
there would have been no bloody victims
00:23:58
ivan became increasingly frail and spent
00:24:01
most of his time locked in his room
00:24:03
playing chess which is what the 53 year
00:24:06
old tsar was doing when a stroke ended
00:24:10
his life or he may have been strangled
00:24:13
by one of the many many enemies he had
00:24:16
made over the 51 years of his horrifying
00:24:20
reign
00:24:22
zarina maria was granted nothing in her
00:24:25
husband's will she lived on the property
00:24:28
of her son dimitri who had been
00:24:30
bequeathed the town of aglich
00:24:33
while one might hope that ivan the
00:24:36
terrible's death would ring in happier
00:24:38
days for russia it actually resulted in
00:24:42
an even worse era known as the time of
00:24:45
troubles
00:24:46
ivan's next surviving son theodore
00:24:50
followed him as sarr but he was
00:24:52
ill-prepared and probably intellectually
00:24:55
disabled
00:24:56
during his 14-year reign boyars overran
00:24:59
the government
00:25:01
his younger brother dimitri died at the
00:25:03
age of nine the official story was that
00:25:06
he had stabbed himself in the throat
00:25:09
during an epileptic seizure but his
00:25:12
mother was pretty sure that he had been
00:25:14
assassinated by order of tsar theodore's
00:25:17
regent boris gordonov to prevent him
00:25:21
making any claims on the throne to
00:25:23
silence maria goranov accused her of
00:25:26
neglecting her son
00:25:28
and had her entire family incarcerated
00:25:31
tsar theodore died childless at the age
00:25:34
of 40. he was the last surviving child
00:25:38
of ivan the terrible
00:25:40
the godanov family tried to hold on to
00:25:43
power but a polish man claiming to be
00:25:46
zarovic dimitri gained the support of
00:25:49
the russian people and the
00:25:51
polish-lithuanian army he claimed that
00:25:54
his mother maria nagaya had foreseen the
00:25:57
assassination hidden him away and
00:26:00
allowed the murderers to stab an
00:26:02
imposter child in the neck maria herself
00:26:06
backed up his story and confirmed he was
00:26:09
her long-lost son
00:26:11
dimitri invaded moscow took the throne
00:26:14
and in thanks freed maria and her family
00:26:17
from imprisonment he reigned for 11
00:26:20
months but when he exhumed the body of
00:26:24
the real dimitri in order to prove that
00:26:27
it was the body of another maria was so
00:26:30
offended that she turned on him and
00:26:33
declared him an impostor the boyars
00:26:36
killed the false dimitri burned his body
00:26:40
stuffed his ashes in a cannon and fired
00:26:43
him back home to poland
00:26:45
russia crippled by internal chaos and a
00:26:49
devastating famine was vulnerable to
00:26:52
attack sweden and poland invaded and
00:26:56
king wadislav iv of poland claimed the
00:27:00
russian throne for three years
00:27:03
he imprisoned the patriarch of the
00:27:05
russian church who on his deathbed pled
00:27:09
to the russian people to rise up and
00:27:12
claim back their nation and they
00:27:14
answered his call boyars and peasants
00:27:18
banded together to form militias and
00:27:21
they retook moscow but they knew they
00:27:24
needed a strong ruler to survive
00:27:27
a national assembly convened to elect a
00:27:30
new tsar many candidates were dismissed
00:27:34
as the assembly wanted someone with
00:27:36
blood ties to the rightful tsar ivan the
00:27:40
terrible finally a grandson of the
00:27:43
brother of ivan's first wife anastasia
00:27:46
rominovna was unanimously elected
00:27:50
mikhail romanov was 16 years old and
00:27:54
living in a convent with his mother she
00:27:57
initially refused not wishing to send
00:28:00
her young son into the jaws of the
00:28:02
kremlin but mikhail was eager to be
00:28:05
taken out of obscurity and placed on the
00:28:08
throne he reigned for 32 considerably
00:28:12
more harmonious years and founded the
00:28:16
romanov dynasty and thus the family of
00:28:20
first wife anastasia ruled over russia
00:28:24
for the next 300 years until their
00:28:27
downfall in the russian revolution
00:28:32
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00:28:48
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