It is unusual to think of Ivan the Terrible as a family man. However, perhaps it was this side of his life that played a key role in the formation of his personality. What kind of family man was Ivan IV and who were his wives?
Anastasia Zakharyina-Yurieva
To find a wife for himself, the seventeen-year-old tsar arranged a review of brides and chose Anastasia from a huge number of applicants. Kind, with a gentle character, Anastasia Zakharyina was the woman to whom Ivan IV listened. According to historians and chroniclers, Anastasia is the only wife whom Ivan the Terrible really loved and with whom he was happy. She bore him six children, most of whom died in infancy. The queen herself died in 1560: according to one version - from illness and frequent childbirth, according to another - she was poisoned. It was not easy for Ivan IV to cope with the loss of Anastasia Zakharyina and children. It is possible that these events largely influenced the character of Ivan the Terrible.
Maria Temryukovna-Cherkasskaya
In 1560, Ivan the Terrible equipped ambassadors to look for a new bride for him from the Circassian princes. Despite the fact that the tsar began to think about a new lover a few weeks after the death of his former wife, he hardly recovered from the loss of Anastasia Zakharyina. As a result, Maria Temryukovna (before the baptism of Princess Kuchenyi), the daughter of the Kabardian prince Temryuk, a sixteen-year-old beauty, was chosen as the bride. Ivan the Terrible always chose beautiful women, but historians point out that Maria Cherkasskaya had an amazing, special beauty. At first she did not know a word of Russian, but after a while she learned the language. She could turn Ivan the Terrible against people she disliked. She also loved to watch the executions, it gave her a strange pleasure. Ivan the Terrible's wife aroused ambiguous feelings: on the one hand, they were similar,but on the other hand, she was illiterate, vindictive and cunning. So their family life was not easy. Over time, Ivan the Terrible began to lose interest in his wife. In addition, Ivan the Terrible had a harem, and the queen had lovers. But one day Maria fell ill, most likely with pneumonia and died. The king and his entourage were sure that she had been poisoned.
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Martha Sobakina
Ivan the Terrible arranged a bride show: two thousand of the most beautiful girls were brought to the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda. First, the tsar selected 24 beauties, then - 12. The "competition" was serious: first the girls were examined by grandmothers, then - by doctors. The healthiest, most desirable and beautiful was Martha Sobakina. On June 26, 1571, the king announced his engagement. At this time, Ivan the Terrible relied heavily on Malyuta Skuratov. It was Malyuta who advised the Grozny bride, who, thanks to this marriage, became related to the royal family. At the wedding with Martha, his wife and daughter were matchmakers, and Malyuta himself and his son-in-law Boris Godunov were friends. However, the bride almost immediately fell ill. The illness lasted two weeks, after which Martha died. The causes of her death are unknown, although there are many versions: poisoning, a mysterious potion, witchcraft … But there is almost no mention of natural death.
Anna Koltovskaya
After the death of his previous wife, Ivan the Terrible became even more suspicious and believed that they wanted to overthrow him. Therefore, his next wife did not appear immediately. She was a girl of eighteen, Anna Koltovskaya. The Church with difficulty allowed Ivan the Terrible to marry a third, but she could not agree to a fourth. The king acted simply: he ordered the priest to marry them and achieved his goal. Anna was not against the tsar's favorite activities (mainly orgies and noisy festivities): in her palace half there were always many women who were ready to please Ivan IV in every way. She herself did not feel feelings for her husband. According to one version, she fought with the oprichnina: the fight was successful, many oprichniks were executed. The tsar and the people loved Anna, but the boyars, known for their ability to "whisper" to the tsar, did not love her. It was they who advised the king to conclude Anna in a monastery. So she became schema-nun Daria, which meant loneliness for the rest of her life. The queen was imprisoned in an underground cell. After Ivan's death, they wanted to release Anna, but she remained in the monastery and died in August 1626.
Anna Vasilchikova
Once Ivan the Terrible stopped by Prince Pyotr Vasilchikov, where he liked the seventeen-year-old daughter of Prince Anna. And he, without thinking twice, suggested that the prince send the girl to the palace. Father was against it, but Ivan IV simply sent matchmakers the next day. So Anna Vasilchikova became his wife. This marriage was not recognized by the church, and she was not perceived as a queen either. Family life lasted three months. Then - the sudden death of a girl who was completely healthy before. It was announced to be "chest disease." But the body was nevertheless taken out of the palace secretly, at night and sent to the Suzdal convent for burial.
Vasilisa Melentieva
Vasilisa Melentieva is the wife of Ivan the Terrible's close friend Nikita Melentyev. Once the king, wishing to show his subordinate special attention, came to visit him. There he saw the beautiful Vasilisa Melentieva, who liked the aging Ivan IV. After that, her husband fell ill and died, and a few days later Vasilisa appeared in the palace. Surprisingly, Ivan the Terrible was ready to fulfill all her whims. All women who could become rivals of Vasilisa were removed from the palace. Orgies, festivities, executions have practically stopped - the king has calmed down. Vasilisa wanted to become a queen and achieved her goal: the king married her. They lived together for two years. But one day the king went into the bedroom and saw his wife with her lover. Grozny, although he loved his wife, ordered to dig a hole on the outskirts of the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. Two people were buried in it, and the priest did not even knowwho buries. In one coffin was Ivan Kolychev, and in the other - Vasilisa Melentieva, according to legend, alive, tied up, with her mouth shut.
Maria Feodorovna Nagaya
The last wife of Ivan the Terrible was Maria Nagaya. She begged her father Fyodor Nagogo not to give her over to the tsar, who was already over 50 years old. Ivan the Terrible was very sick, looked decrepit and half-mad. At first, the king was pleased with his new wife, since Mary was very beautiful, but she quickly got tired of her and began to irritate the king with her bouts of sadness. Ivan the Terrible was thinking about how to get rid of his wife, and was already starting to look for a new one. But on March 18, 1584, he died suddenly while playing chess.