Many people know the painting by the artist Ilya Repin "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on November 16, 1581", which shows the repentance of the tsar who dealt the mortal blow. Questions about whether Ivan Vasilyevich was a sonicide, and whether it was his fault in the death of the prince, still remain unresolved. The mystery of the death of the son of Ivan IV is another unsolved mystery.
In the writings of the papal legate Antonio Passevino, who was at that time at the court of Ivan the Terrible, it is indicated that the Russian monarch found the latter's wife Elena in a lower dress in the rooms of his son. At that time, Elena was pregnant and did not expect anyone to come in to her. Ivan IV fell into anger, severely beat his daughter-in-law with a staff, as a result of which she had a miscarriage. At this time, Tsarevich Ivan comes in and, seeing how his father beats Elena, stands up for his wife. The king, in a fit of anger, rushes at his son and hits him on the head with his staff. The blow hit the temple and turned out to be fatal, a few days later the son of Ivan the Terrible dies.
In 1963, Soviet scientists carried out research on the bone remains of Ivan IV and his son Ivan. Based on their results, a large amount of mercury was found in the remains. Where this substance could have come from, scientists could only guess.
At the same time, the prince's skull at the time of exhumation was in poor condition due to the decay of bone tissue. The specified reason did not allow confirming the classic version of Ivan's death from a blow. However, the hair of the deceased was preserved in good condition, and the researchers did not find traces of blood on them, which indirectly refuted this version of death.
It can be assumed that Ivan, like his father, Ivan IV, was poisoned by someone, otherwise how can the huge amount of mercury in the remains of royal persons be explained.
Perhaps there was a blow to the head of the tsarevich with the tsar's staff, but it was not the cause of Ivan's death, but only coincided with the moment when the poison, accumulated in the body of the tsar's son, gave its deadly effect.
