This woman could not please her formidable husband, but she managed to protect her relatives from disgrace.
Stormy events in the state - the time of adventurers and gray cardinals. If the former bet everything and in the blink of an eye everyone loses, the latter are not so noticeable. However, they are more tenacious. Anna Vasilchikova never became a star. Her name can be found in the list of Ivan the Terrible's wives, but her story is not replete with bloody and piquant episodes. Thanks to this young lady, several generations of her more reckless relatives were able to escape the block.
Child of noble family
According to family legend, the Vasilchikovs descended from a German adventurer who arrived in Russia in the 14th century. A certain knight named Idris with his army and two sons moved to Cherigov and converted to Orthodoxy. Now his name was Leonty, and the local nobility gladly gave their x daughters for the heirs of a foreigner. At the time of the accession to the throne of John IV, their descendants had lived in Moscow for more than a century, were rich and respected.
The institution of the oprichnina seduced the five sons of this aristocratic family to join the gangs of the formidable king. The head of the family condemned their "creativity". He remembered how John's favorite Fyodor Basmanov ended his days - he was executed and, they said, before his death he hacked his parent to death. Grigory Vasilchikov decided to introduce his daughter Anna into the game. An amazingly beautiful and intelligent girl, if the tyrant likes it, she will definitely not give her relatives an offense.
Pimp game
Anna received home education and education, was devout and obedient to her parents. To introduce the girl to the rebellious king, the caring papa developed a cunning plan. He asked for help from his friend Vasily Umny-Kolychev, who often visited the sovereign's headquarters in the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda. The courtier tried his best: he began to whisper to Ivan Vasilyevich that his family was waiting for the sunset. Indeed, the monarch paid for his unbridled lifestyle, his health was shaken, his son Ivan could not please his grandson in any way.
At the beginning of 1574, Clever-Kolychev organized a visit by Ivan the Terrible to the Vasilchikovs' house. Peter, Anna's uncle, received the distinguished guests. He invited his seventeen-year-old niece to come out to bow to the king, and during the table conversation he praised her for a long time and complained that the girl could not find a worthy groom in any way and was eager to see her children.
Tsar's bride
The autocrat mercilessly interfered with the privacy of others. Two years have passed since he sent his childless daughter-in-law Evdokia to the monastery. It was supposed to be replaced by Theodosia Solovaya. The old libertine was sincerely glad that he had already chosen a bride for the prince. He thirsted for the charming Anna himself and would not have yielded to his son. True, the church does not recognize the tsar's new marriage - he took new wives to the altar four times, and a year ago he even walked out a semblance of a wedding with Maria Dolgoruka, whom he drowned on the morning after the wedding night.
The king needed an heir, not a legal spouse. The famous polygamist proposed a secular celebration to the Vasilchikovs, and they gladly agreed. A modest holiday in the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda took place in the late autumn of 1574. The newlywed was not embarrassed by the absence of a priest, she was clearly glad that her husband had left wild amusements. It was such a life partner that Ivan the Terrible needed.
Uncrowned wife
The court met Anna with hostility. They called her the king's concubine and looked forward to how a young woman would succumb to temptation and start amorous adventures with someone from the courtyard. However, the unmarried lady quickly instilled respect for herself, proving that she was making a contribution to the continuation of the Rurik dynasty, and not looking for fame or dubious fun. John Vasilyevich treated his beloved with care, in the biography of the bloody and licentious tyrant, it was as if an end was put - he turned into a kind family man.
The quiet life lasted for about a year, but the baby was not there. The sovereign visited his wife less and less. In her chambers, he behaved as usual, although he perceived her caresses coldly. She bored him. Increasingly, the Terrible left his Annushka in Moscow alone and went to the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, where the guardsmen had already managed to deliver new captives and maidens looking for thrills.
Opal
The spouse who did not justify the hopes had to disappear from the life of the king. He disliked the gossip of foreign ambassadors, who were increasingly interested in the personality of the monarch's life companion. Locked in the chambers of the Kremlin, Anna Vasilchikova could easily become the head of the conspirators, but she has no escape from the monastery. Ivan the Terrible ordered his faithful to gather in one of the monasteries in Suzdal. To the surprise of the autocrat, the woman received the news with humility.
Someone had to answer for the childlessness of Vasilchikova. The humble Anna did not give her husband a reason to throw out all his anger on her, but when the cart with her left, the tyrant began to look for a victim. Vasily Umnaya-Kolychev was appointed to this role. An attempt to make a career out of the king's weakness for the fair sex cost the noble dearly - he was beheaded. None of the Vasilchikov family was hurt.
The last days
Under the name of nun Daria, Anna Vasilchikova settled in the cell of the Intercession Monastery for women. While still young, she literally melted before our eyes, could not do any work, hardly attended prayer services. The nuns believed that the new sister was worried about her relatives. A year after the tonsure in 1577, the unfortunate ex-wife of Ivan the Terrible died. It was rumored that Anna was poisoned by those who feared that the eccentric John would return to her with repentance and enthrone her.
Archaeologists who opened the grave of Anna Vasilchikova in the Suzdal Cathedral noted how smartly the deceased was dressed. Her outfit corresponded to the royal status. Such an honor could be awarded to a simple nun only on the personal order of the tsar.
