This woman was never able to please her formidable spouse, but she managed to protect her relatives from disgrace.
The turbulent events in the state are 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 wives of Ivan the Terrible, but her story does not abound in bloody and piquant episodes. Thanks to this young lady, several generations of her more reckless relatives were able to avoid the block.
Noble child
According to family tradition, the Vasilchikovs came from a German adventurer who arrived in Russia in the 14th century. A 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 her x daughters for the heirs of a foreigner. At the time of the accession to the throne of John IV, their descendants lived for more than a century in Moscow, were rich and respected.
The institution of the oprichnina seduced the five sons of this aristocratic family to join the gates of the formidable king. The head of the family condemned their "creativity." He remembered how the favorite of John Fyodor Basmanov ended his days - he was executed and, they said, before his death he cut down his parent's saber. Grigory Vasilchikov decided to introduce his daughter Anna into the game. Surprisingly beautiful and clever girl, if the tyrant attracts her, she certainly won’t let her family be offended.
Tsar Ivan the Terrible with the oprichnik (1916). Artist Mikhail Avilov
The game of the pimps
Anna received home education and upbringing, was pious and obedient to her parents. To introduce the girl to the exuberant king, a caring little dad developed a cunning plan. He asked the help of his friend Vasily Umny-Kolychev, who often visited the headquarters of the sovereign in the Alexander settlement. The courtier did 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.
At the beginning of 1574, Umnoy-Kolychev arranged for Ivan the Terrible to visit the Vasilchikovs' house. Received distinguished guests Peter - Uncle Anna. He invited a seventeen-year-old niece to go out to bow to the tsar, and during a table discussion he praised her for a long time and complained that she could not find a worthy bridegroom in any way and passionately wanted to see her kids.
From the life of the boyars. Artist Konstantin Makovsky
Royal bride
The autocrat mercilessly interfered in the personal lives of other people. Two years have passed since he sent his childless daughter-in-law Evdokia to the monastery. Theodosius the Nightingale was to replace her. The old libertine was sincerely glad that he had already chosen the prince's bride. He longed for the charming Anna himself and would not yield to his son. True, the church does not recognize the king’s new marriage - he took four new wives to the altar four times, and a year ago he completely walked off the semblance of a wedding with Maria Dolgoruka, which he drowned the morning after the wedding night.
The king needed an heir, not a lawful spouse. The famous polygamist offered Vasilchikov a secular celebration, and they happily agreed. A modest holiday in the Alexander settlement 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 left wild fun. It was such a companion of life that Ivan the Terrible needed.
Unmarried wife
The yard met Anna with hostility. She was called the concubine of the king and was looking forward to how the young woman would succumb to the temptation and start amorous adventures with someone from the courtyard. However, the unmarried lady quickly inspired 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 Vasilievich treated his beloved with care, in the biography of a bloody and licentious tyrant, it was as if a period had been set - he turned into a good family man.
Russian beauty in a golden kokoshnik (1902). Artist Konstantin Makovsky
A quiet life lasted about a year, but the baby was still gone. The emperor visited his spouse less and less. In her chambers, he behaved as usual, though he took her caresses coldly. She bored him. Increasingly, Grozny left his Annushka in Moscow alone and drove to the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda, where the guardsmen had already delivered new captives and virgins who were looking for thrills.
Opal
Unfulfilled spouse was supposed to disappear from the life of the king. He was unpleasant about the gossip of foreign ambassadors, who were more and more interested in the personality of the monarch's life partner. Locked in the chambers of the Kremlin, Anna Vasilchikova could easily become the head of the conspirators, but she could not get away from the monastery. Ivan the Terrible ordered his missus to gather in one of the cloisters of Suzdal. To the surprise of the autocrat, the woman took 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 all her anger at her, but when the wagon with her left, the tyrant began to look for a victim. Vasily Umnaya-Kolychev was appointed to such a role. An attempt to make a career on the king’s weaknesses to the fair sex cost the nobleman dearly - he was beheaded. None of the Vasilchikovs were injured.
