Many people know the picture of the artist Ilya Repin "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on November 16, 1581", which shows the repentance of the king, who inflicted a mortal blow. Questions about whether Ivan Vasilievich was a murderer, and whether he was guilty of 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 Pasevino, who was then at the court of Ivan the Terrible, it is indicated that the Russian monarch found the wife of the latter in the son’s rooms, Elena in a lower dress. At that time, Elena was pregnant and did not expect anyone to enter her. Ivan IV fell in anger, severely beat the daughter-in-law with a staff, as a result of which she had a miscarriage. At this time, Tsarevich Ivan comes in and, seeing his father beating Elena, intervenes for his wife. The king in a fit of anger rushes at his son and hits him on the head with a staff. The blow fell into the temple and turned out to be fatal, a few days later the son of Ivan the Terrible dies.
In 1963, Soviet scientists conducted research on the bones of Ivan IV and his son Ivan. According to their results, it was found that a large amount of mercury was found in the remains. Where could this substance come from, scientists could only guess.
Moreover, the skull of the prince at the time of exhumation was in poor condition due to the decay of bone tissue. The indicated reason did not allow confirming the classic version of Ivan's death from a blow. However, the deceased's hair was preserved in good condition, and the researchers did not find any traces of blood on them, which indirectly refuted this version of death.
It can be assumed that someone, like his father, Ivan IV, poisoned Ivan, otherwise how can one explain the huge amount of mercury in the remains of royal persons.
Perhaps the blow of the tsarist staff on the head of the prince was, 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 king’s son, gave its lethal effect.
