Folklorists consider her a prototype of princesses from fairy tales. Historians are trying to figure out if she is not fiction herself.
The classic story of a Russian folk tale: Koschey the Immortal kidnaps a young aristocrat from her father’s house, and sometimes right from under her crown. Acquainted with the virgin closer, realizing that he will never be nice to her, an insidious sorcerer gives her a dream, like death. A number of folklorists believe that the victim of the villain has real historical prototypes, including Maria Dolgorukaya, the fifth wife of the ominous Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible.
From childhood at court
The girl born in the Dolgorukov family was destined for the fate of a pawn in the political games of the Russian court. In adolescence, when engagements were made, she entered the time of the oprichnina, which did not bode well for her. Masha was good-looking, so giving her in marriage to a noble person would be foolish. Firstly, the boyars, equal to Dolgorukov, could at any moment fall into disgrace and drag the bride’s relatives to the chopping block, secondly, the autocrat was a connoisseur of female beauty and was ready to raise a family that would give him a beautiful daughter.
Terem princes. Artist Mikhail Klodt
In 1572, the girl was sent to the court of the fourth wife of the formidable tsar, Anna Koltovskaya. This relative of the exile Andrei Kurbsky with love spells made John not only spare her, but also take her to the altar. Trying on the crown, Anna surrounded herself with charms and began to weave intrigue. For help, the opposition sovereign turned to know. Hide the negotiations allowed messengers - young men dressed in girls' dresses. It was said that the empress made them her lovers. In such a stormy environment, it was not easy for a teenage girl to resist the temptations of adulthood.
Acquaintance with the autocrat
Soon the tsar became aware of the missus tricks - too often he received denunciations from his faithful guardsmen, and he handed out government posts after consulting with Anna. Malyuta Skuratov invited the crowned friend to remember: who was Koltovskaya’s relatives before, and what places does she occupy now? Suspicious Ivan Vasilyevich immediately agreed with his comrade and, without hesitation, exiled his wife to the Tikhvin Monastery, and invited her court ladies to his bedchamber. Masha was taken out of the palace on time by her father.
Portrait of Ivan the Terrible. Unknown artist
After spending a whole year in revelry, the monarch fasted for a long time and repented, after which he decided to restore order in his personal life. He needed a complaisant and God-fearing wife. He remembered the bashful girl whom he saw in the chambers of his ex. Upon learning that the person he noted came from the boyars, our hero was even more happy - her relatives were afraid to pursue a career through Masha, so as not to endanger either her or her own prosperous life. The visit to the house of the Dolgorukov tsar’s matchmakers was successful - the frightened owner agreed to send his daughter at school time to the indicated place.
Wedding
The young were getting ready for the wedding. The only obstacle to happiness was the fact that the church refused to marry the sovereign for the fifth time. But when Ivan the Terrible was stopped by the prohibitions of the holy fathers! He turned to one of his guardsmen, who knew the Holy Scripture well and could serve in the temple, asking him to conduct a ceremony. The murderer knew his work well, the triumph did not resemble farce.
Girl in a pearl necklace. Artist Konstantin Makovsky
In November 1573, the marriage of John IV and Maria Dolgoruky took place. After the ceremony in the church, the guests rushed to the palace, where tables were already laid. The famous libertine was looking forward to the first wedding night with a fifteen-year-old beauty, but an hour of passion turned into a nightmare - the newlywed was not chaste.
The massacre of Maria Dolgoruka
A shameful fact, it was decided not to publicize. In the morning the whole courtyard set off for Alexandrovskaya Sloboda. The newly-made tsarina was known for the notoriety of these places, but she was assigned a guard who watched every step of the lecher. Arriving at the place, the sovereign was glad that the pond was already hidden by ice, he ordered to cut down a wide wormwood. In the middle of the day, a sled went ashore, in which bound Maria was sitting. The king himself several times whipped the horse, and she suffered. Under the hooting of the guardsmen, a terrible wagon flew into the middle of the lake and went under the ice.
Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda - the residence of Ivan the Terrible, where Maria Dolgorukaya was executed
The cruel execution of a girl who had lost her honor before marriage was in the spirit of a crowned tyrant. He did not forgive deception, was afraid that a lie in the details would be followed by a conspiracy. Perhaps the king’s good education played a cruel joke. Being interested in the latest discoveries, including in medicine, Ivan the Terrible was afraid to catch a venereal disease. An abundant wedding feast after a long post probably turned out to be unwell, and then there was a night with a person who did not understand who had fun with.
