The presentation for History Of Russia course about the tragic love life of one of the most famous and terrific rulers of Russia and last ruler from the Rurik dynasty- Ivan IV The Terrible. The presentation gives an overview on his real or may be made up wives.

1. SEVEN EIGHT WIVES OF
IVAN IV THE TERRIBLE

2. OVERVIEW
This topic is very controversial and not clear, this is one of the
‘terrible’ sides of his as it is considered that Ivan killed most of his
wives. The most common version sais that there were only 7 wives
but there is a though that there could be 8.

3. OVERVIEW
It is considered that only on four of them he was officially merried (in
church) (Anastasia Romanovna, Maria Temryukovna, Marfa
Sobakina, Anna Koltovskaya) other two were either his ‘non
official’ wives, or they’ve got married illegally (Anna Vasilchikova,
Maria Nagaya). The last two could just be a myth (Vasilisa
Melentyeva, Maria Dolgorukaya).

4. IVAN IV TERRIBLE
This is not a surprising that he (if he) killed most of his wives. Ivan
was prone to fits of rage and paranoia. In one such tantrum, he
caused his daughter-in-law to miscarry after beating her for wearing
improper clothing. In a resultant argument, Ivan killed his own son.
During his reign, Ivan also executed thousands of Russian nobles for
supposedly conspiring against him, and he created the `oprichniki', a
secret police with the power to execute enemies of the Prince.

5. ANASTASIA
ROMANOVNA
(1547-1560)
Anastasia Romanovna was brought to
the Kremlin for Ivan's inspection
along with as many as 1500 other
potential brides. Nobles from across
Russia brought their eligible
daughters, and Ivan selected
Anastasia.
Poisoned or succumbed to illness.

6. ANASTASIA ROMANOVNA
Anastasia was kind with a soft character. She had a calming influence
on Ivan's mercurial nature. According to historians she was the only
one wife Ivan really loved and was happy with. The two were married
in 1547, and Anastasia gave birth to six children, but most of them
died in infancy.

7. ANASTASIA
ROMANOVNA
She died in 1560, either because of
illness or frequent labuors. Recent
forensic evidence suggests Anastasia may
have been poisoned with mercury,
though this element was also used to
treat some ailments. Ivan suspected the
Russian nobles (Boyars) of poisoning
her. He had a number of them tortured
and executed without trial. Her death
may have escalated his paranoia.

8. MARIA TEMRYUKOVNA
(1561-1569)
Several weeks after the death of his
first wife, Ivan was presented with the
daughter of a Muslim prince, Maria
Temryukovna (before baptism –
Kucheney). According to folklore,
Ivan was warned by his first wife not
to marry a pagan, but he was so taken
by Maria's beauty that he married her
in 1561.
Poisoned/Pheumonia

9. MARIA TEMRYUKOVNA
At first she didn’t know even one Russian word, but she learned language
some times later. She could manipulate Iven against people she didn’t like.
She also enjoyed watching execution. Ivan was not quite sure what he
feels towards his wife: at one point they were very similar but on the other
hand she was illiteracy, spiteful, revengeful and cunning. With time he
started growing cold toward her. She was a poor stepmother to Ivan's
sons, and didn't integrate into Muscovite culture, with many regarding her
as a witch.

10. MARIA TEMRYUKOVNA
Moreover Ivan had a harem and
Maria had a lot of lovers. One day
she got ill, most likely, pneumonia,
and dies in 1569 . Another theory
she died by poisoning, possibly at
Ivan's hands. However, he had
many nobles executed for the
crime.

11. MARFA SOBAKINA
(1571)
Ivan initiated another exhaustive
selection process to find his third
wife. Marfa Sobakina was chosen
from 12 finalists to become a Princess
of Russia. During this time Ivan
relied a lot on Maluta Scuratov, he
was the one to tell Ivan to choose
Marfa, and after the wedding Maluta
and Ivan became relatives.
Poisoned

12. MARFA SOBAKINA
Tragedy befell the couple immediately, as Marfa began to succumb to
a strange illness. There was a lot of theories as of why she died but
the natural death is not usually discussed. Nevertheless, Ivan's
paranoia reached breaking point. He executed many of his subjects
on suspicion of poisoning the Princess. It is possible that her mother
unknowingly poisoned her with a fertility elixir.

13. ANNA KOLTOVSKAYA
(1572-1574)
It was illegal (against church) for Ivan
to marry a fourth time, but he gave an
order to the priest and he had no
choice. He married Anna Koltovskaya
without the Church's blessing in
1572.
Imprisoned

14. ANNA KOLTOVSKAYA
She never loved Ivan but she also didn’t really care about her husbands
leisure: there was always a lot of woman in their part of the palace that
were ready to do everything for Prince. Nobody really knows what has
happened that he send her to live out her remaining days in a convent.
Ones say it was because of her infertility, but they weren’t also married
long enough, others say Ivan actually loved his wife but Boyars put him
against her. Anna outlived the Tsar in captivity.

15. ANNA VASILCHIKOVA
(1575-1577)
Almost nothing is known of Ivan's 5th
wife. There are multiple theories about
her origination. Anna Vasilchikova
became Princess of Russia in 1575
without the blessing of the Church. As
with Ivan's previous wife, she was sent to
live as a nun two years later. She is
believed to have met a violent death in
captivity, possibly under Ivan's orders.
Imprisoned and murdered.

16. VASILISA MELENTYEVA
(1579)

17. VASILISA MELENTYEVA
Vasilisa Melentyeva was the widow of
Ivan’s trusted Nikita Melentyev who
had died in war. Ivan found her to be
both kind and beautiful, and married
her in 1579. It seems like Ivan really
loved her. All women were taken
away from palace, orgies and
executions stopped.
Imprisoned or buried alive

18. VASILISA MELENTYEVA
Ivan and Vasilisa lived together for two years. But Ivan's dreadful luck
with wives continued. He found her to be having an affair with
another prince. One source sais as a punishment, Ivan forced his
Princess to watch her lover (Devlentev) being executed by
impalement, then he sent her to live as a nun, though she died in the
same year from unknown causes. It is possible that Ivan had her killed
in the same manner as his previous wife.

19. VASILISA MELENTYEVA
Another source tells us Ivan ordered to dig a grave on the edge of
Alexandrovskaya Sloboda. Funeral of two people took place, priest
didn’t event know who those people were. In one coffin laid her lover
(Ivan Kolichev) in other Vasilisa herself. Legend sais she was alive,
tied up with her mouth shut.

20. MARIA DOLGORUKAYA
(1580)
Ivan married his seventh wife, Maria Dolgorukaya, in 1580. She was a
distant descendant of Prince Yuri of Kiev, one of the founders of
Moscow. It is likely that her royal bloodline was the reason she was
chosen. However, Ivan quickly found his Princess to have a lover, and
had her executed in the same year by drowning.
Executed (drowned)

21. MARIA NAGAYA
(1581-1584)
Three years before Ivan IV died, he
married for the last time. Maria begged
her father to not give her away to 50
years old Ivan. Ivan was very ill and
almost lost the rest of his mind. At the
beginning he really liked his new wife, as
she was really beautiful, but he soon
became bored of her and she started to
irritate him with her constant strikes of
sadness.
Survived

22. MARIA NAGAYA
Ivan was already thinking how to get rid of his wife and about to start
looking for a new one but he suddenly died on march 18 1854 playing
chess.

23. MARIA NAGAYA
Maria Nagaya provided the 51 year old with a child, Dmitry. Upon Ivan's
death, Maria and her son were sent into exile until Dmitry died 7 years
later. Maria was accused of negligence and forced to live as a nun. She was
released under condition that she recognize an impostor as her dead son
in order for him to become Prince. In less than a year, the false Dmitry
was killed by an angry mob after he engaged in an interfaith marriage.
Maria then renounced him as her son and died in 1608, 24 years after the
death of Ivan.