Anastasia Romanovna

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other people named Anastasia Romanovna, see Anastasia Romanovna (disambiguation).
In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Romanovna and the family name is Zakharyina-Yurieva.

Anastasia Romanovna
Roman Yurievich Zakharyin-Yuriev
MotherUliana Ivanovna
ReligionRussian Orthodox

Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yurieva (

Romanov dynasty
.

Early life and ancestry

Anastasia was the daughter of the

Vasily III. The house of Zakharyin-Yuriev was a minor branch of a noble family that had already been at court. Ivan had met Anastasia before the bride show as her uncle had been one of Ivan's guardians. Anastasia's father was descended from the boyar Feodor "Koshka" ("Cat") Kobyla, fourth son of Andrei Kobyla.[1]
: 15  The origins of her mother, Uliana Ivanovna, are unknown.

Anastasia had at least three older siblings – Daniel,

Roman Yurievich Zakharyin-Yuriev
died on 16 February 1543.

Marriage

Anastasia was selected as the best bride for Ivan from a large number of suitable mates brought to the

Ivan, Eudoxia, and Feodor
.

It is widely believed that Anastasia had a moderating influence on Ivan's volatile character. Ivan adored Anastasia and never thought to be with any woman but her. Anastasia was not very beautiful, but had a very soft face with a calming influence. She often spoke in a low voice and was very polite. The Tsar himself, in his later years after he married seven times following Anastasia's murder, said that if the boyars did not poison Anastasia and deprive Ivan of her, none of the gruesome things that Ivan did would have happened, and it was a true statement. After Anastasia's death, the Tsar's personality changed completely and he became unkind. Sir Jerome Horsey, an agent for the Russia Company and envoy for the English court, wrote in his memoirs about Anastasia and Ivan IV: "He being young and riotous, she ruled him with admirable affability and wisdom".[2] In the summer of 1560, Anastasia fell ill to a lingering illness and died on 7 August. In consequence, Ivan suffered a severe emotional collapse, suspecting that his wife had been a victim of malicious actions and had been poisoned by the boyars. Although he had no evidence of such crimes, he had a number of boyars tortured and executed. Ivan already had a strong dislike of the boyars due to their abusive actions toward him during his childhood. In response to her death, he developed a corps of fearsome black-clad men who terrorized on his behalf, known as the oprichniki.[1]: 16 

The examination of Anastasia's remains in the 1990s and at the beginning of the 21st century by

forensics experts provided evidence that could sustain her husband's claim.[3][4] Further research using neutron activation analysis confirmed the acute mercury poisoning of Anastasia.[5] While mercury was also used as a cure, leading to some debate around the issue, the levels of mercury found were too high, according to the experts. However, many of the royal remains have high levels of poison in them, suggesting that possibly Anastasia was not maliciously poisoned, but died of medical treatment that used poisonous substances.[6]

Children

Legacy

Through her marriage to Ivan IV, Anastasia became the link between the two main ruling dynasties in Russian history, the

Romanov dynasty
.

Anastasia's brother,

Mikhail Romanov to the throne after the Time of Troubles.[8]

On 20 August 2010, the Head of the

Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia, established the Imperial Order of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia for women. The Order was established in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Saint Anastasia and in memory of Tsaritsa Anastasia Romanovna. The Order of the Holy Great Martyr Anastasia is granted to women who have distinguished themselves in the areas of charity, culture, medicine, education, science, and other endeavors useful to the nation and society, and who now continue their noble deeds under the patronage of the Head of the Russian Imperial House.[9]

In popular culture

Anastasia is one of the main characters in the ballet Ivan the Terrible by choreographer Yuri Grigorovich with music by Sergei Prokofiev, which premiered on 20 February 1975, at the Bolshoi Theatre, starring Yuri Vladimirov as Ivan IV and Natalia Bessmertnova as Anastasia. The ballet's plot includes the meeting and marriage of Anastasia and Ivan, her poisoning by boyars, and Ivan's fall into darkness and madness after the loss of Anastasia.[10] The ballet has had several revivals.

In Sergei Eisenstein's 1944 epic film Ivan the Terrible, she was portrayed by Lyudmila Tselikovskaya.

In a 2020 Russian TV series called The Terrible, Anastasia Romanovna is portrayed by Tatyana Lyalina.

Notes

  1. House of Shuysky
    , cadet branch of Rurik dynasty, so it makes Feodor I the last full-fledged Rurikid tsar of Russia.

References

Media related to Anastasia Romanovna at Wikimedia Commons

  1. ^
    ISBN 9780297852667
    .
  2. OCLC 2474526
    .
  3. ^ "Наука: открытия и исследования, космос и авиация, генетика и древние тайны, новое о человеке и природе". Archived from the original on 22 March 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
  4. ^ Derbyshire, David (14 March 2001). "Mercury poisoned Ivan the Terrible's mother and wife".
  5. S2CID 125919815
    .
  6. ISBN 978-0525659532
    .
  7. ^ "Romanov dynasty | Definition, History, Significance, & Facts".
  8. ISBN 0-300-11973-9
    .
  9. ^ "Russian Imperial House – the Head of the House of Romanoff has established for women the Imperial Order of St. Anastasia in Honor of the First Tsaritsa of the Romanoff Family, Anastasia Romanovna".
  10. ^ "Repertoire".
Russian royalty
Vacant
Title last held by
Grand Princess of Moscow
Tsaritsa of all Russia

1547–1560 		Vacant
Title next held by
Maria Temryukovna
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